Sipping hot chocolate and eating my Christmas chocolate while I write this post, already planning out my reading and writing for next year. What are you up to? I’d love to hear about your Christmas and any books you received!

In the meantime, here are five more mini-reviews of my reads from last year…

I’ve been waiting to hear more about Stanyard and his story since he first reappeared in the series, so this was a satisfying foray into the world of Red Rain. And having all these side stories that examine the events from different points of view lends more realism to the saga, in my opinion!

Parts of this one did feel slightly repetitive, but that didn’t inhibit my enjoyment of the story overall. This continues to be a series that pulls me forward and makes me eager to read what comes next.

This was the book club book for the month, and it wasn’t one I had looked forward to. I have never read anything by Gaiman, and while I hadn’t seen the movie of this book I’d seen previews. That was enough to turn me off to the story. It looked disturbing and bizarre.

Upon reading the book, I discovered I hadn’t been wrong. It was indeed disturbing and bizarre. Parts were so strange I would rather not have read them (granted, I’m easily bothered by things that seem twisted to me). But I will say, there was a wit and depth to the writing itself that appealed to me, that made me open to reading more of Gaiman’s work in the future, even though this one wasn’t really me.

The 13th installment of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series was enjoyable. Not my favorite, but good. As always, King does a phenomenal job of immersing the reader into the time and place, and I always find the journey delightful in many ways, even when it isn’t a place I’ve ever thought I’d be interested in visiting.

And the story, while not especially memorable, was a decent mystery. And I liked the fact that Holmes and Russell were actually together for more of this one than usual. The characters were solid, the plot was fairly good. Not a bad episode, all things considered.

I read this because my husband owned it and loves Randy Alcorn. He also has the audiobook, so when he started listening to it, I decided I would read the hard copy at the same time so we could discuss it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this ended up being one of my favorite reads of the entire year.

Alcorn has clearly put an enormous amount of study and thought into the subject of Heaven, and he goes over just about every question one could possibly have on the subject in a very Biblically-based manner. I found myself more excited about the idea of an eternity there than I’ve been before, with a clearer picture of what we have to look forward to. And it did indeed bring about several fascinating discussions with my husband on the topic. I’d recommend this one very highly!

I had mixed feelings on book 14 of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. Technically, I think it was one of the best of them. It was unique, with unexpected twists and turns, a compelling story and characters, and it sucked me in more than most of the rest of the books.

But I just can’t decide how I feel about what was done to the beloved character of Mrs. Hudson. It was fun and intriguing to delve into her backstory, but I don’t know that I care for the extreme redefinition of who she is. The “everything we’ve known this whole time was a lie” trope can be good or bad, but ultimately in this case I don’t think I like it. It just sort of undermines the relationships and events that came before it in such an extreme way. Still, I enjoyed this book for what it was.

Four more posts after this, and I’ll be done for the year! I’m starting to think I may actually get this project finished…