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Everyone I know on Twitter reads, and most of them write. What would be better than sending a bunch of pens to someone who likes to create? Why, getting a book that fits exactly what they want in a story, that's what! Save that person their hand, #NaNoWriMo in November probably destroyed them, and that person will have December to recover.
Happiest of Holidays to each and every one of you. No matter what you celebrate, we have a lot of gift-giving opportunities coming up at the end of the year.
Thus, and with great pleasure, I have put together a Holiday Book Giving Guide.
Full disclaimer, no one is paying me for this. Heck, I wish I got paid, but I do not, and I have no sponsorships, I have no advertisement deals, this is entirely from my brain out to yours. If I had sponsors, I'd probably have a copywritten comic book picture of me as an icon on my Twitter and not a Pop-Funko Bobblehead of Rogue from X-Treme X-Men back in the early 2000's. But I digress, the point is I'm not getting paid to give you a guide, I am doing this to share the love of words.
Also, none of the book authors, publishers, or anyone really know I did this. This is just me. I did tell a couple of authors I was making a list, but I did not go into detail.
The list I am presenting before you come from the books I reviewed this year, and I take the reviews I did very seriously. Not everything I reviewed is on this list. Not every single high score is on this list, nor is it made without a few low scoring books. Please also understand, not all of these books received high scores from me even if I do take the rating seriously.
Why? The chief reason is I am not some egotistical monster who believes that people should agree with me on every single thing I review. I want to be perfectly clear here, while I may not have been the target audience of something and scored it low, it does not mean there isn't an audience for that book.
It also means, I can recognize who may actually like the book, and thus you will see recommendations from me as to what fits.
As far as ideas for purchasing books, you have some icons to help you.
❄️ - Cool as Ice or too cool to pass up. This book has a lot of fun references, most likely pop culture, and the reader gets a treat to the fun side of things.
🍗- Get in mah belly! This book has a lot to say about food. There is so much gourmet goodness it's going to send you to the fridge, and in a good way.
👪- Family Friendly. This book could be read aloud to the kiddos 8 and up. I know, I tested it. If my daughter can keep up with this plotline, you may find yours can as well. Now, that does not mean you should read the book to your infant or toddler, but I can say an average red-blooded American third-grade girl can follow the story.
⛄- There Snow book like this book. The book has a unique take on its genre and one that has a lot to say.
🔥 - Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire - This book is very much a grown-up book, not meant for the kiddos. Likely it has very adult themes, including sexual ones, but is not exclusive to sex, it may also be violent, or incredibly complicated so that it is not meantt for a child's mind. Some concepts may entirely be from an adult perspective only.
🧦- Stocking Stuffer - While the icon looks like socks the point is that this book could fit in a stocking. Thus, just by size alone, you could give this to someone in a tiny gift box. That's a good thing! It also means it's a perfect size for those White Elephant gift exchanges at work!
🎁 - Gonna need a bigger box - This is a larger sized book, but it fits in a box. I've tested it out, or I've checked the measurements on Amazon to see how big that is. A gift like this one would be tremendous to open up and enjoy.
Without further gilding of the proverbial lily, I want to bring you the jolliest bunch of books for your Holiday list. I'm going to include a link on the title of the book to Amazon if you are interested in making a purchase. I'm in the US, so it's USA Amazon links.
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Picks for Sci-Fi
This year was a good year for science fiction novels. There were many to see, many to hear if you like Audible, but these were my top five favorites.1. Mercury's Son by Luke E.T. Hindmarsh ⛄🔥🎁 - This is one of my favorites from the year. Mercury's Son to me really should be taught in schools. I felt a deep connection to it akin to "1984" or "Brave New World." If you have an introspective friend who loves their ideas challenged, this is an excellent book for a gift. Here was my official review.
2. The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks by William F. Aicher. ⛄🎁 🔥 - This book was a game changer for me, not just as a book reviewer, but as a person. I highly encourage you to give this to someone who needs a challenge to the status quo. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, and send you to the stratosphere. It also is a tangibly fun book to fit into a box, and it's blue! Think about all the gift wrapping options! Here was my official review. Oh, and yeah, I say "The Best Part Of This Book" about a dozen times in the review, but that is because the entire book is the best part. <3
3. Alpha Dawn by Morgan R.R. Haze - 🔥⛄❄️🎁 - Morgan wrote a book that made me feel good all over. Now, this book did a unique thing with the idea of man and ship, but I think anyone who even loves their car as much as a person, will enjoy this book. Send this to your sci-fi friends for a good time in the spaceport tonight. Also, it weighs about a pound, so it fits great into a box, is a pretty color, and it's the start of a series. Here was my official review!
4. The Last Titan by Craig Wainwright -🔥❄️🎁 - This was the last review I did before NaNoWriMo, and it was fun. Do you like your Aliens extra hot? Well, if you have someone in your life who does, get them this book. It's the spice to the stars and has a lot of fun with the tropes it uses. Here was my official review!
5. Salvage by P. Sun Eng - 👪❄️🍗🧦This was a fun Sci-Fi book. It has a lot of great ideas in it, and it probably was the most fun I had reading and eating in a long time. For this, I highly encourage you to get the actual book, tangible and in print. It's a fast little read, doesn't weigh much and is small. Given the dimensions, it should fit in a stocking, but you may want to check on Amazon for that first. I highly encourage you to purchase for friends who love family stories mixed with their sci-fi. Now, this one falls under the idea I may not have scored it very high, but it entirely is a fun book to give and enjoy. My daughter liked many aspects of it when I read it to her, and I really did love the family elements of the story. Here was my review.
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Historical Fiction Delights
I didn't get nearly my fill of this category, so it's not as long of a list as others, but the books that made it deserve it.
1. The King's Justice by E.M Powel. ⛄🔥🎁This book was one of the delights of my year. It had everything I loved about a detective novel, without the insanity of Sherlock Holmes. I loved reading it with it's wit and pacing and, it comes in an Audible as well. Would you like a little mystery with your history? This is an excellent book for it. Here was my review.
2. The Innocents by CA Asbrey -⛄🔥 🎁I cannot say enough about how good this book was, and the rest of this series. If you have someone in your life who loves a good mystery story, and a tale of female empowerment, this is the series for you. But what is more, CA Abrey does so much with detail and alteration in a way that feels authentic and fun. This would be a great stocking stuffer for anyone who loves mystery or romance or historical fiction. Here was my review.
3. Once Upon A Time In The Emerald Isle. -🔥🎁 The very first book I ever reviewed as a reviewer, is this lovely story. I've come a long way since this review, but the themes of the stories in this collection have remained with me. Looking back at it, I think this treasury of tales is lovely for those who want different takes on life. I enjoyed this book, and I think it's perfect for any Irish or European historical fiction fanatic in your life! Here was my review!
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Short Story Delights
1. Fairy Tale Ending: A Creepy LIttle Bedtime Tale by William F. Aicher - ⛄🔥🧦He put up a trailer Y'all, and it's creepy, so click here if you want to see it. This story though, no trailer, no movie could ever become as full as this short story tells. It packs such a punch. Do you have a fan of horror on your list? Do you have someone who needs a little bit of crazy? Or, do you just want to crash a train into someone's perception of fairy tales? Well, this is the little story to get them. It's also an adorable little book and fits perfectly in a stocking. I highly encourage you to pick this up! Here was my review.
2. Sacrificial Love by Sorcha Rowan -❄️🔥 Ladies and Gentlemen meet the short story that made my day better, made my heart ache for my husband and gave me something that was moving to my spirit. This erotica short story is one that has supernatural elements to it but also brings up the beauty of love and how love can stretch over lifetimes and souls. I loved this story, I don't normally enjoy erotica fiction, but Sorcha knows how to write meaning into lust. Get this for that naughty elf in your life on their eReader, and make sure someone is wearing stockings, see-thru for good measure. Here was my review!
3. Part of Me: Whatever it Takes to Save your child's life by Angelo Pagan - ⛄🔥🧦 This book brought pain to my soul in a way I cannot explain, but it was a good pain. Unlike the two above it, this book was intensely personal. It's not written like a pristine perfect book, normally this would have received a low score from me, but I had to look past that. If you have someone in your life who loves touching and organic stories, tales that really move you to your soul, this is a great little stocking stuffer of a book. It made me cry, deeply cry, and it's worth it. Again, not perfect, not the prettiest, but like a hand-carved statue is to a museum this is an enduring tale that adds beauty to the fluidity of life. Here was my review!
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The Darkness of the Season
This category is for all you fans of horror, supernatural and the really dark stuff in your literary diet. This puts the Black into Black Friday Sales and probably is why things get crazy at Walmarts.
1. Depths of Darkness by Crystal L. Kirkham. ❄️🔥⛄🎁 Crystal does a lot with this story, and it is one of the darkest things to come out of print since perhaps the color of ink. If you love a well-crafted tale of horror, this is your book. Here was my review!
2. Demonality: Book One of the Demonality Series by Nadine Thirkell🔥⛄🎁 - I think this is one of the little-known darlings of the supernatural fantasy genre's this year. If you haven't read it, but you love dark fantasy, now is the time to correct that problem. It's not exactly horror, it's more a tale of a girl and a boy. It just is a girl who happens to be in line for the demon throne, but I digress, it's still a very good story with a lot of interesting elements to it. Do you have someone in your life who likes their female empowerment stories with a high injection of darkness and leathery wings? This is your story right here! Here was my review!
3. No Soul, No Service by Sean Erik.❄️⛄🔥 I cannot say enough about this story for pacing and enjoyment, or for that matter, the world building. Again, this is a dark book, with dark themes, but it's dark and smooth like whiskey laced chocolate mousse on a bed of rum soaked chocolate twills. It just goes down smooth and leaves a bite to it. Do you have someone in your life who enjoys a detective story with a kick? This will likely be the perfect book for that person this holiday season. Here was my review!
4. Dracul by Dacre Stoker & JD Barker 🔥⛄🎁- Nothing says darkness like Dracula, and nothing says worthy successor like Dracul. Dracul was co-written by the grandnephew of the great Stoker, and it does not miss the mark. If anything this book will send you to the brink of madness and begging for more. I highly enjoyed this. If you have a friend who loved the classic, or a friend who is into that Victorian Gothic writing that is so perfect with a vampire, this is the book to get them for the Holiday season. Here was my review!
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Empowerment Stories
This list is not entirely made for female empowerment, these stories cover a few things topics that deserve recognition. With this category, we have a spectrum from a tragic loss, family members in danger, mental illness, weight acceptance and even dealing with a hereditary blood issue. Everything in this category was a delight to me, and these books are perfect for a variety of readers that are on your list.1. Delusions by Amy Crandall - ⛄🔥🍗❄️What is better than a twist? A twist that makes your head spin off, that's what. The novel has so many perfect elements to it, and this twist makes anything that M. Knight Shyamalan ever attempted to write in a movie, into sand blowing by the wayside in comparison to Amy's. Amy Crandall's novel is one of those stories that you have to read to believe. Do you have a fan of YA in your life? Perhaps someone just wants to read a really good mystery for a change? This is the story to get them! Here was my review.
2. The Surrogate by Gavin Jefferson -⛄🔥🍗 Imagine a perfect world, with perfect people in it. Now, imagine, who really would be the most desirable? Gavin Jefferson wrote a story that is short but sweet and perfect for those who need a boost on self-worth. Do you have someone in your life who needs a boost? How about just a good story that has a lot of flavor and depth to it? This would be wonderful for someone on that list. Here was my review.
3. Naliyah by Shauna Kelley -⛄🔥❄️ I cannot say enough good things about this book, because it was wonderful. I almost set it in the dark category, but this story has more depth than a dark tale normally does. Shauna wrote something that is touching and terrifying in its own way. Do you have a fan of YA on your list who also likes alternatives to vampire lore? This may just be the perfect book for that person. Here was my review.
4. Heist Society by Ally Carter - ⛄👪❄️I LOVE this book. I needed a heist tale in my life, and when it showed up, it filled the void beautifully. Do you have a fan of the Ocean's Movies on your hands? Do you want a lot of action without graphic violence? Again this is great for your YA fans but also for anyone who loves heist stories. Here was my review.
5. Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster - ⛄🔥For you YA fans who love female empowerment, steampunk and vampires, this really is tailor made. It has some very spicy erotica parts in it but, it also has a lot of interesting worldbuilding as well. I really enjoyed this book, and if you have a romance addiction with a case of the spice, this may be perfect for you. Here was my review.
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Lastly, I'd like to say thank you for reading this everyone. If you like lists like this, let me know in the comments below.
Did the list help you find that perfect gift for your special bibliophile in your life? If so, let me know what helped!
I will be back starting December 1 with more book reviews. I did finish NaNoWriMo, and I'm taking the rest of this month to relax. Happy Thanksgiving to my American Friends, Happy Black Friday Sales to all, and to all a good shop.
And to all the authors on this list as well as those who I reviewed this year, thank you for giving me a wonderful year of books and words. Each of you is special and wonderful, and I loved reviewing the list for you. Thank you for putting up with my typoes, random phrases, and things out of my brain like the phrase 'exposition potato'.
To you all, I thank you for writing your book. After doing NaNoWriMo, I have learned so much about the craft of writing, and each of you deserves thanks.
WIth much warmth and happiness from me to you all,
Mrs. Y.
