Share Your Shelf December 2025

 

Now that I'm back to reading, this link-up is just what I need. Look at the bottom of the post for the hosts, see what others are reading, and for inspiration for new books to read. Here are my books this month:

Book Six of The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley. I didn't feel a connection with this sister (Electra), but what a mess she is! Of course, (spoiler alert) she gets her act together and ends up contributing hugely to society. I didn't think this book was as good as the other ones; we'll see how the next book turns out.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get to this book this month, but I did. And I'm glad I did! I thought the Sun Sister wasn't up to par with the others in this series, but this was definitely was. It finished with a real cliffhanger, so I had to read the last book in the series:

Harry Whittaker is Lucinda Riley's son. He wrote the book for her since she passed away before the book was published. He explains in the Forward that she had notes but hadn't planned on organizing and writing the book, but she ended up getting it in order, and he wrote it after she passed away. Well done, Mr. Whittaker! All of the questions in the previous books are answered.

I'm obsessed with WWII and the Resistance, but I haven't read a book from that period in a while. This book did not disappoint. Based on a couple of real people, this book follows 3 young ladies: 1 in New York, 1 in Poland, and 1 in Germany. The NY and German were real people; the German was a doctor at Ravensbrück. At one point, all of their lives intertwine. I read some of it before I went to bed one night, and I couldn't go to sleep because I kept thinking about the situation. It was tough, for sure. It was an excellent book; I would definitely recommend it. 

This was the Advent read by Matthew Kelly, who is the founder of Dynamic Catholic. Dynamic Catholic hosts yearly Best Advent Ever and Best Lent Ever. During Advent, he took a section of the book and talked about it in short (usually less than 5 minutes) videos. It took me all month to read, but there are some good nuggets in there. The basis of the book is that finding joy is all about slowing down. It made me realize that, since CH's passing, I have learned to slow down. Well, maybe not as much as I should, but I've got a good start on it.

I can sum this book up in one word: WOW. Cam is a literary agent; Luke is a ghostwriter. They have a 9-month-old baby girl, and it's Cam's first day back to work after maternity leave. The day starts off strange when Luke isn't there to help her get Polly ready and take her to daycare. It gets weirder when there's a commotion (with a lot of police), and Cam discovers Luke is involved...and not in a good way. She keeps repeating that Luke is a good person, so how could he have been involved? There are quite a few twists in this book; I guessed one of them correctly, but it didn't take away from the excitement. This is another must-read!

I picked up this book in the bookshop at the Skellig Experience during my trip to Ireland in June. If you know anything about Skellig Michael, this is a must-read. If you don't know about Skellig Michael, you can click here to learn about it.

Eliza is married to James, a Principal Keeper who has been assigned to Skellig Michael. They have 2 young sons, and soon after arrival, discover Eliza is pregnant. The conditions are harsh; in the book, they only have each other until an Assistant and his wife join them. Then the drama begins. I always say that I know it's a good book if it makes me cry, and this one made me cry. It was a fairly quick read; I read most of it in 1 day. 

And now, what (I'm sure) everyone has been waiting for: The Hop Shelf Reads Book.

It is very rare that I would not recommend a book. This one is it. After the first 200 or so pages, I didn't like it. For the next meeting, I actually read over the required number of pages because I had to know what was going to happen. Suffice it to say, that feeling didn't last. Even one member, who said she really liked the book, changed her mind after the third meeting. I have no idea why Mr. Lamb put in some of the things he did; they have no bearing on the book. Suddenly, there would be some random act of perversion that did not need to be included. One lady (who was away for this book) told our facilitator that she read the book 3 times, and told her to encourage us to keep going because the end was worth it. It was not. All I can say is that I'm glad we're done with this one!

If you need ideas for what to read next, check out the hosts' blogs:

Slices of Life

My Joyful Life

Memphis Bridges