Best Books of 2025 — My Top 10 Favourites

First off I should clarify that this is a list of favourite books that I read in 2025. It is not a list of favourite books published in 2025. Although, there are two books here that do fit that description. 

Secondly, I know what my number one book of the year is, but while I did try to come up with an order for the remaining nine books it felt arbitrary. After a month of trying to rank them, I gave up. In 2024, I couldn’t even come up with a top 10, it was a top 29. I never did publish that post, because by the time I had whittled the list down to 11 books, it was February, and the moment had passed. In 2023, I was only able to get the list down to 32 books! And a top 32 books of the year just sounds mad. What I can tell you with certainty about this list for 2025 is that every book deserves to be here.

Thirdly, I have made a YouTube video to compliment this post. Where I fail at eloquence I believe I make up for in enthusiasm. You can judge for yourself. (Watch the video here.)

And now, here they are, in no particular order, the Top 10 Best Books I Read in 2025.

The Woman in the Hall by G.B. Stern (1939)

We are starting off strong with a chunky book from the British Library Women Writers collection. Lorna Blake, a professional beggar, solicits money from the select rich by calling on them at home and spinning a story that all but ensures she has money in hand by the time she walks out the door. The rush of swindling promises excitement that is lacking in the rest of Lorna’s life. Like a gambler who cannot kick the habit, Lorna goes out again, and again, dragging one or the other of her daughters, Molly and Jay, with her. Molly soon dreads hearing that they are going out “Visiting”, but Jay develops her own complicated fascination with the task.

I thought I saw where this one way going, but it turns out I didn’t have a clue. I enjoyed reading this one slowly. This is such a rich text for unpicking the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, and between sisters. But there is also a feeling of foreboding as the net tightens around Lorna, which makes this book a bit of a page-turner. Read it fast or slow, I cannot recommend it enough. (Read my full review of The Woman in the Hall here.)

Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning (1934)

I was completely swept away with Katherine Dunning’s novel, The Spring Begins. Her descriptions of setting are gorgeous. The women in this book are so well described, and you cannot help but feel for each of them. And I think she does a fantastic job of capturing the tension, unease, and vulnerability of being a woman, especially—I assume—a woman in domestic service in the 1930s.

Despite the title, this book is set in the heat of summer. The spring referred to is a figurative one alluding to the awakening of three women. Lottie is a young nurse maid who cares for the two Kellaway girls, and is painfully innocent and fearful of the world of men. Maggie, the Kellaways’ scullery maid, is more knowing of men, but perhaps not as experienced with them as Cook seems to think. The oldest of the three women, Hessie, is a spinster and governess to the two Benson girls at the nearby rectory. When her younger sister gets engaged she faces a crisis. 

I loved seeing Lottie’s love for the children she looks after, Maggie’s strong sense of self, but Hettie, turned out to be the real wonder for me. It took me longer to warm up to her, but the journey she must travel in her awakening takes her the furthest. I won’t spoil how her story progresses, but I will say it is not the only aspect of this book that took me by surprise.

I loved this book. It is not plot-y, but how the narrative alternates between these three women’s perspectives kept me glued to the page. (Read my full review of Spring Begins here.)

London Particular by Christianna Brand (1952)

This is my favourite book the British Library have republished in their Crime Classics collection. London Particular is atmospheric, thrilling, smart, twisty, and provides a good dose of humour to boot.

On a typically foggy November night in 1950s London, a couple are trying to find their way to a dying man, after receiving a strange phone call to a doctor’s surgery urging someone to come quick. They arrive at the house to discover the man has been murdered.

When Rosie’s brother becomes a main suspect, she enlists the help of family friend, Inspector Cockrill, to aid the police in their investigations. Cockie is sharp, smart, dependable, and so very likeable.

In the long, white firelit drawing-room the victim bowed and smiled and reeled off his devoirs before the serious work of the evening should begin; within the radius of one fog-bound mile, were these seven people, one of whom was very shortly going to murder him.

This book kept me guessing through to the very last stunning sentence. 

I highly recommend picking this one up if you like character driven mysteries with intricately woven plots that will keep you reading well past your bed time. (Read my full review of London Particular here.)

The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White (1936)

This book is battling it out with London Particular as my favourite book in the British Library Crime Classics collection.

The wheel was still spinning for her.

And since their fates were interlinked it was spinning also for Miss Froy.

Having seen her friends off a couple of days ago, Iris Carr is left to travel home from her European holiday by herself. While waiting at the train station, she collapses in the hot sun. Feeling ill and disoriented, she is bundled into a packed compartment as the train pulls away from the platform. She gets a cold feeling from her fellow travellers, and has the odd impression that they don’t like her. 

Thankfully, a woman, who introduces herself as Miss Froy, befriends Iris and noticing she doesn’t look well, takes her under her wing. Feeling better after a cup of tea, Iris drifts off to sleep.

When Iris awakes Miss Froy is no longer sitting across from her. At first Iris assumes the woman has just stepped out of the compartment, but as time goes on, Iris’s worry builds. Iris questions her fellow passengers about the missing woman, but they all say they don’t know who she is talking about. The suggestion is made that Iris has dreamt the woman up, a side effect of the heatstroke she is recovering from. 

At first, Iris even doubts herself. But the more she thinks of all the details that chatty Miss Froy shared with her, Iris becomes certain that Miss Froy is not simply a figment of her imagination. 

Miss Froy is missing and her fellow passengers must be lying about it. But who would want to harm a middle-aged governess, who herself claims not to have an enemy in the world?

This is a beautifully written book, full of atmosphere, tension, and—a rare thing to find in a mystery thriller—hope.

If the plot sounds at all familiar that’s because this book was adapted for film in 1938 by Alfred Hitchcock under the title The Lady Vanishes. And a very good adaption it is, though much more humorous and lighthearted than the book. (Read my full review The Wheel Spins here.)

The Christmas Egg by Mary Kelly (1958)

I absolutely loved this book. I read it during the festive season and it was exactly what I wanted to be reading. Snowy, Christmassy, and thrilling! 

A Russian princess who many years ago escaped the Russian Revolution for London is found murdered in her flat. It is rumoured she fled Russia with a chest of jewels, which her grandson had seen recently, but there is no sign of the priceless gems at the scene. What follows is a compelling mystery which escalates to the dramatic climax which takes our detective to the Kentish countryside decked out in snow-covered glory.

Just thinking about the final few chapters of this book makes me want to read it again before the winter is over, and write a proper review for it while I’m at it! 

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (1965)

This is book one in The Dark is Rising Sequence. My friend, Mary, gifted me this book with a beautiful bookmark she had painted and three tea bags, with the suggestion that I spend a lovely day drinking tea and reading this book. One day in late summer, I did just that. 

Great-Uncle Merry meets siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney at a train station in Cornwall, the land of King Arthur. And King Arthur just so happens to be Barney’s favourite hero. Then he finds a parchment in his uncle’s attic, an old map that will send them on a quest to find a grail. That would be exciting enough. But little do they know, they are caught in a battle between good and evil which has them lost between two worlds.

Set in summer amongst a seaside village with cliffs that plunge into the wild sea hiding caves and crevices for great adventures and intrigue. Wonderfully tense, exciting, and — the essential ingredient when good and evil are battling it out — hope. 

I loved this book so much that I was daunted by the task of trying to articulate my feelings about it. I can’t think about this book without feeling a longing to sit down with it again. Save this one for a summer day and binge it in one sitting.

Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery (1933)

Patricia Gardiner is a young girls who lives with her family on their farm, Silver Bush, on Prince Edward Island, Canada. One day is much the same as the next on the farm, until they are not. From starting school and getting a baby sister, to attending her aunt’s wedding, through to Pat’s own first romance, she grows up and manages the changes as best she can but always comes back to her home, Silver Bush, the one place that doesn’t change. Well, not too much anyway. 

I started this book in the third week of September and only just finished it in December. This is a book that made me feel a lot. I wanted to savour it, but I also found myself not wanting to read too much at once. Big feelings are best felt in small doses, I find. I recognise that my strong feelings for this book might not be shared by others. I identified with Pat to a great extent, and at the risk of sounding a bit silly, this book and her character made me feel seen. 

In the end they found a beauty spot … a deep, still, woodland pool out of which the brook flowed, fed by a diamond trickle of water over the stones of a little hill. Around it grew lichened spruces and whispering maples, with little “cradle hills” under them; and just beyond a breezy slope with a few mossy, grass-grown sticks scattered here and there, and a bluebird perched on the point of a picket. It was all so lovely that it hurt. Why, Pat wondered, did lovely things so often hurt?

I think it’s a special book, even when compared to the many other wonderful books Lucy Maud Montgomery has written. But beyond my admiration for Maud’s ability to capture what it is to grow up as a girl who loves home and feels everything deeply, this is just a great book. It is full of nostalgia and longing for childhood, and I don’t think it is a stretch to suggest that Maud explored her own feelings of longing for Prince Edward Island when she was writing this book. There is no big plot, just small moments in a young girl’s life, appreciating nature, happiness, and heartbreak, and sometimes, all of these things at once.

The Eights by Joanna Miller (2025)

Since I stopped using Goodreads, I started keeping a Books Read list. Next to each title I write a short note to myself. Usually, it’s no more than a sentence, sometimes it’s just a few words. Next to this one I wrote, “what’s next for these women???” I would love a follow up book to this one, not because I didn’t think the ending was satisfying, but because I didn’t want to be without these women in my life. 

Joanna Miller’s debut novel was an absolute treat. I found myself trying to spin out the time I got to spend with the four women in this fabulous book. Even so, the time went by much too quickly.

1920 — Oxford University has for the first time in its 1,000-year history admitted female students as full members of the university. In October, at the start of Michaelmas term, four young women move into Corridor Eight of St. Hugh’s College. Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto couldn’t be more different, but soon the unlikely quartet become the closest of friends. 

Not everyone is happy about women being allowed in the university and from the first day the foursome find themselves facing that opposition head-on.

Outside of living on the same floor at their college, these four would not likely have been attracted to each other. But the combination of living in close proximity, the common goal of getting an Oxford education, and an incident they experience just after meeting, all create the perfect circumstances to make their friendship not just believable, but feel natural and true.

What first attracted me to this book was the time and place in history in which it is set. I felt thoroughly immersed in the world of this well-researched novel. I marvelled at how many rules were imposed on the women students that were required of their male contemporaries, and the references to Winifred Holtby, Vera Brittain, Agatha Christie, and Thomas Hardy gave me a little thrill.

But what makes this book such an endearing one is the friendship that forms between Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto. I appreciated that they were never in competition with each other. These women are individually such bright lights, but together they shine even brighter.

I want to thank Kathryn (@_the_book_bug_ on Instagram) for bringing this book to my attention. After reading her review I couldn’t get the book out of my head. A day later, I pre-ordered it. (Read my full review of The Eights here.)

Love Divine by Ysenda Maxtone Graham (2025)

This book begins on a blustery day in early January in the village of Lamley Green. People are just waking up, making hot cuppas, and opening the curtains. But the curtains at 12 Holly Grove remain closed as letters of condolence are pushed through the letterbox.

Lucy Fanthrope, whose husband Nick, respected lawyer and dependable member of the church choir, died unexpectedly on New Year’s Day. The letters are variable in nature, some touching, some funny, in many the writers come across as shockingly self-involved.

We are privy to many perspectives across the wide range of characters who live in this village. Everyone is connected in this small community both to each other and through the parish church, St Luke’s, which is currently without a resident rector and suffering through a long interregnum. 

There’s Carol, who volunteers to do the church coffee service. Vicki and Eliot who are facing the uphill battle of running a B&B. New to the village, Chantelle will stop at nothing to get her daughter into the oversubscribed church school. And then there is my personal favourite, Hugh. Newly retired schoolmaster, who lives with his dog Odo, and has every piece of his clothing on a numbered rotation.

The characters in this book are either facing loss or are going through a phase of transition in their lives. Maxtone Graham does a wonderful job of capturing how as one is facing supreme sadness and loss, life is dotted with moments of beauty and joy. 

I shed more than a couple of tears while reading this book, but I mostly giggled, smiled, smirked, and nodded along to the ridiculous, funny, endearing, relatable bits in this glorious book. I wholeheartedly loved it. Set over the course of year, starting in January, this would be a great book to pick up right now. (Read my full review of Love Divine here.)

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a metal. Instead, let me tell you about the best book I read in 2025...

Crooked Cross by Sally Carson (1934)

I read Sally Carson’s Crooked Cross back in April, when it was first republished by Persephone Books. Even then I knew it was going to be among my top ten this year, and I was all but certain it would be in the number one slot. It’s just that kind of book.

It is a powerful account of the rise of Nazism in Germany and how it affects one family in a small Bavarian market town in the mountains south of Munich. It begins at Christmas 1932. The Klugers are happy and looking forward to the future with optimism for the first time in years. The younger son has joined the Nazi Party and the elder son who has been unable to find work soon joins up too. The daughter Lexa, is engaged to Moritz Weissmann, a surgeon with a bright future. Moritz and his father, celebrate Christmas with the Klugers and the two families already feel joined. In the new year, Hitler is elected Chancellor, and everything changes. 

Moritz loses his job at the hospital because he is Jewish, and he is unable to find another. With no money coming in, Moritz and his father are forced to move to a one-room flat. Soon Lexa’s brothers, Erich and Helmy, are telling Lexa that surely she must see that she has to give Moritz up because he is a Jew. 

All her muddled ideas and thoughts, her worries and anxieties for Moritz had a reason, a point, an ending now. This was her loyalty; this was where she had to act. This was her moment, the moment for which she must have been waiting.

This book is powerful. It’s moving. It’s devastating. Hard to believe it was published in 1934, just a year after some of the events in the novel take place, and without the hindsight of what was going to happen in Germany. This is not a cosy book, but it is so important. Everyone should read this book. (Read my full review of Crooked Cross here.)

Final thoughts

In general, I read a lot of books that are either out of print or have recently been republished, so I’m not surprised this is evident in this list. But what I was surprised about is that half the books on this list were originally published in the 1930s. And a quarter of the books I read this year were from this decade. The only decade that was close to that were the 2020s, with 22 per cent, and almost half of those books were published in 2025. I have never before tracked the publication years of the books I’ve been reading. I started thinking about it when I heard Simon Thomas from the Tea or Books? podcast talking about his Century of Books challenge. 

Like I said at the start of this post, I read so many wonderful books this year that it was very difficult to narrow the list down to just 10. I am not a decisive person and I hate having to pick favourites, because it is so definite. To state the obvious, once you pick a favourite book or top 10, you are leaving out any number of wonderful books that you may have read over the course of the year. It feels a bit harsh. Frankly, it feels mercenary to me. But I strive to champion the very best books, always, which is why I feel it is necessary to put myself through this decision making torture.

I would love to know if there are any reading stats that you like to track, or have decided to start tracking in 2026. And what was the best book you read in 2025? Or best books? I, of all people, can understand if you cannot pick just one.

Some of the books in this post were sent to me by publishers, but as always, all opinions on these books are my own. Thank you British Library Publishing and Slightly Foxed for being so generous to me in 2025.

***If you got something out of this post, please consider subscribing to my blog. You can find the email sign up on the right hand side at the top of this page (on desktop version only), or click on the link here. You will receive a confirmation email in your inbox (or possibly your junk folder). Once you click to confirm your email address you will receive an email notification whenever a new blog post goes up. And, of course, you can unsubscribe at any time. Feel free to email me if you have any trouble subscribing, or if you just want to chat about books. I would love to hear from you! Whether you subscribe or not, I’m thankful you are here.***

December Reading Wrap Up

As I was sick in December and through the start of January, I am a little behind with my reading update and reviews. Okay, okay. I'm A LOT behind. But I've been reading some fabulous books that I am no less excited to share.

All the ⭐️🌟✨💫🌠

The Snowstorm by Beryl Netherclift*

I have been wanting to read this book for ages and it did not disappoint. As it is set in January, I am seriously considering reading this one again soon. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys children's adventure stories, time slip novels, old houses, and snowstorms! This just might make my top ten list of 2023.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Shining like a bright light wherever she goes, Anne is touching and whimsical. She is also cursed with getting herself into scrapes! This is a lovely, heart wrenching book that I would not recommend reading on the train unless you're extremely comfortable with crying in public. This is one children's book that stands up to rereading as an adult.

Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther*

Made up of slice of life episodes that were originally published in The Times, this one is simply a delight! It starts in October and ends on 25 September 1939. My only regret is that I didn't savour this one more. The articles are like potato chips and I finished the entire bag in a couple of sittings. No matter! I will most certainly be rereading this one in the future.

5 ⭐️

Christmas at Fairacre by Miss Read

This is an omnibus containing novels from Miss Read's Fairacre series, The Christmas Mouse and No Holly for Miss Quinn, as well as the short story, "Christmas at Fairacre School". If you like sweet and cosy stories where nothing bad happens, then Miss Read has got you covered. These are stories for when you are feeling a bit fragile and need nurturing. I try to reread this book every December.

Cherry Ames, Student Nurse by Helen Wells

Cherry Ames has dreamed of becoming a nurse. She is certain it is her calling, but does she have what it takes to withstand the training? Will she get her cap at the end of probation or will she be asked to leave? I'm not going to lie to you. This one made me cry. I suspect I'm growing soft in my old age! 

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

This book is funny and delightful. Full of the delicious flights of fancy that readers of the first book in the series, Anne of Green Gables, will recognize and love. For me, this book has less raw emotion compared to Anne of Green Gables, but it makes for a more comfortable reading experience. I had not read this one since I was a child, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it stands up to my memory of it.

Christmas with Rosamunde Pilcher by Rosamunde Pilcher, Andreas von Einsiedler (Photographer), Siv Bublitz (Editor)

This is a lovely book containing photographs of the writer, Rosamunde Pilcher, and her family at her home in Scotland at Christmas. She shares her favourite Christmas memories, family traditions, and recipes. It also contains one of my favourite short stories by her, "Miss Cameron at Christmas". I have borrowed this book from my library every December for the last three years. I really ought to find myself a copy, because the month wouldn't be the same without a reread of this lovely book.

Peter's Room by Antonia Forest

This is the fifth book in Antonia Forest's Marlow series. In part, these books are boarding school stories, but unlike many books from that genre, we also get to see the children at home. In this one, it is the start of the Christmas holidays and the entirety of the book takes place before the children go back to school. 

Peter Marlow clears out a disused outbuilding and claims it as his own, but the building looks pretty appealing to a few of the other children too. Soon, the twins, Nicola and Lawrie, along with Ginty, and their neighbour, Patrick Merrick, are all spending time there. Ginty, who has been studying the Brontës at school, is fascinated by Gondal, the make-believe land the Brontës created. When she suggests they create a Gondal of their own, some of the children are more game than others to play along. But before long their make-believe world begins to blur the lines of reality. 

Although, it is set over the Christmas holidays, this is not a Christmas book. Which is fine with me, as it does not claim to be. I have to admit, when I realized that full chapters were taken up with the story the children are telling themselves, I was a little worried it would get boring. Let me tell you, I was not bored in the least! This book has such an odd (not to mention, a bit unlikely) premise, but Antonia Forest makes it work. I should have know she would! Highly recommend!

4.5 ⭐️

Mistletoe Malice by Kathleen Farrell

A dysfunctional family congregated over Christmas at the matriarchal home. Starting the day before Christmas, and set over four days, tensions rise as the festivities reach their climax.

I rarely read book summaries before diving into a book, so I did not read the summary through to the end before starting this book. Thankfully, that meant I didn't going into this one with the expectation that a Christmas tree would explode only to be disappointed, like a lot of readers were. 

It also didn't remind me of Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles, which is referenced on the cover. And the comparison of Kathleen Farrell's writing to Elizabeth Taylor's, as it is on the back cover, creates unrealistic expectations, in my opinion.

However, I really enjoyed this book and I would love to read more of Kathleen Farrell's books. I would love it if Faber were to republish all of her books, because vintage copies are impossible to find online.

The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me is because there was a little too much exposition for my liking. I would have preferred some things to be left unsaid so I could come to my own conclusions. After a while I got used to the style, but I still would have liked to have gone through and given it a good edit. 

This is also not a cosy or particularly festive book. Still, I enjoyed it enough to read it in November, and then again in December and the writing style bothered me less with the second reading.

Country Chronicle by Gladys Taber*

This was my first Gladys Taber and it certainly will not be my last. This book journeys through the seasons at Gladys Taber's seventeenth century Connecticut farmhouse, Stillmeadow. The perfect balance of descriptions of the surrounding landscape, of the animals -- both domestic and wild -- and of her home. When I reached the end I had this incredible urge to immediately start over from the beginning. No doubt, I will be reading this one again soon.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because there were a few instances where information was imparted as though it hadn't already been mentioned earlier. Of course, I'm fine when a topic is referred to a second time, but I would prefer that it was not treated as though it were new information. It gives one the unsettling feeling of déjà vu. 

Castle Deadly, Castle Deep by Veronica Bond

This is book two in Veronica Bond's series, A Dinner and A Murder Mystery. Set in the autumn, this is the perfect cosy mystery. There is a castle, a murder, the theatre world, kittens, lots of descriptions of delicious food and the autumnal landscape, not to mention, a lot of sweet characters. I would describe Veronica Bond's books as being a lovely mix of Nancy Drew and Miss Read. Julia Buckley is the writer behind the pseudonym Veronica Bond and I love the books she writes under her own name too, especially her Writer's Apprentice Mystery series. 

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

This book starts on Midwinter's Eve and I cannot think of a more haunting read for this time of year. It is the day before Will Staunton's birthday and his greatest wish is for it to snow. This will be a birthday that he will never forget.

The only reason I did not give this 5 stars is because I found myself questioning the magic system around Will's quest. However, I would not take that as a reflection of the book, rather, on the fact that I rarely read fantasy books and sometimes struggle with suspending my disbelief.

I have to thank Liz (@pony.books) for letting me know that this book can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this one so much that I plan to go back and start the series from the beginning.

4 ⭐️

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene, Mildred Wirt (Ghostwriter)

I will be reviewing this one soon, so I won't say too much about it here. It has got an old mansion in it, which the owners believe is haunted. I mean, what more could you want in a mystery book for children?

Cheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell

This is the ninth book in Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire series. Because I read a fair number of books that are out of print and thus harder to find, I have got into the habit of reading books as I acquire them, which means I frequently read series out of order. Thanks to Virago reprinting them, these books are in print, so there was no reason why I should have read book nine in this series when I had only previously read the first one, High Rising. 

There are so many character names to keep straight with this one that I was more than halfway through before I started enjoying myself. Needless to say, I plan to go back to the beginning and read this series in order. Despite my confusion with the characters, this book still managed to scrape by with a 4-star rating.

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M.C. Beaton

The Agatha Raisin series is perfect for when you are ill or have very little bandwidth for reading. I have read the series through once in order and now I'm rereading the odd one as the urge strikes me. Agatha Raisin spends a lot of time getting her hair done in this one as an excuse to dig up the dirt on a hairdresser that seemed a little too good to be true, that is, right up until he died. Isn't it funny how death can change people?

I Visit the Soviets: The Provincial Lady in Russia by E.M. Delafield

About a year ago, Liz recommended this book to me and after rereading The Diary of a Provincial Lady back in November, I finally got myself a copy. I now understand why people say this book is not like E.M. Delafield's other Provincial Lady books.

In this book, she visits Russia after the Revolution while it is under Communism. It feels like even Delafield, with all of her sparking wit, has to work to find the humour in her experiences. There are funny moments, but it is not nearly as light as the first book in this series.

I also found the structure of the book to be a bit odd. The sections were not laid out in chronological order and I really think it would have worked better, and been less confusing, if they had been. 

As a note to anyone thinking of buying the same edition as mine: My copy is missing page 122. That is to say, the page is there but it is blank. It is the first page in a section called, "Margaret Was Right", so it is definitely not supposed to be blank! I'm waiting to hear back from the publisher and hoping they can replace my copy or send me the missing page. 

3 ⭐️

Winter Carnival by Francine Pascal*

When I was young, I read all of the Sweet Valley High books I could get my hands on. I loved reading about twin girls who could not be more different from each other.

It was very odd reading this one as an adult. I remember, I used to find Elizabeth a bit dull, while her sister Jessica was a lot more fun. But what struck me this time was how selfish Jessica is and how Elizabeth (and the rest of her family) simply allow Jessica to walk all over them. More worrying is that the lesson Elizabeth learns at the end is that she should forgive Jessica and be thankful she has a sister. Not a bad lesson to teach kids, but within the context of the story it seemed very misplaced.

There is also a dream sequence that goes on for more than a chapter. I remember reading that part as a kid and thinking that was just the sort of thing we were told not to do in creative writing. I am even more embarrassed than ever to admit how much I loved these books! 

Overall, I would say I had a very productive, and more importantly, enjoyable reading month. I usually read eight to ten books over the course of a month, but as I was sick and we did not have a lot on over the holidays, I had hours of free time to read. Bliss!

All of the books marked with an * were given to me by the lovely Gina (@babsbelovedbooks). Thank you so much, my friend! Like me, Gina rang in the New Year by starting a book blog! You can find her beautiful blog here. I am so excited for her!

Fingers crossed, I hope to have my first post for 56 Weeks with Nancy Drew up tomorrow.

How did your reading go in December? Did you read an old favourite or, perhaps, find a new one? Please, let me know in the comments. I would love to hear about what you have been reading!