My goal for 2024 was to read 52 books and thanks to a great month of reading, I achieved that goal for the year. I read quite a few books in December 2024 and was proud to finish strong after a few months where reading took a back seat. I read some great thrillers, including a holiday themed one, and a jarring non-fiction read as well. Keep scrolling to see everything I read in December 2024.
See my favorite reads from 2022 here, 2023 here, and check out what I’ve read here. You can see the 5 books I read in January here, everything I read in February & March here, what I read in April here, and the 4 books I read in May. Here are 3 books I read in June, 5 books I read in July, and what I read in August 2024, and what I read in September and October 2024, and November 2024 here.
In 2025, I will be sharing my monthly reading recaps over on my Substack where as book related posts here will be more genre based. I would be thrilled to have you subscribe to m y substack in addition to following along here!
Everything I Read in December 2024
Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed – Maureen Callahan
Synopsis
he Kennedy name has long been synonymous with wealth, power, glamor, and–above all else–integrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the pattern of Kennedy men physically and psychologically abusing women and girls, leaving a trail of ruin and death in each generation’s wake. Through decades of scandal after scandal–from sexual assaults to reputational slander, suicides to manslaughter–the family and their defenders have kept the Kennedy brand intact. Now, in Ask Not, bestselling author and journalist Maureen Callahan reveals the Kennedys’ hidden history of violence and exploitation, laying bare their unrepentant sexism and rampant depravity while also restoring these women and girls to their rightful place at the center of the dynasty’s story: from Jacqueline Onassis and Marilyn Monroe to Carolyn Bessette, Martha Moxley, Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Kennedy, and many others whose names aren’t nearly as well known but should be.
Drawing on years of explosive reportage and written in electric prose, Ask Not is a long-overdue reckoning with this fabled family and a consequential part of American history that is still very much with us. At long last, Callahan redirects the spotlight to the women in the Kennedys’ orbit, paying homage to those who freed themselves and giving voice to those who, through no fault of their own, could not.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- I listened to this book on audio and was overwhelmed with grief based on the stories told. That said, some discrepancies did not match the events’ dates, so it felt gossipy, and because I listened on audio, I’m not entirely sure if/how she cited her sources in this book. Regardless, I think some important components of this cause a person to go and research on their own to form their perspective based on this work.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year – Ally Carter
Synopsis
Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.
He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)
But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.
That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.
She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?
As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth–and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.
Assuming they don’t kill each other first.
The laugh out loud holiday “romystery” that you’ve been waiting for!
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- This book was a great holiday read for the thriller girlies! The romance wasn’t super cheesy like it sometimes can be with the holiday reads and I loved the ending *so much.*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
A Home for the Holidays – Taylor Hahn
Synopsis
For wedding singer Mel Hart, the holidays have always retained a certain magic. Her mother, Connie, always managed to pull off spectacular Santa hijinx that convinced Mel to keep believing in Santa way longer than other kids. Those moments meant everything to Mel because the rest of the year, life was unpredictable because of her mother’s alcohol use.
But two weeks before Christmas, Mel gets a call from the hospital: her mother has died.
Then a woman shows up on Mel’s doorstep, claiming to be Connie’s estranged best friend, promising to tell Mel a different narrative–one in which Connie was almost a famous country music star, if only a man hadn’t gotten in the way. Instead of spending Christmas alone in her dead mother’s house, Mel agrees to stay with Barb for the holidays, finding herself in the middle of Barb’s complicated family and uncovering secrets while fighting an attraction to Barb’s in-the-middle-of-a-divorce son. As Christmas approaches, Mel reckons with how little she knew about her mother’s past while reexamining her own future.
A Home for the Holidays is a moving exploration of complicated grief, mother-daughter relationships, loving someone with addiction, and the redemptive power of opening one’s heart to love in all its forms.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- It was a quick read — with traumatic and heartwarming moments. Overall, the story lines moved unrealistically. But I enjoyed it and thought it was a sweet holiday read if you don’t stop and dwell on some of the familial dynamics.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Most Wonderful – Georgia Clark
Synopsis
The holidays are fast approaching, and the Belvedere siblings are a mess. Liz, a Hollywood showrunner and responsible eldest, has no idea how to follow up her hit show’s first season, or how to deal with her giant crush on its star, Violet Grace. Birdie turned her chronic middle-child syndrome into a career as a stand-up comic, but since she spends more time wooing women than working on new material, she’s facing one-hit-wonder status, especially once she gets axed by her manager. And Rafi, sensitive romantic and the baby golden boy, proposes to his co-worker girlfriend in front of their entire company, only to be turned down by the woman he thought was the love of his life.
Born to three different fathers, the three adult children share one mother: famed actress and singer Babs Belvedere. Seeking direction and holiday cheer, all three siblings head up to their mother’s house in the country, determined to swear off love and focus on themselves and their work. But the spirit of the season seems to have different plans for them, and their best intentions are quickly derailed in the most delightful and festive of ways.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- Such a cute holiday rom-com perfect for the season! I loved the family dynamics and the ending was perfect! A must-read in December!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Listen for the Lie – Amy Tintera
Synopsis
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.
The truth is out there, if we just listen.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- I really loved this book! I flew through it and loved the true-crime podcast woven into the story. Lucy’s dry sense of humor is a favorite part of this story, along with mine. I also like the relationship between Lucy and Ben. It’s a really great, fast read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Beautiful Ugly – Alice Feeney
Synopsis
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- I loved Rock, Paper, Scissors, so I was excited to get this early release as my Book of the Month for December. Some parts are slow, but the psychological thriller parts are exceptional. Grady’s character is quite something, and I do like the multiple narrators—they keep readers on their toes. That said, the ending. At times, it felt rushed. But… the last page. Hoooooly shyte.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Five-Star Stranger – Kat Tang
Synopsis
Would you hire someone to be the best man at your wedding? Your stand-in brother? The father to your child?
In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, Five-Star Stranger follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app as he navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients.
But, when an eccentric patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother, and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- This book has a lot of potential and it started out really strong. Someway towards the middle and end of the novel, it gets a bit more confusing and the ending feels rushed and a lot to be desired.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
