Wayward Bookshelf

When Witches Sing: Adventures in Levena: Yuletide Special by Aelina Isaacs We're back in Levena, and it's Yuletide! This novella takes place several years after the end of Phantom and Rook, and life has also continued to move forward. Our characters have aged, the kids have grown up and we get to see them all celebrate the winter holiday together. Some of my favorite moments were those with the pack of mostly-grown children still getting to act like kids. And this book gets especially celebratory after Arlo gets the gift he's been waiting over a decade for! The timing in the story for this novella is interesting, because it takes place long after the next book in the series, which hasn't come out yet. So there are bits that definitely feel glossed over, but I was ok with it knowing that we'll get answers in the next novel-length book coming in 2023. I think it will be fun to re-read this one again next holiday season after having filled in some of those gaps. This...

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva This was the Christmas book I needed this year, even though it’s not strictly speaking a Christmas book. As someone who reads Dickens’ Christmas Carol every year, and watches several movie versions of it to boot, I really enjoyed a little different take this year.