baby, it’s cold outside! | the end of the year book tag

Hello again, dear friends, and welcome back to my little patch of internet! Well, it’s that time of year where the days are growing shorter and the weather is getting colder and the music is getting…jingle-y-er…That’s right: the end of the year is drawing near! So, of course, there’s no better way to celebrate than doing the End of the Year Book Tag, created by Ariel Bissett! I know I’m a tad late doing this tag, but in my defence, the tag’s name is a bit misleading, okay?!

Before anything, the most important thing to say: Free Palestine!!! Since the Nakba, The Israeli government has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people. This HAS BEEN a decades long thing, but now in the age of social media, more and more Westerners are being made aware of the truth of this situation. This is genocide. Now is not the time to sit idle and ignorant. The people of Palestine are begging us to educate ourselves, spread information, take to the streets in protest, and call our government representatives, in addition to donating to medical and relief organizations if possible. The following are some resources where you can do just that, and I am begging you to please do so:

• Decolonize Palestine
• Anti-Racism Daily: Stop The Genocide in Gaza
• Save Palestine Carrd
• Arab.org: Click to help Palestine
• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
• @sbeih.jpg (Subhi)
• Refuser Solidarity Network

FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

I’d like to try to finish up Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I started the book at the beginning of this year and somehow set it down and got distracted, despite loving what I’d read so far. The book actually takes place in winter, though, so I feel like it’s the perfect season to finish it!

I also definitely need to finish up Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros! I started it around June and now I’m 80% through, so I’m so close!! Despite my inability to completely finish Fourth Wing, I am really enjoying it. It’s a light, fun fantasy romance reminiscent of ACOTAR in terms of its steaminess, and I’ve needed that little hint of sexy fun in my life lately.*

*Since writing this I’ve learned that there is a strong likelihood that Rebecca Yarros is a Zionist, so while I will be finishing this book and possibly will borrow the second audiobook from my library, I have committed to no longer discussing her books (or any other Zionists’ books) on my blog.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

I think it’s a bit late for this question in my case, seeing as one of my recently finished reads was A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, and I feel like that fulfilled all of my autumnal transition reading desires! It was just the perfect watery, dreary and dark representation of a coastal autumn for a Mid Atlantic coastal girly like me!

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Now that the year is mostly gone, many of my most anticipated book releases have passed, but there are still a couple that remain for the tail end of november plus the month of december, luckily!

I LOVED This Vicious Grace and was touched by the representation of an ADHD girly like me in fantasy, so of course I’m beyond ready for the sequel, This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede. This Vicious Grace wrapped up pretty neatly, so I’m iterested to see where Thiede takes Alessa and her gang in this next book!

Honestly I don’t know too much about A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford, but I do know that it’s a queer Adult romantasy with an absolutely GORGEOUS cover, and that’s enough knowledge to get me interested, lmao!

The physical copy of The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma released early this year, but the audiobook copy doesn’t release until November 28th—which is perfect since that’s my birthday! I’ve been waiting a long time to read this book, since it was previously self-published and received rave reviews before it was even picked up by a traditional publisher.

Last but not least, there’s The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen, which is a last minute addition to this list that I’m actually quite excited for! The reason why I’m so excited is because it’s a fantasy adaptation of The Nutcracker, which is one of my favorite stories that I’ve almost never seen adapted!

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

The minute I saw the dedication in my ARC copy of The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon (“I did this for the rats”) I knew it was for me, lmao! But in all seriousness, this book seems so interesting from my first impression from the ARC I got, and I can’t wait to really dig into it!

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle looks like yet another wet, moody dark academia fantasy and after A Study in Drowning I am so ready for more of that vibe!

I purchased the audiobook of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig when it was first released, which was about a year ago. Strangely enough, I hadn’t heard anything about this book until I saw a wave of rave reviews from pretty recently?

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year?

I just started reading The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi recently and oh. my. god!!! It is so good, ya’ll! It’s an adult fantasy, but it’s also surprisingly accessible to readers? The story hits “go” from the very beginning and I’ve been totally hooked ever since! Long story short, I can definitely see this book becoming a new favorite!

Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

I guess kind of, at least in regards to what new releases I plan on adding to my “possibility pile.” A lot of my anticipated releases for the end of 2023 were moved to releasing in early 2024, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to them in January, February, March, and April of 2024. Plus I’m looking forward to some books that have recently been announced to release during that period anyway. And then there’s my…backlist books pile (*cue shocked and horrified gasps*)! As for any bookish goals, I think the only one I really have is to at least partially complete the challenges and readathons I take part in (which is tough for a squirelly ADHD girly such as yours truly, lol!).

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.