Over-Booked [213] – December Book Haul

Welcome to Over-Booked, where I share my latest and greatest book acquisitions! There is a new blog hosting Stacking the Shelves, so do check out Reading Reality for more information!

It’s the last book haul of the year, and it’s a fairly large one! I am currently reading two of these (January releases), so I’m off to a good start. Here are the books I received from publishers in December:

Books in the mail for review:

The first three books are from the wonderful team at Tor, thank you! Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire is book #11 in the Wayward Children series, and I’m happy to say I haven’t missed a book yet!

The Body by Bethany C. Morrow is a horror book I’ve been anticipating for a while, so I’m very happy to have a review copy. I am seeing some mixed reviews on Goodreads, but I’m hopeful it will work for me:-)

Finally from Tordotcom, I’m very excited to continue Olivia Waite’s fun generational ship sci-fi series with Nobody’s Baby. I also want to point out that I wasn’t able to fill in the “N” spot on my Alphabet challenge this year, so at least I’ll be able to cross that letter off next year!

Big thanks to Saga Press for On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield. This is Southern gothic horror, and I’ve seen some good reviews. This is a January release so look for more next month!

Courtesy of the great folks at Orbit Books, I’m thrilled to have a copy of Nightshade & Oak by Molly O’Neill, one of my most highly anticipated fantasies.

Orbit also sent a copy of For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce. This is a horror/sci-fi about “a dating app that matches people with dead bodies.” What??

I have yet to try Johnny Compton, so I’m excited to have a copy of Dead First, his upcoming horror novel. It sounds like fun! With thanks to G.P. Putnam’s sons:-)

Huge thanks to publicist Megan Beatie for the first two books starting with A Spell For Saints and Sinners by Emily Carpenter. I don’t know much about this other than what’s in the blurb, but I love the idea of a Southern gothic mystery with a You vibe. Overall rating is pretty low on Goodreads, but we shall see!

Invasive Species by Ellery Adams, on the other hand, has great ratings and sounds like fun.

I was beyond excited to receive a copy of Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart, with thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons! This is such a ridiculously fun series, and if you love humorous, heartfelt thrillers, you need to read it.

A Lie For A Lie by Ren DeStefano is a thriller from an author I’ve never read before. I love stories where the characters are hiding things, so I’m curious to read this. Big thanks to Berkley for the review copy:-)

Courtesy of Titan Books, I’m happy to have Ronald Malfi’s new short story collection We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone. Although I rarely read collections these days, I have to make an exception for this author.

And finally on the physical pile—and something very different for me—I was sent a copy of Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox. This is a contemporary mystery/romance, and I just picked it up yesterday, after a very stressful Christmas (more on that tomorrow if you check out my Buffy’s Corner post!), I started reading it on a whim and I’m loving it so far! Hugs to Alana from Bantam books for putting it on my radar and offering me a copy!

Digital books for review:

Not too many digital books this month! First up, Dark is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce. I thought this sounded familiar, and it seems the publisher changed the cover. I also see another edition from Run For It coming out later in 2026, interesting (this edition is from Minotaur).

Another off-genre book that I accepted for review: Mr. Yay by Emily Jane. Technically, this is listed as science fiction, but it’s definitely got a contemporary fiction vibe to it. The author actually emailed me and offered a copy, and because I recognized her name and even have another of her books on my TBR, I said yes!

The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson is a haunted house story that dips into the theme of gun violence, and it’s getting great reviews!

Sarafina by Philip Fracassi is a reprint—it came out in a limited deluxe edition, and now it’s available from Clash Books. I’m excited to read it:-)

And last but not least, Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow is about a magical veterinary school, and seriously, that’s all I need to know!

Big thanks to Minotaur Books, Emily Jane, Erewhon Books, Clash Books and Ace:-D

Do any of these look good to you too?

Posted December 27, 2025 by Tammy in Over-Booked / 32 Comments

32 responses to “Over-Booked [213] – December Book Haul”

  3. Celeste | A Literary Escape

    You know, I thought I’d requested a physical arc of Night & Oak but I guess not because I only received The trident & the pearl or whatever that other Orbit book is called lol. I’m def gonna have to download the e-arc because I really enjoyed Greenteeth.

    Reply
  13. todd

    None of these were on my radar, but my favorite title of the group is We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Ronald Malfi book.

    Reply

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