December Book Options - Chapters & Chai Book Club
It’s November and the year is coming to a close, which means it’s almost time for our last book club meet up of 2025!
It’s only right that we end the year on a festive or wintery read, so here are your options…
Good Spirits by B K Borison
He’s the Ghost of Christmas Past. She’s not exactly Scrooge.
Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other—get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he’s ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future.
Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person—or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together— and realise there might be more to moving on than expected.
With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?
Genre: Romance, Christmas, Paranormal
Average Rating (Goodreads): 4.41
Pages: 384
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Irish Fiction, Book Clubs
Average Rating (Goodreads): 4.11
Pages: 128
Watermoon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Would you rewrite your destiny if it meant losing a part of your past?
On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it.
Most will see only a cosy ramen restaurant. And just the chosen ones – those who are lost – will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop's new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike other customers. For he offers help, instead of seeking it.
Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice – through rain puddles, hitching rides on paper cranes, across the bridge between midnight and morning and through a night market in the clouds.
But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own – and risk making a choice she will never be able to take back.
Step into the captivating and romantic fantasy novel that will sweep you away on an unforgettable adventure - perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli, Erin Morgenstern and Before the Coffee Gets Cold!
Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance, Japanese Fiction
Average Rating (Goodreads): 3.78
Pages: 374
The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore
From the international bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Café and The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, comes the highly anticipated Dream Harbor romance for 2025!
A wedding in Dream Harbor can only mean one thing, everyone wants to get involved!
With Jeanie and Logan set to tie the knot, and Kira desperate to hire out her newly renovated barn at the Christmas tree farm, everything seems to be going well. Annie has agreed to bake the cake, and Mac is responsible for, well… just being Mac. And as the whole of Dream Harbor comes together to celebrate the wedding of the year with the snow falling around them, can Annie and Mac put aside their dislike for each just long enough for the ‘I Do’s’ or is that one request too far…
The Gingerbread Bakery is a cozy romantic novel with an enemies to lovers dynamic, small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!
Genre: Small Town Romance, Festive, Contemporary Romance
Average Rating (Goodreads): 4.02
Pages: 358
Time to cast your vote via our Google Form! Reminder: this is only for those who could not vote at book club. If you voted at the book club, your vote has already been counted!
I can’t wait to see what you pick!
Happy Reading, Stay Cosy,
Keeley