BOOKS & BANGERS where the books destroy us, the music heals us & the absolute bangers fling our souls back into our bodies
Books & Bangers – IT’S A BLEGH CHRISTMAS
Grab a warm drink and cozy up next to the fireplace. Headphones recommended. This week hits like a peppermint mocha flavored banger.
BLEGH Christmas 🎄🖤
If you love the holidays, festive joy and Hallmark movies…
No shade, I love ’em too but this is NOT that.
This is BLEGH Christmas
A holiday especially for the people who survive this time of year on a medically inadvisable amount of caffeine, disassociation and escapism with books that feel like getting hit in the face with a snowball and songs that sound like festive side-eye in stereo.
If you’re like me then ’tis the season to be deeply suspicious of anyone who says “this is the most wonderful time of the year” unironically
So instead of pretending, we’re leaning in.
This is Christmas for people who are tired, overstimulated and still trying to romanticize their own lives.
Heavy on the gingerbread flavored trust issues and characters who probably belong on the naughty list.
So, if that’s your vibe, let’s bring in the season right…
The holidays steamrolled us like a freightrain. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like it should already be time to fight with the family over who gets the last piece of my mom’s peppermint fudge and who’s stuck doing the dishes this year…
but here we are.
As my family’s resident black sheep I prepare for the emotional and mental overload of the season with a long ahh playlist and my next TBRs downloaded to my BookFunnel + Kindle apps.
So, if you’re like me and you’re looking for some music, or your next book to disappear into, to recover from all the required socializing of the holidays then I’ve got you!
BANGER OF THE WEEK
🎧🎶All I Want for Christmas by Halocene
Music embeds are shared via Spotify’s public tools for editorial and entertainment purposes only. No artist or band featured here is affiliated with or endorses this site. I’m just sharing the books + music I love so you can check them out and see if you vibe with ’em too.
We’ve all heard Mariah Carey belting this song from pretty much every retail store’s speakers this year. It’s INESCAPABLE once the season hits. But have you jammed to the metal version to bring in the holidays? 🎄🤘
but one is never enough…
There’s more than one sick holiday cover of this song though, so I’ve added some of my rock-infused favorites to a playlist along with some other festive bleghs to keep you merry and metal through the rest of the holiday seaon.
I low-key want to keep growing this playlist throughout the year so we can revisit it next holiday season. So, If you’re listening to specific songs that help you get through this time of year, you can drop the recs using the link below. I’ll listen and if they fit the vibe I just might add them to the community playlist.
How does this Books & Bangers sh*t work?
It’s pretty simple, actually…
> I fall into a trope filled rabbit hole and drag y’all with me
I start my week with a playlist, so I can live in the vibes all week and then share it here for all of you—my feral book besties—to check it out if you want to
And because a book dragon isn’t really a book dragon if we’re not hoarding books, I also give y’all a ton of book recs that fit the trope of the week.
Sometimes those books are ones I’ve read and am still spiraling over and other times they’re books I’m adding to my TBR in case y’all want to add to your book hoard too.
+100 Aura: Sign up for the free-book drops → Ascend to your final form: unbothered, hydrated (maybe), and feral book gremlin.
Think of our Books & Bangers drops like the school book fair for black-hearted BookTok girlies (and bros) trying to survive adulthood.
Instead of bringing home scented pencils and Lisa Frank stationery, we’re:
- hoarding morally gray men on our Kindles like emotional survival rations for December
- Loading our playlists with songs that sound like festive internal screaming
- Secretly loving the cute lil mistletoe moments
- Probably still chugging Monster, but using a candy cane straw to keep it festive
Tradition matters 😏
And because I love you degenerates
I’ll always pull at least a few FREE books in the weekly email drop for you because the economy is rawdogging everyone, BUT those links only go out to my Books & Bangers – Feral Book B*tches (Chill. It’s just our lil 21k member book club).
If you’re not subscribed, you won’t see them.
(I love you… but I’m not getting yeeted by affiliate TOS for your TBR.)
HOLIDAY BOOKS I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
Hey, y’all! Just a head’s up… I earn money on this ISH. Shocking. I know. 🤯 Affiliate links exist below this statement. If you click or tap on an image to check out a book rec then I may earn from qualifying purchases you make after using my link(s).
These are the ones that already got to me.
The books I stayed up too late with.
The characters and stories I thought about while wrapping presents and stringing popcorn.
💫🎄 Late nights, bad decisions and emotional damage—holiday edition. 🎄💫
Some made me go “Aww!”
Others wrecked me.
The others surprised me.
All of them earned their place in this section as books I can’t stop thinking about.
These are the books I’ve already read and loved in this trope and they still hold up for me because they understood the assignment.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
BOOKS I’VE ADDED TO MY HOLIDAY TBR THIS WEEK
These are the ones that slid into my peripheral vision while I was shoving my mom’s peppermint fudge in my mouth and immediately added them to my holiday TBR.
I haven’t read these yet — and I’m not going to pretend I have — but they hit the exact same Christmas but make it slightly feral frequency and I don’t like to gatekeep that type of energy 😏
So, if you’re also the kind of person who adds books to your TBR based on ✨vibes✨ and questionable life choices… you’re in the right place.
Proceed accordingly.
YEAH, I ALSO WRITE HOLIDAY ROMANCE
The books I add to the list here are ones I’ve written and live squarely in the BLEGH Christmas vibe. Messy feelings, questionable coping mechanisms, romance that isn’t magically fixed by the season but rises to the challenge of it.
If you’ve made it this far, you already know whether my style of writing is your flavor—or not
These are the stories I wrote for people LIKE ME who love Christmas in theory but struggle with it in practice, and prefer their holiday cheer slightly unhinged.
If something here grabs you, grab it back.
If not, no hard feelings!
A ROCK STAR WISH is part of the multi-author series WISHING FOR LOVE where happy ever after exists with a little help from Santa and his elves. If you’d like to check out other stories by my author friends also participating in the series, you can do that here 👇
THE INDIE CORNER – AUTHORS I’M VIBING & NETWORKING WITH THIS WEEK
Listen… publishing during the holidays is already unhinged.
These indie authors are in the trenches, dropping books that slap and showing up like the chaotic, caffeinated icons they are.
If you’re looking for more books that live in the same BLEGH holiday spiral, or just want to support some authors who deserve 10x the noise they’re getting, this is your corner.
Go show them some love.
And maybe stuff your Kindle a little more while you’re at it.
BOOKISH UPDATES
It never fails, no matter how well-prepared or planned the holiday festivities are they never go according to plan.
In fact, I’ve given up trying to plan anything at all when it comes to the holidays. We’re basically just coasting on vibes at this point. And somehow it’s been more enjoyable without all the pressure I used to put on myself to provide the perfect holiday meal + experience.
Sometimes it’s the imperfection that comes with having our friends and family around for the holidays that actually makes it so special.
My writing has been non existent this week. In fact, this book fair page consists of the ONLY words I’ve put on a page at all since December 15th and I’m completely okay with it.
Yes, I’ve challenged myself to another round of 52 books in 52 weeks for the next 12 months but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to take breaks and allow myself to slow down and enjoy the little moments along the way.
I won’t have a new book out this week and that’s okay. I’ll have one next week. I actually had an idea come to me last night that may turn into a quick holiday novella, which will give me two for next week if it happens… so I’m counting this week of slowing down intentionally a win.
I hope you all have also allowed yourselves time to slow down and just exist with the people and things you love this holiday season.
And just a reminder that there are ALWAYS featured books totally free for my Books & Bangers community.
This week? There are SIX of those FREE books for my fellow festive degenerates
- Holiday Romance
- Snowed-in
- Small town / Cowboy
Gotta love those VIP perks.
Yeah, we’re unwell, but we’re unwell together.
If you’re a book hoarding dragon who also uses music and books as your primary coping mechanisms, falls easily for the morally gray characters on sight and prefer to escape reality one chapter and one breakdown at a time
…then you’re my people.
Drop your email and come hang out with us.
JOIN OUR FERAL BOOK CLUB
Yes, it’s a newsletter.
But like… a cool newsletter
The kind that hands you free books, emotional breakdown-worthy bangers,
and weekly permission to be delightfully unhinged.
If you’re ready to spiral with us…
Wishing you all a very BLEGH Christmas. Let’s make the new year a FKN BANGER!
BOOKS & BANGERS 