For my Tuesday review this week, I want to cover a book I actually read about a year ago, and there’s a really good reason for that! As a lover of thriller books and Christmas (including Adventure calendars) I decided it would be a great idea to talk about Per Jacobsen’s 25 Days! With December starting later this week, this one has really been on my mind lately!

The premise is awesomely creative – a chapter to read every day through Christmas. Just like the advent calendars my grandpa used to always have for me as a kid, this book gives you a little treat every day to get you through the anticipation of the holidays. That also made it the perfect read for me during a time when I was really, *really* busy, because I was still teaching full time at that point and didn’t have the energy to blow through books the way I usually love to. 

The story focuses on a family of four as they take a winter vacation to a remote cabin in snowy weather. It’s scenic, it’s atmospheric, it’s beautiful, and then everything turns upside down. A crazed stalker begins to terrorize the family as the snow storm isolates them from all civilization. Will they make it out alive? You have to check back in for the new chapter every day to find out.

Full of suspense, this was an exciting read that kept me hooked in with its compelling plot. I often found myself hypothesizing about what twist was going to come next, and that really gave me something to entertain myself with through each day. It was a fun way to test self control with reading, because it was so hard some days to not just run ahead through the pages (but I ultimately succeeded).

I will say though, this one was a bit more gory than my typical reading picks. I was ok with that, but I know some may not be, so just be mindful of that if you decide to read it! There’s also a lot of jumping from narrator to narrator between chapters, but in my opinion that enhanced the experience because it was like checking in with each character every few days. For added convenience, this book is also available on Kindle Unlimited! For the psychological thriller community, this one really is a gem for the holidays.

I’ve heard this is kind of a trend nowadays, to have an “advent calendar” thriller book where you get to read a chapter each day, but this is the only one I’ve read so far – so if you have any recommendations for others, please let me know in the comments! I’d love to have a reading experience like this again for the coming Christmas season!