December was also a busy month, and I think by this time I was feeling a little burnt out from the year. My course was all wrapped up at the start of the month. Then I celebrated my birthday and it was Christmas and my family was visiting. I didn’t get as muhc reading done as I wanted but I read some good stuff anyways. Let’s just dive into it!
Books Hauled in December:
- I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman
- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
- Solitaire by Alice Oseman
- This Winter by Alice Oseman
- Saint by Adrienne Young
- A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson
- The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford
- Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco
- Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo
- Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis
- Galatea by Madeline Miller
- Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson
- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
- Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
- Kiss Her Once for Me by Alice Cochrun
Books I read in December:
1. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I enjoy this trope of slightly unreliable narrator witnesses a crime. It’s interesting to see what different authors do with it. I also found it interesting to include a celebrity aspect in the story. There were a lot of really good twists in this story that really kept me on my toes with how it ended. However, I would have liked some more foreshadowing towards those twists.
2. It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It had an interesting premise and I liked the way the characters were brought together. The story was really atmospheric and I found myself wondering what was going on, and what would happen next. The moster and the capitalistic unjustice of the story were really horrifying to read. It was definitely a spooky story.
3. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I didn’t know what to expect with this story, but I really enjoyed it. Daisy was such an interesting character/perspective. I liked the isolated setting and limited time frame. It really added to the elements of suspense and helped to really build the tension. I think that this limited time frame kind of story is becoming one of my favourite tropes to read. It just makes for a really interesting time frame.
4. Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I loved the storyline of this novel and found it really compelling. The cold case element was really different to Karen M. McManus’s other books. It was unique. I found the mystery very interesting and I was really intrigued to find out what was going to happen next. Both of the main characters were well developed and super interesting. There were lots of things to discuss with this book which made it a great book for our school book club.
5. All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I liked this novel in verse. It was interesting because it was a perspective that I hadn’t read very much from. I felt that poetry was interesting though not the best that I read. I did find that I enjoyed the baseball aspects of the story more than I thought that I would.
6. Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I don’t read a lot of sports romances, but I really enjoyed this one. Hockey is one of the sports I know fairly well, so I was easily able to understand those parts of the story though they weren’t overly complicated to begin with. It was also interesting to read about two hockey players falling in love. The story had some moments that made me cringe a little bit, but on the whole I thought it was very cute.
7. Call of the Wild by Jack London
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I’d never read this story so it was interesting to finally read it. The story is mostly written from the dog’s perspective, which made for an interesting read. The plot was okay, not really my favourite and I felt sad whenever the dog was mistreated by the people taking care of it.
8. Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I had so much fun with Holly Jackson’s newest. I found that the story was well written and interesting. The limited time setting was compelling and really added to the suspense and tension of the story. I found that Red was a really interesting protagonist, and I wanted to read more about her and the things that were happening to her. I had some questions about her that never really got answered but it was still very interesting to read. There were some good twists that I didn’t see coming.
9. Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This story has a really intriguing premise. I loved seeing different explorations of the concept of vampirism. This one felt like a fairly unique take. I felt that the poetry was well written, and the story was pretty well developed and paced. I liked the dynamic between the characters.
10. Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was such a cute story. I really liked the art and the colours used. I also found that the overall adaptation of the plays involved was well done. Part of me wanted the romance in the story to be a bit better developed, but I am glad that it had a happy ending. I hope there are more in this series.
11. Incredible Doom, Volume 2 by Matthew Bogart
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was much more enjoyable for me than volume 1 of the series which was probably because the characters were better developed. This one also had more of a complete story arc. There was a greater level of depth to the plot and to the characters. The art was still very nice.
12. The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was interesting, and well written account of the downfall of the Romanovs. It had an interesting writing style. The book wwas probably not as in depth as other history books but it was still interesting. It came across more accessible than other history books.
13. You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This book absolutely kept me guessing. I liked how the three friends were broguht together and the restricted time period of the novel’s events. There were lots of secrets and twists that I didn’t see coming. However, that just shows that the author did a fantastic job of plotting and planning the novel. The characters were really interesting to me, and I liked that we got to see a bit of a summing up a while later.
14. The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I’m so glad to have finally read The Luminaries. It’s definitely a first book, but I was still quite compelled by the story. The novel was fast paced and well written. I enjoyed the main character, Winnie. It sounds silly but I really liked that she had glasses and that fact played into the plot of the novel. I enjoyed the budding dynamics between her and Jay, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the second book. I can’t wait to explore more of the world.
15. Galatea by Madeline Miller
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This is a great short story. It was written from a very interesting perspective, and I was interested to read from Galatea’s perspective. The myth tends to paint Pygmalion in a positive light, and doesn’t really consider how Galatea might have felt about becoming human and their marriage. I enjoyed seeing her perspective. It was very well written.
16. Relentless by Katie Golding
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: This was a fun smutty read. I know nothing about moto-racing but you really don’t need to in order to read this book. There’s enough explanation in the text for the reader to understand. I don’t think the characters were my all time favourite romantic leads but I liked them together. They had a compelling dynamic and worked well together. There were just certain things about the female lead that I found a little bit annoying. I also enjoy a celebrity romance, which made this a fun read.
17. The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I loved The Ex Hex and this one was just as fun. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Wells and Gwyn. The competition turned lust and then to love was very well done. I found the mystery aspect really compelling as well. I liked the combination of romance and mystery that the characters needed to solve so that not all of the drama was because of the relationship. I will admit that I wanted a bit more development of the climax sequence, but on the whole it was such a fun read.
18. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a reread for me, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it. I also loved the audiobook because there were mometns of a full cast audiobook which were really neat when it came to the recorded sections of the story.
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