Books I Read In December

During December, I read 10 books and one comic, which meant that I exactly finished my reading goal of 140 books! It was a fairly decent reading month for me, considering I had finals and I was working a lot for the holiday season. So here are the books I read and some of my opinions on them...

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy - This book follows Ramona, who starts to question her sexuality, after she meets a boy. This book originally received a ton of backlash for seeming to have a character turn straight after meeting a boy, but that's not true in the slightest. This book really handled the subject matter well. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can definitely see myself rereading in the future.

Anna and the French Kiss Trilogy by Stephanie Perkins - This was a reread for me, after going to San Fransisco recently, I started thinking about this series again, and I thought it would be fun to give it a read through. I had the same opinions while reading the first two books, as I did the first time I read them, because they're great and the romances are adorable. But this time around, I really struggled through reading the last book, and I kept comparing it to the first two books. I still really love this series, and I especially love Cricket Bell.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - This is a Russian fairytale inspired novel. I had heard great things about this book, so I was looking forward to picking it up and ultimately I was a little disappointed. I decided to listen to the audiobook, but because there are so many characters and the plot is really detailed, the format did not work for me.

Skin & Earth (Issue 6) by Lights - This is the concluding comic in Light's Skin & Earth verse, that ties into her album of the same name. I absolutely loved this ending, I was absolutely blown away with the story that Lights has created. I also did a complete read through of this series after finishing this issue (while listening to the songs of course) and the story building is incredible. Light's teased on twitter that this is an origin story, so I'm really hoping that she ends up writing more to this series, because I think there's so many different directions that this project this could lead to.

The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano - This book follows the fourth heir in her family line, after she discovers her touch can turn living things to gemstones. I really enjoyed this book, it is a solid start to a series. This book has great elements of political intrigue and a hint of developing romance. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel, when it comes out. 

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills - This book follows Claudia, who becomes involved in her school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and finds new friends from the experience. I really love Emma Mill's books, they're well written coming of age stories, with great romances. This book was no exception, I really enjoyed it and I ended up reading it all in one sitting. I also love that one of the characters is named after a Harry Potter character. 

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell - This book follows Esta, who travels back in time to save magic in her own time. I absolutely loved this book, I feel like I haven't been able to find many great fantasy novels lately and this book was exactly what I was looking for. I also haven't read a ton of good slowburn novels in a while, so this was a great read to stumble upon. I can't wait for the sequel to come out, because I need more from this verse.

Rebels of Gold by Elise Kova - This is the final book in the Alchemist of Loom Trilogy. I really enjoyed the other books in the series, but this one was my favorite. It definitely took some time for me to get back into this world again, but once I did, I was fully immersed. There was one minor detail that bothered me, but other than that I absolutely loved how this book wrapped up.

A List of Cages by Robin Roe - This book follows Adam and Julien, two former, foster brothers who meet again in high school. I really enjoyed this book, and I like how it dealt with some series issues that I had never read about. I really liked the dynamic of Adam and Julien's friendship, and that was probably my favorite part of this book. I really wish that this book had a better representation of female characters, but other than that it was a solid read.

And those are the books I read in December. I'm really looking forward to so many releases this year, and I'm really happy to star the year feeling optimistic about reading. - Jessica