I hope you guys had/are having an awesome holiday season! This month, I had a TBR of purely holiday books- and I finished the TBR by the middle of December! So, I had to find a ton of books to read next. I was able to read a lot of books because of the holiday break, too!

Stats:

• Read: 12 books
• One no rating, zero 1 stars, zero 2 stars, two 3 stars, six 4 stars, three 5 stars
• Favorite book of December: A Court of Wings and Ruin

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

I loved all the holiday joy this brought me, but the romance was a weak point. Mae and Andrew’s romance felt super boring and dry to me, to the point where I thought Mae and Theo should have been together for a more interesting story. Still, I enjoyed reading this because of the themes of family! I would also say that this book reminded me A LOT of The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han. Rating: 4 stars

Ex-Mas by Kate Brian

This book was published in 2009, so it’s safe to say that it was SUPER out-of-date and I could tell that while reading. There was a lot of cliche stuff about cliques and popularity, and the character development was very forced. However, I was able to look past all of that and mostly enjoy the Christmas-themed road trip and romance! Rating: 3 stars

Jingle Wars by R. Holmes and Veronica Eden

What I hated most about this book was the writing. It was extremely cheesy and extra, and I cringed so much while reading it. I gave it some points for holiday and winter spirit, though. Rating: 3 stars

Switched by Cassie Mae

This is one of my guilty pleasure reads, so I just had to give it 4 stars even though objectively it is NOT 4 stars. There are many problems with this story, the main one being that the main character is trying to get together with her best friend’s boyfriend. I definitely don’t condone that, but Mae wrote the love square well and the book was overall too cute and winter-y for me to care too much about the issues. Rating: 4 stars

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

 At first I was about to give this only 3 stars because it was going in a predictable and cliched direction, but the plot twist at the end was so nice and it completely subverted all the tropes! The premise was so imaginative, and this is a great book to read during the holiday season! Rating: 4 stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This was the first classic I ever read voluntarily, but it didn’t go that well. I was too lazy to take the time to try to comprehend the old-timey language, so I found myself skimming a lot. Overall, I was pretty bored as well. Hopefully I’ll give this book another try sometime and appreciate it more! No rating

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

This is an unpopular opinion, but this was my favorite book in the ACOTAR series! Check out my full review on my Goodreads here. Rating: 5 stars

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

I was very impressed with this book, and I loved it so much! I like YA contemporaries, but they are usually just OK and not too mind-blowing. Not the case with this one! I loved the humor, and I felt like the main character Ollie’s voice was relatable and perfectly written. Even the side characters had beautiful development, and the themes of friendships, identity, grief, and family made me SOB. Such a great queer rom-com! Rating: 5 stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

This was good, though a little underwhelming. I liked all the side characters a TON more than the “main trio” of Will, Tessa, and Jem. And I’m still not completely sold on Will; in fact, I kind of disliked him in this book. However, I loved the found family aspect and the concept of clockwork people interesting! Rating: 4 stars

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I think that If We Were Villains is a way better version of this book. However, I still mostly liked this! The group’s descent into madness was well done, and I ended up finding some character interesting. The middle of the book was boring and I skimmed a lot, but the beginning and end was very exciting. The main problem I had was that the character’s traits were very messy and contradictory, so I wasn’t able to figure out their personalities- thus, I didn’t care about most characters. If We Were Villains did a way better job at giving me complex, interesting, and more developed characters who I loved. Rating: 4 stars

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

I loved the time period and setting this book took place in: New Orleans in 1872. The incorporation of French culture was awesome to read about! The main character, Celine, was very strong and likeable. However, I felt like the fantastical elements and overall plot was confusing and didn’t get explored at all. By the end I was left puzzled as to what even happened! Rating: 4 stars

Fangirl, Vol. 1: The Manga by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl is one of my favorite books of all time, and this manga version definitely did it justice! The art was beautiful and exactly how I pictured the characters. Most of the dialogue was taken right out of the original book, and I felt the same exact feelings while reading this adaptation! Rating: 5 stars