This was an awesome end to my reading year! December was probably one of my best reading months of the year. I ended up reading 62 books, surpassing my goal of 50!

P.S: I read the Poppy War for a second time, and it would’ve gone in as my favorite book of the December AND 2021 but I felt that it wasn’t fair, since I read it already last year.

Stats:

• Read: 7 books
• Zero 1 stars, zero 2 stars, two 3 stars, two 4 stars, and three 5 stars
• Favorite book of December: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Stephanie Garber is so good at creating an atmospheric world with such a charming, mystical, enchanting setting! I loved reading about Jacks since he was one of my favorite characters in the Caraval series, and seeing his relationship with Evangeline VERY SLOWLY develop was a great time. The plot was action-packed and exciting as well! Rating: 4 stars

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

This has become one of my favorite YA mysteries/thrillers. I don’t know how the author managed to create such a detailed and intricate small-town mystery plot. I’m usually able to guess “who did it” early on in these types of books, but I was completely stumped this time- and for me, that’s a sign of a good mystery. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! Rating: 5 stars

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is book 2.5 in the Shatter Me series and is a novella told from Adam’s POV. I’m not the biggest Adam hater but I’m also not his biggest fan, and the way he whined about his little brother for most of the book kind of got on my nerves. Rating: 3 stars

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

I had the best time reading this, and it was so fast-paced too! I used to heavily criticize Mafi’s overly poetic prose, but I think her writing style has grown since Shatter Me. It makes for really dramatic and exciting dialogue, especially enhancing romantic relationships and other character dynamics. The culmination of Warner and Juliette’s complex relationship was beautiful and I loved every second of it. Kenji was a delight as always (I absolutely despised Adam, though). I still think the worldbuilding and “actual” plot of this series is lacking, but the dramatic love triangle makes up for it. Rating: 5 stars

The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese

This book was basically if The Hating Game was a holiday novella and set in a bookstore- and that’s not an insult. I absolutely adored this because it had an extremely similar plotline and writing style to The Hating Game, which is one of my favorite romances of all time. It was so festive and the grumpy x sunshine and enemies-to-lovers tropes were done very well. It also has demisexual, autism, and type I diabetes rep! It got pretty cheesy towards the end, but I didn’t really mind. This book has cemented itself as one of the holiday reads I will keep going back to every winter! This is an extremely underrated holiday romance, and I’m sure many other people will love it! Rating: 4 stars

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

This is my second time reading this book, and I loved it even more this time! I had the absolute pleasure of reading this with my friend Lorraina, and I think that buddy-reading made the experience so much more enjoyable for me. This is probably the most intense book I’ve ever read in my life- I don’t know how else to describe it. I am still genuinely at a loss for words. It discussed the atrocities of war in such a horrific, but captivating manner and I have never been so absolutely consumed by a book. I don’t even know if it’s right to say that I loved it, considering the topics it went into. The themes of immorality, revenge, war, and more were presented in the deepest, most immersive way possible. I know this is my most dramatic review ever, but it fits well for such a dramatic book. I’m so glad I reread this book, or I wouldn’t have been able to fully appreciate it. It’s now one of my favorites of all time! Rating: 5 stars

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

For the first half of the book, I was thinking this was a 4 star read. However, the mood and tone completely shifted towards the end and became dark and depressing. I didn’t like the ending at all. I wouldn’t even consider this a romance– it had fantastical elements to it and also a lot of family drama. I felt kind of catfished by the premise and cover of the book, it was nowhere near the cute romcom I was expecting. If you like happy endings… this may not be for you. However! If you like things to be bittersweet, this book discusses love in a more raw, different manner and might be worth picking up. Rating: 3 stars