December 2018 Wrap-Up

Hello friends and fellow book lovers! It’s hard to believe it’s 2019, how?? I’m actually typing this up at the beginning of December but it won’t go up until January. That’s wild to me but anyways, you’re not here for that. You’re here to see all the books I read in December so let’s get into them!

Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After #1) by Tessa Dare: Finished December 1st. I started this one at the end of November and didn’t finish it until the 1st. This was my first historical romance and I loved it so much. I won’t give away much about the plot since I liked being surprised when I went in but I can’t wait to read more from Tessa Dare. 5/5 stars. 

Long Shot (Hoops #1) by Kennedy Ryan: Finished December 7th. I finally finished Long Shot and I’m so happy. This book is an NBA romance but it actually ended up being more of a survivor story. Honestly, this book was nothing like I excepted and I thought it was just okay. I do plan on continuing with the series, though. 3/5 stars.

Lady Castle Vol 1 by Delilah S. Dawson: Finished December 10th. This fantasy graphic novel focuses on a kingdom ruled by women after their king and all his knights are murdered in battle. I liked the art style but not much else and it’s not a surprise as I’m not a big fantasy fan. I don’t think I’m going to continue the series, either. 2.5/5 stars.

Heavy Vinyl Vol 1 by Carly Usdin: Finished December 13th. This was another graphic novel but it’s set in the ’90s and focuses on a girl gang. It’s full of girl power, LGBT+ rep, boy bands and has an interracial couple. It was fun, action-packed and had an incredible art style. I’ll definitely be continuing on with this series. 4/5 stars. 

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert: Finished December 14th. After I finished decorating my room for Christmas, I decided to sit down and read this. It’s an interracial romance between a black girl and a white guy. It was a lot of smut, tragic backstories and pretty underwhelming. It did have good smut though so 3/5 stars.

Santa’s Heart by Mila Raphael: Finished December 15th. For my own Christmas present, I signed up for the Kindle Unlimited where it’s 99 cents for 3 months. The first book I read was Santa’s Heart, a romance about a girl who asks for romance from Santa and ends up getting her wish. It was really short and I wish there would have been better character development and more smut lol. 2/5 stars.

Love and Mistletoe by Alexa Riley: Finished December 15th. This is another Kindle Unlimited book and it’s about a girl who narrates audiobooks to a guy but the two never meet. Things happen and she ends up going to see him and it’s very smutty. I really enjoyed this besides all the creepy impregnation talk and how he has someone watch her which is weird. I loved the characters and the smut so 4/5 stars.

Dear Santa: A Bad Boy Christmas Romance by Lulu Pratt: DNFed. I went into this book hoping for a cute Christmas romance and it just didn’t work for me. I hated the writing style, the characters were flat and it didn’t keep my interest. I only made it 31% percent in before I DNFed so I wouldn’t recommend.

Misfit City Vol 1 by Kirsten Smith: Finished December 19th. This graphic novel was about a group of friends on a treasure hunt after finding a map and feature nods to the 80s movie The Goonies. I loved the adventure aspect, the friendship, and the art style but this first volume was just alright. I’m hoping it goes more in-depth in the second volume so 3/5 stars.

Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard #1.5) by Christina Lauren: Finished December 20th. I decided to give Scribd a try and this was one of the books there! This book is basically a novella set after the events of Beautiful Bastard following Chloe and Bennett taking a vacation. It was an alright read, basically just a lot of smut and I assume, a link between the next book? 3/5 stars.

When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds: Finished December 24th. I listened to the audiobook of this and loved it! It followed Ali, his friends, and family as he gets himself in some trouble and its resolution. This book covered a lot of topics including family, life in Brooklyn, single parents and just trying to make it in the world. This was my last 5-star prediction and I’m happy to say it delivered. 5/5 stars.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han: Finished December 30th. I’m writing this a day early but I only have about 20 percent left so I know I’ll finish it. After loving the movie, my friend Lysette and I decided to do a buddy reread since we buddy read it together last year.

For me, the book didn’t hold up as my feelings changed on certain characters along with some plotlines. I think the movie fixed those changes but I’m knocking down a star. 4/5 stars. 

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Whoa! This is my final wrap-up for 2018 and I’ve read a grand total of 150 books. I still can’t believe I read that many!!!!! No wonder I had such a hard time narrowing down my favorites lol.

2018 was a great reading year for me. I can only hope 2019 is every bit as good. My goals might not be as high but I have a lot of plans. 😉 How was your December/2018 reading?

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