Monthly Book Review | December 2016

I closed out the year with a strong reading month – 9 books read in December! Lots of romance and light reads this month, which is just what I like for December. My favorite book this month was The Queen of the Tearling, which came very close to knocking The Hating Game from my favorite book of the year. I’m so glad I was given the chance to read that novel for TLC Book Tours and can’t wait to get my hands on the second book in the trilogy.

Here are my December book reviews!

Dare to Desire by Carly Phillips (★★★★☆)

Just a really fun and sexy romance novel that I read on my way home from my cruise. It had great characters and an easy-to-follow plot. I really liked the chemistry between Alex and Madison, and I’m really enjoying the “Dare to Love” series by this author. It’s hot, hot, hot.

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan (★★★★☆)

This book started off really, really slow and I nearly abandoned it because nothing was clicking for me. But I’m so glad I powered through and kept going because, about 60% of the way in, the story picked up immensely. It follows four girls who were assigned to the same dorm during their freshman year of college. There’s a chapter devoted to each character for each different time period – during college, five years after graduation, and then a year later. I felt like the characters were so well-written and real; they were unlikable at times, but wholly lovable at others, just like any regular person. If you love a good novel about female friendship, pick this up!

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (★★★★★)

I reviewed this novel on my blog last month, and you can read my review here. (It was also my #2 book of the year!)

Mosquitoland by David Arnold (★★★☆☆)

There is something about the way that male authors write female teenagers that rubs me the wrong way. They always have to be these brash, sassy, overly philosophical characters. John Green is the biggest offender, and David Arnold definitely follows his style. To be fair, the novel was good. I liked the movement of the plot and thought the way everything was revealed at the end was fantastic. But I just couldn’t get past my annoyance with the main character and the fact that she just didn’t feel real at all.

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins (★★★★☆)

This novel felt more serious than Higgins’s other novels. Most of her novels are more of the chick-lit variety with a sweet plot and characters getting into all sorts of crazy trouble. This one involved a heavier topic (infidelity) intermixed with a lighter love story. Even though I was looking to read a light-hearted romance novel, I’m glad I picked this up and read it because it was thoroughly well-written. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters, and the love story made me so, so happy. Still, I wish at least one of the author’s main characters could not be a marriage-obsessed woman who needs to find a man NOW so she can have kids. It feels like every single character has the same motive, and it’s tiresome.

Then Came You by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆)

Another super fun, super sexy romance novel from Shalvis. She never lets me down. 🙂 This story followed the romance between Wyatt, a new vet in town, and Emily, who is an intern at the veterinary hospital. They hooked up one night during a vet conference a few months ago, never thinking either would see the other again. But surprise! They now have to work together. The novel was fun, sassy, and heartwarming. Her books just make me so happy!

Dare to Touch by Carly Phillips (★★★★☆)

Another sensational romance from Carly! You’ll notice this is the second book of hers I read in December – what can I say? I was in the mood for another steamy, quick romance and this fit the bill completely. I read it within 24 hours on Christmas Eve, and it was truly the perfect light novel for that time of year. The main characters in this book had cameos in the first two books in the series, so it was fun to finally dig into their story and see them get their happy ending. Totally recommend this series for romance lovers – it’s fantastic!

The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn (★★★★☆)

Julia Quinn writes such delightful characters, and I was so happy to dive into one of her novels during Christmas. I love the dialogue the most in these novels because it feels so very real. So many times, the dialogue in romance novels feels forced and doesn’t read the way most people talk. In this novel, we get the love story between Hugh Prentice and Lady Sarah Pleinsworth, two characters that were introduced in the previous books in the series. Hugh is dealing with a disability after a duel and Sarah is longing for marriage – but the last guy she would ever marry is Hugh, as he was the one who called for the duel involving her cousin. But, as love stories go, the more time they spend together, the more they realize how much they have in common and begin falling in love. The romance is a slow build and I love the way everything falls into place so sweetly.

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (★★★★★)

If I had finished this book before I published my favorite reads for 2016, this would have made the cut – and probably in the top five. It was excellent. I am generally neutral about celebrity memoirs – usually, I like them but I don’t love them. But I loved this book. It was exactly the kind of book I would imagine Anna Kendrick would write – full of snark and self-deprecation, but also with a whole lot of heart. She’s really had such an amazing career and has worked with some really amazing people in the industry, and I like how honest she was about how terrifying it can be to be in Hollywood. This book made me laugh out loud more than a few times, and I really hope this is just the beginning of her writing career.

DECEMBER BOOK STATS

• Number of books read: 9 (3,082 pages)
• Format breakdown: e-books (6), physical books (3)
• Genre breakdown: romance (5), fiction (1), nonfiction (1), YA (1), fantasy (1)
• Number of diverse reads: 1 out of 9 (11%)
• Where I got my books from: Overdrive (3), TLC Book Tours (1), library (2), Amazon (3)
• Money spent on reading this month: $15.47

What was the best book you read in December?