Tag: december wrap up

December 2022 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerd4 Comments

Hello, reader!

As we start to settle the new year, I figured I would wrap my last month of reading in 2022. Honestly, December was a bit of a blur for me. Mostly because of the holidays but also because I was trying to squeeze in books that I needed to read! This is why I need to stop procrastinating on my BBNYA reads… I love being a panelist but I really need to plan better 😂

Either way, I think that’s why my December reading felt a little all over the place and frazzled. I didn’t read nearly as much I did for most of the year and the ratings fluctuated a bit more, but I still had a good time. And I will say that I closed out the year with an absolute winner!

That being said, let’s jump into the wrap up.

Books Reads

  • The Reaper’s Quota by Sarah McKnight: This was my first BBNYA read for the final round. I don’t want to talk too much about it because there will be tours coming up for all our finalists, but I found myself really enjoying this book! It was interesting, dark, and humorous in the best way. It didn’t blow me away or anything but it was definitely a solid read. Stay tuned for my more in-depth thoughts once the tours begin! ★★★
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead: I’m not a big historical fiction reader, but I continue to enjoy pretty much any historical fiction that Colson Whitehead writes. This book is no different! It focuses on a Black furniture salesman in Harlem during the 1960s and his fall into (and rise from) a life of crime. I loved following Carney on his journey and getting to know the varied personalities he runs into throughout this book. And I didn’t realize this was the first in a series, but I’m excited to give the next one a read! ★★★★
  • Lesser Known Monsters by Rory Michaelson: This was my second BBNYA read for the final round and I loved it! Again, I don’t want to talk too much about it because I want to save it for the tour, but this book totally sucked me in. I have so many angry notes about people being mean to Oscar, so you know I was invested in his story 😂 He is such a compelling character with flaws and nuances that makes him feel so real. I’ll tell y’all more once the tours start, but I highly recommend this one if you enjoy horror and would love to read one with strong LGBTQIA+ representation. ★★★★
  • Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper: And then I read my final BBNYA read for 2022 and it smashed it out of the park! I adored this gothic book so much! First of all, the main character is a middle aged woman and I’m here. for. IT. Second, she has two huge dogs that are her constant companions and I would die for them 😭 You know I’m going to be gushing about this book when the tours swing around, so stay tuned! ★★★★★
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December 2021 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerd4 Comments

Hello, reader!

Welcome to the first day of the new year! What better way to kick off 2022 by closing out 2021? It’s time to wrap up my reading for December. It was a pretty easy-going reading month because I was mostly focused on getting ready for Christmas. I did manage to get through five books, though, and I’m not mad about it! Quality-wise, it was a great way to close out the year.

Alright, let’s see what I read in the last month of 2021!

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

Book: The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward

Rating: â˜…★★★

Thoughts: I read this for a tour run by The Write Reads and I had so much fun with it! It’s certainly a dark tale (so please check triggers!) but it was a wild ride, too. I loved the take on Celtic folklore. I’m looking forward to continuing the series. You can read my full review here!

Book: The Lost Sentinel by Suzanne Rogerson

Rating: ★★★

Thoughts: I read this book as part of being a BBNYA 2021 panelist. Though this wasn’t my favorite of the three I read, it was still a solid fantasy novel. The pacing was a bit off, but the characters and the world-building was great! I’m sure I’ll be writing a full review soon for the finalists blog tour.

Book: Forget Me Not by Anca Antoci

Rating: â˜…★★★

Thoughts: We have another The Write Reads blog tour book here! This was such an interesting read that I absolutely flew through. There were some pacing issues, but it was such an unique fantasy that I ended up loving. You can read my full review here!

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December 2020 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to 2021 and I, for one, couldn’t be happier! I know the changing of the year on the calendar doesn’t instantly mean all the bad things from last year are gone, but I still feel like a weight has been lifted. It’s a fresh new year with fresh possibilities and I’m excited to make the most of it! Before we can move on to 2021, however, it’s time to wrap up my last reading month of 2020.

December was a busy month that had me going a mile a minute. Work was a mile a minute, getting ready for the holidays had me stressed, and we got a new puppy who has been keeping us busy! Thankfully, though, the books I read really ended the year on a high note!

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

  1. The Cousins by Karen M. McManus::★★★★★::My review
  2. Check Please Book 2 by Ngozi Ukazu::★★★★
  3. Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston::★★★★★::My review
  4. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia::★★★★★
  5. Winterling by Sarah Prineas::★★★
  6. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton::★★★★

Challenges

Popsugar Challenge prompts completed: 1

  • A book with a pun in the title (Check, Please Book 2: Sticks & Scones)

Not a strong end to the year, is it 😅 I’ll be going over my 2020 challenge stats in a later post!

Highs and Lows

This is a tough one because I had three five star reads in December! It’s hard choosing the one that I loved the most. As I think about them, though, there is one that stands out just a bit from the other two. They were all incredible, but this book had one of my new favorite characters of all time! My high this month is…

Tristan is such a phenomenal character that I just have to pick his book to be my favorite of December. I’d been wanting to read Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky for quite some time and I’m glad I finally did because it’s now a new favorite. I adored Tristan and I adored seeing legends that featured Black people being retold in this contemporary middle grade fantasy. It was interesting and beautifully written and I really need to write my review because there’s a lot I want to say! I’m so thankful to Middle Grade Marvels for finally compelling me to read this fantastic book.

Funnily enough, my low for the month was also a Middle Grade Marvels read, heh 😅 It was my only three star read last month and, while I enjoyed it, I think it suffered from being read in a month of truly incredibly books. My low this month is…

Like I said, I did enjoy this book, but it didn’t love it as much as I had imagined I would. I liked the story, I thought the plot was fine, and Fer was a great character. At the same time, I wish we had gotten to see more of the magic and been able to see more of Fer after she figured out who she was. The fae magic was the most interesting thing in the book and I felt like we didn’t get nearly enough. Still, since this is the beginning of a series, I am interested in continuing as I think we’ll get more of that in the subsequent books.

Reflections

2020 was… a year and I feel like December was a concentrated dose of all the insanity we’ve experienced throughout the year. I’m so glad that, overall, my reading was an incredible escape! I read so many fantastic books in the last month of 2020 and I’m thankful I ended my reading year on such a high note.

Now, I didn’t do so hot with the challenges this month and I didn’t read a ton. And I may have headed into January feeling a little burnout and slumpy, but that had nothing to do with the quality of the books. I think that was due to my trying to do ALL THE THINGS at the end of the year. Though I never officially stated I was doing Blogmas, I was trying to post every day before Christmas. I almost got there, too! I pushed myself a little more than I probably should have and, as a result, I entered the last week of 2020 and the first week of 2021 not wanting to write anything. I think I’ve rounded the bend and am feeling the blogging love again, though! Going into the new year, I need to find a posting schedule that will keep my blog lively, but won’t make me want to hide from my laptop 😂

Overall, I think this was a pretty stellar reading year. I read a ton of great books and I became more active in the bookish community. I met some fantastic people and discovered the joy of buddy reads. Although 2020 was a bit of a dumpster fire, I will always be thankful for the books and the bookish community because they made this year pretty great 💖 Now on to 2021!

How was your reading in December? Did you find a new favorite? Make any progress on some challenges? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!