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Saturday, January 02, 2016

Book Boos: December

It was crunch time in December to try to make my reading goal for the year. I did more short stories and novellas, figuring that my 'Did Not Finish' books made up the difference in page numbers.

15. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Audio). I just don't see the point of a Twilight book that doesn't include Edward Cullen. 

14. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Audio). I had a hard time with this book because, while parts were so good and written so well, it was, ultimately, too dark for me. I kept having to turn it off and listen to Harry Potter for awhile to keep my spirits up. And I like darker things, but this story made it almost impossible to rot for anybody. 

13. Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi. I don't always love novellas, even if they're from my favorite series. I know the potential of these characters so when I don't get super awesome steamy makeout scenes, I'm going to be a little disappointed. 

12. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (Audio). I actually listened to half of this over the summer, but had to get back on the waiting list for my library's eAudio copy. I liked the premise for this story a lot, but something in the audio execution left me wanting something more. 

11. The Recovery by Suzanne Young. Despite not getting a good makeout scene (see #13), I liked this little addition to the series because it was a good bromance. Realm and James are great characters. 

10. The Assassin and the Healer by Sarah J. Maas. Celaena is such a great, badass heroine. I read Throne of Glass first and then started these stories, which has worked out quite well. 

9. Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard. I love this cover, first of all. The entire series has such beautiful covers. This is a good addition to the main story of Red Queen because it gives information from the past. 

8. Assassin and the Pirate Lord by Sarah J. Maas. Love this story because it really adds a great layer to Celaena's backstory. 

7. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Audio). Obviously this book is amazing and it's my second time reading it, but I'm not ranking it higher just because a book about a Soviet prison isn't the best for the holiday season:) 

6. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (Audio). I was torn on this book, actually. The beginning is amazing and the main character (and her dialogue and thoughts) is amazing, but something with the plot lost me. (Slight spoiler ahead) I don't understand why it was all about someone trying to kill her in the beginning and then that's not even a thought again until way later. 

5. Warm Up by V.E. Schwab. Super awesome story that comes from the Vicious world. Highly recommend. 

4. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab. I was so impressed with Schwab's first book. One of the things I like most about her writing (other than the amazing stories) is the lack of cliches and I was pleasantly surprised to find the same style in this story. (Surprised only because debuts sometimes have those common writing tricks we can all spot a mile away.) The story reminded me a lot of The Village film and I really liked the main characters. 

3. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. This book is basically a love letter to winter and, as the number one fan of the cold, you better believe I loved it. I highlighted so many lines and I can't wait until our first snow so I can reread them. Swoon. Also has great characters and adventure:) 

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Audio). The 3rd movie is what got me into this series and while it's not my favorite book, it's obviously so so good. I love me some Sirius Black. 

1. The Witch of Duva by Leigh Bardugo. I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't read the Shadow and Bone series (yet!) and I really have no excuse, but I bought it recently and will get to it ASAP. Especially after reading this companion story because it was amazing. Also, I think Leigh Bardugo and I would get along quite well because of our shared love of Russia.

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