Hi and welcome to the reading world!
Today, I’m recapping all the books I read in December 2020. I ended up reading a lot of favorites and ones I’m excited to review on the blog in the future!
This was a fun holiday romance that had some elements of time travel and time loops. It was lighthearted overall, but also had some themes of home, family, and the friends that become family. I really enjoyed reading this, and I have a full review of this on the blog!
This was a fantasy I really enjoyed reading! It had incredible world building and characters that are complex. Although it was a little slow at times and the ending felt a little rushed, I overall loved this book and I’ve already read on in the series. I’m planning on doing a review of the entire Daevabad trilogy on the blog in the future!
The Honey Don’t List was another Christina Lauren release this past year and one I was curious to read since I’ve enjoyed several other of her works. I will say that this is probably my least favorite of her books I’ve read so far. While I didn’t especially enjoy it as much compared to In a Holidaze or when I first read The Unhoneymooners, I’m still excited to read another Christina Lauren as they’ve written some of my favorite romances I’ve read.
Artificial Condition introduced my favorite side character of the Murderbot Diaries. I enjoyed the action writing more compared to All Systems Red, and while it had its shortcomings it was another fantastic installment in the series. I’ve since read on in the Murderbot Diaries and really enjoy these books.
Of all the books in the Murderbot Diaries, Rogue Protocol is probably my least favorite. To me, the side characters and in story plot didn’t shine as much as they usually do, even though I still liked the story overall. Again, I’ve since read on in the series and really do enjoy The Murderbot Diaries.
The last of the novellas before the full length novel, Exit Strategy was my favorite Murderbot novella thus far. I felt like it combined all the strengths and improvements the series had accumulated thus far and was an incredible installment in the series. I’ll be doing a combined review of the novellas between All Systems Red and Network Effect, so stay tuned for that!
This book is definitely one of the most hyped reads of the year, and I really enjoyed reading it even though it’s not a new favorite. The characters are what really makes this story shine, and a lot of the time is spent getting to know backstory, history, and narration of Addie especially. I thought this was a well done book and it definitely swept me up while I was reading it, and I’m excited to share a full review in 2021.
I’d read some YA novels by Rachel Hawkins a long time ago, and so I was excited to pick up her first adult book in a buddy read with some bookstagram friends. Overall, I think there was strong development of suspense and intrigue, but the twist and subsequent resolution wasn’t my favorite. I think this was an interesting read and one that’s made me want to read Jane Eyre to see the connections, and it’s one I look forward to reviewing in the future.
This story was one I enjoyed because the characters had chemistry, great supporting characters, and dealt with some serious issues at the same time of understanding your own identity and the consequences of not being accepted for who you are. I definitely felt for the struggles that these characters went through at times, and laughed alongside their well written banter at others. I think this is an engaging romance that also touches on some important themes of love, identity, and acceptance.
Technically I stayed up late on New Year’s Eve reading this, but Goodreads seems to count it in my 2020 so I’ll talk about it here. The Space Between Worlds was incredible and a new favorite. I loved the characters and the parallel world building that felt layered and complex but still conveyed well to the reader. As I was reading, I did want to see the major conflict present itself a little sooner, but the ending was so well written and the pacing worked out to where I was thrilled to read how this story came together. I am so excited to read Micaiah Johnson’s next work, and I am thrilled her debut was the December b2weird book club pick.
So there are my December reads! The Space Between Worlds was definitely my favorite pick with City of Brass and the Murderbot Diaries series as close runner ups- what was your favorite read of December, and of 2020?
Thanks for stopping by!
-Rae