Hi everybody, and welcome to my December wrap up!

The last month of 2018 and pfew, it was quite a mixed month. On the one hand, it was once again proven that I am a very goal-driven person as I gave it my all to reach my Goodreads goal of 60 books read in 2018 and read the most I’ve ever read in one month. On the other hand, things got so busy that other than work, house renovations, reading and sleeping, I had very little time for anything else, which means I’ve been a TERRIBLE blogger. I’m so sorry for being MIA everybody! I only hope it’ll get better soon, but know that I haven’t forgetten you all and will definitely blog hop and comment on all your wonderful posts the moment I get the chance!

For now  though, here’s my December wrap up!

Rock by Anyta Sunday

I stumbled upon Rock because I was in the mood for a good romance, did some Googling and discovered Chandler Ainsley’s booktube, where I watched a video in which she recommended Rock. Rock is an m/m romance with an exquisitely done slow burn. The story is about Cooper and starts when he is twelve. When his parents divorce, he finds himself living one week with his mother and one week with his father…and his girfriend and her son, Jace. Though Cooper and Jace get off to a rocky start (heh), they eventually become very close friends and even more. The story follows them throughout the years, from the time they are kids until they are in college. I’m a sucker for slow burn romances and I did throughly enjoy this one. There’s just one thing that irked me a bit, but I can’t say because of spoilers, that kept me from giving it a full five stars.

Rating: 4 stars

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

What If It’s Us was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018, because it’s two of my favorite authors co-writing a books and I was so pumped for it! Then it was released and the mixed reviews came in, which honestly kept me from picking it up for a while. But my curiosity won out and I dove in and I can safely say I am definitely one of the positive reviewers. I loved What If It’s Us. I loved the realness and awkwardness of it, I loved the focus on friendship, I loved the New York setting and I LOVED all the Hamilton and Harry Potter references. However, I do agree that that epilogue kind of annoyed me in a way and I was a little annoyed by Arthur at several times throughout the book. Ben was a sweetheart however, and I still give this book a solid four stars!

Rating: 4 stars

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Look at me, getting through my backlist, one book at a time! First of all, let me just say that I am in love with this cover. It is an absolutely gorgeous piece of art and I was pleasantly surprised to find out the art is by Charlie Bowater, who is one of my favorite fan artists, so I’m so happy she got to do this cover! On to the story. Overall, I really loved everything about this. The worldbuilding was pretty fun and unique and I loved this take on fae and how they rely on humans to do their craft. I loved the focus on art, I loved the characters of Isobel and Rook and I loved Isobels love for her family. I quite enjoyed the romance, but I must say that for a fantasy with a heavy focus on romance like this one, I expected just a tad more from the romance. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but it felt just a little rushed. I needed a bit more and bit more slow burn. Other than that, definitely recommend!

Rating: 3,5 stars

The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare

Okay, so I read Lady Midnight two years ago, but then I never picked up Lord of Shadows and decided I would save myself the agony of waiting ages for the release of Queen of Air and Darkness and treat myself to a good old binge-read of the entire trilogy as soon as Queen of Air and Darkness released. AND HOLY SHIRTBALLS, best decision ever! I knew I loved Lady Midnight, but not only did I love it just as much upon re-read, I’m absolutely head over heels in love with the entire trilogy. I don’t think I ever loved a fictional family as much as the Blackthorns, I never shipped anyone as badly as Emma and Julian, I was so absolutely invested in all of these characters and I don’t know where to begin raving about everything. Mark and Christina and Kieran? Kit and Ty? Dru? Perfect Diego and brother Jaime? Diana? Like OMG, I’m turning into a blabbering mess just thinking about this series. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I just have some questions about the ending, which take my rating down to 4,5 stars but really it’s just nitpicking because overall I ADORED IT. (Also, need more Kit and Ty, stat)

Rating: 4,5 stars

Fence #8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 by C.S. Pacat and JOhanna The Mad

Well, I needed to finish 11 books this month to reach my Goodreads goal, so it was the perfect time to catch up on my beloved comic book series, Fence. Though every issue is so short I can’t really speak for every issue separately, but overall, I still love this series. All of these characters are so lovely and I feel like we’re just getting started. I’m excited about the friendships we’re sure to get and OF COURSE, the inevitable Nicholas-Seiji enemies-to-lovers slow-burn which will undoubtedly be awesome.

Rating: 4 stars

TOP TEN TUESDAY

• 4 December 2018: Short & Addictive Tv-Shows Perfect For Binge-Watching This Winter
• 11 December 2018: Ten (Small & Not So Small) Ways Book Blogging Changed My Life
• 18 December 2018: Baby It’s Cold Outside (So I’m Staying In Reading, Duh) – My Winter TBR
• 25 December 2018: Twelve Books I’m Hoping To Find Under My Christmas Tree

Quote It Wednesday

On hiatus in December…

Something Different Sunday

My Top 20 Favorite Songs of 2018

CALENDAR GIRLS

Let It Snow: Best Book Set In Winter

Honestly, I did not listen to a whole lot of new music this month. I know there were some new kpop releases that I need to check out, but I’ve been mostly listening to songs from earlier this year to put together my Top 20 Favorite Songs of 2018 post and watching Youtube videos of some live performances I loved.

DAREDEVIL SEASON 3

I have to say, though I loved season one of Daredevil, I was pretty disappointed by season two. But I could not say goodbye yet to my favorite Matt Murdock so I gave season three a chance and boy am I happy I did. What an improvement to season two. We got amazing character development, we got our favorite trio sorting though their issues and working together again, we got morally conflicted characters to love, we got the best set up for a villain ever with Bullseye, we got schemes and revelations and plot twists and Wilson Fisk being his villainous mastermind self and I loved every minute of it. To hear it was cancelled now just breaks my heart.

The Princess Switch

As I mentioned in my previous wrap up, I was having this weird craving to watch Christmas movies (weird because I’m not usually a Christmassy person) and I started last month with A Christmas Prince, which I didn’t like. Undeterred, I continued my quest for Christmas movies and watched… exactly one more movie before my craving stopped, and that was The Princess Switch. And the funny thing is, even though The Princess Switch has all the same flaws and cheesy tropes as A Christmas Prince, I enjoyed this one a lot more. I embraced the cheese and loved every minute of it. Except for the last five or so minutes, but that’s just my skeptical self coming out again.

The Little mermaid

I thought I would love this one, I really did. I love fairytale retellings, I love mermaids, I love William Mosely. But though it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t feel the love. I thought it started out great, but the story lost me about halfway through and I just didn’t care about the characters. Bummer.

Things that made me happy this month:

• I officially had my last day at my previous job and am ready and beyond excited to start my new job next week (the day after this post goes up, whoop!).
• Holiday gatherings with family. I love all those Christmas traditions.
• I read ELEVEN books! Granted, almost half were comic books, but it’s still the most I read in a long time.
• I started bullet journaling. Yes, I fell down the rabbit hole. Also, know that when I say, I started bullet journaling, I really just STARTED. This is taking sooo much time! So I’m not sure if I’ll keep up or have the time to spend on it, but it combines my love of organisation and to do lists with my desire to be a little more creative again, so we’ll see what happens.
• House renovations are kind of kicking my butt and I am pretty exhausted, BUT we are making huge strides towards getting our house finished. We now officially have heating and internet connection, which are two crucial things if you ask me 😉

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

• MY NEW JOB! 
• House renovations: getting our floor done, ordering doors and possibly getting our bathroom installed…
• KING OF SCARS! THE WICKED KING! Two of my most anticipated releases coming this month and I AM READY!
• Oh and one more thing: MY THREE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY AND GIVE-AWAY! It’s coming soon, so get ready 😉

HOW WAS YOUR DECember? WHAT DID YOU READ? WHAT DID YOU LISTEN TO AND WHAT DID YOU WATCH? WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR JANUARI?