December Wrap Up

Hello, everyone! So, once again, my wrap up is late. But, it will be extra long because I had to play catch up to finish my goodreads challenge. So, without further ado, here are my mini reviews of the 7 books that I read in December.

1. The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler was the first book that I finished this month. I started it a few months ago and it was really great, but for some reason I put it down. I ended up rating this 5 stars. Matt Chandler goes through the book of Song of Solomon. I've never read this book of the bible, and I'm kind of glad that I didn't. If I had read it before I would not have appreciated it as much as I do. I really recommend this book for people in their 20's-30's. Also, for people new to Christianity. He does such a great job explaining God's purpose for sex and relationships. I definitely see myself reading it again and recommending it for years.

2. Making Faces by Amy Harmon was the next book I finished this month. I listened to it on audiobook in one sitting on a drive. I really enjoyed it. Amy Harmon's writing is so easy to read (or listen to). I loved the characters and the plot. The story itself isn't very original necessarily, but I really enjoyed how she wove the story together. It was so hard to read at points, but necessary. The stories that these characters tell are important and can be anyone's. I really enjoyed it. I gave it 4-4.5/5 stars.

3. The Long Walk by Stephen King was next. I read this book off of the recommendation of Emily Fox. I really enjoy her channel and have been looking for a Stephen King book to read for a while. When she recommended this one and my dad had it, I jumped right on it. At first, I was unsure of how I felt about the story. Their was not a lot of world building and that made me slightly confused. After I realized that I was not going to get world building I enjoyed it a little more. Over all, this is not the kind of book I am used to, but the writing was good and the atmosphere that he created was palpable. I did find it hard to picture some things, but I think it's just because I missed it. I don't know. I think I recommend this book. It was a little predictable, but it didn't bother me that much. I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch was the next book I finished. This is a sci/fi book that I borrowed from a friend. I definitely want to own it one day because I really enjoyed it! I don't usually like sci/fi, but for some reason this did it for me. I feel like I might have to try another one... who knows? One thing that I really enjoyed that I don't typically enjoy in books is how the main character, Jason, discovered everything that was happening to him. I don't usually like being in the dark about things, or discovering things with the character in this matter, but I liked it with this story. Maybe, it was the suspense of it, or because the subject was unfamiliar to me, but whatever it was I liked it. I also liked that it wasn't too heavy on the science part of sci/fi. I like how he was chasing after his family and the life that he loved. It almost read like a romance. I don't know if that is a stretch or not, but that was what was keeping me invested so much. Overall, I highly recommend if you think it is at all interested. 5/5 stars.

5. Graceling by Kristen Cashore was next. This book was just not as good as I hoped it would be. I have been looking forward to reading it for a couple of years now and it was so.. disappointing. The characters were not that interesting. I didn't feel any kind of connections to them. The plot was just long. I listened to the audiobook, which was kind of weird because it is full cast, and just kept wondering why it wasn't over yet. I feel like maybe I could have liked it if it was shorter. The first 1/3 was pure info dumping world building. I mean I just did not like it. Once that was over I was just uninterested in the story. I thought some of the graces were interesting but they were very convenient to the situations that characters got into. Overall, I gave this 2/5 stars. I don't see myself continuing in the series and I don't really recommend it.

6. Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger was next. This book was another dud. I was really looking forward to reading this one as well. I really like the Soulless series by her. That is an adult series, and maybe she just does that better. This book follows a 14 year girl that gets sent away to a finishing school. Everything about this book was just queer. Like, how she got there, the characters, the plot. It was just not my cup of tea. Sophronia was a nice leading lady, but I didn't much care for anyone else. The teachers were weird. They all had quirks, but not in the good way. I gave this book 2/5 stars as well. I would just skip this series and try the Soulless one.

7. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han was the last book of the year! What a great way to end the year. I finished this book in one day! I got it for a great price! I just really enjoyed it my experience! Lara Jean is just such a fun, positive, and enjoyable character to read from. Jenny Han does such a great job writing about high school and high school relationships. I've read her other series The Summer I Turned Pretty and enjoyed that one as well. I love how she wrote Lara Jean's anxiety about college and the future. I feel like so many high school seniors can relate to that. I also like the decision that she made in the end. It was so positive and sent such a great message. I really hope she writes another series, because young girls need to hear positive stories like this. I highly recommend this series. 4/5 stars.