Happy December! I am so happy there is just one month left in the year (and more importantly, my semester is nearly over as well). And I officially hit my reading goal for the year this month! So it really is almost time for the year to be wrapped up. I am excited for 2024, especially the many amazing new releases.
My reading has definitely been down in recent months, so I am really happy that I got back into the swing of things this month! I read 8 books total, and I really loved many of them. I finished two ARCs and both were amazing, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo and Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher. Be on the lookout for reviews of both of those soon. I also read the new Percy Jackson book, which was fun, and How to Find a Missing Girl, a YA mystery that has been on my tbr since long before it came out. Read below for my full list of reads and ratings, and the other things I have been up to this month.
Books Read
- Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan – 4/5 stars ★★★★
- Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma – 3/5 stars ★★★
- How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok – 4/5 stars ★★★★
- Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo – 4.5/5 stars ★★★★
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor – 2.5/5 stars ★★★
- Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher – 4.5/5 stars ★★★★
- Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner – 3/5 stars ★★★
- Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb – 4/5 stars ★★★★
On the blog
I only posted once this month, but given the current state of things I consider that an accomplishment. So if you haven’t already, go check out my post about romance books set in the publishing industry. But like I said, I am hoping to get some reviews posted soon though!
Posts I loved reading
Zalia at All My Other Lives wrote an amazing post about the futility of star ratings, and why she uses them anyway.
Marie at Drizzle and Hurricane books posted about anticipated YA books coming out in 2024, giving me more things to add to my tbr.
Caitlyn at Tea Time Lit posted a great review of The Rise and Fall of Whit Rivera, and made me very excited to read it!
This month’s listening
I admit, I started listening to Christmas music this month. I used to be a firm “after thanksgiving” person, but I don’t see any reason to not listen to something that brings me joy. I have mostly been listening to Lindsey Sterling’s Warmer in the Winter and Pink Martini’s Joy to the World.
What’s up with me
I am deep into studying for finals at the moment, and blah blah school was a lot just like any other month. But I did actually have a pretty good month overall. I was happy I found a lot more time to read again, as evidenced by the increase in my number of books read this month (and none of them are even graphic novels!). I also visited Washington D.C. over Thanksgiving break where I had a really fun time. I went to a literary themed speakeasy called Allegory, which was really cool, and lots of bookstores. All in all, I am just happy that I have survived my first semester of grad school. Hopefully one day I can go back to “I did fun things” instead of “school is so stressful” in all of these updates.
Reading with Delaney 