December wrap-up

This was a really busy month and overall a really busy year. I read 257 new books this year which is completely crazy! A lot of good and bad things happened this year.

I read a lot more books than I did last year, my boyfriend and I bought a new car because our old one broke down we also I went back to Vegas and visited San Francisco which was completely amazing. This year was also not so good for me too, I was laid off from my job and was not working for about three months but I found a new job that is completely awesome.

Onto the books. I tried to read as much as possible. Being December there was lots of things to go for Christmas so I had to sneak in reading whenever possible.

I read...

Body of Evidence- Patricia Cornwell (Finished in November but forgot to add it to my wrap-up)
Blue Dahlia- Nora Roberts
The Season of Passage- Christopher Pike
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (re-read. So good!)
Pushing the Limits- Katie McGarry
The Gift- Cecelia Ahern
Broken A.E. Rought
Queen of Cool- Cecil Castellucci
Burning Blue- Paul Griffin
A Midsummer's Nightmare- Kody Keplinger
Notorious Nineteen- Janet Evanovich ( So much love for this book)

Stacking the Shelves (53)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

This is the Christmas edition. I got so many books. It was a really good Christmas! 

Gifted

Go The Fok To Sleep (Audio and HC)- Adam Mansbach
The Color Purple- Alice Walker
These Girls- Sarah Pekkanen
Hereafter- Tara Hudson
To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Tempest- Julie Cross
Bleeding Violet- Dia Reeves
Embrace- Jessica Shirvington
Jekel Loves Hyde- Beth Fantaskey

This is how my boyfriend proposed. He put on my favorite song and put this in the back of To Kill A Mockingbird because he knows how much I love this book!!!
















Bought Used

The Kitchen House- Kathleen Grissom

One Day- David Nicholls

What did you get in your mailbox?

Burning Blue- Paul Griffin

Title: Burning Blue
Author: Paul Griffin
Source: Borrowed from the library
Series: Standalone
Rating: 4.5/5














How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?

When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.

Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty.

This book is so underrated. I want to send everyone I know a copy of this book to get it out there. It is sooo good. I could not make a coherent thought after finishing this book. The point of view comes from Jay who is fascinated by Nicole and who is determined to find out who threw the acid on her. It gave such a different point of view, Jay starts falling to Nicole the more he tries to find who hurt her. As his list of suspects grows, he starts to wonder of Nicole did this to herself.

Nicole was a complex character. She was not just a beauty queen. She is smart and sweet and when the acid is thrown on her I felt devastated for her. I could not comprehend who could do something so horrific. I loved Jay, he was so sweet. He puts himself in danger to find out what happened to Nicole. He starts to come out of his shell in order to help her.

This story is so sad and the scary part is it has happened. How could someone do this just because they are jealous. The story flowed so well, the writing was beautiful and the characters were so amazing. I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. The ending. Wow. It was so twisty. I was convinced I figured it out but then Griffin put a whole new twist into the story that left me gaping and needed to finish the book. I want to re-read this over and over again. I feel like there were so many clues I overlooked in my first read of this and I want to go back and see it in a new light. I really hope this book gets a ton of attention. All of the characters have depth and the story was just so amazing.

Stacking the Shelves (52)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I did really good this week and I did not buy a single book. I did get a $20 gift card from my secret Santa at work. The only book I got this week was from the library, I got an audio book of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is a re-read for me and I am super excited to get to it :) .

What did you get in your mailbox?

Karma- Cathy Ostlere

Title: Karma
Author: Cathy Ostlere
Source: Bought used
Series: No
Rating: 4/5














On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that sixteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world.

This is a book written in verse about a sixteen year old girl named Maya who is brought to India by her father Amar who was unaware of the pending instability when they left there home in Canada. 

I have not read many books about Indian history so this was a new topic for me. It takes place in India in 1984. Maya and her father come from there home in Canada to New Delhi after the death of her mother. Her father, Amar is a Sikh who has to cut off his hair and beard when he gets to India in order to survive. During the political uproar Maya and her father become separated. Maya is taken in by a doctor's family while they search for her family.

Sandeep is told he is in charge of watching Maya. He starts talking to her through a journal and tries to find out where she is from and how they can get her back to he family. As Maya and Sandeep become close, information from Sandeep's past comes to light and Sandeep has to deal with the turmoil it brings with it.

The plot follows the life of both Maya and Sandeep and switches between there points of view.  I really liked the historical aspect of this novel and learning about Sandeep's past and how he came to lives with Parvrati's family.

I look forward to more books by this author.