I only (only is said very lightly and quite sarcastically) read 10 books this month. This number is low (compared to other months of 2019) because I committed myself to finally finishing the 5th book in the Outlander series. By page count, my reading was just as high this month as previous months. Only one month left in 2019 after this! I’ve been working on the list of what my favorites for the year might be. Stay tuned!
American Royals by Katherine McGee. If I haven’t already said it, I will read anything that is about royals. This is an alternate universe where George Washington was King instead of the first President set in modern day. Full of angsty teenagers and tough decisions and love triangles. It ended on a BIG cliffhanger so I will obviously read the rest of her books in this series. 4 stars.
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory. This was one of Guillory’s tamest open-ish-door romance novels to date. At this point, I’ve read all of her books and find it hard to keep the characters straight. This one had less steamy scenes, but I think that was good because the story felt more developed and the relationship deeper (although, a quick one). 3.5 stars.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I read this book after reading ‘Carry On’ (also by Rainbow Rowell) so the side-stories written about Simon and Baz just weren’t as interesting to me. I wouldn’t say you have to read this before ‘Carry On’ but reading it afterward left me a little confused. The plotline and characters were interesting and developed but since I had to skip over a lot of the actual fan-fiction, it wasn’t a favorite for me. 3 stars.
We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop.
A $2 Kindle book will always get me, plus the BoP ladies were reading this. It was….average? I found the main character to be a bit whiny at first. Probably mostly because Dunlop took the whole book to explain why exactly the woman was so upset. The marketing teams who pushed this as a thriller mis-labeled it, to me. I thought the parts about the syndrome her sister had were interesting, but all of the random romances in Buenos Aires left me wanting. 2.5 stars.
Twice In A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren. Christina Lauren (the combo) is (are?) a good writer of romance novels. However, this one felt like an “I have to put out a book every year so here is one” kind of thing. The chemistry between the main characters was lacking, and the whole hollywood fame plotline felt tired. I didn’t actively dislike this, though, and would say that it’s a good beach read. 3 stars.
No Judgements by Meg Cabot.
Until the day that I die, I will continue to read Meg Cabot’s books. This novel about a woman trying to survive her first hurricane in the Florida Keys while trying to save all the animals left behind while also falling in love just warmed my heart. Welcome back to adult fiction, Meg! Please never leave again. 5 stars.
The Song Rising (Bone Season #3) by Samantha Shannon.
I liked this one the best so far out of all of the Bone Season books. That is probably because I finally felt like I had a handle on the setting and the characters. Paige really comes into her own power and her own destiny here. The action was interesting but not too heavy and kept me guessing. 5 stars.
Someone We Know by Shari Lapena. December’s IRL book club pick was Someone We Know. I wasn’t at the meeting in November, so I don’t know the background of the pick (and haven’t read anything else by Lapena). It was a fun, different thriller and I didn’t guess who-dun-it. But, then again, I have never guessed who-dun-it. So that probably shouldn’t be my real bar for a good thriller/mystery. I thought the end wrapped up a little too quickly and could have used some more explanation there. 3.5 stars.
Recursion by Blake Crouch.
Holy moly! Recursion blew my mind. A total trip about reality and ‘what if you could re-do the things in your life that you got wrong’ but with a heavy dose of the butterfly effect. I was on the edge of my seat and read this in one sitting. I don’t agree with some of the comparisons that this is too similar to his first novel because I liked Recursion much better (less violence, more mind-f*ck). 5 stars.
Gemina (Illuminae #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
Gemina was just as good as Illuminae and tickled the epistolary, strange-format loving part of my brain. Anyone who read Illuminae should read this one as well for more doses of intergalactic hi-jinks. It definitely follows the same plot structure but I didn’t care because I loved the characters. 5 stars.
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon.
Fiery Cross is the Outlander book that made me put down the series the first time. My original criticisms were the slow paced, back-country life and Claire’s obsession with mold and penicillin. That being said, after I pushed through those parts and got to the meat of the story, I was hooked again. Diana Gabaldon is the only person who can make me read a 1,000+ page book and still love the characters and the story at the end of it. I plan to keep reading the series, but might give myself a break for a bit to gear up again. 4.5 stars.
SJP Books 