# of books read: 5
Genres: 1 Middle-Grade Fantasy, 1 Adult historical novel, 1 YA Contemporary, 1 YA Thriller, 1 Picture Book.
Total # of pages read: 1431
December turned out to be a pretty good month for reading! My reading was a little slow in the beginning of the month because I was just super busy with preparing for all the festivities but after Christmas I just couldn't wait to get started on all my new books, so I read quite a bit in the last week! I think this was one of my most successful months in terms of enjoyment as I rated nearly all the books I read at five stars, so I'm pretty happy with my reading overall! So let's have a look at what I read in December...
The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer | ☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth book in The Land of Stories series so I can't say too much about it apart from it's a modern twist on fairytale re-tellings. I love this series so much, even though it's middle grade I would definitely recommend it for all ages, my mum has read these books too and really enjoyed them. It's just a really heartwarming yet exciting series and this book was a great sequel, I can't wait for the next one to be released!
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent | ☆☆☆☆☆
This was my TBR jar pick for December and I'm so so glad I read it last month! I honestly didn't know much about this book going in and didn't know what to expect at all and it was such an unexpected joy that I loved it so much. Set in rural Iceland in 1829, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes, who, having been charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. That synopsis sounds strange and depressing but even though it is dark in places, the writing is so beautiful that it just drew me in and completely captured my heart. Kent's writing is honestly some of the best I've seen in a long time, it's beautiful and lyrical and so intensely atmospheric that you feel completely submerged in the world of the novel. Agnes' story is dark and heartbreaking but also wonderful and grounding, and I just think that everyone needs to read this. It's the perfect winter read so pick it up now!
This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp | ☆☆☆☆☆
I was so so excited to receive this on Christmas day, as the official release date wasn't until January 5th, so unwrapping this was such an amazing surprise. This is Where it Ends is a character-driven YA contemporary about a school shooting, told from four different perspectives over the space of fifty-four harrowing minutes. I've already done a full review for this book, which you can read here.
A Sky Full of Kindness by Rob Ryan | ☆☆☆☆☆
I finished This is Where it Ends late at night and was basically sat in a pool of tears and didn't know what to do with myself so I decided to pick up another Christmas gift - A Sky Full of Kindness by Rob Ryan. This beautiful book tells the story of two birds who are about to become parents through a series of intricate paper cut outs. Rob Ryan is known for his paper-cut illustrations and he's one of my favourite artists so this sweet little story was just the pick me up I needed after the incredible trauma that was This is Where it Ends.
Monsters by Emerald Fennell | ☆☆☆☆.5
I decided to carry on with the theme of dark and disturbing reads by picking up Monsters by Emerald Fennell. This is a YA thriller about two young people with an unsavoury interest in murder on a summer holiday that neither of them will forget. Told from the perspective of a twelve year old girl, Monsters is darkly comic and just generally pretty messed up, but in an unsettlingly enjoyable way? The writing, characterisation and world-building were all excellent and the only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that I felt that the ending just wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, it just lacked a little something. But it was still an excellent read and I'd highly recommend it.
So those are all the books I read in December! I finished out the year having read a whopping 83 books so I'm really pleased with that! Coming up tomorrow is my 2015 book awards and statistics post so look out for that!
What did you read last month?
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