Luke breaks his father's heart by not taking over the family business. Instead he takes his trust fund and goes traveling with his friends. He does not listen to himself or others about these friends. In the end he loses everything including his self-respect.

I like the way this is written. Short stories of what is happening with Luke after a chapter beginning of his diary. From the beginning you know how the story will go but I was interested in how he would rebound. I am glad there were people who taught him and stood by him on his way back up. I also liked the lessons he learned and how he applied those lessons.

This is a story that will stay with me long after I close these covers. So much is here to reflect on.

I had a ridiculously good reading month in December. I read 33 books with an average of 4.06. 3 books were graphic novels and 20 were YA. My most-read genres were contemporary, fantasy, and romance.

I'm not sure what my favorite book was. I really read a lot of excellent books this month, so it's hard to choose between them. Maybe The Bride Was a Boy - Chii or The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black. But really any of my books in the 5 star section were excellent.

My least favorite book is much easier to pick. It's Dead Ever After - Charlaine Harris. It was a disappointing end to the series.

5 Stars

4.5 Stars

4 Stars

3.5 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

Books by author gender:

• Male: 3
• Female: 28
• Male/Female/Nonbinary Mix: 1
• Male/Female Mix: 1

Books by format:

• Physical: 8
• Audio: 25

Welcome back to my my November Wrap-Up.... I finally got it together and got it up, as usual I'm super behind on stuff  but that is nothing new lol. While I got a fair amount of books read in November, I also fell into a reading slump, I also DNFed some books, which is rare for me. But not all books I DNFed this month was because I didn't like them, one for sure I liked, I just was not in the mood for the genre at the time, but will pick that book back up sometime. Most likely in the new year.

Here are some hopefully exciting new releases for December.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters

Luckily for me, I have almost all review copies done except one but that is not due for some time, so I'm free to read whatever I want for a while,

Right now I'm listing to Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, which I absolutely love so far on audio.

Following on the heels of Sanderson’s successful launch into the YA market with the New York Times bestselling Rithmatist comes Mistborn, now repackaged for the teen audience

Once, a hero rose to save the world. He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and defeating the Lord Ruler. A new kind of uprising is being planned—one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine: a teenage street urchin named Vin.

Once, a hero rose to save the world and failed. This time, can a young heroine succeed?

On e-book I just started Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, I'm not that far into it but so far I'm liking it. 

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

I'm not sure what I will be reading next for December if anything, I might just not read anything and just post the few reviews that I still have left to post, Mostly Harry Dresden. But like I said, not really sure what will be happening this month.

But what is happening is that there is another Giveaway, if you missed it I will post it again here at the end. Make sure to enter, it has plenty of prizes and the grand prize is some Cash, and who doesn't like some extra cash :)  

That is pretty much it, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and get to spend much quality time with family and friends. 

As always you can find the buy links in the review links that will be linked below. 

A Cowboy Never Quits by Cindi Madsen

These hardworking cowboys give everyone a second chance…

When single mom Jessica Cook is at the end of her rope, she takes her 16-year-old daughter to Turn Around Ranch. The ranch has a great reputation for teen therapy, and Jessica prays there’s room there for her and Chloe.

Wade Dawson’s first priority is to keep the ranch afloat to help teens and their families. But he can’t seem to keep his boundaries when it comes to Jessica—she’s talked her way into a job on the ranch so she can stay near her daughter and her tenacity and courage are truly impressive. Not to mention she’s a natural beauty and sparks fly whenever he’s in her vicinity.

But as one crisis after another befalls the ranch, Wade is going to have to decide whether he can afford to let a woman get under his skin…

 5 ★

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

 2 ★

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

A ruthless young assassin’s journey for revenge comes to a stunning end in the conclusion of this acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.

The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.

Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Their quest will take them through the Godsgrave underdark, across the Sea of Swords, back to the library of the Quiet Mountain and the poisoned blades of Mia’s old mentors, and at last the fabled Crown of the Moon. There, Mia will at last discover the origins of the darkin, and learn the destiny that lies in store for her and her world. But with the three suns now in descent, and Truedark on the horizon, will she survive?

 5 ★

The Burning Shadow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux—only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is—and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with this steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.

 4 ★

Wicked Hour by Chloe Neill

In the second pulse-pounding novel in the USA Today bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series, vampire Elisa Sullivan gets drawn into the shifting sands of Pack politics.

Vampires were made, not born—until Elisa Sullivan came along. As the only vampire child in existence, she grew up with a heavy legacy, and tried to flee her past. Then circumstances drew her back to Chicago, and she stayed to keep it safe. With shifter Connor Keene, the only son of Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, at her side, she faced down a supernatural evil that threatened to destroy Chicago forever.

After the dust from the attack has settled, Elisa is surprised when Connor invites her to a usually private Pack event in the north woods of Minnesota, and by the warm welcome she receives from some of Connor’s family, even though she’s a vampire. But the peace doesn’t last. The shifters tell tales of a monster in the woods, and when the celebration is marred by death, Elisa and Connor find themselves in the middle of a struggle for control that forces Elisa to face her true self—fangs and all.

3 ★

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Appreciate the little things that we often take for granted. 

Look you saw my updates. You know what's coming. I don't have much to say except this is a terrible book masquerading a romance. It's bad enough the plot is terrible, but add in no character development of the two leads and the writing being so-so I was ticked that a lot of reviews gave this book 5 stars. Cause I have problems championing a couple that's emotionally cheating and in one case has the hero put his hands on the heroine. It's telling readers out there that you must struggle for love and it's okay if the person you love treats you terribly, you just put up with it so in the end they love you. Bump that crap.

So "One Day in December" starts in 2008 with Laurie on the way home to her flat that she lives in with her best friend Sarah. Laurie is in a job she hates and is looking forward to Christmas and her visit with her parents and her brother. Stuck on a bus wishing to murder the woman in front of her, Laurie looks out the window and makes eye contact with a man. They seem to share a moment (drive heave) and Laurie wishes she had gotten off the bus or he had gotten out since she now knows that she has fallen in love at first sight. The first part of the book follows Laurie as she brushes off any attempts to start thinking of a new guy and daydreams about "bus boy." In her mind he's perfect and has to be better than the guys who have come before. Laurie is happy for her best friend Sarah though who has fallen in love with a guy named Jack. So the two friends throw a holiday party and Sarah invites Jack, who is "bus boy". From there Silver jumps into dual POVs with both Laurie and Jack through the years (10 of them) and I just could not. I read the synopsis and I hoped that Silver would do a good job with the plot since sometimes you can, or sometimes you just turn it into "Love, Rosie" and I want to scream until I lose my voice.

Here's the thing, Laurie and Jack suck. If we had these two maybe longing for each other that could have been enough. Instead Silver dives into them emotionally cheating and then Laurie actually kissing Jack at one point. At that point I was over Laurie. And Jack is an asshole. One of my friends once said to me about a guy that I was into was I into him because of X, Y, Z, or was I into him because he was tall. That kind of flattened me since I knew what she meant. I liked the idea of the guy, but him in close proximity irked the crap out of me. This whole book was two people who are actually not good for each other and these two fools saying how they are friends made me howl with laughter. Silver actually only shows them having I think having two or maybe three "deep conversations." And I put that in quotes because it's the conversations you have with people when you are drinking. They don't know a thing about each other besides some bits and pieces and it's superficial. When Jack turns into super douche I was over it.

The secondary characters are not developed very well except for the character of Sarah. Frankly I wish that Silver had just thrown in her POV and actually reworked this more because in the end Laurie and Jack don't deserve Sarah. 

The writing was not very good. Another reviewer complained about the half finished sentences and fragments and I have to agree. No one talks like this in real life and it didn't help that we spend our time mostly with Laurie and her woe is me self and even when Silver sets up her moving on it's still a PITA to read her POV. The flow was awful. If you do dual POVs this way I have to want to learn something from both people. I learned Jack is terrible and deserved to die in a ditch somewhere. Laurie is a doormat. That's all I got.

The setting of the book takes place in London over a 10 year period with some other locations talked about or visited, but nothing really stuck in my mind.

The ending made me roll my eyes a thousand times.