I ended up reading four books in December, putting me at a total of 46 books for the year, just shy of my goal of 50. All in all though, I’m really happy with the amount I read. It’s the most I’ve read in a year since BEFORE I had kids.
Anyway, here’s what I read last month, obviously very heavy on the Christmas.
📊 Reading Stats
Books Read: 4
Genres: Fiction (4): YA (2) ◦ Christmas (3) ◦ Romance (1)
Formats: Print (4)
Sources: Library (4)
Average Rating: 3 stars
Yearly Goal Progress: 46 / 50 books
📖 Book Reviews
📘 Alaskan Holiday
Author: Debbie Macomber
Genre: Fiction ◦ Christmas ◦ Romance
Publication: 2018
Format & Source: Print ◦ Library
Dates Read: November 17 – December 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Classic Debbie Macomber Christmas romance that I enjoyed enough.
This one’s about a young chef from Seattle who falls in love while working temporarily in a very remote part of Alaska. Neither of them wants to live where the other lives, so it proves to be very problematic.
I love to read Debbie Macomber’s Christmas offerings. They’re always light, fluffy, sweet, and fast to read over the crazy holiday season. They’re just the pick me up that I need. This one was good, but so far is my least favorite of her Christmas books that I’ve read, as I usually rate her books with at least four stars.
If you enjoy all of her other Christmas books, pick this one up. It’s worth the short time it takes to read it. However, if you’re new to her books, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one.
📘 Noel Street
Author: Richard Paul Evans
Genre: Fiction ◦ Christmas
Publication: 2019
Format & Source: Print ◦ Library
Dates Read: December 15 – 23, 2019
Rating: ★★★★☆
Man oh man, do I LOVE me some Richard Paul Evans. His Christmas books continue to knock it out of the park year after year, and this one was no exception.
Noel Street takes place in the 70s, and is the story of a young single mother who meets a veteran at her small town diner. They’re both battling some inner turmoil and struggling to find their footing, while also falling for each other.
As I’ve come to expect with all of his novels, this one was incredibly emotional and touching. I became heavily invested in the characters, and missed them when I finished the book. I can’t wait to see what he puts out for Christmas next year. I’ve read a ton of his books, but only discovered him a few years ago, so I also look forward to catching up on some of his older work as well.
📘 Decked With Holly
Author: Marni Bates
Genre: Fiction ◦ Christmas ◦ YA
Publication: 2012
Format & Source: Print ◦ Library
Dates Read: December 24 – 31, 2019
Rating: ★★★☆☆
I absolutely love cruising, so when I heard that this book took place on a Christmas cruise, I was all in. I really, really want to take a Christmas cruise one day, and started planting the seed with my family earlier this year, perhaps for when my boys are a little older and less likely to run amok at sea.
Anyway, the story centers around two teens from opposite worlds: Holly, a slightly nerdy girl who is stuck with her horrible, mean girl cousins for the trip, and Nick, a handsome rock star who is trying to take a break and relax out of the spotlight. When Holly gets unfortunately sick on the trip, she runs into Nick and gets photographed by the paparazzi. Now, they’ve decided to fake a romance to please the cameras. Despite their initial intolerance for each other, perhaps they can find love on the open seas…
So, this book was cute. I loved the average girl / rock star romance thing that was going on, and I also loved the cruise setting because DUH. It was sweet, humorous, and very light fluff. I honestly didn’t love it though, because this one was definitely targeted more toward the younger YA reader, but it was overall sweet. I don’t have anything bad to say, but it’s not a stand out by any means. It passed the time fine but was nothing spectacular.
All in all, I’d say this would be a good pick for a preteen or younger teen who is just getting into romance reading!
📘 The Secret of a Heart Note
Author: Stacey Lee
Genre: Fiction ◦ YA
Publication: 2016
Format & Source: Print ◦ Library
Dates Read: November 28 – December 31, 2019
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
This book had a promising start for me. It had mostly contemporary vibes, but with some love witch magic thrown in. Sounded intriguing enough! Sadly, the intrigue didn’t last long.
The story is about Mim, one of only two remaining aromateurs in the world. Along with her mother, she uses her amazing sense of smell to mix and match elixirs that are guaranteed to help people fall in love. While it’s an important job, it’s also a lonely one. Mim can NEVER fall in love, or she will lose her magical sense of smell. She just wants to be a regular high schooler, but she finds it nearly impossible. One day, she accidentally gives the wrong person an elixir, and has to rely on a handsome jock to make things right. She soon learns that though she isn’t supposed to fall in love, you can’t always help it.
This was an interesting and unique idea for a story, no doubt. However, the further I got into it, the more bored I became. It was seriously about a hundred pages too long, and the story just really dragged for me in some places. I never really enjoyed any of the characters, and the botany aspect was dull. I can’t say I hated the book, just that I never felt compelled to read more than a few pages at a time. There are quite a lot of rave reviews, so I may be in the minority on this one, but my overall opinion is that it was far too long and far too boring.
🎖️ Favorite Book of the Month
Noel Street by Richard Paul Evans
That’s a wrap on this month’s reads — here’s to another great chapter! 📚
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