This past month of December has been a most interesting month there. December is the last month of the year and it’s always an interesting experience. I will admit that this hasn’t been my best reading month. Normally December is a month where my reading tends to be lighter than normal. As many of you know, this blog has had some recent changes and I spent the last two weeks of the month implementing this change. So I didn’t really read that much. But also I made sure that the few books that I did read were ones that would be ones that I would enjoy. Which in December is always a plus as it’s the end of the year. Can you believe that 2021 is just about over? I can hardly believe it myself. While in some ways it felt like a long year, in other ways it felt like a short one. My recap won’t take very long that is for sure but I wanted to share some of the books that I was able to get to here.
Bookish Stats
Books Read: 10
Audio Narrations: 5
Number of Pages: 3,344
Historical: 3
Contemporary: 3
Romantic Comedy: 1
Paranormal: 1
Dark: 1
Suspense/Thriller: 1
5 Stars: 3
4 Stars: 6
3 Stars
2 Stars
DNF:1
Books Read and Reviewsd
Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)-My Review
Blaze of Glory (Outlaw Hearts #5)-My Review *TOP PICK*
Sleigh Bells Ring by RaeAnne Thayne-My Review *TOP PICK*
You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti (Laurel Snow #1)- My Review
Dark Pleasures by Aja James (Pure/Dark Ones #4)-My Review
Night Song by Beverly Jenkins
Guardian of Darkness by Kathryn Le Veque (de Reyne Domination #1) My Review
The Christmas Dare by Lori Wilde (Twilight, Texas #10) My Review
Savage Hearts by J.T. Geissinger (Queens & Monsters #3) My Review *TOP PICK*
Better Not Pout by Annabeth Albert – Review Coming Soon
Top Picks of the Month
Savage (adjective):
1) Not domesticated; wild and untamed
2) A brutal or vicious person
3) Malek Antonov
He’s a myth. A ghost. A legend. A Bratva assassin so feared, some won’t even dare to speak his name. He comes in search of vengeance for the death of his brother, but what he finds instead is me. A girl he thinks is someone else. Someone unrelated to the man who killed his brother. Except I am. And when he finds out my true identity, he decides to take me as repayment for what he lost. Now, I’m a little bird trapped in a cage, and the only way to survive is to make friends with the monster who captured me. Except friendship isn’t what the monster has in mind.
MY RATING
I absolutely adored this one here. In fact, I thought that nothing could be better than book two with Daddy Declan. However, I may have to reevaluate as this book was such a winner and I couldn’t put this one down. If you like dark romance and sexy assassins who have an unexpected heart of gold, you need to grab this one up here.
Ranch manager Annie McCade thought her twin niece and nephew could join her at the Angel View Ranch for Christmas with her absent employer being none the wiser. But when the ranch’s owner, Tate Sheridan, shows up out of the blue, Annie’s plans are upended. Soon she finds herself helping Tate make a Christmas to remember for his grieving and fractured extended family.
Sleigh Bells Ring is New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s latest heartwarming Christmas novel, and it’s coming soon from HQN.
MY RATING
This was such a delightful read and if you need an author that will deliver all the festive feels of the Christmas season, then look no further than RaeAnne Thayne. This story was so packed with heart and two delicious love stories. The steam is light but there is still a great focus on the romance. I adore how she implements so many charming elements into a story.
A man haunted by his outlaw past.
The woman who loves him.
A tight-knit family he holds dear.
Old enemies out to kill him.
Jake Harkner loves hard. He fights hard, too, determined to protect the woman and family he believes he doesn’t deserve, feeling unworthy of their love. They are the light to his inner darkness. The times are changing and the new laws don’t allow him to inflict his kind of justice with the guns that made him infamous. His passion for the woman who understands him fully may be the only the only thing that’s keeping him alive.
Gritty. Erotic. Old West. An unforgettable love story.
MY RATING
This was a book I didn’t even know was COMING OUT until a few weeks out. For those that don’t know, Rosanne Bittner was forced to go the self publishing route (as too many authors have had to do of late) So if you love the Outlaw Hearts series as I have, then you definitely need to pick this one up and soon. I simply adored seeing Jake and Randy back together and as they are my favorite couple of all time, I just couldn’t get enough of these two here and seeing their family go. And this is also the last of seeing Jake and Randy as the focus, and it was such a delectable read.
You’re right about December being an odd reading month with everything else that goes on. I didn’t think I’d make the numbers for the Audiobook Challenge, but ended up doubling down in December when I didn’t have time for print books. Neat seeing your numbers and what were your top reads.
Love what you’ve done to the blog look by the by.
Thank you so much!! That means so much coming from you.
I always feel like December is the weirdest month of the year haha
I didn’t read as much as I hoped to, but it was still a good month. Love the new look.
Thank you so much, Nadene, it was a lot of work. I am happy that you still had a good month there.
I never know what I am going to be able to do in December. This year I read a bit more than most months but it could have gone the other way. I hope that you have a wonderful January!
Sleigh Bells Ring was so good! That’s the feels I expect from my holiday reads.
Sleigh Bells Ring was a sweet one. I had to suspend disbelief that they fell in love in like… less than two weeks? lol But otherwise it was a sweet holiday story.