Lili Lost in a Book: Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2023

I can't believe we're into the new year already. I just hope 2024 treats us well 😅 Anyway, here's a little about what I read in December. I ended up reading 4 full-length novels, 3 graphic novels, and 6 short stories/novellas (for a total of 2208 pages! That's about 400 pages more than the previous month)... listen, I needed a way to catch up on my reading challenge so I did what I had to 😆

10 were part of a series and 3 were standalone
2 were ARCs and 11 were finished copies
2 were hardcover, 4 paperback, and 4 ebooks
4 were 5-star reads and 9 were 4-star reads
4 were indie-published and 9 traditionally published
All of them were by authors I've previously read
2 were adult books, 2 YA, and 1 MG
2 were high fantasy, 1 sci-fi, 1 mystery thriller, 4 mythology retellings, and 5 contemporary romance

Books read this month:

I started off the month with some Lynn Painter. I discovered this author last year and found that I really enjoyed her books, which is surprising because I don't read a lot of contemporary romance. But the books by her that I have read are so freaking cute! That includes these first two novellas I read this month. Better Than the Prom was the prom scene in Better Than the Movies in Wes's POV and Better Than Before was a crossover prequel featuring the characters from Better Than the Movies and Betting on You, and it was so good! It was very cute, as all Lynn Painter books tend to be. Lol.

And after that, I moved on to some Greek mythology graphic novels. This is a series I set out to finish this year and I finally did it! And it was a really solid series that retold the myths. The kids at the school I work at actually love these books as well!

After I finished the Greek mythology series, I read the first graphic novel in the same author's brand new Norse mythology series! I got an ARC of this one from NetGalley and was so pleasantly surprised when I found it on there! I had no idea he'd be doing a Norse mythology series! But I'm glad he did because I really enjoyed the Greek mythology one, and I also really enjoyed the Odin graphic novel.

And then I finally read Sword Catcher! I have been looking forward to this book ever since Cassie Clare announced it! And I really enjoyed it! I didn't like it nearly as much as I do her Shadowhunter novels, but this was pretty solid. I liked the world and am looking forward to the sequel.

And after that I went back to Lynn Painter 😆 I clearly like her writing. Lol. The novella above, December 15th, is yet another crossover novella, this one featuring ALL of the characters from all of her YA books: Better Than the Movies, The Do-Over, and Betting on You. And it was SO GOOD! It was cute and festive and I may have swooned a time or two 😆

Liz's Proposal is another Wes POV scene from Better Than the Movies. Again, it was cute and I love Wes 🥰

And I finally read the illustrated edition of The Lightning Thief! I wanted to re-read this book before I watched the show, and I figured this would be the perfect time to read the illustrated edition since I've had it for a long time but never read it. And I, of course, enjoyed it. I mean, it's Percy Jackson. Lol.

And then I finally finished Blood of My Blood! This book was on my Currently Reading shelf for the longest time! I think it was almost two months! And it was for no other reason than my mood. Ugh. Lol. But I finished it and I enjoyed it! I really like this series overall!

I was just in a mood for fantasy in December, it seems like, so I read The Vanishing Deep! Lol. I have really enjoyed the two other books I read by Astrid Scholte, so I was expecting to love this one as well. I didn't. Not as much as the other two at least. I still did like it and I loved the world, but the ending was brutal. I don't like the direction it went. I understand the sacrifice, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Lol.

And then one more Lynn Painter short! Lol. The Party is, yep, another Wes Bennett POV 😆 At this point, I just want to re-read Better Than the Movies. Lol. But yeah, I enjoyed this. It was cute. I love Wes. I am repeating myself. Lol.

And my last book of the year was yet another crossover novella!! This one was a crossover between Juila Huni's sci-fi series Space Janitor and Krimson Empire. I loved this! It was so much fun and it was so cool to see all these characters from these different series meet and interact. And the gift that Vanti got at the end... omg I almost died! So cute!

Favorite books of the month:

These two crossover novellas were cute and festive and I loved every minute of them!

Least favorite book of the month:

I actually really enjoyed everything I read this month! But I'm still bitter about the ending of this one lol.

Books reviewed this month: