Happy last day of 2017, guys! I can’t believe we are already at the end of the year, but I’m looking forward to 2018 and all the new promises it will bring. I hope you guys read some amazing books in December and were able to complete all the goals and reading you wanted to before 2018 starts. I was able to read eleven things, and I truly enjoyed them all but one!

Like always, you can click the links in each of the titles if you would like to read a more in-depth review of each book and see the individual trigger and content warnings.

➽ The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2) by Katherine Arden – ★★★★★
The Girl in the Tower picks up right where The Bear and the Nightingale left off. Vasya is leaving the only home she has ever known, and has chosen to see the world that is beyond the forest that surrounds her family’s home. I loved this book with the sum of my being. This book is so very powerful, and I can’t even find the words to express how much this series means to me. The Winter of the Witch is easily my most anticipated release of 2018 now. This series is such a magical treat, and I hope you all do yourselves a favor and pick it up.

➽ Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon – ★★★★
Buddy read with Paloma! ❤ I’ll be honest, I honestly didn’t expect to like this, but I very, very much did. I was a complete Outlander virgin; I’ve never read the books, I’ve never watched the show, and somehow none of my friends had spoiled me for any of the events in any of these books. But I really loved the writing, the atmosphere, and the characters.

➽ Three Sides of a Heart: Stories about Love Triangles edited by Natalie C. Parker – ★★★
Buddy read with Alexis over at The Sloth Reader (my favorite BookTuber) & Destiny (my favorite blogger)! ❤ I did enjoy this, but this collection uses the term “love triangle” very loosely, in my opinion. Some of the stories could have probably benefited from a stricter use of the word. It was so very diverse in race, sexuality, settings, social structures, and more, and I really appreciated it. I honestly felt like the majority of these stories had a queer aspect to them and that brings so much joy to me. A few of the stories even beautifully showcases budding polyamorous relationships, which is almost unheard of in YA! But like all anthologies, this was a mixed bag, yet overall, I really did enjoy reading this anthology for the most part. I also feel like there is a big enough variety that most people will come out with at least a couple five star stories out of the sixteen.

➽ Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff – ★★★★★
Buddy read with Jules! ❤ Godsgrave picks up right after the events of Nevernight. But whereNevernight felt like an adult Harry Potter (with an amazingly gothic floo powder network) where our main protagonist, Mia, is learning to become an assassin for the Red Church and the Lady of Blessed Murder, Godsgrave is an all-out gladiator gauntlet, where our characters are fighting to the death and only the very best may rise in rank. I loved this.

➽ The Star-Touched Queen (The Star-Touched Queen #1) by Roshani Chokshi – ★★★★
Buddy read with Sonja! ❤ ! The Star-Touched Queen is a loosely based retelling of the Greek mythology surrounding Hades and Persephone, but told in a setting to completely celebrate Indian culture. I loved every aspect of the retelling, but I also loved every new and inventive way Roshani crafted this into her own story. This was lush, and engaging, and so romantic. This was an absolute treat to read.

➽ Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive #3) by Brandon Sanderson – ★★★★★
I’m a big slacker and haven’t posted this review to my blog yet, but it will come the first week on January! This is the third book is The Stormlight Archives, and it surpassed every single expectation I set for it, while being the very last book to make it on my “best of 2017” list. I love the characters, I love the world, I love the action, I love the crossovers, I love these books so much.

➽ Weaver’s Lament (Industrial Magic #2) by Emma Newman – ★★★
Weaver’s Lament picks right up where Brother’s Ruin left off; our main protagonist, Charlotte, is still reeling from the events that took place, while also trying to uncover secrets that many higherups are trying to keep hidden. Charlotte also lives in Great Britain in the 1850s, where people are still ignorant and believe that a woman’s place is in the house and only in the house. Charlotte is trying to appease her family and fiancé that feel this way, but Charlotte is a very talented illustrator, who sells her work under a man’s pen name. Obviously, this book has a lot of social commentary about women’s rights and equality, but the main plot of each book is truly about Charlotte uncovering a mystery.

➽ The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert – ★
Honestly, this was one of the worst things I’ve read this entire year and I know it will be one of my biggest disappointments with 2018 releases. feel like this is marketed as a YA Fantasy, when it takes the reader almost 250 pages, out of a 360 page book, to even get into the fantasy aspect and by that time I couldn’t care less about some pseudo Alice in Wonderland. This reads like a YA Contemporary Mystery and that is not a genre that I enjoy reading in the slightest, so maybe that is the main reason this didn’t work for me. And on top of it all, there was some really questionable content with a PoC side character, too.

➽ Saga, Vol. 7 (Saga #7) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples – ★★★★★
The most emotional installment yet, but also maybe the best. I loved this so much and I’m so damn attached to this entire cast, crew, and family. There is a reason why this is the most talked about graphic novel series, and this volume proves it. I cannot wait for Volume 8 to drop in a few days!

➽ Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy #2) by J.R. Ward – ★★★★
You guys know I love JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and this is about the new generation of recruits trying to join the ranks. I loved this and it was just what I needed to get out of my slump after The Hazel Wood. It was fast paced, funny, smart, had some pretty amazing sexy scenes, and had a wonderful discussion about adoption and found families always at the forefront. This installment was also very empowering and feministic and I really appreciated it. I cannot wait for the third book to come out in January, because I always want more and more BDB in my life.

➽ The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn 0.5) by Brandon Sanderson – ★★★★
This is a prequel story to the Mistborn series! It’s very short, but I absolutely loved the story. And, to be completely honest, I love seeing anything that stars Kelsier! This story centers around a man named Gemmel who is teaching Kelsier to use his Mistborn powers. And his powers are eventually put to the test when he is required to fight another Mistborn who is up to some no-good deeds. Again, this story obviously takes place before the events in The Final Empire, where Kelsier is already a confirmed badass with his powers. And just seeing Kelsier’s dynamic with his Allomantic teacher, who is obviously talking to someone who plays a much bigger part in this trilogy, brought such a smile to my face the entire time while reading.

And besides reading these eleven things, I was also able to participate in my good friend Destiny’s Yule Ball Readalong/Book Bingo! I didn’t clear the entire board, but I was able to complete my Gryffindor line, and that’s all I truly cared about!

Besides The Hazel Wood, I had such an amazing end of the year reading month! I was able to finish up so many things, and I was very happy with my final total of 130 books read! I cannot believe tomorrow is the start of a new year, but I’m wishing you guys the absolute best for the new years and for always. Thank you again for this year or reading and sharing your love for books with me. It means more to me than any of you will ever know. Happy reading, loves! And Happy New Year!

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