December

Recommended Reads: December 2014

00:00

So, I already posted my favourite books of the year in the end of 2014 (Part I and Part II) and they were so many that I split the list into two posts. Now at the beginning of 2015 I am doing my monthly meme of the books I loved the most during the passing month.


December was a strong month for my reading - 3 DNFs (which is a lot for me for just one month) and too few books read because the holidays completely turned upside down my everyday routine. I've read two books that I can highly recommend this month and incidentally (or not so much since I've been on m/m reading streak lately), both of them are queer romances.

Genre/Themes: Steampunk, queer romance, novellas
My review to come
Add on Goodreads
Buy on Amazon / B&N / Riptide

Anything, Alexis Hall writes goes straight to my recommended reads list, every single thing. Four additional stories about our beloved heroes and heroines from Prosperity. It's easier to read because the slang isn't as heavy as in Prosperity and all the stories are beyond amazing. I think my adjective to describe Mr. Hall's stories is mesmerising. I think you can start with this stories in order to get a feel of the world of Prosperity and then move on to the novel itself which is an amazing read, but a challenging one, especially if English is not your first language


Genre/Themes: NA romance, College, hockey, m/m
My review 
Add on Goodreads
This is book 3 in the Ivy Years series by Sarina Bowen. It's a m/m romance between two college hockey players - a very intense story touching on a lot of issues young gay men face - coming out (forced or on their own), homophobia, family rejection, unwilling flagmen, being gay in sports. 
Very real, touching and engaging. 

*** *** ***

What are recommended reads from December? Leave me a comment or enter the url of your post in the link-up tool. 

December

December Blog Recap

00:00

This festive month was very busy for me on the blog. Plus the usual reviews and memes, I also continued with the ARC Challenge and did Best of 2013 posts.

Here is the recap of all that happened this December:

I read and reviewed 8 books, all of them ARCs, since I was very active in the ARC Challenge that I joined last month.
(Click on the cover to go to my review)

 
 
 










My best reads this month were Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young and Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn. The first is a hot friends-to-lovers romance and the second is an angsty NA romance.I was really disappointed with Castle Hill by Samantha Young and Before We Fall by Courtney Cole. The novella about Josh and Braden lacked the intensity of their story from On Dublin Street. Ms Cole's book was a mess of contradictory messages and I couldn't relate to the characters. 

I continued with the Teaser Tuesday meme - 36, 37, 38 and 39. I also did 3 Top Ten Tuesday posts - Top Ten 2014 Releases I'm Dying to Read, Top 10 Books on My Winter TBR List and Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2013.

Since it s the end of the year, I joined a book meme dedicated to lists of TOP of 2013. I posted my Best Books of 2013, Best Contemporary Romances (released and read by me in 2013), Best Book Covers of 2013 and Favourite Book Boyfriends (from books released and read by me in 2013). It was fun meme and a great way to end the year. 

I continued with Friday Freebies and Book Deals, though it is not a regular feature. If you want to keep up with my recommendations for free books and sales, you can join me on Facebook for most up-to-date information since most of the offers last less than a week.

Flickr Images