Happy new year! It’s officially 2025 now, so time to wrap up the final month of 2024. I hope you all had a good year and read some great books. Let’s hope for 2025 to be a good (reading) year yet again! Today I will recap December, the busiest month of 2024. I was afraid I was taking my slump from November with me into December and I have to admit that I indeed struggled with several books. I had to put a book on hold, but ended up finishing it anyway. I will get back to that in a short while. So, let’s take a look how the final month of 2024 was for me!

My monthly stats

Compared to November, I fortunately read more books in December. Some books I finished quickly, others took a bit longer. I’ve read 3,471 pages and listened to audiobooks for 13.73 hours across 9 books. I finished all of them, I didn’t want to take books with me into the new year. From the 9 books I’ve read this month, there are 2 books I also hauled this month. Most of the books I have been reading are from my earlier bookhauls, which is yet again quite an accomplishment as I tend to leave new books unread for a very long while. In total I’ve hauled 13 books in December. Compared to previous months, I mostly read in English this month. I’ve read some book sin Dutch, but English was more dominant. Moreover, I read solely fantasy/romantasy this month, except for one book. Fortunately, I enjoyed this month’s books much more than I did in November! December therefore has an average rating of 3.44 stars. It took me averagely 7 days to finish a book, this is similar to November. Oh well, let’s move on to the books, right?

My read books

As always, links direct you to my reviews.

1. Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston – I didn’t finish this book in November, but that didn’t matter. I really enjoyed this book, especially because of the character growth Amari is showing. I was afraid that this would be the last book in the series, but it’s not and this makes me curious for what’s in store for these characters. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli – I was really looking forward to this book and it didn’t disappoint! The cliffhanger was brutal… ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. A Court this Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark – A book I already owned for a while and finally picked up. Despite this being a typical romantasy with its typical tropes, it was enjoyable. The ending left me curious enough to pick up the next book in this series some time. ⭐⭐⭐,5
4. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig – Another November leftover, but with good reason. I wanted to reread the first book of this duology in Dutch because I had the feeling I didn’t understand the story properly. I eventually did understand it better than expected. So, it was time to finish the final book in the duology. Although I enjoyed it, it fell a bit flat for me. I just can’t get on board of the hype train… ⭐⭐⭐
5. The Chase by Elle Kennedy – One of the backlist books I wanted to read in 2024. Unfortunately, I find myself outgrowing college romances and therefore had a tougher time than expected. The book is easy to read though because of the writing style. ⭐⭐⭐
6. The Songbird and The Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent – My most anticipated yet most disappointing book of the month. I was beyond bored: the characters were dull and the plot repetitive. Review will be up tomorrow. ⭐
7. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano – I still have to review this book, although I’m not too sure if I will actually do so. I enjoyed it, but it also didn’t really click. I had the same issue with Dear Edward by this author. ⭐⭐⭐
8. Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli – After the brutal cliffhanger of the previous book, I had to finish this series. I again enjoyed the story and the ending is satisfying, but it felt a bit long. Maybe this is just the time of year though. I felt like the stakes weren’t as high and the story wasn’t as exciting as the previous one, but I had a good reading time nonetheless. Review will be up later this week. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan – This book has been on my radar for years, but I never owned a copy. I finally bought it this month and I immediately read it. It’s such an emotional yet hopeful story. Both main characters have had to deal with a lot and they are slowly healing. Review will be up shortly as I only finished this book last night. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My bookhaul

1. Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan
2. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (Dutch edition)
3. Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi
4. Splintered by A.G. Howard
5. Wie ik ben zonder jou by Susan Muskee
6. Als ik je weer zie by Gillian King
7. Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco
8. Phoenix and the Frost Palace by Aisling Fowler
9. Starling and the Cavern of Light by Aisling Fowler
10. The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
11. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
12. Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli
13. Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

Overall, I think I did a good job in December, even though my haul is a bit big. Let’s ring in the new (reading) year!

What books have you read in the final month of 2024?