December Books in Review

Another year coming to an end.

For me, 2018 was filled with a lot of wonderful memories and experiences; getting to spend most of it out on the West Coast living the care free life with my hubby and puppy, having the opportunity to drive cross country and witness the breath taking splendor of the United States and all of the beauty it offers, and coming home to Virginia to be with our families and friends and partake in their lives and the things we’ve had to miss out on in the last two years.

I’m grateful for another year of health and happiness and truly look forward to 2019. I hope to continue to grow, thrive and start a new, exciting chapter this year.

Now, on to the amazing (and not so amazing) books I partook in this month!

Disclaimer: I did create a poll on Instagram asking followers for their input about posts (should I post singular reviews or have multiple books covered in one post). Because I’ve been a procrastinator and not super diligent about blogging recently, I’ll be doing at least one more blanket post, covering some of what I read this month. It’s not going to be thorough, super in depth, or all that insightful…but you’ll definitely get my general takeaways and recommendations 🙂 Soooo, let’s do the damn thang!

Not to be a downer, but let me just get the book I absolutely hated out of the way. This will be an “unpopular” opinion, per the reviews I’ve seen and Goodreads and other sites. But I don’t care.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The story starts out promising enough; Aiden Bishop is tasked with the responsibility of preventing the death of Evelyn Hardcastle. The catch is, he will be doomed to repeat the same day over and over again, using the bodies of different “hosts” to unlock the mystery of whose behind her demise. Each host lends a different perspective to the plot and a new string of questions on how to save Evelyn, and the day will continue to loop again and again, presumably until the mystery is solved.

Okay, here’s my problem – there are too many “hosts” and the plot is too complex. The chapters jump from perspective to perspective, and though there’s a semblance of a pattern, I just couldn’t pay attention long enough to figure it out. I got through about 85% of the book before becoming frustrated with the pace (which, when you’re stuck reading about the same day for 500 pages, is extremely slow) and trying to remember whose who, and what the significance of their part was.

I wanted to love this book, I waited with great anticipation for it’s debut…but ultimately, it just wasn’t for me. *shrug* But don’t just take my word for it – lots of people really got into this story and seemed to enjoy it. If you like historical fiction with a sci-fi/mystery spin, you should check this out.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Contender for the top spot of my December reads is this baby! One Day in December is the perfect Christmas time rom-com/chick-lit/guilty pleasure read. It’s a mixture of Love Actually and Bridget Jones’ Diary, with a sprinkling of the Ross and Rachel romance from Friends.

Set in London and spanning a length of years, the reader follows an accidental love triangle of epic proportions. Laurie is a struggling columnist, making her way home on the bus when she sees him standing on a street corner; the man of her dreams. In a flash they make eye contact that touches something deep within her soul, but just as quickly it’s gone when Laurie hesitates to get off the bus, and loses the alluring stranger is the expanse of the city.

For a year, Laurie and her best friend/roommate, Sarah, are on the look out for the man Laurie knows is her soul mate. With dozens of false alarms and no real hope of finding him, Laurie begins to contemplate moving on…until Sarah brings her new beau to their apartment. Low and behold, it’s the stranger. And that’s when the story really begins.

Because Silver allows this story to span years, there’s an added layer of emotional complexity; the reader becomes immersed in the lives of the characters and the almost certain heartbreak each of them will experience as a consequence of Laurie and Jack’s unrequited love. Touching on friendship, loyalty, loss and growing up, this story allows the readers to witness what true love is; timeless, boundless and undying.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Another hit for me this month is The Clockmaker’s Daughter. Very different from anything I think I’ve ever read. A mixture of historical fiction, mystery, the supernatural, and romance, I zipped through this in no time.

Birchwood Manor is a mythical place, with a history that contains tragedy, mystery, love and loss. Told from multiple perspectives and time periods, the reader follows Elodie Winslow as she tries to solve the scandalous disappearance and apparent betrayal shrouding the famous and tragic artist, Edward Radcliffe. Elodie also tries to untangle the untimely death of her beloved mother and questions that arise from a picture taken right before she passed.

There’s also the perspective of the omniscient figure, Birdie, whose ghostly being remains in Birchwood Manor, witnessing and partaking in the lives of all those who inhabit Birchwood Manor’s walls throughout history.

I thoroughly enjoyed Morton’s writing, her exploration of human connection, Victorian England, and the history of a place and the effects it can have on so many people. I thought all of the characters were really well developed, and though the ending wasn’t sugar-sweet happy, it was still satisfying. Morton obviously put a lot of research and thought into this book and it shows.

I also read:

So one of my “resolutions” for 2019 is to become more proficient at this whole blogging thing. Thank you for reading my work-in-progress writing! You are the best!

I wish you all a beautiful, happy, and healthy 2019! See you in the New Year!

Alexis