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December Book Reviews

With all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I didn’t get to do as much reading, but I still managed to knock out some books on my TBR list on audio. I finished the year with 95 books completed.

These are the books I read in December 2019.

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1 Things You Save in a Fire- by Katherine Center. Listened to the audiobook but it would be a great read too. I completed this one on the very last day of the year, after I had put together my 2019 favorites list. OMG! This should have been on my favorites list. Cassie Hanwell is a female firefighter with a strained relationship with her mom. Cassie’s mom left the family when Cassie was 16. She is also carrying some trauma and emotional baggage related to another incident that happened at 16 that left her tough but afraid of love. Her mom asks her to move from Texas to Boston to take care of her for one year and reluctantly Cassie does so. As she deals with being the only female on her new crew at on old-school post, lots of things unfold. This book is entertaining in the make you smile while you read way, and it’s full of deeper meanings and topics like forgiveness, empathy and love. (It does contain foul language.) 5 stars

2 Watching You by Lisa Jewell -Read and listened. Weird, dark characters. I almost abandoned this one because it was slow to move for me, but I was sucked in by wanting to know what happened and what was going on with these weird people, lol. Full of Jewell’s characteristic twists at the end and passes the time well once it gets going. If you love suspense and thriller, you will probably like it and be irritated at the same time. (foul language) 3 stars

3 Who We Were Before- Lisa Mercer Read and listened. Zoe and Edward have lost a child and go to Paris together on a last ditch effort to reclaim their failing relationship. They are separated by accident for most of the trip. They have to find each other and themselves. The book goes through their love story, their tragedy and how each deals with it from each one’s point of view, back and to from character to character, chapter by chapter. A good story on loss and healing. 4 stars

4 I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan Read and listened. Penny is the breadwinner for her family and her husband chases his music and writing dreams. They have two kids and a strained relationship. It seems likes Penny’s best friend has the perfect life, but tragedy and loss reveal otherwise. Penny and her husband decide to become real about their relationship and start working on issues the other has with each spouse. Parts are funny, parts are sad and overall it’s an entertaining story. 4 stars

5 The Color of Hope by Julianne MacLean This is the third book in the Color of Heaven series which I started in November. Mostly listened but read some. I think this one was the best one yet. Each book can stand alone but are subtly tied to a character from the previous book. Diana Moore was adopted but led a privileged life. She discovers that she has an identical twin and makes contact with her. Betrayal, love, family and forgiveness are all addressed as Diana chooses to help her twin in a life threatening event even after betrayal by her twin. 4 stars

6 Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson– I listened to the audiobook. Female drama, suspense and thriller. Amy has a good life and a precious best friend who hosts a book club. All is well until Roux, new to town, upsets the book club with a game of Never Have I Ever. Does Roux know Amy’s secrets? Will she destroy Amy and her best friend with what she knows? Or will Amy discover Roux’s secrets and win this game of cons and deception? Read it to find out. You will want to know once you start reading. 4 stars

7- Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin- I listened to the audiobook. I was really impressed with The Happiness Project, but not as impressed with this book. Rubin explores how we form habits and how we use those habits to bring about change in our lives. Some of this was interesting and insightful, but I also got bored with the information. 3 stars

Linking up with Show Us Your Books.