And just like that, the year is over! But before I warp up the entirety of 2021, I first have to wrap up the month of December! This was a truly great reading month, as I managed to somehow read 9 books, with the majority being 4 or 5 star reads! I have lots of things to say about all the books I read, so instead of making this intro excessively long, why don’t I just tell you all about them!

Books Read:
In typical Malka fashion, my favorite book of the month was a graphic novel. This one was just an adorable story about friendship and being unique with a dash of superpowers and mysterious beasts thrown in for good measure. It’s definitely one I would recommend if you’re in the mood of something really cute and wholesome!
I got The Last Chance Library after watching an Instagram Live with the author, where the premise of the book intrigued me. And I’m so glad I picked it up because it was sweet and wholesome and exactly what I needed when I read it!
As for The Fastest Way to Fall, I had it pre-ordered I was so excited, and while it disappointed me slightly, it was still a pretty cute romance that I’m glad I read.
And lastly, we have Bet On It, which is actually releasing in July 2022. For whatever reason my brain decided that I needed to read it RIGHT NOW and it was really an adorable look at two very different people, bonding over their mental health struggles and finding love. I have my review already written, and it’s quite positive! But I don’t want to say too much now, since it releases in 7 months!
My next three 4 star reads were all graphic works that I adored! The first one is Forever Home about a girl who has constantly moved around, and was told that this would be her forever home, but some possessive ghosts want the place to themselves!
Then we have Cat’s Café which is just an adorable collection of comics that put a big smile on my face.
And lastly we have The Art of Sushi. This is a fantastic non-fiction book following the author as he learns all about the different kinds of sushi and how it’s made, going in depth about each ingredient and style. I’ve written a full review, but I haven’t posted it since I know it’s not my usual thing. So please let me know if you’d be interested in reading my full review of this amazing work!
I’m sad that both of my 3 star reads were review copies I was excited for, but since I have full reviews for both The Love Con and The Bad Boy Experiment, I won’t give more detail in this wrap up!
Books Acquired:
Purchased:
If you’ve read about my Book Buying Habits, you’ll know that about 5 new books a month is my average, and that stayed true for December as well. I bought The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, Dava Shastri’s Last Day, and The Reading List to try to increase the number of literary fiction books I get to in 2022. These are all ones I’ve heard great things about and I’m excited for, so let’s hope I actually read and enjoy them! Then I just had to pick up Window Shopping since I’m always in the mood of a smutty romance, and I’ve heard that this fits the bill perfectly! And then I semi-impulsively got myself a copy of Less from PangoBooks, since it was recommended to me earlier this year and I was able to get it for very cheap. It won a Pulitzer, so it should be a good read! Also, it’s short, which is always a nice plus!
NetGalley:
I added three new NetGalley books to my growing list in December, but thankfully these titles shouldn’t be on my TBR for too long. In fact, I already did a combined review and discussion post for The Bad Boy Experiment in December, that I think is lots of fun! (It involves bookish experiments I hope to run in 2022! Many of which I’d love your input for!)
Then I have Rancher’s Forgotten Rival, which has a premise that sounded too good to ignore! And lastly I have Lease on Love, which comes out in February, but I’ve already started because of how excited I am for it. So all in all, not a bad bunch!
Things I Did:
Despite my December being filled with unpleasant activities such as taking finals, handing in papers, and giving presentations, followed by 10 days of being sick in bed, I genuinely look bad at this month fondly. I certainly can’t explain it, but this just felt like a good month. Maybe it’s because I held a little pizza party for some friends that were in a group project with me before I got sick, maybe it’s just because I now only have one semester left before I graduate, but whatever it is, I’m happy to have ended off 2021 on a high note!

I hope love con turns out good for me. Last month went in trying to complete 100 books for challenge and I completed it.
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I hope you enjoy The Love Con as well! I’m so glad you completed your reading challenge! Sadly, I didn’t but I’m going to try again to reach 100 books in 2022!
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i’m so sorry you were sick (and for so long)! i’m glad you still managed to have a bit of fun though. i feel that way too—finals were terrible and i also caught covid, but i feel like it was a good month overall. and i’d love to read a full review for the art of sushi, it looks so interesting! happy 2022 💓
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Yeah, that part of the month wasn’t much fun. But apparently I still enjoyed myself! And I’m glad you felt similarly about this month!
I’m so glad to hear that you’re interested in a full review, since I genuinely wasn’t sure whether anyone would care if I posted it! Now that I know you’re interested, I should be posting it in the next few weeks!
Happy 2022 to you as well! I hope that this year is a great one!
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Great wrap up, sorry to hear you were sick for some of this month. Hope you are doing better and had an amazing new year 💜
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Thank you! 💕 I’m definitely feeling much better now and I’m ready for this new year! I hope you have a wonderful start to 2022!
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You’re welcome and thanks 😊
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Well, that right there is the power of a positive attitude – doesn’t matter what goes wrong (within limits, of course) if you’re still looking back at the month fondly at the end! 🙂
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Huh, that’s so true! I think that vacation is really suiting me well and making it easier for me to look on things positively. Like, yes I was sick for 10 days, but at least I’m not still taking finals!
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I’m so sorry that you were sick, but glad that you still managed to end the year on a high note! I hope that 2022 will be beautiful to you, filled with happiness and love ❤ ❤
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Thank you so much, Marie! I hope you have a fabulous 2022 filled with only wonderful things!
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You definitely had an excellent reading month! The Fastest Way to Fall was one of my Christmas gifts and is also the last of my books I received to be read. I now have a few ARCs and promised finished books to read and review before I can get to it. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I too am trying (somedays it’s much harder than others) to keep a positive attitude. I hope your January is going well and that your last semester is excellent.
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Thank you! I really did!
I hope you end up loving The Fastest Way to Fall, whenever it is that you’re able to get to it! I definitely know that feeling of pushing off books because you need to catch up on your ARC reading. I hope you get through your ARCs quickly, enjoy them all, and are easily able to write a review for them!
Thank you so much, Danielle! I hope you’re having a fantastic January as well!
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I just started the Reading list a few days ago but had to drop it due to another book. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it though
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I’ve recently seen a few people pick it up, but I haven’t really seen what anyone’s thoughts were after finishing it! I hope you were at least enjoying what you started reading before you had to put the book down!
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