December/2020 Reading Wrap-up

2020 has been a year full of many things, but one thing that this year had brought me is a lot of reading time. This past year, I managed to read 114 books, thanks to the pandemic, my discovery of e-books and audiobooks, participating in readathons, and just making more time to read than ever before. I also managed to end this reading year on a high note. As of December 30, I have read 8 books during the month, and I don’t think that I will finish the two books that I am reading. Many of them were holiday reads.

So, let’s talk about what I read in December first. As mentioned before, I used December as a chance to indulge in all of the holiday reads. During the month I read:

Mind the Gap, Dash and Lilly by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn: This is the last book currently in the Dash and Lilly series and talks about how the main characters navigate being in a long distance relationship. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah: This Christmas, Joy is lacking joy. So, she takes a trip to a faraway town — only to get into a plane crash. She then encounters a young man and his son, whose relationship is in need of repair because of divorce and death. I gave this three out of five stars.
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren: Mae has gone to the same holiday house every single Christmas. However, before boarding the plane to go home, she learns that it’s going to be her last. She gets into an accident, and then wakes up back on the plan — five days earlier. She then relives this experience over and over again — destined to try to save the place that is the background of her childhood memories. There is a romance, and all of this book was amazing. I gave it four out of five stars.
Recommended for You by Laura Silverman: Shoshanna Greenberg works at her local bookstore, and is working to save her car, Barbra Streisand. Her moms are broke. The bookstore then offers the employees a competition — whoever sells the books gets $250. Shoshanna thinks that the prize is hers — until new employee Jake becomes her biggest competition. What frustrates her? The fact that he is not a huge reader. This book was so cute, and was the perfect romantic comedy I needed to bring joy. I gave this book four out five stars.
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand: Holly is a superficial and spoiled teenager whose only focuses are beauty and money. She encounters her Ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future, in the effort to change her ways. She didn’t, so she became a ghost. Year after year, Holly is a part of Project Scrooge, where she is stuck in the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Miserable in her afterlife, Holly soon becomes obsessed with saving this year’s Project Scrooge to try to save him from the same fate. I gave this book four out of five stars.
A Princess For Christmas by Jenny Holiday: This book is basically a rated R Hallmark movie. Princess Marie of Endovia comes to New York, and encounters struggling cab driver, Leo Ricci when he’s driving his little sister Gabby home, who spots someone in a princess gown on the street. Impressed by him, Marie then asks Leo to be her cab driver for the rest of her time there for a huge sum of money — something that Leo could use. The two begin to fall for each other, and the rest is a wonderful fairytale. I gave this book four out of five stars.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss: Kate Turner is frustrated with her dating life and just wants a relationship to last. So, she signs up for the 12 dates of Christmas challenge, a series of dates with 12 different men. However, she always ends up in her best friend’s arms. This novel is entertaining and the situations that Kate got into made me laugh. I gave it four out of five stars.
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory: Vivian Forest, single mother of Maddie Forest, has never done anything for herself. So, when Maddie is offered an opportunity to style the Royal Family, she brings her mother along too to celebrate Christmas. Never in Vivian’s wildest dreams, did she expect to meet and fall in love with the Queen’s Secretary, Malcom. This story was amazing, and enjoyable to read, as well as a book that I never could manage to put down. I gave it five out of five stars.

Now, let’s take a look at the books that I read in 2020. In 2020, I managed to read 114 books. I will not list all of them, but I do want to share my top reads of the year. Those were: