Month: December 2021

Jessica’s Top 10 of 2021

 

Well guys, it is December 31st and WE MADE IT!  We have just hours until 2021 is over!!!  Let’s hope 2022 will be much better than the last two years…   Today we are ending the year with Jessica’s Top 10 of 2021. And four of my top 10 were Diverseathon reads (though more of my top 10 would match those prompts)! Needless to say that Diverseathon was successful for me! Looking at this list, it is definitely a mix of genres that I read in 2021!  

**I even had a book make an honorable mention as it deserves a place all by itself! 


10.  A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen
This one was a read for Diverseathon and a birthday gift from my friend Yami.  This is another novel that greatly affected me and it is one that everyone should read when they are losing hope.  My review is here.

9.  That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
This is one that I did a double review with Kim.  Taking place three years after a school shooting, what actually happened? This powerful YA novel is written via letters from the survivors.  My review is here.

8. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Whoa, whoa whoa!  This is my favorite by Sager and solidified him as a ‘must read’ author for me!  This novel went in a direction that I would have never guessed! You can’t say too much without giving things away, but it does leave you thinking! My review is here.

7.  Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
This one was another read for Diverseathon and I never would have thought that it would affect me like it did.  I  love the characters and need more of Aven’s story! My review is here.

6. The Hiding Girl by Dorian Box
Box is a ‘new to me’ author this year with his Emily Calby series. The third novel was just released this month, so I need to read it!  This one was unintentionally a Diverseathon read as it fit the monthly prompt when I was reading it.  This one won’t be for everyone with it’s violent content, but you grow to love these characters in so many ways!  This one means a lot to me! My review is here.

5. The Chain by Adrian McKinty
This is another novel that will leave you thinking! If you are a parent then it is every parent’s worst nightmare.  If you enjoy thrillers at all pick this one up and read it NOW!!!  My review is here.

4. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Full so so much emotion and it ends up going in a direction you don’t think it will.  It will make you want to pick up your phone and give a certain someone a call.  Tears may ensue with reading this novel!  My review is here. 

3.  Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
With this year being the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this was a book I had to read.  It still evoked those emotions from that day  and through the character of Brandon the reader actually experiences that day from before the towers were hit to the falling of the towers.  This is one that everyone must read.  My review is here.

2.  The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
For a while I thought this one was going to be my top read, but it got beat out because my number one actually made me cry, but Addie came very close to doing that.  Just read this one, it is one you will not forget!   It made both Kim and I’s top 10 list for this year and we actually did a double review.  Our double review is here.

And my Top Read for 2021 is…………

100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

100 Days is a novel I had been meaning to pick up and it fit a prompt for Diverseathon, so I knew 2021 would be the year I read it.  I had no idea how much I would grow to love it and Tessa and Weston, and it made me cry!!   Then in November, Emmons surprised us with the sequel!!!   This is a sweet YA romance that had me face so many emotions!  And I love the cover!!   My review is here.


***This year I have to give an honorable mention to a middle grades novel that is a banned book. I actually found out about it during banned books week and had to read it for myself.  That novel is George now being published as Melissa by Alex Gino. This is a novel of differences, acceptance, and coming together.  This is a novel that shows how being different can make one person feel among other ‘normal’ people. My review is here.

 

 

Have you read any of these books? If so what did you think? Have you added any of these to your TBR?  Let us know! 

Kim’s Top 10 of 2021

We’ve taken the holiday to have a small break over here at Jessica’s Reading Room, but we are back with our Top 10 Reads of 2021! Kim’s list is featured today and Jessica’s will be featured tomorrow!  We do have one book in common, but to see which it is you will have to see Jessica’s list tomorrow!

**As always, Kim’s Top 10 is not ranked as she refuses to rank them other than her Top 10 Reads of 2021. There are a couple where she did not write reviews for, so those can not be linked.


Naomi’s Room by Jonathon Aycliffe: Gave me nightmares … success! My review is here.

Haunted Nights by Blumhouse: Inspired my Halloween costume! My review is here.

The Culling by Sian B. Claven: Amazing journey, amazing twist, amazing cover!  My review is here.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Possibly better insight than Orwell! My review is here.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix: Both terrifying and amusing! My review is here.

The Seance in Apartment 10 by Ambrose Ibsen: and I thought my house creaked creepily! My review is here.

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss: Stimulated my brain and my heart!

Hell Night in Hopewell by Wofford Lee Jones: Still processing the trauma …

Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievitch: Personal histories at Chernobyl. Boom. My review is here.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab: “Melancholy is sadness that has taken on lightness.”  My review is here.

 

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think?  Are any of these on your TBR? -Kim (KSF)

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Book Review: Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

Krampus: The Yule Lord
Author: Brom

Published: October 30, 2012
357 Pages

Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood. You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. . . . I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide . . .

One Christmas Eve in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, struggling songwriter Jesse Walker witnesses a strange spectacle: seven devilish figures chasing a man in a red suit toward a sleigh and eight reindeer. When the reindeer leap skyward, taking the sleigh, devil men, and Santa into the clouds, screams follow. Moments later, a large sack plummets back to earth, a magical sack that thrusts the down-on-his-luck singer into the clutches of the terrifying Yule Lord, Krampus. But the lines between good and evil become blurred as Jesse’s new master reveals many dark secrets about the cherry-cheeked Santa Claus, including how half a millennium ago the jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.

Now Santa’s time is running short, for the Yule Lord is determined to have his retribution and reclaim Yuletide. If Jesse can survive this ancient feud, he might have the chance to redeem himself in his family’s eyes, to save his own broken dreams, . . . and to help bring the magic of Yule to the impoverished folk of Boone County.

Kim’s Review:

This was my first book by Brom and absolutely not my last! The artwork alone is worth it. I’ll admit that I felt a little lost on the Nordic mythology. I’m starting to think that I need to do more research; it definitely sounds fascinating. But thankfully, it was a minor part so I still understood the plot and characters. It also felt a little drawn out to me. There were some places where I started to wonder if the book would ever end. But also too minor to hurt my feelings much.

Overall, this was an intelligent and engaging book! Half the time, I wasn’t sure who was the villain. A lot moral ponderings that I enjoyed pondering. I’m excited to read more Brom!!!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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