December Book Haul & Wrap-Up


Here’s to hoping that 2017 will see me post these Wrap-Ups & Bookhauls in a more timely fashion *cheers* (said no one ever Baha!). I’m hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday, it feels good to be back in the mix of things. Slowly but surely I’m seeing more of my bookish peeps coming back & it’s been pretty awesome seeing all of your Christmas hauls and holiday posts. I honestly didn’t think I’d be hauling much of anything in the month of December because I did NOT ask for books this Christmas *gasps*…don’t get me wrong I totally wanted to, I’ve just been trying to read a lot of what I own & keep up with arc reviews. Now, ignore EVERYTHING you just read *covers eyes* on to my Wrap-up & shameful haul LOL..

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Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick ★★★★ 1/2 (4.5)

Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel ★★★★ 1/2 (4.5)

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones ★★★ 1/2 (3.5)

Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano ★★★★★ (5)

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera ★★★★★ ALL The Stars In The Galaxy…no # could do this one justice!

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Orange: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 (Bookoutlet)

Orange: The Complete Collection, Volume 2 (Bookoutlet)

All American Boys  (Bookoutlet)

Of Fire And Stars (Owlcrate)

Jane Steele (Bookoutlet)

Small Great Things (Bookdepository)

Here Comes The Sun (B&N)

Swimming Lessons (Book Of The Month)

All The Ugly And Wonderful Things (Book Of The Month)

Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1) Gift from my Book Twin Bestie Gretchen @ChicNerdReads

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Ok…I admit that I am HOOKED on Amazon Kindle Deals SMH…yea…*silently shakes head*

Chillin on that instant purchase button in January, fo’ sho! 😉

December was a busy month for most, I also happened to celebrate my birthday on New Years Eve which I chose to keep low key. I had a mini staycation, 5 days of spending time with my 2 tiny humans & hubby…and on the 5th day I had a ME day *whoop whoop* I did manage to squeeze in one movie & that was Pixar’s Sing with my 5 year old & hubs. Sing was so much fun, usually hubs falls asleep during animated movies (I know smh, he can’t hang) but he actually stayed awake for this one so that says something there BAHA! lastly I blogged a little & decided to set some reading/blogging goals for 2017 as well as sign up for my very 1st challenge (see here). It was after my goals post went up though, that I came across Naz @ReadDiverseBooks who is hosting his own challenge ReadDiverse2017. I of course signed up immediately since one of my goals for 2017 after all is to support diverse & own voices reads. It’s also nice of him to include badges & prizes along the way so check him out my bookish peeps, his blog is one of my top favorites ❤ ❤ ❤

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What are some of your bookish goals for 2017? see any good movies in December? hauled any good books/bookish swag? drop your links down below & i’ll swing by for a peep 😉

Author: LairOfBooks

"I didn't choose the Book Life, the Book Life chose me"

61 thoughts on “December Book Haul & Wrap-Up”

  1. I’m super jealous that you went and saw Sing. That movie looks so freaking adorable but nobody wants to go see it with me hahaha
    This is an awesome haul! I have Of Fire and Stars and Jane Steele and both sound really good. I’ll be interested to see what you think of Small Great Things. As much as I love Jodi Picoult, I have really mixed feelings about a white author writing a book about what’s it like to experience racism as a black woman. So I haven’t picked it up yet. Dumplin’ and Salt to the Sea are both excellent so I hope you enjoy them. 🙂

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    1. Oh it was a lot of fun Kourtni, I hope you manage to squeeze it in soon 😉 thank you! 💕 & I also agree with you about Jodi Picoult, I had some reservations but opted to give it a go. I’ve only read rave reviews by reviewers I trust to give it to me straight lol, so I’m hoping it was handled well. I started Dumplin’ & was LOVING it but then realized I had arcs to get too this mth & the next so I’ll come back to it soon 😉💜

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      1. I’m glad to hear that you’ve only seen positive reviews of SGT. I’ll look forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you get around to it 🙂 Hope you’re able to get back to Dumplin’ soon. I read that book months ago and still keep thinking about how much I loved it, haha.

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  3. Oh those Amazon Kindle deals. I went a little bit crazy after I got my kindle last September. Have quite a few books on it I haven’t read. But Happy Birthday and A Happy New Year!

    I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned in this post, but hope you enjoy them 😀

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  5. Happy late birthday beautiful 😘 pretty big “non” haul! I hope you read Bird Box soon.

    Did you happen to start Orange yet? I am anxiously awaiting your thoughts? I haven’t really dove into my manga lately.. I have been in a funk where I am struggling to enjoy much.

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    1. Thank you Danielle! ☺️💕I haven’t started Orange yet but after February I’ll be free to do so lol. I plan on reading Mangas in March 🙌🏼 I hope you’re able to get out of your funk soon, I know it sucks 😕 😘

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      1. It does suck 😦 I am finally done cleaning out my son’s room. We usually purge before Christmas each year for donation. We were late doing so thins year due to illness and travel, so I just spent two days..what a mess. I am hoping taking the break to do that will help ❤ Manga in March is not a bad idea 😉

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    1. The writing was lovely however the pacing made it harder for me to digest the unlikeable Kathe & The Goblin King. I LOVED Twig & Thistle. The authors descriptive made this one atmospheric & sucked me into the world but It took me roughly 2 weeks to finish it. I cringed whenever he spoke on her unattractiveness. I did appreciate that for once we didn’t get the GORGE protog, it was refreshing but we kept getting made aware of how not pretty Kathe is…

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  8. I DNF Wintersong because I felt like I was reading two different books, but I loved Lost Girls. I ran right through it. What a cool idea. I have so many of your haul books on my kindle, waiting to be read. I just need to find time now. Awesome haul! 🙂

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    1. Really? I didn’t get that feeling but I did feel that the pace was too slow for a almost 450pg dark read. I had to be in the mood for the Underworld whenever I decided to read it. Lost Girls was AMAZING & the author such a sweetheart. I’m in the same boat myself, all these books and I’m spread thin 😩 one day I shall read them all! 🤣

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      1. When it flipped to the part where she was at the ball and then with the Goblin, I was so confused. And then she didn’t have a sister? I was like, huh? I started flipping through because I thought I missed something. Yes! Lost Girls was one of my favorite reads of 2016. I’m glad you loved it. And the author is so nice. We’re friends on Twitter and she’s so nice to talk to. I have almost an entire kindle and a whole bookcase. I have no idea how I’m going to read all these books with my crazy schedule. No more ARCs for me for at least six months. 😂

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      2. Lol the sister was initially kidnapped and taken to the underworld by the goblin king. Katie found her way into the Underworld & sold her souls to him in exchange for her sisters release to the land of the living. The goblin king then wiped Kathe from her family’s memory, it was as if she never existed. Hope that shed some light lol. Merrie & her publicist are super nice, they sent me a physical copy of the finished book after reading my review. Love when authors stay in contact with their readers 🙂 I also have a ton to read on Kindle after I work my way through my arcs. You may see less & less reading time now 😕

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  9. Great recap for this month Lilly. It seems like you got through some amazing books this month, and for the most part they’ve all got great ratings as well. I really need to get my hands on History is All You Left Me when it’s released, your review has left me desperate to get started on it. Also you got so many amazing books as well! I hope you enjoy The Wrath and the Dawn and An Ember in the Ashes, both are favourites of mine.
    Seems like you had a great December and I hope you have an amazing January as well! 😀

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    1. Thank you Beth ☺️💕I’m sure you’ll enjoy the writing in HIAYLM, but have a box of tissues nearby when you get to it. Thank you, I loved this book so much & cant wait for its trade day to have. Physical copy on my shelves. Wishing you an awesome January💜 🙃🙂🙂💜

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      1. I will make sure I have some tissues on hand when I get started on HIAYLM in that case. I think I’ll need them.
        That’s all right, I’m keeping an eye on the bookshelves in the run up to it’s release seeing if maybe Waterstones will put a copy up before then (they do that sometimes!) 😀

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      2. Lol yea Strand in NYC does that too smh, it’s unfortunate for the author cuz it affects their 1st week sales #’s (being rung up prior to street release date) but it does feel good getting it early too lol.

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  10. Looks like December was a great reading month. I’m sorry you don’t enjoy Wintersong as much as the others you read. I was looking forward to that one, but it’s been getting a lot of mixed reviews. And what a great book haul! I really hope you enjoy The Wrath and the Dawn, An Ember in the Ashes, and The Young Elites! And I really need to check out History is All You Left Me! Your review has convinced me I need to add it to my TBR 😀 Hope your January is just as successful!

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    1. I think it was a solid mth, I wanted to love Wintersong & even featured it in a Waiting On Wednesday. The writing is absolutely beautiful, but it’s a long book to maintain such a slow pace with not much going in the plot dept. The world building however, was grade A+ 😉 Thank you, I hope I enjoy those eBooks as well. HIAYLM still lingers in my mind from time to time, I love that book & cant wait to see everyone’s reaction once it’s out in the world 💕 thank you again, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy reading in January 💕

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      1. It’s good to know Wintersong had some redeeming qualities! I hope I can appreciate them, too, once I get around to reading it 😀 And thank you! ❤

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  13. i can’t believe you hauled all those books lmfao! girl!!! so many books and so little time, right? haha. you had a great reading month and i hope january treats you just as well and even better! Sing was soooooo cute!!!

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    1. Lmfao smh I really think the time at home, left to my own devices contributed to this 🙈😂🙈😂 legit, January is already looking so much slower in the book buying dept. I just have the Owlcrate, BOTM, and that’s all folks especially with my B&N coupon being M.I.A. 🤣🤣🤣 Sing was so cute, Johnny’s my fave but the upbeat pig in spandex comes 2nd lol

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  14. A very impressive non-haul!!! I have Wintering on my to read list (the cover is very enchanting). Might push through a few others before I start it though based on your review 🙂 I am new to this whole blogging thing but I have started my own book review blog at http://www.readthewriteact.com hopefully you can check it out. I am looking forward to being part of the book blogging community!

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    1. Thank you! I hope you enjoy the writing and world building when you get around to it. Also, welcome!!! This an amazing community to be a part of. I’ve just followed your blog so I’m sure to see you around 😃💜📚

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  16. Looks like you lucked out and read mostly four and five star books in December! That’s great!! It’s always good when you get on a 4-5 star spree. 😉 As for Christmas hauls, I didn’t get much book-wise, since I’m constantly buying books all year… but I did haul me in a brand new Mac Book! Wooo! I’ve been wanting a new laptop forever so I finally got it and I’m thrilled to death. I see you hauled in some good books… Jane Steele was one of my top reads of 2016, so I can’t wait to hear what you think about it. I absolutely loved it! I’m hoping to take my little one to see Sing soon… glad to hear it was good. And props to the hubs for staying awake throughout the movie! Haha 😉

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    1. Yes! Good reads are always appreciated 😂 cheers to your new Mac Book, that’s awesome! I’m saving that for 2018 😉 Jane Steele’s intro seriously caught my attention so I have high hopes. Sing was too cute & fun, my 5 yr old loved it & is already asking for it to be in her iPad smh. Hubby amazed us both cuz we were fully expecting him to catch some Z’s in the theatre lol. Happy reading January Megan 💕

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  17. Ahhh, I’m so excited to read History Is All You Left Me. I’m so (not) ready for Adam Silvera to break my heart all over again 😂 Amazing haul too!! So many of the books you bought are on my TBR!! I really enjoyed Of Fire and Stars, it was really cute and fun. Bird Box was super unique and addicting too. I took my younger siblings to see Sing! the other day and it was sooo cute. I think I enjoyed it more than they did 😂😂

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    1. Omg, I’m excited for you! 😆😆😆 I’m also excited to finally own a hardcover on my shelves of this beautiful book. Thank you Lauren 💕 left to my own devices while home for the holiday is a TERRIBLE idea haha! I hope to read these as soon as I climb out of my arc stack. Sing was too cute & my little girl keeps asking when it will be available on her iPad 😂 obsessed! I’m sure she’ll be singing the songs non stop. I enjoyed it just as much though lol💜

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  18. LOVED Here Comes the Sun, Small Great Things, AND Mr. Mercedes! You hauled some fantastic books last month!!!

    Happy to see you are also participating in Naz’s challenge. I have read a ton of diverse reads lately, but I need to actually sit down and write my reviews #ShameOnMe

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    1. Thank you Amanda 💜 I’m scaling back this mth & doing well so far lol. It’s that pesky Jan 31st that may do me in 🤣🤣🤣 I’m def looking forward to partaking in Naz’s challenge. I actually finished American Street last night & plan to review either tonight or over the wknd. Im really looking forward to those reviews you have coming out way, that’s great that you’ve been reading more diverse books 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

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    1. Thank you Donna 💜 I’ve been staying away this mth, reaaaaaaallly trying here 😰 lol but you’re so right, there hasn’t been much to interest me into clicking instant purchase (a curse) 😂😂😂

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