December Reads // Just A Few

December was not a reading month for me, but that's ok. I definitely surpassed my reading goal by plenty in 2018. Missed my top books of 2018? Check them out here.

I read the first two books in December, and the last one in January. :) 

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella* - publishes 2/5/19

2.5 - Stars - I might recommend if you like contemporary fiction where many things go wrong, and there is a lot of family drama + a little romance.

Fixie Farr got her nickname because she always needs to fix things. When her mom goes on holiday and leaves her in charge of the family shop AND keeping the family together she doesn't know what to do. Her brother wants to turn their family kitchen shop into an upscale lifestyle store, and her crunchy sister wants to turn it into a yoga studio and spa. The problem is, she can't stand up to them and jeopardize the family. Along the way she meets Seb and saves his computer from damage and gains and IOU from him.

I was looking for a cute and fluffy read, so I picked up this Kinsella novel. I've never read Kinsella, but I was hoping to find a new favorite author. Right off the bat I was so frustrated with so many of these characters. Fixie lets everyone walk all over her, her brother is an asshole, her sister is self-centered, and her love interest is a total douche nozzle. The cuteness of the IOU doesn't even come very much into play until about 50% into the book. Then it doesn't take long for everything to go crumbling. I don't know, I guess I'm just not the kind of person who enjoys books where everything goes wrong all of the time. There were some very funny and very cute parts to this book, in general I liked their family business, but so much of it was focused on the changing of it. I kept waiting for Seb and Fixie to get together. Once they did I felt like their relationship was confusing, and so were their motivations. HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILER: He goes back to his ex?!!?! Their relationship was so anticlimactic that I wasn't even excited when they got back together. I did end up liking the ending, but getting there was painful.

The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork*

4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy re-imaginings of fairy tales.

When Clara receives a nutcracker for Christmas along with a book of his adventures, she is pulled into the story and into his world. She must help the nutcracker prince to beat his mysterious enemy who has turned his army to toy soldiers, and all of the children of the kingdom as well. Clara and Nutcracker must battle rats at every turn, and figure out who the enemy is, and how to beat him at his own musical

First thing to know. I am obsessed with The Nutcracker. When this book came out, I knew that I needed to read it! I loved how the tale was reshaped into a story of a young ruler trying to save his kingdom, and a young pianist finding her talent. I thought that the world was extremely vivid. I liked to imagine this fairy tale land filled with snow, candy, and glass-spired buildings. While I am never super fond of killing off creatures that aren't sentient, they did seem to have quite the (massive-sized) rat infestation, and the lead villain was relatively interesting. I was impressed by the magic of music in this book, and the author's knowledge of music and composition. My favorite thing about this book was probably being swept up in the world and beautiful descriptions. I didn't like that Clara's motivation for a lot of the book was her love interest, but at least she grew, acknowledged it, and it became healthier at the end. As an aside... soooo many onomatopoeia. So many. x_x

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

3.5 Stars - I might recommend if you enjoy contemporary romance.

Hannah Wells is one of the few people passing her philosophy course. When the most popular hockey player at her university asks for her help studying for the re-take, she reluctantly says yes. Garrett Graham needs to pass philosophy to continue playing hockey, and will even pretend to date Hannah if that's what it takes. As Hannah tutors Garret, a major pain in the ass, she realizes that he's not as shallow as he seems. Shockingly, he might be just her type.

Overall this book was a quick read, and pretty steamy. However, it definitely wasn't a new favorite. I found it to be a little too young for me, it was very college-y. I couldn't quite get into the college hockey or music scene, the partying, or the "dude" relationships. Admittedly, I couldn't really relate to these characters at all... so I guess that's not surprising. I did appreciate that they were dealing with some issues outside of college, and that that shaped some of their angst. However, it was a lot for me. Not sure if I'll continue with the series.

Linking up with Jana and Steph for Show Us Your Books today. :) 

What have you been reading? What do you hope to read this month?! 

Let's be friends on Goodreads!

XO,

Alexandra

* Asterisks denote titles that I was given advance access to by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. These reviews are my own opinion, and based on the edition of the book I was given at the time. Thank you Netgalley