December Wrap Up and January TBR (To Be Read)

1. The first book I read was The Forgetful Bride by Debbie Macomber. I read this book through her two in one book Home for the Holidays which has The Forgetful Bride and When Christmas Comes in it. I read When Christmas Comes last year in preparation for the Hallmark movie Trading Christmas and I thought it was a great book. I checked out Home for the Holidays to read The Forgetful Bride. I finished the book early in the month, December 4th, 2012. This book was about Caitlyn who got married to her brother's friend Joe when she was eight. Now fast forward 20 years and Joe is working construction at the place Caitlyn works. Caitlyn can't quite place who this guy is although she does recognize him. Caitlyn is in love with her boss Paul or is she really? I thought this book was okay I found it super predictable and sometimes I'm okay with that, but other times it makes the book a bit boring. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

2. The second book I read was Angels in the Snow by Melody Carlson which I finished on December 9th, 2012. Angels in the Snow is about Claire who has went up to a cabin in an isolated area after the loss of her husband and son to see if she can start painting again. While she is there she takes walks everyday and she continues to see footprints in the snow, but she has never seen their owner. This book was mysterious and really sweet. A big part of this book was the stray dog that Claire named Michael that pretty much turned everything around for her. This is one of my favorite Melody Carlson Christmas novels because it did have a storyline. I would recommend this book because it is short you can read it pretty fast and it is a sweet Christmas story. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

3. The next book I read was There's Something about Christmas by Debbie Macomber which I finished on December 14th, 2012. This was defiantly my favorite Christmas read of this year and on of my favorite books of December. I was reading this one for my Debbie Macomber book club on goodreads and I simply fell in love with this novel. This novel is about fruitcake simply. It is about Emma who is a reporter that has to go interview the three national finalists in Washington State for the small town newspaper. Oliver is her pilot and Emma is afraid of flying, but there is no way she is driving when the weather can be unpredictable. This book took a topic that was as simple as fruitcake and turned it into a great entertaining novel. I loved this book it was so funny and light hearted. I loved it and gave it 5/5 stars. 

4. The next book I read was Skipping Christmas by John Grisham which I finished December 16th, 2012. I found this book on goodreads and when I went to check it out from my library I was number 10 on the hold list so I was like this book must be good. I was a bit disappointed. This book is about Luther and Nora Krank. Luther believes they spent too much money on Christmas last year and he just wants to skip the whole thing and take a ten day cruise. Nora agrees since their only daughter Blair is away in South America. Then Blair decides to come home and their plans are turned upside down. Before I picked up this book I did not know it was the book Christmas with the Kranks was based after. I thought it was a book about a town that decided to skip Christmas. I found this book to have a very slow plot line and Luther was such a grump the whole entire book. He seemed as if he actually hated Christmas instead of the money spent on Christmas. This book didn't pick up until near the end which in my opinion is two late. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

5. The next book I read was Where we Belong by Emily Giffin which I finished December 21st, 2012. I have been waiting since August to read Emily Giffin's newest novel. I love Emily Giffin so much as an author I didn't even know what this book was supposed to be about when I picked up this novel. This novel is about Marian who is a talented TV producer. Her life changes in an unexpected way when Kirby, the daughter she placed for adoption 18 years ago knocks on her apartment door. Marian is forced to face her past that she thought she had put behind her. This novel went back and forth between Marian and  Kirby talking. At first I didn't like it,but I grew to love it as the book went on. I simply love Emily Giffin's writing style and have read each of her six novels. If you haven't read any of her books do yourself a favor and read them. This book was so suprising and I loved every moment I spent reading it. I gave this novel 5/5 stars.

6. The next book I read was my least favorite book of December. It was Here Comes Trouble by Debbie Macomer which I finished on December 23rd, 2012. This book was about Maryanne who quit her job as a newspaper writer to prove to Kramer that she can live on her own without her parents. She moves into a junky apartment next to Kramer and works many odd jobs. All Kramer can think when he sees her is Here Comes Trouble. I went through this whole novel comparing it to There's Something about Christmas, the last book I read by Debbie Macomber. I found this book extremely hard to pick up and make myself read. I had no connection to the characters they were just blah to me. I didn't care what happened to the characters I just wanted to finish reading this novel. I gave this book 2/5 stars. 

7. The final book I read in December was Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson which I finished on December 26th, 2012. Christmas at Harrington's was about Lena who was recently released from prison and moved to a new town to start over again. She becomes Harrington's Mrs. Santa. I have to admit I had reservations about Lena as a character at the begin of this novella. I didn't know if she was going to be the right character for the Christmas story I was looking for. Lena brought light to this little town and she showed everybody the true meaning of Christmas. I loved this novel and I absolutely loved Lena as a character. She was amazing. I gave this novella 5/5 stars. 

December was an okay month. I read a few great novels and many short books. I read 45 books in 2012. My goal was to read 50, but I'm proud of my accomplishment. I will see you at the end of January for another wrap up and tbr, keep on reading. 

January TBR

I only have a couple books planned for January. I'm not a planned reader I just usually read whatever book I feel like picking up at the time. There are two books that I feel I must finish in January. 

I want to reread this.

I am going to read this for the upcoming movie.