Article by Sydney Loder
The month of December accounted for thousands of pages of reading as five novels were able to capture all of my attention. These novels include (in order of reading), New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Burned by Sara Shepard, Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer, and Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson. The genres of the books listed consist of fantasy, thriller, mystery, and romance which aided in allotting for a variety of reads, giving each story it’s own edge.
December allowed for the chance to relax and give myself more time to read which is why, even with the semester ending, I was able to consume so many novels, many of which proved to be new favorites. For starters, I fell in love with New Moon, The Final Gambit, and Dance of Thieves as they had fast pace plots with the introduction of new friendships and romances through the course of heated action. However, Burned and Eclipse would not make it on the list of books I enjoyed or even liked. Neither novel was able to fully grasp my attention and I truly thought of them as just fillers to give my mind a break (I didn‘t pay very much attention to what was happening in either book).
To start off, Burned by Sara Shepard has a plot that is quite repetitive to the other eleven novels that I have read from the Pretty Little Liars series. The four girls are still facing a stalker who is still black mailing them and have yet to figure out who it is. This repetitiveness gave me a sense of deja vu and made the novel quite boring to read. Furthermore, I found that Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer was quite a boring read as well due to the novels immense dialogue paired with little action. I found the plot of this novel to be quite repetitive as well as the same issues were brought up but never resolved throughout its 600 pages.
Even with the books I didn’t enjoy, there were very obviously ones that I loved. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer stole my heart as it detailed Bella learning to live without Edward, creating new experiences, and building friendships with the people that surrounded her. This novel showed a side to Bella that isn’t often seen within the rest of the Twilight series. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a fast paced read packed with action, romance, and mystery. Barnes was able to effectively end this series by giving readers the answer as to why Avery Grambs received the Hawthorne Inheritance, and who she chose in the love triangle between the Brothers Hawthorne. Lastly, Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson captured my love for everything fantasy. This novel detailed the enemies to lovers trope but didn’t give the reader a simple answer, meaning that the relationship between the two main characters Jase and Kazi was one that shifted from love to hate and never rested until the end. Pearson filled this novel with plenty of action, love, and fantastical creatures that are sure to capture every readers heart.
This month created the discovery of some things old and some things new as I was able to dive into characters and stories I was already comfortable with, and learn about others that I wasn’t. I highly recommend each of the novels that I loved, as I truly did love them, and hope that going into the new year you might have some new books on your list.
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