Antonia Aquilante
  • Home
  • About Antonia
  • Books
  • Coming Soon/In Progress
  • Blog
  • Contact

What I've Been Reading - December - and Some 2016 Favorites

1/5/2017

2 Comments

 
I thought I would start the new year with a post about reading. I posted some of the holiday books I enjoyed last month already, and most of what I read in December were holiday books (and most of those read curled up with hot cocoa near the Christmas tree, which must come down soon—sob), but I read a few things that weren't and some holiday stories after the last post. That's what I'm giving you here. I've also tried to compile a favorites list for you, but I'm horrible at those because I can't limit myself to a reasonable number of anything. But first, here are some (more) books I read and enjoyed in December:
Picture
Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton - This isn't really a holiday story, though it does partly take place over the holidays. It's a warm and lovely romance between a former child star/B-list actor trying to escape Hollywood and a man from the Civil War era trapped outside time.

Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper - A short Hanukkah romance that's very sweet and has an interesting paranormal elemant. My only complaint is that I would have liked just a bit more.

Disarming Donner by Charlie Cochet - The latest in the author's North Pole series is just as enjoyable as earlier stories in the series. These are such fun holiday stories in a fantasy world I enjoy revisiting. I assume we'll get Dasher's story next year and I'm looking forward to it.

Ibiza on Ice by Gillian St. Kevern - I was slow to warm up to Aston (who is the ex of the main character in The Ugliest Sweater which I also read in December), but the story ended up being a fun and funny holiday romance. Aston grows a lot, and I was cheering for him and Niklas to work it out. 

Island of Glass by Nora Roberts - This is the final book in her latest paranormal trilogy, which takes to Ireland where the six guardians must complete their quest, and I enjoyed it (and the previous two books) very much.

A Midnight Clear by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner - This also isn't really a holiday romance, though part of it does take place over Christmas. I found this to be a delightful story with a charming hero and a very sweet romance. Set in 1948, it's a prequel novella to the authors' Fly Me to the Moon series, which I will absolutely be reading.

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - I decided to read this because I'm a huge fan of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and I wanted to try the books that the show is based on. The premise of both is a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s, solving crimes and wearing fabulous clothes. Phryne Fisher is a wonderful character, and I found the novella as enjoyable, though a bit different than the show.

So that's December's reads. As for favorites for the year, they were difficult to decide on. I read 163 books this year and I enjoyed so many of them that it was difficult to choose just a few as favorites and I'm sure I've missed something wonderful that I'll remember and wish I'd included as soon as I post this. But, in random order, here are some favorites from 2016:

Overexposed by Megan Erickson

The High King's Golden Tongue by Megan Derr

Death by Silver and Death at the Dionysus Club by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold

Hexbreaker and Hexmaker by Jordan L. Hawk

Power Play and Empty Net by Avon Gale

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Fallow by Jordan L. Hawk

His Royal Secret and His Royal Favorite by Lilah Pace

Wriggle and Sparkle by Megan Derr

Strong Signal and Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell 

Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

The Obsession by Nora Roberts

A Seditious Affair and A Gentleman's Position by KJ Charles

​Dirty Heart by Rhys Ford

Rag and Bone by KJ Charles

I could absolutely keep going, but I'll stop there. I hope you've found something new for your tbr, though. If you want to check out 2016's reading recap posts (in which I talk about each of these books and many others I enjoyed), you can find them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

What have you been reading lately? And what are you looking forward to reading in 2017? Whatever it is, I hope you read many wonderful books this year.
2 Comments
Christine Maria Rose
1/5/2017 02:34:48 pm

Great post! Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner's Fly Me To The Moon series is a favorite! I hope you get a chance to read the whole thing soon! I also really enjoy Santino and Megan's collaborations and Lilah Pace's duology made my best of 2016 list. I'm behind with K.J.Charles and need to catch up!

Reply
Antonia Aquilante
1/5/2017 03:31:29 pm

Thanks! Star Dust is on my Kindle already and waiting for me. I've heard such good things about the series. I should've started reading it sooner! K.J. Charles's Society of Gentlemen books were so wonderful. (I read them multiple times last year.) I hope you can catch up on her books soon. I'm looking forward to her newest.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Antonia is a writer and a reader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    A Dance Of Water And Air
    A Harmony Of Fire And Earth
    Autumn
    Baking
    Blog Tour
    Bookstores
    Christmas
    Chronicles Of Tournai Series
    Cover Art
    Dragons Of Ivria
    Elemental Magicae Duology
    Events
    Giveaway
    GRL
    Guest Post
    Halloween
    Holidays
    Inspiration
    Libraries
    My Books
    New Year
    NineStar Press
    Rainbow Awards
    Rainbow Snippets
    Reading
    RWA Conference
    Sales
    Spring
    Thanksgiving
    The Artist's Masquerade
    The Dragon's Devotion
    The Envoy's Honor
    The Merchant's Love
    The Prince's Consort
    The Scholar's Heart
    The Sorcerer's Guardian
    The Spymaster's Secret
    To Love The Dragon King
    Travel
    Turn The Page Anthology
    Winter
    Writing Updates

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly