December Wrap Up - The Last 2023 Monthly Wrap

[@EntertheBook]

Great list even without all the five stars! I haven't read any of these but you did a great job talking about them- I may pick up some of them in the future.

[@BandysBooks]

Thank you! I always struggle to limit myself when talking about the details so the video doesn’t end up two hours long. 😅

[@bookstalgic]

Awesome job on this wrapup! I’m so impressed about how you can so efficiently talk about a book and convey the reasons why you did or didn’t like it. Really good! Too bad The Curfew wasn’t a little better, the premise sounds really good. I put Trail of the Lost on my list as it sounds really good. Hope January is a bit better in terms of great books. Also, your dog is so cute- love their markings, so beautiful ❤

[@BandysBooks]

Thank you so much! I honestly feel like I ramble endlessly. 😅 The premise of the Curfew was cool, it just suffered for execution. I hope you enjoy The Trail of The Lost. And thank you! It’s good so far. Luna definitely always steals the show. 😅💜

[@awebofstories]

Okay, just added Trail of the Lost to my TBR...that sounds fascinating! I have an arc of Fair Rosaline, but I'm holding it until I pull Romeo and Juliet from my Shakespeare tin.

[@BandysBooks]

I hope you enjoy it! Makes sense! It’s a fun read unless you’re a Shakespeare traditionalist. 😅

[@savagereads]

I haven't heard of this one from TJ Klune. I think it will go on the list just because I enjoy his books. I am going to put The Porcelain Maker and Trail of the Lost on my TBR. I'm sorry it wasn't as good of a month! This is still a very fun list 😊

[@BandysBooks]

I mean it wasn’t a horrible month. Just wish there were less 2 stars and more 5 stars. I should give you a warning for Wolfsong that there are a couple of explicit sex scenes. This isn’t the coziest Klune book. 😅 I think you’ll probably like both of those books as the subject matter is very interesting.

[@savagereads]

Thank you for the warning! @@BandysBooks

[@Beaureads24]

They all sound good. Have you read Turn Right at Machu Pucchu by Mark adams? Peru and lost city 1911 hiking expedition

[@BandysBooks]

For the most part, they were. I haven’t read it yet, but I am familiar with it.

[@krisreviews]

I keep hearing so much about Alex M... and I want to try one of their books at some point... just maybe not The Fury 😅

[@BandysBooks]

The Silent Patient is probably your best bet, but I honestly can’t really recommend any of his books.

[@rachelebandy8405]

I'd like to read Under The Java Moon since it's set in Indonesia. I don't think I've read a thriller set in Nigeria, so I might check it out. Your two 5⭐️ books also sound really good!

[@BandysBooks]

I think you’d enjoy it. Ooh Nigerian thrillers are excellent! You would like both of the 5 stars for sure.

[@ObscureBookAdventures]

Java Moon sounds really interesting. We didn’t get much of that part in history at school. We did get the major picture but the teaching system stayed pretty much silent about what happened after the war over there. We struck the Indonesians who wanted to become independent down with a lot of violence and in some occasions (okay maybe a lot of occasions) a lot of innocent people were just murdered. They kept that quiet in school. Now the atrocities are slowely coming to light. A lot of Dutch soldiers became traumatised because they had to torture and murder people. A lot of these soldiers were just young men who didn’t volunteer to join the army. Luckily my dad didn’t have to go. The men who had to go were chosen in a lottery system.

[@BandysBooks]

It was a really interesting book. It mostly just focuses on the Japanese occupation of Indonesia with brief mentions of the Indonesian uprising. It cuts off before anything major happens with the Indonesian independence. I do know a tiny bit about this conflict because my ex-boyfriend's father was Dutch Indonesian.

[@jaimee-kate]

The Fury is even worse than The Maidens?! I'm done with Alex M. The Maidens is genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read. So interesting that you read 13 Reasons Why -- I read that when I was in high school (the target audience), and I was absolutely not mature enough for that kind of content, let alone with such muddled messaging. WAIT you just read I'm Thinking of Ending Things in DEC?! Oh wow!!! I do agree with you that it's a little predictable, I feel all Ian Reid's books are a little & wish some early reveals would have been cut out to make a bigger surprise at the end, but I still loved the snowy setting and constant terror. Idk, that book worked perfectly for me! I was curious about Curse of Penyth Hall but based on your description I should probably skip it, as per my 2024 goal of not picking up new releases just because. Never heard of Gaslight or the first one but sounds amazing, adding that one! SA Cosby is also one my favorite authors I've discovered recently, I desperately need to get to All the Sinners Bleed. I'm always in awe of the wide breadth of your reading, you read so many genres! I read a lot of genres too but I feel like I get into moods or phases, right now I'm only interested in horror haha.

[@BandysBooks]

Honestly, for me it was waaay worse. It was so all over the place. I don’t rate books 1 star typically, but I wanted to rate that one 1 star. I did read Ending Things in December. For me, it would’ve had to be a bit more surprising to appreciate it. It sort of got rid of the suspense knowing what was coming. If you haven’t read SA Cosby before, Razorblade Tears is his absolute best…but All the Sinners Bleed was good too if you like a sort of police thriller with stronger themes.

[@jaimee-kate]

@@BandysBooks Read Razorblade Tears last year and loved it so much!!