December Reading Wrap-Up

 

Here we are at the last Reading Wrap-Up of 2020.  In December I read 11 books and chose not to finish one.

Here's the breakdown:

Christmas: 6

Cozy Mystery: 1

Mystery/Suspense: 3

Non-fiction: 1

Christmas:

The Christmas Angel by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer - This is the 6th book in the Cape Light series.  Mayor Emily Warwick discovers a baby that has been abandoned in the church's nativity set.  She finds herself drawn to the baby and hopes to have the opportunity to adopt her.  However, her husband doesn't feel the same way.

A Christmas to Remember by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer - This is the 7th book in the Cape Light series.  This one is about Lillian Warwick, Emily's mother.  She is such a curmudgeonly character that it was nice to learn about her past and see her in a different light.

12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep - Several people are invited to an English manor for the 12 days of Christmas.  Each is promised something if they remain for the entire twelve days.  No one knows who the host is.  Clara and Ben are both invited and have not seen one another for nine months.  It was nine months ago that they were to be married.  Ben left Clara standing at the altar.  

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost - Holly White returns to her parents home after her fiancee breaks off their engagement.  Her parents own Reindeer Games Tree Farm and she is just in time to help with the festivities.  Unfortunately, on the first day of "Twelve Days of Reindeer Games", a woman is found murdered on the tree farm property.  

A Christmas Wish by Betty Neels - Olivia Harding has lost her job and needs to find another way to support herself and her mother.  Mr. van der Eisler is a surgeon at the hospital where Olivia worked.  Without her knowledge, he arranges work for her at a boarding school attended by his goddaughter. This was a lovely story with great characters and wonderful descriptions of home.

A Winter Love Story by Betty Neels - Claudia and her mother live with her uncle.  When he becomes ill, Thomas is called on for his medical opinion.  Claudia and Thomas see quite a bit of one another and find they like spending time together.  When Thomas proposes, Claudia is surprised and excited.  However, it takes some time before Claudia and Thomas realize they truly love one another.  Another good story filled with great characters and descriptions.

Cozy Mystery:

Secrets of the Amish Diary by Rachel Phillips - After her mother's death, Liz Eckardt learns that her mother was raised Amish.  Liz wants to find out more about her mother's family, so she buys an Inn in the area she was raised hoping to become part of the community.  However, when a guest at her Inn is found dead, things get complicated.

Mystery/Suspense:

Collision of Lies by Tom Threadgill - Amara Alvarez is a detective with the San Antonio Police Department.  When she is given information that one of the children supposedly killed in a school bus crash is still alive, she wants to approach it logically.  Most likely it is a mistake, there is proof that all of the children were killed.  Or is there?  She can't stop thinking about it.  The more she investigates, she realizes there are many unanswered questions.

The Watch on the Fencepost by Kay DiBianca - Kathryn Fraiser's parents were recently killed in a car accident.  She discovers a watch that had been left on a fencepost at a park she regularly runs through.  When she comes across a person wearing the watch near where she found it, she has many questions.  Some of the answers lead her to believe her parents were murdered.  Kathryn uses the puzzle-solving skills she learned from her father to help solve the mystery.

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - Richard Hannay is bored with his life.  He has decided that if something doesn't happen soon, he will return to his home.  Just in time, a neighbor shows up looking for a place to hide.  Richard gives him a place to stay, making him a target for the men chasing his neighbor.  Review coming soon.

Non-fiction:

The Way of Ignorance by Wendell Berry - This is a book of essays written in 2004 on various subjects.  Most relate to agriculture in some way.

DNF:

Second Life by S. J. Watson - This is the book I received from Used Books Monthly.  Unfortunately, I did not finish it.  I read about half of the book.  The main reason I chose not to finish it was because of the sexual content.  I prefer a cleaner read.  But, also, I didn't like any of the characters in the book.  Had I cared about them I maybe could have skipped some pages and got the general idea.  The majority of the story takes place inside the main character's head and since I didn't like her, that wasn't a good place to be.  Also, I didn't feel like there was any progress in the mystery.  

Challenges:

My List of Books to Read in 2020 - completed

The Literary Life 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge - completed

Visual Theology 2020 Christian Reading Challenge - completed

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks - completed

I completed all my challenges!  I am looking forward to some new ones in 2021. 

Well, that wraps it up for 2020.  Thank you all for reading my blog!  

~ Gretchen

This month I'm linking up with the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight.