December 2010 Recap

Here is the list of books I read in December: (The links will take you to my reviews)

1. Dark Prince - Christine Feehan (Read in Nov but reviewed in Dec)
2. The Eternal Ones - Kirsten Miller (Read in Nov but reviewed in Dec)
3. Awakened - Ednah Walters (Read in Nov but reviewed in Dec)
4. Mistress by Midnight - Maggie Robinson (Read in Nov but reviewed in Dec)
5. Playing with Fire - Henning Mankell
6. Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead
7. Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
8. Crux - Moira Rogers
9. Vampire for Christmas - Felicity Heaton (Novella)
10. Simon's Cat: In his very own book - Simon Tofield
11. Black Swan Rising - Lee Carroll
12. The Devil's Playground - Jenna Black
13. Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles (review will be posted on 15th Jan)
14. The Darkest Kiss - Keri Arthur
15. Monster High - Lisi Harrison
16. Crossroads - Moira Rogers
17. Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Jennifer Rardin
18. The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove - Lauren Kate
19. Her Heart's Desire - Kathleen Dienne (Novella)
20. Her Fallen Angel - Felicity Heaton (Novella)
21. Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman (Review coming soon)
22. An Eye For An Eye - Malorie Blackman (Novella) (Review coming soon)
23. A Peyton Family Christmas - Moira Rogers (Free Short Story)
24. Secret Lives - Gabriella Poole (Review coming soon)
25. Half Brother - Kenneth Oppel (Review coming soon)
26. Her Warrior Angel - Felicity Heaton (Novella)
27. Shadow Days - Andrea Cremer (Free Novella)

December Book of the Month:

I read some amazing books in December Last Sacrifice the final book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is one I've been looking forward to for ages and it completely lived up to my expectations.  If you haven't discovered this series yet it's one I'd highly recommend.  Then there was Andrea Cremer's debut novel Nightshade that completely blew me away, I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series! 

There were a couple of others that I absolutely loved - Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, I didn't think she'd be able to top Perfect Chemistry but she managed it & I loved Carlos Fuentes even more than his brother Alex.  My review will be posted on the 15th January as part of a blog tour to celebrate the UK release.  Another book that I absolutely adored was Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, I think this was the most powerful young adult book I read in 2010.  I'll be posting my review for this book in the next couple of days and it's one book I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't read it before.

Read my review of Last Sacrifice here

Read my review of Nightshade here

(If you're in the UK you can also enter my giveaway to win a copy of Nightshade here)

Event Reports:

At the end of November I was really lucky to be invited to the Walker offices for a blogger event.  We had an amazing time getting to meet author Zoe Marriott and finding out about some of the amazing new YA books Walker have lined up for us in 2011.  They definitely have something that will appeal to everyone & I can't wait to read some of the books they have coming out.  You can read the full event report here if you'd like to see what you have to look forward to.

Author's Animal Antics:

I haven't got as much time as I would like to organise guest posts for Author's Animal Antics so this feature will probably be a bit sporadic for the next couple of months, I'm hoping to get back on track with things when I eventually find a new place to live & get the move over & done with.  In the meantime if there are any authors who would like to take part please feel free to contact me (you can find out more about the feature here).  This month we had a great guest post from Andrea Cremer who told us about the horse that gave her Nightshade.  You can read the full post here

HIV / AIDS in YA Lit Week:

December 1st was World AIDS Day and Caroline from Portrait of a Woman has organised a campaign for book bloggers to help raise awareness.  You can find out all about the week on Caroline's blog here, lots of other bloggers are also taking part so keep an eye out on the blogosphere for reviews on various different books about this subject.  You can read my contribution to the week by clicking the links below:

• World AIDS Day - HIV/AIDS in YA Lit Week overview post
• Review: Abela: The Girl Who Saw Lions by Berlie Doherty
• Review: Soul Love by Lynda Waterhouse
• Review: Playing with Fire by Henning Mankell

Challenge Updates:

I did it, I completed all of my 2010 challenges!  I'm still trying to decide which challenges to sign up for in 2011, there are quite a few I've seen that I'd like to take part in but I don't want to sign up for too many so I'm going to try and restrain myself.

100+ Reading Challenge - Read 200/200 - COMPLETE

Young Adult Reading Challenge - Read 75/75 - COMPLETE

Support Your Local Library Challenge - Read 75/75 - COMPLETE

Terry Pratchett Challenge - Read 5/5 - COMPLETE

Thriller & Suspense Challenge - Read 12/12 - COMPLETE

2010 Summer Romance Challenge - Read 16/16 COMPLETE
New Author Challenge - Read 50/50 COMPLETE
Awesome Author Challenge - Read 20/20 COMPLETE

Paranormal Reading Challenge - Read 50/50 COMPLETE
Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge - Read 24/24 COMPLETE

NAC April Mini-Challenge Battle Royale - Read 5/5 COMPLETE