Books · Monthly Tags

December Book Haul – 2020

December Book Haul - 2020


Hello, you beautiful people!
My December Book Haul was HUGE! And by huge – I mean 33 books in total. It was the holiday season, so there were a lot of giveaways and gifts I received, apart from my usual hauls and the books I received from authors and publishers. You can find all my hauls on my Instagram highlights, and here I will share only a few of the books.

Without further delays, let’s get into the books I’ve received in December:

1. Last One To Die by Cynthia Murphy

Huge thanks to the team at Scholastic UK for sending me a copy of this book. The bookstagram tour for this book is starting in January, and I can’t wait to read it along some amazing bookstagrammers!

Synopsis:

One of Us is Lying meets This Lie Will Kill You but with a chilling supernatural twist that will keep you guessing until the very end . . .

Young, brunette women are being attacked in the city of London.

16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for the summer, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her.

Determined to make it through her Drama Course, Niamh is placed at the Victorian Museum to put her drama skills to the test, and there she meets Tommy: he’s kind, fun, attentive, and really hot! . . . Nonetheless, there’s something eerie about the museum.

As the two strands of present-day serial attacker and sinister Victorian history start to collide, Niamh realises that things are not as they seem. Will she be next?

Packed with voice-driven whodunit storytelling, and a retro slasher-movie feel reminiscent of cult classics Scream and Urban Legend, this dark, pacy, and irresistibly-creepy debut really has something for everybody!

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

2. Witched Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

Thanks to the Hot Key Books team, I was able to get an uncorrected proof of this amazing book and add it to my December Book Haul list. I am so excited for this one, and hope to read it very soon!

Synopsis:

Divided by their castes. United by their vengeance.

Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom—and vengeance.

Jazmyne is the queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power.

Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain—except the lengths they will go to win this game.

Deadly, fierce, magnetically addictive: this Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut is a thrilling journey where dangerous magic reigns supreme and betrayal lurks beneath every word.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK |
Amazon US |

3. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

I was so lucky to win a giveaway and receive a hardcover copy of Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. I have heard only amazing things about this book, and I am looking forward to reading it!

Synopsis:

Drawing on Maggie O’Farrell’s long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare’s most enigmatic play, HAMNET is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.

Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.

Award-winning author Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

4. Meet Me in Hawaii by Georgia Toffolo

After reading Meet me in London, and falling in love with the story and the characters, I heard Georgia Toffolo is releasing another book. Set in a different location, but featuring one of the friends, I have to read it! And the teamat Mills & Boon were kind enough to send me an ARC copy as well.

Synopsis:

Malie Pukui doesn’t believe in happy ever after. After a tragedy caused her to flee her family and friends in Devon she found a fresh start in Hawaii. Here, working at a surf school, she can give back to those in need and try to overcome the greatest loss in her life.

Moved around foster homes throughout his childhood, Todd Masters has worked hard to be able to offer a brighter future to young disadvantaged children. Now he has his own charitable foundation working with a surf school in Hawaii, a job he loves, but he still can’t put his past behind him.

When Malie rescues Todd from the sea a spark ignites between them, and the two wounded souls find a common ground. But amidst the surf, sunsets and sizzling kisses, can Malie let go of her past and risk something she’d locked away forever… her heart.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

5. The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent

I heard so many amazing things about The Summer Job, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the ARC copies. I am so looking forward to this one, and I believe it will be a perfect summer beach read!

Synopsis:

Have you ever imagined running away from your life?

Well Birdy Finch didn’t just imagine it. She did it. Which might’ve been an error. And the life she’s run into? Her best friend, Heather’s.

The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems…

Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?

And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked (but who thinks she’s someone else)?

A snort-out-loud romcom for fans of The Flatshare. 

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

6. Away With the Penguins by Hazel Prior

Oh, I am so excited for this one! From the cover, to the synopsis, to how kind the author was to me on Twitter, I somehow feel it in myself that this book will be a gem. It’s one of those books you attach to a certain moment in your life, and they always have a special place in your heart.

Synopsis:

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

7. The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

I am so excited for The Castaways. I love survival thrillers and people deserted on islands, and this seems like a book that I will enjoy. Can’t wait to find out. I am so thankful tot he team at Harper Collins and LoveReading UK, for sending me an ARC copy to read and review.

Synopsis:

A Secret Beach. A holiday of a lifetime. Wish you were here? Think again.

It should be like any other holiday.

Beautiful beaches.
Golden sunsets.
Nothing for miles.

You’ll never want to leave.
Until you can’t…

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK |

8. The Spiral by Iain Ryan

I received this book from the team at Bonnier Zaffre, and I am participating in a readalong on bookstagram that starts on 27th December. The giveaway will last until the beginning on January, so let me know if you have a copy of this book and want to join as well. I have some cards to send you, and I will add you to our Instagram chat group.

Synopsis:

Erma Bridges’ life is far from perfect, but entirely ordinary. So when she is shot twice in a targetted attack by a colleague, her quiet existence is shattered in an instant.

With her would-be murderer dead, no one can give Erma the answers she needs to move on from her trauma. Why her? Why now?

So begins Erma’s quest for the truth – and a dangerous, spiralling journey into the heart of darkness.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

9. The Man I Didn’t Marry by Anna Bell

A very heart-warming romance I believe, and I am looking forward to diving into this one.

Synopsis:

What happens when the man she married can’t remember her?

Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years . . . including their relationship.

Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right?

As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

10. Game Changer by Neal Shusterman

I am in love with the Arc of Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. See the review of Scythe HERE. And when I was contacted by the publisher to read and review Game Changer, I couldn’t say no. The synopsis seems intriguing, and I am looking forward to reading this one.

Synopsis:

All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it.

Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another dimension—and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own.

The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted, universes where society is stuck in the past…universes where he finds himself looking at life through entirely different eyes.

And if he isn’t careful, the world he’s learning to see more clearly could blink out of existence…

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US |

And that’s a wrap up for my December Book Haul. I can’t wait to dive into all of these books! What’s your December Book Haul? I would love to know what books you acquired last month! Let me know in the comments.

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