December 2020 Reading Wrap-Up

It’s time for the final wrap-up of 2020! Yay! The year from hell is officially over! Will things be better in 2021? I don’t know, but I think we can try to make sure it is.

I had a great reading month in December. I read three novels, all adult fantasy. And guess what? I gave all three 5 stars. And they’ll be appearing on another post coming soon! *wink, wink*

Now let’s say goodbye to 2020 by discussing the books I read in its final month.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Summary: In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.

Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.

My Thoughts: My review of this book on Goodreads merely reads, “What can I say? This book slaps!” so that should tell you how I felt about this book. These characters are fantastic, the world-building is transformative, and the plot is strong. But honestly? The thing I appreciated the most about this book was how easily readable it is. Everything about this book was a breath of fresh air. Check out my review here!

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Summary: In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne.

The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.

Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright— and save her people.

My Thoughts: This book is incredible. I love the characters and the magic system. My favorite character is Mephi. Who would’ve thought I’d love a dog-cat-otter-demon hybrid creature as much as I do. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel. Check out my full review here!

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Summary: This is the way the world ends… for the last time.

The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.

Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.

For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

The remarkable conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed trilogy that began with the multi-award-nominated The Fifth Season.

My Thoughts: This was an incredible finale to an incredible series! Sure, sometimes it made me feel a bit smooth-brained, but I always eventually understood what was going on. These books are heavy, so I spread them out throughout the year to give myself time to process and I’m so glad I did. Otherwise, I may not have truly felt the lasting impression these characters made on me. The Stone Sky went places I could never have expected and proved to me how much I love these characters. If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly, highly recommend you do.