So despite having a hectic Christmas and New Years, I read 21 books in December.
1. Polyamory on Trial by Jude Tresswell – A young Syrian needing treatment at Warbridge Hospital is seen by Phil Roberts, one quarter of a gay, polyamorous quad living in North East England. The men in the doctor’s life are Mike Angells, Ross Whitmore and Raith Balan, who Phil grows closer to each day. Phil is troubled. Is his patient in the UK legally? Who has caused his injuries? Is trafficking involved? As the foursome struggle to find out, hampered by the fact that Mike is no longer a detective, cracks begin to appear in their relationship. Can four men be equals? Meanwhile, there are cracks of a different sort to deal with–and the job of doing so seems to fall exclusively on Mike’s broad shoulders! This second tale about Mike, Ross, Raith and Phil can be read as a standalone or as a sequel. As in the first story, Badge of Loyalty, comments about living polyamorously are interlaced with events. This time, it’s Mike who offers readers an opinion.
2. Promised by Sabrina Kade – They’re both battle-scarred—but her scars are on the inside. Despite her tiny stature and sweet baby face, Ellis has always prided herself on being strong no matter what. Even as a call-girl on Hethdiss, she took care of herself. Until the night she was attacked by a renegade Sidyth. Now she’s relying more than ever on the alien prince’s warrior Hujun, who’s assigned to watch over her, and she’s afraid she’s getting a little too used to depending on him for help—especially since he keeps saying he can never Choose her as a mate. Hujun knows he’s not attractive to humans—he’s too alien, too scarred, and far too violent. That’s fine by him; he knows taking a mate would weaken him, and he lives for the kill. When his prince chooses to test him by assigning him to guard the tiny human woman, Hujun knows he can resist her. Except he can’t resist her at all. He can’t Choose her, either. Ellis was traumatized by a violent Sidyth, and Hujun doesn’t know how to show his love for her except by killing her enemies. He’ll keep his promise to protect her—but that protection might just turn her away from him.
3. The Customers Always Write by C. DeAndré Smith – Ten years as a clerk in an adult retail establishment has given author C. DeAndré Smith tales about a still-taboo topic that involves people from a wide cross-section of society. No one is exempt from Smith’s razor-sharp observations, whether they’re white-collar professionals or blue-collar custodians. Some enter the store knowing precisely what they want, others just to see what the fuss is all about, but all of them end up chatting with the guy behind the counter. The Customers Always Write… The Untold Stories provides a fascinating look into the happenings in a store that deals with exotic and adult products and the people encountered along the way. Smith’s witty and astute commentary on America’s relationship with sex is engaging and insightful, and it will make you reconsider your thoughts on adult emporiums.
4. Drowning In Light by Anna Benoit – It all started with a single pain pill. Up until that pill, high school junior Matt Davidson had it all—or, at least, everyone thought he had it all. A star athlete from a good family, no one suspected the trouble lurking beneath Matt’s carefully constructed façade. And Matt was just fine with that. Because if anyone could hear the dark thoughts that cluttered his mind, they’d know what a selfish, miserable mess he really was. Matt thinks he can stop. He knows he can stop. And he will, just not yet. Because nothing but the pills can give him a break from his thoughts. Nothing else makes him invincible. Nothing else halts the sinking spiral of his depression. Nothing… until he meets Amy, a mysterious and beautiful classmate who sparks a passion in him he’s never felt before. As their relationship progresses, Matt knows he can’t have them both. But he also knows he needs his pills. And when he’s finally forced to choose, the decision isn’t as easy as he’d hoped.
5. Futaribeya manga volume 1 by Yukiko – About to start her first year of high school, Sakurako Kawawa settles into her new lodgings. But when she meets her new roommate ― the stunningly beautiful Kasumi Yamabuki, who lives life at her own pace ― everything changes! From day one, responsible and level-headed Sakurako and lazy, easygoing Kasumi find themselves at odds with one another… but with their matching mugs and one bed to share, Sakurako and Kasumi’s friendship is just beginning!
6. Futaribeya manga volume 2 by Yukiko – Sakurako Kawawa settles into her new apartment with her lazy, easygoing, and stunningly beautiful roommate, Kasumi Yamabuki, who lives life at her own pace.
7. Manga Classics: Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan (Adapted by), William Shakespeare & Julien Choy (Illustrations) – In this classic tale by William Shakespeare, a brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia.
8. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey by D.J. Milky, Kei Ishiyama, David Hutchison & Dan Conner – When Jack Skellington’s faithful pet Zero gets lost, the ghost pup must get the help of the residents of Christmas Town to find his way back. With Halloween plans on hold while Jack mounts a search, will they be reunited in time to save both holidays?
9. Some Girls Bind by Rory James – Jamie knows that she isn’t like other girls. She has a secret. She binds her chest every day to feel more like herself. Jamie questions why she is drawn to this practice and why she is afraid of telling her friends, who have their own secrets. Could she really be genderqueer?
10. Down Among the Sticks and Bones RE-READ by Seanan McGuire – Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. This is the story of what happened first… Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted. They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
11. Beneath the Sugar Sky RE-READ by Seanan McGuire – When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.) If she can’t find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests…
12. Witchcraft and Monsters by Kala Godin – If there’s anything Kala knows, it’s monsters. Witchcraft and Monsters is a debut poetry collection by Kala Godin. Kala understands that the human body can be its own kind of monster. She knows the way strangers both see her and don’t. There is magic in everything we do. And there are monsters in each of us.
13. The Black Room (Doors 1 – 8.5) by Jasinda Wilder & Jade London – Once you enter, anything goes. No fantasy–however dark and dirty and depraved it may be–is forbidden. You have no past, no inhibitions, no morals…and no memory. All you have to cling to is the memory of a scorching touch, a searing kiss, the wet slide of skin on skin, and the heat of breath across your flesh. Step forward… Turn the knob…
14. Tiny Infinities by J.H. Diehl – When Alice’s dad moves out, leaving her with her troubled mother, she does the only thing that feels right: she retreats to her family’s old Renaissance tent in the backyard, determined to live there until her dad comes home. In an attempt to keep at least one part of her summer from changing, Alice focuses on her quest to swim freestyle fast enough to get on her swim team’s record board. But summers contain multitudes, and soon Alice meets an odd new friend, Harriet, whose obsession with the school’s science fair is equal only to her conviction that Alice’s best stroke is backstroke, not freestyle. Most unexpected of all is an unusual babysitting charge, Piper, who is mute—until Alice hears her speak. A funny and honest middle-grade novel, this sharply observed depiction of family, friendship, and Alice’s determination to prove herself—as a babysitter, as a friend, as a daughter, as a person—rings loud and true.
15. Gina from Siberia by Jane Bernstein – Based on a true story of Gina, a wire haired terrier, whose family snuck her out of Siberia and into the USA at the conclusion of the Cold War, this beautiful and thrilling tale follows Gina as her family travels by bus, train, car, plane and minivan. Upon arrival at her new home, 5,681 miles away from her old home, Gina is not happy and lets everyone around her know it. But slowly, she comes to accept her new surroundings with the help of her new friend Victor, a large boxer. Talking about her friends and family back home in Siberia heals the emotional wounds, making Gina believe that just maybe her new home isn’t so bad after all.
16. What If? by Anna Russell – Josh Baker isn’t sure why his brain tells him to do things that other people don’t need to do: checking his locker again and again, counting cracks in ceilings, and always needing to finish a song, for starters. He is a talented drummer, a math genius, and he knows everything about rock and roll. Yet, he knows his problems have the power to hurt his family and make him fail at school. When Josh is diagnosed with OCD, it’s a blessing and a curse. Can he overcome his thoughts, or will they break him?
17. Meet Me on the Court by David Aro – Cam, Tyler, and Markus are upset that their school cut the basketball team because of lack of funding. They decide to make their own. They don’t have jerseys, a coach, or even a regular court to practice on. There’s one more problem, they need at least two more people on the team to play. Can the team find two more players? Can they win their first game against the snooty prep school kids that keep stealing their court?
18. Newborn on Her Doorstep by Yuki Mizusawa (Illustrator) & Ellie Darkins – Charity boss Nic Johnson turned his back on fatherhood years ago after a devastating loss. But, when he meets sweet Lily Baker on the same day she becomes her baby niece’s guardian, something in his heart yearns for another chance at family…
19. London: Orbital (The Change #1) by Guy Adams – One minute everything was fine and the next… they arrived. Those that saw them died instantly. The unlucky ones survived. Now unimaginable things straight out of nightmares roam the streets of our towns and cities. Nothing is impossible. Nowhere is safe. And no one can escape The Change…
20. New York: The Queen Of Coney Island (The Change #2) by Guy Adams – Grace just wants to find her brother, but she can’t go anywhere without the Queen of Coney Island’s permission to travel. Now the Queen demands payment and Grace and her new friend, a man in a false beard who believes he is God, must journey into the nightmare world of Dreamland, a tourist park whose attractions are as lethal as they are bizarre.
21. Paris: A City of Fools (The Change #3) by Guy Adams – Loïc’s friend Adrien is gone, kidnapped by the Impressionists, bizarre men made of paint who roam the Parisian catacombs. Now, if Loïc wants to see Adrien again, he must travel to the Louvre and bring him back from the lair of the strange – and deadly – Impressionists. But the paint-men are not the only threat lurking in Paris, and Loïc must face down the needle-fingered Tricoteuse, the blade-mouthed Madame Loisette, and the dark secrets that haunt the footlights of the Grand Guignol…
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