This month was a little slow compared to the past two months that I’ve been documenting what I’ve read. A lot of road bumps came up in my personal life and I had to focus on those instead of reading. Therefore, I read six books in the month of December.
Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehig (3)
Summary: Flynn’s girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?
Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can’t answer, and her friends are telling stories that don’t add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January’s boyfriend, he must know something.
But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.
Opinion: I really enjoyed the coming out story/conflict that the main character, Flynn goes through. I would’ve loved to read more about that instead of his girlfriend and her disappearance. There were a lot of loose ends left when the book ended and it was just a lot of “Did I even know January?” and “Why did she hide this from me?” tropes.
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic (4)
Summary: Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He’s short, he’s fast, he’s got a ton of potential—and he’s the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher.
Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn’t need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed.
But Neil’s not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil’s new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can’t walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he’s finally found someone and something worth fighting for.
Opinion: I’ve heard a lot about this series and I was hesitant to start it because it has a lot of trigger warnings (rape, violence, torture, etc…). But, I found that I really enjoyed this first book. It is more of an introductory book to the rest of the trilogy because it introduces the reader to Neil and the rest of the characters as well as sets the stage for the rivalry. You get to go through everything with Neil….you make first impressions with him and as you move on you learn the depth of everyone in the group.
The Raven King by Nora Sakavic (5)
Summary: The Foxes are a fractured mess, but their latest disaster might be the miracle they’ve always needed to come together as a team. The one person standing in their way is Andrew, and the only one who can break through his personal barriers is Neil.
Except Andrew doesn’t give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don’t have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil’s fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.
Neil’s days are numbered, but he’s learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won’t believe in himself.
Opinion: This is the book where I completely fell for Andrew Minyard and realized that yes, he is a good person…you learn why he is the way he is and unfortunately you get to live through a recent traumatic development in the story. This book really delves deep into the characters…you get to see where they come from and how they got to the place they are at now. You also get to see Neil grow as a person and grow more comfortable with making relationships and staying in one place for longer.
The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic (5)
Summary: Neil Josten is out of time. He knew when he came to PSU he wouldn’t survive the year, but with his death right around the corner he’s got more reasons than ever to live.
Befriending the Foxes was inadvisable. Kissing one is unthinkable. Neil should know better than to get involved with anyone this close to the end, but Andrew’s never been the easiest person to walk away from. If they both say it doesn’t mean anything, maybe Neil won’t regret losing it, but the one person Neil can’t lie to is himself.
He’s got promises to keep and a team to get to championships if he can just outrun Riko a little longer, but Riko’s not the only monster in Neil’s life. The truth might get them all killed—or be Neil’s one shot at getting out of this alive.
Opinion: THE ROMANCE. I love the couple that the reader gets to see get together. I think it’s such a perfect match and they aren’t in your face which fits really well with their personalities. This ending to this trilogy is just as jam packed with crazy situations and near death experiences as the last two. Everyone grows up so much and you can definitely see the love amongst them all.
The Serpent King by Jeff Zetner (4)
Summary: Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.
The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending- one that will rock his life to the core.
Opinion: To be honest, I mostly picked this up because there was going to be an item inspired by this novel in the December Owlcrate box. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this book and I definitely think it’s over hyped, but it was still pretty good. I felt bad for Dill who has to deal with some very heavy issues but I think Zentner portrayed his struggles very well. Lydia was a bit too much for me to handle and I was surprised at the turn of events that happened in this novel. It didn’t get a 5 from me but it was still a good read and showed the reader that you can follow your dreams no matter what.
The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle (3.5)
Summary: Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old smart aleck and Hollywood hopeful whose only worry used to be writing convincing dialogue for the movies he made with his sister Annabeth. Of course, that was all before—before Quinn stopped going to school, before his mom started sleeping on the sofa…and before Annabeth was killed in a car accident.
Enter Geoff, Quinn’s best friend who insists it’s time that Quinn came out—at least from hibernation. One haircut later, Geoff drags Quinn to his first college party, where instead of nursing his pain, he meets a guy—a hot one—and falls hard. What follows is an upside-down week in which Quinn begins imagining his future as a screenplay that might actually have a happily-ever-after ending—if, that is, he can finally step back into the starring role of his own life story.
Opinion: This book did not go in the direction I thought it would go. I think the story line was completely lost in the drama and secrets that the author wanted to add into it. It started off pretty good….we meet Quinn who has been depressed and hiding in his house after his sister dies but is dragged to a party at his best friends sisters house. There he meets a guy…ends up dating him…then finds out secrets that he never even thought could be true. It took a weird turn and I felt like the betrayal/drama should’ve been handled differently.
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