Hey guys! Here we are at the very first day of December, and that means we have reached the first day of Blogmas! If you read my announcement post from a few days ago, you know I recently found out Blogmas was a thing and I decided I wanted to take part in it! For those of you who don’t know what that is, Blogmas is basically posting every day of December up to Christmas/until Christmas. This comes from Vlogmas, which is the same thing, just vloggers posting videos of their every day lives leading up to Christmas. I’ve been really excited to begin, and I hope you enjoy the first day!

Usually on the first day of the month, I post my TBR for the month. I do indeed have a TBR for December, but, as you can tell from the title, it comes with a twist! For December, I had my two sisters choose my TBR! They picked a lot of wonderful books! Take a look!

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty’s resentment and anger.

At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions.

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I’ve had this on my shelf for awhile now, and I’ve been really wanting to get to it! I’ve been leaning more towards fantasy, so I can’t wait for it! Maybe it’ll even be the first I pick up on this list!

Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Kazi and Jase have survived, stronger and more in love than ever. Their new life now lies before them―the Ballengers will be outlaws no longer, Tor’s Watch will be a kingdom, and the two of them will meet all challenges side by side, together at last.

But an ominous warning mars their journey back, and in their rush to return to Tor’s Watch, just outside the fortress walls, they are violently attacked and torn apart―and each is thrust into their own new hell.

Unsure whether the other is alive or dead, Kazi and Jase must keep their wits among their greatest enemies and unlikeliest allies. And all the while, Death watches and waits.

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This is the sequel to Dance of Thieves (which I talked about above), and this one may be pushing it a little. Both books are very thick, and I sometimes have a tendency to put off sequels when I want something new, so we’ll have to see what happens with this one!

The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope.

North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.

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Here’s a book that has been on almost every single TBR this year, but I’m FINALLY going to get to it! I swear it!

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis: Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why–or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch–and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.

Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

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I want to read this one SO BAD! This will definitely get read this month, and I’m debating on whether or not to pick up this one first, or Dance of Thieves… We’ll see!

They Went Left by Monica Hesse

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else–her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja–they went left.

Zofia’s last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.

But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her–or help her rebuild her world.

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My sister has been wanting me to read this one for awhile now, so I wasn’t surprised when it was the first one she picked. I’ve heard it’s a pretty sad story (as I can imagine after reading the synopsis), but I’m hoping I can get to it!

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Genre: Romance

Synopsis: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

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I don’t know what it is with this book! I’ve heard so many good things about it, but every time I go to pick it up, I end up going for a different book. I have a hard time with romances sometimes, but I’m going to give it a try this month!

My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows

Genre: Satire/Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown.

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

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I have NO idea what to expect from this one, or if I’ll even like it, but I want to try something new! I’m fairly interested in it, so I might pick it up soon!

The Iliad by Homer

Genre: Classic

Synopsis: Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.

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Of course my sister (who y’all know as “Spider-man lover”) went for the hardcore classics. I read The Odyssey when I was a kid and had a bit of a hard time with it, but now that I’m older I’ve been wanting to reread it. However, I’d like to read this one first, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to get to it before the year is out!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Fantasy?

Synopsis: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

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I attempted to read Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea earlier this year and ended up putting it down after thirty pages. It was certainly interesting, in a bizarre sort of way. While the bizarre often intrigues me, The Starless Sea boggled me to the point where I felt out of touch with the story, so that’s what happened there. Ever since, I’ve been a little hesitant to pick up The Night Circus, especially since I hear a lot of people don’t like it. But I shall be the judge of it this time!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. 

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I cannot tell you how badly I want to read this! I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad thing about this book, so I’m really hoping to read it ASAP. I’m hoping I don’t get a little bored with fantasy with the Mary E. Pearson’s books and the couple other on here, because I’d really like to have this read by the end of the year!

I think my sisters did a wonderful job of choosing books, and I’m relieved because of that! I’m turning out to be a bit of a mood reader, so I was nervous that they’d pick books I wasn’t in the mood for. That was not the case as you can see! I’m hoping to read as much as possible over break in order to meet my goal of reading 70 books before the year is out, so wish me luck!

God bless y’all and have a wonderful rest of the week!

Synopses taken from Goodreads