The Last Recap of 2020 | December

Guys I haven’t written a monthly recap since September!! These are always my favourite posts to write and format so I’m so excited to get back into it and to write today’s post!

December was actually a really nice month for me. I wasn’t doing much admittedly (I’m in the UK and basically back in lockdown!), but overall my mood was pretty good, school finished so my mental health was a bit better and I just overall had a really nice time getting into the festive spirit.
So, without further ado…

December was a pretty small reading month for me with only four books but it was a great month overall because they all had such high ratings!! After hitting a bit of a reading slump in October and November I am loving seeing all those stars.

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn ★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars)
I very rarely get to new releases in the year they’re released so I’m surprised at myself reading two 2020 books this month!
Dating Makes Perfect was such a light, fluffy book and I really enjoyed it. Again, fake dating is one of my favourite tropes so I’m so glad I got to this one and I flew through it. For me, where it fell short though was that the characters for me weren’t super fleshed out? They felt kind of cardboard YA awkward teens to me and I thought that the pacing with the romance was a bit off? ^{It felt like they went from hating each other to maybe-kind-of-not to liking each other in a couple days?} It was such a fun concept though and I would still recommend it if you’re after a short and sweet YA contemporary.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles ★★★★★ (5 stars)
I mentioned this book in my best books of 2020 because I just really enjoyed it. It had magic, it had a strong female lead, it had suspense, it had morally grey characters, it had secrets, it had romance. It was amazing!!
Unfortunately though I have to wait until August 2021 (?!) to find out what happens after that chaotic ending. It’s going to be a long wait but I need answers!! because book 1 didn’t wrap-up all (if any of) my questions?!
_{Side note: I don’t want anyone going into it expecting it to be objectively perfect because it probably wasn’t? But I was just completely sucked into it and I was so so invested the whole way through.}

Geekerella by Ashley Poston ★★★★☆ (3.5 stars)
This backlist (from 2017!) book has been on my tbr for ages and I’m so glad I finally picked it up because it was just what I was in the mood for! I always love balancing a fantasy with a light-hearted contemporary and this one definitely delivered and was just what I was in the mood for. I loved the texting element & the celebrity and normal people trope is always one of my faves (reminds me of When It’s Real which I recommend if you liked Geekerella)! I do think that some characters didn’t need to get together though, it was a bit quick

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston ★★★★★ (4.5 stars)
This one was even better than the first one! Even though it was a bit insta-like (but I think that comes with the territory) I had so much fun reading this and I flew through it in a day. Can definitely see myself rereading this one many times. Hopefully I like book 3 of the Once Upon A Con series just as much (although the love interest is Vance Reigns and I didn’t like him in book 2).

December honestly flew by and I really didn’t do that much but here are some standout moments from the month!

• Christmas! As a Christian, Christmas is 110% top of my list for December. I just adore the festive period and even though corona of course made it different this year, for me it was still a lovely day. This is a bit cheesy but I’m unbelievably grateful for my friends and family right now – counting my blessings every day.
• Not having school!! School is now finished for two weeks (when I have my A-level mock exams yay) so I’ve been so much more relaxed this month. My mental health is improving a little, I seemed to have a massive self-confidence boost which was nice and it felt great to take a break from studying for a bit (although I do have work to do for upcoming exams!).
• Discovering new media and feeling motivated again I had such a mood boost in December which I’m so happy about. Part of this was due to discovering new shows and also wanting to read again!! I was in a bit of a reading slump the past two months (which was partly why I totally abandoned blogging) but I’m back for now (trying to schedule posts before school starts!) so I’m loving enjoying books again. My tbr isn’t loving that though because after scrolling back through the WordPress reader to see what I’ve missed I’ve discovered a lot of new books I want to get to! As for media, I going to be writing a blog post all about my favourite media in 2020 (inspired by Margaret @ The Weird Zeal ) so I’m excited to write that!

• Study for and ace my A-level mock exams
• Continue to work on my mental health (personal goal so I won’t go into detail but I know what I mean haha)
• Continue to grow my small business – at least 4 Instagram posts (but ideally 8+)
• Prep my bullet journal and decide my planning system! Last year I used a planner and although I did love it, I really missed setting up my bullet journal every month and so I’ve switched back! I might do some plan with me content in the future (this month’s theme is inspired by Annie @ Blossom and Bullet Journals December theme) but I’m also wanting to figure out how I’m going to combine my bujo with digital planning (Notion!!)

And that’s all for December, the last month of 2020! This year has honestly been such a wild ride (although for me incredibly boring so not that wild lol) but I’m just really grateful for the position I’m in and my family and friends. Cheesy but true.
I hope you’re all well and feeling okay. If you’re not your feelings are totally valid and I’m sending you so much love and just general good vibes, & please do reach out to someone (e.g. Anxiety UK, Samaritans) if you’re struggling xx

How was your December? Have you read any of the books I’ve mentioned? What media should I add to my 2021 watch, listen and read list?

_{Also edit – I’m quite impressed with myself for writing and editing two blog posts in a day?! Hopefully this mood to blog will continue and I can prep lots of posts ready for back to school in January!}

Advertisement