 Hello, hello, everyone. Welcome to today's video. My name is Laura. This is my channel Laura's little library and Today's video is going to be my Christmas book haul slash end of the year book haul. It's the last one. I'm doing this year Different I don't know why but we're going to ignore it and move on So I'm going to show you all of the books that I have got I got two gift cards to Barnes and Noble and I have no patience I bought Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim. I own Spin the Dawn And I was just waiting for this to come out in paperback because that's what Spin the Dawn is So I finally bought this. I read it and I loved it So now I finally have my physical copy of it. The other book that I bought was Star Daughter by Shweta Thakrar So I actually had a copy of this but it was a it was an ARC That my friend had received and then given to me and the copy itself has kind of beat up a little bit So I really wanted to repurchase it to have a finished copy cover Not have a little sticker and to support the author because I did very much enjoy this book This is one of my favorite books if you want to see Where it was check out my favorites and least favorites video. This was also the first book that I finished this year The year of 2021 so I just wanted to rebuy it and I finally did it and I'm very happy with it So these are kind of the two books that Christmas bought for me Yeah, so let's continue on with all of these books up here But first let's go over all of the bookish non-books Things that I got because I think those are really fun to share as well So the first one would be this t-shirt. It says drink eat Read books be happy. I love the design on it. I love the color of it It's so cute. I also got another bookish t-shirt and this one Oh, and this one says never too old for fairy tales Which is definitely perfect for me because I read a lot of fairy tale retellings and fantasy and mythology and whatnot And I like the pink of it and they look kind of nice together but So those are the two shirts that I got that were bookish themed actually also got a camera I got a little GoPro camera, which will be really nice for vlogging since I still film on my phone But now I have this little guy So if my video Changed like their quality changes in the future It's cuz I am using my new little camera next bookish thing that I got is a decoration for my shelf and it But it is one of these like cut out And it has these two hearts and I like it a lot It's definitely going to be a major feature on my shelf when we get back home The book itself is the emperor's revenge and theoretically if I unfolded it I could read it And I'm not going to do that But there's a little part of me that wants to just go through unfold every page read it and then fold it back But I will not but it's so cute. So this is gonna go probably in like the corner of one of my shelves Now let's get into the books I got a few books for Christmas Then I have a large chunk of books that were given to me by a friend Just cuz she does that she likes to take all the books that she hasn't had time to read or that she wants me to read and She stores them up while I'm away in Minnesota and then when I come back to Michigan She gives me big boxes and there is the potential that she could be giving me another box in January So those will be included in my next haul But for Christmas, I got the first two books of the Serpent and Dove trilogy So I got Serpent and Dove and Blood and Honey I am super happy that I have these because I read both of these books and I loved them I have not read Gods and Men yet Gods and Monsters yet But I wanted to do a reread first. I definitely want to reread Blood and Honey I might reread Serpent and Dove. Serpent and Dove I would reread because I loved it. Blood and Honey I would reread because I remember nothing that happened. I might just get I might just put Monsters and Men higher up on my Monsters and Men. Gods and Monsters higher up on my priority But I want to reread these first and you know what all these books Are gonna go right up there. The next book that I got is what once was mine And this is by Liz Braswell. This is a disney twisted tail It has it is falling Rapunzel and the question is what if Rapunzel's mother Drank a potion from the wrong flower So it's the idea that she drank from the moon flower instead of the sunflower So her hair is silver and it has different powers Etc and so forth. I will also note something that I forgot to mention earlier. So my sister gave me this book She also gave me She also gave me this bookmark just one more chapter and it's really cute and it matches the cover of this book like the purples and the pink Matches, so that's why I have it in this book and now as of this Christmas I am completely caught up on owning all of the twisted tails books So I will do a twisted tails reading vlog soon Especially before another one comes out on this one The next book that I have is called the court of the air and this is by Stefan Hunt It says it's a fantastical tale of high adventure Lilith rogues and orphans on the run So I believe I was told this has a murder and then orphans on the run and I'm excited for it. It's it's a good. It's a good chonker with a very pretty cover So this is one that I hadn't heard of before but I'm excited to read it Sounds like it is right down my alley. Now the last book that I got gifted to me specifically for Christmas is a very different book than all The rest of these because it is a baking book But this is called rising hope and this is recipes and stories from the luminary bakery, which is in England I believe and it it is what it says it is it is a collection of stories about different women who go through this bakeries Program, I believe their mission is to help struggling a woman But as those women go through the program they have to create their own recipes and so I've been looking through this I already had my first recipe picked out of what I want to bake But it's a lot of familiar Types of bakes with completely new flavors and new flavor combinations So I'm really excited to try this out and experiment and it seems like it's like just from what I've read so far It seems like it's a good book for beginner bakers who Know what things are but don't know how to do it and it includes tips and tricks Throughout every recipe so that not only are you just following the recipe, but you're understanding why or how or things You can do it more efficiently So I'm really excited to start baking from this. It is my personal first like Cookbook slash baking book. I don't cook. I'm terrible at cooking but I love baking and so This is my first recipe book. That's why I should say my first non family based recipe book So now we are going to get into the big box of books that my friend just gave to me She has this ginormous library in the basement of her house and it is so cool She just gets so many books She gets sent books by Publishers and authors and she doesn't have time to read them all review them all or some of them Just don't capture her interest. So she boxes them all up and she gives them to me So a lot of these are arcs But none of them were sent to me by the publisher and most of them have been released already anyway So and even I don't know very much about some of the books that are sent that she gives to me Not all of them are my cup of tea and so I can't promise that I will keep all of them or read all of them But if you know any of these comment down below and let me know like I should keep it and I should read it Etc and so forth. So the first one that she has given me is fireblood by Ali Blake This is the second book in a saga second book to frost blood I believe and I did not read very much into the synopsis of this because I didn't want to spoil the first book which I had never heard of before Um and but I do know that it follows a main character who's a young girl and in this one It says she has to choose between her home her fiery homeland and the icy king that loves her So it sounds very interesting I just would have to find the first book and either purchase it or read it and then if I like it or not I would then continue with this and then either keep it or Unhaul it so yes, there are quite a few sequels in here that I haven't read the first book to This is one of them. In fact, I think I'm just going to do them all Right now just to get them off the bat because the next one is Iona and I will or yeah I think I'm saying that right, but I know that this is the second book and I think Ion is the first one just E-O-N Or something like that is a chunky book. Um I know that I was interested in reading it once I checked it out from the library But I just never got to it um So this copy is a little beat up But Again, I would have to read the first really thick book before I would get to this one I just don't even know what it's about But I really like the cover and it feels like the cover looks like something I would enjoy And I know I had interested in it once upon a time But again, I got to read that first one before I can read this one And honestly, I'd probably end up just purchasing my own copies just because this one is so beat up She does take good care of her books She just has so many and the mail system can be less than gentle uh towards packages sometimes and so like her books will come damaged or Like she also has dogs So the next one is a middle grade and it's called Mercy Suarez Tant Dance And this looks really cute And I feel like this is the kind of series that I don't necessarily need to read the first book Like the first book is obviously an introduction to all the characters, but the second one is like The plot has nothing to do with the first one I believe she's like a middle schooler And she wants to go to the dance with some boy, but she can't dance or something. It sounds cute Uh, but again, I don't know if I want to read this on its own Or if I would like to read the first book first. So like the first one is Mercy Suarez changes gears So We'll see about this one next sequel that we have is the secret prince and this is a nightly academy book again I'd never heard of them. I know this isn't the first book Oh, but by the way, this is my violet harbour dasher And it sounds a little bit more like a medieval academy type book Which I Okay, so for all the mythology and the fairy tale retellings that I read king Arthur is not one of my favorites Like, okay. Let me let me just reel that back in a second. I like King Arthur and Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table and all that But I find that those retellings are some of my least favorite style retellings But I do love the original story. So if this is kind of King Arthur-esque, I think I could enjoy it As long as it's done well So again, I would have to find the first one for this So but It has promise so Looks like so far. There are only two books out and the first one is just called nightly academy Okay, it's it's not to king Arthur retelly. It's about this boy who is a servant who passes his exams to get into the knightly academy And next thing he knows he's like the only commoner in this academy full of like wealthy people so It's it like I said, it has promise. It doesn't sound like it's anything like too unique or like modern but You know good old fashioned rags to riches Like fight training school. Yeah It has its place. I think a lot of these are uncorrected proofs So I'm a little nervous about reading them because if they Are uncorrected and then the books that got published Are corrected like there are plot holes that have been fixed It's not fair for me to rate the book off of what it used to be rather than what it is So I'm also just very tempted to unhaul all of the uncorrected proofs And then if they actually do interest me rebuy them so that I have The actual book, but I'd be a little annoyed in doing that Just because I don't want to spend the money on the book in the first place But we'll see this is good exposure. So I'm gonna keep going. Um, but yeah, a lot of these are uncorrected proofs and That it just makes me a little nervous. Like if you send me an uncorrected proof of a book that hasn't come out yet I'll I'll still read it because it's the only version of the book there is and I would happily give that feedback But when the book has already come out, I don't want the uncorrected proof I want the final polished product. So this next one is called saying like no one is watching This is by Vanessa Jones. Again, it's an uncorrected proof But this is a good one for us musical theater people So this follows a girl who got accepted into this prestigious Arts school and it's the same art school that her mother went to and her mother came out like the superstar or whatever Um, but the thing is our main character hasn't been able to sing a note since her mother passed So she's having this really hard time going to this prestigious school that her mother went to while also actually not being able to sing But you know, you don't want to give up that opportunity. So It sounds like it's going to be a good book battling grief as well as passion And following in your mom's footsteps when it's something you also enjoy. So We'll see if I keep this one the thing is is I've read a lot of books about grief lately and it's just It's really emotional and it takes a toll. So if I do keep this and read it, it'll be a while before I get there Nope The next book that I'm going to talk about I'm really excited about it sounds very interesting It's the first book in a series and that is the crowns game and this is by eval and sky And this takes its inspiration from imperial russia and it follows our two main characters who I believe are fighting to be the next Magician for the Tsar so one of them can summon snow and turn things to and turn ash into gold And the other one can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air They are enchanters the only two in russia And with the Ottoman empire and the kazakhs threatening the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side I am reading the description off my phone. That's why i'm looking down Um And so they go through an ancient duel and they have to outdo each other to find out which is the most powerful to aid the tsar against the Ottoman empire and the kazakhs this sounds amazing I I think this is going to be a great winter read winter fantasy. So this might be one that I pick up early next year Time allowing there's so many books. I want to pick up next year, but this definitely has jumped to the top of my list You know We're getting there. All right We're getting there. The next one is timmy failure mistakes were made. This is by stefan pastas and this Is basically just like another diary of a wimpy kid type book So if you liked reading those Here's another one for you. I personally loved jork diaries Um, but we'll see if I don't know if I'll measure this main character too much So we'll just have to see about that. But because it is like in that diary format I think I'll be able to read it very quickly and then give my judgment This next one is an arc and the book actually has not yet come out. It comes out on january 4 I have not included it on the books that are coming out Next year that I want to read because I didn't know about it until now It is called the chosen one by eco brown eco brown And this the author is writing about her own experience So the author and our main character write about she writes about her experience as the first generation black student on a Predominantly white ivy league campus. I believe the author went to dartmouth And so it is she writes her experience with this main character And so again, it's a fascinating contemporary. I haven't read anything like it So I think this would be a good one to read for me to the last stack the next one We have shadow guest and this is by thomas taylor illustrated by tom booth This is the third book in a middle grade adventure series Because it's the third. I don't even want to try and read the synopsis I would just like to look for the first first book see if I'm interested Try and read the first two But again, it's another uncorrected proof. So so I'm I I mean, I like middle grade adventure stories Uh, I'm just this is the third one It's just it would take a lot of effort for me to find and read the first two to see if it's even worth keeping This one, but so we'll see if I actually put in the time and effort to do that Or if I just unhaul it next one is very interesting So it's called dust and grim it is by chuck wendig and this chuck wendig. This is his debut middle grade book, but he wrote a lot of adult books before this and so this follows Um, I believe two siblings when their parents divorced The younger daughter went to live with her a neglectful father and the older brother went to live On with his mother in their estate and like with a whole bunch of money, but when they are both orphaned She finally moves into the estate with him and she's like Why did you get to live this life of riches while I had to struggle with our father? So again, it's very interesting that it is a middle grade both the characters look a little bit older, but It's so the cover gives me very interesting vibes that maybe the estate all isn't all that it seems So this one I'm intrigued to read. I think it might be a good spooky season read I don't know if I'll read it right away But maybe in like early spooky season. I'll read the next one. I'm super excited for it It's called sway with me by sayid and masoud And this is another arc of course Yeah, it already came out. So don't worry. I'm just gonna go ahead and read the pair Describing this book because I don't even know It sounds like so much fun though because it's an opposite attract book So I don't know if that means it's enemies to lovers or if they're just opposite But I'm excited to read that and it's got some amazing south asian rep and I'm really excited for that Basically our main character his Nana dies And he rather than having to deal with the rest of his family turns to a local matchmaker to set him up with a life partner So that he can kind of be on his own But the matchmaker's request in return is to help ruin Their older sister's wedding with a spectacular dance that she has been forbidden to perform So sway with me very interesting and I am here for it Especially if it's gonna have like a south asian traditional wedding in it I would love to read about that So this next one. I don't know if it's middle grade. It looks like it could be But it is definitely a thick fantasy. It is imperium by henry n Neff henry h neff So this follows the idea that the world Imperium has been ruled by the fairy reign for over 300 years But the family that has been ruling their magic is fading And so it follows the youngest sister of the family who like It's just content to not rule and like study her magic But I believe her grandmother has other plans for her and then this commoner hob is going to like come in and spy on them so One of the two is trying to save the empire one is trying to take it down and I think they strike an unlikely friendship But yeah, it's it's a very chunky book for like such a simple premise So I hope there are lots of twists and turns in here that hopefully I will enjoy The next book that I got from her is talent and this is by julie kagawa And so this author this is the first book. I don't know if it's a series Yes, it is the first book in a saga But she has written other books with other mythical creatures This one follows dragons and it's the idea that our main character is going undercover The dragons want to take over the human race And so our main character goes undercover to a high school And she kind of questions whether taking over the human race is really a good idea That's some like if her prejudices were correct or she actually Changes her mind and thinks that humans are pretty chill. Maybe we shouldn't do that So I mean it seems like kind of a predictable book. So I'll probably Read it, but we will see right next up is another middle grade It is dragon castle and this is by joseph ruchak And this follows the prince whose parents kind of don't really know what they're doing in terms of ruling this kingdom Like they're not smart rulers. Um, so names seriously disappear and a neighboring kingdom parks their army right outside the castle He has to figure out how to Fix everything so he needs to like tame the dragon and he needs to find where his parents went But he also needs to Get rid of this threat and kind of it seems like I don't know if he's trying to take over or just find his parents But I feel like if they make the points of the parents being like stupid, then he should take over But I don't know something about that But it's a short buck So maybe I will give this one a try and see if it's really good because the concept sounds interesting Plus dragons, we have a little bit of a dragons theme here. Have wonderful The last book that she gave me Is one that I am very excited to read it is called the glittering court and it is by rachel mead And this is the start of a new series. I believe Um, but it basically follows this countess who is putting an arranged marriage and she Says now she does not want to deal with that So she decides to run away to the new world where there's this program called the glittering court And it takes basically these impoverished women and trains them to Be ladies it trains them to be proper and it helps them get up to a higher class standard so that they can marry some of the higher class men and so she disguises as her servant and goes to the glittering court and of course she you know Excells at everything because she was a high class lady And I believe she meets this guy there who might be her love interest who kind of has some secrets So we might be discovering and playing around with those it sounds beautiful. And I mean look at this cover it I don't know it just It gives me a little bit of different vibes of different dystopians that I've read and I'm really excited for it Like I don't know why but it's giving me like I think the cover gives me chemical garden vibes And the plot of it kind of gives me the selection vibes like it's nothing like the selection Like it doesn't sound like that very much Um, but that's that's just kind of what I'm getting and I loved those books So I'm really excited to read this one. All right. Well there you have it I know this was a very long video But thank you for sticking through it if you did watch to the end here I am posting twice a week in the new year sundays and wednesdays I was posting four videos throughout the month of december, but as december is almost over I'm not really doing that anymore So click subscribe so that you don't miss any of the videos that I post in the new year I have lots of fun content coming up for you in january Otherwise feel free to like this video if you liked it I have bookish social media linked down below if you are interested in seeing what I read And what my thoughts are on it Otherwise, I would love to follow you back and see what you're reading and get any recommendations from you Yeah, and like I said comment down below if you know any of these books a new book buying limit that I have this year Um, I might do more come shopping with me videos rather than um Like book hauls because I won't be gaining as many books throughout the years. I normally do So comment down below that sounds like fun Otherwise, uh, again, thank you all so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one. But until then I wish you happy reading