Here it is already the end of another month. Where does the time go? I have been busy as usual reading some wonderful books for the month of December of 2024. Here are the 9 books I read and reviewed for December. I might have read even more if I didn’t have a few WIP. But I always seemed to have a WIP! That fact never stops me! I hope you enjoy reading these reviews.

I love sharing my eclectic reads in this Jemsbooks Segment, Books Read in the Month. I hope you will get a chance to look over these books soon. Thank you for your kind support of my work and that of my fellow authors.

If you are an avid reader, as I am, please review the books you love on Amazon or wherever you purchased them for others to enjoy your reviews. Reviews are one way for readers to know about an exceptional book. We indie authors love to receive reviews and appreciate the efforts of readers to do them. Once again, I thank you for your kind support of me and my books and for supporting my fellow authors too.

When I wrote these reviews I rated them on Amazon, Goodreads and sometimes Barnes & Noble. I did not include the ratings here though. It is best to share my thoughts with you about how I felt about the book without the rating. Ratings can be deceiving at times.

We all feel differently about books. Sometimes we love them, sometimes we like them and still other times we may dislike a book. Some other books are so memorable they take our breaths away! While still others are sweet, sensitive, and enjoyable reads that we soon will forget. But all these books I have reviewed were lovely reads as you can see from my reviews. I hope you enjoy my reviews and that they will help you to decide what will be your next read.

Lake County was a tale about Marilyn Monroe and her past reimagined by the author. The author created this clever tale using a famous person.

Norma Jean or Marilyn Monroe lived in a backwoods town and escaped to Hollywood to become a star. She had a boyfriend, a photographer, who was nothing but trouble. He followed her everywhere she went and would not leave her alone.

The story delves into one time when Marilyn revisited her hometown. Her boyfriend followed her and haunted her about returning to Hollywood. He had no life without her because his photos of her help to make him famous. He would not let go of this power that he felt as long as he could control her.

Things got out of hand when her boyfriend, Nix, took things too far and got into more trouble than he ever imagined. He began to blame Marilyn for everything that went wrong in his life. Nix’s actions and involvement caused problems for everyone close to Marilyn.

I don’t want to give anything away by saying any more. This was an enjoyable read that kept me turning pages and imagining what life would have been like for this starlet if this had really happened to her. This was an imaginative and creative story.

Chasing Fame is a Gabe Quinn prequel to this series full of murder, mayhem and suspects. There are Hollywood stars who are murdered just before the Oscars and no evidence as to who is responsible until a crucial mistake is made by the killer.

Gabe is on the chase once he discovers who the killer is and will stop at nothing even endangering his own life. This character is unstoppable as the action ratchets up and keeps the reader avidly engaged.

This author knows how to describe scenes that create vivid impressions in the reader’s mind thus creating an enjoyable reading experience. I look forward to more stories in this series with this intriguing character.

The Curse of the Flores Women is a moving tribute to the resilience and power of seven generations of women who had to survive without the help of any men in their lives due to a curse that killed off all the men who married into their family. The women learned the art of lace in order to make a living for themselves.

Seven generations later Alice discovers the truth behind the mystery of some lace that she received from her ancestor that carried a message intertwined in the lace patterns. She uncovers the secrets that were kept by her ancestors.

This is told through Alice who slowly uncovers the secrets that were kept for many years. A story that was translated from Portuguese to English.

Tracks of her Tears is an intriguing mystery with murder, many suspects and one of the main protagonists on the prowl to find the culprit. There is a county investigator, Seth who enlists the help of his wife Carly who is a social worker to handle a child who is left homeless after her mother is murdered.

Things get out of control when Carly’s brother goes missing and then becomes a suspect in the death of his girlfriend. Though this is a short novella, there is plenty of suspense and action to keep the reader engaged.

This was an enjoyable read which is part of a series. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Dead in Her Tracks is book 2 in the Rogue Winter Series that has motion pictures throughout the book. I read book 1 on my Kindle which could not provide the motion. This book I read on my iPad and used the motion app. I found it fascinating seeing some of the action that was in the story line in motion but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it any less though reading on my Kindle. I enjoyed the first book that way.
It was a different way to read a book though and quite clever.

The main characters are after a serial killer who has already murdered a few women. Once again there are a few suspects but after the main suspect is found murdered in his jail cell, they must look for not only the murderer of this man but also delve deeper to find out if someone else had murdered these woman. Maybe they had made a crucial mistake.

This story was fast-moving and suspenseful. It was an enjoyable read.

https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Coma-Confidential/dp/B0CYCL7FT3/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I read this on Audible.

Coma Confidential is an intriguing story told through a woman in a coma after she is beaten and raped. She uses her senses of hearing and smell to differentiate sounds and scents and what is happening around her.

This is book 1 in this series as this woman tries to come back to find the person who did this to her. There is non-stop action, danger and adventures that keep the reader glued until the end.

I enjoyed this story and have already read one other book in this series.

The Song of Youth is a sweet, light romance/comedy with an angelic message, engaging characters and a creative story line.

The main character, Emilia, isn’t happy with her life. She feels she has wasted her years and never found love and had a family. Her wish is granted when her guardian angel hears her plea to be young again in order to get a second chance at life. Things aren’t always what they seem Emilia finds out.

An enjoyable light-hearted read.

You Shouldn’t Be Here is an intriguing mystery but lost some of its appeal as the author included a different pronoun to one character making it at first confusing and then unappealing to the story. I wasn’t sure if this character was a male or female or more than one person. I knocked down my original star count with this issue in mind.

The mystery was interesting and unusual with the addition of some strange ghostly connections between two of the characters. Though I enjoyed the story, the issue of confusion over one character took away some of the enjoyment. I unfortunately, I won’t be reading any more books from this author.p

Crossfire was an intriguing mystery. The main protagonist, DI Snow, who is nearing retirement is not feeling up to the task of his exhausting job after his partner is murdered. When a new partner is brought in he doesn’t know whether to trust this new person, DI Ruth Winton. He suspects that she is hiding something with her strange attitude toward everyone especially him.

When there are other murders, Snow tightens up his investigations and begins to connect some of the evidence in the other murders to his partner’s death. He also investigates further into DI Winton and discovers some unexpected things that puts him on alert because he feels that his life is in danger over what he knows.

An enjoyable quick read that kept me interested.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post and for your continued support.

Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!

READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING!

Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina

Award-Winning Author

Jemsbooks for All Ages!

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