Summer Reads Recommendations

Summer will soon be upon us, and for some lucky people it has already started, so I thought I would share with you some books to read in summer.

Personally, I tend to read contemporary books in summer and these are some of my favourites from the past year and a half.

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

If you're in the mood to be a little sad, then this is the book for you. Nelson's writing really draws you in to the characters and the story. Be prepared to hate certain decisions, but you can love this book through that and that's what makes it really stand out.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book has been hyped and plugged so much over the past year, so you're probably sick of hearing about it, but I can guarantee that at least one of you won't have read it. So, why should you give into the hype? This book mixes the importance of family, the stresses of schoolwork and exploring new relationships with being part of a fandom, making it extremely relatable and, secretly, we all want Cath's life.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This is my favourite out of Anna, Lola and Isla and is the perfect starting point if you want to explore the contemporary genre. If you're in the mood for a sweet romance and a couple that's extremely shippable, pick this up.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

This book surprised me, in a good way. This is a great story about friendships, new and old, and the perfect way to spend your summer. It's both inspiring and heartbreaking; the perfect holiday read.

If you end up reading any of these, let me know what you think of them! What books would you recommend to read over the summer?

Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

More a 3.5 star book than a 4 star. This was a sweet summer read, with some very adorable moments in it, though parts of the plot were overly predictable. Still, worth a read.

(Goodreads parallel) 

My Favourite Books of 2015

This year has been one of my best reading years in a long, long time. I've made an effort to try new genres and have been greatly rewarded for that choice. Here are my top twelve books of the year, along with their descriptions and my reasons for having them on my list. They are listed chronologically as putting them in an order of favourites would just be too stressful.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue - There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. 
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. 
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost. 
Friends can betray. 
Mothers can disappear. 
Visions can mislead. 
Certainties can unravel.

This book has to be one of my favourites because I cannot get enough of it and the world its set in. Each book in the Raven Cycle series is more exciting than the last and with the final book coming out soon, it's really worth getting your hands on the first three beforehand.

Shadow and Bone - Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

.

This amazing series is full of action, romance and magic. With characters you can't help but hate to love and plot twists waiting round every corner, I would really recommend this book if you are a lover of fantasy.

Half Bad - Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone.
Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

I'm annoyed that it took so long for me to pick this book up off my shelf and read it. This novel is a sad, yet hopeful tale that deals with prejudice, trust and love. Also, it's set in England, which almost no YA novels are, so bonus points need to be awarded.

Cinder -Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the centre of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

This novel is a perfect mix of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian YA fiction. Definitely do not be put off by the mention of the word 'cyborg' as I first was and go into this with an open mind (though be prepared to have it blown and your heart broken at certain points). As 'The Lunar Chronicles' are now complete, I truly recommend marathoning them all because this is a fantastic series that every lover of YA fiction should definitely experience.

Since You've been Gone - It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.
On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?
Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a stranger? Um... 
Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?

When I first saw this book my mind was screaming at me so put it down and run away because it seemed just like another contemporary sloppy love story, but I am really glad I got it. This is anything but just another 'contemporary sloppy love story'. It's about friendship, family and doing what's best for you. Also, someone please make me a list...

I'll Give You The Sun - Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

If you only read one book from this list, make it this one. This story made me laugh and made me cry (and if you know me, you know how hard that is to do). 'I'll Give You The Sun' will turn you into an emotional wreck with a greater appreciation for life and following your dreams. It is the most stunning and beautiful book I have ever had the luck of reading.

A Swift Pure Cry - After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.

This is a heartbreaking tale of loss and love. Real life stories are often the most eye-opening and scarring and this was certainly that. It makes you truly feel for the plight of others and be thankful for the life you have.

The Winner's Curse - Winning what you want may cost you everything you love... 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

Though this tale is one that is completely different to those I am used to, it is utterly brilliant. Drawing on ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome, it demonstrates that love can overcome prejudices and mistakes can cost you everything.

A Court of Thorns and Roses -When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

An epic high fantasy novel that leads the way for an amazing series. This book will draw you completely in Feyre's world and make you wish that, despite the constant threats and levels of danger, you could live in the majestic world of the fae. If you are looking for stunning fantasy writing, this is the book for you.

The Year of the Rat - To Pearl, there's nothing sweet about her premature half-sister, Rose. It was Rose that caused her mother's death and Rose that turned her world upside down.
To Pearl, Rose is The Rat.

This novel is another eye-opening tale. It has the power to make you feel pity and sadness, but also hope and joy. It is one of those books that I think everyone should have the chance to experience.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can. 
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
She's wrong.

An intoxicating start to a dark series filled with fear and romance. The 'Mara Dyer' trilogy has to be my favourite series of the year. You can fly through these books in one sitting and feel like you haven't been there for more than ten minutes. Noah Shaw is a definite perk as well.

Emma - Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

This book was not what I expected at all. I would never have believed you if you had said to me that I would laugh at a classic and use the word 'man-slut' when talking to my friends about a novel by Jane Austen. If you have yet to start reading classics, I would highly recommend this as you first pick.

Here's to a great year of reading! I wish you all the best in 2016.

-E

Bookish Comments

Instead of doing a full review for these books, I have decided instead to write a small comment about each as I feel I can't do a review justice. These books are all ones that I read while on holiday in Lanzarote; you can read a lot on holiday it seems!

The Winners Curse by Marie Rutkoski - 4 stars

A really interesting and different concept. Slow in parts, but really heats up towards the end with amazing characters, especially Kestrel for her refusal to comply to the normal.

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski - 5 stars

A great sequel with so many moments that made me want to scream in frustration at the characters, but an amazing development to the plot. It left me really needing the final book, but I have to wait another year. This book is where the series shows itself as an amazing one.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson -4.5 stars

At first I thought that this would be a light summer read, but it actually had a much darker storyline entwined with some fluffy moments. This book did make me cry a little at the end and the themes of friendship and family truly made this book great.

The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George - 3 stars

This book had the potential to be great with the ideas of supernatural powers that it contained, but they were just not carried out at high standards. Also, there seemed to be this obsession over makeup and glasses making people ugly and it is not a good image to be giving young girls who would be reading this book. It's a series I will not be continuing.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers - 5 stars

A wonderful mix of fantasy and historical fiction with a lovely bit of romance thrown in. I was completely drawn into this story and loved the assassin element to it. I can't wait to continue with this series. 

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

I picked this book up on seeing so many people recommend and praise it. If it hadn't been for that then I probably wouldn't have given this book a second glance because the cover didn't really stand out to me as something that I should pick up. However, I'm really glad I did and I think it's taught me not to judge books by their covers.

This book was a refreshing change from a lot of the teen books which are purely focused on romance. Friendship is something that people deal with before they get to relationships and I like how this book fitted that pattern. At its heart, this book is about friends and it was such a nice and different thing to read about.

At the start of the book, I wasn't sure that I was fully comfortable with Emily as a character. She was so dependent on Sloane that it was almost depressing. I wanted to scream through the pages at Emily to get a grip and that she could survive for a little while without her best friend, but as the book progressed I grew to like her more as she became more independent. Looking back, I understand why Emily had to be like that at the start of the book and I'm glad she made the progression that she made.

The storyline in this book was beautiful. The concept of the list meant that the book had integral structure and that I always knew each chapter would have something exciting waiting for me in it. Even though each chapter title was a little giveaway to what would happen, it was still interesting because of how each thing on the list played out. This book made me want to write someone a list/get someone to write me a list and then I can go on a similar adventure.

I feel like I have to talk about the romance in this book, even though I said that the main focus was on friendship. At the start of the book I didn't expect there to be a romance between Emily and Frank and I didn't even realise that there would be one until about half way through the book. That was what I loved about the romance in this book. It didn't feel forced in any way. It felt like a natural progression from friendship to relationship and it made the book seem to be so much more realistic! As well as that, both Frank and Emily having been with someone before made it seem like it was real life because in real life you don't go out with one person and then stay with them forever as it is portrayed in some books. You meet many people in your lifetime and I felt like 'Since You've Been Gone' told the truth about this.

Throughout this book, I wasn't entirely sure what to think of Sloane. At first I thought she seemed really cool because of her fashion choices and the way she seemed to be so carefree and then I started to think she was an utter b*tch because of how she was acting while she was with Sam, but by the end of the novel, starting I suppose when she broke up with Sam and Emily developed her camera, I realised that she was just a girl who had had to live through ordinary struggles that teens go through and had to constantly worry that she would be judged for something that her parent did. I'm so happy with the ending of this book because of Emily and Sloane's friendship being reconciled and I think it was nice to find out about Sloane through flashbacks as we couldn't see her in real time.

In terms of how this book was written, I couldn't have been happier. I am a sucker for lengthy description and that is what this book gave to me. I felt like I was in the book with Emily and I could have easily stepped from my world to hers in a heartbeat. I especially liked the description of the characters as it meant that when their quirks played out I could understand them perfectly and it also meant that I felt their emotions more deeply. The writing in this book made me want to read more of Matson's work because if this book is an example of all her work, then I certainly want more.

My only criticism of this book would be the length of the chapters. I felt that when I was starting the book it was a bit too much to have long chapters when I wasn't really absorbed in the storyline and didn't really know the characters yet. Apart from that, I have no complaints at all.

Overall, this book is absolutely stunning and I would really recommend it to everyone, not matter what genre you normally read. This book is simply amazing.

(Goodreads parallel)