For me, this Summer included a lot of reading. I read some of the best books through Summer 2019, so I thought I'd review some of the pages turners which I've got my nose stuck into the past few months. I have also made a Youtube video to go alongside the post - which actually includes a couple more great books, you can head over to my youtube channel for that, or find it at the bottom of this post.
Without further ado, here are my reviews and short synopsis' of the books I read this summer:
Someday by David Levithan:
I read the first two books in this series a few years back - you can read my review here - I didn't realise there was a 3rd book until recently when I stumbled upon it in Waterstones, and immediately needed to read it. The first book in the series tells the story of a character named A who does not have a body of his own, instead possess a different body each day, taking over the life of someone else for 24 hours. The third book, I found to expand that universe more. It becomes clear that A is not the only being to hop from body to body each day. It plays with the idea that you can choose to use this for either good or evil. It explores the loneliness of the character and offers the perspective of serval different characters from A and X who switch body daily, to more the ordinary people like Rihannon and Nathan who are in on their secret and others who are not. There are also snippets from an online forum, which again extends the universe beyond the main characters of the story. There's a poetic rhythm to David Levithan's writing throughout the novel. I loved it a lot, although, I did find the ending to be slightly underwhelming, however, I'm not sure if that was simply because I did not want to finish the book.
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams:
The rom-com tells the story of the characters Nadia and Daniel. Daniel noticed Nadia on a train and leaves a note for her on the missed connections newspaper page. From then the couple keeps missing each other, through this book it plays with the idea of nearly missing the love of your life and the idea of fate. Despite finding it a tad underwhelming and very predictable - it was very feel good and made me believe in romance again. It's very modern-day, funny. lighthearted and relatable.What a Time To Be Alone by Chidera Eggerue:
This book from the Slumflower, with it's illustrated pages and Nigerian proverbs throughout make for a great coffee table book. This book sits in the self-help genre, offering advice on confidence and relationships, both with yourself and others, and discusses knowing your worth. There's a lot on white privilege which I found particularly interesting as it is something I've been trying to educate myself further on. I found this insightful and interesting, however in places, it did feel slightly repetitive and I definitely did not agree with everything the author said. Also, a lot of the content I'd heard Chidera talk about before on social media and in interviews - I was hoping it might delve deeper into soon of the points, having said that, the style of writing does make it very easy to digest. If you're struggling with your self-esteem this is definitely worth picking up.The After Series by Anna Todd:
I read the entire five books in After series over the past few weeks. I initially watched the film on Netflix and soon learned it was a book, within a couple of weeks I'd finished the series. These books revolve around the relationship of the character Tessa who is fairly sheltered and innocent and starts college and meets Hardin who is the opposite. Tessa and Hardin fall into a fairly toxic relationship which the books follow them through. There are a lot of character betrayals through the series and a lot of twists which keep you gripped.
In places, I felt these books weren't particularly well written, a lot of the same phrases were repeated, and a lot of the really beautiful parts actually quoted from classical literature. It had a Twilight-esc feel to it, as it romanticises what is clearly a toxic relationship - however in some ways, I'm not sure I'd fault the writer for that, I think a writer needs to trust that her readers are intelligent enough to understand this relationship is not healthy, and of course, it only makes sense for the character to be written as flawed people.
The story felt repetitive in places, and Tessas and Hardin's relationship just seemed to follow the same frustrating cycle, making me want to shake both characters. It definitely got more interesting in the later books when the story extended more to the past of both Tessas and Hardins families.
From a critical perspective, I don't think these books are particularly well written or groundbreaking literature - however, I felt fully emersed in this fictional world, I could put my kindle down, and have found myself thinking of the characters a lot since finishing the series.
In places, I felt these books weren't particularly well written, a lot of the same phrases were repeated, and a lot of the really beautiful parts actually quoted from classical literature. It had a Twilight-esc feel to it, as it romanticises what is clearly a toxic relationship - however in some ways, I'm not sure I'd fault the writer for that, I think a writer needs to trust that her readers are intelligent enough to understand this relationship is not healthy, and of course, it only makes sense for the character to be written as flawed people.
The story felt repetitive in places, and Tessas and Hardin's relationship just seemed to follow the same frustrating cycle, making me want to shake both characters. It definitely got more interesting in the later books when the story extended more to the past of both Tessas and Hardins families.
From a critical perspective, I don't think these books are particularly well written or groundbreaking literature - however, I felt fully emersed in this fictional world, I could put my kindle down, and have found myself thinking of the characters a lot since finishing the series.
Open Road Summer by Emery Lord:
Open Road Summer is the Young Adult story of a girl called Reagan, who after breaking up with her bad-boy boyfriend decided to spend the Summer touring with her best friend Lilah, who happens to be a famous musician. Matt Finch another musician later joins the tour, and there's a little romance, The story revolves around the theme of friendships, fame, toxic relationships, trust and more. All of the characters in this book have a lot of growth throughout. Despite covering some pretty serious topics, this story feels like a pretty lighthearted read. The style of writing makes it an easy read, and it has a poetic feel to it.Essays in Love by Alain de Botton:
This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It balances somewhere between the genre of romantic fiction and philosophical essays. It’s full of essays written based on the narrative between the two characters who fall in love. It follows them through the entirety of the relationship offering insights on love, heartbreak and relationship. It made me think about love in-depth. It’s intelligent and wonderful and the first time I’ve known theory carry so much emotion. When I gave it the attention it so rightly deserves, I was completely charmed by it.
What have you been reading this Summer?!
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