Top Ten Books That WILL Be in My Beach Bag This Summer

Posted June 2, 2014 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Features/Memes / 25 Comments

TTTcustombannerTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic was “Top Ten Books That Will Be in My Beach Bag This Summer,” and I realized that the list quickly ended up being a round up of my most anticipated books sitting on my TBR list! Too bad I only own four of these titles as of now- the rest may be tricky to get my hands on via the library! (Let’s be honest, one reason I’ve always had a summer job is to buy books!) My list is in no specific order, and I’ve split it between contemporary and paranormal/fantasy:

Contemporary:

1) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz- I’ve heard so so so many amazing, profound reviews about this novel yet it hasn’t been blown up into a hype-monster. So basically it’s probably amazing and the cover is gorgeous and it’s staring me down right now from my bookshelf as I write this.

2) Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira- I just read The Perks of Being a Wallflower last summer and really enjoyed it (read my review here) and I’ve heard this book follows a similar format. I’m interested to see which celebrities and famous figures these letters are addressed to.

3) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- Pretty self explanatory, I want to read the book that’s probably been the most hyped of the past year. Also, I really want to see the movie (I liked Shailene Woodley in Divergent) and I don’t want to be one of those people who sees the movie without reading the book.

4) The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt- This seems like an easy, fun poolside read and I’m always excited to read something by a new author (new to me, at least). This novel just looks plain cute and will balance out some of the high-expectations-books I have on my list!

5) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- I kind of did the Rainbow Rowell thing backwards and read Fangirl first. But I fell completely in love with her writing and need anything and everything by her that I can get my hands on!

6) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart- I’ve read a million reviews on this book and I still don’t really know what it’s about, because each reviewer has insisted nothing can be given away in order for the book to not be spoiled. Of course this is driving me crazy and the sheer mysteriousness of this book has me dying to read it! It also sounds kind of like a Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars mystery situation and I am all over that combination.

Paranormal/Fantasy:

7) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin I’ve heard mixed reviews about this book but the mysterious premise has me intrigued, and it sounds like it could be a different kind of YA novel.

8) Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor- I’ve ranted and raved about how much I love Taylor’s lyrical writing and how her take on the angels-and-demons genre is the most unique I’ve read (you can read my reviews of the first two books of the series here and here) and this huge novel arrived on my doorstep this weekend thanks to a Barnes and Nobel giftcard (fangirling ensued- between this and City of Heavenly Fire arriving in the same package I had my hands on over one thousand pages of glorious YA). I cannot wait to see how this series ends and the covers never cease to take my breath away. No doubt the content will live up to my expectations, as Days of Blood and Starlight left me dazed and amazed.

9) Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo- After flying through the first two novels in Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy I am completely hooked (and regretting that I don’t own copies myself). I am unabashedly Team Darkling and I cannot wait to see how all of the magic and political intrigue ends.

10) City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare- I’m in the middle of reading this right now and I cannot put it down. In fact, it was torture to pull myself away from it to write this post. I can’t stop thinking about Clare’s world, and despite criticism by readers that she’s “written too many books about Shadowhunters” (which I think is ridiculous because she’s put so much detail into the world she created and if you don’t like it you don’t have to read it…//end rant//) I personally love this series and cannot believe my Mortal Instruments journey is ending within the next four hundred pages (and all loose ends better be tied up because this book is long, clocking in at 725 pages!) My review will be up as soon as I can emotionally recover from what I’m sure will be an epic ending to an epic series!

Are any of these books on your summer TBR lists? Any thoughts or advice on any of these that you’ve already finished? I’d love to hear your thoughts and to see your TTT posts, link back in the comments!

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25 responses to “Top Ten Books That WILL Be in My Beach Bag This Summer

  1. I love your list. I can’t wait to read Aristotle and Dante. Mara Dyer has got such mixed reviews, but I personally loved it. I hope you like it too. 🙂

  2. Great list. I absolutely loved We Were Liars so I most definitely recommend that one. Most people loved Mara Dyer but that book just didn’t work for me at all, hopefully you love it. Love Letters made my list too, can’t wait to get to that one. I hope you enjoy all of these, here’s

    • What was it about Mara Dyer that didn’t quite work for you? I’m so excited for We Were Liars…it seems like such a mysterious read based on all of the vague reviews I’ve seen!

  3. I want to read so many of these books, too! Also, please read TFiOS. Like, yesterday. 🙂 It’s so good. I plan on re-reading it this week before I see the movie. Make sure you have tissues though. Love Letters to the Dead is lovely. I loved it, and it is, indeed, quite similar to Perks. Great list, Cristina!
    Here’s my TTT!

    • I know! I can’t believe I haven’t read TFIOS yet either, but I’m hoping to read some other John Green novels first so that I can go in with more of a fair assessment of his writing and not base his talent entirely off of that one book! I am excited to see the movie though!

      • Well, personally, I think TFiOS is the best of his books, but I have read every one of his other ones as well. I didn’t read them until after, so I think you reading some of the others first is probably a good idea. I really liked Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, as well as Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he wrote with David Levithan. I’m looking forward to seeing what you think about him!

  4. Like you I haven’t read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer but it sounds interesting so I will prob check it out from the library. I loved The Fault in Our Stars and just reread it in anticipation of the movie. Keep a tissue box close.
    My TTT

  5. Kimberly

    I LOVED Aristotle & Dante so much. It’s such a beautiful book and I hope you enjoy it. Love Letters to the Dead and We Were Liars weren’t on my list, but I do have copies and plan on reading them soon. I’m also really excited about The Chapel Wars, since I loved her previous book (Going Vintage) enough to put it on my beach reads list today!

    Sounds like a great summer of reading!

    My Top Ten list here.

  6. Love Letters to the Dead sounds really amazing; I’m hoping to buy a copy and read it soon enough. It seems like such an interesting book concept! The Fault in Our Stars is one of my favorite books; I’m super pumped for the movie! Eleanor & Park was really amazing as well. I’m hoping to read Fangirl soon. Great picks!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

  7. Such a great list! If you get to read all these it should be an awesome summer. 🙂 Mara Dyer and the Grisha series are on my TBR lists too! Oh, and have some tissues handy for TFIOS…

  8. I feel mixed between Darkling/Sturmhond. They are both very interesting and I can’t wait to see how this is going to unravel in Ruin and Rising. It’s definitely in my bag once it arrives on my doorstep 😀 The unbecoming of Mara is okay. I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away. The fault in our stars is beautiful 🙂 Happy reading!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy

    • Sturmhound is definitely in the running too! He reminds me of a more daring/interesting Captain Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles, and I think he’s one of the more complex characters in the series. Starting TFiOS this week, I’m so excited! Thanks for stopping by!

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