Tag: summer reading

Summer Reads with Substance

Posted June 16, 2016 in Book Recommendations & Lists / 22 Comments

As summer is upon us, many bloggers and readers will gravitate toward certain types of books to keep in their beach bag. Personally, summer usually leads me to craving contemporary reads with a summer or warm weather setting. While summer is the perfect season to get lost in a fluffy, feel-good novel, there’s also some amazing summer reads out there that contain plot lines and themes with a lot of substance. Below are four of my recommendations of both newer and back list titles that will satisfy your summer reading cravings while also bringing more substance to your reading experience. […]

Trouble by Non Pratt- Review

Posted August 28, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 9 Comments

Trouble by Non Pratt My rating: 4/5 Stars Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 2014) Length: 384 pgs Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father. When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who […]

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge- Review

Posted August 22, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 22 Comments

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge My rating: 4.5/5 Stars Publisher: Balzer+Bray (2014) Length: 342 pgs Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy/Romance, Fairy-Tale Retelling Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him. With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents […]

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell- Review

Posted August 20, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 11 Comments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell My rating: 3/5 Stars Publisher: Dutton Adult (2011) Length: 323 pgs Genre: Adult Fiction Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you” Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives. Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now- […]

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff- Review

Posted August 18, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 6 Comments

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff My rating: 3/5 Stars Publisher: Razorbill (January 2014) Length: 304 pgs Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery Fiction Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls. For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal […]

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo- Review & Series Thoughts

Posted August 16, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 8 Comments

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo My rating: 4/5 Stars Publisher: Henry Holt and Co (2014) Length: 422 pgs Series: Grisha, #3 Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for […]

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart- Review

Posted August 7, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 17 Comments

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart My rating: 4/5 Stars Publisher: Delacorte Press (May 2014) Length: 227 pgs Format: Hardcover, borrowed from my local library Goodreads Synopsis:A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. My Review: I waited impatiently […]

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater- Review

Posted July 31, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 7 Comments

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater My rating: 3.5/5 Stars Publisher: Scholastic (2013) Length: 439 pgs Series: The Raven Cycle, #2 Format: Hardcover, purchased from Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after… My Review: You may be shocked, after […]

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson- Review

Posted July 19, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

If Sarah Dessen is the Queen of the Contemporary Summer YA Novel, the Matson is hard at work becoming her successor. This is the second novel by Matson I’ve read and her ability to create an immersive summer experience for her characters seems to be her trademark. I read this on the beach while I was at Aulani, and it was the perfect beach read- a light surface story with heavier feelings cloaked beneath the surface. The plot of Second Chance Summer is two-pronged: Taylor’s dad is terminally ill and her family is spending the summer bonding and coming to […]

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- Review

Posted July 18, 2014 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 26 Comments

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin My rating: 5/5 Stars! Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2011) Length: 466 pgs Series: Mara Dyer Trilogy, #1 Format: Paperback, purchased from Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can 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 mysteriously unharmed. There is. She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love. She’s wrong. My Review: Warning: This […]