Favorite Books Lately

Hey guys!

So as some of you might know, I have an obsession with reading. Okay, maybe even a slight addiction. I go through books like crazy, and tend to just buy books when my friends and I go shopping; they get bags of clothes, and I get bags of books. If I could have a job as a professional reader, I would be the happiest person on the planet…

Anyway, I have been wanting to do more posts about reading and the books that I’m currently reading and/or enjoying, so I thought now would be the perfect time since I have fallen in love with quite a few new books (don’t worry, Harry Potter, you will always be my favorite – bad joke, I know).

I am a huge fan of reading actual physical books, and I refuse to get an e-reader of any sort (I might regret saying this in the future, as I might get one for college textbooks, but that will be for strictly academic purposes only…I hope).

So this series is a spinoff from Richelle Mead’s other series, Vampire Academy, and I know some of you might be thinking “seriously, vampires?” but trust me on this one, these series are so much more than the lives of vampires. They are written so well and have such great character developments that all of the characters feel like real people. The issues that they face are not strictly about love, but rather loyalty and the question of whether the truths that you have grown up with are always completely right or not. There is romance in the books, of course, but it isn’t the stereotypical “oh my gosh I have just met you and now we are soul-mates” kind of love, but the fact that sometimes you can’t deny it when chemistry is just there between people, and that some people are worth breaking the rules for.
The series is primarily about an alchemist (a human who knows about vampires and helps them cover up their existence) who has to pose as a high school student along with another group of vampires in order to protect the newly found princess from rebels who wish to hurt her. Sydney, the alchemist, is a very practical person who hates vampires, but is slowly starting to become close friends with her little “family”, and begins to question where her loyalty should truly lie.

I can’t get enough of Richelle Mead’s books, and I could go on and on about how much I love this series and her other one, so just at least give this series a try, because trust me, you will love it!

Before I decided to read this book, I had been seeing it for so long and heard a lot of positive reviews of it. I really enjoyed The Hunger Games and more books like it, so I decided to give this one a try, and was pleasantly surprised about how much I ended up liking it. I wasn’t sure if I would like it as much as The Hunger Games, but I really did! The book was written really well, and has a great plot.
It is about a sleepy beach town in California that suddenly has an invisible dome around it, and when this dome appears, all of the adults and teenagers aged 14 and over disappear. The town is left with a bunch of kids struggling to survive through power struggles, the emergence of mysterious powers, and mutating animals. It sounds absolutely crazy, but it was a really great book! I will definitely be reading the series.

I absolutely love this book, and series. This is the third one in The Lunar Chronicles, which is basically a modern take on classic fairy tales, like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and in the third book, Rapunzel. However, all of the portrayals of the “princesses” meet in various ways and all end up fighting for the same cause, which is basically overthrowing an evil queen (go figure since it’s based on classic fairy tales). This book is so wonderfully round – it is filled with humor, sadness, adventure, and even a little romance that balances out so well. Each of the characters are so interesting and they are all tied together in the most ingenious ways. The books are also connected really well, which I was worried about since each one has a different main character.
I cannot wait for the fourth book in the series!

This book, and the whole Selection  series, is so good. The whole premise behind the story is very similar to the television show, The Bachelor; however, these girls are vying for the heart of the Prince of their country. This has been the way princes have found their princesses in their nation, and now it is time for Prince Maxon to have his own Selection to find his wife, since ultimately the decision is his.
 The main character is named America, and she didn’t even want to sign up for the Selection in the first place, (girls across the nation have to apply to be a part of the selection, and then the king “randomly” chooses who is to be a part) because she doesn’t want to be a princess. She is a number six on the “social scale”, with the royals being a one, the king’s guard two, and so on and so forth until number eight which is basically way below the poverty line. Throughout the series she has mixed feelings about Maxon because she is finding it difficult getting over her previous love. She also wants to see changes in her country, and is seen as very controversial due to her courage to speak out against the way things are run in public events.
It is a dystopian  story along with a love story that explains the aftermath of a horrible war and how their nation came to be. This nation, however, is still corrupt and has many rebels trying to harm the royal family in order to claim the power for themselves.
Overall, it is one of the best series I have read and loved so much in a little while, and it is a very big emotional roller coaster! The characters are so believable, and surprisingly, the whole series is not, in fact, about love and romance. There is a lot of questions about society, the way the law works, and why sometimes change is really for the better. I could not recommend this book more!

I have heard a lot about this book, so finally I broke down and read it. I was afraid it would be really similar to Before I Fall, (which I did not like at all despite it being quite popular and well received), but boy was I wrong. I ended up finishing this in about three hours because I could. Not. Put. It. Down.
The book is about a girl who is in a car accident while in the car with her family, but she is the only survivor. Her body is in a coma, but her mind is very awake, and she is in a ghost like state because she is able to walk around and listen to all of her loved ones, but they cannot see her. In order to escape this state, she has to decide whether or not she wants to wake up and continue living without her parents and little brother, or if she wants to join them in death. I found myself being so sucked into her life and love of her family and friends, that I could see such a great ending with either choice she made. If she decided to live, she would have a bright future filled with the remaining family she had, and wonderful friends who loved her very much. However if she decided to die, she would be with her parents and little brother whom she loves very much, and would be at peace and would not have to go through the pain of losing them.
I laughed and cried while reading this, but oh my gosh was it good. I honestly was not expecting the book to be so great, but it more than exceeded my expectations! They are coming out with a movie based on the book, which I’m excited but nervous to see, since the movies are never as great as the books.

Well, that’s it for my favorite books as of late! I’m always open to suggestions, so if you have any good recommendations, just leave a comment! 🙂

What are some of your favorite books lately?

Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day!  🙂