Tag: CityofBones

July 2017 Wrap Up!

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July was a busy, busy month full of working, reading and writing, and I cannot say that I am sad it is over! However, I am happy with the writing I got done and the books I read, and here is the complete, final list of them all:

City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

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I re read the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and really enjoyed diving back into the world! City of Bones, the first book, takes place in this magical world of angels and demons, where Shadowhunters (part human and part angel) slay demons to keep the world safe. In this book, we follow fifteen year old, Clary Fray, whose mother is kidnapped from their New York apartment one afternoon. Clary sets off to find her mother, and along the way discovers that this magical world is within her own, and that it is tied to her mother’s kidnapping. If you want a fast paced read with a broad cast of characters this book would be perfect for you! CoB – 4/5 stars, CoA – 4/5, CoG – 4.5/5 stars

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

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It was one of my best decisions to go out and buy this book because once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop! Eliza and Her Monsters follows Eliza, a girl who is the creator of a popular web comic called Monstrous Sea, and while her online life is thriving, her offline life…not so much. That is until she meets Wallace, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfic writer and she realizes that maybe her offline life could be just as good as her online one. This is a really cute and relatable read that is impossible to hate, in my opinion! 5/5 stars

Alex and Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz

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I was really looking forward to reading this book because well, Hamilton. If you didn’t know, this tells the love story of Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler, who both played huge roles in the shaping of the United States we know today. I loved the musical so I was really excited to jump into this. Although, while it was a slower pace than I prefer, it was still interesting and enjoyable. I don’t think I would pick it up again but I am glad I read it! 3/5 stars

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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This was a book I had no expectations going into, and I was extremely surprised by how much I loved it! I appreciated the middle eastern influence in this story because I have not read many books influenced by this culture and I really enjoyed it. The Wrath and the Dawn follows our main character, Shahrzad, whose young king takes in a wife every new day only to have her killed the following night. But when Shahrzad’s best friend is the new victim of the king, she volunteers to be the king’s wife in order to avenge her friend, but things do not turn out the way she initially thought. I cannot wait to dive into the next book because I know The Rose and the Dagger will be amazing! 4.5/5 stars

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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During BookTubeaThon, it is a great idea to have at least one book, if not more, that is less than 300 pages, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower was my choice for that. Being a 211 page book, it follows high school freshman, Charlie, who has always struggled when it came to making friends and fitting in, but eventually he is taken under the wing of a two seniors, Sam and Patrick, and he finally feels like he fits in. This book deals with mental illness but is usually a really light hearted and fast paced read. This was a re read for me, and I loved it just as much as the first time! 4.5/5 stars

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Raven Boys was a book that had been sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, for a while now, and also going into it I had no expectations. Again though, I was pleasantly surprised by how whimsical and entrancing book this book was, and it made me definitely want to continue on with the series! In The Raven Boys, it follow Blue Sargent who every year stands with her psychic mother and watches blindly as the soon-to-be-dead walk by, but when the day comes when she an actually sees a spirit she approaches it and learns that the reason she can see this spirit is because they are her true love, or the person she killed. Conflicted and confused, she continues on with her life, until she meets the boy of the spirit and is flung into his adventure seeking world. This book contains a really fun cast of characters who were very different and unique in their own ways, and overall I thought it was a very solid book! 4/5 stars

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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Obviously this is a re read, as I have talked about this book a lot on my blog. I needed a light hearted and fast paced read to push through the last day of BookTubeAThon and as always, this book delivered exactly what I needed! Anna and the French Kiss follows an American girl named Anna who is sent off to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school. Terrified in this new element, she eventually meets a group of tight friends who welcome her into their group, but she can’t help but fall for the one of them, the charismatic, English Etienne St. Clair. If you enjoy contemporary, then you have to read this book because you will fall in love with it! 4.5/5 stars

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

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I finished this book on the very last day of July and just flew through it like most Sarah Dessen books. While I wouldn’t say it was my favourite Sarah Dessen book, I did enjoy it and loved the characters! Once and For All follows Louna, a seventeen year old girl who is spending her last summer before college working for her mother, a famous, local wedding planner. One night at a wedding, she meets charismatic, serial dater, Ambrose. He tries to woo her but it is a lot harder than he thought, but he isn’t giving up now that he knows what he wants. This book is really fast paced and while it was fun, it was also really sad at times! It talks about some issues that are current in the US, but it is important that books acknowledge them, no matter how devastating they are. 4/5 stars

It is crazy to see that I read a total of 10 books this month because it has been so, so, so long since I have accomplished something like this. The BookTubeAThon has to take a lot of credit for that though, and I had so much fun participating this year for my second time! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and don’t forget to check out my last blog post: July 2017 Book Haul!

 

 

Reading/Writing Update!

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I have had the desire to read lately, which is great considering I was in a reading slump for the longest time. I finished re reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, and then started two other books, The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen and City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. I am really excited to jump into both of them and hopefully will finish them within the next week. BookTubeaThon is also happening this month, which if you didn’t know, is a reading event over social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, where you try to read as many books as possible in the span of a week. This year, the BookTubeaThon will be held from July 24-30, and I am so excited to participate for a second time! Stay tuned for my TBR for that week because that will be coming in about two weeks.

Writing has also been a productive part in my life which is also fantastic. I have been keeping up with my new daily goal of 1,600 words, and am at about 22,000 words already which means I only have 38,000 words until I reach my goal of 60,000 words! By the looks of it, as I am only in the midst of my beginning, I will end up somewhere in the 100,000’s…but yeah, hopefully all of you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo or just doing some writing, are having a good, productive time and I will give more updates throughout the coming week!

That is all for my Reading/Writing Update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Book Writing #1!

June 2017 Wrap Up!

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June was a kind of slow reading month for me, but I still really enjoyed all the books I read so to me it was a good reading month. Anyways, here are the three books that I managed to read in the month of June.

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Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen – This is a feel-good contemporary following a girl named Sydney, who lives in a family where she feels invisible next to her shining star of a brother, Peyton. That is, until Peyton does something that puts the entire family in an unwanted spotlight and Sydney can’t escape it. It leads her to a new school where she meets a new group of friends that she connects with, and discovers that maybe she isn’t meant to stay invisible. This was a re read and it was what I needed to read for my last month of school, and as  always, I loved it! 4.5/5 stars

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Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare – This was my most anticipated release of 2017, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. The first book in this to-be trilogy, Lady Midnight, follows a group of Shadowhunters in a world of demons and angels, and that’s really all I want to say because I really recommend you read all of Cassandra Clare’s books before diving into this trilogy otherwise a lot of it won’t make sense! This book focuses more on the plot and characters rather than the world building because this world has already been introduced to fans in Cassandra Clare’s other series. But anyways, this exceeded my expectations and made me fall in LOVE with Christina and Mark’s relationship which I cannot wait to see more of! 5/5 stars

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City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – It has been great jumping back into The Mortal Instruments series and I am excited to continue re reading the rest of the series. This is the first book of six, and it follows fifteen year old Clary Fray whose mother is mysteriously kidnapped one day, and she sets off on a journey to find her along with a few new companions. Along the way, she realizes she lives in a world of demons and angels, and that she has more of connection to it than she realized. If you haven’t read this series I highly recommend it because it is such a fun, gripping read!

Those are all of the books I read during the month of June and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

Reading/Writing Update!

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I flew through City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, which by the way, was an incredibly fun and entertaining re read, but sadly I am on vacation and forgot to bring another book so…yeah I am starting July bookless. I do want to buy When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, so maybe I will do that tomorrow so I will have something to read! If not, when I get back I plan on reading The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. I am excited to read a fun, summery contemporary since summer is officially in full swing, and I just know I am going to love it.

As for writing, I have been doing very well and have written 12,000 words for a story I am calling “Project Night”. That is until I figure out an actual title for it. Camp NaNoWriMo also officially begins tomorrow, and my goal is finish another 40,000 words by the end of the month. I am really excited at how deep I am getting into my story, but I am also excited to finish it! 12,000 words down and only 88,000 to go!

That is all for my reading/writing update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Websites for Writers!

 

 

 

 

 

July 2017 TBR!

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I got a long list of books I want to get through in July and I think I will be able to finish them all because I believe the BookTube-a-thon is happening this coming month, and I always get a lot of reading done then. Anyways, here are the books I want to read in the month of July!

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City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare – These are the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series, which follows a girl named Clary Fray who has to set off on a journey in this world of angels and demons to find her mother who was kidnapped. Along the way, she realizes she has more of a place in this strange and deceiving world that she thought. This series is a lot of fun and is action packed, so I am excited to be giving the books a re read because it is much deserved!

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The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen – I have been slowly making my way through Sarah Dessen books, which is a long journey because there are a lot of them. The Moon and More is one I haven’t read though, so I am excited to finally pick it up and give it a read. This book follows a girl named Emaline who is spending her last summer before college in the little beachside town she lives in called Colby. One day while working in her parents shop, she meets an artistic boy from New York who is not her type whatsoever, but she can’t help but develop feelings for him over the course of the summer. Its summer time so what a perfect time to dive into this summer contemporary!

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I am reading this book on the side at the moment, but I am hoping I will completely finish it by July. Pride and Prejudice, if you didn’t know, is a comedy/romance book that follows a British family in an era where marriage and money is everything. I have seen movie adaptions of this book and really enjoyed them, so I decided to give the book a read because I feel like you have to read at least one Jane Austen book in your lifetime.

Those are all the books I am planning to read this coming month and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

 

Summer Reading Recommendations!

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Summer is within arms reach so make sure you have your sunglasses, sunscreen and a pile of books ready to be read. If you need some help figuring out which books to read though, here are a few recommendations that are perfect beach reads!

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Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson – This book is the perfect summer romance story to indulge in during the summer. It follows a girl named Emily whose best friend, Sloane, has mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind only a summer bucket list for Emily. As Emily sets off to complete this list, in hopes of it leading her to Sloane, she runs into some unexpected new friends that help her live an unforgettable summer. I love Morgan Matson books, but this one is definitely by favourite and I recommend you read it if you love contemporaries like myself!

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Paper Towns by John Green – I am not a huge John Green fan, but I didn’t mind Paper Towns and I thought it was a great beach read. It has a summer adventure and fun characters to follow so it is definitely worth a shot. Paper Towns follows this boy named Quentin, who is determined to find the girl he has been pining after for years, after she mysteriously disappears. Along with a few friends, they work together to follow the clues Margo left behind, to figure out where in the world she is. There is also a movie adaptation of this book which is also entertaining so I recommend you watch it after you read the book if you already haven’t!

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The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare – Since its summer, start a new series! I recommend The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare because it is fantastic, and even if you have already read it, re read it! There six books in this series, and the first one, City of Bones, follows a girl named Clary whose mother disappears and we follow her as she sets off on a journey to find her. Along the way, she realizes the world she lives in is really a world of demons and angels, and discovers that she has more to do with this world than she thought. This series is action packed and has a great cast of characters so I really recommend you jump right into this series and enjoy the fun ride!

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – This is also a great series to read during the summer because is witty and extremely fast paced. You also learn a lot about mythology in this series, considering it is based around Greek mythology. The first book of five is called The Lightning Thief, and it follows a young boy named Percy Jackson who discovers he is the son of a Greek god and is being accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt. Now he has to go on a quest to find the real lightning thief along with two friends, Annabeth and Grover, and find the bolt before the end of the summer solstice. I love, love, love this series and think it is something anyone can enjoy!

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I am currently reading this along with Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare, and I am really enjoying it so far! It takes a few pages to adjust to the language, but once you have you don’t want to stop. Pride and Prejudice follows the Mr and Mrs Bennett and their five daughters, and how they find love during this completely different era. There are witty characters and romances and I cannot wait to continue diving into the book!

Those are all of my summer reading recommendations and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

 

Summer 2017 Reading List!

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There are quite a few books I want to get to this summer, and I am really excited to have some time to dive into them! Even though I never stick to any reading lists I make, I do enjoy making them and I am waiting for the day that I do actually follow it!

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The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan – This book is the sequel to The Hidden Oracle, which follows the god, Apollo, as he is cast down to earth as a mortal. This is a really fast paced and funny series, and I know I will enjoy it! I have started it, and I am a little over fifty pages in, but I got distracted by other books so I will need to pick it back up soon. I love Rick Riordan’s books so I am excited to continue loving them!

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The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare – Yes, that is right. I plan on reading the entire Mortal Instruments series this summer and I am so excited. Of course I have already read the series, as I talk about it a lot on my blog, but I love to re read it so why not since I have some time? The first book, City of Bones, follows a girl named Clary Fray whose mother goes missing and on her journey to find her, she uncovers the mysteries of her life and realizes her mother may have not been honest with her about who she truly is. This book has demons and angels, and amazingly sarcastic characters that you can’t help but fall in love with!

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The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen – I do have a lot of things planned this summer, so I need a quick, easy contemporary. Straight away I went for Sarah Dessen because her books are perfect for the summer! Plus, I feel like the summer is incomplete without a good contemporary or two. The Moon and More follows Emaline, who is spending her last summer before college in her small, home town, Colby. While working for her family’s rental business, she meets a city boy who is someone she would never have gone for, but she suddenly feels herself drawn to him. I love Sarah Dessen books so I am excited to try this one out!

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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – Yep! Another contemporary by another favourite contemporary author of mine, Jenny Han. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a really fun and light-hearted book that follows our main character, Belly, who is returning to her mom’s best friend’s beach house after a few years. There, she sees the two boys she spent her childhood with and all three realize how much they had grown up. This is a great beach read and something you can finish in no time!

Is this slightly ambitious for my crazy summer? Yes, completely…but I am really excited to see how many of these books I can read! There are a few readathons I want to participate in, so hopefully that will help me get through the a little quicker. Anyways, that is all for my Summer 2017 Reading List and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: How Blogging Helps Novel Writing!

Books to Keep You OUT of a Reading Slump

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Reading slumps are actually the worst! I have been hit by one reading slump after the other, and I am tired of them. Anyways, here are a few books that always help keep me out of a reading slump, and I hope they will help you too!

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – This is such a fun and easy contemporary that you can’t help but want to read cover to cover, and then pick up another book. Fangirl follows a girl named Cath, who is entering her first year of college with her twin sister, Wren. Cath and Wren are complete opposites, and while Wren wants to explore and meet new people, Cath wants to keep safe in her own little bubble. But when Cath meets her scary roommates friend, Levi, she finds herself slowly coming out of that comfort zone and learns that stepping out of your comfort zone a bit is alright. I love this book and think every fangirl and fanboy should read it!

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Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy sucks you in from the first few pages and doesn’t let you out, and luckily, it has a whole series awaiting you once you get sucked into that world. Vampire Academy follows two girls, Rose who is a protector of vampires and her best friend, Lissa who is a vampire, as they return to the school they ran away from a year ago. There is lots of action with lots of fun and headstrong characters that you can’t help but fall in love with!

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City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – City of Bones, like Vampire Academy, also has a series (multiple actually) awaiting you once this story captures you. City of Bones follows a girl named Clary whose mother goes missing, and she sets out to find her while unraveling the truth about who she is. She falls into a world of demons and angels and realizes she has a larger place in this world than she thought. I love the huge and diverse cast of characters in this series, and I think it is a lot of fun so I definitely recommend it for a good series marathon this summer as well!

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Divergent by Veronica Roth – While the other two books in the series aren’t that amazing in my opinion, I really enjoyed Divergent and always have a blast reading it. Divergent follows a girl named Tris who lives in a world that is divided into five factions, Dauntless the brave, Amity the kind, Abnegation the selfless, Erudite the smart and Candor the honest. This is a beloved trilogy which also has movies out, and I think that it is a great and easy read to keep you out of a reading slump.

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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – I know I know, I rave about this book WAY to much but that is because its amazing and always makes me want to keep reading! To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before follows Lara Jean, a quirky, shy girl who writes love letters to all the guys she has loved before, but then one day those letters get sent out and her life gets flipped upside down. Everyone needs to read this trilogy. It’s as simple as that!

Those are a few books that always help me stay out of a reading slump and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Movies I Watched in May 2017!

Books to Read Before You Finish High School!

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All these books on this list I recommend everyone to read, but these are ones that I feel like are very relatable and eye opening for people still in high school. Overall though, they are all amazing books that everyone should read!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – This book deals a lot with mental health issues, which is something that a lot of people deal with. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about a boy named Charlie who is entering in his first year of high school and meets a group of odd, confident people who really help him feel happy and not so lonely. It is an amazing book that you will not want to put down!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – I highly recommend everyone read this, but the reason it is on this list is because of the characters. The characters are very diverse and different, and anyone who reads it can find someone they relate to somewhat. City of Bones follows Clary, who after the sudden disappearance of her mother is thrown into a new world of Shadowhunters and demons in order to get her mother back. This book is fun and fast paced, and I absolutely adore it!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Again, this book deals with mental health issues, but is not as heavy as The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In Fangirl, we follow Cath, a book loving, shy girl who is entering her first year of college with her twin sister, Wren. While Cath wants to stick tight to her sister’s side, Wren wants to adventure off and be her own person, leaving Cath in the dust. But when Cath meets her new roommate and her roommate’s friend, Levi, they help push her out of her little comfort bubble and things get interesting. This book is a great read!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – I love this book because it gives off the message that the person you fall in love with may be the person you least expect. It shares that love is not about what you look like but who you are on the inside and it is really beautiful. Eleanor and Park is about 2 teenagers named Eleanor, who is a big red head and Park, a quiet music lover. When they meet, they slowly build an odd relationship that eventually blossoms into something more. When you read this book you cannot put it down!

Those are a few books that you should definitely read before you finish high school, but even if you had you should still read them!

Books You Need to Read Right Now!

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I have put together a list of amazing books that you need to read ASAP, so I hope you enjoy!

An Ember and the Ashes & A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir – These 2 books take place in a Ancient Rome inspired world and follow a girl named Laia who sets out to find her brother after he is kidnapped by the cruel Empire. These books are SO good! They took a few pages to get into, but by page 100 you are sucked into the world and it is always painful to leave because the world is so rich and the characters are so dynamic and flawed. These books ARE perfection honestly.

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout – Obsidian is just one of those books that you read and finish in one sitting. In the book, we follow Katy as she and her mother move to Virginia for a fresh start, but they end up moving next to 2 twins named Dee and Damon Black who are far from normal. As secrets unravel, Katy’s life is flipped upside down and she is forced to cope in this new world. I love the Lux series because it is so fast paced and has amazing and witty characters that you can’t help but love.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – City of Bones follows Clary Fray who after the sudden disappearance of her mother, is thrust into a world of Shadowhunters and demons after she discovers that she herself is a Shadowhunter. This is my all time favourite book series because I love our great and diverse cast of characters and every book just grips me so much that I am always sitting on the edge of my chair. Read it!

Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – If you enjoy contemporaries these books are an absolute must! In Anna and the French Kiss, we follow Anna, an American girl who is being forced to attend a boarding school in Paris. At her new school, she meets a group of cool friends and one of them just happens to be a gorgeous Parisian boy named Etienne St.Clair. The book is filled with heart ache and romance and is overall an amazing contemporary. In Lola and the Boy Next door, we follow Lola who is a very unique individual and always dresses as something new every day. She is in her senior year and her life is great, she has a great boyfriend and an amazing best friend, but when her childhood love comes back into her life things are flipped out of place. I also love this book and think it is very relatable and realistic and is really something anyone could enjoy.

Those are a few books that you HAVE to read. Of course there are more but these are just some that came to mind because they are amazing and deserve to be read! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Planning Your Story!