Recently Read #4

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

"Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death."

Everyone seemed to love this book so I thought I'd give it a go. I can kind of see why there was all the hype but personally I didn't feel like it was as good as people were saying. I did enjoy it, but similar to everyone else I couldn't help but see the similarities between this and The Fault In Our Stars, this was just a bit less of a fairytale. The characters just seem to be created by their illnesses, they don't have any other personality really. If you love TFIOS and other depressing books go for it! 

6/10

Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Slone

"The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The bookstore’s secrets extend far beyond its walls."

The starts great, it's the Middle that's the main struggle, took me ages to get over the hump of the Middle, but once you're over that the ending is great. I expected something totally different when I began reading this book and it surprised me, I expected something like Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium but based around a book store - boy was I wrong. I felt the ending could've been better personally but I loved the whole typographic part surrounding the story line.

7/10

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk

"Angela Clark can't believe her luck - she's an English girl living in New York with a dream job and a sexy boyfriend. Her latest assignment takes her to Hollywood. Will the sun-drenched glamour of Hollywood win her heart?"

These are just some of the easiest books to read, just your regular chic-lit books. I read the first book a few months ago in May and it was easy to flow straight back into the story and the characters. It's your average girly novel but I did prefer this one over the first, there was a little more action and a little less crying, so depends what you prefer. 

7/10

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

"When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm."
Not the best Nicholas Sparks book but ya know it's the regular ex defence force guy falling in love with a girl story. I watched this movie a few years ago and could only remember one scene which turned out to be the ending so I was going through the entire book wondering when this scene was going to happen and then it was literally the second to last chapter. If you're reading all the Nick Sparks books then go ahead, otherwise I totally recommend most of his other books over this one. Be prepared to really hate the girls ex husband as the way he's been characterised makes him such a dick. But there's lots of dogs in this one so that's a plus! 

6/10

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

"Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight."

Okay so this book was totally different than I was expecting but I loved it! I read it as everyone was raving about it but I never actually looked into what it was about, honestly I thought it might have something to do with aliens which is why I've put it off for so long. It's one of the best 'gay boy' stories I've read in a long while and I was able to connect with Simon about Blue, having similar relationships, while not romantic still relatable, with online friends where "the closest thing I've ever had to a journal is you." This was definitely one of my top five books of the year so if you've been putting it off thinking it's about aliens then pick it up right now! 

9/10

What were you favourite books you've read in the past year? Let me know so I can add them to my tbr list!