daydreams and night reads

Hi there & happy summer! 
Hooray for my three month-long reading binge!

Quite a bit has happened both book-wise and life-wise in the last month. It’s been a while since I’ve written about my reading progress (I haven’t written since March…yikes!) so I’ll quickly get you all up-to-date on where I’m at with my GoodReads reading challenge. 

I’m happy to say that I am almost halfway done! I’m currently reading my 15th PRB (personal reading book) of 2016, Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley! 

Since I wrote last, I have read TEN books. So basically I should write more because there is absolutely NO. WAY. to discuss all ten of these pieces thoroughly in one blog post. So I’ll do this in list format with a few notes on what I thought of each book and I’ll give each of them a star rating from 1 (*) to 5 (*****). 

Here we go…

Book #5 – The Age of Reinvention by Karine Tuil (*)
Not the biggest fan of this one–I can honestly say that in most of the works I’ve read in my life that I’ve found at least one character that I’ve liked, but I cannot say that for this one. Perhaps the deep character development was lost within the translation from French to English, but I just couldn’t get on board with this one. 

Book #6 – Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover (****)
Okay, I’m a sucker for romance novels. I thoroughly enjoy my happy endings all tied up with a pretty little bow (thank you, Jane Austen, for these unrealistic expectations) so Colleen Hoover’s novels make me so happy. I started & finished this one in about three hours. 

Book #7 – Maybe Someday also by Colleen Hoover (****)
Kinda the same deal as the previous book–I got sucked in immediately. I loved the characters and the story that Hoover created in this one. It kept me immensely entertained during my horrendous sinus infection second semester. 

Book #8 – Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (**)
I have to say, I was disappointed with this book. I saw it advertised all over the bookstagrams that I follow and felt very encouraged to read it after seeing it publicized. Unfortunately, I think that it was overhyped. The story seemed underdeveloped and I didn’t fully understand the main character’s motives for half of her actions. The whole story seemed very rushed to me. My expectations for it were not met. 

Book #9 – The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes (****)
This was a fantastic read. I’m a huge fan of Moyes’ work (I absolutely adore Me Before You) and this one did not disappoint. The novel kept me guessing and I devoured it in a single weekend. I’m hoping to read the rest of Moyes’ works soon. 

Book #10 – Four Past Midnight (“The Langoliers”) by Stephen King (***)
I truly appreciate the talents and skills of King, however, I don’t believe his writing style is for me. I discovered that it was much too matter-of-fact for my liking. The story was quite intriguing and I was enthralled by it, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. 

Book #11 – The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead (***)
I mostly read this book for the entertainment value. I wasn’t overly thrilled with the writing style or the redundant dystopian themes that were already prevalent in The Selection but it kept me entertained for a couple of days! There were many parallels between this at the aforementioned Selection Series which probably explains why I picked up this book in the first place. 

Book #12 – Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (*****)
This novel most definitely deserves every one of its five stars. I read majority of Sarah Dessen’s work in early high school and most of it has such heavy romantic themes. I was refreshed to learn that the focus of this book was on friendship and family, rather than romance. I truly enjoyed this recent publication of Dessen’s and am hoping that her future works are similar to it!

Book #13 – One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (*****)
I struck gold twice in a row. This book, which was published just two weeks ago, I pre-ordered from B&N and I was so excited to read while on vacation in Barbados. I raced through this in one sitting because it was just. that. fabulous. I needed to find out who Emma would chose between her long-lost husband and her fiancé more than anything. 

Book #14 – One Plus One by JoJo Moyes (****)
Again, another great work of Moyes’. One Plus One is quirky, well-written, and truly relatable. The character of Jess was so well developed and the shift in perspectives that Moyes used to tell the story from each character’s POV was so well utilized. 

I am so happy to be back doing what I love for the next couple of months. I made a lot of progress during the last semester of school but I’m sure this summer is going to be the best way to catch up on all of the reading I’ve longed to do. 

I’m currently reading: Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

I’ve never read a more accurate description of the bond that humans form with man’s best friend. It’s truly outstanding and I can’t wait to read more.