Category: Romantic

Book Review- By Your Side

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Ah, anoBy Your Sidether month, another YA novel. Sometimes I feel like I have a unhealthy reliance on YA Romance to support my happiness, but it is my happy place. Leave me be.

This is the first book I’ve read by Kasie West, and as far as first impressions go, it doesn’t get much better than this one. I was intrigued, and the gripped, and then emotionally attached on an almost unhealthy level. Seriously though, it was a real heart-throb and I couldn’t get enough.

Autumn Collins, a quiet but sociable teenaged girl, likes Jeff. For months, they’ve been going back and forth and she finally feels like they’re getting somewhere. Until she gets stuck for the weekend in the local library with Dax Miller, a boy with a rep. As they go from cold silence to understanding, Autumn finds herself more happy and relaxed than she’s ever been. But what happens when they leave the library, and she gets back to her old life, her old love?

I thought this was an extraordinarily good book, one of the best I’ve read in 2019, so if you like YA romance, then I recommend this.

This book in three words: Commitment – Secrets – Self-Confidence

Thanks for reading!

Book Review- Love Song

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As you have probablylove song gathered from various other posts, I absolutely love romantic YA literature. You could even say that it was the basis of this very blog, amongst my love for dystopian fiction- my two favourite things combine.

Love Song is a beautiful and uplifting book, a favourite of mine that I was trying to hunt down for a century until the other day, where I saw it sitting on my school library bookshelf.

Nina is a 17-year-old girl from Croydon, England. She is focused and practical and absolutely doesn’t engage in any form of romance since her boyfriend Jez cruelly left her when she needed him the most.

In an unexpected turn of events, she ends up becoming the personal assistant to the Sigrid Santorini- reality TV star and girlfriend of Jamie Maldon, the lead singer in the internationally acclaimed band the Point. Luckily, she’s not the type of girl to fall for him, not after what happened. Absolutely not. No way.

This heart-warming and beautiful novel is a tribute to loving again.

This book in three words: Music- Heartbreak- Healing

Thanks for reading!

 

Book Review- The Princess Diaries

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I must foreword this by making a very clear statement- The Princess Diaries series is not a normal chick-lit series. It is AMAZING. Not only does it have romantic elements, but also is very educational. Mia Thermopolis and her friends are all very opinionated and well-spoken individuals, and defy stereotypes for being teenagers and geeks. She should be an inspiration to all girls. Additionally, her views are not just complaints; she used her publicity to make issues that mattered to her known, like the cruel system of American high school and animal rights.

I am thrilled that there are books like this in the world. Simple things that adults wouldn’t think about twice are highlighted as issues for very valid reasons. The women in the story are equal to the men and there are no mindless idiots meandering here and there with nothing on their minds but romance (even Tina Hakim-Baba thinks about other things. Sometimes.).

Mia’s world is a wonderful and unique place and I really invite you (whether you’re an adult or teenager) to come and join the club. The only bad part is when it finishes and you just wonder what you are going to do with your life from that moment forward. Other than reading it again.

So, in case you haven’t realised, I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WITH A BRAIN.

I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading.

-Hawi

Book Review- Under Rose-Tainted Skies

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Under Rose-Tainted SkiesAs shameful as it is, before reading this beautiful book, I had NO IDEA what agorophobia was. I remeber asking a school librarian, pronouncing it ‘a-goro-phobia’ instead of ‘agro-phobia’. He laughed an explained that it was a fear of ‘outside’, and I was compelled in a way I haven’t been in a long time. I’m not scared of a lot of things; bring on the spiders, snakes and clowns, so I thought it would be really interesting to try it out. And wow, did I treasure that decision.

Norah has agorophobia, and has lived in the four walls of her house for a long time. The only time she ever goes out is when she needs to see her therapist, and it usually doesn’t end well. Combine that with and OCD neat-freak, and you have a withdrawn, confusing/confused teenager who contributes to the outside world by staring out of her window and scrolling through social media.

So when Luke, a sweet, hot boy arrives next door, Norah is shocked to realise he sees past her mental health and obsessive tidiness. He sees a beautiful, intelligent and witty girl who is worth waiting for, but what will it take for Norah to see herself the way he does, and fully accept how she feels about him?

It was a wonderful, lyrical journey through a path rarely taken, and its uniqueness is both shocking and stunning.

Hope you enjoyed,

Hawi xx

Book Review- Heartless

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heartlessThe saddest kind of book is when you already know it’s a sad ending, and we all know the Queen of Hearts. But what was her story before she became the tyrant she is known as today?

Lady Catherine Pinkerton is a sweet young girl with a dream to open a bakery with her best friend and maid Mary Ann. But when the King of Hearts tries to propose to her, her life changes. She doesn’t want to be married to the giggly, coward of a king! As she hides away from his affections, she falls for the king’s entertainer, Jest. Her mother and father, however, are adamant to her fantasies and care not for her dreams or happiness. As the faint-hearted king makes no attempt to save the village of Hearts from the beastly Jabberwock, Cath finally decides she’s had enough. She runs away to the warring city of Chess with Jest, in search of a new life. But things go wrong on the way, and in her Heart she knows she cannot escape the fate that waits her.

Murderer, Martyr, Monarch, Mad.

This book is absolutely heartbreaking. It ripped me to pieces by how sad it was. It really gives a new perspective on the Queen of Hearts and her life before her fearful rule, and what caused it.

I would recommend this to anyone at all, it’s so good.

Book Review- Stargazing For Beginners

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Stargazing For BeginnersSometimes life needs a little bit of chaos…

15-year-old Meg(ara) has big dreams- donning a spacesuit and climbing aboard a rocket to the stars is all she’s ever wanted, so when a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity surfaces that may just bring her closer to her life’s dearest goal, her mother leaves her and her baby stepsister, Elsa, to go after another one of her Big Important Causes in the hands of her slightly nutty grandfather to go to aid the poor in Myanmar.  Instead of speaking to judges about just how much she loves space up against her equally passionate rival , she ends up juggling the pressure of school and her restless baby sister. Will she ever reach the stars?

A beautiful, crazy book about love, priorities and dreams. I really loved it because it was a bit different to other books you might find; I thought it was lyrical and sweet in an unusual but satisfying way.

Book Review- The State of Grace

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The State of GraceThe State of Grace is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. You don’t really get books about autism, and this one’s a gem.

Grace has Asperger’s. She sees the world a little differently to most people. She has an understanding best friend and a beautiful horse, and she’s happy. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things get strange at home, she loses her state of precarious calm. Suddenly everything is going wrong, and Grace needs to do something about it.

A wonderful novel about understanding and accepting people of all natures into our lives.

Book Review- Letters to the Lost

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Letters to the Lost

The plot of this book is actually insane. A lot of writers would struggle to produce such a complex yet entirely enjoyable book, but Kemmerer has pulled it off with great ease.

Juliet has been going through some tough times. After her mother’s death, her only solace is writing letters at her grave. Her life takes a turn for the intriguing, however, when a mysterious boy writes back. Their mutual attraction grows and soon they are sharing their innermost secrets with strangers. Except they’re not, and as their anonymous love intertwines with their real ones, a dark secret surfaces that could destroy them both.

This book is a massive success, I would recommend to any dreamy romantics out there 😉

Book Review- Finding Sky

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Finding Sky

Have you ever been to a library, seen a book, and, almost on impulse, picked it up? Even if you have no idea if you’ll like it? That’s how you find the best books. That’s what happened here with Finding Sky.

My school library is wonderful. Everyone is blissfully silent and bookworms like me can wander around freely. I was walking by a shelf when this book caught my eye. The thing about this whole process is that you don’t know why- it just does. Anyways, I picked it up and I was amazed. It was like my brain knew exactly which books to select and my hands obeyed. I was utterly absorbed in the tangled world of Savants.

Sky Bright is a Londoner with a dark past. When she and her foster parents move to Colorado, America, Sky meets Zed, a brooding and utterly irresistible guy in her year. After a weird football match, Zed and Sky start a relationship, but this is no ordinary love…

This book is my favourite book right now and fear not, because it’s in a SERIES!!!!!!

This book in three words: TOTAL KILLER PLOT

I really hope you guys read this book because it is the actual best and I love it so so much,

Book Review- Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

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Juniper Lemon's Happiness IndexThis book was absolutely amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the tangled, unsure plot about a girl who was still recovering from the gaping hole her sister had left in her heart.

My friend let me borrow this after 15 minutes straight of begging after it caught my eye on her bookshelf. It has a very striking title, and it intrigued me.

I finished it that same night.

I think this book would be very enjoyable for those of the teenaged race who like the whole broken-girl-meets-badass-boy-and-they-fall-in-love kind of storyline. Admit it- you’re romantic at heart.