Book Recommendations: Part One

If you've been here for the last couple of years you may have noticed that I rediscovered my love of books and ever since have been a bit of a bookworm. And sure I talk about all the books I've read in my What I Read's and all the ones I've brought in Hauls and a lot of you may use those posts as recommendations but today I thought I'd compile a few books both standalones and series that I recommend you add to your 2020 TBR.

The first series will come as no surprise to any of you. The Cursebreakers Series by Brigid Kemmerer fast became a favourite after I read it's first book last year and it's sequel in January. Following Harper who one night is transported to the land of Emberfall where she meets cursed Prince Rhen and his Royal Guard Commander Grey, the first book A Curse So Dark And Lonely follows them as they attempt to break Rhen's curse whilst attempting to salvage what is left of his kingdom. It's jammed packed full of dry one liners, a fierce female character and twists and turns aplenty. Yet the sequel; A Heart So Fierce And Broken, is even more explosive. It follows Grey as he takes on a journey not only to save the land of Emberfall but himself and his somewhat tense relationship with Rhen. It hosts a whole catalogue of new characters and has even more plot twists than the first book. The ending of book two has me eagerly awaiting the third book in the series but it's going to be a painful wait as it isn't scheduled to be released until November 2021. All that aside though, the main reason I love this series is Harper. She is a fierce young woman who admittedly panics when she's first transported to Emberfall but then takes a stand and doesn't take shit from anyone. It's the portrayal of Harper's disability that I love the most though. Harper has cerebal palsy but she doesn't let it stop her from being a badass, she doesn't let it stop her from standing up for what she believes in and in the first book it doesn't stop her from demanding to be taught how to look after herself in this strange and somewhat dangerous world.

This next series is another that won't come as a surprise to you either. I've spoken a lot about it recently, having just finished it in January. Arc Of Scythe is a trilogy of books from Neal Shusterman that follows a world where every disease, every possible way of dying has been eradicated. People are living longer than before and it's up to a select commitee called Scythe's to stop the world from becoming over populated. And this trilogy follows two Rown and Citra who have been picked to be Scythe's apprentices, one of who will become a fully ordained Scythe. Yet it's not just the way of the Scythe they have to learn, they have to learn how to handle the extremely delicate political system that the Scythe's live and die by. I adore this series, it has so many plot twists, shocking turns and a good cliffhanger or two that you'll be up until the early hours reading. I literally devoured book one late last year and marathoned both books two and three back to back in January. I'm a little sad this series is over but it's definitely one I can see myself rereading over and over again. The world is deliciously complex, the characters are well written and yet still have their flaws and whilst the ending isn't my favourite, it's definitely a fitting end for this trilogy. I have literally everything crossed that Neal Shusterman writes another series in this world as I just can't get enough of it.

Next is the book that I originally thought was a standalone but actually has a sequel being released in April. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson was my favourite book of 2019. It follows Pip, a young girl who's final project for school sees her reopening a five year old murder case that rocked her small town. I can not say enough good things about this book. It's a hooking read, you'll be up for hours devouring it, including it's inclusion of court transcripts, newspaper clippings and journal entries. So when I found out it was actually Jackson's debut novel, I was shocked. But also incredibly happy to find out that this was being made into a series, book two being released in April which follows Pip as she starts her own true crime podcast but gets sucked into a fresh investigation when her friend disappears. This is only starting to get the hype it deserves and I can't believe people have slept on this book for so long.

 Another YA Mystery that I can't recommend enough is The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg.This is an amazing multimedia style YA standalone that I completely devoured last year. Centered around a theme park called The Kingdom, this story follows Ana, a fantasist (think Disney Princess) who's on trial for murdering a worker at the theme park. It weaves between two times line, the present as Ana is on trial and the past which shows the build up of events until the murder itself. This is again told through a multitude of medias including court transcripts, transcripts of CCTV, interviews with Ana and even newspaper reports. It really works well to break up the events of the book, especially as some chapters can be very heavy and triggering. I do warn you that there are themes of rape, sexual harrassement and animal abuse for this book but they are handled in a very written manner that doesn't explicitly throw them at the reader but does imply that it's happening. I adored this book, it was so unlike anything else I read last year and I wish that Rothenberg had left it open enough for there to possibly be a sequel.

And the last book I want to recommend to you isn't YA. It's actually an a crime/mystery/thriller that kicked off my 2019 reading year. The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton had me hooked from the blurb alone. Evelyn Hardcastle is destined to die at 11pm unless you can work who the killer is. Yet you aren't in your own body, you're currently inhabiting the eight different hosts that are in attendance at the time of Evelyn's death. Each has their own secrets, their own reasons but with only 24 hours in each host, time to digest it all isn't something you have. And if you want to escape the grounds of Blackheath, you have to play the game until you've rumbled the killer. This book is definitely a thinker, you have to concentrate because so much happens in each chapter and as you delve deeper into the mystery, it all starts to intersect and it can hard to keep up. But I know that won't happen as you'll be hooked from the first page and it only gets better the further in you get. Stuart Turton has a new book coming out in October and you can bet that I'm preordering that right away.

Top 5 Books Of The Year So Far

One of my biggest goals for 2019 was to read a little everyday which would hopefully lead to me reading more in general. I created a giant TBR list and started off the year well but fell into a reading slump around April/May time. However I've been bitten by the reading bug once more and whilst my TBR has gotten even bigger, I know there's more chance of me actually reading a lot of it. But today now I've finished my ramble, I'm here to talk you through the five books that have stood out the most to me out of all of them that I've read so far this year.

The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle- Stuart Turton
The first book that left it's mark this year was actually the first book I read in 2019. The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle is a murder mystery/psychological thriller that had me hooked. Centred around the death of Evelyn Hardcastle, this book has one main POV that goes through a rotation of eight different hosts as they attempt to put together all the clues that lead to her murder whilst also trying to stop her murder from happening at all. Yet they only live in one particular host for twenty four hours, each of whom has their own secrets that they'd rather keep hidden. I was hooked on this book. It's a little slow to start but once you really get into it, you'll find it hard to put down. I at one point thought I had figured out who the killer was but was quickly proven wrong when it took a twist that I did not see coming. If this isn't already on your TBR for 2019 then I suggest you add it, you won't regret it.

The Thousandth Floor- Katharine McGee 
Next up I read The Thousandth Floor, a futuristic Gossip Girl style YA novel. It followed five teenagers from different walks of live as their lives became intertwined with each other, all building up to a death foretold at the beginning of the book. What kept me hooked with this book was the intrigue about how the death unfolded and each individual character was involved or caught up in an aspect of it. I keep meaning to pick up the next book in this trilogy but always end up being distracted by another book of my TBR pile.

Gallery Of The Dead- Chris Carter
Last year I read The Caller by Chris Carter and I loved it. And it also got me hooked on Chris Carter's writing style and when I saw that he had another novel recently released I just had to pick it up. The ninth in an ongoing series centred around LAPD Detective Robert Hunter, Gallery Of The Dead follows as he attempts to catch a sadistic serial killer that leaves each of his victims laid out like an artifact in a museum. Chris Carter has nailed the thriller/crime genre perfectly and I've recently devoured his tenth book in the series. It's gruesome, it's twisty, it'll shock you and disgust you but it's also enthralling and whilst long, you'll have no trouble reading this book in a short time.

A Place Called Perfect- Helena Duggan
This next book I actually read in a day. It's unheard of me to be that engrossed in a book but A Place Called Perfect managed it. More of a middle grade book than a YA novel, it follows the story of Violet and her parents who move into a quaint little town called Perfect where everything is seemingly perfect but in fact holds a dark secret. I adored this book, it was cute yet dark and had twists and turns throughout. I found myself rooting for Violet as it progressed and I'm looking forward to carrying on with this series when I actually get round to buying the next book.

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder- Holly Jackson
And the last book I want to talk about is one my more recent reads but I couldn't not include it. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder is Holly Jackson's debut novel, debut novel, and it's astonishing. Centred around a murder case from five years ago, the police believe they found the killer but teenager Pip thinks they pinned the murder on the wrong person. And what follows is an amazingly written plot that is full of twists and shocking ending that even I didn't see coming. It had it's lighter more humorous moments and it surprisingly had a few emotional moments that hit me in a way a book hasn't hit me before. If you haven't thought to add this to your TBR then I say do it. You honestly won't regret it. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Holly Jackson comes up with next. 

What I Read: June

Guess who's back, back again. It's me, I'm back with my first What I Read for a while. April and May weren't the best reading months for me and I wanted to make June different. It took me til halfway through the month to pick up not one but two books and whilst they're both good, this one had me hooked and I couldn't put it down.

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder is Holly Jackson's debut novel and for a debut novel, it's absolutely amazing. Centred around schoolgirl Pip who's doing her own investigation into the murder of Andie Bell five years ago, this novel has you hooked from the get go and only continues to deliver twists and turns the further into the case you delve. For a young adult murder mystery, this novel delves into a lot of adult themes that easily made me forget I was reading a YA novel. There was so much tension as the novel came to a close and I eagerly stayed up longer than I should have to finish it, even if there were a couple of moments that brought tears to my eyes and that's a very occurrence when it comes to books.

I don't want to give too much about the plot away as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who plans on reading this. All I am going to say is that this book had me hooked from the moment I picked it up and that's something that hasn't happened with books recently from me. I can't wait to read more from Holly Jackson and I'm still shocked that this was her debut novel, it was written beautifully and easily felt as if this was her fourth or fifth book. If you haven't already got this on your TBR, then I highly recommend that you add it. You won't be disappointed.