This is a haul of books that I have accumulated over the course of the last month or so. I’ve really been trying to not buy a lot of books that I haven’t read yet and only getting new releases I’m super excited for or books I’ve read and rated 4 stars or over!
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff
Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake
This is my third installment of my quarterly reading recommendations for 2019. Every 3 months I will be looking over all the books I’ve read in that time and picking out my top 10 favorites. Then at the end of the year I will compile my lists and pick my top 10 overall from the books I’ve selected where I will be going a little more in depth! If you want to check out my second quarterly reading recommendations click HERE.
So in no particular order my reading recommendations for July-August-Sept are:
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman
Vow of Thieves by Mary E Pearson
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Birthday by Meredith Russo
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
I had a pretty good reading month for August, it wasn’t as successful as previous months but I was actually super busy in August so I am pretty proud of how much I was able to get through!
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker – ⭐️4.5/5 stars
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – ⭐️4/5 stars
Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence – ⭐️4.5/5 stars
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – ⭐️5/5 stars
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel – ⭐️5/5 stars
Vicious by L.J. Shen – ⭐️4/5 stars
Defy by L.J. Shen – ⭐️3/5 stars
Ruckus by L.J. Shen – ⭐️4/5 stars
Scandalous by L.J. Shen – ⭐️4/5 stars
Wilder Girls by Rory Powers – ⭐️4/5 stars
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody – ⭐️4.5/5 stars
King of Fools by Amanda Foody – ⭐️4/5 stars
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – ⭐️5/5 stars
Percy Jackson & the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan – ⭐️5/5 stars
Vow of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – ⭐️5/5 Stars
Finale by Stephanie Garber – ⭐️4/5 stars
Boss I Love to Hate: An Office Romance by Mia Kayla – ⭐️3/5 stars
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is books I’ve read but don’t own. Since I’ve started utilising my local library a lot more this year I’ve acquired a few books now that I have read but don’t own. I kind of have a mild obsession with owning all of the books that I’ve read, but I’ve started to restrict myself to only purchasing books I’ve rated 4/5 stars or higher. Just so I only own books that I know that I absolutely love! I’ve really cut down on just randomly purchasing books based on reviews without actually reading them first!
So these are 10 books I’ve read and rated 4 stars or higher that I will be purchasing soon:
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Final Girls by Riley Sager
Spinning Silver & Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo
Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Khai has no interest in dating or marriage so when his mum goes over to the Vietnam and brings a potential wife back to live with him for the summer he is outraged. Forced to cohabitate Khai starts to get used to the idea of Esme living with him and she is starting to see that he does have feelings after all.
I absolutely loved this story! It was a very fast paced, quick read for me that I finished in one sitting and I came out of it with just warm fuzzy feelings. I think the book really explored the cultural differences between the generations. Like how Khai’s mum is perfectly comfortable interviewing for potential wives for Khai and trying to push him to get married ASAP and how uncomfortable and resistant Khai and Quan are about the whole situation. Also Esme’s mum telling her to seduce Khai just to marry him quickly because he lives in America and is handsome.
I love how unique and interesting Khai’s character is. I thought his autism was represented very well throughout the course of the plot and his reactions to certain situations was consistent and felt real. The way he struggled to understand other people’s emotions when he processes things in a very different way was interesting to read. He felt like a truly well rounded character and his naivety and inexperience really endeared him to me. The whole conversation he had with Quan and Michael after his first time was super cute!
I had some mixed feelings about Esme throughout the course of the book. I was a little skeptical about her reasoning’s for accepting the deal in the first place and I can’t help but feel that she was intentionally trying to just seduce Khai at first without even attempting to get to know him. But as the story progressed I definitely warmed up to her as she started to dig into her own background and better herself whilst she was there; trying to find her father and going to back to school and getting her GED.
The whole concept for the story I found super entertaining and I just can’t help but think that this kind of situation really happens in real life; mothers pushing their sons to get married because everyone else in their families is getting married. I don’t know if they would go as far as to return to their home countries to pluck a random girl from a bathroom but that’s the beauty of fiction. I was highly entertained and engaged throughout the book and I can’t wait to see what Helen Hoang comes out with next!
⭐️5/5 stars Loved it!
Amy Leigh Reads 