Recent Favorite Books!

I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson - link to Goodreads

So currently as of April 21st 2019, I have read a total of 35 books... Don't ask me how- I have no idea! But out of those 35 books, surprisingly 10 (10!!) of them have been 4.75 or 5 star reads. Now, I'm a bit more conservative with my five stars (I've just read too many exquisite books) so I'm very pleased with the amount of books I've read and absolutely adored this year so far. So I thought, why not share them with you?

I hope you get some recommendations or at the very least some inspiration to read more after reading this and who knows- maybe you'll end up finding your new favorite too. So without further ado, here's 10 (10!!) five star reads for me in 2019 so far:

1) The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

This one is actually a 4.75 for the very small and quite frankly annoying fact that this includes a completely unnecessary love triangle. If that turned you off, don't worry- it doesn't take too much away from the story and this isn't *really* a spoiler but the better guy ends up with Lenny (our main character) and he's honestly one of my favorite YA contemporary love interests of all time. As for the story, it follows Lenny after the death of her older sister, Bailey, and one of my favorite parts of this book was the exploration of grief and seeing how it affected Lenny and her family. The little bits of poetry were wonderful too.

2) The Wicked King by Holly Black (sequel to The Cruel Prince)

I can't really talk about the second book without spoilers and I think the first book is best gone into with little prior knowledge but I will say that it follows Jude Duarte, a mortal who lives among the fae (the cruel, but beautiful fae) and all she wants is to belong (if that makes you think she's innocent, try again- she's not afraid to kill or play deadly games of politics). The fae (Holly Black is the QUEEN of fae), the political intrigue, and the addictive hate-to-still-hate-but-also-love romance are spectacular and I 10/10 recommend. However, I will say the second book ends on a dare I say it, WICKED (punny I know) cliffhanger and I'm still reeling three months later so if you don't do well with waiting for the next book after a big cliffhanger, maybe wait until next January when Queen of Nothing comes out to begin this wonderful trilogy.

3) King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

This should come as a surprise to literally no one who knows me, but before I begin my gush, I have to warn you that this series can only be read after reading both the Grisha trilogy (which is pretty darn good) and the Six of Crows duology (which are my favorite books of all time: NO MOURNERS NO FUNERALS) first as it is a sequel to both. This the "Nikolai" duology and considering he's one of my two favorite characters from the trilogy (the Darkling being the other), I really enjoyed this. It's not Six of Crows level, but I have a feeling the sequel will be pretty close. Also, THAT ENDING OH MY GOD. I didn't expect it and I know a lot of people hate it but I absolutely love it for obvious reasons *wink wink*. The grisha-verse is a Russian inspired fantasy world created by Bardugo that all of her YA books take place in and I can't explain the plot of this series without spoiling something huge from the first trilogy and I can't really say anything actually without spoiling previous things so just take my advice and read everything she writes. You won't regret it- she's a master of writing and worldbuilding and character development and she's my favorite author of all time. Okay, I'm done.

4) The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson (sequel to Truly Devious)

This is a mystery (and also really diverse) YA trilogy that takes place in a boarding school and follows a hundred year old (give or take a few) mystery surrounding the wife and daughter of the founder of the famous and prestigious Ellingham Academy. Our MC, Stevie Bell, is an icon and I love reading from her perspective. She also deals with anxiety and is on meds which is so great to see represented (ALWAYS TAKE YOUR MEDS PEOPLE). I thought I was shocked by the ending of book one, but oh boy was that calm compared to this ending. Also the characters from this series are some of my favorite YA (non fantasy) characters of all time. I cannot wait for the third and final book. Also, it's worth mentioning that even if you don't typically like mystery, you could still enjoy this. It's more of a contemporary and mystery mix.

5) Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard (book three in the Witchlands series beginning with Truthwitch, then Windwitch, then the really insightful novella: Sightwitch).

I've said it before and I'll say it again but Susan Dennard and the Witchlands series is so under appreciated and underrated. She's a fantastic writer and worldbuilder and her plots are the most complex I've ever read. She also writes the best slow-burns ever and her characters are all so wonderful. She's also improved significantly with each passing book with Bloodwitch being my favorite and one of my new favorites of all time. The Witchlands is honestly too complicated for me to explain but if you like more adult fantasy (more complex and fleshed out than most YA) then you'll enjoy this even if it is YA. It contains elemental magic, "chosen ones", epic friendships and girl power, intriguing villains, and really good romance (especially Baesult omg).

6) Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

First let me just start off my saying Emma Mills is fricking hilarious and I laughed out loud multiple times in this book. Also Gideon Prewitt is my favorite person ever and also one of my favorite YA love interests. This book follows Claudia who's a gamer and who's working backstage of A Midsummer Night's Dream in close quarters of mean girl Iris who she accidentally witnessed the break up of (Iris and Paige were the school it couple) and GIDEON. Sorry. But not really. But it includes the best enemy to friendship subplots ever (Iris won me over guys and that's tough), a great gaming subplot, a goals friend group (love them all), and a fantastic developed family aspect (I loved the moments she had with her brother and her sister). I just loved everything about this book actually.

7) I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

My sister read this before me and said it was even better than The Sky is Everywhere and I was like, "Ha, not possible". But guess what, somehow it is! This book is a masterpiece. It's an exploration of family, grief, art, love, and so many other things. It follows twins Jude and Noah. Noah tells the "early years" when they're 13/14 and Jude tells the "later years" when they're 16 and it's just so well done and great. Also Brian was my favorite (so cute). There is a F/M romance and a M/M romance featured as main relationships as well. It's honestly one of the best contemporary or just one of the best overall books I've ever read in my life. Trust me, you won't regret reading this.

8) Becoming by Michelle Obama

Do I even have to explain this one to you? Michelle Obama is one of my biggest role models and inspirations and getting this unique insight into her life was so eye opening and fulfilling. I loved the look into what it's like to be the president's wife when you want to do so much yourself. I would not want to be in her position. Being the president or the president's family is tougher than it appears. There's no privacy or downtime and everything has to be read into. It's ridiculous. I also really appreciated the bits about questioning her career(s) and changing her mind later in life because that's a thing that people do but for some reason we don't normalize enough for younger people. You don't have to have everything planned out and everything figured out when you're in college or after college or even when you're old and retired. It's okay to not know what you're going to do next. It's normal.

9) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (sequel to Clockwork Angel)

I adored this book even if Will was suffering throughout most of it which made me heartbroken. I rarely cry in books but I cried- no SOBBED at the end of this book. It had one of the most heartbreaking reveals I've ever read in any book. Will Herondale deserves the world. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Cassandra Clare is also one of my favorite authors of all time and she's such a great writer and storyteller. I've never not loved a Shadowhunter book. It's impossible. Also, shout out to the Charlotte/Henry scene (you know if you know!!) that made me giddy in the best possible way.

10) Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (sequel to Clockwork Prince and the finale of the Inferal Devices)

That's why the last explanation was so much shorter- because I'm talking about the same trilogy for this one. Clockwork Princess was the perfect ending and though I actually do have some issues with it (not the time now), it was still really good and WILL, oh my god. He's perfect. Tessa's wonderful. JEM. I love these characters and this story so much. I love Charlotte and Henry (so cute) and Sophie and Gideon (Gideons are just apparently just the best type of people) and Gabriel and Cecile and everyone else so much. This is my favorite Cassandra Clare series so far (haven't read the Dark Artifices yet but now I'm itching to immediately).

Okay, that took a longer time than anticipated. I just have a lot to say about my favs. These are all wonderful books by wonderful people and I love them so much. I hope you got a recommendation from this or you realized we have the same favorite book (if so, you have great taste haha).

Also, I thought it might be cool to record the songs I listen to while I'm writing these posts. I don't always listen to music but when I do maybe. For example, this time I was listening to the Dear Evan Hanson soundtrack because I recently saw it on Broadway (it was so good!!) and now I'm a tad bit obsessed. I recommend it if you're into show tunes.

Anyway, until next time. No mourners, no funerals,

-SureenaWrites