Top 10 Favorite Books

10. Forever… by Judy Blume

I read this along time ago, but I just remember it being the first romance book that I read that was honest about teens and sex and I loved that! I didn’t really care for the characters, but I did like that this was the first romance book that I had read.

9. Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino

What I liked most about this was how mature the writing seemed for a YA/NA romance. It wasn’t full of the typical troupes you see in most novels, but it was still romantic and I was rooting for the characters to have a happy ending.

8. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I have no shame. This was the very first book that got me into my obsession with books, after a long hiatus of not reading for pleasure after elementary school. I remember devouring this series in about a month. I’m still obsessed. What can I say? I’ll always make room for Twilight on my favorites list.

7. Teach Me by R.A. Nelson

Wonder what happens behind closed doors of a teacher/student relationship. This one is for you. I think I’m going to reread this one in 2018.

6. Zac and Mia by AJ Betts

For those who enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars, take a chance on this one. For me, this was way better and more honest than TFiOS. Don’t get me wrong, I loved TFiOS, but this novel has all the raw emotions of what being a cancer patient is really like (and I should know, I went through it).

5. The Cellar by Natasha Preston

This novel is about a girl who is kidnapped and put in a cellar along with a handful of other women who have been brainwashed by their kidnapper to basically love him because their lives depend on it. I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this novel.

4. Stolen by Lucy Christopher

If you end up enjoying Cellar, you’ll probably like Stolen. It’s along the same lines except our character is taken to the dessert where she tries to find a way to escape, but where can you run to in the dessert?

3. How to Love by Katie Cotugno

The next two novels were hard for me to rate because I love them both so much. It took me awhile to pick up How to Love, but once I did, I wished I had read it sooner. The synopsis had turned me away from it originally, I loved it and couldn’t put it down.

2. 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

I just might be one of the only YA readers around who enjoyed the love triangle in 99 Days and I’m not ashamed of that. I can’t wait for the sequel!

1. November 9 by Colleen Hoover

I didn’t think any book would ever pass up a Katie Cotugno book on my favorites, let alone a Colleen Hoover book. I’ve read a few of her novels, and nothing was ever favorite worthy. That was, until I picked up November 9, on November 9th. It was book fate, haha. This book had me on a rollercoaster of emotions and I was constantly rooting for the couple, until the moment Ben broke my heart, but I still loved him as a fictional boyfriend. This is a must read!

Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino Book Review

Title: Before We Were Strangers

Author: Renee Carlino

Genre: New Adult/Adult

Rating: 5/5 Stars

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To the Green-eyed Lovebird:

We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House.

You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more.

We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.

Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…

I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.

After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?

M

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Before We Were Strangers is a story of friendship, love, loss and finding your way. This novel is beautifully written and deserves nothing less than 5 stars. I was taken on an emotional roller coaster while reading the story of Matt and Grace, I devoured this book in one weekend. It was with me everywhere I went.

Matt and Gracie try their best to be just friends, but they can’t fight the chemistry. Have you ever felt like you’re just meant to be with someone, because Matt and Grace know they should be together forever, the only problem with these quick moving relationships is that they can come crashing down.

I felt this horrible feeling throughout the book that there would be no happy ending for Grace and Matt. Carlino did such an amazing job establishing that fear along with the setting and characters.

Carlino gives these subtle hints throughout the novel of what’s going to happen in the end and they’re easily forgotten or read right over, but once you get to the end, all those things come rushing back to you! This novel was brilliant.

You have to read this one…

 

 

August Wrap Up & September TBR

August Wrap Up

It wasn’t a great reading month for me, I kind of felt myself going into a reading slump. Finally toward the end of the month, I kicked it into gear and managed to finish some books. I did manage to knock out two of my paperbacks that I wanted to get out of the way.

Wanderlost by Jen Malone– 2/5 Stars. Kind of disappointed with this novel. I’d say my favorite character was Mr. Fenton and Sam, they kept me reading on. If it weren’t for them, I probably would have stopped reading. Full Review coming soon, FOLLOW my blog to get notified.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon- 5/5 Stars. This might be my favorite book that I’ve read this year. I finished it in three days! I wanted to finish it before I watched the movie so I could do a double review on it (coming soon) and it was glorious. If you haven’t read this one, you need to. The relationship between Olly and Maddy was beautiful.

Dirty by Kylie Scott- DNF I wasn’t feeling this book as much as I thought. I made it 40% through and I might come back to it later, we’ll see.

 

 

 

September TBR

 

 

Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino- It’s been on my Amazon wishlist for almost a year, finally it went down to 2.99, so I couldn’t pass up the deal!

Dearly Departed, Dearly Remembered, & Dearly Beloved by Rachael Rawlings- I’m going to kick off my fall reads by marathoning this series by a local author. I have high hopes for this one, it was recommended to me by my husband.