Summer Recs #2: Romance Novels to Melt Your Heart

Hello friends! As you might have seen last week, I decided to dedicate my three June-posts to thematic recommendations. My first list concentrated on thriller, mystery and horror novels (see it here), while today's is all about ROMANCE NOVELS. 

To clarify, that means that the romance is, in fact, the most important part of all the books I'll list down below. HOWEVER, in most cases there are other equally significant topics broached - from self-confidence, through following your dreams to killing the bad guys... you'll find a pretty solid selection of books here. 

I Don't Know How I Feel About The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller

Staid, responsible Elodie Buchanan is the eldest of ten sisters living in a small English market town in 1861. The girls barely know their father, a plant hunter usually off adventuring through China. Then disaster strikes: Mr. Buchanan reneges on his contract to collect an extremely rare and valuable orchid. He will be thrown into debtors’ prison while his daughters are sent to the orphanage and the workhouse.

Elodie can’t stand by and see her family destroyed, so she persuades her father to return to China once more to try to hunt down the flower—only this time, despite everything she knows about her place in society, Elodie goes with him. She has never before left her village, but what starts as fear turns to wonder as she adapts to seafaring life aboard the tea clipper The Osprey, and later to the new sights, dangers, and romance of China. But now, even if she can find the orchid, how can she ever go back to being the staid, responsible Elodie that everybody needs?

Books We Wish We Had DNF-ed

Hello friends! Isn't it positively infuriating when you pick up a book, all excited and hopeful... only to be severely disappointed by it? It is one thing if put it down, mark it did-not-finish, and quickly get on with your life. If you frequently do this? Well, congrats, you're awesome, and I'm hella jealous, because DNF-ing is hard as hell for me. 

Usually, what I do is power through a book, no matter how much I'm hating it, looking for redeeming qualities and hoping it'll get better... I mean, it has to, right? RIGHT? Well, sometimes it doesn't. Today, Clare and I brought you 5-5 novels we badly disliked, and wish we had DNF-ed. 

Yes, this is last week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) topic, but shhh.

Summer Recs #1: Thrillers and Mysteries To Get Your Heart Racing

Hello friends! Knowing that the summer is that part of the year when many readers have ample time to read - either because of being on break, or because of going on a vacation - I've decided to bring you something special this June. Drumrolls, please!

A three part series where I'll share a variety of book recommendations with you!

To make navigating this list - it ain't that long, don't worry - easier & more comfortable for you, I included some bullet-points about the books. In these, you'll find the age-group these are aimed at, the sub-genres and basic information about the novels. Moreover, the book covers lead to the books' Goodreads page, so you can flood your TBR list pretty fast. 

I really hope you'll enjoy this little snippet into the land of my favorite novels! 

On Why I Haven't Been Reading As Much As I Should and K-dramas That Have Taken Over My Life

I hereby declare I'm out of my reading slump. 

I've been in various slumps on and off for the past year and reading has been the most worrying of it all, so colour me extremely excited to find myself capable of picking up a book and staying invested in it for two hour straight. 

However, in a worrying turn of events, I've come to realize that slump or not, I'm unable to actually read unless I know for a fact that I can read at leisure, that I'm in the right head-space for reading, that I'm not flooded with things to be done immediately, and therefore, I don't actually pick up a book unless I see myself spending at least 30 mins on it at a stretch. 

Uni has been tiring, to say the least, and the coming months only prove to be more hectic with deadlines looming up and it's Ramadan which means I have less time for myself AND I'm constantly tired. Stress + Me is definitely not the recipe for reading. Add physical books and ARCs to the equation and reading is pretty much out of the question because I don't read physical books at night (and I'm not into e-books at the moment), and review copies mean I need to be doubly conscious about how I feel about anything related to the book, so yeah. ISSA DILEMMA. 

I still am very much capable of feeling excited about books, hoarding them, picking them up and fondly stroking them but I really am not reading as much as I should.

Love, Hate and Other Deceptive Filters in This Debut by Samira Ahmed

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape--perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacquelyn Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

Maya Aziz is torn between futures: the one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter (i.e.; staying nearby in Chicago and being matched with a "suitable" Muslim boy), and the one where she goes to film school in New York City--and maybe, just maybe, kisses a guy she's only known from afar. There's the also the fun stuff, like laughing with her best friend Violet, making on-the-spot documentaries, sneaking away for private swimming lessons at a secret pond in the woods. But her world is shattered when a suicide bomber strikes in the American heartland; by chance, he shares Maya's last name. What happens to the one Muslim family in town when their community is suddenly consumed with hatred and fear?

I hated this book with a passion. It may seem like a strong statement to make, but I really did. Or maybe I was just too disappointed? Either way, this is a book I'd rather never have anything to do with again and let's see why, shall we? 

Bookish Worlds We'd *Never* Want To Live In

Hello, friends! One of the reasons why I adore reading so darn much is that books have the power to take readers to gorgeous and magical places - most of which I'd love to visit in real life. However, there are certainly some dark, vicious and creepy as fuck worlds out there that neither Clare, nor I would like to go near. Ever. Today, we brought you ten of these.

The Books That Made Me a Reader

I have so many life-changing, mind-changing books on my shelves that I love (and definitely want to talk about sometime) but today I wanted to have a look at the books that made me a reader - and so brought me to this wonderful community. Reading is such a huge part of my life and it's so strange to think of all the times where it hinged on reading one book at the exact right time! 

When 'The Little Mermaid" Becomes Vicious and Cunning: TO KILL A KINGDOM

"I have a heart for every year I've been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle, just to check they're still there. Buried deep and bloody.""

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

Characters Worthy of Naming Our Pets After

Hello friends! After a few weeks long break, Clare and I are finally back with a Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) post!! Neither of us is particularly fond of children, so we altered the topic a tad bit, and are going to be naming our imaginary future pets today. 

FAIR WARNING - this post contains a ridiculous amount of cuteness, because we'll always say YES to gifs.