Okay so today is RTT so I'm going to recommend really great books to you, and I know you're gonna love them.
I mostly read about paranormal, so I'm going to recommend mostly those, all right? Though I think what genres I'm into was pretty clear by my blog. Anyway. I'm also going to write about "normal" books, so yeah. No problem. :D
The first book I'm going to recommend today is Angelfall, by Susan Ee.
This is seriously one of the best paranormal, dystopic novels I've ever read. And it's only the first book in the series! Woo hoo.
Hey beautiful. :) (I'm talking to the book)
So Angelfall is a dystopic novel where angels have taken over the earth, causing destruction wherever they go as they keep fighting between each other. It's like kids chasing each other and meanwhile hitting and crushing things, and making them fall to the ground, during the chase.
Our main character is Penryn, a seventeen-year-old girl named after a street name by her crazy mother. A few weeks have passed since angels came down to our good ol' planet, their town is deserted and they have to be careful when they go in search of food. Both angels and criminals might be lurking in the shadows and they can not afford to be caught off guard.
However, while they're making their way back home, they hear a sound and then fighting angels fly on the ground. It looks like it's one against all the rest, and Penryn can't help wondering what is happening. She has to try to get her mom, her wheel-chaired sister and herself the hell away from there, but unfortunately she's not quick enough. While they're trying to make their escape, her sister is taken by an angel who flies away leaving her alone with the wounded angel and no mom to be found.
Despite what the angels have done to her world, she can't help wanting to help the guy. So she picks up his wings, that were cut by the other angels during the fight, and then gives support to the angel.
Basically this book revolves around Penryn's quest, which is to find her sister. She'll need the angel's, who goes by Raffe, help, since only he can tell her where the other angels might have taken her sister, and he in turn will have to pay her back for helping him.
They will have to face really dangerous situations and hard truths none of them was ready for.
This book is written so freaking well. It's fast-paced, but not too much. It's not insta-love, at all. Raffe and Pen's feelings develop throughout the whole book and everything was described so clearly and in such a way that I really felt part of every single scene.
This book blew me away with its fresh storyline and it was really great. The positive thing about dystopia is that there are so many worlds you could dive into, kind of like with Mythology and its never-ending list of myths. So this was totally new for me.
Angels fighting and taking it down on earth. Angels cutting off each other's wings and making hostages of humans. Weren't they supposed to be good people?
I loved the main character, too. Pen is great. She has that kickass attitude that I really love but without being robot-like as Katniss Everdeen was. This girl's got feelings, and I could see that. She's ready for anything that the future might bring, but she's also got a tender heart and that makes for an explosive combination that I definitely like.
So what can I say? Read it, read it, read it! DO IT! It's really worth it, trust me.
Do you guys like Chick-lit? Because I've just got the book for you. I believe I mentioned it in my post about the first day of school and the crazy book shopping that followed.
You guessed it..... I'm talking about Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins.
First of all, I have to say this and maybe you're thinking it too right now, this book has probably the worst title I have ever read. And wait until I show you the cover! It's truly hideous.
That's some of the reason why I didn't read this at first, and also because the plot sounded pretty average to me. However, people kept raving about it and quoting it in every single goodreads discussion I stumbled on, so I finally decided to give a try.
MAN DO I WANT TO KICK MYSELF IN MY NONEXISTENT BALLS AT TIMES LIKE THIS.
Anna and the French Kiss has since then become one of my favorite books. And I don't even include Chick-lit in my favorites list, usually.
That's how awesome it is.
AATFK is the story of Anna Olivier, an American teenage girl about to start her senior year of high school.
In Paris.
That's right, her father has decided she has to go to Europe during her last year of high school, not even giving her a choice or asking her if she was okay with it.
So here she is, shipped off to one of the most beautiful cities in the world and zero desire to be there.
That is, until she meets new friends. Meredith, Rashmi, Josh and St. Clair. Anna labels them as part of the "artistic crowd", and she likes them immediately.
Later on, though, she realizes that maybe she likes St. Clair a bit too much. And that's bad, for so many reasons. Mer being secretly in love with him? Him having a girlfriend? Does she really have to go on?
So the book tells of Anna's whole year in Paris and everything that happens during her stay there.
I know this sounds like the typical love triangle (actually this would be a square), where the two people want to be together but can't for an unfathomable reason and in the end it's happy ever after. I mean, wait. honestly, it is kind of like that. But it's also so much more. You'll see it when and if you read it.
First of all, the characters are all so real. I know I say that a lot in my reviews, but I'd never come across this book. THIS is the real deal. All of them are so realistic in their simplicity that it's.. it's.. it's beautiful. Really.
And St. Clair is not perfect. He has crooked teeth, a bit of an underbite, and he's pretty short. And Anna has a huuuge gap between her teeth. And a sudden streak of white-blond hair in her brown head.
So they're definitely not the perfect character images described in most books, where the guy is drop-dead-gorgeous and the girl "doesn't see how beautiful she is."
No.
And then the setting. Ahhh, this book. This book! I have never been to Paris, and before AATFK I didn't even have an intention to go there. I didn't like France. Then I read this book and bam! all I've wanted to do for the past five months is go to Paris and have the time of my life.
It was just that good.
It felt like I was in Paris. It really did. Everything was described in its minimun detail and the mental pictures I got were awesome.
I'm seriously in love.
Oh, gosh, this book recommendation is quickly turning into a review. I'm sorry. I guess that's what happens when you attempt to make a short positive speech about one of your favorite books.
You fail.
SO DO READ THIS BOOK. IT'S FOR THE SAKE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD POPULATION. IT IS. I AM NOT LYING. You will love it, I am so sure!
And last but not least is The Treachery of Beautiful Things.
I read this book recently and loved it. I'm going to write something really short about it to make up for the extended time dedicated to Anna.
This is the story of Jane, an English girl who was only ten when her brother was "taken by the trees." She was never able to explain what really happened that night. She only knows that one second her brother was there with her, and the next he was being taken away while he yelled at her to run.
Now, seven years later, she's seventeen, about to go to university and ready to finally move on. So she goes to that place one last time, to finally let her memories go and start a new life. What she doesn't expect is to hear a music that sounds terribly like the one her brother used to play. So she's drawn into the trees, while she follows the melody, and soon enough she's lost in the forest and no idea of how to get back.
This was really great. I'm not usually into faeries, but I loved this one. It was a re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Shakespeare, something that had already been attempted by Julie Kagawa with her Iron Fey series.
However, Ruth Frances Long's way of re-telling the tale is totally different from that one.
I found myself struggling with Jane's character. Most of the time I liked her, although at times I just couldn't figure her out.
The love interest (Jack), on the other hand, was pretty awesome and I definitely liked him.
The storyline was kickass and I truly loved the ending. Somehow RFL managed to include everything that I'd been wishing for and dreading. It blew me away.
So yeah, TTOBT is an utterly beautiful book and if you're looking for a good read mixed with Shakespeare and some good Irish folklore (how many things do you look for in a novel usually?), then try this.
I'm totally recommending it. ;)
So that's it for today! Do let me know what you think of these books. I'm so eager to hear your opinions.
Thank you for reading, and have a nice day! :)
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