All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven -
I have had this on my shelf for the longest time but it is so crazy hyped that it put me off reading it, but I finally picked it up. This follows a boy and girl who meet on the ledge of the school bell tower and then become connected through a school project. People seem to either love this book or hate it, but I seem to be somewhere in the middle. I found the characters to be pretty bland, as though Jennifer Niven tried so hard to make the characters quirky that it they became nothing more than quirks. I thought the story was interesting and enjoyed getting both perspectives, though I didn't feel the mental health rep was entirely accurate. I thought the ending was important and impactful, but the book as a whole didn't blow me away. I also got very strong Eleanor and Park vibes while reading this and I really didn't enjoy that book.
Rating: 3/5
The Wrong Side Of Kai by Estelle Maskame -
Estelle Maskame's DIMILY series is one of my all time favourite series', so this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. It follows a girl who has an explicit video of her made public and teams up with the new boy in school to get revenge. I was so disappointed that I didn't love this as much as I wanted to. I liked the idea of this, I love a revenge plot, but this seemed very rushed and quite predictable. As usual, Estelle Maskame created great characters, who I really enjoyed getting to know, and I really loved that Vanessa wasn't the typical 'good girl' who couldn't possibly ever have sex with anyone, she was a real teenage girl. I also thought there was a great message regarding slut shaming and sharing explicit content. Overall, I liked this but not as much as I had hoped to.
Rating: 3/5
How To Love by Katie Cotugno -
This clearly made an impact as I'm honestly struggling to remember much about this book. I remember it following a girl both before and after becoming a teenage mother; the developing relationship between her and her childhood family friend, and her dealing with him returning after disappearing for some time. I remember enjoying the alternating before and after perspectives, but I didn't love the characters. I thought the story was okay, it was interesting enough, but the characters took away slightly from my enjoyment of the story. This wasn't a bad book, it was just pretty forgettable.
Rating: 3/5
Postscript by Cecelia Ahern -
Finally something to break up the run of 3 star reads! This is the sequel to the debut novel of one of my favourite authors, Cecelia Ahern's PS I Love You. Despite being such a popular book, the PS I Love You isn't one of my favourite novels of hers. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. The sequel, however, was a different story. Postscript follows Holly seven years after her husband Gerry died and she is approached by a group inspired by Gerry's letters to help them create their own versions. I wasn't sure what to expect from this but I absolutely adored it. I loved revisiting Holly and her family and seeing how things have changed for them all in the years since the first book ended. Even more than that, I really enjoyed meeting new characters and experiencing their stories. This story was completely heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time, and approached death and grief in an entirely unique way. I thought Holly's struggles throughout the book were very real and something many in similar situations may be able to relate to. I really did absolutely adore this book.
Rating: 5/5
Layover by Amy Andelson & Emily Meyer -
This was my biggest disappointment of the past couple of months. It follows three step-siblings who decide, during a layover in LA on the way to a family vacation, to run away in response to finding out their parents are getting divorced. The two oldest step-siblings also have feelings for each other. This was one of the most ridiculous books I have read in a while. The characters are pretty much unbearable and the authors liked to make it very clear that Flynn, one of our main characters, was not like other girls. Despite the annoying characters, the plot, while completely ridiculous and not at all realistic, was pretty fun. There was even a trip to Disneyland, so that was fun to read. The romance between the step-siblings was kind of unnecessary and seemed like an afterthought that was just added for an extra little bit of drama. There was some anxiety rep, specifically anxiety in younger people, which I thought was good to include and, at least from my personal experience, was a fairly accurate representation. This was definitely a disappointing read.
Rating: 2/5
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston -
I'm so sad to say this was another slightly disappointing read. I did enjoy it, but nowhere near as much as I expected to given the hype surrounding it. This follows the son of the American president and a British Prince who hate each other but have to stage a friendship, which of course leads to romance. There was nothing I disliked about this book, it was a good story with good characters that I enjoyed reading, but it didn't blow me away. I really liked all of the characters, although I did find it hard to keep track of who was who, and really enjoyed the romance. I did wish there was more of a build up to the romance, it seemed to all happen very fast in the beginning of the book. I didn't find the American politics all that interesting, a lot of it went over my head, and did find there was a few incorrect British stereotypes thrown in, but neither ruined my enjoyment. I think the reason I didn't love this book was just the fact that I got bored for middle of the book. I felt it was longer than it needed to be, and while I enjoyed the beginning and really loved the end, the middle section was just a bit dull. There were also so many really great messages throughout the book. Overall, I did enjoy this book but it was way overhyped and fell flat for me.
Rating: 3/5
It wasn't the best reading month in terms of quality, everything was pretty average other than my one 5 star, but I'm just glad to be reading anything.
Have you been reading anything great recently?
Sophie :)
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