What I've been Reading Pt. 2

I'm back again with another book post! As I mentioned before, I've been so backed up with work, that I'm not writing book reviews much anymore, but that doesn't mean that I stopped reading! I read just as much as before! Today I wanted to go through all the hard copies of books I've read (yes, that means I've read more than this, but on the Kindle and IBooks app). 

If you don't want to read my thoughts on the books, the image below can show you all the books I've read in the past few months. If you are interested in what I have to say about them, keep on reading!

I'm going to go from the books I've read most recently, to the ones I've read months ago. I know I should probably go in the order I read them, but I'm much more excited about the books I've read lately.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Now if you guys follow me on Instagram (shameless plug, I'm at heyyitsmelina), you would know I actually have a highlights of all the books I've read in 2018. I actually read this book when I was on vacation. It's a suspense/mystery book, about a woman, Rachel, who's an alcoholic. She rides the train past her old house, where her ex-husband still lives in with his mistress new wife, every day. While she's drinking, she has the tendency to black out. During one of her blackouts, someone goes missing. She feels like she remembers something that happened that night, but she can't remember what. It's an amazing read and I think you guys should read it! You can get the book (US:) here or (UK:) here!

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This book is amazing. It took me a long time to start reading it because of the fact that I knew it was supposed to be sad. I had to mentally prepare myself for the sadness. It didn't really help though, I was still sobbing like a baby by the end of it. The book is about two high school students, Violet and Finch. Both of them are fighting with their inner demons. Violet, with the death of her sister, and Finch, with these moments where he's "alseep". One day Finch saves Violet's life, and from then on out, they have a connection. They start to work on a school project together and a beautiful friendship starts. This book made me feel so many emotions, and was amazingly written. I truly recommend. If you want to read it you can (US) here or (UK) here.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

This is the third time I've read this book. That should tell you a lot. I find comfort in rereading certain books. This just so happens to be one of them. I don't exactly know why. The book is about a girl named Hadley who has to fly to London to go to her father's wedding. The punchline? She hasn't seen him since he left her mother, thus never seeing his soon-to-be wife. While at JFK airport, she meets Oliver, also on his way to London. I don't want to give anything away, but I do want to say that this book is a cliche among other things, but for whatever reason it spoke to me. I really enjoyed this book, and if you read it, I hope you do too! You can get a copy (US) here or (UK) here.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This book was actually a recommendation by Marie! She said that one of the character's from this series (there are three books to the series) is one of her favorites, and I took her word for it. I ended up starting from the beginning of the series (the books are stand-alone). I fell in love with Paris because of this book. The books is about a girl named Anna, who transfers to this exclusive boarding school in Paris. There she befriends a group of kids, one of those being Étienne. It's a cute story that's well written. I love the fact that you get to know Paris while she is. I really enjoyed this story and think you should get this one too! You can get it (US) here or (UK) here.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

This was the second book in the series. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I like Anna and the French Kiss, but maybe it's because I had really high expectations? I think it had more to do with the fact I don't really connect with Lola as an individual. She just thinks about things differently than I do. I don't think she was a badly developed character or anything, and maybe you will enjoy her, but I loved Anna's story way more. I still think you should check it out, because Anna and Étienne make appearances throughout the novel (which I was living for). You can get it (US) here or (UK) here.

Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

Lauren is one of those authors that while I usually don't like her books, I still keep coming back to her. Her characters often lack depth and don't have almost any character development throughout stories. This book wasn't terrible. It wasn't great by any standards, but it definitely wasn't her worst novel. I don't really want to talk about it too much, I don't think this book is worth reading. I'm not even going to link it for you guys.

The Start of Me & You by Emery Lord

Now this was a book I could get behind. The story follows Paige, the girl who's boyfriend died. Paige was dating a boy for about a month and a half when he died. Now everyone knows her as that. She doesn't know how to feel about it. While she liked him a lot, she didn't know him enough. After two years of grieving, she's back to high school with some goals. First, to date her lifelong high school crush, and second to join a club. As we all know, things never go to plan. I suggest you read this book to find out what happens next. You can get a copy of this (US) here or (UK) here!

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

I originally had to read this book when I was in high school. I really enjoyed it then, and decided to buy my own copy. It sat on my bookshelf for years, until I finally decided to reread it. I read it again recently, and I have to say that this book was even better now in my eyes than when I was in high school. The story follows Charlie, a mentally disabled person who goes under a test to make him intelligent. At first you see small improvements by his styles of writing (the book is in journal entries). It's incredible to see all that he achieves in a small span of time. While he was being tested, a mouse by the name of Algernon was also going through the same test. I don't want to spoil it, but it's a really short book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can buy it (US) here or (UK) here.

Blonde Ambition (An A-List Novel) by Zoey Dean

This is the third book to the A-List series. The book was just as good as the other ones. I can't really link you to this book, because it seems that they do not print them anymore. You can check the amazon section for used copies! You definitely have to start with the first one in the series, but they're quick and easy reads that are pretty enjoyable. I actually found copies, you can get it (US) here or (UK) here!

Girl in Pieces by  Kathleen Glasgow [trigger warning]

From reading the back of the book, I knew this book was going to tear me up. Boy was I right. The story follows Charlotte Davis. A broken 17-year-old girl. She's found on the streets, almost freezing to death. She ends up in a hospital, where they see all the cuts, everywhere. After patching her up, they take her to a mental home. They ask her questions, but she never speaks. Not to anyone. In this book, you accompany Charlotte on her road to recovery and what happens after she leaves the facility. Things aren't rainbows and butterflies when she gets out, but when is life ever that simple? This book was very brutal, very real, very...everything. At certain points it was tough to get through, but it was an incredible read. If you want to get a copy of this book, you can get it (US) here or (UK) here.

Street Pharm and Takedown by Van Diepen

I put both of these books in one category, because I don't want to talk about them too much. I was in Barnes & Noble one day and was intrigued by the back of the book and the covers. Of course, I made the newbie mistake of not reading the first chapter before purchasing them. I didn't like the author's writing style. It just wasn't for me. Who knows? You might like it though! If you want to give it a try, let me know what you think.

Crash into you by Katie McGarry

This is the second book of the series, but they can be read stand alone. I'm pretty suer I actually liked this one better than the first in the series? Can't really remember. I really like the way Katie writes, and she writes about people who have been broken. The story follows two characters Rachel and Isaiah. If you follow Isaiah in his other books, you would know that he has had a rough past. Falling in love with girls who want nothing to do with him, deadbeat parents, and anything else you can think of. The only thing he has are friends he can call his family. One day he meets Rachel, and knows from the moment he meets her, that the last thing he needs to do is get involved with a rich girl. The story has loads of ups and downs, but I loved every second of it. As I mentioned before Katie is an amazing writer. This is book you should definitely get! You can get a copy of it (US) here or (UK) here.

I know that this post was long, I know, I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it! I promise I'll do these posts more frequently so they don't end up super long like this one. If you want to read the first one in this series you can here.

Have a wonderful day/night. Sending you all love, strength, and positivity.

-Melina xxx

** Links used may be affiliated.This doesn’t effect at all what I promote, it simply means if you choose to purchase through the link, I get a small thank you from the retailer for sending you their way. This won’t cost you any more money, and won’t affect your shopping experience. If you’re not comfortable with this, just google the item instead xx