What am I reading?
Just these adorable, addictive YA books by Stephanie Perkins
Jamie has been telling me forever to read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and I finally did. GAH- I love you Anna and your French story.
Reason #1 why I love this book: I’ve never wanted to go to Paris. It scares me. I know no French, and the French seem rude. But NOW I’m totally going. I mean, I want to be a 17 year old and meet a handsome English boy to crush on while there, but I want to go nonetheless.
This book will make you regret that decision to not study abroad in college. YOU COULD’VE HAD A FRENCH KISS. Not in some frat house but in FRANCE.
Reason #2 that I love this book: There’s a companion book! It’s called Lola and the boy Next Door and is equally adorable (although I may prefer the first book because it takes place in Europe) and tells the story of a girl who was in love with her neighbor who moved away… and came back. It’s a story of two kids in love trying to stay away from each other… and doing a very terrible job at it.
Lola has purple hair and his name is Cricket. THE BEST
These are YA books and tell the stories of first love, loss of innocence (but not heavy-YA sex like I hinted* at enjoying from time to time. I PROMISE I’ll write my recommendation post for YA book sex soon!) and totally make me wish I could do my teen years all over ago. Oh the different choices I’d make… Oh, and Stephanie isn’t done writing these stories- a 3rd compaion book Isla and the Happily Ever After comes out next year and takes us BACK to Paris with a character we meet in book #1. CANNOT WAIT!
*Ha- hinted!
The Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi
Why why WHYYY haven’t we talked about this series on TN yet? Shatter Me Is the first of 3 books (and 2 novellas!) by Tahereh Mafi who is 1/2 of the sickenly adorable couple Tahereh-Ransom (She married fellow YA author Ransom Riggs (he wrote Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) which follows Juliette, a 17 year old girl with a lethal touch. Because of this lethal touch Juliette has spent much of her life alone, untouched and unloved until, dun dun dunnnn a guy shows up who doesn’t feel pain when she touches him. OF COURSE. And it’s amazing.
Oh also, Juliette is kinda a badass super hero
Shatter Me is yet another Dystopian YA novel, but what I love about the story is how real Tahereh makes Juliette seem. Her writing is such that you FEEL Juliette’s anxiety. She uses interesting phrasing and poetic prose that puts you in the mind of Juliette. When I was reading I felt my heart racing and the excitement building, plus my hormones were racing as she experiences touch for the first time.
Another fabulous aspect of this series is that there’s a love triangle where you’re REALLY torn. I HATE love triangles. They always ruin the perfect relationship that has been happening for awhile. But when they work- and by work I mean- you can’t choose between the guys- they work. And it works in Unravel Me, the second in the Shatter Me series. I have NO idea who I like more. Is it her long-time love- the one she’s “Destined” to be with? Or do I want Juliette to end up with the bad boy who is completely wrong, yet oh so right for her?
Gah! That part ^^ (also is that Theo James?)
There is still one novella (Fracture Me told from guys #1’s perspective out TOMORROW!) and 1 more novel (Ignite Me) left in the series so time will tell. I love the Shatter Me series almost as much as I love this Selfie I took with Tahereh Mafi a few weeks ago in the desert on the shoot of the Ignite Me Book trailer which is another story for another time:
So that’s what I’m reading- though I have to confess… I can’t stop thinking about Sarah MacLean’s Regency romance books I read. I’ve read a few others per your suggestions and so far NOTHING has captured me like her books have. PLEASE. HELP. What is exactly like Sarah MacLean except not by her?
What are you reading?
