Of those 22 books, 12 were physical books, 8 were ebooks, and 2 were audio books. 6 were re-reads, one was recommended to me, and the rest I found randomly. I enjoyed most of them, so I want to recommend my top 5 to you! (I read almost exclusively fiction, so, sorry to my non-fiction-loving friends.)
(images from goodreads.com, collage made by me)
-For Lovers of Historical Fiction and/or Romance-
1- It's been said before, but I'll say it again: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a masterpiece. And a mouthful. But if you haven't read it yet, you seriously should! It's written in letters from various characters, and it was so entertaining! I also learned a lot about WWII from a British perspective. This is also a classic case of the book being better than the movie.
2- Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal. This standalone novel is set during WWI in England. It follows a member of the Spirit Corps, a woman who is a medium and converses with the spirits of soldiers who have been killed to try to learn information that will help win the war. There is a murder mystery, lots of action, and some romance. The characters are real and complex, and the way that conversing with souls and reading the colors of auras was explained was fascinating. A smooth writing style wraps this up into a neat historical fantasy.
-For Lovers of Post-Apocalyptic or Dystopian Settings-
3- Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster was the book recommended to me by a friend. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world with Chinese cultural influences. It's also a very mild retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but there's a unique twist. Even though most of the book is the main characters traveling, it's not the stereotypical, boring traveling sequence; there is a lot of action and minimal downtime, which keeps the story moving along. There's also a budding love triangle, if you're into that. It's the first of a series, and I expect great things from the next books!
-For Lovers of Magic Systems and Worldbuilding-
4- A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, is the first of a trilogy. I read the third one this summer, so I thought I'd recommend the beginning! This series is set in London, in the past, but there are actually four Londons in alternate worlds that can only be reached by blood magic travel. The magic system is super well done, from the differences in abilities to the variations in the four Londons. I really cared about the characters by the end: they are imperfect but they try, which makes them relatable. As a content warning, this series is fairly violent and bloody (kind of a given, since it's about blood magic), and there's some profanity.
-For Lovers of Contemporary and Diverse Voices-
5- Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork is a timely story about a family living in Mexico City who find themselves on a mob's hit list after trying to fight against widespread corruption. It deals with big issues, like friendship, betrayal, poverty, crime, how far a person is willing to go to help their family, and reasons why people try to enter the U.S. illegally. It is a new perspective on immigration and asylum seeking that is important in today's world. The story is suspenseful and thought-provoking, and while it can get dark and gloomy at times, ends on an optimistic note.
If you do read any of these, let me know what you think! And if you have recommendations for me, please share! Even when we're busy with school, work, and other responsibilities, I hope we can all find time to read for fun, and that we can find books that expand our world view and feed our imagination.
Thanks for reading this post; now go read a book!
