Monday Reads: A YA Contemp, a YA Sci-fi, and a Pride & Prejudice Variation

It's been awhile since I've done a Monday Reads post, so I've got three books read belt since the last one.

First off, THE START OF ME AND YOU by Emery Lord. I loved Lord's first book, OPEN ROAD SUMMER, and I had big expectations for her second book. It totally lived up. It was a great story of friendship, getting over loss, love, and figuring out who you are. There were a few times when I felt there was a lot of inner dialogue that I didn't need, but otherwise, the book was lovely. It made me wish I'd lived in one place long enough to have the kind of steady and unbreakable friendships that the MC had.

 

Second was ALIAS THOMAS BENNET by Suzan Lauder. Suzan is a fellow author in the THEN COMES WINTER anthology. ALIAS THOMAS BENNET is a PRIDE AND PREJUDICE variation, something I'd never read before- I've read a lot of retellings, but no variations. It was fun to see the what-if: What if Mr. Bennet was a better father and husband? The language was on point- it felt like I was reading Austen herself. Until it came to some racy scenes which were a bit jarring for me personally because I just wasn't used to seeing Darcy and Elizabeth getting it on. There was also a rape in the very first chapter- because it was so soon and I didn't really know what was going on yet- I really worried that it was only there for shock value. But the author proved otherwise as I read on, so if that puts you off, don't let it stop you from reading to the end. I really enjoyed the book and it was a fun read.

 

Book three: THIS SHATTERED WORLD by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. TSW is the sequel to THESE BROKEN STARS, which I LOVED like crazy. Usually I don't like sequels as much as the first book, but I LOVED TSW just as much. I'm not even that big of a sci-fi fan, but these books are amazing and I hate that I have to wait awhile for book 3.

So that's what I read over the Christmas holidays. In total, I only read 62 books in 2015, which is over twenty less than I usually read. But that's okay. I swore to myself that I wouldn't go crazy trying to meet a reading goal and not enjoying the books in the process. Here's to the same kind of goal in 2016.