Book recs

Dear babes and bears,

As a certified book lover who has been reading her whole life, I feel like I am able to properly recommend and review different books that I've read (for recreational purposes only, of course). I will go through and rate each book I have listed up above out of five stars. 

First we have the good 'ol romance novels. I'm pretty sure that at least seventy-five percent of the books that I have read in my lifetime were romance novels or included some form of romance. The first book I choose was The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I personally own the entirety of The Cruel Prince series (LOL) because I just love Holly Black's writing so much. What makes The Cruel Prince different from other romance books is that I feel like there is a lot more depth/plot to the story rather than other romance books were the two love interest meet eachother and immediately start making out on the next page. Through her writing, Holly Black creates a world filled with magic and fairy-like wonder. She also manages to include good world-building (which I love) and interesting political and social conflicts within the fae world. The Cruel Prince isn't just a romance between two characters, but a romance between the reader and the magical world of wonders that Black created. On top of that, The Cruel Prince is that classic enemies to lovers trope (that we all know and love), with an amazing slow burn and build-up to the relationship. In my opinion, I do think that considering it is a romance novel, the slow burn is a little too slow for me and at times the excessive world building and repetitiveness can get boring. That is why I rate this book four stars out of five.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is a beautifully written classic that pulls the reader in from the very first page. I love the writing and storytelling. There are so many plot twists and interesting things that happen throughout the book, you will never get bored. However, due to it being an older book, it can be a bit harder to read and get through, but I think that it is still totally worth it. If you want to start reading classics, I highly recommend starting with Jane Eyre, and though the romance age gap may be a bit questionable (it was a different time I guess), I still found Jane Eyre to be a soild read. This is why I rate this book three out of five stars.

Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is one of my favorite romance novels of all time. Though some say it is a rip-off of Twilight, I think that it is such a good book and the perfect fall read for all romantasy lovers. It follows the love story of a teenage girl name Nora and a boy named Patch (who is a fallen angel). I defintely think one needs to read the whole series in order to really get the full story but Hush, hush is a great standalone too. I rate this book five out of five stars.

Moving on, we have the "philosopher" books. I didn't really know what to classify these books as but I guess they are more so "social commentary/political" books. Each and every one of them is very well written and very good, but I only really want to talk about one of them, and that is The Handmaid's Tale. I won't lie, at first I was kind of bored with this book. I didn't find it all that interesting so I put it down for a couple of months before I decided to pick it back up again. I am so glad I made that decision though because The Handmaid's Tale is one of the best books I have ever read. The writing is perfect, the storytelling is authentic, and the characters feel real. Atwood certainly has a way with words because I felt completely immersed in this world, like I was living in it (lowkey kind of am). Every obstacle that the main character went through felt personal, this book somehow managed to trigger every hormone and emotion in my body, thats's how moving and alive Atwood's words were. I have to rate this book a perfect five out of five stars.

I am only going to talk about two more books, them being my top book from the last two categories I have yet to disscus: Attack on Titian and Stargirl. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli has to be my favorite book of all time. I know, I know, it's not very scholarly, but something about it triggers something in my brain--a sensation that leaves me wanting more and more. Though there is some romance in this book, I thought it would fit better into the nostalgia category. I rate this book five out of five stars.

I have no notes for Attack on Titian, it's great.

My top books from each category:

Romance - Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Philosopher - The Handmaid's Tale by Magaret Atwood

Anime - Attack on Titian by Hajime Isayama

Nostalgia - Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

xoxo,

Maria