I read some good books this month.  I’ve found that I’ve been trying to choose more popular titles so I can see what everyone is talking about.  If people are raving about something, I have to know why!  That brings me to the first book I read…

Me Before You is by British author Jojo Moyes.  The story is about Will and Louisa, Will lost his zest for life after a terrible accident, and Louisa is hired to be his caretaker.  These two couldn’t be more opposite and in the course of their developing friendship, they change each other’s lives.  I will have to warn you that the cover of this book doesn’t do it justice.  This isn’t a love story, it’s not lighthearted or a fun read like the cover suggests.  Me Before You tackles very sensitive subject matter, I won’t spoil it for you but to say that it will definitely pull at your heartstrings and might possibly have you ugly crying by the end!  I liked this book, I like anything that has me reading with accents in my head and saying things like “arse, bugger, bloody hell, cheerio and wanker!”  What I loved most about this book were the lessons: Live boldly, push yourself, don’t settle!  This book was so popular it was made into a movie that cast none other than Emilia Clarke, AKA The Mother of Dragons from one of my favorite television shows, Game of Thrones.

After reading that, I needed something that wasn’t so heavy…

I went for bestselling author Mary Kubica’s “Pretty Baby,”  a follow up to her first successful title “The Good Girl.”  This psychological thriller is about a chance encounter between a woman who helps a young homeless girl with a baby, and the situation spirals out of control.  Because I’ve read thousands of books, I was able to predict the ending.  I liked the complex characters and writing style, the story unraveled too slowly for me, but this was still a very well written story with a tightly knit plot.

This is how I read nowadays:

I’ve only read school books for the better part of three years, so I’ve gotten efficient at skimming through chapters and scanning main points, I have such a difficult time concentrating.  I wear ear protection and drown out the sound around me! 🙂

The third novel I read was another new author to me, Cara Buckley.  In “The Things That Keep Us Here,” Buckley delves into a post pandemic world, and tells the story of a family’s plight to survive after the Bird Flu slowly wipes out the population.   This book was thought provoking, and it makes me wonder what I would do in those real situations of fear and paranoia.  I’ve read many kinds of apocalypse themed novels and this had potential to be a great read, it wasn’t my favorite but many might find it interesting and it’s certainly is worth reading!

The last, and my favorite for last month is “The Royal We.”

If you like the Royal Family, you’ll be delighted with this Wills and Kate fan fiction! This was a light and easy, funny read (and I got to read in a British accent again!). The Royal We is about an American college girl that becomes an exchange student at Oxford, befriends and falls in love with the heir to the British throne.  The supporting characters are much like their real life counterparts, they are well developed and the story isn’t a far stretch from what life would be like, or maybe what life is like for Wills and Kate, or other famous celebrities.  This is like Princess Diaries reimagined, but for adults.  Since I’m a fan of pop culture and a lover of the Royals, I enjoyed this book.  Although, if I may recommend a similar book, I read Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase a couple of years ago and liked that one much better:

I’m taking book recommendations!  What are you reading ?