Hey loves, onto our first official book review of my recent reads! Absolutely adored three and liked all the others; overall some great books! I have other book reviews here, but onto the books I read. Giving a slight synopsis and my overall feelings!
1984 by George Orwell: 5/5 ⭐️
Can I just say... wow. George Orwell is seen to be a classic legend in the book world and I totally see why now. This was my first read by him and it was mind bogging how relevant and important his message is to this day! 1984 is ab0ut this communistic, government-controlled society and how the everyday citizens live. We follow Winston Smith as he confronts the anti-party thoughts in his head and begins to develop a want to rebel. How and will he rebel is the question; a definite recommendation to everyone, mild sexual scenes so be aware of that, but honestly a great read. It might start quite slow, but around the 60% mark, the novel starts to really pick up and I was absolutely shattered by the end. If you can't get into political classics, I recommend picking up the audiobook version as I did this and I ended up finishing the book so much quicker because I just couldn't put it down.
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer: First book 5/5 ⭐️; total series 3.5/5⭐️
Have I gone 18 years of my life not reading Twilight, yes. Was I totally late to the series, yes. But, did I still enjoy reading it, yes. If ya'll don't know, the Twilight Saga follows Isabella Swan as she moves to the small, rainy town of Forks and realizes there might be more to this town than just boring, old high school. In Forks, she meets the mysterious and compelling Edward Cullen, who she falls head-over-heels for and figures out he is a vampire. Throughout the entire series you get to follow Bella and Edward as they face several obstacles to remain by each others side, fighting between desire and danger to keep each other safe. Overall, it's a teen classic and I actually had a great time reading the series, though I do not understand Team Jacob at all, still so upset by Jacob's actions in Eclipse. Definitely Team Edward over here! My favorite book in the series has to be the first book, Twilight.
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons: 5/5 ⭐️
A wartime romance novel that will keep you hooked from start to finish. Got a recommendation from my mom to read this one and boy was it amazing. The Bronze Horseman takes place in Russia at the start and during WWII, we follow Tatiana as she meets a Russian solider named Alexander and learns what war time really means for her life and the live's of the people she loves. I truly fell in love with Tatiana's character because of how selfless she is and how much love she has for others (she reminds me of my mom) and her love story is one to die for. This novel is definitely a 5 out of 5 stars; already started book 2: Tatiana and Alexander! Just like book one, it's taking a bit longer to get through the first 10% of the novel, but once I'm hooked, it will very hard to put it down!
The Deal by Elle Kennedy: 4/5 ⭐️
Ok so this one was not on my tbr until very recently, hype train got to me. Gotta say not upset that it did as The Deal was actually quite enjoyable. This first book in the Off-Campus series focuses on Hannah and Garret, both of whom attend Briar U University and take the Psychology course with a very difficult professor. When Hannah is one of the only students in class who doesn't fail the exam, Garret rushes to ask her to tutor him as without a passing grade, he will lose his position in the hockey team (which is what this university is known for). As time passes, Hannah and Garret's relationship go from strictly academically-platonic to maybe more. Warning this book is a bit spicy in the sexual scenes, though I did not find it too much to start disliking the novel. Pretty sure I might continue with the series (each book follows a different boy on the hockey team).
The Call by Peadar O' Guilian: 3/5 ⭐️
Definitely a novel with a cool premise and this synopsis made it a late add to my reading list. I listened to the audiobook version on my phone and it was a chilling experience, though it would have been an even better physical read. Taking place in Ireland, this society has banished faire and these creatures known as Sidhe are now fighting back by taking teenagers to their horrid land for only 3 minutes in the human world. However, time runs differently in the Gray lands and teens must live for a whole day by running/fighting to survive. They are trained at specific academies on how to survive their call because even a touch by a Sidhe will leave disastrous and deformed results. We follow our main character Nessa who struggles with a leg disability; what makes this novel even cooler is that the world building of the Gray Lands occur throughout the pov's of those friends who Nessa sees get called. The ending was lackluster for me but the novel was enjoyable.
Next on the reading list is definitely as mentioned Tatiana and Alexander and I've been also wanting to pick up Lady Midnight, the first book in the Dark Artifices series. Shadowhunters is one of my fave series so I think it's time to continue with the new characters. Also been hearing so much about Colleen Hoover, the hype train has been going mad for her novels.
Happy reading my loves; let me know of any recent reads you guys loved, hated, felt feels for in the comments below!💕