What I Read and You Should Too

I’m happy to say I’m back on the reading wagon and have a good bunch of books to report on. I know it’s been a while but I’m hoping to be better about doing my What I Read posts every month.

But in between these you can catch my bookish updates on Instagram and Goodreads. These are just a few of my favorite books that I’ve read over the last bit. To see the complete list check out my Goodreads read list. I’m including amazon affiliate links for easy shopping if you see something that catches your eye!

These Broken Stars

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

Guys this was such a unique book. I loved the original setting and as twists and turns happened I was sucked into this crazy story that kept me guessing the whole way through. I speed through this since I just wanted to find out what was really going on. Not only was the plot super interesting but the characters are strong and only get stronger through out the book. If you’re a fan of science fiction with a good dose of romance definitely check this out.

Heist Society

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s history–and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

This is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a few years. When my workout buddy told me her bookclub was reading it I decided to read along. It’s pretty much the perfect Summer reading book. It’s quick easy and really enjoyable. The type of book you can take on the plan or to the beach read and be really into but then put down when you’ve got other vacationing to do. If the idea of art thieving teens sounds appealing to you pick it up!

When you’re a bookworm like me and you get a cramp in your reading style (i.e. adorable baby) you’re bound to have series enders pile up when you get back your reading time. So here are the series finales that I have FINALLY gotten to! I’m not going to include the synopses of these since most of the descriptions contain spoilers for those who haven’t read the earlier books in the series.

City of Heavenly Fire – This is the final book in The Moral Instruments series. I LOVE these books. Cassandra Clare is an amazing writer. If you haven’t read any of her books they are full of great characters, humor, awesome fighting and paranormal romance. If you don’t know what that means it just means magic and powers and that kind of thing. This final book did not disappoint. I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook (so great since Teddy really limits my paper book reading time). I can’t say enough good things about this book (well all her books).

Champion – The conclusion of the Legend series. This is another great dystopian series. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games and Divergent these are great books to check out. This isn’t the standard ending, in fact I really could not predict this ending and that made it perfect. This was such a great end to a wonderful series. I also listened to the audiobook of this one and I highly recommend it!

Ignite Me – The third and last book in the Shatter Me series which is kind of a dystopian meets Xmen kind of craziness. This is another one with great twists and turns that I really loved. If you like good strong heroines with thoughtful relationships this is a good one for you. Plus kids with powers, I can’t get enough of fighting with kids with powers. And you guessed it I listened to this one and it was one of my favorite performances recently if you get the chance definitely check out the audiobook.

The One – The Selection books are sometimes described and The Bachelor meets dystopian. Even though I am so not a Bachelor fan I quickly got sucked into this series and this last book in the series was a happy warm fuzzy ending, just what I wanted from this series. It’s fun and more complicated than you’d expect. Think romance, a castle, a prince, political drama, and of course a competition that ends in marriage. I read the first book and listened to the second and this last one and I recommend the audioversion if you like a good easy audiobook!