It’s time for another Lucy Recommends… today! I love writing these recommendation posts so much because it means I get to talk about lots of my favourite books.
Today I’m going to be recommending diverse fiction. They’re diverse for lots of different reasons and I would highly recommend all of them.
Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow
Crow Moon is one of my favourite books of 2015 so far and it’s the perfect diverse read. One particularly diverse element that stands out is the religious diversity in it because Crow Moon is a dystopia set in a pagan community. It was incredibly realistic and broke away from the typical stereotype of paganism. I loved it!
Amy & Matthew by Cammie McGovern
One of my favourite diverse reads, Amy & Matthew (also known as Say What You Will in the US) is about a girl with cerebral palsy and a boy with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I loved the juxtaposition between the physical and mental health condition and it also has a rather interesting twist at the end!
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare always manages to create lots of amazing diverse characters in all of her books – racially, sexually and religiously. They all feel like your best friend!
The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell
When I read The Last Leaves Falling at the end of 2014, I knew it was something special. It follows the story of a Japanese boy called Sora who has a neurodegenerative disease and it discusses important issues such as assisted suicide and having dignity when dying, which are all very current issues.
Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Tanya talk about writing Follow Me Down and I think she writes diversely perfectly. A murder mystery novel set in Wiltshire, it’s about a Nigerian teenager called Adamma and is told in alternating timelines. I loved it!
Lucy Recommends… is a feature aiming to persuade you to read a particular book, genre or series.
Thank you to everyone who has said they’ve enjoyed this feature! I’m back with another instalment today and I’m going to be recommending books that are humorous and have made me laugh.
Weirdos VS Quimboids by Natasha Desborough
This has to be top of my list because it made me laugh so, so much. Natasha is naturally hilarious and I adored Weirdos VS. Quimboids. I cannot wait to read the sequel, Weirdos VS. Bumskulls.
Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse
C.J. Skuse never fails to make me laugh. All three of her books are wet-yourself funny and they also have really gorgeous covers. Whenever I’ve been reading them outside, I always get lots of comments and people want to know what they’re about. Rockoholic is definitely my favourite of C.J.’s because the idea is fabulous – what would happen if your favourite rockstar lived in your garage and refused to cooperate?
Have a Little Faith is British humour at its best. I’ve just read the sequel too and I loved it even more than the first book. Candy Harper has caught the essence of funny and unleashed it into this book. I got some very odd looks when reading it because I was laughing so hard! It’s the perfect book to cheer you up if you’re feeling sad, or to read if you want to cry with happy tears.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Even though City of Bones is a book about a race of people who fight demons, it is incredibly funny. Simon makes me laugh the most, and Jace’s tough demeanour means he often comes out with stuff that makes you chuckle. The books are awesome!
What are your favourite books that have made you laugh?
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! It is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
I’ve such a great haul this week with some brilliant books!
To Review:
Arclight by Josin L. McQuein- This one sounds really intriguing and I love the cover. Thank you, Electric Monkey!
Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn- I’ve heard some amazing things about this one and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone is on about. Thanks, Electric Monkey!
Library
It’s no secret that I have the best library ever and I couldn’t resist stopping by earlier this week.
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan- I’ve already read this and absolutely adored it. It’s one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read and I’m so glad I picked it up.
The Disappeared by C.J. Harper- This one sounds really good and it’s UKYA so I’ll read it whatever. 🙂
Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer- I’ve heard good things about this one and the premise sounds absolutely amazing.
Red Ink by Julie Mayhew- I saw Tracy’s tweets about this book and thought I’d give it a go myself because she’s Book Recommender Extraordinaire and it sounds so good. I also really love Hot Key’s books.
Given:
A massive thank you to Fiona from Eventide Reads for both of these pretties!
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan- This one sounds amazing and I’ve seen some really glowing reviews…Excuse the pun! The cover is gorgeous, too!
Across the Universe by Beth Revis- This is actually my second copy of this but I haven’t read it yet. I must do soon!
THANK YOU, FIONA!
Won:
Dare You To by Katie McGarry- I won this from Emma at Never Judge a Book by Its Cover. I read it back in January but am super pleased to have my own copy of the book. Thank you, Emma!
e-Books
Bought:
Keeping Her by Cora Carmack- I read this as soon as it was delivered to my Kindle and it was AMAZING. I love Cora’s books soooo much!
To review:
The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa- I haven’t read the last Iron Fey yet or the first Call of the Forgotten but this will hopefully kick me into reading it. Thank you, Harlequin Teen/Mira INK!
Shadowhunters and Downworlders, edited by Cassandra Clare- EEP! I’m a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s books so can’t wait to read this one! Thank you BenBella Books INC!
Rolling Dice by Beth Reekles- I liked The Kissing Booth and this one sounds better than that, so hopefully I’ll enjoy it! Thank you, Random House!
What did you get this week? Link me to your own book hauls!
The A to Z Book Survey was created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner. I love her blog so much (seriously, she’s one of my blogging idols) and she does the End of Year Book Survey every year which is such a good idea. I’ve seen this going round the blogosphere for a few days now and I thought I’d give it a go myself because it’s such fun.
Author you’ve read the most books from:
According to Goodreads, I’ve read the most books by Cassandra Clare (7), but I know that according to my bookshelf it is Meg Cabot. I’ll read anything written by both.
Best Sequel Ever:
I’m going to choose Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi for this one because I couldn’t put it down. I love her books so much and this one exceeded Shatter Me by miles.
Currently Reading:
At the time of writing this (yesterday), I was reading The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle, which I’m finding very difficult to get into. 🙁
Drink of Choice While Reading:
I only drink water so that’s going to have to be my answer. Although when I’m reading I usually forget to drink anything.
E–reader or Physical Book?
I’ll always love physical books, and nothing will beat them for me, but I am trying to read more e-books because they’re so much cheaper and it’s much easier to buy novels that aren’t so freely available here in the UK. This saves me having to buy a hardcover for a book I might not enjoy.
Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:
Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell! My ultimate book boyfriend. *swoon*
Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
Wings by Aprilynne Pike, because I was very close to DNF-ing it.
Hidden Gem Book:
The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did!
Important Moment in your Reading Life:
Starting my blog. I wouldn’t be the reader I am today without it, because blogging made me read more and look to other genres that weren’t familiar to me.
Just Finished:
Faking It by Cora Carmack which I LOVED. I love her books so much now!
Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
I don’t like reading vampire novels, but I will tolerate them. I do avoid time travel novels now because I just have a lot of problems with them.
Longest Book You’ve Read:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Major book hangover because of:
Shaman of Stonewylde by Kit Berry. It’s the last book in my favourite series
Number of Bookcases You Own:
I have two shelves that run the length of my wall, one that runs half and a big bookcase. And I still don’t have enough room…
One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Whenever I’m in a reading slump, I’ll pick it up and it always helps me get out of it.
Preferred Place To Read:
I can read just about anywhere, but I love reading in my chair which normally has things heaped up the sides and fall on me pretty regularly. I’d take a picture but it’s so messy the sight would probably horrify you.
Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:
“‘After all this time?’
‘Always,’ said Snape.”
It gets me every time!
Reading Regret:
This is a really hard one for me to answer because there’s nothing that I wish I had done differently. I’m still really young so I can’t say I wish I had done things years ago and I read so much anyway that I can usually fit in anything that I want to read. I’m going to leave this one blank for now.
Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):
The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I only have one more book to go!
Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Magus of Stonewylde by Kit Berry
Unapologetic Fangirl For:
Anything Rainbow Rowell, which is pretty ironic seeing as though one of her books is called Fangirl.
Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi! Words cannot explain how excited I am. 😀
Worst Bookish Habit:
I do buy a lot of books that end up sitting on my pile for months and months. My TBR pile takes up two shelves.
X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Your latest book purchase:
Faking It by Cora Carmack for my Kindle.
ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Losing It by Cora Carmack! I stayed up all night reading it!
Have you done this survey? Link me to your own posts if so!
(sorry for the lack of pictures. My post wouldn’t format them properly. :))
Inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and the Story Siren, the aim of Showcase Sunday is to highlight our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders each week. It is hosted by Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea.
I’ve decided to do Showcase Sunday again because I like the interactivity of it and talking to new bloggers is one of my favourite things to do.
I have a really good haul this week with some very exciting books featured. I can’t wait to read them all! Sorry for the bad quality of photo; the place where I usually take them is messy and I wanted to show the covers of some of the books.
Bought:
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Official Illustrated Movie Companion- I saw this and couldn’t think of buying anything else because it has the most gorgeous pictures and offers a real insight into the making of the film.
I’m really looking forward to reading it cover to cover.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Shadowhunter’s Guide- This has really good character descriptions and pictures of all the runes which will come in handy very soon!
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (film cover edition)- This came with a free rune charm which I’ve since added to a chain and wear as a necklace.
Brooklyn Girls: Pia by Gemma Burgess- This one sounds really good and I’ve heard good things about it. I’m really enjoying reading NA at the moment, too.
Gifted- Book Swap:
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead- I’ve read the first Vampire Academy book and am looking forward to starting this one. I really want to meet Adrian Ivashkov! Thank you, Hawwa!
e-Books:
Bought:
Losing It by Cora Carmack- Review coming soon! I loved this so, so much!
Faking It by Cora Carmack- This was just as good as Losing It and I really want more by Cora Carmack now!
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West- This was a really cute and sweet read that I really enjoyed.
To Review- Netgalley:
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman- This sounds so good and I’m so please I was accepted. Thank you, Disney Hyperion and Netgalley!
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes- Another one that sounds fab. Thank you, Disney Hyperion and Netgalley
Waiting on the Sidelines by Ginger Scott- Thanks to the author and Netgalley for this one! I’m really looking forward to starting it.
