What I'm Reading

I take relaxing during the summertime very seriously. Of course I do work and ride my horse and see friends, but with the free time I do have I tend to curl up with a good book and get lost for hours. I've been known to read two books in one day! In fact, this summer I've read 39 books. It does help that I can speed read and that some of the books on that list were very beach read like, but I've narrowed it down to books that I can highly recommend.

  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I read Gone Girl after reading Gillian Flynn's two other books Dark Places and Sharp Objects earlier this year and absolutely falling in love with them. Gone Girl is the story of a husband who after his wife Amy goes missing, follows a trail of clues to find out the real reason behind his wife's disappearance while being the main suspect in the investigation. This book had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page and while the ending was a complete shock, I expected nothing less from Gillian Flynn who seems to be famous for those very shocking twists at the last second. Overall, I would give this book 4 1/2 stars out of 5 because although I did love this novel, I found it lacking in some areas that her other, less famous, novels had.

With This Heart by R.S Grey

With This Heart is a touching story of a girl who has been given a second chance at life and decides to not waste her opportunity by embarking on a cross-country road trip with a complete stranger. The stranger, Beckham, is charming and clever as well as absolutely gorgeous- so its no shock to the reader when Abby begins to fall for him. I laughed and I cried and absolutely did not want this story to end. With This Heart gets my full vote with 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Keeping with the road trip theme, I thought I'd also throw in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. This book is one of my all time favorites and this summer marks the fourth time I've read it. The story follows Amy, a girl whose entire world has been turned upside down after the death of her father and her journey across the country from California to Connecticut as she moves away from the bad memories. Terrified to drive, her mother employs the help of a friend's son to drive Amy across the country. They're supposed to arrive in Connecticut after minimal stops in three days, but Roger thinks they should see the country, so they embark on an "epic detour". This book is incredibly well written and the characters are developed perfectly. Another 5 out of 5 stars for this book. 

We Were Liars by e. lockhart

I just recently finished We Were Liars and jeez did it shock me. Its a relatively short novel but definitely packs a punch. The book follows the perfectly patrician and WASPY Sinclair family as they travel to their private island off the coast of Massachusetts for another summer posing as the perfect family. All that is threatened by what happened two years ago after the eldest grandchild, Cadence, is discovered lying on the beach half submerged in the waves with a head injury that causes to her forget the summer in its entirety and to become inflicted with terrible, constant migraines. This summer is her first summer back on the island and everything seems to be different. Also, no one will tell her what happened that night two years ago and why she was in the water during the middle of the night. I read this in one sitting while laying out at the beach and I can honestly say that by the end my head was spinning. I'm going to give this 4 out of 5 stars because while the shock factor was great, I felt as if the writing was a bit overly florid and parts of the novel could have been explained more for a more amazing impact. 

other honorable mentions for books include, 

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomns 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman 

Until next time,

xo Emily