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Young Adult Fiction 

We Were Liars 

Radio Silence 

They both Die at the End

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Fantasy 

Six of Crows Duology 

The Mortal Instruments 

The Infernal Devices 

The Dark Artifices 

The Folk of the Air

King of Scars

Rule of Wolves

Ninth House

Hell Bent

Thriller 

In 27 Days 

The Dead and The Dark 

Verity

Romance 

Red, White & Royal Blue 

You Deserve Each Other 

November 9

Today Tonight Tomorrow

ASAP

Murder Mystery

Good Girl’s Guide Series

One of Us is Lying

Historical Fiction

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Malibu Rising

Suspense 

Wilder Girls 

Domestic Fiction

Crazy Rich Asians

Feminism 

Kim Jiyoung, born 1982

Horror

Mexican Gothic

Science Fiction

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files 01)

Gemina (The Illuminae Files 02)

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files 03)

Time Travel Fiction

Before the coffee gets cold

Contemporary fiction

Normal People

Drama

The Houseplant

Poetry

Author: Axie Oh

Genre: Romance

Sori has worked her whole life as a K-pop idol trainee but with her controlling mother and demanding father, and pressure for a perfect image to keep has been taking a toll on her. With the thoughts of backing out of her career, there are some other thoughts that are keeping her at trouble – her ex-boyfriend, who is a lead vocalist and dancer of rising K-pop band and is forbidden from dating. With her journey to find her true passion, her true self and her happiness, will she take another chance at love? Or her love will face the same fate as it had before? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

 I had one constant thought throughout the book and that is that it is a poorly placed plot and poorly developed characters. The story was good and it had potential, however I think a little more effort should have been put in building one. To summarise this, it a disappointing one.

Plot:

I had really no idea what was going on with the plot, it was so rushed and left incomplete at different places, that I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Even the plot twist, felt so unnecessary I didn’t even think that it was a plot twist in the first place, I had guessed it right from the start. Like I said earlier more efforts were needed. Sori and Nathaniel are exes who broke up for a reason and now meet after two years still having feelings for each other. What made zero sense to me was how they both went to being together again, ignoring the reason they broke up in the first place and the fact that reason still exists. One of the sub-plots mentioned that Sori had a strained relationship with her mother, which in no way could be seen in her actions or conversations with her mother in the same scene. Plots needs to not just explained in words but to be conveyed in actions of the characters as well. That was not captured well.

Characters:

Sori is the main protagonist and narrator of the plot. I swear she spent her whole book obsessed over only one thing – her ex Nathenial. I understood that this is a Romance book but man can we see more character aspect to her than being ex-girlfriend of a k-pop star?  It also seemed like she was a sweet and kind girl who played a façade of mean and sexy model in front of camera and audience. Now though this is a good characterization, I was not able to catch it until the end of the book with just one line that mentioned this fact. Throughout the book Sori was a sweet, kind girl, trying to help everybody out. I would have liked if such scenes were better created where we could see such dual personality take action.

Also, Sori was a very inconsistent character. The number of times she had did some thing in one scene and done the opposite in the next made my head spin. The mixed signals that she has given Nathaniel throughout the book, I m sure that character would have gotten a whiplash.

Nathaniel seemed like a character that had potential but I could not get him considering Sori was the narrator of the story. Though he had no such part of the story other than playing the part of green-flag boyfriend. Again, it seemed like he is a delinquent and I still couldn’t get how and when.

Author: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Dark Fantasy

After being determined and fighting her way to stay at Yale, there is another thing that Alex Stern is hell bent at – to save Darlington. From hell. Seems like a plan, right? Only there’s a catch, or a few of them. Alex and Dawes are banned from saving Darlington by the Lethe House, they have to go to literal hell and get him back, they need more people to be able to enter hell, they don’t know how to enter hell. If that wasn’t enough there are murders of the faculty members which seems very related to the current tasks they have at hand. Will Alex be able to survive Yale and save the Gentlemen of the Lethe? Or she will have to give up on either of the one? Will Darlington forgive her when he is back? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

Before I could end the first book, I immediately ordered this one, because I knew there is no way I will be able to wait to read the next one. This book, this story, the characters… they are everything to me. If I could just travel in the future and read the next book, I swear I would do it. Honestly, I feel this book needs more hype. Like Shadow and Bone kind of hype. I need more people to talk about this one man…

Plot:

“We’re coming for you, Darlington”

In the last book, we witnessed Alex almost dying in order to save her future at the Yale and Lethe House. However, in this one we see her being obsessed with getting Darlington back, at any cost. Even her future at the Lethe House. Which honestly, surprised me, coz boy, did she not just claw her way in. Although it seems simple to get Darlington back, but there are so many things that are happening that it seems crazy. I think this series like the Crows is following the trope of found family as could see that happening. With the power dynamics at the Yale societies and Lethe being at play, we also see Alex struggling under the burden of her own secrets. We also dig deeper into the past of Alex and Darlington and how that has shaped them right now. The book like it promises is filled with lot of magic, murder, power dynamics and pure trauma.

Characters:

“This is my home, and nothing will take it from me.”

Alex continues to be awesome in this book and it shows. One of the most remarkable qualities in Alex that I noticed is her loyalty to her people, which I can’t emphasize enough how much I admire it in her. This book you will notice her unwavering efforts in getting Darlington back, knowing it will cost her the future. It is clearly visible how hard this is on her but she will do that for him. I mean at this point, if she doesn’t realize how much she likes this guy, I don’t know what will. This book you will also notice her make more friends apart from her Yale group i.e. Dawes and Turner. There is still a lot of traumas that Alex has not processed, which I look forward to in the next one. Also, we will see Alex understand more about being a wheelwalker and how it impacts her powers. I think with her powers, we are just getting started.

“Galaxy Stern, I have been crying out to you from the start”

Darlington…the man that you are. I want to know is there anyone who doesn’t like him? I genuinely think that is not possible. One thing that I have always loved about Leigh’s man in the books are that they are pure simps. And boy this one is surely one of top ones, somewhere near to Kaz and Nikolai. One of the concepts that has been teased a lot in this book, is that how monstrous the Gentleman of the Lethe can be. Though we see the hint of it from the conversations between the Grays, how he becomes in hell, I hope more of this will be explored in the next book. What I like about Darlington is that with every grey character we see how they are good people who became bad with circumstances and motives, here we see him who has hints of darkness or maybe even more who chooses to hide it under the cover of his good and pure side, not coz of any underlying bad intentions but just because he wants to be good. As simple as that. It will be interesting to see how simple it will be for him in the future.

In this one, we will more of Dawes being badass, there is more of Turner being a good friend to Alex, and there lot more creatures hinted at which might get explored more eventually.

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid Genre: Historical Fiction

It was the night of the annual legendary Riva party, and everyone who knew the Riva siblings – children of world-famous Mick Riva were invited. The party had an infamous reputation of being wild, but the Riva siblings had no idea of how wild and out of control their party was going to get. Cheating, scandals, alcohol, confessions, make out, sex and huge crowd gathering fights are all everyone expects from a party but what will happen when secrets will be revealed and lives of the Riva’s will change forever. Hit the clock, get the invitation and attend end-of-summer party to find out…

My thoughts:

This is my second time Taylor Jenkins Reid read and well I think the book turned out to be pretty good. At first, I had a hard time committing to the book but then as the story progressed it started to get interesting. There’s one thing that wished was included in the book – someone punching Mick in the face. He deserved it.

Plot:

“Because, just as it is in Malibu’s nature to burn, so was it in one particular person’s nature to set fire and walk away.”

The plot of the book was pretty decent, there were lot of stories going on with one revolving around each of the Rivas. What I have noticed in the plot is how in a way they have reflected the love story of Mick and June into the love lives of each of their children, depicting the classic example of ‘History repeats itself’ and how interestingly each of them responds to these situations in either similar or contrasting manner as compared to their parents.

Characters:

“But to June, it was, always and forever, a romance”

June Riva seemed like a sweet, loving and naïve woman who believed to much in love, only to be crushed by it so badly. I would have loved to witness, June having a strong character growth where she becomes her own person but I guess you will get to catch that in Nina’s character. There were times where I wanted to scream at her – grow a backbone woman but alas, that never happened.

“He could be a good man. He meant to be a good man”

Mick Riva is a scum of this earth and that’s it he doesn’t deserve any more explanation to his character. He is definitely not the naïve Mick that we thought he was in ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’. His character symbolises how much a person can mess up even after having audacity to ask for multiple chances.

“Throughout it all, this grace had always saved her”

Nina Riva the eldest daughter of Mick and June is a surfer and a supermodel. She has been an active parent of all her younger siblings ever since her mother died. Nina is known to put the needs of others above hers and you can notice in this book of how exhausting it is getting for her. This quality she has been gifted from her mother, however unlike her, Nina does have a backbone or atleast she managed to get it by the end.

Author: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Dark Fantasy

Imagine being thrust into the world of magic and getting to attend one of the world’s most elite universities. Sounds like a dream come true right? But Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern knows that nothing comes for free and this opportunity sure hasn’t but she will not let this slip away from her hands. At any cost.

But when there is a murder in the campus, it forces Alex to question whether magic is made for her and whether all of this is worth it. This raises a question – will she be able to survive in this world? Will she be able to navigate her way amongst dark spells, new responsibilities, old secrets, shady societies, untrustworthy authorities and growing powers? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

The crow series have been one of my all-time favorites. Hence when I saw this book from Leigh Bardugo, I knew I have to read it and let me tell it did not disappoint. As soon as I started reading it, I could not put it down. Tbh this book has everything – a gripping story, badass characters, magic, mystery and a fitting plot twist.

One thing I loved in this book as compared to other fantasy books is that here magic has consequences. When I say consequences, it doesn’t mean just ones where the characters somehow manage to find a loophole and get out of it. Here characters had to face some gruesome and cruel situations for their actions.

If this is not enough to convince you guys to read this book then I hope it will after the end of this.  

Plot:

“If you were going to hell together, murder seemed like a good place to start”

Here you will witness an unlikely plot where the protagonist is already aware of her powers, she doesn't need to learn how to use them; she needs to learn how to protect herself from them. The plot is fresh, dark and intense. The plot revolves around our protogonist trying to find a balance between her truth and her lies, the magical world and normal world, her magical duties and her academics, maintain her true self and her facade. While she juggles around all of this, we see politics, dirty work of the societies, Yale campus, murder and everything in between.

What I liked about the plot is that it consists of lots of elements and this could have easily seemed cluttered but the way Leigh has beautifully weaved the plot, it looks effortless and we'll put together.

Characters:  

“I let you die. To save myself, I let you die”

Alex is strong, beautiful and a badass. She is traumatized because of her past and the bad decisions in her life but is adamant to turn her life around. Her life at Yale gives her the clean slate to do so but her investigation with murder on campus and her secrets can put this life at jeopardy. One of the qualities I liked about Alex is how fiercely loyal she is to her people. She will protect them and stick for them no matter what. There are no limits which she won't cross for the people she loves. She is also a survivor and those instincts can be clearly seen throughout the book. This was the one quality that made me relate to her. There are few questionable decisions she makes, but with her being a survivor it makes sense for her to do those things.

“‘Gentlemen scholar’ seems like a good description for you”

Darlington is one character that I have been dying to talk someone about. If you need to learn how to make presence of a character felt without him being in the book, you will get that from him. He is such a charismatic, snobbish but by far the most adorable character in this book. I think adorable doesn’t do justice and if fictional characters could hear our emotions, Darlington would also feel the same. At first, I was very intrigued by him coz Alex in any of the chapters would just not shut up about him but then I quickly realized Alex, I get it. There is a lot of mystery to this character, where is he, what is he doing, what is he going through right now, why did he join Lethe, does he have any powers? There are so many questions around him, which will be answered eventually in the book. I think that’s what makes him a really interesting part of the book.

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

They say there’s a fine line between love and hate. Both are nerve wrecking, intense and makes your head spin. When you spend entirety of four years hating someone, is it possible to cross that fine line in one day? Two academic rivals, last day of high school, one spot for valedictorian, an intense game and one last chance to destroy each other. What do you think will win, familiar hate or this new blooming feeling in their hearts? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

If you are looking for a book which not a very heavy plot, which is light, the characters are fun, a quick read which makes you content on finishing it, then this book is the one for you. I had a great time reading this book and felt like a great start to the book reading business after a long time. If I had to give one word to describe this book then it would be “cute”.  

Plot:

“I’m going to destroy McNair one last time. Maybe then I’ll feel like myself again.”

The plot felt great. The progression from the main characters being enemies to friends to lovers felt apt. I really liked the way author had captured the bonding between them. The chemistry felt natural and the development of their feelings didn’t feel forced, which is a spectacular job considering the whole plot taken place in a day. Another thing I really liked was the importance given to how it feels to like something which is belittled by every one of your loved ones and the strong urge to defend that comes with it. This book gives a strong message that you should never be afraid to chase your dreams and what you love, the world will understand.

Characters:

“My favourite books got happily-ever-afters— why couldn’t I?”

One word to describe to Rowan is that she is a dreamer. She dreams about having a perfect ending to her high school life, she dreams of becoming a writer and she dreams of concluding her 4-year long rivalry with Neil McNair in the most perfect way. But just like every other dream, hers too, come to an end with the rude awakening of reality. Rowan can be described as assertive, optimistic, driven and a sarcastic teen with never ending hatred with her high school nemesis. Rowan felt like a good character with her drive to win and her love for romance novels, I thought her rant on romance novel not getting enough justice was an overkill.

“There’s this word in Japanese: tsundoku. It’s my favorite word in any language.”

After reading the whole book, I wished we could’ve got Neil’s pov also. It would have definitely ruined the plot twist but well it still makes want to have a look at the whole story through his eyes. Neil though leaves a kind of sour first impression quickly makes for it within next few chapters. He is such a cute goofball and his linguistic knowledge just makes him nerdy to whole new level.

Author: Palmer Smith

Genre: Poetry, Short story

How does it feel for your loved one to be taken away from you or for them to forget you. To be misunderstood, to be insecure, to be lost or to be in love. A book that depicts every emotion and feelings to perfection. This book is a collection of poems and short stories that revolve around childhood and adulthood, family, love, grief, death, American culture and much more. Want to know more? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

I was kindly asked by the author of this book to write a review for a copy of this book, and I have to say I was both excited and nervous. I have never been a huge fan of poems and hence, I was scared whether I will be able to do justice to this book. But after reading this book, I have to say it a beautiful piece of art. Every poem, every story was carefully and beautifully written. I think everyone should definitely read this book.

Plot:

“Words, useless. Notes, useless. So, she swore communication would be her pursuit in life.”

As I said earlier, this book is beautifully written where every piece makes you feel and think something. There were some poems and stories that I really connected with. There were many different concepts such as how a woman woe the loss of herself in an abusive relationship, falling in love with someone who is going to play with your heart, life in a sorority, feeling of drowning, dealing with insecurities, the fear of losing the one we love. The short story “Grief” was the one that I really liked. I could connect and understand the pain of every character mentioned in that story. One thing I liked about this book, is how the author has paid attention to details and captured the essence of them in depicting complex emotions. The author here, can make you live and experience the moment in the book.

Author: Jeremy Ray

Genre: Drama, Fiction, Short Story

A fern, who likes to be as much away from humans as possible, does everything he can to be unnoticed by humans, is bought by a human to be kept at home. He is naturally displeased by this sudden change in his residence. He is kept in a room full of humans, away from the comfort of neighbouring plants. But with time, he starts to trust his human. Does this stay the same forever? What will happen to him after a life altering situation takes place in his life? Will he be the same again? Will he be able to live without the one thing he never knew he wanted in the first place? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts: -

I was so excited when the author of this book – Jeremy Ray kindly asked me, if I was interested in receiving the ARC of this book and writing a review. One thing I have to say is that it did not disappoint. Who knew that a house plant can make you feel so many emotions. The whole story felt like a roller coaster ride that I feel happy I rode in. This book caught the true essence of being trapped in a place that is entirely out of your comfort zone and trying to thrive in.

Plot: -

“I really am so grateful we found each other, George.”

I found it entirely cute how George – our little fern, went from hating on Brenda to loving her so much that he waits for her comforting presence every day. You can totally relate to him when he feels trapped in a house and yearns to be with other plants. It felt comfort to me in finding that he was able to find his own comfort in these humans – Brenda, Tyler and Lindsey. It is actually surprising how this little houseplant was able to make us feel all the emotions like joy, happiness, sadness, betrayal, yearning, surreal, etc. The way he has survived everything from being neglected, to loved, to being on verge of death, to revival, is all beautifully presented. I loved how at the end George was able to find his place between his humans.

So, if you are trying to find a quick read with meaningful lessons and beautiful story that touches your heart you know which one to go for.

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Genre: YA Fiction, LGBT

A story about two boys completely different from each other, form a striking and remarkable friendship. About navigating life, its meaning and self-discovery. About relationships, friendships and love. It is also about how among all of this can one define what kind of person they want to be and believe in themselves. Can these boys cross all the obstacles life throws on their way? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts: -

The first thing that came into my mind while reading this book was that Ari is too funny. It was a fun start to the book. After completing the whole thing, I really loved it. There was a sense of calm and peace I felt while reading this book. The emotions were very well portrayed through the characters. This book shows how our adolescent years impacts us and our character and how they shape our life.

Plot: -

“Yeah, everyone had suggestion as to what was wrong with me and what I should become.”

The plot of the book was very wholesome and I really enjoyed. We went from seeing the characters struggle with reality, identity and their relationships with others. This book showed how different aspects of life affect us and our emotions and how they help in shaping our personalities. I liked how most of the plot was concentrated on portraying different emotions of Ari and Dante towards others and themselves. It was simply a heart-warming book that everyone should definitely try. The contrast between Ari and Dante really added a nice touch to the book.

Characters: -

“The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.”

Ari was one of the most frustrated characters I have witnessed. He constantly struggling with himself and his sense of self. He is a person who loves people selflessly and craves their time and love. He also doesn’t like much attention to himself and likes to keep company to himself. It was beautiful to witness how he went from angsty teen with anger issues to someone who finally understands himself and is at peace with what he is.

“Someday, I’m going to discover all the secrets of the universe.”

Dante is the sweetest character in this book and you’ll surely love him. He such a pure character who is not afraid to put himself out and show his love and appreciation to other people. He has an outgoing personality and likes to have fun. Despite this he has insecurities with his ethnicity, sexuality which can be seen how he overcomes them over the period of this book. It feels like a proud moment seeing these two people grow.

Ari and Dante’s parents are the characters you really enjoy. Them way they support their children and encourage them We can also see a hint of their own problems and struggles.

Author: Colleen Hoover

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance

A struggling author with financial crisis offered a job that can not only save her from living on the streets but also give great success in her career. Who can turn own an offer like that? Except some jobs are never easy. Especially if you are asked to fill in for the famous author Verity and complete the most successful series her career. But she can do this… mostly. While all she expected to find was outline for the book and material to get her started, she found the autobiography of Verity, the one that no one was supposed to find. What she finds in this book shocks her to her core. What will she do after finding out about the incidents written in autobiography? Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

The only thing that I felt after completing this book is deep confusion. Like what in the world did I even read?? I heard quite reviews about this book and about how it was a fucked up book and I would totally agree to it, but I didn’t expect to this extent. There were many instances where I thought was this even necessary?

Plot:

“I wasn’t heroic. I wasn’t simple. I was difficult. An emotionally challenging puzzle he wasn’t up for solving.”

So, the plot was the only good thing about this book if I have to say. You feel the need to keep reading the book and know what happens later. But I wish some things were dealt better. Like the first part of the plot before Lowen goes to stay to Crawford house was completely boring to me. Yet that was the only sensible part of this story. Later, this is all a havoc. The thing I disliked the most in this book was the end. The author didn’t have to do that to my brain yet she decided to. But atleast the plot was better than the characters.

Characters:

“Most people come to New York to be discovered. The rest of us come here to hide.”

Lowen was a main character that I usually do not enjoy. She felt boring and too stubborn to me. Let’s be honest if we would have been in her position, we would be running of the hills but since this is a book that was not going to happen. Her character showed no real emotions or characteristics of her own. During the entirety of the book, she was feeding of the energy from the autobiography and it made hard for me to even relate to her. Later, she all about her attraction to Jeremy which really bored me. There was no real growth and she just felt like a ghost of a character to me.

“I wasn’t heroic. I wasn’t simple. I was difficult. An emotionally challenging puzzle he wasn’t up for solving.”  

Verity is such a fucked up character, my mind was blown. I have read quite a bit of bad and good characters but this one was different. Coz this time I could see the point of view of morally grey character with no remorse or any kind of story or pattern to back up this behaviour. She is straight up mad. Though it was kind of fun to understand how the brains of a character like hers work. It would have been even better if we could have discovered layers of her personality through the whole story.

“Your writing matters to me, Lowen.”

I couldn’t get the importance of Jeremy’s character to this story. To me he more of like an eye candy for the women of the story than an actual character. I couldn’t even get what the fuss was about him in the book. For some reason, I just could not trust him. I was waiting for him to turn bad or evil in the mid or last part of the book. But that didn’t happen, sadly, it could have been fun.

Author: Sally Rooney

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

A story about two teenagers who find themselves being drawn to each other at various paths of life. He is popular, smart, attractive and starboy of the school, while she is an outcast, smart, proud, and quite a loner of the school. What happens when they both strike a conversation? A connection is made which has to be maintained yet not revealed at any cost. What happens when they both find themselves in a complete opposite situation in college?  This story is about these two people trying to find themselves and each other through the course of life an how far they go to save each other. Read the book to find out…

My thoughts:

To be honest, this book started out pretty well, but it quicky turned boring to me. I just couldn’t get what the hype was about but I was hoping for the best and thinking that maybe it will turn out to be better anywhere in the later. Except that moment never came to me and in the end, I was just trying to make sense of what I have just read. So, you guessed it well, this book wasn’t it for me. I liked the authors style of writing but I just couldn’t get myself attached to the characters or the plot.

Plot:

“People are a lot more knowable than they think they are.”

So, the plot…..to me it was just two people stuck in an on again-off again relationship and were just having sex the whole book. I don’t know if I was the only one but I didn’t fid any depth in the plot (sorry if it hurts anyone’s feelings). Also, the plot at the end was difficult for me to digest to, coz there was no progress, it was just continuous circle of them getting together, breaking up coz of miscommunication and being jealous of the other partners. There were lot of people in the reviews saying that this book is realistic but I just don’t know where??

Characters:

“Don’t delude yourself, I have nothing to learn from you”

Marianne is that character that I just wanted to shake and tell her to get some self-respect. She has major self-esteem issues due her home situation. Don’t get me even started on guys in her life. Every person in her life, every single one of them were just miserable excuse of human being, this includes Connell. It would have been really nice to see her growing into confident person who loves herself and finally stands against all the wrong treatment she has suffered from her own loved ones. I was waiting for that character development but no that never came. Even in the end she lets her mother, brother and Connell treat her the same.

“You just have to repress all that stuff, Marianne. That’s what I do.”

The above quote pretty much sums up Connell’s character. He represses all the stuff whether it is his feelings for Marianne, his social life, his friends, his life, he keeps it all in. He never expresses any of it, which actually causes major issues with his relationship with Marianne. I couldn’t understand his character and his feelings. There is one place he is saying that Marianne is his best friend and he feels they both are the same person and next second he goes he is perfect with his current girlfriend and Marianne was wrong for him. Like bro, make up your mind. I definitely don’t like the way he treats her and he needs to grow up.

The only character in this whole book that I have managed to like is Lorraine (Connell’s mother). That woman, bless her soul has managed to save to save some parts of the books. Everyone deserves to have a mother like her.