I (Finally) Read Some YA and Here's My Thoughts

Hello everyone! Long time, no see. Or no talk, rather. Anyway. So.. jumping right in the post here. You might have guessed that I'm more of a classic reader. I don't usually read books unless they're classics. They should have priority over all other fictional literature, in my opinion. I still believe in this opinion, of course. 

BUT. There comes a time in a reader's life when you're burnt out. But you still want to read something.

When I get this feeling, I hate it. But I'm so obsessed with reading that I can't not read, you know? I want to read something light. I like something quick and snappy. Lighthearted. Easy to skim through when I'm bored, but not so much that I lose interest. Maybe a little cheesy. Loose, but not sloppy. Not necessarily short though. I love big books. 

So I got this app called Libby. It's owned by Overdrive and it's basically an online library that uses your local library card to access books. The libraries where I am are still closed (which is sO DUMB IF I MAY SAY SO), so I've been able to read new books over quarantine (thank the Lord). 

Here's a list of what I've read so far. The good, not-so-good, and the ones I didn't even finish. 

*gasps from the readers*

1. To All The Boys I've Loved Before (series)

Photo credit to Kerrie Legend at frombeautytobooks.com

Yes, yes, I jumped on the bandwagon kinda late. But it was worth it in my opinion. Jenny Han does a fairly good job with writing a relatable teen girl. Teen girl protagonists are kinda overdone but I think she did a good job. She made Lara Jean "quirky" but still relatable, in my opinion. I even related to her some of the time. I watched the two movies on Netflix before reading the series. The books are definitely better. She ended the series on a good note. I wanted more, of course, but it was a good ending nonetheless.

My favorite was probably the second one, To All The Boys I've Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You. Lara Jean and Peter grow a lot in this book. Without giving away too much from the series, their relationship wasn't the best (#TEAMJOHNAMBROSE) but I still managed to like both of them together, despite John being the amazing guy he is. 

The setting is in a public high school which posed some concerns for me as a homeschooled Catholic. It was relatively mild. Just a lot of kissing I guess? But like you kinda expect that from high school right? No intimate scenes though. Although it was a suuuuuuper close call in the third book. I really thought they were gonna do it but thank goodness they didn't. I don't remember a ton of swearing, but typical public high school language. 

For someone like me who reads classics more than anything, the way it was written was good. Considering that it was written in informal "teen language", I wasn't annoyed at all. 

2. The Selection series 

Photo credit to voguemadness.wordpress.com

This series is super great. Like seriously. It's an AU where the whole of North America is one giant nation under a monarchy. The author gives us bits and pieces of how this came to be and I LOVE IT. It's got fantasy, it's got ballgowns, it's got a Prince, it's got an old childhood lover, it's got Hunger Games vibes(The Capitol, being on national TV, etc) and did I say it's got a Prince? And not just any prince but the one and only Prince Maxon?? 

I'm being reaaaaaaaally careful about what I say about these books because I hate spoilers. BUT The Heir and The Crown is about the next generation of royals. Pretty interesting since the next monarch is a female (she's kind of a spoiled brat though) and they hold a male-only Selection. I didn't like the ending :( it felt rushed and cheap. But anyway, despite not liking the end, I would definitely recommend the first three books in the series though.

3. The Siren

Photo credit to sweetyreviews.blogspot.com

Another Kiera Cass novel and one that kind of gets a lot of hate? Not sure why because I liked it. It wasn't overbearing or anything but it was interesting. I feel like you don't hear a lot about sirens nowadays. 

What I liked about this book:

-the supporting cast aka her siren sisters

-the secrets

-the forbidden love 

-the Ocean's role as a master but also a manipulative "mother" 

-the lore/legends

-and I cannot for the life of me remember the love interest! I read it in February okay :(

4. Love & Other Detours series

Photo credit to tbrview.blogspot.com

Love & Gelato is your typical cliche "girl loses her mom to cancer, has to move to another country with her dad (that she's never met), meets some friends, falls in love" kind of story. Except it was completely clean and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a part where they went to a club and an old guy was weird with her, but that was quickly resolved and nothing more happened. 

Photo credit to 5171milesbookblog.wordpress.com

Love & Luck was probably my favorite. Maybe because I love Ireland so much? It was a little less cliche and very enjoyable. It also had the same characters from Love & Gelato so that was nice! It had a super sweet storyline and I nearly cried at the end.

Love & Olives is SO GOOD. Still a little cliche (Mom forces her to go to Greece to visit Dad who left when she was young) but I enjoyed it. This one was a little more serious than the last two. The author really tied everything together and I liked it a lot. I would totally recommend the whole series to anyone! Especially teen readers or young adults who are in a reading slump haha. This last book didn't have any characters from the previous two but it was still very good.

5. American Royals (1 & 2)

Photo credit to tudoquemotiva.com

This series is an AU where America has a monarchy and it is so entertaining. Beatrice is the eldest child of the current king and she will be the first queen to reign in America. She has twin siblings, Samantha and Jeffery. And oh by golly, it's so dramatic and I love it. I thrive in it. Unfortunately there's no news of a new book in the works but I hope it will come soon! The books are called American Royals and Majesty. Majesty was definitely my favorite, although that seems to be quite the unpopular opinion. THE. DRAMA. THO. It's stunning. How this author weaves all these characters into each other's lives and secrets is just crazy! I'm mindblown. I actually reacted out loud when reading these books. That's just how good and dramatic it was!!

6. Once Upon a Con series (1 & 3)

Photo credit to bookslovereadersblog.wordpress.com

Geekerella is the first book in this series. The series has different protagonists in each book but it revolves around a fictional fandom called Starfield. Geekerella is a Cinderella story. She's in high school. She lives with her stepmom and twin stepsisters. She works hard at her sucky job. She wants to go to the ball at a convention in her mom's cosplay dress. And so it goes on and on. It's pretty entertaining honestly. I liked it.

Bookish and the Beast was much better in my opinion. It's a Beauty and the Beast story. She lives with her dad. She loves books. She is getting unwanted attention from a popular guy at school. She meets a grumpy actor who is her favorite character from her favorite fandom. But he's mean and rude so she hates him. They have to reorganize a library together. And so it goes on and on. Not exactly enemies-to-lovers but more like rivals-to-lovers I guess.

The second book in the series is called The Princess and the Fangirl. It had a same-sex couple and I wasn't comfortable reading that so I didn't. 

7. Charming as a Verb

Okie dokie. This one is a rough one. I saw it at B&N and read the blurb and its totally something I wouldn't read. HOWever, it was actually good. It's got a bit of rivals-to-friends-to-lovers, popular guy x unpopular girl, and bit of a Miles Morales vibe too (not just because they're black, okay, but because Henri is actually very smart/likable similar to Miles). It has a modern high school setting in New York (also like Miles) and it was enjoyable! There was a lot of inappropriate talk/jokes (they're seniors so there's your warning) and there was an allllllllmost scene in there but nothing explicit happened, thankfully. BUT. There was a valuable lesson learned from it so I still liked it. Corinne basically carried the whole book..... jUST SAYING I LOVE HER. 

8. The Graveyard Book

I'm not sure if this counts as YA but ehhhh. Either way, I've heard a ton of good stuff about this book. I couldn't get past the third chapter....... I tried very hard guys. You don't even know. I wanted so desperately to read this book and I just could NOT. It was so difficult. I will probably try to reread it sometime but not soon. It seems like it needed some concentration and brain power. It had kind of a serious vibe too. I mean....... it takes place in a graveyard so dUH. But after finishing a ton of light-hearted books, it was kinda like "mmm I don't have brain space for this" you know?

9. How to Find Love in a Bookshop

This one was goooooood. I cry. There was mention of adultery, mention of sexual content, one very brief scene towards the beginning (not very descriptive), and yet it wasn't overbearing. Like it did mention stuff but it wasn't like "whoa whoa whoa, hold on there". And it wasn't for no reason either. The author had good reason to put it in the book. I hate to spoil it but the way all the characters from this charming town are connected makes the book worth reading. I thought it was very sweet. I didn't agree with what Bea did in the end but to each his (or her) own. 

10. The Book Charmer

AHHHH. Okay. This was super sweet and sappy but it was nice. Nothing over the top or overbearing. Innocent and clean, except for a few words haha. But there wasn't any disagreeable content at all! I was pleasantly surprised and I can't wait to read the other books from this series. 

11. The Book Jumper

wOW OKAY THIS BOOK. I WILL NEVER CEASE TO SING ITS PRAISES.

No but seriously. This book is super great. The references, the suspense, the twists, and just UGH. The romance was a little rushed but I loved it. My heart will forever keep this book as a part of it. I recommend it to anyone. It's probably middle school level but there's depth to it. It's not difficult to read either which makes the audience larger. Another cool thing is that it was originally written in German, I believe. I'm sure the original German is better, only because the language is so beautiful. 

12. The Bookshop on the Corner

Photo credit to pursuitofgreatbooks.com

Oof so this book was pretty good. The storyline in general was good. The main character was pretty likable and it was an easy read. But there were some things in there that were inappropriate so I cannot, in good conscience, recommend it to anyone. I'm just the type of person who would not suggest books that had certain scenes in it, regardless of age. Such a shame though because I did enjoy the rest of it! It takes place in Scotland... if I remember correctly. I've read so much during these past few months guys, it's kind of insane.

13. Illusions of Fate

This is the first novel I've read by Kiersten White and wow. I'm impressed. My sister also recommended this author to me and just *applause*. It's historical fiction and I love me some . Rivals-to-lovers, definitely. I felt bad for the protagonist the whole book LOL she could not do ANYTHING to help her situation and it was so painful. For her and for me haha. She's such a great character though. Determined and strong but also still feminine. She's great. I love Jessamin. AND THE TWIST THO. Oh my goodness the twist. And the ending. Just go read this book okay? You won't be disappointed!

14. Shadow & Bone series (abandoned)

Photo credit to mywaybystarlight.wordpress.com

Eh, I honestly just couldn't get into it. It does have a lot of good reviews and hype around it though which is why I'm confused. Maybe it was just that my brain couldn't do high fantasy at the time? Don't know. I cannot for the life of me remember what it's about though. I only got through like two or three chapters at most and I'll probably try to read it again someday. No promises though. Isn't the cover pretty?

15. Anna and the French Kiss (trilogy)

Photo credit to readingoncloud9.tumblr.com

My older sister recommended this series to me and WOW. It was really good. Still kinda cliche, and geared toward an older teen audience compared to the Love and Other Detours series. The first one was super good and my favorite of the series. The second one, Lola and the Boy Next Door, was also very good but didn't stand out to me like the first one did. The third one, Isla and the Happily Ever After, was whoa. Lots of *ahem* content in it. These teens and their hormones, guys. Very very yikes haha

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So that's everything I've read so far! I hope you enjoyed this very rambly post. I'm sorry if you were bored to death. These reviews were mostly to try and help out anyone who is Catholic/Christian OR homeschooled OR both (like me) and doesn't like to be overly exposed to indecency haha

And here are some updates for you: 

-I am now on GoodReads and I have the 2021 Reading Challenge widget on the left side of the blog. If you wanna follow me there, just click the name "Fawnabelle" on the widget and it'll take you there. Shoot a message that you're coming from the blog and I'll accept your friend request! You can see what I'm currently reading and see updates of my progress. You can also see all of the books I want to read and we can compare TBR lists haha

-I'm also on Wattpad! I know it has a reputation for some questionable literature *cough cough* I advise everyone to please use caution when browsing what to read. I'm in the process of writing a book/novella on there. So if you want to check it out or follow along, here is the link.

-I have a date set for my wedding! SO that's exciting. I'm not sure if I shared that news on here. It's in the summer and I have a bajillion things going on with that so it's become very difficult to post consistently. But I love blogging so much that I just can't seem to give it up! I hope to be on here more often and start becoming more active again because I miss it.

-I still have my Etsy although it's not going that well recently. So I might close it for a bit meanwhile I get some more projects done. Maybe after the wedding when I have more free time? Who knows honestly. I really like embroidering but I seriously have been in such a slump for everything under the sun lately *cries*... wow would you look at that run-on sentence up there? Incredible. 

Anywhos, I'll end this ridiculously long post here. How have you all been? Read anything interesting lately? Should I be banned from the blogosphere for my terrible attendance?! Peace out, lovelies <3