BOOK MUSINGS: A book stack review.

​This month I decided to give something new a go.

I read a lot. Maybe not as much as some of the voracious readers I have met at book club (who read about a thousand books a month!) but I read when I can because it makes me happy. I adore stories and I love to cram them inside my head.
​
I also enjoy to chat about them too, so I thought I might start writing a bit more about what I’m reading on my blog, just for fun. I’m not mad into writing reviews, so I will keep this short and sweet and fun! Because this is my blog, and I can do that if I want to.

Which I do.
Which is why I am doing it.
:)

​Since You’ve Been Gone – Morgan Matson

A friend from my book club gave me this book, and I’d never read this author before. She writes contemporary romances and this book is THICK!

That’s what I noticed first. I felt it took a little while for me to get into in the beginning, but then little by little, I got fully hooked!

The story is really quiet and sweet, the romance is very slow and considered, and the whole thing was a lot more thoughtful than I expected it to be from the cover. 
​

​I thought it was a lovely and romantic contemporary, and my favourite part was the heroine herself, who was extremely shy. I really enjoyed reading about her struggles in talking and relating to other people, and the focus of the book was always on her and her growth as a person.

The romance is a huge element, but I always felt the coming of age of the heroine took precedence, and I liked that very much (even though I am a super massive fan of romantic books!) I also thought the romance in this was great. Not showy or shallow, it was very very slow, and this first experience reading Morgan Matson was definitely positive. I am really looking forward to reading more of her books!

36 Questions that Changed my Mind About You - Vicki Grant

​This book is fun, quick, charming, and cute.

It reads so freaking quickly, and at times the book is laid out like a film script, with only dialogue. I thought those sections were very cute, and basically this book reads like a romantic comedy film.
Actually it should be made into a romantic comedy movie, that is exactly what it feels like.
Super quick, super easy. Super cute.
​

The Sacrifice Box - Martin Stewart

Ooooohhhhhhh The Sacrifice box! I freaking adored this!
It was charming, amusing, deliciously dark and squeamish, filled with wonderful horror and creepy atmosphere, and was written beautifully!

I LOVED it!!!!!
​I really really did.  

​
So basically this is a mix of IT and Stranger Things, a rag tag group of smart-mouthed kids (teens in this case) get caught up in a whole heap of creepy supernatural horror.

I loved the tone of the book.
It has this lovely mix of charm and horror, of creepy atmosphere and dark murder, mixed in with laugh out loud banter, really fantastic characters and a great island setting.

I thought this author’s writing was also wonderful, and I do think writing styles can be a very personal thing, whether they suit your taste or not. This really worked for me. I loved this. I definitely want to read his debut as well, which has won lots of awards.

The highlight of this novel for me, despite all the other aspects I absolutely adored (like the horror elements and beautiful writing) was the characters.
They just charmed me.
All the banter charmed me.

Ahh. I loved it. Did I say that already? It was great.

​Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare

So I read the first book in this series (Clockwork Angel) back at the beginning of the year, and while I did quite like it, I didn’t get as hooked as I did when reading Clare’s other novel, Lady Midnight (which I actually loved).

This sequel though, Clockwork Prince, I did really enjoy.
​

 I am a massive fan of good love triangles, but am not a massive fan of a girl being in love with two boys at the same time.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It’s huge but such a quick read, I just flew through it. For me, Clare’s novels are all about the romance, and though I don’t find myself as invested in this triangle (or the characters themselves) as I am with the Lady Midnight Series, I just found this book to be absolute solid romantic fun.

​The more I read of Cassandra Clare the bigger fan of her I become. The woman knows what she is doing. She knows exactly how to pull a reader along on an addictive romantic ride. It is quite a lot of fun! 

The Last Days of Us -  Beck Nicholas
​​
Aaah, this is by an Adelaide author, who I have seen speaking in person at book club events.
​So I was really looking forward to reading this. 

​The novel is set along the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne (which I have not yet seen sob sob) and is an easy read that I really enjoyed.

It has two main focuses, romance and grief, which is an interesting mix, don’t you think?
I think it quite works in this, the romance is pretty epic (sweeping angry romantic kiss scenes on a beach in a storm!) and the grief was quite moving.

​It would be an easy summer beach read,

Have you read any of these? 
Or would you like to?
What have you been reading lately?
:)