Book Club: 5 Recent Reads

Call me a book nerd or a book worm and I will love you forever. Ever since I could start reading, I could’t stop. My bedroom at home has two bookshelves filled with all the books I read in my youth! Now I am slowly but surely filling up a bookshelf on the Kindle app on my iPad. With our phones/iPads permanently glued to our hands thanks to social media infiltrating our lives, making the effort to read more has now become a conscience one.

Having said the above, I have put myself up for a challenge. I have to read 20 books by the end of the year. And so far, so good! Here are my first 5 recent reads:

The Little Bookshop on the Seine – Rebecca Raisin

Bookshop owner Sarah Smith has been offered the opportunity to exchange bookshops with her new Parisian friend for 6 months! And saying yes is a no-brainer – after all, what kind of a romantic would turn down a trip to Paris? Even if it does mean leaving the irresistible Ridge Warner behind, Sarah’s sure she’s in for the holiday of a lifetime – complete with all the books she can read!

Picturing days wandering around Shakespeare & Co, munching on croissants, sipping café au laits and people-watching on the Champs-Elysees Sarah boards the plane. But will her dream of a Parisian Happily-Ever-After come true? Or will Sarah realise that the dream isn’t quite as rosy in reality…

♥ I was looking for an easy read while lying on the beaches of the Seychelles and this was just it. Rebecca Raisin has since become a favourite author of mine. I found this book to be so heart-warming and enchanting, and I just didn’t want it to end. I instantly fell in love with the characters, Paris and the cozyiness of second hand bookstores.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

♥ After seeing this book all over my Instagram by fellow book worms, I had to see what the fuss is all about. Little Lara Jean is lucky with the outcome of her secret box of letters being mailed to all of her crushes. In todays times you would end up being bullied, ha! This is another easy read, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read this when I was 16 😉

P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

♥ Well I did have to read the sequel to the previous book, didn’t I? Lara Jean grows up a little bit more in this one and you end up loving her character more. But, you will LOVE her little sister Kitty even more. You will wish you had a Kitty in your life 🙂 That’s all I’m saying!

Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm – Rebecca Raisin 

Clay’s inheritance of Maple Syrup Farm came at the perfect time. Leaving city life behind he headed for maple-tree surrounded Ashford, Connecticut. Getting the farm in working order again might be back breaking work – but it seems to be the only way for Clay to finally forget about the girl who once broke his heart…

Lucy’s had enough of rules and the stress of planning her life down to the very last detail. Looking for an adventure she stumbles upon Maple Syrup Farm and its gorgeously gruff owner. This could be the perfect place to hide out…!

But the tranquillity and warmth of Maple Tree Farm is enough to heal even the most battered of hearts. There are very few problems in life that can’t be cheered up by maple syrup!

♥ As I said before I fell in love with Rebecca Raisin, so I had to read another book of hers. This one is just as charming and heart-warming. It gets very exciting in the middle to watch how relationships build and friendships are made. One day I’ll run a little Gingerbread Cafe 🙂

What I was Doing While You Were Breeding – Kristin Newman

Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses for friends’ weddings and baby showers. To escape her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin traveled the world, often alone, several weeks yearly. She fell in love with the planet and attractive locals – connection without commitment. Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests help transform her into “Kristin-Adjacent” on the road – a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home.

♥ This was an interesting read, to put it lightly. Everything about this book got my attention, from the cover to the name (I love the name!). When I sit back and watch the whole of my Facebook are either getting married or celebrating the birth of a child, I’m just planning my next adventure, so this book hit the nail on the head for me! This book is written as memoir, with first hand accounts of all the fun Kristin has had, mixed in with plenty of giggle-worthy anecdotes.

Do you have any books you can recommend?

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♥