January Reads - #2014 Blogger Challenge

 Hello Lovelies,

If you've been keeping up with my Weekly Lustables you can notice a trend, I've been reading more than one book a month! I hardly ever find the time to read but now I read three books in the month just pass. I'm really happy with my selections and all these books were amazing and exactly what I needed for January and to kick me back into reading more. (It's one of my secret goals for this year!)

 

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 

Such a gorgeous read with such a satisfying ending that left me so fulfilled. It's the story of a boy, Daniel, who unravels the shroud of mystery surrounding a French writer while transitioning into manhood. I loved seeing everything unfold as well as following Daniel's personal story. Particularly I loved the romance aspects, both in the writer's mystery and Daniel's life, they were crafted perfectly and I was consumed by a wave of emotions. Did I mention the ending? Yeah it's super duper amazing!!!

2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
After reading The Shadow of the Wind, I craved for something a little more light hearted and this was recommended to me by my sister who said I would love it. Low and behold, I could hardly put this one down, sometimes Alex had to pull me away from it! Now I'm so afraid of spoiling things so here's the decription of the book from Good Reads,

"Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be."

It's a definite must read and is a perfect work of young adult fiction that isn't too cheesy or predicatable.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I'd been in the mood for a chick flicky book in awhile, and this was a pretty good fix. I enjoyed it but it's predictability and cheesiness was a little distracting that sometimes felt that Anna wasn't even a relatable character. Still a nice read though, very happy and cute and a general feel good book. The general gist of the novel is that Anna is sent to Paris by her father for her senior year of high school so that she is cultured, she hates this since she is leaving everyone she loves. Her angst disappears when she meets the alluring and charming yet already taken St. Clair. I'll leave it at that, but their story is so incredibly cute and I did aawww a handful of times.

What have you been reading lately?

xoxo