Sometimes the most frustrating part of becoming an avid reader is finding books to read, but luckily there are hundreds of books out there to try!
🃟 Once Upon a Broken Heart
The first book on this list is Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, a whimsical YA Fantasy.
The protagonist, Evangeline Fox, wholeheartedly believes in true love and happy endings, until the love of her life, Luc plans to wed her step-sister. Desperate to stop the wedding, Evangeline strikes a deal with the wicked Fate known as the Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. After Evangeline’s first kiss, she learns that any deal with a Fate comes with a dangerous price and that the Prince of Hearts wants more from her than she agreed. He has plans for Evangeline that will either end in happily ever after or tragedy.
If you fall in love with the magical world of Fates and curses like I did, Once Upon a Broken Heart has two more books in the series The Ballad of Never After and A Curse for True Love. The author, Stephine Garber, also wrote a three-book series, Caraval, in the same universe following new characters.
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⚔ Fourth Wing
If YA fantasy is too boring, Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing is an addictive new adult fantasy.
Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a peaceful life with books and history. Then, the commanding general ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre, the dragon riders. Years behind everyone else in her training, she’ll need every bit of her wits just to get her to the next sunrise. With every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda, because once you enter you either graduate or die.
From the outside, the novel looks intimidating, with over 500 pages, but Rebecca Yarros’s writing style captivates you and makes you forget you’re reading. Luckily, the book is part of an ongoing series, rumored to include five books. As of November 2024, there are two books released, Forth Wing and Iron Flame, with more to come.
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𓌏 A Good Girls Guide to Murder
The next book is a thrilling YA mystery, A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. If the title rings a bell you might have seen something for the show based on the book that was recently released on Netflix, but as most readers believe, the book is always better.
For her senior project, Pip Fitz-Amobi chose a closed case that plagues her town. Five years ago, Andie Bell, a high schooler, was murdered. The town concluded that it was Sal Singh, her boyfriend. Pip has reason to believe that Sal was wrongly convicted and takes it upon herself to prove he was innocent. Pip tangles herself into the mystery and has to solve the case; not only for her grade but for the safety of her and her family.
Holly Jackson’s A Good Girls Guide to Murder is a fast-paced thriller filled with twists and turns. If you love a good murder mystery, this book and the following books in the series, Good Girl, Bad Blood, and As Good As Dead, are the perfect way to get yourself immersed in reading.
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♥ Better Than the Movies
The next book on the list is the one that introduced me to the wonderful world of reading. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter is an adorable YA rom-com about a hopeless romantic accidentally falling for the boy next door.
The main character, Liz dreams of going to prom with Michael, her old childhood crush who just moved back to town. Being the hopeless romantic that she is, she has to orchestrate the perfect plan to have the best prom ever. Liz enlists the help of her annoying friend and neighbor, Wes Bennett.
Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies is a cute fast-paced read at only 350 pages, that will leave you giggling and kicking your feet over the romance.
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♬ Daisy Jones & The Six
If you’re looking for something more adult I would recommend the historical fiction novel Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is also a TV series on Prime Video.
The novel follows the story of a 1970s band leading up to their final show and the subsequent breakup as a band, through interviews. Daisy Jones is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is noticed by more and more producers. At the same time, The Six, a band led by Billy Dunne, is jumpstarting their career. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in a distinctive voice.
If you love this book as much as I do, Taylor Jenkins Reid has many other books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Malibu Rising, that are just as fast-paced and creative.
