Happy Book Lovers Day my fellow readers! August 9th is National Book Lovers Day celebrating our favourite books and what it means to be a reader, to be a book lover. On my bookstagram I post about my favourite books all the time but not here. They do tend to change every so often especially this year where I’ve added at least 3 new favourites.
But how does it become a favourite book? I have my own criteria when it comes to favourite books that I thought I would share. Yes it may be 5 stars and the storytelling is excellent but it more for me and here’s why. I call it the 4 E’s…
- Emotion – each of my favourite have made me feel so something so deep, makes me want to cuddle the book afterwards
- Empathy – I see myself in the book – whether that’s me as a person that I can relate too
- Escapism – If I can escape or immerse myself in the world building completely it’s instantly a favourite of mine.
- Educate – learning about something, a topic, a theme that expands your won knowledge
So without further ado here are my favourite books, I can’t keep it to 10 that is impossible for a bookworm. In no particular order…
My Ultimate Favourite Books Book list
Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
It came at a time when I needed it most. It’s my comfort read, my comfort watch (which I have been watching the last week too). I explored the Dark Romance section in Oatakers and finding books just like this, and I read LOADS. I became the reader I am because of that book.
I will love the sparkly vampires, and obviously I was Team Edward as well. I remember rereading them so much over and over again.
The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting by Holly Bourne
This was my second book of Holly’s I had read, the first being Soulmates that completely ripped me apart. But Holly Bourne doesn’t conform to the norm of contemporary YA, hers are real and that why I loved it. She is the Queen of YA in my eyes and this particular book was about being who you are, questioning your own life and your own manifesto to life and happiness as well. This for me was the first book that made me cry, and feel all the emotions in one book.
The Girl Broke the the Sea by A. Connors
This was my perfect book to escape into. It was a book that took my completely by surprise and I couldn’t put it down.
This book is genius. It has everything, it has the perfect balance of plot and character driven throughout the story. The atmosphere and world building combined with the magnitude of genres; adventure, thriller, science-fiction captivated me.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Well, this book, the TV series is everything and I think the phrase going round is ‘I wish I had this when I was younger’. I wish I did too. It’s the ultimate comfort read you can always reread. It’s the wholesome, caring and loving characters. It’s being who you are and not worrying about what others think. It’s overcoming and getting stronger, whilst admitting your vulnerability as well. It real teenage life and that I’m excited that teens of this generation will have this book.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
This was a time I wasn’t in the mood for YA. It was time for me to discover other books. This book was picked for me by my mum, it’s nice having other book chosen for you, takes the pressure off it completely. Strong female bad-ass witch. It takes you into a whole new world, a new country, new language, new layers to such an intricate and flawless fantasy. You can’t helped but be completely taken into the plot line. Simply stunning.
A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street
The original Beauty and the Beast always made me cry, most Disney fairytales do to be fair and this particular book caught me off guard and I was emotionally connected that I sat for a while after reading it, emotional and hugging the book. I was emotionally captivated by the world building, brilliant cast of characters and how we saw layer upon layer stripped away of the MCs how they developed throughout the whole book. That really got me.
The Honeys by Ryan la Sala
What surprised me the most was the narrative of the novel. Ryan La Sala’s writing is unique, beautiful yet horrifying seductive. I loved how stunning and beautoful the world building and locations of the book as he just pulls you right into the story. You can add Educated to my favourite criteria as this was my first LGBTQ+ YA featuring a gender fluid character. What I loved was how I felt educated and on reflection we see Mars trying to fit in and being who he was.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
I think for me, this book was the start of journey loving YA mysteries. I only really read Karen McManus One of Us is Lying and then wasn’t taken with the genre. For me this book refreshed the genre. Making it more believable and real, drawing parallels of teenage life. Holly is the UK’s Mystery queen and I can’t wait to watch the adaptation. It’s a book I always recommend but also one that has stayed with me too.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Like with Heartstopper I was epically late to reading The Folk and Air series. But I find that sometimes, series like these have to be read at the right time and that was me. I binged the whole series, ready for the release of The Stolen Heir. I felt this fantasy series is an easy YA which draws you in rather than over complicating the beautiful and vivid world building. It was pure escapism and I feel in love with all the characters.
Viper by Bex Hogan
Viper, a book in a league of it’s own. A fast-paced action packed adventure, a true voyage of discovery. This book really reminded me of the great voyage classsics like Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans or Sinbad. It had the feel for it and I used to love those when I was younger. (Yes they are very old films, but I used to love them as a child.) Bex creates such a sharp and vivid world, the world-building and imagery is second to none. There was so much beauty that could be taken from real life that inspired my visions of the world that Bex has created.
The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr
It’s really hard to pick one book of an author(s) that you add to your favourites. I love all of Kat and Liz’s books, but The Witch’s Kiss series has something special to my heart. It was a series I absolutely loved and knew it was very underrated and still is to this day. I felt obsessed with it the world building and characters. It was different and unique. To this day, I’ve been part of their author journey from the beginning and that means a lot.
