After another successful reading month last month I have decided to pick some summer reads that I have had sitting on my bookshelf for a while now. Four out of the five books are relatively short books and won’t take me long to get through them, but I have decided to go with a historical book this month as well so that might take me some time to get through.
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Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken. Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…
She has to confess why Carys disappeared… Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets. It’s only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it’s only by being your true self that you can find happiness. Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.
I’ve had Radio Silence sitting on my bookshelf for a while now and towards the end of last month I felt the urge to start to, so I have decided that June is the perfect month. I have heard nothing but high praise about this book so I am going into this with some very high expectations. I love a good contemporary story and this sounds like it touches on other important themes as well.
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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
After reading The Five by Hallie Rubenhold last month and absolutely loved it I wanted another historical book to sink my teeth into. I decided to go with Wold Hall because I know there is a lot of talk about this series at the moment because of the last book in the series has been given a release date of next year. But I have also heard some really positive reviews about this series and The Tudors is one of my favourite times in history.
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Lily’s Just Fine by Gill Stewart
Lily couldn’t have planned life better herself. She lives in the best house in town and she’s dating the most popular boy in school. Everything else she can fix. Mum’s apathy? On it! The stuffy gala committee? Watch this space! Tom has enough on his plate without trying to drag Newton St Cuthbert into the 21st Century. His sister is sick and there’s nothing anyone can do. Not doctors, not his parents, and certainly not Lily Hildebrand.
I was offered the opportunity to read and review Lily’s Just Fine a few weeks back and after reading the synopsis I couldn’t wait because it sounded like the perfect read to start in the summer. I always love to read contemporary books in the summer months because for me its the perfect time, and I sure reading this book this month will be just as perfect.
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The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Natasha:
I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true.
I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him.
Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel:
I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations.
Never the poet. Or the dreamer.
But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store―for both of us.
The Universe:
Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
I am a bit late to the game with Nicola Yoon’s books, I only just read Everything, Everything last year and I am only starting this book this month. I want to get The Sun Is Also A Star read before I go and see the film. I really enjoyed reading Everything, Everything, and I’ve heard that this book is even better so I cant wait to finally start it.
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Green Valley by Louis Greenberg
When Lucie Sterling’s niece is abducted, she knows it won’t be easy to find answers. Stanton is no ordinary city: invasive digital technology has been banned, by public vote. No surveillance state, no shadowy companies holding databases of information on private citizens, no phones tracking their every move. Only one place stays firmly anchored in the bad old ways, in a huge bunker across town: Green Valley, where the inhabitants have retreated into the comfort of full-time virtual reality – personae non gratae to the outside world. And it’s inside Green Valley, beyond the ideal virtual world it presents, that Lucie will have to go to find her missing niece.
This was another book that I was offered to read and review and I immediatley said yes because the synopsis grabbed my attention. I don’t normally read many sci-fi books but this one sounds really interesting and it has kind of a thriller/crime vibe about it as well which is always a winner.
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Have you read any of the books on my TBR?
What do you plan on reading this month?
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Mike Reads 