on the bookshelf {July}

Oooo, look, progress! Not only have I knocked off another on my FFFi14 list, but thanks to a series re-release & a new release by one of my face historical authors, my reading list is looking quite healthy this month:

Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell {kindle | book depository | amazon | iBooks}

From Goodreads:

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor.

Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

I really enjoyed this. I find highschool-based books can go one of two ways for me – I either like them, or find myself empathising with the protagonist far too much and give up. But I found this book struck a good balance. The two main characters and their relatonship were the right amount of realistic, and I love the way their individual versions of awkward end up fitting perfectly together. The ending caught me a bit by surprise, but I think it works. The writing style is pleasant and enjoyable – I’ll definitely be reading more by this author – maybe Fangirl next? Though I’m hearing good things about Landline as well.

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This Wicked Gift – Courtney Milan {kindle | iBooks}

Proof by Seduction – Courtney Milan {kindle | iBooks}

Trial by Desire – Courtney Milan {kindle| iBooks}

The above three books are a rerelease of the Carhart series – one novella and two full length novels. Like most of her books, I read these pretty much straight through. I think my favourite was the third – Trial by Desire, as it really fleshed out quite a complex character from the previous book, and tackled some really tough issues in a positive and interesting way. I’d give the series 4/5 (and at the minute they are only 99c per book, so how can you go wrong really). If you love historical fiction with brilliant characterisation and a subversive feminist bent, and you haven’t read Courtney Milan, why the heck not?

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The Suffragette Scandal – Courtney Milan {kindle | amazon | iBooks}

From Goodreads:

An idealistic suffragette…

Miss Frederica “Free” Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women’s rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope…but she needs more rope, and she needs it now.

…a jaded scoundrel…

Edward Clark’s aristocratic family abandoned him to die in a war-torn land, so he survived the only way he could: by becoming a rogue and a first-class forger. When the same family that left him for dead vows to ruin Miss Marshall, he offers his help. So what if he has to lie to her? She’s only a pawn to use in his revenge.

…and a scandal seven years in the making.

But the irrepressible Miss Marshall soon enchants Edward. By the time he realizes that his cynical heart is hers, it’s too late. The only way to thwart her enemies is to reveal his scandalous past…and once the woman he loves realizes how much he’s lied to her, he’ll lose her forever.

Oh man, I love Free so much. She is fabulous and wonderful and no wonder Edward falls for her in a big way. It was lovely to see her story play out, as well as cameos from a couple of characters from other books in the series. She did promise she was going to break the world when she first appeared in her brother’s book, and I love how that comes together in her own book.

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And thanks to Audible being super painful to deal with, I ended up giving up on the eBook and buying a copy of The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet for my iPad {kindle | book depository | amazon | iBooks}

Pretty much the only reason I bought this was that I’m a huge Lizzie Bennet Diaries fan, and so I figured the companion novel was worth a shot (I will admit I waited for reviews from friends to buy it!). So t his is the novelisation of a webseries based on a novel. It was ok. Readable. If I didn’t watch the videos, I wouldn’t have bothered. Even as a fan, I’m somewhat ambivalent about it. Some bits felt awkward, like they were shoehorned in to make sense of things that didn’t make sense at the time, or added to address some of the fandom concerns about various problematic elements. There was some new stuff, but I don’t know, I think for me, that chapter of that adaptation is closed, and adding more seems a bit forced (and to a certain extent I include the more recent bonus videos in that). I’m 90% certain I won’t be reading the second book next year, unless the reviews are mind blowing. I’d rate it maybe a 3/5? Good for a lazy read for fans, but not worth getting too fussed about if you miss out.

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Thank goodness for holidays! We went away, which gave me some decent reading time in the car and on the plane, as well as hanging out in the motel after the small people were in bed.

And currently in progress, I still have (of course):
Orison – Daniel Swensen
Emma – Jane Austen

I was chatting to a friend on Facebook, about reading, and the types of books that we are finding easier to get through. The two books I’ve been struggling with require a bit more brain power, whilst the six books I read this month were somewhat light reads – four romances, a YA and a novelisation of my favourite webseries. Hopefully soon I’ll have enough headspace to knock those other two off the currently reading list and move onto something else! I’m determined to get Emma finished this month – starting tonight, to read while I knit for the Saturday night craftalong on Instagram.

How’s your Five From Forever reading list looking?

{all links to The Book Depository, kindle and Amazon are affiliate, and I receive a small commission if you choose to purchase. iBooks are not affliate links}