This summer has been bringing in the heat resulting in people staying indoors to catch up on some reading time. TikTok’s popular subsection, “Booktok” and Instagram’s “Bookagram” have been blowing up with recommendations from readers, students, and authors wanting to give their opinion on what they think is the best book to read this summer. So let’s talk about it!
Sarah J. Maas has been trending since 2012 with her two popular series “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses”. In January 2024, she released the third installment in the “Crescent City” series, “House of Flame and Shadow”. As much as I loved the first two books in the installment, “House of Flame and Shadow” isn’t living up to what other readers and I expected. There was so much media build-up for this novel, just for the characters we know and love to fall short in their character development. The real excitement of this novel only lies in its connection to Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses characters.
Seen on the #BookTok table at Barnes and Nobles, “Verity” has to be one of the most captivating and wild stories its author, Colleen Hoover, produced. There wasn’t a single part of this book I could predict and I couldn’t put a second of it down. Hoover has a habit of writing novels with similar tropes and ideas, but this one takes the cake with its uniqueness, and readers (like myself) still can’t get over its jaw-dropping ending. It’s worth the read.
Have you heard of “Pestilence” by Laura Thalassa? I hadn’t until this week, and I can’t wait to pick up the second, third, and fourth books in this installment! This book has a true enemy x lover trope that captures the audience’s attention in a budding tale of regaining hope for humanity despite our faults. It acknowledges the wrongdoings of humans while also showing the good and love humans have for one another. Beautiful romance and wonderful themes are hidden throughout. It’s truly a hidden treasure.
So many different books have continued to come out and transform the reading community as we know it. I’m sure these 2024 reads are just some of the thousands of books coming to our bookstores and making their way into our bookshelves.
