Book happy

I have read some great books recently, so thought I'd drop the names so those on the hunt have somewhere to look!

Firstly, I read Red Queen by Honey Brown. It's an Australian book, which always gets bonus points from me, and not a bad one at that. It's about 2 brothers, hiding out in the bush after a virus is wiping out the world, and how their hideout is infiltrated by a strange woman...

Next up, Room by Emma Donoghue. Have been meaning to get to this for months and months and finally nabbed it. I loved this book, just so well written and with such beautiful characters.

Nora Roberts - The Witness. I like her stuff, dead easy to read, sort of chicklit crime mix. This was another good read, and this was her 200th book. 200. That blows my mind. I guess she's doing something right!?

I also read Jodi Picoult's Lone Wolf. This was a while ago and I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, it was not bad. Typical Picoult, but nothing out of the box for me.

My new favorite author - Jojo Moyes. I mentioned in an earlier entry her book called Me Before You and because of it's power, I tried another by her called The Last Letter From Your Lover. She has a way of writing that just takes a simple story but crafts it into something more. They are not just love stories, they are truly poignant and lovely. Just beautiful writing. I adore her work.

Allen & Unwin again asked me to take part in another read-a-long with Bree. This time the book was called The Unfinished Journals Of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier. I loved this book, I tried to stop at the first break for the discussion but I couldn't put it down, I had to keep reading. I identified with the exploration of an individual as opposed to their role as 'Mother' or 'Wife' and that wanting something more, and what was going on... The characters were so real, they had flaws, they were uncertain, they had more than one dimension. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Another of my favorite authors has a book out and I didn't realise so I quickly grabbed it on kindle when I found out. Liane Moriarty's The Hypnotists Love Story is just as good as her previous works that I also love. Another Australian author, her writing is so easy to get lost in. I loved this book, amazing that I could empathise with all the characters, even the whacky Saskia. Love lost and relationships starting... all relevant to me and so I enjoyed that about it too.

Also mentioned in my last post was Jennifer L Armentrouts Lux series. Book 2, Onyx, came out last week and I immediately got into it. I really love Katy and I like where things went with she and Daemon in this book. I love that Katy is independent and strong for a YA female protagonist. We need more like her! Mind you, my kindle told me I was at 93% and just as it got super exciting... The End. The rest was a sample chapter etc. I almost cried! Now I have to wait until December for book 3! GAH!

Finally, last night I finished If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This was pegged as an emotional book that would have me in tears. Nup. I actually felt a bit robbed to be honest. I felt like there was opportunity for the author to really get into an emotional place with this and ravage the emotions... But she didn't get there for me. Not a bad book, simply okay.

That's a wrap!


Picture credit: http://weheartit.com/entry/35296248#