I have read a LOT of books in the past month or so because I am participating in the Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge! I am so happy with my 10 choices for the challenge so far and I was enthralled by many of the books I’ve read lately. I have quite a few more on my to-read list this summer, but I still have lots of time! 😉

Image via Stocksnap.io and edited by me

Here are some of my recent reads:

Sloppy Firsts – the first in the Jessica Darling series. I ate this book up in about a day. It was very well written and I loved the characters. Can’t wait to read more in the series, especially after the ending of this one!! 4/5 stars

Cinder – I have had this series on my TBR list for ages now, and I’m so glad I finally got through the first one! It was an easy read and I loved the take on the Cinderella story. I am a huge sucker for Cinderella stories, for some reason…I also got pretty hooked on Once Upon a Time last year on TV but I haven’t finished the series yet. Anyway, loved this one too, another fairly easy read and I will be picking up the next book in this series ASAP! 4.5/5 stars

Jane Eyre – I’ve been at this one for a few weeks via audiobook on Librivox (*love* Elizabeth Klett as a narrator!!) I finished the last 10 chapters or so via paperback that I picked up 10 years ago at a used bookstore. This was one of the best classics I’ve ever read, and I absolutely loved it. They call it a classic for a reason!! I would highly recommend it because there were some interesting twists and I adored the characters. The audiobook version is wonderful 🙂 Now I can go watch the movie on Netflix!! 5/5 stars 

Big Little Lies – I could NOT put this book down. I started it in the car on our trip to New Brunswick and I read it off and on in the car the entire weekend – which is usually not something I can pull off! It was SOOOO captivating in the sense that I just had to know the ending!!! I almost googled it, but I’m glad that I held out because it was pretty surprising. I enjoyed reading about the relationships in this book – especially as a mother of young children. I will definitely check out more books by Liane Moriarty because her writing really hooked me! 5/5 stars

Gone Girl – I am one of the last people on earth to read this book, I’m sure, but I saw the movie floating around Netflix and I kenw the basic premise of the book so I knew Brian would enjoy the movie. I can’t say that I am a huge fan of the book, to be honest. It kept my attention and I needed to finish it, but I didn’t really LIKE it. The movie wasn’t much better, but I can still see how it was so popular…because everyone needed to know how it ended! I just didn’t feel like it resolved enough for my own liking. 3/5 stars

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – this was recommended by A LOT of bloggers and people on Goodreads, so I was anxious to give it a try. It was short and sweet (very sweet characters) and I really enjoyed all of the “book talk.” I’d highly recommend this one! 4.5/5 stars

Twenty Boy Summer – another book for the Literary Ladies Book Challenge (actually all of the above were from my original post on that), and this one was a very quick read. It stirred some emotions, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It was good, but I felt like I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I wanted to be. 2.5/5 stars

The books that I have left for the challenge are The Martian (started it last night via audiobook), One More Thing (halfway done) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (just got it from the library last night!)

Other books I’ve read lately (June 2015):

The Cuckoo’s Calling – I was dying to read this series by Robert Galbraith AKA J.K. Rowling, and although this one was no Harry Potter (obviously, it’s an adult book ;)), and it took me awhile to get into, I still really enjoyed it and I would highly recommend it if you like private investigator type stories, although this one is not as funny as the Veronica Mars or Stephanie Plum books. (3.5/5 stars)

Me Before You – I haven’t felt this emotional about a book in ages and I loved it. It was SUCH a good read. Although I couldn’t necessarily relate to it in very many ways and I am also undecided about whether I am in agreement with it, I still absolutely loved it and it was a great fictional journey. I can’t wait for the sequel which is supposedly coming out this fall. (5/5 stars) 

In short, I’d definitely recommend Me Before You, Big Little Lies, Jane Eyre, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. 🙂

Linking up with Show Us Your Books here.