Hi guys, it's nicole and welcome back to my channel.
The time has come, you guys.
We are back with another book recommendation video to give you guys a little context.
If you've been watching my channel for a little bit, you may know, when i was going into my sophomore year of high school, i had this huge reading phase where i was reading books like left and right, like every single day, and i made a few book recommendation videos on my channel.
But then i fell into a huge reading slump and i basically just stopped reading as a hobby.
But now i am going into my sophomore year of college haulage, which is insane to say, but I'm so happy that I am back in my reading phase.
If you guys have been keeping up with the summer vlogs, you guys know one of my goals for this year was to get back into reading and I totally have.
And today I am doing a summer book recommendations video and sharing with you guys some of the books that I've been loving so far this season.
Ever since I got home for summer, which was like a month and a half I've read like over ten books so far, and I've definitely have some five stars and great reads that I want to share with you guys.
So that is what today's video is gonna be about.
I literally made a note on my phone of all the things that I want to cover, just because there's so many good things, and I hope I don't forget anything.
Yeah, we'll see.
Oh, and little disclaimer, I just want to add that most of these books are contemporary romance novels, so if that's not your genre, then these books may not be for you, but if it is, I got you.
But with all that being said, I am so excited to chat books with all of you today.
We have a lot to go through.
Let's get into the summer book recs!
Starting off strong, the first book is Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
This is actually not romance, this is a historical fiction novel.
It tells the story of the famous ribba family, and the oldest daughter nina, is having her annual end of the summer party.
And it's really cool because there's a dual timeline.
So not only is it told over the course of the 12 hour period leading up to the party, the actual party and then what happens after, but it also switches to telling the history of the family.
It's an unforgettable night.
Secrets come out and this is what the book says they will have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them and what they will leave behind.
I love this book.
I gave it five stars, not only because it's written so well, but also it's the book that got me out of my reading slump.
When I got home from the summer, this is the first book I picked off the shelves, and I'm so glad that I did, because I ended up enjoying it so so much.
The summer vibes are unmatched in this.
I love dual timeline, all the details about the characters and the, and I finished it in two days.
Such a good read.
And then honorable mention, I want to talk about Daisy Jones and the Six also by Taylor Jenkins Reid, because I ended up reading this right after Malibu Rising.
This isn't one of my like summer book recs.
I just wanted to add it in this video, but it follows a fictional band and it also got adapted into a TV series on Amazon Prime, which I've heard really good reviews about.
But I just really like Taylor Jenkins reads books.
You may know the title, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, that's also by her.
And what's cool is that her universe, they're all connected.
You'll see characters in Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the Six, which I thought was really neat.
So these were my first two reads of the summer.
I really enjoyed them and I can't wait to pick up more.
Taylor Jenkins reads now.
Next we have the summer of broken rules by kl walther.
This is a young adult romance novel.
It follows meredith fox.
Unfortunately her sister just passed away so she kind of shut out the world.
But this summer she's ready to get back into things.
She goes on her annual family vacation to matthew's vineyard and there's a big summer wedding.
She did just get dumped and so she's dateless, but she is still very excited to play their traditional game of assassin that the whole family participates in.
So the whole week of wedding festivities the game is going on.
She ends up forming an alliance with one of the groomsmen.
His name is Wit.
And basically she's just trying to navigate, trying not to lose the game, but also trying not to lose her heart.
I thought this book was very, very cute.
Another great summer read.
There's a blend of romance, family bond, and also self-discovery.
And I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Meredith and Wit.
They're adorable.
I think KL Walther did an amazing job showing a big family bond.
There's a little Fox family tree at the beginning of the book.
So you kind of know all of the characters and connect all the storylines.
But I just think this book is so, so adorable.
Next we have Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez.
I love this book you guys this follows Emma and Justin and they think that they both have this curse where when they date someone and then they break up that person finds their person and gets married so they find their soulmate so when Emma and Justin meet each other and they realize that both of them have gone through this situation multiple times they have this idea where they're like why don't we just date each other then break up and then break the curse four dates a kiss and a breakup that's all it will take to find their soulmate what a close plot like i just love it there's also some real life issues too emma has a toxic mother justin has to assume guardianship over his three siblings and then also they're trying to navigate catching real feelings for each other five stars five stars five stars five stars i loved this book so so much it's such a fun and easy read and i just loved the characters so so much with that being said i have more honorable mentions i would also like to add yours truly and part of your old also by abby jimenez because these are actually a series they are standalone books which means you can read just for the summer by itself and not the other two books but this is actually the third and last book of it and i saw this one girl on tiktok explain it in this way and it makes so much sense if you're gonna read just for the summer you're gonna want to read more abby jimenez books so you might as well just start the series and read it in order unfortunately i read just for the summer first and i really wish i read these two first this is the order that it comes in it goes part of your world yours truly and then just for the summer and again you can read them as standalones but there are character appearances throughout all three and it's such a good series part of your world follows Alexis and Daniel yours truly follows Brianna and Jacob and then once again just for the summer follows Emma and Justin but they're all interconnected somehow and just saying read these in order but Abby Menes might be one of my new favorite authors I love her writing style and let me just say she knows how to write male characters all of the main male characters in these books are chef's kiss so good five out of five stars for all of these books i can't wait to pick up more of her novels i think i want to get say you'll remember me next which is her newest book but i know she has some other series too which i really want to dive into next we have every summer after by carly fortune this is a contemporary romance coming of age novel it follows percy and sam they are childhood best friends to lovers they grew up on the lake together but then percy makes a really big mistake and she doesn't end up returning back to the lake until years later for sam's mom's funeral This is another dual timeline book.
It's told, over the course of the six summers of their childhood growing up on the lake, and then also the weekend where they see each other again years later.
Once again, I really enjoyed the dual timeline too.
And I also love the trope childhood best friends to lovers.
I think it's so cute seeing them grow up.
However, there is a miscommunication trope in this book, which is not my favorite.
I was low-key annoyed when that was happening, but it's okay.
Still enjoyed it.
There is some spice in this book.
Exciting news.
It's also going to be adapted into a TV show on Amazon Prime crime.
But this was a great summer read.
And then another honorable mention.
I want to pick up One Golden Summer by Call Your Fortune as well, which is the sequel to Every Summer After.
And so that book follows Sam's older brother and tells his story.
So I can't wait to pick that up and read that because I've heard really good things about it.
And next we have The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren.
This is another contemporary romance novel.
It follows Anna and Wes who are in a fake marriage.
That's right.
Anna is a starving artist living from paycheck to paycheck, while Wes is a Stanford professor and also comes from a very wealthy family like very wealthy you guys.
They started a family business owning one of the biggest grocery stores in the world, and so they're very rich.
Wes isn't really close to his family because of the family business, but he is very interested in getting his inheritance, so his grandparents wrote in the will that Wes and his siblings can get their inheritance of 100 million dollars each.
Yeah, 100 million dollars, you guys only if they are in a marriage for five years.
So basically, Wes's sister is getting married.
There's a destination wedding.
They can afford a private island in Indonesia.
And Wes is bringing Anna as his fake wife.
Bunch of stuff goes down.
Gets crazy.
It's a whole thing.
And it's great.
I think Christina Lauren does a great job touching on social class and family issues.
There's also some... in this book and the setting in this book is perfect to read in the summer season i love christina lauren books they're actually i don't know if you guys know this they're two authors like it's a combined pen name of christina hobbs and then lauren billings at first i didn't know that i really enjoy their books i have a bunch on my shelf already and again i really enjoyed this one next we have it happened one summer by tessa bailey another contemporary romance novel this follows piper and brendan piper is a huge socialite her whole life is going to parties fashion posting online oh hold for playing when one party goes terribly wrong her stepfather sends her to this one small town westport washington to learn some responsibility and run her late father's dive bar once again it's a very small town so she keeps running into this one fisherman and his name is brendan and basically she's just trying to navigate reconnecting with her past and also deciding what she wants to do with her future this is another very fun read it is indeed very spicy tessa bailey knows how to write some spice there's another plane oh and this book is also written in third person i think most of tessa bailey books are third person which caught me a little off guard because all the other books in this video are first person so that's what i'm normally used to so i wasn't sure at first if i was going to like it or not but i actually really enjoyed it still i think tessa bailey does a great job writing in third person and it still feels like you're there and understanding what the characters are going through and with that being said we have another honorable mention book this is hook line and sinker by tessa bailey which is the sequel to it happened one summer this book follows hannah and fox hannah is piper's sister and fox is brendan's best friend who are also mentioned in this book so i just picked this up from barnes and noble the other week can't wait to get into it i heard really good things about it also too i'm surprised that i haven't mentioned this already but all the covers of all these books are so freaking cute especially these i love them but i will keep you guys updated when i read this one and next we have till summer do us part by megan quinn this is probably my favorite book out of this whole video you guys it's another contemporary romance novel of course it follows scotty and wilder scotty just went through a divorce so she's trying to start a new chapter in her life she moves to new york starts a new job but she finds out quickly that at her job everyone is happily married so this one time when they're all in a meeting with their boss their boss is asking them like their upcoming plans for the week and everyone is talking about what they're doing with their partners.
So Scotty being a new employee and just wanting to fit in, she also says that she has plans with her partner, but then one of her coworkers is like you're not wearing a wedding ring.
Like, are you actually married?
And then she says, well, we're going through some problems right now.
So that's why her boss pulls her aside and goes funny thing my husband is a marriage counselor and so he can help you guys.
I'll set up an appointment for you.
And Scotty is not getting out of this lie.
Like she's honestly digging herself a deep hole that she is not climbing out of.
So she ends up meeting a fake husband and, lo and behold, this is where Wilder comes in.
Wilder is scotty's best friend's younger brother, only two years younger, but he ends up saying yes for the part.
He's a millionaire and also interested in improv, so he's very excited to play the part.
He ends up going to this marriage therapy session with scotty and her boss's husband and they think that they're having problems, And then his marriage counselor ends up telling them that he is holding an eight-day marriage camp for couples to fix their marriage or help them fix things and reconnect.
So Scotty ends up going on an eight-day marriage camp with her fake husband Wilder, and all of her coworkers end up being there as well.
Sorry, I know that was a lot.
I was trying to explain it in the best way possible, but just know it is such a clever plot.
So much fun reading this book.
Another five stars on the charts.
Like i said, it might be my favorite read of the summer so far.
There were so many times i found myself literally laughing out loud like chuckling and giggling to myself because of the banter between the two wilder.
In general, i think he might be my new book boyfriend.
You guys wilder, love him.
I love the fake dating and the one bed trope.
This book is also very, very spicy.
Megan quinn yeah, she knows how to do that.
Oh, and another thing is too like a few throughout.
I think this is in her other novels as well, but she adds pictures so that her readers can kind of see what she's envisioning of the characters, which was really neat, because then I can really understand like, what they're looking like, what they're doing, stuff like that.
I love this book.
I cannot wait to read more Megan Quinn books and this is definitely at the top of my summer book recs.
All right, as we are slowly nearing the end of this video, these next two books I want to mention together.
Happy Place by Emily Henry and Problematic Summer Romance by Isley Hazelwood.
They are both contemporary romance novels.
Happy Place follows Harriet and Wen, who have been the perfect couple since they met in college, but they end up breaking up, but not telling anyone.
So when their friends plan a whole trip, they end up going but having to act as if they are still together.
There's a fake dating trope, close proximity trope.
The setting is a really cute cottage in Maine and the problematic summer romance follows Maya and Connor, who have a 15 year age gap.
Yeah, that's right.
One five guys, a decade and a half.
Maya is 23 and Connor is 38.
Connor is also Maya's brother's best friend.
The brother is holding a destination wedding in Italy.
And, as per the title, there's definitely a problematic summer romance.
But the reason why I want to mention these books together in this video is because they weren't my favorite out of all the books that I read, which was so unfortunate, because I've read other titles from both of these authors before and have really liked them.
But I don't know, with these books I feel like I just didn't connect with them.
Maybe I don't know if it was a change in writing style or the certain tropes, or know what it was, but i still wanted to add it into this video because, even if it wasn't my favorite, it might still be for one of you guys.
So i definitely wanted to tell you guys what the books were about.
I still enjoyed reading them.
They were just not my favorite.
All right, and now, moving on to the book that i am currently reading, this is 28 summers by ellen hilder brand.
I wanted to finish this book before filming this video, but unfortunately the timing just did not work out.
I started today.
I'm already this much in, so it's pretty good, but i'm really enjoying it so far.
I've heard great things about len hildebrand also great things about this book.
Basically mallory, her son link, received her deathbed instructions.
She's dying and she tells him to call this number on a little slip of paper, and he doesn't expect it to be the number of Jake.
And so he's like, who are you?
How do you know my mom?
And then the book goes into the 28 summers of the story of Mallory and Jake.
Once again, I'm only 85 pages in, but it's really good so far.
So I will probably finish it either today or tomorrow.
I will keep you guys updated on how much I like this book.
So far, it's a great summer read.
And then last book I'm talking about in this video, kind of another honorable mention, but also on my TBR, I guess.
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han.
If you know, you know this is the third and final book in the Summer I Turned.
I've already read this whole series.
They're such fun and easy reads.
But because season 3 is coming out in July, I thought it'd be a great book to have like a little refresher before watching that season.
If you guys don't know about this series, I would totally suggest.
It's such a cute coming-of-age, young adult romance, love triangle type situation.
So I can't wait to reread this and watch that, and that completes my summer book recs video.
I hope you guys enjoyed this and hearing me yap about books.
If you guys have any recommendations, definitely comment them down below, especially if they're romance.
I'll probably be getting them.
Also, let me know if any of you guys have a kindle.
If you like it or not, i've been kind of looking into it and seeing if it's something that i would like.
I've said this in a recent vlog, but a lot of people have asked me why i'm going to barnes and noble and buying all my books.
But it's because i still have leftover gift cards from my 16th birthday and so i definitely want to use all of those.
I think i have like five left, so i still got a few trips to go to bnn, which is really exciting.
Fernsville is like the best place ever.
However, i've been seeing a lot of things about kindles too, and they look really nice, so if you have any experience with that, let me know as well in the comments.
But i am so happy to be reading again truly reading.
It's definitely one of my favorite hobbies and i just get so much joy from it.
I will definitely keep you guys updated with current reads.
Upcoming reads.
And I'm hoping my reading phase doesn't die out too quickly.
But if you guys stayed till the end of this video, comment down below the books emoji.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
I hope you enjoyed.
Make sure to like and comment down below.
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I will see you guys back with another video.
I love you guys so, so much.
Stay positive.
Bye.
Happy reading.
