Books can connect people to other people, stories, and emotions that can move you and your soul. As a gigantic book lover, I have read hundreds of books. There have been bad ones, okay ones, and good ones but once in a while, you read amazing books that truly affect you. I have always appreciated the ability of books to influence the reader’s life. Below I have organized a list of books that I wish I could read for the first time again because of the effect these books had on my life – the stories, characters, and emotions in these books moved me and I hope they can move you too.
- Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram – This book is a retelling of the classic Cinderella which takes place in Hollywood. In this version, the father is alive, and the stepmother is not evil; Prince Charming is Cinder, a swoon-worthy playboy actor, and Cinderella is Ella, a book lover and fantasy geek. This book will bring you on an emotional rollercoaster as you watch Ellamara fight against society, herself, and new circumstances to gain the love of her life and learn how to love herself. This book moved me to evaluate the effect of society on those who have disabilities and undergo tragic circumstances and taught me numerous lessons while making me laugh and cry. A must-read for those who enjoy contemporary, young adult books as well as readers who just want to enjoy true love between two people.
- Kulti by Mariana Zapata – The book follows Sal Casillas, a professional soccer player, and Reiner Kulti, a renowned soccer star, her coach as well as her childhood idol. Through this book, you are able to follow the slow-burn romance of a woman focused on her career and a man she idolized becoming her coach. The story moves from idolization to hatred to understanding to friendship and ends with love. I was not able to put this book down for a second because the complexity of Reiner and Sal’s relationship intrigued me too much to stop. A must-read for those who enjoy enemies-to-lovers, sports romances, and slow-burn romances.
- From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata – In this book, you will meet Ivan and Jasmine professional figure skaters that come across the offer of a lifetime but the catch is that they have to work together. These enemies slowly become friends and end up as lovers who truly understand the rollercoaster that life is when you try to follow your passions and fulfill your dreams. This book left me in tears with the chemistry between Ivan and Jasmine as well as the humorous banter they partake in. A must-read for people who enjoy a great sports romance, humor, and enemies-to-lover trope.
- Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey – A book about Elijah, a mayor-to-be who was left at the altar and gets into a getaway car with an unknown woman called Addison. Addison left town six years ago and when she comes back she becomes the getaway driver for the future mayor, Elijah helping him escape the world and learn to be happy. This book made me laugh at the jokes, made me angry at society for its rules and expectations, and made me love Elijah and Addison for their pure relationship. This is a must-read for people who love an unlikely romance, first-meet best friends and finding the person that just makes you happy.
- A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet – This book is the first of the series, The Kingmaker Chronicles, which is set in the fictional kingdoms of Thalyria following the lives of snarky, powerful Cat and alpha, warlord Griffin and his team of warriors. In the first book, Griffin kidnaps Cat once realizing she is the Kingmaker for a powerful weapon in his newly conquered realm but soon hopes to keep her forever by his side as his equal if only she would stop fighting him. This book made me laugh and giggle at Cat and Griffin’s banter, pace with nervousness as new situations arose, and never stop turning the page until the book was done. A must-read for those who love fantasy romance, magic, greek mythology, mystery, suspense, and enemies-to-lover.
As a side note: The order of these books is not my ranking of them, I enjoy them all on the same level. I mainly read romance books, so this list is only representative of the books I read. To know more about these books, please go on to Goodreads to learn more.
The books mentioned above are a small portion of the romance genre and the many other published books present in the world in various genres and languages. I hope the books I have recommended will help kickstart a love for reading, which I also share, and you will be able to delve into new worlds that will change and broaden your perspective on your life as well as the world around you.