For romance and book lovers who are experiencing a reading slump – stuck on a book or having trouble reading – I’ve got the solution for you. Since last summer, I had only tried to read one book: Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro and let’s just say that I didn’t enjoy that at all. After that, I turned to BookTubers for recommendations and they didn’t disappoint. I finally got back into reading after more than six months. My recent reads filled me with heart-warming feelings, making me swoon. Without further ado, here are some of my recommendations:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rating: 4/5
This queer young adult novel tells the story of Alex, the son of the president of the United States of America and Prince Henry of England. The book talks about how it feels to always be in the spotlight and to be on the cover of all the magazines. It also touches upon a bit of politics and diplomacy, which I usually don’t like. However, it was done really well. What I liked the most was the character development and the interaction between the two young men. The story even gets a bit steamy at times. It’s just a beautiful story that was the Goodreads Choice winner of 2019.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Rating: 4/5
The story follows a love-to-hate relationship between co-workers Lucinda Hutton and Joshua Templeman. The two of them enjoyed playing games, competing and trying to be better than each other. At first, I didn’t like the story because it was annoying to read about their constant arguing. However, that changed with the plot-twist, which was the sweetest thing ever. It just showed how we really don’t know what’s going on in other people’s minds and, for that reason, we might misunderstand them. It also shows how a relationship can progress from day to night.
Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins
Rating: 4/5
This is the first book in the Royal series and follows Daisy Winters, a 16-year-old Floridian, with red hair, a boring job and an older sister who’s engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. After being caught up in a scandal caused by an ex, Daisy is sent to Scotland for the summer to be “out of the spotlight” before her sister’s wedding and what she thought would be a dull and boring summer, turned out to be the complete opposite. She got to visit castles, dress up like royalty, make friends and even find a love interest. After which, her life changed completely. Who doesn’t want that?
Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
Rating: 4.5/5
The second book of the Royal series and is a queer romance. It follows a character briefly introduced in the first book, Princess Flora of Scotland. She is sent to a boarding school in the Highlands, the same one her twin brother attended and got kicked out of. She crosses paths with her roommate, Millie Quint, whom she’s not that fond of. Millie had tried to get into that boarding school for a year, but her parents didn’t want to let her go due to its expensive tuition.
When she fights with her best friend and gets a scholarship, all the doubts about actually going to Scotland disappear. She makes two friends right away, but neither does she get along with Flora nor is the school what she expected. However, as soon as the plot twist comes, you’re filled with joy reading the heart-warming story that unfolds.
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
Rating: 4/5
This was a great read from beginning to end. The reason for that was because I could see a bit of myself in the main character, Georgette (Georgie) Castle, who’s brutally honest and will do anything in her power to ensure the well-being of others. The other main character is Travis Ford, a former baseball player who suffered an injury and slipped into deep depression. He thought he was now a failure, but was he really?
The story follows the relationship between the main characters and both of their personal growths. Travis went from being a depressed and good-for-nothing ladies’ man to a man every parent would wish their daughter took as a husband. What makes the story so beautiful is how mundane it is, something that could clearly happen in real life. It also showed how relationships can both quickly develop and deepen in a short time. If you love reading romance novels with steamy passages, then this is the book for you.
So far, most of the books I’ve read this year are either romance or fantasy novels. Romance novels are easy and enjoyable to read, which is why they helped me get out of my reading slump and back into reading. Some books I read last year deserve honorable mentions: The Summer series by Jenny Han (The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer) and Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.