Bookworm Quirks: Kinds of Love I Love, or, Relationships I Love to Read About

Most books are about romance of some kind. I’m not complaining about it because I’ve always been in love with love. But as anyone who has to constantly defend their adoration of Valentine’s Day will tell you, there are several kinds of love and they all deserve to be written about!! Here are my favorites and a few books that fulfill that need.

Family Love

There are few things I love more than a well-written family that gets along. You know when you watched Easy A for the first time and could not stop laughing at Olive’s amazing parents and brother? They are so fun! Who wouldn’t want a family like that? Well, that’s the feeling I’m always searching for when I pick up a new book. Thankfully, My Life Next Door hits the spot. The Garretts are so real and loving. It shows that families don’t always have to get along to be amazing, and that love is what makes life worthwhile. There’s love overflowing between these characters, and it’s such a delight to read about them.

Sibling Love

Related to Family Love (HA! Get it? Related. They’re siblings and family!), Sibling Love is all about the brothers and sisters that would do anything for each other. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is gorgeous in so many ways, but especially in the ways Lara Jean interacts with her sisters. There’s so much love without it feeling forced or fake. I’m so here for it!

Friendship Love

THIS IS MY FAVORITE KIND. I LOVE FRIENDS. There are so many books I could use for this, but Keeping the Moon really satisfied everything I look for in a story about friendship. It had the struggle of wanting to support a friend who keeps making decisions that are TERRIBLE for them, trying to fit in when you don’t know who you are, and allowing others to show you your best traits. I just love friendship SO MUCH, y’all.

Self-Love

Keeping the Moon also deals a lot with something I’m so glad to see emerging into the YA scene: self-love. Dumplin is also very much about loving yourself, but I haven’t read it yet (I know, I’m terrible!). Colie recently lost forty pounds when her mom because an international fitness guru, but she still sees herself as the fat girl at the dance everyone laughed at. But through breaking down her walls and making new friends, she learns that she is strong, no matter her size. YES, PLEASE!

What are the kinds of love you love reading about? Do you have any book suggestions? Sound off in the comments!

Book Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Info: 356 pages, hardcover, Contemporary YA/Magical Realism, published September 18th, 2012

Synopsis: Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes—and three girls secretly plotting revenge.

KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend.

LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it.

MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him.

None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible.

With an alliance in place, there will be no more “I wish I’d said…” or “If I could go back and do things differently…” These girls will show Jar Island that revenge is a dish best enjoyed together.

Why I Picked This Book: I love Jenny Han, and this synopsis sounds like Pretty Little Liars meets Dawson’s Creek. Ye please!

First Impressions: What a pretty cover. I’d keep this just for the cover.

What I Liked: The characters were so distinct, so voiced. I never had to flip to the start of the chapter to see which girl was speaking. I love books like this, the teenage girls deal with intrigue and mysteries and revenge.

What I Didn’t Like: I didn’t realize that there was a Carrie element to the story? I expected just regular old contemporary, but I probably should have done more research. I’ll finish the series though. It’s not really a deal breaker.

Rating and Recommendations: If you like Pretty Little Liars and need something to read after that series, this is the series for you!

Final Thoughts: I would like to see it done without the telekinesis, but I’m not so turned off by it that I’ll stop reading the books. Just took me off guard, which would have been prevented by me doing any kind of research.

Sound off in the comments: What did you think of this book? Did you like the magic aspect? Are you going to finish the series?

Review Roundup: Perfect Couple, My Life Undecided, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, 17 First Kisses, and Melt

Since I’m way behind on my book reviews, I decided to start a feature for books I need to review but don’t have enough to say to qualify for a full post. Welcome to the first review round up!

Perfect Couple (The Superlatives #2) by Jennifer Echols

I love love LOVED Biggest Flirts, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. It was breezy, fun, light, and perfect. If you need a beach book or something to pick you back up after a heavy read, This is a great book for that! 5 stars.

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

Really cute book! I found myself yelling at the main character because she seriously makes the WORST decisions, but that’s the whole reason this book is happening. It was interesting to think about the tagline: Would I put my fate in the hands of blog readers? Probably not. But if I did, what would happen? 4 stars.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

I thought this book was going to have a way different format, but I really like how Jenny Han incorporated the letters into the story. It was much more organic and less of a writing gimmick. I am so ready for the sequel! Plus, I don’t think I could ask for a prettier book to grace my shelves. 5 stars!

17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen

I expected to hate this book, because I read it for the ‘Book with Bad Reviews’ on my reading challenge. But maybe the reviews I read were for ARCs, because a lot of the problems they had with the story were either way smaller than said, or gone entirely. I think the author could have done so so much more with the plot, and there was a world of psychology left untouched in the abusive relationship story, so I’m iffy on it. 3 stars.

Melt by Selene Castrovilla

This was a pretty good book, and I loved the alternating writing styles: Dorothy in her prose, and Joey with his free verse. It was gorgeous to read, but definitely had a bad case of the instalove. Also, there were way too few ties to the Wizard of Oz aside from Dorothy’s name to earn the cover and everything.

Selene Castrovilla really delved into the mind of an abused teen trying to forget his problems and save those he cares about. I would like to see what comes next from her.

Thanks for reading the first Review Roundup! Let me know in the comments: Have you read any of these? Are you going to look for them? What are your thoughts?