The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig
"Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?"― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I read this recently and my thought was just this book was almost too easy. But that makes this perfect to get back into reading again.
Daisy Jones & The Six follows the story of Daisy Jones, a solo musician who joined the up and coming band The Six. Daisy's presence unleashed the band's full potential and catapulted the entire band into super stardom. With that, their story also comes with all the highs and lows of fame. The book is written in a documentary style format with mostly just dialogues (like a script) and has very little descriptive paragraphs.
My only qualm about this is that throughout the book, because of the format that it's written in, my imagination almost had nothing to work with so I felt a little detached to the characters. However, the reason why this made this recommendation is that this would be perfect for getting out a reading slump. There are no pages-long paragraphs describing a tree or a very detailed description of someone's hair colour. It's almost entirely just dialogue and I know there are times when you're too lazy to read, you just pay attention to whatever is inside the quotation marks.
"But if I did believe in them, I'd believe your soul mate was somebody who had all the things you didn't, that needed all the things you had. Not somebody who's suffering from the same stuff you are."
― Taylor Jenkins Reid , Daisy Jones & The Six
Amazon (CA), $16.80+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $13.99+ | Audible (CA), $23.31+ | Fully Booked (PH), Php595
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
A great romcom book always has a high chance of getting someone hooked or get back to reading. And this book just delivers.
While the "city girl falls in love with a small town boy" trope is a tale overused one too many times in romance novels, somehow Part of Your World still manages to be as charming as it can be. Alexis is a doctor in the big city who has her entire life lined up for her. When she wandered into Daniel's world, she found herself loving every minute of it. However, her reality in the city soon caught up with her and she had to make some hard choices.
It is easy to hate characters like Alexis, but she is surprisingly a very lovable character. She's not bratty and she's actually not a superficial character. Their story is one that will surely make your heart smile and will remind you the great escape that books can bring.
"When she left, the only proof I ever had that she’d been here, or that she even existed at all, was the ache I was starting to feel when she was gone."
― Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World
Amazon (CA), $23.99+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $15.99+ | Audible (CA), $28.27 | Fully Booked (PH), Php999*
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
Still on the romance genre, but on a slightly different (uhm...sad) road we have Dear John from one of the most popular romance writer of our generation, Nicholas Sparks. You might have seen the movie, but the book does hit different. If you're wondering, yes they did change up quite a few things in the movie.
John, a soldier, meets Savannah while she was volunteering during her college spring break. They went on several dates and fell deeply in love in the process. Even after a serious conflict, Savannah and John promised to keep in touch through letters when John got deployed again. Months turned to years and one day, John received a letter from Savannah breaking up with him and letting him know she fell in love with someone else. After an unfortunate incident, John went back to his hometown and there he found that he knew the man Savannah married. This is a love story that has so many layers tightly knit with each other ultimately revealing how they truly felt.
The book will take your heart and just fill it with deep, strong emotions in a true Nicholas Sparks fashion.
"The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last."
― Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
Amazon (CA), $16.99+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $11.99+ | Audible (CA), $28.27+
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
Now if you're looking for a book that does manage keep you on the edge without boring you out, then I think you'd love this.
This one is about the huntress getting hunted. In the present day, we have Jordan who is a very loving daughter and wants the best for her father and their new family. However, she couldn't help but have doubts on her father's new wife. Meanwhile, Nina (a former war soldier) and Graham (a war correspondent) who are both connected by a wrath for a Nazi murderess nicknamed The Huntress, work together to finally put their mutual enemy into justice. The other timeline unravels Nina's past as she joins an all-female night bomber regiment. Though their lives are vastly different, they're somehow connected by a very dark thread that will soon catch up with them revealing the secrets of the past.
Kate Quinn is one of my favourite writers and she definitely did not fail on this one. I think the story does move a little slower. You might have suspicions very early on, but it's still intriguing enough to keep you wanting to know what happens next.
"Time is a wheel, vast and indifferent, and when time rolls on and men forget, we face the risk of circling back."
― Kate Quinn, The Huntress
Amazon (CA), $22.70+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $11.99+ | Audible (CA), $45.44+
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I have mentioned this many times in other posts before. However, allow me to include this because if I think of a fast-paced thriller that keeps you wanting to flip one more page, it would be this one.
Amy and Nick Dunne could have had the picture perfect romance. Things suddenly spiralled down when Amy suddenly disappears one morning on their anniversary. Amy's disappearance led to a search that revealed the many ugly truths about their marriage and of each other. As events got more sinister, Nick is more and more pressed as the main person of interest. He knew he was innocent though no one seemed to believe him. And as you get closer to finding out what really happened to Amy, you will also find yourself questioning who the real villain is in this story.
Gone Girl is a good reading slump book or even something a newbie reader would truly enjoy. It's easy to read and the pacing is just right since it does not have the unnecessary drags that can usually make a book boring.
"Love makes you want to be a better man—right, right. But maybe love, real love, also gives you permission to just be the man you are."
― Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Amazon (CA), $24.95+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $15.99+ | Audible (CA), $27.97+ | Fully Booked (PH), Php559
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
I saved the best for last. We're only halfway into the year, but this takes the award of the most beautiful story that I read in 2024.
Violette Toussaint is a caretaker in a cemetery. She is a woman of grace and of dedication. Her past is not filled with love - rather, it lacked of it. Even if she loves what she does with all her heart and she still somehow finds happiness, it also does not take away the miserable fact that her husband abandoned her one day without warning. The only thing her future might have held was her routine which was suddenly disrupted by the arrival of Julien, a local policeman who wished to scatter his mother's ashes over the grave of someone who is a stranger to him. As both Julien and Violette slowly find out the stories of their lives and those around them, they also see their lives and each other in a whole new light.
I may not have made much justice with the summary, but I hope you still try this book out. Every single character and every event that unfolds grips the heart and takes you into the depth. Being a cemetery caretaker may not be the happiest or what would classify as conventionally pretty, but Valérie Perrin wrote Violette's passion to her job so beautifully that it brings light to all the good that surrounds it.
"You're no longer where you were, but you are everywhere that I am."
― Valérie Perrin, Fresh Water for Flowers
Amazon (CA), $25.50+ | Amazon Kindle (CA), $1.99+ | Audible (CA), $45.44+
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