Book Recommendations: Part Nine

 What better way to kick off July than with a few new books to add to your TBR. In all honesty, May was a slower reading month for me because it was a super busy month. We visited two different Disney parks which was magical and then a lot of time was spent recovering from two different trips. My reading got a bit better in June and I definitely have high hopes for how much I’ll get read this summer. Anyway, enough of my incessant rambling and on with the list…

The Cousins by Karen McManus

This book follows three cousins; Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story. They don’t know each other that well but they each receive a letter from their wealthy grandma – whom they’ve never met – inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer. Since their parents were all disinherited and cut out of their mother’s life before the cousins were even born; it’s clear that they have no choice and are going to the island for the summer in the hopes that they, and the parents, can get back into the good books with their grandma. However, when the three cousins arrive at the island, they are met with more than one surprise and as they spend more time there, it becomes clear that there’s a lot of secrets in the Story family history, including some that they wish they hadn’t uncovered. Full of twists, shocking secrets and family drama; this book is definitely for you if you’re a fan of YA mystery books. It’ll leave you wanting to know more about this family and the skeletons they have in their closets… (Content/Trigger Warnings: Addiction, Adultery, Miscarriage, Death)

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

If you don’t know – a final girl is the person in horror movies that survives all the brutal attacks by the film’s villain. They’re still standing by the time the film ends. Have you ever wondered what happens in real life to final girls when the media attention goes away and when people stop caring? This story follows a real life final girl – Lynnette Tarkington who survived a gruesome massacre over twenty years ago. What happened to Lynnette back then shaped the next two decades of her life and changed the trajectory of her life. And for more than a decade, Lynnette has been attending a support group – the final girl support group – with other women who have faced what she has and with a therapist. These meetings are a sacred, safe space and so Lynnette is more than panicked when one of the women fails to show up and they soon learn that she has been murdered. Someone is coming for the Final Girls and their support group and won’t stop until they tear the group and its members apart. But these women are survivors so they’ll do what they must…if that’s enough this time. If you’re a fan of the final girl trope in horror movies then this book is definitely for you. It’ll leave you with that exact same tension that slasher and horror movies give you and will have you feeling anxious for the characters. (Content/Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Cancer, Drug Use, Gun Violence, Murder, Addiction, Abuse)

Brotherhood (a Star Wars book) by Mike Chen

Okay so if you’re not a Star Wars fan then this probably won’t interest you but I figured with the recent release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, it was the perfect time to recommend this book. In Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan says to Anakin ‘That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn’t count’ and in Brotherhood, we get to take a dive into what exactly “that business” means. When an explosion rips through and devastates Cato Neimoidia, the neutrality of the planet begins to crumble as fingers start to point to the Republic as the ones responsible. Obi-Wan Kenobi is sent to the planet in attempt to regain a neutral balance on the planet but he soon learns that there are other players at work in the shadows of the planet trying to tip the scales in favour of the separatists. Anakin Skywalker has recently been promoted to Jedi Knight and as he tries to navigate this new role, we get glimpses of his relationship with Padmé, having to deal with some younglings and the struggle him and Obi-Wan face of having to work together as equals and not padawan and master. The story unfolds as we witness these two brothers by bond have to learn to adapt and work together to save Cato Neimoidia and to always have each other’s backs. As I mentioned, if you recently watched the Obi-Wan Kenobi series then this book will be the most perfect thing to read next. Especially if you’re a fan of Obi-Wan, Anakin and their brotherhood. (It will hurt you and have you crying though, so don’t say I didn’t warn you)