Recent Reads + Book Review!

Happy Friday loves! Hope you had a great week and have some fun weekend plans ahead. I'm so excited for today's post because it's not that often that I've done book reviews on the blog but they have to be my absolute favorite to read! Biana from B Loved Boston and Caitlin from Southern Curls and Pearls have the best book reviews especially because I think we have very similar taste in books.

I've mentioned before that I pretty much either read historical fiction books or thrillers/mysteries. Those are the only genres that really pull me in and keep my attention! Below are my top reads from this summer/early fall in order of favorite:

#1-The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

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I had just wrapped up reading The Nightingale and loved it so much that I ordered this other book from Kristin Hannah. This one exceeded all of my expectations and honestly I recommend it over The Nightingale even though it's not NEARLY as popular! If you have a sister, I think you would LOVE this book because so much of it is about the bond between sisters and their relationship with their mother. I don't have a sister haha but still LOVED it and loved both characters so much! The way the story is told it goes back and forth between present day and Russia during WWII. That is my favorite style of book when there are two stories being told in two different timelines!

#2-What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

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Ok so DISCLAIMER with this one--I haven't actually finished it yet lol! BUT I'm almost done and had to include it because this book gripped me from the very moment I started it! Something about the way this author writes and I also have a slight obsession with everything British so the fact that this takes place near London totally had me sold. It definitely gives me third party anxiety because the premise is about the protagonist's son going missing which just a heartbreaking plotline to read. It's such a rollercoaster! Will definitely keep y'all posted on what I think when I'm done which will probably be by the end of the weekend.

#3-All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

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This book isn't at all what I expected and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like the book focused way more on the author dealing with her inner demons versus her trying to solve the mystery of her missing friend! BUT I think it was so innovative the way the story was told in reverse and the ending definitely surprised me. I REALLY like the way this author writes and definitely want to check out The Perfect Stranger by her next.

#4-The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

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Ok so this book I bought totally on a whim--I hadn't really heard anything about it prior to reading. I just thought the story sounded like it would be really intense and suspenseful! It definitely did not disappoint. The author's writing style isn't my favorite and I almost gave up on it after the first two or three chapters but I'm glad I kept going because after that I couldn't put it down! It's about a group of four friends that go on a kayaking trip where basically all hell breaks loose and they have to try to survive deep in the wilderness. This is one you could definitely read in 24 hours!

#5-The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

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Although I didn't love it AS much as I loved The Winter Garden, I still really did like it! It's a beautiful story also about two sisters living in German-occupied France during WWII. It separately follows the sisters who have two TOTALLY separate experiences and approaches to living under the Nazi regime. Isabelle is headstrong and ready to rebel while Vianne simply wants to survive and keep her daughter safe. It was honestly one of the most HEART-WRENCHING books I've ever read so have some tissues handy! Isabelle's character is also based on a real-life heroine which is pretty incredible.

#6-The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

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I enjoyed this book and it definitely kept my attention but I probably liked the storyline the least of the bunch. The whole thing is basically about the protagonist being captured for ransom and she starts to develop Stockholm-syndrome. It definitely was suspenseful and I do like the author's writing style a lot! Just wasn't a huge fan of the story.

Next on my list--The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda, Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (writer of The Girl on the Train). Do y'all have any other suggestions?!