Summer Book Haul!

Hello, guys! It's been quite a while since I last posted a book haul, and since then I have become the proud new owner of more than a few literary works. As summer is about to end, with school just around the corner, I thought why not write a post including all the books that have come to live in my shelves during this summer.

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I've been traveling quite a lot around Europe this summer. First I went to Rome with my family as a surprise birthday present; a few weeks later I went to the UK for a university course at Newcastle and then to London for a few days with some of my friends; I then went to Pamplona (Spain) for San Fermines festivities; two weeks later I went to Paris with my sister; and last but not least I went to Mallorca for the weekend (the past weekend). This is A LOT for anyone, but it feels huge for me because I usually don't travel much, and for some reason it has come all at the same time. The thing is, I love buying books when I travel instead of the usual souvenir, so some of the mountains of books I bought this summer came from my travels. The rest, you'll find out about as you read along!

Without further ado, let's see how big my family has grown! 

The following books are in chronological order of purchase. I've included all my purchases from the day my summer started back in May.


Ramona Blue - Julie Murphy

I decided to buy this books because of all the controversy that surrounds it. It is a YA, LGBT, contemporary novel, and I got it on pre-order with all the awesome freebies that came with it - postcards, stickers, bookmarks, etc. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, although I added it to the list of books I have to read for the 2017 Diverse Reads Challenge, so I will have to read it pretty soon.

Two Boys Kissing - David Levithan

I also bought Two Boys Kissing for the 2017 Diverse Reads challenge, as it follows a group of gay and transgender boys in different situations. It is YA, contemporary, and it is told from the viewpoint of all the gay men that were lost to AIDS in the past century. I uploaded a full review of this book, which you can find here :)

Arena Negra - Gema Bonnín

Arena Negra ("Black Arena") is the second part of the duology by my dear friend Gema Bonnín. The books are YA, dystopian, and follow a girl named Faith who lives in a future in which Asia has turned tables and is now the world leading force. We've gone back to slavery, and Faith is taken from the first world and forced to become a gladiator, to fight for her life in the arena. Unfortunately, this books has only been published in Spanish!  

Bone Gap - Laura Ruby

I bought Bone Gap in a wonderful bookshop in Newcastle because the super nice shop assistant insisted I had to read it. I hadn't heard of it, but he told me it was awesome, so I had to get it! It is a YA novel that includes magical realism in it, and the guy in the shop told me there were two ways you could read this story - thinking it was all magical, or thinking none of it was magic because, apparently, it is all written in metaphors. I thought that was just great.

Always and Forever Lara Jean - Jenny Han

Always and Forever Lara Jean is the third and last book in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han, a series of YA, contemporary books that follow a Corean-American teenage girl who has the habit of writing letters to the boys she loves only once she stops loving them. She never sends them, she just keeps them, but one day the letters are miraculously sent to the boys, and all of Lara Jean's secrets are out in the wild. I loved the first two books - they're probably the books I've laughed with the most, but I thought the third one was unnecessary. I still enjoyed it because I loved the characters, but I thought it added nothing to the story, which was a shame. I bought this one in the same bookshop in Newcastle when I went because I had a university summer course :)

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

I bought this book in London, and it is the book I am currently reading and loving. It is the second part of the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. I'd read the first book the month before, and I liked it so much I wanted to get the second one as soon as possible. The duology is set in the same world as Leigh Bardugo's previous series (The Grisha Trilogy), but you don't need to have read the previous ones to read this one - I haven't read them because I'm always late to the party, so don't worry if you haven't either. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 20th-anniversary edition

I was lucky enough to win a copy of the 20th-anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in a giveaway hosted by Marriam from @MarriamYahya via Twitter. It was a wonderful surprise, and I have to admit it is the first ever copy of this book I own. Since receiving this book, I've decided I will read the Harry Potter books as each of their 20th-anniversary editions are published because I have to put a remedy to not having read the Harry Potter books! Again, thank you so much Marriam for hosting this wonderful giveaway! :D

Mafiosa (Blood for Blood #3) - Catherine Doyle

Mafiosa is the third book in the Blood for Blood YA trilogy by Catherine Doyle, and I bought this book in digital edition for my kindle. It follows a teenage girl named Sophie whose life dramatically changed as his dad was sent to jail due to the murder of a man who came one night into his diner. As she adapts to her new life, five handsome boys come to live to a previously abandoned house in her neighborhood, but there is something not entirely normal about them, and soon Sophie's life will be turned even more upside down. I was really excited because I'd really liked the first book, but just as I was starting this third book I remembered I hadn't read it right after finishing the second one because I'd ended up slightly bored. And that is just how Mafiosa came along. It was a huge disappointment - what to say it got me into a reading slump! I didn't even finish this book...

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson

I bought this book in Audiobook edition, and I had so much fun listening to it! It is a YA, contemporary about a girl named Amy who has recently lost her dad. Her mum's been away from California in a totally different state across the country (Connecticut) for the past month, and her twin brother's been sent to rehab - also in a different state. Now they are all moving to Connecticut, and Amy's mum has arranged her daughter's move to be by car with their neighbour's son, who also has to travel across the country. I loved listening to this book on audiobook, and I thought the story was absolutely cute and funny. Very recommendable light read! I will post a full review of this book very soon, so stay tuned!

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

If you've followed my posts for a while, you'll know this is one of my favourite books ever, written by one of my favourite writers of all times. This is the first book to an adult, historical fiction series called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, made up of four books, set in Barcelona in the period after the Spanish Civil War. It follows a boy named Daniel whose dad runs an old-books store. Daniel finds this book he is crazy about, titled The Shadow of the Wind, and soon he discovers there is something odd about its author and the copies left of this book. I read this book a long time ago, and because I wanted to re-read it and I want to collect all the books by the author for my collection, I asked for it as a birthday present. If you like historical fiction (and even if you don't normally read this genre - it was the first one I ever read), I'd say you go get it as soon as possible, because it IS WORTH IT.  

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

YES! I've finally gotten myself a copy of this classic. I have to admit I have neither read The Great Gatsby nor watched the movie, so it will hopefully be an interesting experience. I bought it when I went with my sister to Paris, and I am very happy I did! 

Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel

I also bought this book in Paris, basically because the title ringed a bell and it had a very interesting cover. It is a science fiction novel, the first in a trilogy called Themis Files Series, and apparently, it is about a girl who falls through the earth and is found in the palm of a metal hand. Various years later, investigations about this strange object are inconclusive and the little girl grows up to be an important piece in the discovery of what the unknown artifact may be. It is written in interview form, which seems refreshing. I don't read much SciFi - in fact, I don't think I've ever read anything of this genre, but we have to start somewhere! I hope it's good :)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon - Kelly Barnhill

I bought this book because there was a "Buy 2 for 1 credit" offer for Audible members a few weeks ago, and although I hadn't heard anything about this book, the synopsis caught my eye. It is YA fantasy, and it is about a town whose peoples have to give a baby every year as an offering for the witch who lives in the forest so that they can live in peace for the rest of the year. The witch keeps the babies for a little while until she can deliver them to other loving families on the other side of the forest, and in the mean time, she feeds them starlight. One year, she feeds one of the babies moonlight instead, and the baby is filled with magic. I thought this seemed a very unique story, so I had to get it! I am very excited to read this one :D

The Unseen World - Liz Moore

And this one I also got in audiobook format with the offer. I had heard Regan from PeruseProject talk about it, and she said she'd absolutely loved it, so I had added it to my TBR and it was finally time to get a copy! :D It is an adult fiction novel set in the 1980s, following a girl named Ada and her father. They are both quite eccentric - the father is a university professor, and the girl is homeschooled, both of them very intelligent. It is the story of how Ada unravels his father's past. I am also very excited to listen to this one. Let's hope I can get ot it soon!

So, yes... This is my pretty large summer bookhaul! It is a huge lot for me, especially since I didn't manage to read as many books as I would have liked to because of the honestly great amount of things I did this summer (so I guess that's good, right...?). This made my shelves so much more filled up than they should be, and thus I decided to go on a book buying ban until I've read the majority of the books I own already. Let's see how that goes! I've never had to do one before... 😌

Have you read any of the books I listed here? If so, what did you think?


Happy reading!

Previous book review...

Two Boys Kissing - David Levithan