TOP FIVE HYPED BOOKS I LOVE

Mabuhay, friends!

I haven’t joined a Top Five Tuesday in a while but after seeing the prompts for July, I wanted to give this bookish meme a go! I know, I know, it’s not a Tuesday but I feel this prompt too fun not to participate in. I hope you enjoy my book recommendations!

To check out the July to September topics post, please click here. Top Five Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and is now being hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War is a very hyped book and for good reasons. It’s an adult fantasy series that is influenced by 20th-century Chinese history. The second and third book in the series deals with the effects of Western imperialism and colonisation. The main character is a very morally grey, anti-heroine who can call on a god. Each of the characters are so complex and the dynamics are always quite tense.

🌸 THE POPPY WAR BY R.F. KUANG: DISCUSSING THE BOOK WITH DANI

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When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I watched the movie for Gone Girl before I ever read the book and I was obsessed with it. Still am. I love the the premise of a woman pretending to be dead to get back at her jerk of a husband. But it was the writing that elevated this entire book. Amy’s perspective is mean and venom-filled. It’s hard not to feel the rage she feels and want her to succeed. But at a deeper look, this book is about marriage and the people we choose to commit our lives to. Do we really know them?

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Marriage can be a real killer.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A horror book featuring women of colour, and providing a commentary on race, colonialism and eugenics. It was such a stunning and creepy read. Mexican Gothic puts a twist to the classic tropes of a haunted house and eerie families.

🌸 MEXICAN GOTHIC BY SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA // a disturbing & utterly captivating horror novel

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After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa was a very difficult read. However, it was so worth it. My Dark Vanessa is an exploration of the complexities of abuse, trauma and grooming. It is also a commentary on how early young girls are sexualised and blamed for the abuse. This book also shows the rise of the #MeToo movement and how journalism tend to sensationalise it rather than reporting on the facts. I highly recommend reading this book if you can.

🌸 MY DARK VANESSA BY KATE ELIZABETH RUSSELL // BOOK REVIEW

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Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

I adore Get a Life, Chloe Brown! It was so cute and made me feel very, very warm. I love the characters Red and Cloe, how their relationship developed and just the way they are with each other. I love the story of Chloe wanting to be more adventurous, “recruiting” Red who is hardcore crushing on her!

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Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorcycle.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

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🌸 Which hyped books do you love?

🌸 Have you read any of the books I listed? What did you think?

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