What I'm Recommending (#2) The Books I'd Never Heard Of Edition

A while ago I posted my first, of what I hope to be many, What I'm Recommending posts, in which I feature books I want to share with people along with a little bit of info about why I'm recommending them. It's been a while since I've had time to write a new one but I just have too many exciting books to talk about! So I'm making up for it with a bumper edition. Let's kick off today's What I'm Recommending post.

The Books I'd Never Heard Of

For today's picks I've chosen books I hadn't heard of before I started them. So much of to-read list is planned that occasionally it's nice to throw something a bit spontaneous in there! And if I hadn't heard of them then there's a chance you might not have either. Last time I mentioned specific people who I was recommending the books to, but with this selection I am just recommending them to everyone! Because they're that good.

What I'm Recommending: How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Dianne Messidoro

Why I'm Recommending it: A book about someone who writes a blog? And that cover is so cute (and the book lives up to it!).

What I'm Recommending: Fire Spell by Laura Amy Schlitz

Why I'm Recommending it: This historical, magical, fantasy was probably something I wouldn't have come across had I not stumbled across it. I haven't heard many people talk about it which is why I want to put it out there!

What I'm Recommending: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Caroline Mackler

Why I'm Recommending it: I don't know how I hadn't heard of this one! It's awesome. It features two teens who stumble across their Facebook profiles before Facebook is even invented. The 90s references made this book pretty damn cool too.

What I'm Recommending: Gemini Rising by Eleanor Wood

Why I'm Recommending it: I received this to review and loved the sound of it, but it blew me away even more once I'd started reading! It really takes a good look at friendship and fitting in whilst having great suspense.

What I'm Recommending: Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Why I'm Recommending it: Another one I haven't really seen many other people talking about! I found it on a library display not having heard of it myself. It's hilarious, and guys, a school for spies! What more could you want?

Which books had you never heard of before you started them? Any life changing ones you felt super lucky to stumble across? And what book would you recommend to me right now? Let me know in the comments!

October's Book of the Month!

Every month I look back at the previous month's reviews and pick one standout book to shower with even more praise! So now October has come to an end, I have decided my book of the month for October is...

 

How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Diane Messidoro!

 



This book was so much more than I was expecting it to be, which is always a good thing! It was a really witty, clever read with the perfect balance of girly, chick-lit style boy drama and real life teen issues. I especially loved the way it was written through main character Circe's blog! I can't wait to read more from this author and I'd highly recommend this book. Find out more on Goodreads here and read my full review right here.

Runners up:
In Your Dreams by Amy Martin
Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Review: How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Diane Messidoro

How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Diane Messidoro

[Goodreads page]

Author: Diane Messidoro. Website|Twitter
Published: 7 May 2012 (Electric Monkey)
Format: paperback
Pages: 338
Amazon: paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: paperback
Book Depository: paperback

Source: Borrowed from library

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Can taming a gorgeous boy really be as easy as walking a dog?
Circe Shaw is on a mission. She must transform into a fabulously sophisticated journalist and discover the amazing scientific truth about boys. Urgently.
But life is beyond complicated. Circe has to deal with a poisonous rival, her mum’s annoying ‘just friends’ men and her own Dark Past.
Can Circe’s daring investigation really teach her the facts of love?
Will it help her finally get a boyfriend?
Or will it break her heart…?

My Review:
When Circe Shaw's new best friend and her childhood guy best friend get together, she feels a little left out. She decides to start a blog to cover the hottest topics, only it turns out what she's best at writing about is her own life and her hopeless efforts at finding a boyfriend. With her new ambitions to be a top journalist, the book follows Circe as she keeps her readers up to date on life and love in "the middle of nowhere".

I LOVED this book. This is one of those reviews where I'm not quite sure where to start! I didn't know too much about the book but it grabbed my attention at the library with its super-cute cover. As soon as I started it I knew it was my kind of thing. The book is written through Circe's blog posts and any book written in a different style like that gets me excited! I think it's even more exciting reading a blog written through blog posts when you're a blogger yourself, too. The way its written means it isn't really broken up into chapters which I thought would bother me, but it didn't. It just made it harder to put down!

Circe as a character won me over instantly. Her voice throughout the book is just hilarious. She's so witty and funny and you get a great look at her personality through her blog posts, from her pets named after film stars, her love of R-Patz and her disastrous attempts at getting dolled up to impress a guy. Her character went a lot deeper when I expected as well. The book may revolve around her attempts to get some kind of love life but there is so, so much more to her as a character than that. Circe lives with her single mother and she's made the move from London to the middle of nowhere in the British countryside. (The overall British-ness was also something I adored, than that's coming from a Brit!) There's a lot of issues Circe keeps glossing over which are obviously quite important to her, and it's only a matter of time before they're explained a bit more, and I was blown over by the writing when things started to come to life.

When I picked this book up I was expecting a light, fun, girly read and whilst it certainly has those elements, it's SO much more than that. If you're put off by the title then I'd urge you to give it a try anyway because I think there's a lot more to this book than meets the eye!

How to Keep a Boy as a Pet gets the balance between fun, light-hearted boy drama and serious, real life problems bang on. I think there's something for everyone in this book, and if you're looking for a new contemporary read then I would urge you to go and look this one up!


Rating: 5*
What to read next: What Not to do in the Dark by Diane Messidoro - the follow up to How to Keep a Boy as a Pet - which is published in 2013.
Books like this: Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty