5 Books To Overwhelm Your TBR With (!!) // ft. Emma Mills & Other Mini Reviews

It’s that time of the year again.

January is the month of announcing new releases. Your reader is probably full of posts about books coming in 2019, and if you’re like me, your TBR is filled to overflowing- and then you add even more to it, because GOOD BOOKS.

Well, don’t worry, I’m here to make your to-read pile suffer even more. 😉

Today I’m going to be talking about five YA contemporaries that I read in the past few weeks! These have all been released in 2018 or before, but I still think these books deserve all the love in the world.

I’m excited to start screaming, so without further ado, let’s begin!

Alex Approximately, by Jenn Bennett

Goodreads

Page Count: 388

My Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this on here, but “You’ve Got Mail” is one of my all-time favorite movies. (If you haven’t seen it, please go watch the trailer immediately.) And this book…is kind of a retelling of “You’ve Got Mail.”

As you can imagine, I already had good vibes coming into this book.

Throughout the story, you get introduced to main character (I really liked her!), the best friend she meets right away (who was a very prominent character, and I enjoyed getting to know her), the MC’s dad (they have a great relationship) and of course, the love interest.

It does have a darker undertone as you learn the traumatic past of the main character, Bailey, which added another level to the book completely, and explains a lot of her actions throughout the story.

Overall, I loved it! There was just something stopping me from giving it five stars, but I definitely thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Stay Sweet, by Siobhan Vivian

 

Goodreads

Page Count: 368

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

 

Summer meets ice cream meets feminism meets YA contemporary? It’s no surprise why I picked up this book in the first place.

Even though it’s not summer right now (although I kind of wish it was) where I live, I still picked up this book anyway?? I ended up adoring the concept behind it, what with the ice cream stand that had been run by girls since the 1940s.

Part of the book was focused on the original stand owner’s diary from the 1940s, and her life story was incredibly interesting to read about, as well as a really nice side plot to the overall story. It was kind of my favorite part. XD

I wasn’t a fan of the romance, or with a few of the main character’s actions, but I did think she had a lot of character growth throughout the novel, and I liked that part of it. As a whole, it was a cute and summery read, and I would recommend!

This Adventure Ends, by Emma Mills

 

Goodreads

Page Count: 320

My Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

First of all, can we admire the cover? Because I think it deserves a moment of silence for its beauty. *sighs*

And now, let’s admire the story inside of it, because it was almost as good as the cover! (Don’t worry, just kidding. Kind of.) But for real, I loved this story a lot.

My favorite part was the friendships! When the main character, Sloane, moves to a new school, she becomes part of such an amazing friend group. The feels I have about this are immense- I mean, her friends would do anything for her, and vice versa, and it just makes my heart so happy because: friends!! YA!! platonic relationships!!!

I also adored the love interest, and it was the perfect slow burn. I was squealing quite a lot over this friends-to-something-more concept and IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL.

It’s likely this isn’t the last you’ll hear me talking about this book, because it was just that brilliant. Go read it!

Foolish Hearts, by Emma Mills

 

Goodreads

Page Count: 320

My Rating: ★★★★★

 

 

So. This was my first Emma Mills book I ever read, and it set the standard very high. (For Emma Mills and any other book I ever read, ever.)

Amazing friendships + theatre + a boy band obsession (shh, I have a boy band obsession too, okay, and it’s nice to know there are other people out there who do too) + the most adorable, sunflower boy in all of YA contemporary?!

As you can tell, I adored it. 😉

I read this book in the last week of December, and I’m already itching for a reread. It drew me in so much, and introducing such a tangled web of well-developed characters, and had the BEST friends-to-lovers?!

Also, I am extremely obsessed with Gideon. He is rivaled only by Adam (A List of Cages), Gansey (Raven Cycle), and Harry Potter, and that’s saying something. I would talk more about him, but I really think you should all experience him yourselves, so I’ll refrain. *cries my eyes out because I love him so much*

First & Then, by Emma Mills

 

Goodreads

Page Count: 272

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

 

Oh, yes, another Emma Mills book! Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed this one, too.

My favorite part about this story wasn’t the romance (although, per Emma Mills, it was slow burn and adorable), but it was the platonic relationship between the main character, Devon, and her cousin, Foster.

I really need more brother-sister relationships. I realized that after reading this book- yes, I also need more sister relationships, but I’ve been severely lacking in the brother-sister department, too! It was so heartwarming to watch their relationship develop over the book, and that alone makes me want to continue rereading it!

I did have a few complaints, like that I wanted to have a few of the sub-plots left open close up at the end (I need answers), but overall it was pretty adorable and left me feeling satisfied!

There you have it, five books that just might do the trick on filling up your TBR just a *little* more! 😉 Even though this wasn’t a ‘new releases’ post, I hope you still found some good recommendations for 2019.

Thank you all for sticking around this far, and here’s to being almost halfway done with January. Wishing you all the best day!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? Do you love Emma Mills books too? I’d love to chat with you all in the comments.