My Favourite Summer Holiday Reads

Hey Guys!

I don't know about you, but I love to sit outside on a lazy summer day and read a book. From Murder Mysteries to Nature books, here is a list of my favourite reads from the summer holidays. 

Molly xox

1. The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern 

I absolutely adored this book. The descriptions are fantastic, and the storyline is beautiful and poetic. This has now become one of my all time favourite books. 

The Blurb (And Other Reviews) 

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

"The prose sparkles, and the story itself is a feat of magical acrobatics. It's a hard book to summarise, but basically two ancient magicians set their two best pupils against one another in a magical contest. Its venue? A mysterious circus that only appears at night. The only problem: the contestants don't really know the rules, or how victory is determined. And when the contestants start falling in love which each other, things get complicated." - Rick Riordan 

2. One Of Us Is Lying By Karen M. McManus 

I loved this book because it's like the breakfast club with murder. I found it quite thought provoking- I love a good murder mystery. I actually couldn't have predicted how things turn out in the end, and that made it more fun! 

The Blurb (And Other Reviews)

"Five students go to detention. Only four leave alive.

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them." -Blurb 

"For fans of 'The Breakfast Club', 'Pretty Little Liars' and 'Gossip Girl', this is the perfect high school thriller." - Penguin Books 

3. Caraval By Stephanie Garber

I enjoyed this book not only because of the very aesthetic cover, but because it's a different take on a circus. Similar to 'The Night Circus' in descriptions, I truly was enthralled by the authors writing style. I quickly fell in love with the characters, and was devastated by some parts. I would highly recommend this book to any circus or non circus loving readers. 

 The Blurb (And Other Reviews)

"Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away." 

4. My Animals And Other Family By Clare Balding 

I laughed so much while reading this, so much so that people on the underground would stare at me whilst I was crying with laughter. I couldn't take it into public with me! Clare Balding wrote an autobiography of her earlier years, all of the many funny stories about her animals and family. I loved this book because of how engaging it is! 

The Blurb (And Other Reviews)

'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and I suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine'

"A joy from beginning to end. I laughed plenty, I cried twice, I remembered a million things about horses and horse-racing that I'd forgotten I knew, and when it was finished, I could have read it all over again. " -A.E Shaw (via goodreads)

5. Paper Towns By John Green 

I have read this book countless times, and every time I have read it I laugh more than the last. I enjoyed this book because I can relate to the characters and they feel relevant. I also enjoyed the murder mystery aspect. And I mean, who doesn't love a good romance novel!

The Blurb (And Other Reviews) 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues–and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

"If you liked Looking for Alaska and Abundance of Katherines, you will LOVE this book. I could NOT put it down. It's funny and mysterious and just so real. Definitely recommended." - Sarah (via goodreads)