Hi dear friends,

Today’s weekly topic for our Top 5 Tuesday hosted by Shanah @bionicbookworm is contemporary fiction.

Shanah just told us that it’s out of her comfort zone but it’s right up my alley!

I read lots of contemporary fiction.

Today I’ll try to choose books I don’t speak about all the time but that I still found exceptionals.

Let’s dive in!

First we Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy

This is an under rated book! One that I loved so much and would like everyone to read. It did not get enough love I swear.

Excerpt of my review: “

“No matter how much you see, there are bottomless seas you don’t. What I am certain of is the heart of it. First we were four. Now we are three”

And so begins this story…

Do you remember your last year? When you had great friends you know for years went to the movie with, played pranks and dare? Do you recall thinking life would soon separate you? You would go to different towns, study in different colleges and lose your special bonds. Fast forward some years and you would only be distant memories for these childhood friends. Bitter sweet right?

Well that’s the trigger of the story.

They were four. Four friends. Tied for life.

On the verge of adulthood. Last year of high school.

Soon to go their separate ways. Their bonds could not break. They would be united forever. In something their own. Something secret. Something they would remember forever. Stronger than family bonds.

 They created “The Order”.

GOODREADS

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

“This book made me cry, made me smile with the naked truths, made me swoon and made me angry, very, very angry on Lily’s behalf. I’ve also been knocked off of my socks as I was forced to reconsider some preconceived views I had on women experiencing what Lily did. Like Lily I could not understand what they chose to do. It was incomprehensible. CoHo took me on Lily’s journey and I discovered the complexity of the topic. Everyone has its own story, its own good or not so good reasons to behave a certain way. This humbled me and for that I’m grateful to Colleen Hoover as I love books that make me think and challenge my beliefs.”

GOODREADS

If you Find Me by Emily Murdoch

“I was hooked from the beginning. It’s a story of survival of resilience and of the deep bond of sisterhood. Emily Murdoch’s writing is down to earth, matter of fact and progressively the little clues pile up to lead us to the truth. I’ve been bluffed all right, sucked into Carey and Jenessa’s world, not wanting to stop reading for anything in the world.”

GOODREADS

All the Ugly and Wonderful THings by Bryn Greenwood

“
I fell in love with this author’s writing and the choice she made to tell Wavy’s story. The multiple POV she used made me feel like watching a documentary told by different witnesses, the main protagonists included. Some narrators speak with fondness and indulgence of Wavy, her quirks, her relationship with Kellen. Others berate the child, want her to fit in a mold, repulsed and outraged by her choices. I should have felt overwhelmed by all the horrors and the bad experiences that kid lived from her very first days but this “matter of fact” no nonsense writing helped me go through the book without ending a blubbering mess. I still had many thoughts and feelings but the author’s choice made everything bearable.

This is the story of Wavy, an elf-like child whose life was far from a bed of roses. Daughter of a meth dealer and a crazy mother, she took care of her little brother early on. Going from a rundown house to her mother’s wealthiest family just to be thrown back with her unstable mom again she forged her own way in life. She knew nothing belonged to her and was used to have everything taken away.

Wavy stood out with her angel look and old soul eyes ”Velazquez’s Infanta Margarita in motorcycle boots.”.

GOODREADS

Weightless by Kandi Steiner

“Have you ever felt at a turning point in your life? That moment you feel will change your future, forge a new path? Well I did, some thirty years ago. Like Natalie, our main character, in a decisive moment I opened my eyes. It was crystal clear. I had to change, I had to do something.

This story completely took me by surprise as I’d never read one of Kandi Steiner’s books before and did not know what to expect. Without the incredibly supportive review of another GR friend, I would never have taken a chance with this story but I would have missed a real and true gem.

In some way I recognized myself in Natalie’s battle. You probably were/are or know a Natalie yourself. Someone a little awkward, someone on the outskirts, a girl uncomfortable in her own skin. Someone you want to hug and show how deeply beautiful she is.”

GOODREADS

Have you read any of these? What would be your top 5?

Thanks for reading and happy Tuesday!

Sophie