Contemporary

After a short media break I had the bad luck of falling into a semi reading slump. I had trouble picking titles, got distracted by everything and basically just didn’t take the time to sit down and read. BUT! what truly saved me from a full-blown reading slump was diving into this romantic (and quite saucy) contemporary, The Kiss Quotient.

When Arthur and Ben are interrupted in the middle of their meet-cute in New york, a modern love story of social media stalking and coffee shop miracles begin. This collab between two of the worlds most beloved contemporary authors, Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, was set up to be an epic read and the book community went nuts over the announcement. Did they succeed?

Lara Jean’s life is good. She loves her family and friends.. well, friend Chris. Her only struggle seems to be boys – but she’s got that figured out too. Whenever she’s crushing on a boy, she writes him a love letter, put it in her hatbox and that’s it. Closure. Until someone post all her love letters and Lara Jean has to deal with the consequence of crushes from all the way back to middle school.

Josephine is on her way to becoming a teenager. As if the mood swings and boys suddenly being cute isn’t enough, she now has to deal with her mother’s shocking news, her twin brother’s impulsive whims and her jealousy towards a best friend who seem to cope with everything so much better than Jose… If only you could go on crazy adventures while hiding under your covers!

In this holiday collection we get 12 short stories fit for the season by 12 popular authors such as Holly Black, Rainbow Rowell and Kiersten White. Prepare for your heart to melt the winter snow away with these romantic stories of love and friendship.

Sadie has had a rough life with an addict mom who has brought strange men in and out of their lives for years. She hates her constant stuttering and she lives in a sad little town with no prospects. There is only one bright element in Sadie’s life – her kid sister Mattie.. who is violently pulled away from Sadie, when she is found murdered. With nothing to lose, Sadie sets out on a  journey to find her sister’s killer and get revenge.

Molly has had 26 crushes but none of them have ever known. She is too afraid of rejection to ever confess her feelings but when Molly’s twin sister, Cassie, becomes a love-sick mess, Molly feels alone and neglected. She decides that it’s time to stop being so careful but while it’s easy enough to want a boyfriend it seems impossible to actually get one – especially when you don’t think you are capable of being loved.

Nahid has suffered more than most will in a lifetime. Growing up in Iran during a troubled time, she has had to endure the death of loved ones, violent men and watching her country fall apart. Now she is safe in Sweden, but that doesn’t mean she is happy. She can’t let go of the past and it’s hurting the relationship between herself and her daughter. When Nahid is diagnosed with cancer everything falls apart (again) and she has to decide whether to give up or fight for the remains of her life.

It can surprise no Simon fan that revisiting Shady Creek High through the eyes and thoughts of Leah Burke means awkward encounters and adorable mishaps.. or the other way around? Although Leah is in the spotlight this time there’s no need to be alarmed. We don’t miss out on our favourite friend group as Simon, Abby, Bram and the rest of the gang is still very much the centre of the story – even Martin Addison gets cameos!

With a heart full of unheard lyrics, Xiomara wants nothing more than to write her poetry and share it but instead she keeps her mouth shut. She lives with her very religious family in Harlem and with daily catcalls from both boys and men and her mother’s disapproval, Xiomara needs an escape from her caged life. She finds it in slam poetry but balancing her passion with her parents’ idea of being a good girl turns out to be an impossible task.