Hello! I work with some of the most impressive speed readers I’ve ever met. I wish I read at a faster rate so that I could make content more quickly, but alas, I tend to read at least 6 things at once, and (Can I be honest?) only finish half.

Anyways, I compiled this short list of books for you to read, because why not? You need something to do this weekend if you don’t like going outside and barbecuing. So, here are 4 books that I like in general and why:

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

You knew Miss Maas was going to make it on here, right? Yeah, you did. I should point out that you need to read the other books in the ACOTAR series before you get to this deliciously, finger licking good latest installment. As a writer that’s partial to writing fantasy, I aspire to weave an emotionally fraught story as good as this one.

Without spoiling too much, the book focuses on Nesta Archeron, the eldest sister of the Archeron women. Nesta is tested by her own abilities and by the mouth-watering Cassian, one of the strongest fae warriors seen in millennia. Cassian takes Nesta under his wing (and body, sorry, sorry) and teaches her what it means to be a Warrior.

Nesta is her own worst enemy, and you can expect to see plenty of self-sabotage, magic, and unwieldy tempers in this book. I cannot reiterate enough though, you gotta read the other books in the ACOTAR series. Honestly, I could use this entire blog post to try and convince you to read the ACOTAR series but we just don’t have the time.

Onward!

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kaylnn Baron

Ooh, spooky scary! I love a good teen horror novel, especially a slasher. (I feel like the slasher isn’t as respected anymore. As a young millennial, I’m offended) I feel like this particular niche is becoming more and more popular lately with works like Out There Screaming and All These Sunken Souls.

The story takes place at what is essentially an overnight haunted house. Except the haunted house is a bunch of cabins on a presumably haunted lake. We follow the main character Charity, who has ascended to the coveted role of the Final Girl at Camp Mirror Lake. She’s been employed there for years and when she finally receives the promotion, she’s thrilled.

Until things start to go very, very, wrong.

Her boss is suddenly absent, her friends are acting strangely, their cell signal doesn’t work, and when her friends start disappearing? The opportunity of her teenage lifetime turns into a nightmare.

Filled with mystery and absolutely heart-pounding, I started thinking about this book today and got a small chill. I devoured this book in maybe 2 days, and it is an undeniable slam dunk for the author, Kalynn Baron. Baron doesn’t usually write horror but I am so glad she tried her hand at it.

Next!

The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang

This is one of my favorite mysteries and you could probably finish it in a weekend. It’s a mystery but we see the recurring themes of the impact of a narcissistic parent, loneliness, and not feeling good enough.

The story follows three Chinese American brothers: Dagou, Ming and James.

Dagou aspires to take over his Dad’s restaurant. Leo Chao is a boisterous, at times cruel man that wants to be seen as one of the Joneses in their small community in the fictional town of Haven, Wisconsin. Leo has tried to assimilate his Chinese family into this predominantly White community, but even after years of serving their neighbors some of the best Chinese food they’ll ever have and holding his own as a business man, the Chaos are still looked at as outsiders, and face prejudice daily.

Ming is the successful, wealthy son that made a life for himself outside of Haven, and tries his hardest not to look back until Leo’s death.

James is a young college student, scared of being alone and even more afraid of being a failure. James tries to navigate the pitfalls of first love while trying to keep his parents out of his affairs at college.

When Leo Chao is found frozen to death in the freezer of the Chao’s family restaurant, an investigation is launched into who might have locked him in there.

The public suspects who they think is the obvious choice: Dagou. Since Dagou has been a frequent target of Leo’s cruelty, and was most recently publicly embarrassed by him hours before his death, Dagou is put on trial and is effectively at the mercy of the small town residents that have never really seen him as one of their own. Meanwhile, James and Ming are on a mission to find out what really happened, while harboring small doubts themselves.

Even while they fight to prove Dagou’s innocence in court, the question still lingers- Did Dagou kill their father?

One more!

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

I’m not even completely done with this one, but I can tell you right now that is so damn good. The story is a queer romance set in the US in the 1950s.

My eyes have been glued to my screen as I read Nick and Andy’s story. Nick is an established reporter who is hiding his gayness from his family and his coworkers. After all, the 50s were not a great time for queer people. What I like is that while there are reminders of the progress we’ve made since this decade, Sebastian does such a good job of making you forget the perils of being a gay man in the 1950s and offers up a soul-warming, and at times heartbreaking romance between two men.

Andy is a certified mess. He is disorganized, he’s constantly losing his keys, and he feels that he will never be competent enough to live up to his father’s expectations and take on the role of running his father’s longstanding newspaper, The Chronicle. Nick works at the Chronicle and he is at first reluctant to spend any time with his boss’ son, but Andy is just too… helpless to ignore. While Andy isn’t good for much else, he does a fantastic job of melting the ice around Nick’s heart.

This is a cute, sweet story that I can’t wait to finish– you should finish it with me and tell me what you think in the comments!

And that is it, my dear people! Let me know what you’ve read, and if there’s anything else I should have mentioned on this to list to start on the long weekend.

I would normally tell you about where to get these books, but I honestly want you to visit your local library, whether digitally or in person, and pick up these books. Not judging if you’d prefer to dog ear your own copy from a brick and mortar book store though!

Stay weird~