Books With Taboo Topics | My Summer TBR

I cannot believe that this is my third blog post this week, it's crazy! I've been so busy with work and life in general that I've kind of forgotten about my blog and reviewing books. Does that make me a bad book blogger? It probably does, however, reviewing books doesn't pay my bills; my job does. Now this post is going to be about a few of the books I want to read this summer that deal with very taboo topics in YA. 2015 saw the introduction of books focusing more on mental illnesses which is great but I've slowly seen its decline again and I don't want it to be forgotten.

WHEN WE COLLIDED BY EMERY LORD

This book was massively talked about last year on Booktuber as its US publisher sponsored a lot of videos for it to be promoted in. However, I'm totally excited to read this one. It follows two characters Vivi and Jonah who are both lost souls in the world and when their world collides it creates fireworks. The book heavily deals with depression and grief, which I'm interested to see how Emery deals with it as I'm currently reading her 2017 release 'The Names They Gave Us' and I really love her writing style and views on faith.


ALLEGEDLY BY TIFFANY D. JACKSON

The story of a sixteen year old teenager, Mary B Addison is in prison and unexpectedly pregnant with the guy she's fallen in love with child. Mary B Addison allegedly murdered a 3 month old white baby when she was 9, except with this news of pregnancy Mary realises the truth needs to be finally told to stop the state from taking away her unborn child. Now I've never read anything like this in my life and I'm so excited to read something that's so taboo. I'm intrigued to see how the author will deal with the alleged murder and teenage pregnancy.


HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME BY ADAM SILVERA

Adam Silvera is a well loved author as his books tackle real life issues in a brilliant and realistic way. History is All You Left Me caught my attention before it released as it follows a gay guy named Griffin who struggles with OCD and it gets worse after the death of his first boyfriend/best friend. And despite his struggled feelings the only person who seems to understand him is Jackson, the boy he's supposed to hate. I'm just super excited to finally getting around to reading this book. I've heard it's beautiful and lyrical and really raw, honest.



What books are you looking forward to reading?
Let me know in the comments.

ARC Review: A Pound of Flesh by Sophie Jackson

Title: A Pound of Flesh
Author: Sophie Jackson
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Headline Eternal
Published: June 9th 2015
Page Number: 448
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary:

Their love is forbidden. But won't be denied... Can true love heal the deepest scars?
For Kat Lane, teaching inmates at a New York prison is her way of upholding the legacy of her beloved father, murdered fifteen years ago. But when new student Wes Carter walks into her classroom, she's shaken by the strength of her attraction to him. Carter is as handsome as he is dangerous, as mysterious as he is quick-witted - and he ensures people keep their distance. Yet vibrant Kat bypasses his defences and challenges him to reveal the real man behind the intimidating reputation.

As their emotional barriers crumble, their inescapable but forbidden feelings cannot be ignored. But will Kat's discovery of Carter's role on the night her father died force them apart...or bind their hearts for ever?

REVIEW

I have to admit that I was more than hesitant on reading A Pound of Flesh. The story sounded interesting and definitely something that I was in the mood for, but the fact that it used to be a Twilight Fan Fiction through me completely off. I've not read Twilight, I don't plan on reading it either, but I have watched the first movie and hated it, so reading something based off something I didn't like didn't hold much appeal.

Until I read chapter 1.

The writing of the novel is not something that I'm used to in New Adult fiction, but I absolutely loved it. It flowed very well and you could tell that Sophie Jackson knew what she was doing, she was no stranger to writing. Her characters were so very well researched and fleshed out that I didn't feel like I was reading a book about them, but I felt like they were my friends, I was a little version of myself perched on top of their shoulders following them around everywhere.

Kat hasn't had an easy life, she witnessed her father getting murdered and her teaching was her way of doing something she loves as well as paying off her debt, her pound of flesh. Her character growth was....different, but her growth was nothing compared to Carter's. He was obsessed with being seen as a hard-ass, but other time Kat broke down those defences and the Carter that was reborn was a man that any woman would want, including me.

Their relationship was intense, drama filled and certainly filled with sex. But I couldn't have loved them more if I tried. It reminded me of Travis and Abby's relationship from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire and it certainly holds the appeal of 50 Shades of Grey fans. This may be the book of the year for me, and I cannot wait to get my hands on An Ounce of Hope.

I was sent an ARC from the publishers for an honest review

Pre-order the book (Waterstones) | Pre-order the book (Book Depository)