Life Update, Currently Reading, & September TBR

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Hi everyone! It’s been a while! Just out here enjoying life and still figuring out this new life schedule of mine. I read nothing but The Diviners in the month of August, therefore no August Wrap-Up will be posted. Instead of reading, I watched all the seasons of La Casa De Papel and How To Get Away With Murder. I was also having fun and going out. Sometimes I think of doing blog posts of places I’ve visited. However, I’m the type of person who likes to enjoy the moment rather than take pictures of every single thing so I guess that’s a wrap lol.

giphy-55ALSO!!!!!!!!! It’s September!!! Which means it’s my birthday month!!! I turn 30 on the 20th. I’ll be going to Vegas and the Grand Canyon (team virgo all day every day!! earth sign gang!!!). I have a lot going on, many of my loved ones also celebrate their birthday this month. Therefore, I know that audiobooks will be my best friend cause I won’t be getting much reading done. It’s alright though! I refuse to be hard on myself because life is worth living and I love being a happy bitch.

Okay but now that I’ve given you a little life update, let’s get to the books because that’s what y’all are here for!

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Currently Reading

21853621In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.

France, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real–and deadly–consequences.

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Currently listening via audiobook and reading along with paperback. I’m close to the 200 page mark and loving it! I can definitely see why this is a favorite. It’s gripping! Every time I put it down, I look forward to picking it back up.

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September TBR

So many books, so little time! I have a little TBR pile that’s sitting on my bedside. However, it’ll be getting side eyed this month. Therefore I chose three books that I’m sure I can get too; one hardcover book, one audiobook, and one ebook (two of them mostly for my plane rides to and from vegas/nyc).

Hardcover Book (Historical Fiction):

25813942For fans of Before We Were Yours and Where the Crawdads Sing, a magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the New York Timesbestselling author of Ordinary Grace.

1932, Minnesota—the Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.

Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an en­thralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

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Audiobook/Hardcover (Thriller):

36626748._SY475_Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she—or anyone—saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings—massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it’s immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

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Ebook (Suspenseful Romance):

36602208._SY475_“Must be slim, able to stand for long periods of time, and be impervious to the cold.”
The headline caught my attention.
“Hours are negotiable, pay is minimal, clothing absolutely forbidden.”
The second line piqued my curiosity.
“Able to hold your bladder and tongue, refrain from opinions or suggestions, and be the perfect living canvas.”
The third made me scowl.
“Other attributes required: non-ticklish, contortionist, and obedient. Must also enjoy being studied while naked in a crowd.”
The fourth made me shudder.
“Call or email ‘YOUR SKIN, HIS CANVAS’ if interested in applying.”
The final made my heart race.
I should’ve kept scrolling past the advertisement.
I should’ve applied for the boring receptionist job at minimum wage.
I should’ve clicked on any other job where I got to keep my clothes on.
But I didn’t.
I applied.
My interview is tomorrow…

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That’s all for today! Any fun things you got going on in September? What books do you plan on reading? Let me know in the comments xo

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Twitter: @chicnerdreads

January Wrap-Up 2017

HI EVERYONE!!! How’s your day treating you so far? How about month? How’s the new year so far? Cause here in the USA we’re going through it and we need a miracle like yesterday. K thanks lol. Anyways, I read 3 books and 1 I’ve DNFed. Let’s jump right into what I’ve been reading and up to =)

What I Read:

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Broken Flowers by R.M. Drake ★★★★
Genre: Poetry
This is my second R.M. Drake. I love his writing and he talks a lot about loss and brokenness within yourself and relationships. I have a non-spoiler review with even some of the poems here.

 

 

 

 


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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ★★★★★
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
My favorite of the month!! What a magical world I got to live in for the days that I read this. This circus is everything I would love to visit and more! I have a full non spoiler book review here. I would love to reread this one day in the future and may be even see it as a movie adaptation. This one definitely deserves all the hype!

 

 


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Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James 
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
This is the one I DNFed. Not because it’s bad cause trust me, I was really liking it. However, with everything that is going on in the country I live (USA) which is very much like a dystopian novel at the moment, it was affecting my reading experiencing with this one. So I decided to put it down till I am ready to pick it up again.

 

 


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The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins ★★★★ 
Genre: YA, Verse, Realistic Fiction, LGTBQ+
Definitely a heart wrenching novel about two girls that don’t even know each other but eventually cross paths. About knowing yourself, relationships, and family dynamic. I have a non spoiler review for this book here.

 

 

 


Poetry:
Another month where I know I didn’t post much poetry. And I’ll explain all of that in another post I have coming on Friday. Here’s what I did post in January though:
People I Once Knew – Part 15
so what do you think?
People I Once Knew – Part 16
women’s march
looking at human’s on my train ride
and we’re all just entertainers


Memes of the month:
I participated in some meme’s this month that mention other books that I’m excited for!
Waiting on Wednesday – The Seafarer’s Kiss
WWW Wednesday
Top Ten Tuesday – Graphic Novels


Exciting News!

I FINISHED MY FIRST DRAFT OF MY POETRY BOOK COMING THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I literally cried once I typed up the last poem. I cannot wait to share with you all more details in the next coming months! I can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t even have this book in mind till I was a few poems in and thought that I should just make a book out of it. I know I’m being vague but just give me some time, I will eventually share the synopsis, links, and all that good stuff coming in a few weeks. I’m still working on some things and haven’t set an official date but it’s looking like June =)

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what have you all beautiful human beings been up to? did you read any of these books? let’s talk in the comments!


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Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)

 

Sweet Filthy Boy Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Sweet Filthy Boy (Book 1)
Series: Wild Seasons Series
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: New Adult Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Paperback (owned)
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.

But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.

When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.


***warning*** since this book is targeted for mature audiences, my review will not hold back and should be considered for mature audiences as well.

Me reading this book:

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This is my first Christina Lauren book, these authors are very well known for their Beautiful Bastards series that I have yet to read, nor do I really care at this point.

I want to start by saying that this book is purely for entertainment and you should never follow the footsteps of the main character.

We meet Mia who is the quiet girl who doesn’t do anything crazy and has just graduated with a Bachelors degree, alongside her two best friends Lola and Harlow. Who in fact happen to be on the wilder side. They go to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate their graduation and Mia meets a French boy, Ansel, and things go from there.

I was really loving the beginning of the story, although it is definitely instalove but I thought it was cute. And I was missing my dose of New Adult. I even told myself “omg this is like the New Adult version of Anna and the French Kiss”….yeah…no..

Till Ansel buys Mia a flight to France for the summer and while Mia is in France, NOTHING IS HAPPENING BUT WILD ROLE PLAY SEX AND MORE ROLE PLAY SEX AND EVEN MORE ROLE PLAY SEX because Mia has a problem cumming as her own self and they’re better at playing pretend. Which I mean, cool, if you’re into that stuff then have at it but my whole issue was that, the real core problems weren’t being talked about or anything. They were being shoved under the rug like nobody’s business. There’s absolutely no communication between Mia and Ansel, he’s a lawyer and works a lot, she’s living in his place for the summer and they still barely know one another.

Also, Mia left with Ansel to France in matter of like 2 days of meeting him because she’s trying to figure out her own life.

Then there’s this whole person that keeps being mentioned but Ansel won’t directly talk about such person which kind of draws into the “plot” and I actually disliked this because it definitely gave me 50 shades of Grey feels. The whole hiding, lying, and betrayal kind of thing is just something I don’t tolerate at all. Plus it played into Mia looking like a weakling which I didn’t appreciate, Bella and Anastasia 3.0

This book is almost 400 pages long. And I want to say that about the first 50 pages things happen, then for 300 pages its just descriptive sex, role play, her walking around France while he’s busy being a lawyer and is barely around, and then the last like 40 pages there’s a “plot twist” annnndddddd then the book ends.

This book and the characters in it were just really problematic and no one should make this into #relationshipgoals

Listen, I know that New Adult gets a lot of crap but I’ve read thought provoking New Adult Romance books that have literally made me cry because of it’s plot, storyline, and characters. This one did not deliver.

Would I recommend this? Nope! Will I read the rest of the series? Nope!

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Mini Review Monday – Isla and the Happily Ever After (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.


Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After (Book #3)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: August 14, 2014
Read: December 2014 (hardcover, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? 

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. 

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.


All of Anna and The French Kiss are just one of my  all time favorite YA Contemporaries. I hope one day in the future I get to reread them again.

In Isla and the Happily Ever After we meet Isla and Josh. Isla who’s always had a crush on Josh since she laid eyes on him in the Paris boarding school. However, when they bump into one another in Manhattan things will change for better or for worse.

Stephanie Perkins does it again with another amazing setting. This one so happens to be in my city, New York City and of course she was spot on. I am very critical when it comes to books taking place in NYC because I think about the readers who don’t live here and the accuracy of it all. This book not only takes place here in NYC but also in Paris, so we go back and forth with Isla and Josh in both places.

Isla is so relatable with her personality and insecurities that I have also encountered at her age. Josh, although being male is also relatable. He has family issues that stir a lot of drama in his life and relationship with Isla. This drama can also steer these two into different directions. Both Isla and Josh are also in their senior year of high school getting ready to go onto college and this shakes Isla a bit.

I must say though, for a YA, this one was a little hot and steamy. Which I’m not complaining about but I was very surprised that Stephanie Perkins had went there.

All in all, this was a great ending to the Anna and the French Kiss series. Plus we see all the characters from the previous books!

If you’re ever in a reading slump and need a quick laughing fix, pick this up.

Favorite Quotes:

“Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting. The way he looked at you? He wasn’t distracted. He was consumed.”

“A blank canvas…has unlimited possibilities.”

I smile up at him “It’s beautiful. But what comes next?”
“The best part.” And he pulls me back into his arms. “The happily ever after.”

 

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Photo link here


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Mini Review Monday – Lola and the Boy Next Door (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.


Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Book #2)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: September 29, 2011
Read: October 2014 (paperback, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.


Lola Lola Lola! Another all time favorite!

Although this is the second book to the series, this could be read as a standalone just for Lola and Cricket alone. Even though I feel like in order to capture the essence of this whole series and all the characters combined, it should be read together.

We meet Lola who believes in dressing in costume every single day. She loves to stand out with her crazy sparkly outfits and different colored wigs. She lives with her two dads. Technically her adopted uncle and his husband but she considers them her fathers. Everything was going so well and dandy till her neighbors from childhood come back to move in next door. Then her rocker boyfriend starts giving her problems.

This book takes place in San Francisco and Stephanie Perkins does it again with making us the readers feel like we are apart of the setting. She makes us feel like we’re actually there.

Cricket, the boy next door who’s super tall and is an inventor finally steps away from his twins sister shadow. She’s a famous gymnast.

Feelings start to resurface between Lola and Cricket but she’s stuck in a toxic relationship. However, Cricket doesn’t give up. While Lola is eccentric and out there, Cricket is quiet and shy. Opposites extract? I think so.

Stephanie Perkins does not only have romance in this novel. We see family dynamics between Lola and her mother, Cricket and his family, Lola in a toxic relationship. We also meet Anna and Etienne again.

Plot, characters, and story = A+

Favorite Quote’s:

“And if I’m the stars, Cricket Bell is entire galaxies.”

“I don’t believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be same person every day.”

“Do you know my biggest regret?” She asks. “That you turned into this bright, beautiful, fascinating person… and I can’t take credit for any of it.”

 

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Follow me on Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
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Mini Review Monday – Anna and the French Kiss (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.


Title: Anna and the French Kiss (Book #1)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: December 2nd, 2010
Read: October 2014 (paperback, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she’s waiting for?


This book is added to my all time favorite books of my life. I feel like this is the perfect YA contemporary.

We meet Anna who lives in Atlanta but her father who’s an author (he gave me Nicholas Sparks vibes) sends her to boarding school in Paris. Anna isn’t looking forward to the move at all. However things change around once she meets people and gains new friends plus meets a boy in the city of love, Etienne St. Clair.

The only problem with Etienne is that he has a girlfriend and is also fighting his feelings with Anna. Which I found a tad bit problematic.

I loved how realistic Stephanie Perkins made these characters to be. Anna is taller than Etienne and she has a gap between her teeth. Etienne isn’t the best looking guy either, definitely not  your typical buff built teenager we tend to read in YA. We also meet other characters who range in diversity.

What I loved most was the setting. Stephanie definitely made me feel like I was in Paris whilst reading the book. I imagined everything vividly. Stephanie had the characters visit different tourist locations of Paris that was awesome to read about and imagine.

Although this is a YA Romance Contemporary, Stephanie also touches on other topics like family, inclusion, and friendship.

This is definitely a light fluffy read that I would recommend on any given day.

A Favorite Quote:

“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”

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Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine. On every Wednesday you discuss a book that you are highly anticipating.

This is the 4th book in a series, although I feel like you have to read the spinoff series to get to this book. It’s a lot of books but so worth it if you love New Adult.
The book I’m talking about is A Beautiful Funeral (Beautiful #4) by Jamie McGuire:

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Losing has never been easy for a Maddox, but death always wins.

Eleven years to the day after eloping in Vegas with Abby, Special Agent Travis Maddox delivers his own brand of vigilante justice to mob boss Benny Carlisi. Vegas’s oldest and most violent crime family is now preparing for vengeance, and the entire Maddox family is a target.

The secret Thomas and Travis have kept for a decade will be revealed to the rest of the family, and for the first time the Maddoxes will be at odds. While none of them are strangers to loss, the family has grown, and the risk is higher than ever. With brothers against brothers and wives taking sides, each member will make a choice—let the fear tear them apart, or make them stronger.

WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO DIE?!?!?! MY HEART ISN’T READY!!!!!!!!!! MY PRECIOUS BABIES MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COST!!!

The book that started it all is Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie McGuire which follows Travis Maddox and Abby. Travis has four other brothers in which the author wrote the spinoff, The Maddox Brothers, for each individual brother. You can’t read The Maddox Brothers without reading Beautiful Disaster because it’s a continuation of one whole story.

Beautiful Series (not including the novellas) link here

The Maddox Brothers link here

The Alphabet Book Tag

I saw @fridaysandbooks and I thought “hey what now?” since I am new here. I thought it would be a great idea for you to get to know me through my choices of books. So from what I understood, the rules are the book either has to be one you own or one you have read.

A: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

B: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

C: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

D: Divergent by Veronica Roth

E: Eternal by C.C. Hunter

F: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

G: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

H: Harry Potter

I: Illuminae by Aime Kaufman and Kay Kristoff

J: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen:

K: Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

L: Legend by Marie Lu

M:The Martian by Andy Weir

N: Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

O: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

P: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Q: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

R: Rooms by Lauren Oliver

S: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

T: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

U: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

V: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

W: Winter by Marissa Meyer

X: ..this is where I draw a complete blank….

Y: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Z: Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld

(some books are missing in the photo because I either read them in library form or ebook)