Over the summer, I challenged myself to read five or more books before the new school year started. Unfortunately for me, I was only able to read three books before I was hit with a reading slump. But, three is still quite a lot, so, today I will be reviewing the books that I did manage to read, and also listing a few books that I’m planning to read in the near future.

1. The Unhoneymooners 

The Unhoneymooners, written by the duo Christina Lauren, is a rom-com enemies-to-lovers book that follows Olive Torres and her truly terrible bad luck. Olive, who recently got laid off from her job, has to go take the spot of recently wed Ami, her twin sister, at her honeymoon, after the entire wedding party got food poisoning, for the exception of Olive and Ethan, her arch-nemesis and brother of the groom, Dane. The two enemies have to spend ten days in Maui pretending to be a totally in-love newlywed couple without being caught once. 

The problem for Olive is that she finds herself not hating the entire situation once she gets there. In those ten days, both Olive and Ethan’s lives change, realizing that they may not hate each other as much as they thought they did. 

This book is filled with funny moments, suggestive themes, and at times, very cringe-worthy scenes that give you second-hand embarrassment, but I understand why BookTok and BookTube love this book. It’s a book worth buying.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

2. Red White & Royal Blue

It could definitely be said that Alex Claremont-Diaz is a perfect, Millennial-marketing gold type of person. Handsome, charming, a great group of friends, and the First Son of the United States. After his mother was elected as the first female president of the United States, Alex was branded America’s young royal. The problem with that is Alex managed to get into a negative relationship with the United Kingdom’s very own young royal, Prince Henry.

After the media gets hit with compromising photos showing an altercation between Alex and Prince Henry, both of their teams devise a plan on creating the picture-perfect Instagrammable best friend relationship between the two of them. What started off as something fake managed to grow into something real over time, and deeper feelings were revealed for the both of them as time went on.

This LGBTQIA+ rom-com written by Casey McQuistin is another BookTok/BookTube favorite, and it’s definitely a book to pick up if you enjoy a forbidden romance. It could definitely be a little unrealistic at times, but it’s still a book worth reading.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

3. Punk 57

Misha Lare and Ryen Trevarrow were great for each other, up until they met. In 5th grade, their teachers decided to set up their class with a pen pal. Misha was paired with Ryen because his teacher thought Ryen was a boy, and Ryen was paired with Misha because her teacher thought Misha was a girl. They were only supposed to be pen pals just for the year, but the two ended up becoming best friends. 

Fast forward seven years later, and they were still pen pals, even though they lived close to each other. After tragedy happens, the two come together. They just didn’t think they would end up hating each other when they were so perfect on paper. 

Just like every other book on this list, Punk 57 is a favorite on BookTok. But, personally, I didn’t really understand the hype and was sort of let down after having high hopes for the book. The book was okay, but outside the character of Misha and the mature scenes, there wasn’t much about this book. It didn’t have much plot, and both characters were pretty privileged. Nonetheless, I definitely wouldn’t say I hate this book, I just personally don’t like Penelope Douglas’s writing style.

I rate this book a 2.5 out of 5; right in the middle. 

Honorable Mentions

Percy Jackson series: The Percy Jackson series is one of the most popular book series ever written, but I’ve never gotten around to reading it. I’ve always loved Greek mythology, so reading something like this series is definitely exciting for me. I put this series at an 8 on my hype scale.

They Both Die at the End: This book follows two teenage boys who find out they only have one day left to live. Even though the book is spoiled from the very beginning, I’ve heard positive reviews about it, especially from both BookTok and BookTube. I put this book at a 6 on my hype scale.

Good Girl’s Guide series: This series follows a girl who doesn’t really believe the official story given about a local death. So, she starts a podcast and begins to investigate the case herself. Mystery is my favorite genre in any situation, and this series gives me a lot of One Of Us Is Lying vibes, which happens to be my favorite book. The third book in the series is set to be released later this year. I put this series at a 9 on my hype scale.

The Song of Achilles: This Homer’s Iliad adaptation is set during the Greek Heroic Age, and is told through Patroclus. Patroclus is sent to live in the court of Peleus after being exiled by his father, and he soon finds himself falling in love with Achilles, his host’s son. This book also seems to follow a little bit of Greek Mythology and seems to be well-loved by BookTok/BookTube. I put this series at a 6 on my hype scale.