The Grace Year by Kim Liggett is something of a mix between The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies and The Handmaid’s Tale. I also got a lot of vibes from Under the Never Sky. Nevertheless, it’s a completely unique book. It’s disturbing and intense, intriguing and eye-opening. It’s a dystopian thriller with a feministic perspective that puts a finger on some really important issues like independence, equality and how strong and powerful we all can be if we support each other, and how scary the alternative is.

Tierney James lives in an isolated village where the men rule everything and were women that speaks their minds are considered as dangerous creatures trying to lure men by using magic. It is believed that girls on the verge of womanhood possess powerful magic that can ruin men. During their sixteenth year all girls are therefore banished from the county to fend for themselves in the wild and get rid of their magic in the fight for survival. Only then can they return, broken and meek, to enter into the marriages decided for them.

I really rooted for Tierney right from the start. She is fierce, has a mind of her own and dreams of a better world, and dares to questions the current order of things. Unlike the other girls, she does not dream of getting married and become the property of a man, but would rather prefer the harsh life on the fields. Destiny has other plans for her though… As she is sent off for the grace year, Tierney soon discovers that it’s not the magic or the brutal life in the woods that she must fear. Not even the poachers (men waiting in the woods to catch and kill the girls), but rather the other girls. Alone in the woods a very complex and twisted relationship forms itself between the girls, who are indoctrinated to believe they have magic powers.

The book was a little slow in the beginning, but about halfways it really took off and I was completely sucked into the story, reading the last part feverishly. This book is brutal and violent, but it also shows the good in people and how they can grow if they are given the opportunity. The world building is amazing and very credible. There is also a cute and very well-executed enemy to lovers part, which is one of my favorite tropes. I really hope that there will be a sequel though, as there are so many unanswered questions and so much more I want to learn about Tierney’s life ahead.

All in all, I highly recommend this book! It’s one of the best dystopians I’ve read in a long time and I really love the underlying message and feministic approach.

​Find out more about the book and the author here: Kim Liggett

Wow, I love the cool and futuristic vibe of this book! Do you remember the movie Minority Report? (The futuristic film with Tom Cruise in a specialized police department, who apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge?) Walk A Mile by Joey Paul is something of a lighter YA version with a lovely 18-year old Hetti as the police officer who starts to have doubts about the accused’s guilt. 

The story is set in the year 2050, where a quiz you take at the age of 16 determines your future career and where the popular Walk A Mile (WAM) software makes it possible, literally, to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes by putting on a special WAM accessory.

Fresh out of the police training college her quiz determined, 18-year-old Hetti joins the police force alongside her best friend Layla. Already on her first day, Hetti is drawn into a series of murders that don’t make any logical sense. All murderers are dazed and confused and claim their innocence. The only link Hetti can find between the cases is the WAM accessory found at all crime scenes. Could it be a malfunction in the WAM software or that someone is using it to turn people into murderers? Being a rookie though, Hetti lacks the confidence to voice her gut feeling. Not until her friends and family are put at risk.

I really recommend this book! It’s a fast-paced adventure mystery story with a unique and refreshing plot line and with characters that you immediately root for. And the twist at the end! I so did not see that one coming… which is exactly what you want from a great mystery book!

​Find out more about the books and the author here: Joey Paul

Yes No Maybe So is an adorable teen romance paired with social activism and political awareness. It follows the two estranged childhood friends Jamie Goldberg and Maya Rehman as they are forced together to canvas for a political campaign and as they face personal problems and family drama.

Jamie is the very definition of adorkable; awkward, shy, clumsy and cute and with political ambitions that seem somewhat unachievable as he is a choke artist when it comes to speaking in public. Once he even got so nervous that he threw up on a politician during an interview…

“Let’s face it. Some people are meant to change history. And some people are meant to change out of their vomity interview clothes.”

(This quote reminded me a lot of another of my favorite books, Red, White & Royal Blue, but compared to that book this one has a heavier focus on the political parts, especially the practical aspects of passing bills and canvassing voters etc.)

I immediately fell in love with Jamie. He’s so goodhearted, so self-conscious, so perky cute and considerate. I could definitely relate to his social anxiety and how the thought of making a toast at his sister’s bat mitzvah clouded the whole Summer. Speaking of his sister, she was just wonderful. So sparky and outspoken and always making fun of Jamie in a loving way. I absolutely adored their affectionate relationship.

Maya is a Muslim girl who is having the worst Summer dealing with her parents’ break-up and her best friend abandoning her for a new university roommate, and who agrees to do the political campaigning solely to get her parents to give her a car. At first, she’s too preoccupied with the crises in her life to think about anything else. Especially as her parents don’t want her to date anyone she’s not serious about and certainly not someone who isn’t a Muslim. But when an Islamophobic bill is threatening to be passed and antisemitic images are being glued to cars, she and Jamie find each other in their political awakening and the desire to make a change.

I really loved Jaime’s and Maya’s cute banter and how they built their friendship from the ground up. To paraphrase Jamie, I loved their “slowmance” and the very, very, slow friends-to-lovers trope and how they got to know more about each other’s cultures and being receptive at the same time.

Both the characters and the story felt very realistic, especially when it came to the political climate, the tension and hatred beneath the surface and the simple black-and-white attitudes to complex problems. Which frankly is very scary and makes you fear for the future of our world. But luckily, the passion and how much the characters wanted to make a difference made up for that.

All in all, Yes No Maybe So is a cute and charming love story which deals with some heavy issues such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, cultural differences and family difficulties, but that is also light and fun with a lot of bantering and satiric dialogues. And the best of all is that it leaves you feeling hopeful and believing that anyone can make a change.

“There is hope. Hold it tight, and keep fighting.”

Find out more about the book and the authors here: Yes No Maybe So

Seeing the beautiful cover and reading the synopsis, I was immediately drawn to this book and so sure I would love it. Sadly though The Kiss of Deception didn’t blow me away. But it was good. A simple, light read, although a bit slow at times. The main problem for me was that I felt like there could have been so much more to this book.

In short, the story is about Princess Lia who escapes her arranged marriage and flies to a small coastal village. But following her and eventually tracking her down are not only the prince she was supposed to marry, but also an assassin hired to kill her. At the village, Lia meets and interacts with two young men named Rafe and Kaden, but she doesn’t know that they are not who they pretend to be. Even though the readers know that Rafe and Kaden are not who they say they are, we are also left in the dark at first as to who of them is the prince and who is the assassin.

I really liked the premises of the plot and it was intriguing in the beginning, especially before the mystery of Rafe’s and Kaden’s identities were revealed. I also really liked Lia and how she stood up for herself when she decided to flee her home to avoid an arranged marriage. But for a YA fantasy there wasn’t as much action as I expected. After her initial escape, Lia more or less stays in a small village, trying to blend in to hide from her father’s army sent to find her. And when the suspense was lost after the reveal of the assassin’s and prince’s identity, the story slowed down even more and focused mostly on the romance part.
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But all in all, The Kiss of Deception was an enjoyable and sweet read, even though I felt that it didn’t quite reach its full potential.

​Find out more about the book and the author here: Mary E. Pearson

I absolutely loved this book! It’s so amazing and different for a YA book (in the best possible way). The main character, Emoni, is not your typical YA heroine. First of all, she got pregnant at 15 and is now a senior in high school with a toddler. Second, she’s got a passion for cooking, which I can’t think I’ve come across in a YA book before. The one place Emoni can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen and Elizabeth Acevedo makes an amazing job describing the joy of cooking.

All foodie scenes added such a wonderful vibe to the story, with the descriptions of the food Emoni cooked and how she tasted it, added spices and unconventional ingredients, and the beautiful foodie illustrations and recipes sprinkled throughout the book.

​Another thing that was quite different about this book (yet again, in the best possible way) was how realistic it was. It really showed the struggles and sacrifices Emoni has to do for her baby, and how hard it is for her to get all parts of life together with school and all her extra work. Being a mom means that she’s never able to per herself first and that she always has the responsibility for someone else, especially as her abuela (grandma) is getting older and as she’s not on the best terms with her daughter’s father. And when the chance comes for a culinary class and trip to Spain, nothing happens by magic.

​I also really loved the way Emoni struggled when starting to have feelings for the new cute guy in class, Malachi. With a little daughter and the bad experience from her previous relationship she’s not ready to jump into a new one easily. The fire is on high when it comes to cooking, but when it comes to love it’s a slow burning one… Almost too slow at times, I really rooted for Malachi and wanted Emoni to let him into her life much sooner. He’s one of the sweetest teen boy characters ever!

All in all, this is a wonderful and gripping story that is endearingly realistic yet heart-warming and hopeful.

Find out more about the book and the author here: ​Elizabeth Acevedo

​When Skies Have Fallen is a truly epic romantic and gripping story following British airman Arty Clarke and American Sergeant Jim Johnson from their first encounter during WWII and twenty years on as they fight for their right to love and live together. Reading this book felt like watching a wonderful movie, the characters came alive from the very start and the settings were so real, vivid and dramatic. I really hope that it will get adapted to a movie or TV series one day! 

This story starts at a dance at the air force base where both Arty and Jim are stationed, when they can’t help notice each other across the dance floor. Sensing Arty’s feelings, his competitive dance partner Jean, pushes him to make contact. From there, they work to find time together to get to know each other, falling in love as they do. As war nears an end, Arty and Jim are making plans on how they will be together, when tragedy strikes.

This story was so beautiful, heartbreaking, sad and gripping, and hopeful at the same time. It truly is an epic love story that spellbinds you and touches your heart from the start. There is heartbreak and tragedy, cruelty and tension, but also so much laughter, friendship and love. Despite the tragic events, despite the danger and fear for being discovered, despite the harassments and contempt, their deep love and affection for each other never falters. But it’s not just a story of two young men meeting and falling in love during WWII, it’s also a story about making a life after war and fighting for the right to be true to yourself and show your love for the person you have given your heart to. In war, they were heroes. After war, they could be persecuted simply because of their love for one another.

The characters in this book were amazing and so relatable and three-dimensional. I immediately rooted for both Arty and Jim, they were so sweet and adorable and so real. I loved that the relationship developed slowly and with hesitation that felt true to the time. Showing your love for another man in those days was forbidden both by the armed forces and by law, so the mixed feelings of love and excitement with anxiety and tension was all too understandable. I also loved the secondary characters, especially Arty’s dance partner and close friend Jean, who give them help and cover. She was such a wonderful, strong, courageous and fun best friend that always stood by Arty and Jim no matter what.

I absolutely loved this book, it really is one of the greatest romances I’ve read! It’s both an important eye-opening story to tell, how gay love was forbidden and the injustice in how society treated them, and a swooning, sweet and emotional love story that took my breath away. I recommend it with all my heart!

Find out more about the book and the author here: Debbie McGowan 

Grease goes gay in this warmhearted YA romance. Only Mostly Devastated is a sweet, fastpaced and gorgeous story about Ollie, who due to a family tragedy is forced to transfer to a new school after summer. A summer where he’s had the perfect summer fling with the hot basketball jock Will. So it should be perfect that Will happens to go to the same school, right? Well, not quite, since Will isn’t out and treats Ollie like a real jerk to try and hide it…

I love the Grease parallels in this story! Even thought this definitely is its own story, you can really see how Will is the Danny, Ollie the Sandy and Lara the Rizzo of this Grease retelling. The characters are really well written and I adore Ollie, his little cousins, Juliette and Lara. I had problems with Will though, since he acted so unnecessarily cruel and mean at times. But in the end, he kind of made up for it.

Overall, this is a sweet, fuzzy and funny read while also dealing with some pretty heavy topics, like family illness, coming out, staying true to yourself and not let anyone walk all over you. 

“All this time, I’d been wondering when my needs would start to really matter to him. Maybe I hadn’t spent enough time wondering when my needs would start to really matter to me.”

Sophie Gonzales made an amazing job combining these difficult topics with the lighter ones while still making it a very easy and joyful story to read. I finished this book in one sitting, ending it with a big goofy smile all over my face… Highly recommended for fans of Grease and Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda!

Find out more about the book and the author here: ​Sophie Gonzales

Here’s a fluffy and heartwarming reading tips that’s perfect for taking your mind off all the sad things going on in the world: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West. ​(On the photo is the Swedish edition, “Sånger från hjärtat”.)

This is a supercute, fast and addictive read, that will leave you with a big happy smile all over your face. It’s really adorable and it has my favorite trope enemies to lovers, as well as a quirky, lovable main character, a big chaotic but wonderful family and beautifully written letters.

The main character Lily scrabbles song lyrics on her desk during Chemistry class one day. The next day, she finds that someone has added to the song. Thereafter she and her mystery song writer start to write long letters to each other, telling each other secrets they’d never told anyone else. But who is he?

I really loved the way the story was told, even though it was not too hard to figure out who the mysterious pen pal was, and that there was some depth in it, but yet nothing too heavy.

All in all, this is a perfect read bringing happiness and joy during troublesome times!

Find out more about the book and the author here: Kasie West

I loved Call Me by Your Name and was so happy to find out there was a sequel. Find Me is not so much a second act for grown-up Elio and Oliver as I had hoped though. 

Instead, it’s more of Elio’s dad and Elio’s new relationship than about Elio and Oliver getting back together.

The book starts off with Elio’s dad Samuel meeting the young Miranda on a train trip. It made me really sad to learn that Elio’s dad was divorced from Elio’s mother - In Call Me by Your Name they seemed like such a wonderful couple – and that his and Elio’s relationship wasn’t quite as special any longer either. But as the story evolves, the relationship between Elio and his father becomes more of the honest and supportive one they had in the first book and we get to see glimpses of Elio’s and Oliver’s future lives; how they’ve moved on, settled in new relationships, made new career choices, aged and faced new life challenges.

But to be honest, Find Me does not feel like a sequel, more like a standalone. If I hadn’t been dying to get a HEA of Elio and Oliver, I think I would have appreciated this book much more, but now I mostly felt frustrated and unsatisfied reading it.

So, this isn’t really a readingtips after all... Because if you loved Call Me by Your Name I would actually recommend you NOT to read this book but to let things rest at the end of Call Me by Your Name.

Find out more about the books and the author here: ​André Aciman

The Take A Chance Anthology is a collection of gay romance tales with young men standing at a crossroad, faced with a choice that will alter the course of their future. The stories range from different places, cultures and reality and deal with topics such as the fear of coming out, the struggle for survival and the courage to take a chance on love.

A thing I love with anthologies is that you get a chance to discover new authors. Like in this case, I’m so happy to have found Dee Aditya, who wrote “A Boy Named Khwahish”, and Elinor Gray, who wrote “The Rights Words”. Both these stories were so lovely and sweet. Kwahish was set in India, at a boarding school, and The Right Words in England during WWII, but both about the first love and daring to show your feelings and vulnerability. I was also really pleased to get a chance to read more of Jamie Deacon. Her contribution “Another Story” was as always a sweet and heart-warming read, in this case about a university student preparing to confront his big high school crush who betrayed him.

I also liked the story “Far From Texas” by Eric Gober, but many of the others were unfortunately not my cup of tea. As the blurb said, the stories range from “sweet to erotic, contemporary to historical, paranormal to gritty realistic”, and for me there where a bit too much explicit erotica and weird demon sex to truly enjoy this collection. So a three star rating for the anthology as such, but with five star ratings to Dee Aditya’s, Jamie Deacon’s and Elinor Gray’s stories.

Find out more about the book and the authors here: Take A Chance