My Immediate TBR!!📚📚 So EXCITED!!✨

Hey y'all!! So I think we have had enough of all the explanations about my hiatus and exams, and how I couldn't read much. Today, we are gonna be talking about all the books that I added to my 'immediate-tbr' during that time. These were the books I wanted to read so badly back then, there were phases or I was hearing great stuff about them, stuff like that, but couldn't read them, until now. 

So I hope this gonna be fun. I will hopefully be reading most of these books in the rest of 2022. And yeah, let's get into it. 

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

First up, a book with a gorgeous name. I have been hearing about it all year. Book community has been hyping it up as something really poetic, but it's written in prose; the writing is flowery. It's because Ocean Vuong is a poet. Also, ever since my realisation of not being white, I've wanted to read more diversely, and Ocean Vuong is BIPOC. I hope that gives me a different perspective. 

As you know, my reading genres lean heavily towards YA contemporary; this is adult contemporary, so more change. I've heard it talks about race, masculinity and class. The protagonist is writing to his mother who can't read, so it's also about family relationships. I love reading about family relationships. The messier, the better. I am really excited to catch up on the hype of this book; the story of my life. 

Salt To The Sea by Ruta Setepys

It's a historical novel, set around the time of WWII, about a real incident that happened but the characters are fictional. And at the back it's described as something similar to Titanic. So here I am. I hear Titanic, I am joining the conversation. 

So a ship sank in the Baltic Sea, and all the people who were onboard, try to save their lives. There are multiple pov's covered, different people from different walks of life, trying to survive for different reasons. The people onboard were refugees who were escaping from the horrors of Hitler's regime. It's gonna be emotional and informative, two things I love. 

Bunny by Mona Awad

It's a thriller that, again, has gotten wildly popular in a short amount of time. It's one of the books that have been getting famous as 'hot girl reads' and also getting famous on Booktok. I told you guys in one of my recent blogs, that I have been meaning to read 'unhinged women' trope for so long. I haven't read any such book, they're super in trend, and Bunny's giving that. 

Basically, there's a girl who's a graduate student in literature department and she isolates herself with her dark imagination or something.. and there's another clique of girls who call themselves 'Bunnies'. And then this girl gets involved with them, and from then on, things take a turn towards 'what the f*ck' category. That's all I know. Someone on Goodreads recommended this as “this was the weirdest book i've read in my life and i don't know if i loved it or hated it but it was amazing and broke my brain”. That sounds promising! 👀

Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare 

Cassandra Clare is a famous writer, like I don't even need to explain, and I have never tried anything by her and I want to. This is I guess, I hope the first series in Shadowhunters world. It was very confusing figuring that out, because someone else told me that Mortal Instruments is the first one. Recently, I wanted to read more of vampires and there are vampires in this world. Also, I have heard there's a love triangle. Love triangles don't really work for me, but recently I finished Felix Ever After, and there was a love triangle which was.. chef's kiss <3 so good! (Read Felix Ever After !) And people say that the love triangle in this one as well, is a masterpiece. So I am excited! I wanna get out of the box of people who constantly say that Love Triangles are the worst things to exist. 

Persuasion / Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen

The next book or books, I don't know how many I will read are classics, from Jane Austen. Aside from Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, I might pick Emma as well, because I have heard Emma is more similar to Pride and Prejudice in terms of main female charchter. And I love Pride and Prejudice. I have watched the movie twice, read the book once which was last year, and that's the only reason I haven't re-read it yet. Also, you guys might know that I have been trying to include classics in my reading since last year. They don't really call to me. P&P is the only classic which was ‘barely tolerable’ for my reading taste, lol. So, more Jane Austen it is.

So, in Sense and Sensibility, there are two sisters, who're very different from each other, and they both get their romance. And Persuasion, a lot of people have been reading it recently because of the Netflix adaptation. I have heard the adaptation became a flop because they decided to change the main character who was supposed to be more lively and humble, quiet, introverted, and they put her into a more sassier and society's perception of a 'strong woman' box, changing the whole essence. I want to form my own opinions and watch the movie. So excited!

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

Golden Boys is about four queer friends who embark on their separate journeys to different places in the last summer of school. There are pov's from all four friends, who're pursuing their dreams. The story is about friendship and self-discovery, two of my most favourite things to read about. I came accross this book through one of JesseTheReader's YouTube videoes. And it also, just a little bit, reminded me A Little Life, because in both books, there's a friend group of 4, and you learn about each of them.  Not a lot of people have read this book yet, so let's start the tirade then. 

When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

I wanted to read this book long ago, and it's been in my TBR list ever since. Back then, I was going through a terrible friendship breakup, and this book is about that; a friendship breakup. I ordered this book and never recieved it, and sat at home for months grumpy about having to spend money once again when there was still the tiniest chance of me recieving it like, 7 months later. That didn't happen, so moving on. 

In the book we follow the story alternating between past and present, when these two girls used to be friends and now that they are not, and what happened. It's the narration style I read most in second chance friends to lovers books, but this time they're just friends. And I love that. The book is YA Contemporary, more black representation. It looks like it can break my heart, how would I like that?

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

If you haven't already heard Haley Pham raving about this, Mary Jane is a coming of age novel about a 14-year-old who gets a job as a nanny in house next door. Her upbringing is very religious. She is quiet, shy and 'goodie two shoes', and when she gets into this house, she discovers what a ruckus this is. And her life changes from there on. I don't know, for the longest time I thought this book was like Daisy Jones and The Six, and there would be a band. I had confused it with another book, which I probably will also read someday. Anyway. 

I have heard Mary Jane is a character driven book and also a summer read. It's historical and there are music references. Going for the vibes! 

Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake

If you read my last post, you know about my growing love of Ashely Herring Blake and Suffer Love is her first book. And actually, this is the only book left by her which is YA and Contemporary, and the focus is not on romance, but romance is a sub-plot. The other books are mostly middle grade or focused on romance. 

The synopsis, although I didn't understand much, reminds me of Brigid Kemmerer's contemporaries, which are just, LOVE!❤️ Hopefully my love for Blake just increases with this read. 

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

Sad for me, I haven't read a Sally Rooney book yet. The different opinions scare me, people either love them so much that they rave about them for eternity or hate them, get enraged at the hype and throw hands on social media. I guess time for me to pick sides. 

Conversations With Friends is about relationships and I have been warned to not look for plot in Sally Rooney, the 'conversations' and the 'emotions' are the big deal here. There are supposed to a bunch of complex characters and you try to understand their situations and not hate them. And also, page after page, there would be quotes. I am not to blind to all those annotated Bookstagram pics!

Conversations With Friends is supposed to be a roller coaster of emotions and I love that. There's also a series adaptation available on Hulu, which I might wanna watch after I am done with reading first. Let me know would you want another live reading blog? Me trying Sally Rooney?

Out Of Love by Hazel Hayes

It's the book that when I first heard about, I was instantly intrigued with. So it's a love story, which begins at the ending, and as you progress through the story, it takes you on a ride backwards towards how they met and fall in love. So in the starting of the book, Maya is packing bags of her ex-boyfriend, all of his belongings and then you learn, as she recalls, at the ending, after having read all about how they were doomed, how they met. 

There are trigger warnings that I have been warned of; abuse, sexual abuse, alcohol addiction, mental illness. The story is supposed to be bitter-sweet. It's the first book that I have heard in this format, which excites me! 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

I feel like almost all of these are contemporaries! 😆 Well, they're my favourites, so. I read Bear Town last year, and it was an unexpected five stars. The novel was transformative and made me question a lot of things that we do, and think they are right, are they really? I sort of wanted to read everything he has ever written but after some contemplation, I decided we shall start with A Man Called Ove. 

It's a story about an old man who is very grumpy and cranky, and he learns to live his life again through being shown kindness and something to fight for. So there's charchter development, and you follow Ove's backstory and know that there's more to him than what seems on the surface level. Someone recommended this to me as a feel good book, but at the same time emotional. And I saw Hannah, from the Clockwork Reader sobbing over this in her video where she reads 5 sad books. It's time for me to pick up my next Backman. 

The Acts Of Life by Kristin Mulligan

We've reached the last book. The Acts Of Life is an indie romance-thriller, written by one of the Bookstagrammers I follow. I have heard people say that if you loved Verity by Colleen Hoover, you would love this. I don't like Colleen Hoover, but when I first read Verity, I was blown. So if the vibes match, there are chances I might like this. I have heard the hype about the ending, can't wait to get to that. There's also steam, which I am wary of.. I don't like it.🙈 It's written in multiple pov's. I don't understand much of what the book is about, except we follow two siblings, who work in different walks of life, and their parents are dead. We'll find out what happens!

So those were all of the books that are on my immediate TBR. Aside from these, there's also Carrie Soto Is Back which isn't released yet but as soon as it is, I am reading it. Tell me in the comments some of the books that you've been wanting to read or what you are currently reading and I will see you in the next post! 

Edit : By the way! You can follow my blog by going to the 'web version' which you will find at the bottom of the page. You'll see the option, consider clicking. I hadn't put it up until 2 months ago. 

((Note : The photos don't belong to me. Credits go to respective Bookstagram accounts. I follow all of these incredible people and me using their pics doesn't mean that we are of the same opinion.))