Top Ten Books for Summer 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week's TOP TEN:

Books on my TBR summer list

In High School, my summer reading list included books like Moby Dick, A Farewell to Arms, Grapes of Wrath and 1984. All great books. Probably. I only read about half of them. Shh, don't tell my English teachers, but yes...I used sparknotes. Guilty. That's because summer isn't for heavy reading. It is for fun, lightweight, entertaining and romantic books. Books that make you laugh, cry, and fall in love. 

1. Rapture by Lauren Kate: Will Daniel and Luce finally get to be together forever or will fate tear them apart, this time for good?
2. Endlessly by Kiersten White: Will Ellie and Lend workout their immortality issues? And will she get to wear pink to the prom?
3. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty: I've heard nothing but good things about this series. Why I haven't I read it? No clue. I'm going to change that this summer.
4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: I just think this book is going to be amazing. 
5. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: From what I've heard about this book, it has an adorable premise that I am pretty sure I will devour in one sitting. 
6. Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin: Love the show. Have the book. Perhaps I should read it. 
7. Where She Went by Gayle Foreman: I read If I Stay last summer and spent an hour crying in the pool. I think I am due for another good torrential downpour. 
8. Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson: Italy, flirting, romance. This just screams -- SUMMERTIME READ! 
9. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Confession, I've never read anything by John Green. Just started this one and am already hooked. I'm probably going to have to add all of the rest of his books to my summertime list. 
10. Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski: Summer is the season for YA contemp. This is a book I've had waiting on my shelf and intend to finally read.  

My summer list could go on and on. And though I have great intentions of one day reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Lolita by Tolstoy, they probably won't make the cut until about mid-october. What books made your top ten list? Even though my list is long, I could always add a few more...

Book Review - Fallen In Love

Fallen In Love (Fallen # 3.5):

 by Lauren Kate

(Goodreads summary)
Library Binding, 160 pagesExpected publication: January 24th 2012
by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
What makes your heart race a little faster? Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's FALLEN IN LOVE, four wholly original new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. FALLEN IN LOVE gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of FALLEN characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda.

The story of Daniel and Luce is not necessarily everyone’s favorite. I however fell in love with the Fallen Series this past summer and have since been eagerly awaiting Rapture, the fourth and final book in the saga. Thankfully, the dreadful waiting period has been graced with an in between book, Fallen In Love, a compilation of four love stories of some of our favorite characters in this series. As a fan of these books, I thoroughly enjoyed this addition.  

Everyone loves a good romance and Daniel and Luce’s love is pretty epic. It appropriately dominates the focus of the series; however, as we follow their love, one can’t help but wonder about the stories of the other characters. Fortunately, Lauren Kate was well aware that us fans would enjoy reading more!

For me, this book does not further the series, but it is a positive addition nonetheless. I was very glad to see that Miles was not left to wallow after Luce but given his own little love story. And as the spunky sidekick, Shelby was definitely worthy of his affection. They were charming and in the series of bizarre occurrences, refreshingly normal. It was cute to see how their story progressed while Daniel and Luce were busy chasing the past. And as the loveable fallen angels from opposite sides, I enjoyed learning more about Roland’s past and Arrianne’s.

Overall, this is an adorable quartet of love stories. Appropriately coined a book for Valentine’s Day, if you are looking for a simple and quick love story, this is the book for you. It won’t blow you away, but it will warm your heart.

Rating: 3.3/5

(Thanks to netgalley and Delacorte Press Books for providing me with this book for review.)