The Books My Brain Needed

I’ve mentioned that during my first trimester and a little after that I was having a hard time reading anything. But when I WAS up to reading all I was craving was some light, wonderful fluff. I am a fan of ~fluff~ books and I hate when people act as if they aren’t as good as Other Books. GOOD FLUFFY READING IS IMPORTANT OKAY??

Anyways, my brain was just really craving fun and light books — no matter the genre — but definitely was wanting light and fluffy contemporary romances.  So I figured why don’t I round up some of those books that got me through that misery where I wasn’t quite my self when it came to reading.

They were all so delightful and I’d recommend any of these:

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

(I received my copy for review consideration. All opinions are 10000% my own)

What It’s About: Two friends finally get the chance to attend SupaCon together while both having to confront some tough things personally– like a very public breakup and personal life under scrutiny as a Youtube star and anxiety that makes attending something like SupaCon a feat in itself.

What I Thought: Oh I just adored this one — it was so cute! I loved the Comic-Con type setting, the strong friendships and, guys, the romances were ADOOOOORABLE — a really cute f/f romance and the cutest best-friend-turned-more romance. Both main characters were fully fleshed out — I felt for Charlie with her very public breakup and her uncertainty about sharing a new romance and I really cheered for Taylor as she tried to push herself even though it was really hard with her anxiety. I really loved how the book handled her anxiety. Plus the pop culture/fandoms/geek culture aspect was really fun and something I could relate heavily to. It was just absolutely a delight all around while tackling some really important things. Reading it in one sitting!!

How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington:

(I received my copy for review consideration. All opinions are 10000% my own)

What It’s About: Sixteen year old Aurora has never been kissed and she intends for it to stay that way until she finds The One who is worthy of her first kiss — which means dodging kiss attempts on dates and focusing on the love lives of her friends. Until she gets the lead role in a play that requires her to kiss the male lead who happens to be her neighbor who she can’t stand….and she won’t let that happen so the urgency to find The One is on!

What I Thought: I read this is in the throes of morning sickness and I died from adorableness. Like cotton candy fluff. Not normally the type of romance I would be drawn to normally, if I’m being honest, but it was exactly what the doctor (should have) ordered. It was very predictable (but sometimes there is comfort in that when it comes to rom-coms and why I gravitate towards them at times) and it was one of those books where YOUUUU know who the guy is and have to wait for the MC to figure it out but it was not in the infuriating way but more in the way where you just want to smoosh their heads together to kiss like you did with your Barbie dolls back in the day. JUST KISS ALREADY. Super sweet and fun!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne:

What It’s About: Lucy haaaaates her co-worker and fellow executive assistant, Josh, who sits across from her and is always torturing her. Their personalities couldn’t be more different. Now they are up for a promotion and are each others biggest competition which really heats things up in the office….including the tension between the two which might not be the kind of loathing Lucy thought it was.

What I Thought: I finallyyyy read this one. You see, I hadn’t heard much about it and got it out from the library….and then I never got time to read it. AND THEN…the internet exploded with love for this book. So it scared me off. BUT ALAS….the hype was warranted. If you are in the mood for a fun adult rom-com, THIS IS THE ONE. It has my most faaaaavorite trope — the hate to love romance — and the BANTER and the tension are just A+++. Not only that but I really enjoyed that the romance was an ~office romance.~ Lucy and Josh are just darling and I enjoyed watching their relationship change and watch them individually deal with some personal stuff. WHY IS THIS BOOK NOT A MOVIE YET??????? It would be the best rom com ever.  ALSO…please someone who has read this give me recs similar to this!!

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

(I received my copy for review consideration. All opinions are 10000% my own)

What It’s About: Alosa is a pirate captain AND daughter of an infamous pirate King who has sent her on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map. The plan? Let her get taken hostage by their enemies where she’ll be able to search the ship for the map. Alosa is most certainly more clever and capable than this ruthless crew but she meets her match in the first mate who is tasked with looking after her.

What I Thought: THIS WAS SO FUN! If you are looking for something light and ~fluffy~ and you don’t tend to gravitate toward contemporary romance type books…this pirate-filled adventure is exactly what you need! An absolutely fun, pirate-y romp at sea (a setting I’ve been wanting to see more of). I cannot wait for book 2 to see where the adventures take them. I could NOT put this one down — a very page-turning adventure that will probably have you biting your nails as you watch Alosa deal with some very close calls as she skulks around trying to find the map and not be caught. Alosa is very endearing and I loved how clever, sneaky and resourceful she was. And Riden….oh Riden! Great enemies to lovers romance.

Have you read any of these? Tell me some of your favorite ~fluff~ type reads?? I have a feeling I’m going to need to incorporate even more in my reading life when my brain is scrambled from having a newborn and no sleep.