Sunlight, Cocoa, and Good Books

  In 27 Days By Alison Gervais In 27 Days Synopsis Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn’t know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him. Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer’s funeral. There, Hadley is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back 27 days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself. But when Hadley agrees to Death’s terms and goes back to right the past, she quickly learns her mission is harder than she ever could have known. Hadley soon discovers Archer’s reasons for being alone, and Archer realizes that having someone to confide in isn’t as bad as he’d always thought. But when a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart, Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything—including her life—to keep Arc...

 Hello readers! It's a new year, and I'm sure lots of you have exciting resolutions for 2025! And one of my resolutions this year is to give you all 365 book recommendations!  That's why, to kick off the new year, I have decided that January will be new series for you all to try! After all, new year, new series. I hope y'all have an amazing year! (Note: Not all of these recommendations are completely clean, including any other advent post after this. Read at your own discretion, but I try not to recommend too many books with bad content. Happy reading!) A Dog's Purpose-W. Bruce Cameron The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest-Melanie Dickerson Tidewater Inn-Colleen Coble Forged in Love-Mary Connealy The Heart's Choice-Tracie Peterson/Kimberley Woodhouse The Eye of Minds-James Dashner Mirror, Mirror-Jen Calonita Fairy Godmother-Jen Calonita On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness-Andrew Peterson Broken Pride-Erin Hunter Silverwing-Kenneth Oppel The Wild Ones-C. Alexander...

  Heartless By Marissa Meyer Heartless synopsis: Catherine, daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Hearts, has only one ambition: to own her very own bakery with her maid and best friend, Mary Ann. But when she hears whispers about the King's future wife- and learns that he plans to marry her- everything begins to unravel. Until she meets Jest, the handsome, charismatic court joker. Every second she spends with him is electrifying, and soon she can't imagine life without him. Unbeknownst to the people of Hearts, they enter a secret- and forbidden- courtship. But tragedy strikes, and Cath might have to accept the King's proposal if she wants her own happy ending. I absolutely ADORED this book and cried mighty hard at the ending. Also, I have a warning for you: if you read this book, you will not be able to forget Jest and his gorgeous lemon eyes... This book is perfectly clean and amazing all the way through. Ages 13+ would appreciate this novel! Happy reading! -Lylia

 Hello, readers! I am pleased to announce that in 2025, I am going to start doing what I'm going to call a Monthly Book Advent, where I recommend 28-31 novels based on the month of the year, starting in January. Every month will have a different theme according to that month!  However, I'm having trouble coming up with some themes for a few months, so if you have any suggestions for themes for the months posted below, please drop a comment! I would love to have some ideas. Look for these posts every month to get a whole year's worth of book recommendations!  Happy reading! -Lylia Months I Haven't Thought Up a Theme Yet March August September Please give me some theme suggestions! They could be genres or books with a common theme relating to that specific month. Thank you!

  Places We've Never Been By Kasie West Places We've Never Been synopsis: Norah hasn’t seen her childhood best friend, Skyler, in years. When he first moved away, they'd talk all the time, but lately their relationship has been reduced to liking each other’s Instagram posts. That’s why Norah can’t wait for the joint RV road trip their families have planned for the summer. But when Skyler finally arrives, he seems...like he’d rather be anywhere else. Hurt and confused, Norah reacts in kind. Suddenly, her oldest friendship is on the rocks. A summer spent driving across the country leads both Norah and Skyler down new roads and to new discoveries. Before long, they are, once again, seeing each other in a different light. Can their friendship-turned-rivalry turn into something more? This book is so amazing, I cannot even begin to describe. And SKYLER. I will not go into detail about how much I love him because if I start I'll never stop. You will not regret giving this book...

  Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend By Brandon Hoang Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend synopsis: Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend is a YA novel that proves that romance isn't all that's important- being a good friend is just as valuable.  Gary Vo, a Vietnamese outcast at school, desperately wants to belong with the popular kids. During one summer break, he is offered a chance to be welcomed in: befriend the most untouchable and most beautiful girl in school, Gloria Buenrostro.  But the closer they become, the more Gary questions his choice. Should he continue with the charade, or should he choose friendship over social status? It's a beautiful and heart-wrenching tale of friendship that made me question what I really considered to be a true friend. You should definitely read this book- and share it with a friend! -Lylia Content Warning: Some suggestive materials and some curse words throughout, but nothing too severe. Definitely recommend for ages 14+. Hap...

If you love reading books as much as I do, then there's one thing you have to do: when you find a book you like, you have to read their other works in support of the author.  Here is a list of authors you have to try, along with which books you should start with when checking them out. Authors You MUST Try: Abbie Emmons. Oh my goodness, you haven't discovered what YA romance really is until you have read Abbie Emmons' work. As of this writing, she has written three books: 100 Days of Sunlight; The Best Christmas Ever; and The Otherworld, with a fourth novel in progress. I suggest reading 100 Days of Sunlight first! Nadine Brandes. I absolutely love the unique writing style of Nadine Brandes! She has so much talent, and I love her work! As of this writing, she has written seven novels: The Out of Time series, which includes A Time to Die, A Time to Speak, and A Time to Rise; Fawkes; Romanov; Wishtress; and her newest book, The Nightmare Virus. For a first read, I would sugge...

  The Name She Gave Me By Betty Culley The Name She Gave Me synopsis: The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley is a verse novel that follows Rynn, a 16-year-old adopted girl who embarks on a quest to find her birth family, using the only piece of information she has from her birth mother: her name, "Scheherazade." As Rynn navigates the complexities of adoption laws and her adoptive mother's resistance, she discovers a younger sister living in foster care nearby, leading to a deeply emotional journey of self-discovery and family connection. -From Google This book was so beautiful and inspiring, and it only takes a day to read! I love the style of writing that Betty Culley has used, and I have fallen in love with the characters. I highly recommend! Nothing content-wise seemed amiss to me, so I would recommend for ages 13+. Happy reading! -Lylia

  The Silence Between Us By Alison Gervais The Silence Between Us synopsis: Maya Harris is a Deaf teenager who is uprooted from her home and has to go to a Hearing school for the first time. When she meets Beau, a Hearing boy who seems just as ignorant as the rest of the students, she scorns his pathetic attempt at learning American Sign Language to communicate with her. Surely he would never be interested in a Deaf girl. But soon, their relationship changes, and Maya begins to fall for Beau. But she has to know- will he ever like her the way she is? Or will he always dwell on her disability? This book is so incredibly powerful and really demonstrates how valuable the Deaf community really is to our modern society. I love the relatable accuracy! And Beau is to DIE for! Please read this whenever you have the time- you won't regret it! There is nothing I thought was remotely unclean in this novel, so I would definitely recommend for ages 13+. Happy reading! -Lylia

 I really don't like talking bad about books, because books are my life. Quite literally, in fact.  But there are some books that just completely turned me off, and this is a list of those books. Some of them were just a bit dull for my liking, and some of them I just considered bad writing. So here you go! Five books I would not recommend to readers that enjoy quality writing. No offense to the authors whatsoever. Read at your own risk! 5 Books I Would Not Recommend: At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon This Town Is Not All Right by M. K. Krys Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer Indigo Isle by T. I. Lowe The Shunning by Beverly Lewis

  Dearest Josephine By Caroline George Dearest Josephine synopsis: When Josie De Clare moves into a house and finds some old letters from two hundred years ago, she is curious to read them- especially when she sees a mention of her own name. As she reads, she begins to fall in love with the writer, Elias Roch, who wrote to his love, coincidentally also named Josephine De Clare. I. Love. This. Story. It was so romantic it brought tears to my eyes. This is incredible writing and so inspiring for a writer. Thank you, Caroline George, for penning this masterpiece! I would recommend for 13+, but from what I can remember there wasn't anything remotely bad in this novel. Happy reading! -Lylia

Wishtress By Nadine Brandes Wishtress synopsis: She didn’t ask to be the Wishtress. Myrthe was born with the ability to turn her tears into wishes. It’s a big secret to keep. When a granted wish goes wrong, a curse is placed on her: the next tear she sheds will kill her. She needs to journey to the Well and break the curse before it claims her life–and before the king’s  militairen  track her down. But in order to survive the journey, she must harden her heart to keep herself from crying even a single tear. He can stop time with a snap of his fingers. Bastiaan’s powerful–and rare–Talent came in handy when he kidnapped the old king. Now the new king has a job for him: find and capture the Wishtress and deliver her to the schloss. But Bastiaan needs a wish of his own. When he locates Myrthe, he agrees to take her to the Well in exchange for a wish. Once she’s fulfilled her end of the deal, he’ll turn her in. As long as his growing feelings for the girl with a stone heart don’t c...

 An unshakable fact about me is that I never, ever leave a book unfinished. Okay, that's not actually true. I just really, REALLY don't like not finishing a book. I try to complete every novel I start, even if I don't like it. HOWEVER. This list contains the ones that I was never able to finish, whether circumstances prevented it or I just wasn't liking it enough. You should still give them all a try if you're up for it! 5 Books I Was Unable To Finish: 1. How We Roll by Natasha Friend 2. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord 3. You, Me, and Our Heartstrings by Melissa See 4. The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic 5. The Maze Cutter by James Dashner