Ah, summer: that lovely three months in the middle of the year characterized by outdoor fun, vacation, and for some, a craving for summer fun with your boo. For those of you bookless this summer, here are some of my absolute favorite (mostly young adult) romance novels to spice up your summer.
​1. "Halo" by Alexandra Adornetto
"Halo" is a story about three angels that come down to Earth to help the world out for a while. Bethany is a younger angel that is accompanied by her two older angel siblings, Ivy and Gabriel. She's eager to learn the ways of the world but is also a bit younger and clumsier and the ways of high school get her all sorts of confused. Things take another turn entirely when she meets a boy named Xavier and they hit it off right away.
​2. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
If you haven't read "Pride and Prejudice" by now, it is way overdue for this to be next on your reading list. For those of you unfamiliar with "Pride and Prejudice," it tells the story of the five Bennet sisters in England in the early 19th century. All five of the ladies are of marriageable age and their mother is determined to marry them all off to wealthy gentlemen. Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest Bennet daughter, is determined to find her own way through the world and will find her husband or whatever else comes her way the way she wants.
​3. "The Goddess Test" by Aimee Carter
"The Goddess Test" tells the story of Kate, whose mother is terminally ill and dying. Her dying wish is to return to her hometown one last time before she goes and Kate takes her on this journey. While she's there, she meets a tall, dark, and mysterious guy named Henry who says that he's Hades. He tells her that he can save her mother if Kate can pass seven tests to become a goddess.
​4. "The Selection" by Kiera Cass
"The Selection" series might be my favorite series that I've ever read. It's set in a dystopian United States that's now run by a monarchy called Illea and organized into a caste system. When a prince of Illea comes of age, the kingdom holds a competition for local girls throughout the kingdom to compete for the prince's heart in what's basically a royal version of "The Bachelor." The story starts when Prince Maxon comes of age in the kingdom and follows the story of America Singer, who gets chosen to be a part of "The Selection."
​5. "Dirty Pretty Things" by Michael Faudet
"Dirty Pretty Things" is a collection of poetry that focuses on love, sex, falling in love and out of it, and all the other wonderful and terrible things that come with being a person trying to be with another person.
​6. "Haunting Violet" by Alyxandra Harvey
"Haunting Violet" will likely always be in my top five favorite books. It follows the story of Violet Willoughby in England in the late 1800s. As long as Violet has remembered, she has traveled with her mother and a boy they took in, Colin, to many seances. Her mother is a medium, but as Violet has assisted with her for forever, she knows it's all smoke in mirrors and that her mother is a complete sham. Things start to take a different turn, however, when Violet realizes that she's a true medium and there's a ghost out there that wants Violet to help her.
​7. "Pushing The Limits" by Katie McGarry
"Pushing The Limits" follows the story of Echo Emerson, a girl who used to have it all and now has scars up both arms and no recollection of receiving them, and Noah Hutchens, a bad boy in foster care who is trying to get custody over his younger brothers after his parents' untimely death. Both of these two are fighting their own battles, but when fate keeps pushing them together, who knows what could happen?
"Pushing The Limits" is the start of a series of four spin-off romances. This book tells the story of Echo and Noah's romance, the next book tells Noah's foster sister's love story, the next book tells Noah's foster brother's story, and so on. Katie McGarry, however, is easily my favorite romance author. Although they all follow the same general story arc, I am still here for it every single time. She creates a love to root for and puts it up against every possible challenge to see if it can stand the test of time. There is not a single book of hers I will not read. Seriously, check her out.
​8. "Crash Into You" by Katie McGarry
"Crash Into You" tells the story of a seemingly perfect rich girl, Rachel Young, and tattooed foster kid, Isaiah Walker. Both with a need for speed, the two find themselves in a sticky situation where everything is on the line. This book explores the lengths that the two will go to for love and save each other.
Yes, another Katie McGarry book. This is my absolute favorite Katie McGarry book of all time. This is the third book in the series of spin-offs and I don't know what it is, but I just can't get enough of Rachel and Isaiah's story. It's seriously good.
​9. "Wake" by Lisa McMann
"Wake" follows the story of seventeen-year-old Janie who has the power to get sucked into people's dreams. This means that, whether she likes it or not, she gets to see the dreams of anyone who falls asleep near enough to her. She's lived with this secret her whole life, but what happens when she lets Cabel in on her secret?
This is a trilogy that I read when I was fairly young and I remember it being a pretty interesting story. It's a superpower that not many people explore the boundaries of and it's pretty cool to see it play out in the life of a teenager in a realistic setting.
10. "My Life With The Walter Boys" by Ali Novak
"My Life With The Walter Boys" is about Jackie Howard, whose family dies so she is sent to live with family friends who have 11 sons and one tomboy daughter. She's met with confusion, romance, support, and surprises at every turn in this quirky novel.
This book was originally a Wattpad book that got really popular and was published. I had it saved on my Wattpad to read for ages, but never really got around to reading it until I bought the physical copy. There were a lot of different romantic interests and it was pretty exciting to get to try and guess which one Jackie would end up with.​11. "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater
"Shiver" tells the story of Grace, a girl who has always been obsessed with the wolves that live at an icy distance from her backyard, and Sam, one of the wolves who live in her backyard. When Grace meets Sam for the first time as a human, their connection is undeniable. But can their love endure the challenges of Sam's condition?
