With temperatures rising every year, this summer is set to be one of the hottest across the world, and let’s face it, the only thing strong enough to beat the heat is a good hardback book (paperback is just too flimsy for the heat). Albeit on the expensive and heavier side, these 5 books are beautiful enough to entice us from the outside and rivet us from the inside. Also, as bookworms and collectors, we wouldn’t complain about a few gorgeous additions to our libraries, now would we?
1. The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
This is the first book in a romantic fantasy trilogy written by Mark Lawrence.
Evar Eventari and his four siblings live in an arcane underground library that expands through the area of a whole city. After years of being trapped under the ground surrounded by ‘The Mechanism’, they were each plunged back out into society without having aged a day. Each of them came out with skills and profound knowledge from the books that they brought with them into ‘The Mechanism.’ However, Evar came out with the unsettling knowledge that he was missing something and set out on a journey to find what or who it was.
Livira Page is a fun-loving blithesome girl from the Dust who moved to the city as a way of finding refuge. The book portrays her story through the years she spends in the city whereas Evar’s story is only shown through a few days.
2. Arch Conspirator by Veronica Roth
Antigone lives in the last city on Earth, outside of which, everything is a wasteland. Without The Archive -a store of the genes of the dead- humanity would approach its end.
Antigone’s evil uncle crept up to her father’s throne and although he welcomed Antigone and her siblings into his mansion, she knew that it was a trap. A trap to contain Antigone, but little did her uncle know, nothing would stop Antigone from protecting her parent’s legacy.
This novella is a brilliant sci-fi retelling of the ancient Athenian tragedy, Antigone, written by the bestselling author of the Divergent Series, Veronica Roth.
3. The Last Tale Of The Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Indigo Maxwell-Castenada, was enigmatic, beautiful, and the heir to a fortune. She married a man who had a deep belief in fairytales and magic and was a scholar of myths. They loved each other and believed that they were meant to be together forever; however, Indigo made sure that her husband would never look into her past.
After her aunt’s death, the couple returns to The House Of Dreams, Indigo’s childhood home. Indigo’s ever-curious husband begins to untangle details of her past, an intricate web of lies and secrets. These discoveries slowly push them apart and eventually, the blurry line between fantasy and reality threatens to come between husband and wife.
Roshani Chokshi uses themes of love, friendships, and secrets to weave a gothic and peculiar story.
4. Homecoming: A Novel by Kate Morton
A phone call sends for Jess, a journalist based in London, back to Sydney to her ailing grandmother, Nora’s, house where she finds a book that details a buried police case: The Turner Family Tragedy of 1959.
In the book, she finds a frightening connection between her family and the gruesome mystery. Secrets slowly unravel as Jess figures out the truth of The Turner Family Tragedy from decades past. Filled with unfathomable twists, this novel keeps you on the edge of your seat!
This artfully crafted novel by Kate Morton, tells not only a mysterious and riveting story of a murder but also intends to show people what it is to stick by family, how home can be in two vastly different places, and what it means to belong.
5. Hello Beautiful (Oprah’s Book Club): A Novel by Ann Napolitano
William Waters had a tragic past. His family could not stand the sight of him or even love him. Fortunately for him, his salvation came in college when he met the beautiful and vivacious, Julia. She came from a big family with 4 siblings who loved each other dearly. Julia’s house was always filled with noise and love- completely unlike the childhood William had lived.
However, as William spent more time with Julia and her family, his past threatens to create a dark cloud over not only his relationship with her but also her joy-filled family.
Ann Napolitano wrote this book as a tribute to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and portrayed similar themes of loyalty and how choosing to love someone unconditionally means loving them, in spite of the stories and baggage they carry.
Filled with romance and thrill, covered in exoticism, these books are gorgeous inside and out. They are must adds to your summer TBR!
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