{read} summer bookworm

I've read 12 books this summer.

I'm ashamed to admit that is more books than I read in all four years of college [for fun].

I would find myself feeling guilty if I sat down for an hour to read a novel. I only had

about a million pages of reading to do for class every night after all! I would somehow

always manage to find time to sit on Facebook though? Priorities... obviously.

It is so nice to have so much free time to do with as I please now.

A little bit too much free time.... does someone want to hire me?! 

Here are four books I enjoyed the most this summer.

Fun fact: Three out of these four books were published and released this summer.

• [ONE.] Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: [published June 5, 2012]
• Short summary: A beautiful married couple is supposed to be blissfully celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary together. One problem - the wife vanishes without a trace. Is everything really what it seems? This is a psychological thriller with all the makings of a psychopathic character.
• My verdict: I downloaded a sample of this book to my kindle just before I left for my trip to Chicago to visit Seth. I had never heard of the author Gillian Flynn before, but the storyline sounded just up my alley. It took all of my strength to not completely devour the rest of the book before my trip after I read the sample portion. It drew me in from the first few pages. Love. Love. Love. Loved so much that I finished this book in about 3 days, downloaded Flynn's first two novels, and finished them before I left Chicago. Um. I was there for.... 9 days. Yeah. My not-so-inner psychology nerd devoured this book from start to finish because I am extremely interested in psychopathy, narcissism, and antisocial disorder [to name a few]. If you are like me... buy this book immediately!
• Similar novels: Like I mentioned before, I also read Flynn's first two novels, Dark Places  and Sharp Objects after finishing Gone Girl. I liked both of them, but Gone Girl is still my number one. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through The Madness by Jon Ronson is a  non-fiction book that has the same topic as Gone Girl that I also enjoyed reading.
• [TWO.] The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters: [published July 10, 2012] 
• Short Summary: Set in a pre-apocalyptic USA, Hank Palace is a detective in a "hanging town." Many people are beginning to commit suicide by hanging to avoid the date of the huge meteor crash that is supposed to wipe out an entire continent. He stumbles across a hanging case that doesn't seem right to him. He sets out to investigate what he suspects is a murder... that no one else cares about. 
• My verdict:  I found this book on Amazon in the "Up and Coming" kindle section. I decided to download it because it was cheap and sounded like a good read. I'm really glad I decided to download this book! The main character is very interesting and the plot of the book seems like it could really come true someday. 
• Similar novels: I haven't read any other pre-apocalyptic novels, but this book is supposedly headed to a trilogy. If it does, I will definitely make sure to download the next two novels. There is another Winters novel that I would like to read soon. It is called Bedbugs. It sounds creepy and fabulous.
• [THREE.] Spitfire by Annette Sandoval: [published July 17, 2012]
• Short Summary: Tomi Reyes is a drop dead beautiful Latina woman with a ton of sass and sarcasm. She is promoted from front desk secretary to executive assistant of a guy named Scott. He clearly takes a liking to Tomi even though he is married. All of a sudden, Tomi's friends start to end up in refrigerators, dead. All signs point to her... someone is framing her. She realizes her life is in danger and reaches out to an old friend and new love interest, Nickels, an FBI agent.
• My verdict: After reading so many dark and heavy books, this novel was a humorous relief. While the plot is still murder mystery, Tomi is a fun main character to follow. I would recommend this book as a quick beach or vacation read.
• Similar novels: Nothing to report here!
• [FOUR.] The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory: [published November 2, 2004]
• Short Summary: This is a well researched by fictionalized account of Henry VII, his first two wives, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, and one of his many mistresses, Mary Boleyn. It is a tale we all know very well from European history class brought to life. The main plot is about the struggle of sisterhood rivalry between Anne Boleyn and her lesser-known sister, Mary Boleyn.
• My verdict: Could. Not. Stop. Reading. I read this 672 page book in about 3 days while on vacation in California. I have always been interested in Tudor history, so this book was incredibly fascinating. Recommended to anyone who likes intrigue, suspense, romance, history, and of course, Henry VII.
• Similar novels: Phillipa Gregory writes a TON of novels about European history. You can check out her Amazon author page to see the full list. After finishing this novel I downloaded The Boleyn Inheritance. I did not like it quite as much as The Other Boleyn Girl, but it is a captivating read nonetheless. 

If you want to check out my reviews for these books and many more, add me on Goodreads!

What is your favorite recent read?

xo, Jen

disclaimer: None of these authors know that I exist. All opinions expressed are my own.