Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
I read this book back when I didn’t review everything I read and I actually wish I had a review on it. I’ve said this before and I’m still not sure if it’s 100% truth, but I’m pretty certain I read this entire book in one sitting. Which isn’t the most impressive feat in the world as it’s not particularly long, but it’s not something I really get the time to do these days.
I usually avoid books, films and basically any media about illness as they give me a lot of anxiety but I was told this book wouldn’t make me feel that way. Thankfully, I trusted the person who recommended it and they were right. This book didn’t make me feel anxious, nor did the film, which I can’t talk about because I bawled my eyes out. I don’t really cry when reading books but this book did make me feel and that feeling was a sense of hollowness, but in a good way. Rachael Lippincott’s books never fail to make me feel something, whether that be happiness or sadness. This book is a mixture of the two.
I feel like I’m not really selling this book to you as a great read, but it’s one that’s hard to explain. If you’re a fan of emotional books, then Five Feet Apart is definitely for you. It’s a real rollercoaster.
Synopsis: Can you love someone you can never touch?
Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.
The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.
Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.
What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
I feel like I’ve been talking about this book a lot lately but that could just be because I’ve been trying to get some future posts ready. I genuinely can’t remember which posts I’ve included this in so they could be posted close together, but who knows? I certainly don’t.
This series has stuck with me ever since I was a teen. There’s just something about it that I absolutely love. I think it was one of the first ‘inspired by mythology or another story’ style books I read, which could be a complete lie, but it definitely started my love for retellings.
There are a few questionable moments, like why did so many books from the 2000s and early 2010s have a forbidden relationship with characters that think they could be related but still have romantic feelings anyway? So strange, but my teenage mind didn’t really pick up on the weird vibes of it back then. Anyway, sorry to spoil it for you, but in the interest of not sounding like I’m condoning incest, they aren’t related.
Back to my point of loving this series. It’s very teen but I still really enjoy it. I did a re-read of the first book a couple of years ago and it actually stood the test of time for me. Part of my love of it is definitely nostalgia but I’m also just a huge fan of Greek mythology and this series has such a unique take on it.
Synopsis: How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is – no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood… and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together – and trying to tear them apart.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: ARC Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon