The Best Of: Standalones #26

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

I read this quite some time ago now and it was one of the first audiobooks I listened to. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this and that was before I liked them. Don’t ask why I bought the audio version of this book, I don’t know why.

If you’re a fan of mermaid/siren books, this is for you. It’s a very interesting take on the classic mythos and I’d highly recommend it. There are other books in this ‘series’ and I think the second one is from the perspective of the influencer in this one, which is cool.

Synopsis: Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Nevermind she’s also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favourite Internet fashion icon reveals she’s also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.

A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey

It seems like I’ve talked about this book a lot lately, but that’s probably because it’s currently summer and this book is all summer, all the time.

As my first read by Laura Taylor Namey, this book blew me away. The way in which she writes about grief is honestly beautiful and her characters feel so raw and real. I loved everything about this book and I sincerely hope she writes more with these characters.

Synopsis: Winchester, England, has always been home for Flora, but when her mother dies after a long illness, Flora feels untethered. Her family expects her to apply to university and take a larger role in their tea-shop business, but Flora isn’t so sure. More than ever, she’s the chaotic “hurricane” in her household, and she doesn’t always know how to manage her stormy emotions.

So she decides to escape to Miami without telling anyone—especially her longtime friend Gordon Wallace.

But Flora’s tropical change of scenery doesn’t cast away her self-doubt. When it comes to university, she has no idea which passions she should follow. That’s also true in romance. Flora’s summer abroad lands her in the flashbulb world of teen influencer Baz Marín, a Miami Cuban who shares her love for photography. But Flora’s more conflicted than ever when she begins to see future architect Gordon in a new light.