Great reads to take you away from reality

It is always nice to relax with a book, so I am here to recommend the best books for romance, fantasy and historical fiction to help you get lost in the pages.

Romance

1. Happy Place by Emily Henry

A book that perfectly outlines the anguish that comes with growing up and growing apart from your closest friends. Happy Place is about a couple who have long been college sweethearts, but have secretly broken up a few months back and are having a challenging time breaking the news to their friends. Especially, when they are being constantly reminded just how perfect they are for each other. Told by weaving through fond memories and their current predicament of faking their engagement at the friend group’s yearly summer getaway. Happy Place is flirty, charming and deeply emotional. Harriett and Wyn’s love for each other, the friendships they have formed, and the whimsical charm of their happy place make for a quick read that is sure to leave a smile.

Check it out

2. Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

Part heist, part romance, this thrilling adventure dives into family mysteries, matchmaking, evading art thieves, and escaping kidnappers. Naveen could be considered normal, almost boring, and Mira is desperately looking to find some sense of ‘normal’ in her own life. They may be an unlikely pair, but after having met for one date on a match-making app for Indian American singles, suddenly they are on their way to Las Vegas to settle Mira’s Aunt’s affairs. Only they are in for a lot more than they bargained for. Gripping and emotional, this witty and fun book brings butterflies in its wake, reminding us of the importance of sticking beside the people you love.

Check it out

3. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer Smith

Owen and Lucy live in completely different worlds. It takes a citywide blackout to bring them together, stuck in an elevator of a New York City high rise. Once rescued, they spend an unforgettable night together on an adventure through the city that had been put to sleep. But when reality returns, the pair are torn apart by travel plans and family ailments. Connecting through correspondence and phone calls as they traipse through the world, Owen and Lucy look for a way back to each other.

CHECK IT OUT

Fantasy

1. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

In a brutal world, inspired by Ancient Rome, Laia and her family eke out a life in the Martial Empire’s slums. Laia lives in fear of the Empire and knows defiance is met with death. When her beloved brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a deal with the rebels seeking to gain freedom whatever the cost, agreeing to go undercover at the coveted military academy responsible for training the very people who keep her oppressed. People like Elias, the school’s top soldier, who is harbouring his own secret rebellion, seeking to be free of the tyranny he is in training to enforce. As Laia and Elias realize how their causes interconnect, fate brings them together on an adventure that raises the stakes not only for them but for the destiny of the world around them.

check it out

2. Circe by Madeline Miller

Told in a winding prose that will leave the reader breathless, Madeline Miller brings new life to the tale of Circe. A strange child, Circe is not like the other daughters in the House of Helios. As tales of her peculiarity spread, and her familiarity with her own craft grows, the threat is clear. Circe is a witch, with the power to rival the gods themselves. Banished to a deserted island, Circe is a story of a woman who stands alone, as she hones her occult powers to new levels, her mythos grows. Circe’s island is famed, having been visited by famous mythological creatures like the Minotaur, Icarus, and Odysseus, but these tales do not always tell of the danger faced by Circe. To protect her island, to protect what is hers, and to choose for the last time between gods and mortals.

Check it out

3. Splintered by A.G. Howard

Alyssa may hear the whispers of bugs and flowers, but that does not mean she is as crazy as her mother, or any of the other women afflicted with the family curse that has landed them in mental institutions time and time again. In fact, this curse spans back to Alyssa’s ancestor Alice Liddell, who inspired Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But Alyssa is having a harder time as she learns the fictional world of Carroll’s wonderland is more than reality and it is much more of a dark underland than depicted. When she and her best friend end up down the rabbit hole, Alyssa is forced to pass a series of trials, draining oceans of tears, and defeating terrifying Bandersnatchs, all to right the wrongs of the original Alice, and find some hope to save her family. Enter Morpheus a mysterious creature looking to act as her guide wonderland, and to find out what it wants with her in return. 

CHECK IT OUT

Historical fiction

1. At the Mountain’s Edge by Genevieve Graham 

The year is 1897, the gold rush has made it to Canada, and thousands are eagerly headed north, to the cold land of Dawson City, Yukon, in search of new life. Liza and her family are among those, choosing to move their general store, hoping to leverage the discovery of gold. Only, the North is a rough land to live by, wrought with prostitutes, guns, and liquor trade. A Constable with the North-West Mounted Police, Ben is looking to use his new position to escape his dark past. A tale of Canadian history, community and adventure, Liza and Ben must come together to not only find love but survive despite their past.

 CHECK IT OUT

2. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

World War II has ended, it is 1947, and desperately Charlie St. Clair is trying to piece her life back together. The only problem? She is pregnant, unmarried, and alone. An even bigger problem, she has not heard from her cousin Rose since she disappeared into Nazi-occupied Paris during the War. Instead of going to take care of the ‘little problem’ her socialite parents would so desperately wish her to be rid of, she heads off to London, dead set on finding her beloved cousin. What is she’s not set on is finding Eve Gardner, a burly drunk with a past of her own, and an unexpected connection to Charlie and Rose. Wrought by memories of her time in enemy-occupied France and her time being trained by the ‘Queen of Spies’, Eve is not without her own set of skills. But when Eve’s past and Charlie’s mission intersect and the pressure rises, both women set out to find the truth, no matter the cost. The Alice Network is inspired by the true story of a group of female spies who worked together during the Great War.

check it out

3. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

In this bedazzling, raw display of life in 1920s New York City as a showgirl, City of Girls is a potent, yet fun tale that outlines the life story of a fallen socialite. Determined to be the modern woman, Vivian is taking being kicked out of her affluent college well, after all her punishment of being sent to live at the eclectic, rather lacklustre midtown theatre with her Aunt Peg, well it doesn’t seem like much of a punishment at all. As Vivian tells the story of her life, she weaves a narrative of scandal, ambition, and what true freedom means. The playhouse is home to a cast of characters that wrap Vivian into their universe, from the stressed-out stage manager to the playboy writer and a rather eccentric yet grand actress. City of Girls explores female promiscuity and sexuality at the turn of the century in a way that hits strangely close to home today.

check it out