Top Five Books of the Summer

This summer was definitely a summer full of changes for me. I graduated from college, moved out of my parents' home and into an apartment with my twin sister, was hired to teach 10th grade English, and started my job. Talk about growing up! That being said, though, I learned a very harsh reality about adulthood: Reading time is precious. Seriously, I have never read less books a month than I have these last few months. I spend my days teaching and my nights and weekends lesson planning and grading. I'm lucky if I have an hour before bed to read. While I couldn't be more grateful to have a job in a field I love, I'm going to miss all of that reading time I had in college. 

With my last summer before officially becoming an adult, I tried to get as much reading time as I could. And I read some amazing books, books that have easily become my all-time favorite reads. So without further ado, here are my top five books that I've had the privilege of reading this summer. 

1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

THIS BOOK. Oh gosh, this book. I don't cry often when I read books, but this one left me blubbering mess. I absolutely loved the quirky British storyline and characters. Lou was amazing and her family added a charm that I loved. Lou and Will's relationship is so complex and it just broke my heart the entire time I read it. You MUST read this book, especially before the movie comes out with Emilia Clark and Sam Claflin! By far one of the best books I ever read. 

2. Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross

This was my first book by Julie Cross, but I can tell you that it's definitely not going to be my last. I love love love sports romances, especially baseball ones. And this book is by far one of the best sports romances I've read. I loved how it was about a baseball pitcher falling for the new coach's daughter. Annie was such a great character and I loved how she was athletic as well (she ran track). There were some laugh out loud moments that were just the thing you needed after some more emotional moments. I was seriously obsessed with this book and think every romance lover needs to read it! 

3. One Tiny Lie by KA Tucker

I absolutely loved Ten Tiny Breaths when I read it on vacation in 2014, so I knew that I had to read the second book on vacation this year. I devoured Livie's story as she went away to college and tried to figure out what she really wanted out of her life. Of course, she instantly falls for the one guy she really doesn't need in her life. I absolutely loved the chemistry between Livie and Ashton and how intense their relationship was. Livie tried to stay away and things happened between them that had me freaking out. So many feelings! I definitely can't wait to finish the rest of the books in this series. 

4. Bad Romeo by Bad Romeo

This is a book I had been seeing everywhere and knew that I had to read. New Adult is one of my favorite genres, if you couldn't tell, and this one was about actors who fell for each other. How could I resist? I loved the performing arts aspect of this book and how Cassie and Ethan have to learn to trust each other both on and off stage. Their chemistry is through the roof, but what I loved most was how the chapters alternated between the past and the present. We got to see them meet, but then we saw them in the present when Cassie is very upset with Ethan for something he did to her to break her heart. But you still want them to be together, no matter what the mistakes were that they had made. Ugh! This book! I read it in one day and cannot wait to read the second book!

5. The Bourbon Kings by JR Ward

This book was definitely the most surprising of the books I read this summer, but I ended up absolutely loving it! I haven't read anything by JR Ward, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This book had so many scandals, secrecy, and drama that it was impossible to stop reading. What was going to happen next to these characters? The story ended up reading like a soap opera because of all of the drama! I loved how the story was mainly about Lizzie, an employ of the rich estate, and Lane, one of the sons of the estate owners. That alone promises drama! But we also got to see what Lane's siblings were experiencing and their drama that they were going through. There was just so much dimension and intrigue in this book, making it a must read to me!

Those are my favorite reads of the summer! Have you read any of them? What were your favorite reads of the summer? I'd love to hear!