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<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>

Stephanie Perkins, the best selling author of <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> has compiled a second anthology of short stories. Twelve selected tales have been included from a variety of young adult authors including: Libba Bray, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare and Jennifer E. Smith. For those that have read Perkins’ previous anthology, <i>My True Love Gave To Me</i>, the concept is the same. Twelve love stories set in, as the title, <i>Summer Days and Summer Nights</i>, strongly suggests, the summer.

What can be expected from all the stories in this collection is that they fit snuggly into the Romance genre of young adult fiction. The way the authors decided to tackle this, however, was up to their own interpretations. Thus, the final outcome is a selection of works that fall into a variety of categories: fantasy, contemporary, LGBT, horror, sci-fi etc.

As a result there are a number of different character types and storylines, suggesting that there is bound to be something for everyone. There are lovey-dovey stories, heart-wrenching stories, exciting action stories, implying that there will be at least one you will favour, and hopefully make purchase worthwhile.

It is not merely love that can be found between these pages, so if you are, like me, not overly impressed with teenage love stories, there are other themes to focus on. Many of the main characters are nearing the end of their schooling and thinking about the future: college, perhaps. Readers discover, and possibly relate to, their hopes, doubts and fears of what is to come. Yet while these thoughts are buzzing in their heads they are also trying to enjoy their summers, some with summer jobs, others hanging out with friends. Alongside all of this are darker issues of depression, cancer and parents divorcing; events that many teenagers unfortunately have to deal with. So, throughout all the make-ups and break-ups, there is so much more going on under the surface.

It is always difficult to decide what age range “Young Adult” refers to. Some may assume it is anyone in their teens, however in the case of <i>Summer Days and Summer Nights</i> I would label it a book for older teenagers, those of similar ages to the characters depicted: sixteen to nineteen. This is due to the slightly adult themes of a few of the stories and the amount of swearing many of the authors resort to.

Unfortunately for me, I did not find a perfect story within this collection. There were some I enjoyed more than others; likewise there were some I was not keen on at all. It is for this reason I have only given a rating of three stars. I do not want to put prospective readers off however as this is merely a case of personal preferences and not a true reflection of the authors’ exceptional writing skills.
  
Gallery Of The Dead
Gallery Of The Dead
Chris Carter | 2018 | Crime, Horror
10
9.6 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Consistent on keeping you on your toes. (0 more)
A true read.
Every chapter ending in you just dying to know everything. who doesn't like a good book that keeps you intrigued? Definitely a book to keep you guessing. Throughout always keeping you on both the killer and detective side. It has been a while since i picked up a book and wanted to read it straight to the end. But Chris Carter has a way of doing it. None of his books have let me down. He does a collection leading up to this one book following the same detective on his different stories. Catching serial killers and bringing the undetectable.
  
I'm currently pregnant with my first child and so I have no experience with children yet, because of this I thought this book may help. I just can't put my finger on why in some areas this book just wound me up. It took me quite a while to get through as reading it felt very heavy...like being a parent is a massive chore and you'll have nothing but problems. Perhaps this was a bit too one sided for me, however, there are some great pointers in here so it wasn't a complete waste of time. I'll be sticking to her true life stories in the future.
  
The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins | 2016 | Mystery, Thriller
8
7.6 (173 Ratings)
Book Rating
Believable characters, Interesting Plot (0 more)
Not too surprising, having watched the film adaptation (0 more)
A really enjoyable read
Having watched the film of this book, I decided to see how the book differs. Apart from the ending being slightly different, the film version stays true to this book.

All of the characters in the book were flawed, therefore believable. I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book and also the back stories to some of the characters.

I would definitely read this book again, but I will leave some time before doing so, so this story can have the impact that was intended.

I recommend this novel.
  
40x40

Tooken (22 KP) Jun 26, 2019

What did you think of the setting change? Personally I thought the dreary backdrop of suburban England worked better (i.e. in the book)

40x40

Kaz (232 KP) Jun 26, 2019

Like you, I think the location worked better in the book. I haven't watched the film in a while, so having just read the book, it would be interesting to re-watch this.

Some scary stuff (0 more)
Short and poor quality writing (0 more)
Not quite but alright
Some people are giving it hell because of a couple of punctuation and grammar mistakes, big deal. My five comes from the shortness and quality of writing compared to others of the same price. However despite that this is still money well spent. You will probably, like me, sit and read this in one sitting. It is short true stories told by police with no frills, just the facts or what they see as the facts. It's a complete thrill ride which will shock you and make you think. Let's hope he brings out another.
  
    Bawdy Storytelling

    Bawdy Storytelling

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    Bawdy Storytelling – dubbed 'The Moth for pervs' by the LA Weekly – is the nation’s original...