**Recent Reads**

Wow where has the time gone? I've been a little MIA on the whole blog front lately, but I promise its for a very good reason :) Not only has Camouflage hit the fiction waves, but a new novel will soon be surfing as well :) The first novel in my brand new Lake Shore Uni series will be released around the end of July, with the second book in that series to follow shortly after. So whilst I haven't been that active on the blog writing front - I promise I've been VERY active on the novel writing front :)

Anyway, back to the post...

​Like always I have been reading a tonne of amazing novels by some incredible authors. I have posted some below with my thoughts and recommendations, and if you have any stories you think I might enjoy - please comment on the post below and I will be sure to check them out!

​KM xoxo

---

THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME by Mariana Zapata
Well I had no idea what to expect when I went into this one except what I had heard. It was a sports story about an arrogant and quiet football star, and it was a very slow burn. Before I comment on the story I will say this - it was a SLOW burn, like as in a 'snails-pace' slow.

But do you know what? I didn't mind it.

In fact, I actually loved it!
​
And this was all because I was so in the story with Vanessa and Aiden from the beginning. It was my first read by this author and I have to say I enjoyed the way she created this real story with these awesome characters. Vanessa was a strong woman who had been working for Aiden for many years, an assistant to his every need, until well... she wasn't. She had enough and decided to move on and that's when we begin to really see the man known as the 'Wall of Winnipeg.' We see his fierce loyalty, and extreme dedication to his sport, as well as the love for Vanessa he learns to prove.
​Now the slow burn (did I mention its a VERY slow burn?) may not be for everyone, but I connected with the characters 100% and loved their story!

---

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon
I'll be honest.
​I saw the preview at the movies for this film which I believe comes out this month, and instantly fell for the short clip about a cute new neighbour and a teenage girl who was locked in her home due to some severe illness. The short clip hooked me instantly and since I was counting down the days until I could see the film - I read the novel.
​This is a typical cute, YA story, but with solid characters and an incredibly sweet teen romance. Maddy is very naïve and yet subtly strong, which I found interesting since she has been house-bound for most of her life - and Olly, her new neighbour, is all things perfection. Seriously, where were boys like Olly when I was 17? Please tell me they exist outside of our stories, because seriously he was the sweetest book bf in YA I think I've ever read about!
​This story has all the feels with a little twist which you may or may not see coming (Unfortunately for me, I did predict the twist which meant it didn't wow me). All in all, this is a beautiful story with very sweet moments and a surprisingly strong heroine despite her lack of life experience.
​#allthefeels

---

ARCHERS VOICE by Mia Sheridan
I have been waiting and waiting to do one of these posts just so I could gush about this story.
​Oh my did it blow me away!
​First off, this has been in my reads list FOREVER and I don't even know what made me pick it up but whatever it was - thank God I did! Archers Voice is a BEAUTIFUL story.
That's it.
​This book has everything you could want, a strong heroine, an amazing hero who is authentic and honest; an alpha man on the outside but as soft as butter on the inside. What makes this story so real for me, was the actual story itself. A woman, Bree, running from her past and setting herself up in a small town hoping she can camouflage herself in it and a man, Archer, who has lost absolutely everything in his life and deep down blames himself. This man has no humanity left in him. He is lost. He is destroyed. And the real knife-twister...
He doesn't speak.
​So when these two begin a timid friendship and Bree really finds herself enjoying her time with Archer, we see a blossoming romance that is built on words that cannot be spoken out loud.
​Honestly, this story was just so beautiful and I loved every page.