Favourite Reads: Top 5 Contemporary Fiction
Contemporary is a genre that my feelings about change quite a lot. If you’d have asked me a couple of years ago I’d have said that it is my favourite genre of all time. Now… I barely read it. My reading tastes have changed a lot over the years and now I am definitely more of a Paranormal Romance and Fantasy fan. However there is still the odd few that have really stuck with me and I have such immense love for.
It actually took me a while to be able to compose this list as I had a lot of questions about what could be included in this list. For example, I was asking a lot of questions like what is the difference between contemporary romance, contemporary fiction and normal romance? Where would a chic-lit book fall in here. As it’s not a genre I read often I still don’t totally understand the difference between contemporary and romance, so if anyone would like to shed some light on this for me please leave a comment. I’ve been told books with a happy ending in terms of the couple are counted as contemporary romance so I’ve gone for contemporary fiction and I hope all of these do actually fit into this. Anyway here are my top 5 contemporary fiction reads.
~ K-Books Top 5 Contemporary Fiction Reads ~
1. How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne
I first fell in love with Holly Bourne when I read her debut Soulmates. It absolutely stole and broke my heart all at the same time. It was so hard to decide which Holly Bourne book to go with because, even though I’m not a contemporary fan, I adore every single one of her books. I decided to go with How Do You Like Me Now? because I just felt like it is such an important story for everyone out there. It’s an adult book and follows the story of a soon to be 30-year-old who is trying to find her place. It’s such an amazing story and I thought it was so thought-provoking as so many of us have this view that everyone should have their perfect life by the time they’re 30 and this book shows that it is totally okay to not have everything together. I loved every moment of this funny, uplifting and real contemporary.
Read my How Do You Like Me Now? review here.
2. Trouble by Non Pratt
Non Pratt is another one of my all time favourite authors. Despite me not being a contemporary lover I pick up every single one of her books because they are just perfect. Trouble is such a real and compelling YA story of a fifteen year old who falls pregnant and finds her whole life has changed. Her friends don’t treat her the same and she finds herself alone while having to deal with her pregnancy. I found this such a raw and real book. It doesn’t romanticise teenage pregnancy but portrays it in a really raw emotional way and it was such a beautiful book!
Read my review of Trouble here.
3. The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
The Art of Being Normal is a book that if it wasn’t for YALC I never would have picked it up. This book tells the story of a young boy who is dealing with the fact that he is transgender and wants to be a girl. Now, initially I didn’t think this would be my kind of book. As a heterosexual female I just didn’t feel like I would be able to identify well with the characters. However, I saw a panel with Lisa talking about her book at YALC one year and the way she described it and how she didn’t see it as a trans story. It was a story about acceptance and friendship and family that just so happened to have a trans main character. After this I couldn’t help but go and buy it, and I am so glad I did. It completely opened my eyes to reading more LGBTQ+ books and I am so very grateful for that. This is a definite must-read.
Read my review of The Art of Being Normal here.
4. Wrong, Book 1 in the Wrong series by Jana Aston
Wrong was one of my first dips into New Adult contemporary books and I loved this book. Right from the very first page I was laughing so hard I was crying. It’s a swoon worthy romance that is so real and raw and tackles lots of different issues. I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. If you’re wanting a nice easy read that’s light hearted and funny while also being really emotional this is definitely the book for you. I recommend the entire series.
5. Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon
This is the only book that I’m not 100% sure whether it belongs on this list as it’s more a chic-lit romance book rather than a contemporary but I’m just going to go with it. I read Lucy in the Sky so many years ago and it was one of the very first books I fell in love with. I read it in one day and this blog probably wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t discovered this book as it really cemented my love of reading. It tells the story of Lucy who, as she flies to Australia to visit her friends and family, receives a text message claiming her long term boyfriend has been cheating. Her whole world crashes down around her and she doesn’t know what to do. I can’t even tell you my love for this book. It’s just absolute perfection and there’s a hot surfer boy in there which doesn’t hurt. If you enjoy a good light-hearted chic-lit I highly recommend all of Paige’s books.
Read my review of Lucy in the Sky here.
~ Special Mention ~
I did it last week… and I’m gonna do it again. I’m sorry, I promise this is the last time I include a special mention. I recently received an ARC of an absolutely incredibly adult contemporary book and I read it so fast. It was brilliant. It’s out in a couple of weeks time so I really just wanted to add this on to spread the word a bit more about this fantastic self-published book.
Sparks is the first adult contemporary romance book from Wendy Higgins. I have loved all of Wendy’s books that I have read so far and this one was no different. It was such a funny and heart warming read and I can’t recommend it enough.
Sparks will release August 25, 2020
*Pre-orders are available on other platforms.
What Contemporary Fiction books do you recommend? Let me know what books you would add to this list.
K-Books
I’m Kayleigh, a teacher and blogger who is obsessed with all things bookish. I love reading YA books of all genres and I am happiest when sharing my love and passion for books.