I have read hundreds of books but very few of them have actually moved me to tears - I just don't cry easily. So when I do find a book that is capable of that, it's pretty much guaranteed to become a favourite.
This may seem odd but I LOVE reading books that leave a lasting impression and invoke a strong emotional response. In fact I think it's a sign of amazing writing, when a book pulls you in to the point that you feel like you're not just reading about a character but you are that character and you are feeling and experiencing everything they are.
So in no particular order, here are my top ten books that made me cry.
1. Watch The World Burn by Leah Giarratano
This is the first book that I can really remember making me cry full out and not just a couple tears and a few sniffles.
It is the fourth novel in Leah Giarratano's Detective Jill Jackson series and to get the full heart-wrenching effect you will need to read the other books in the series.
When a spate of seemingly unconnected acid and arson attacks begin around Sydney, Sergeant Jill Jackson must work to solve the crimes and clear the name of an innocent man. Miriam Caine, aged 70, is dining with her son when she bursts into flames in the restaurant of a five-star hotel. The restaurant's manager, Troy Berrigan, is first to her aid, but the woman later dies of her injuries. When investigators find accelerants on the victim's face and clothing, the incident becomes a police matter, and attention is turned to Berrigan, a fallen hero cop who fits the arsonist profile. Berrigan knows he's not the killer, but he also knows that at the time of the incident, he was the only person close enough to have set her on fire. When he's connected to another death, Troy must do all he can to discover what really happened to Miriam Caine and whether her death was the beginning of an orchestrated campaign of terror. While on study leave, Detective Sergeant Jill Jackson becomes caught up in the investigation. Working with Federal Agent Gabriel Delahunt, she is determined to find out what happened to Miriam Caine, because this case for her is not only about murder and maiming in Sydney, it will change Jill Jackson's life forever.
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2. Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros
I LOVE Rebecca Yarros' writing and she is able to perfectly balance the sad - sometimes even agonising - parts with light, funny, and even hilarious, moments throughout.
Full Measures had me reaching for the tissues within the first chapter (and that wasn't the only time I needed them throughout this novel), which is honestly an amazing feat and a testament to Rebecca Yarros' phenomenal writing that she was able to get me so invested in the characters so quickly.
Three knocks can change everything…
"She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead."
Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.
Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.
Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.
Full Measures is the first book in the new adult Flight And Glory series.
You can read my full review HERE.
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3. Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros
This is the fourth and finale book in the Flight and Glory series by Rebecca Yarros and - while the other books in the series focused on other characters - is back focusing on Josh and Ember. I didn't cry as early into the book as I did for Full Measures, however I probably cried harder.
There are some debts you can’t repay. Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he's craved since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her college at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together. Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer. Flight school is over. This is war.
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4. The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young
The Fragile Ordinary wasn't an overall sad book, but there was one moment that sure hit me right in the feels and even though I had suspected what was going to happen, that didn't help stop me from bawling like a baby.
I am Comet Caldwell.
And I sort of, kind of, absolutely hate my name.
People expect extraordinary things from a girl named Comet. That she’ll be effortlessly cool and light up a room the way a comet blazes across the sky.
But from the shyness that makes her book-character friends more appealing than real people to the parents whose indifference hurts more than an open wound, Comet has never wanted to be the center of attention. She can’t wait to graduate from her high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the only place she ever feels truly herself is on her anonymous poetry blog. But surely that will change once she leaves to attend university somewhere far, far away.
When new student Tobias King blazes in from America and shakes up the school, Comet thinks she’s got the bad boy figured out. Until they’re thrown together for a class assignment and begin to form an unlikely connection. Everything shifts in Comet’s ordinary world. Tobias has a dark past and runs with a tough crowd—and none of them are happy about his interest in Comet. Targeted by bullies and thrown into the spotlight, Comet and Tobias can go their separate ways…or take a risk on something extraordinary.
You can check out my full review for The Fragile Ordinary HERE.
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(Unavailable on Apple Book Australia at the time of this posting & Audio only through Kobo Australia.)
5. If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L Armentrout
If There's No Tomorrow is tragically perfect coming of age story that shows the aftermath of a teen drunk driving accident and dealing with the resulting survivors guilt.
With that plot and Jennifer L Armentrout's stunning writing, it's fair to say this was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster.
Honestly, when I read this book for the first time I was actually in a psychiatric hospital and I think I may have confused the nurses a bit when they did their rounds and I was crying over a book.
A single choice can change everything.
Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications, and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.
Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.
For what she let happen.
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when she and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?
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6. The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
Honestly this book is probably the one that made me cry the most on this list. Early reviews had all said the same thing; this book will make you cry so hard. Yet I still wasn't prepared to just how hard this book would hit me.
I was an absolute unconsolable mess and because I'd received it as an ARC I had to wait almost four months before I could discuss it with anyone else beyond my review.
Although I will say my cousin (who is also a Rebecca Yarros fan) may have gotten a few confusing snapchats of me with a tear stained face and swollen eyes sniffling my way through saying things like "Oh my God, I can't tell you anything but, oh my God. Buy tissues. Buy all the tissues. Buy stocks in tissues before this comes out because you're gonna need them." and I'm pretty sure she hated me for those few months she had to wait till release day.
Beckett,
If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have.
I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure.
It’s not fair.
And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.
So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family. Please don’t make her go through it alone.
Ryan
You can read my full review for The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros HERE.
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7. The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout
This is another Young Adult, contemporary novel by Jennifer L. Armentrout that had me shedding tears. The Problem With Forever is a stand alone, young adult, contemporary novel.
I loved Mallory's story and I did shed quite a few tears while reading it.
A story about friendship, survival, and finding your voice. Growing up, Mallory Dodge learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it's been four years since her nightmare ended, she's beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. Now, after years of homeschooling, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at a public high school. But she never imagined she'd run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn't seen since childhood, on her very first day. It doesn't take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet soon it becomes apparent that she's not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider's life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants and the truths that need to be heard.
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8. The Simple Wild by K.A Tucker
The Simple Wild is an ardent story about the importance of love, family, and how sometimes it’s important to step outside your comfort zone.
I loved reading about Calla's emotional journey to reconnect with her sick father and seeing their relationship developed, from awkward and strained, having not seen each other since Calla was almost 2 years old, to a loving and close father/daughter bond- however bitter sweet there reunion became.
Calla Fletcher wasn't even two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born. She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot who helps keep her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild. Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. Soon, she finds herself forming an unexpected bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.
You can read my full review HERE.
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9. Scorched by Jennifer L Armentrout
This book is phenomenal and is also the reason I cried on public transport.
Jennifer L Armentrout's amazing writing along with the incredibly authentic portrayal Andrea's struggle with anxiety & depression had me start crying right on the train on my way home from work on day. And the book was so amazing I didn't even care.
Sometimes life leaves a mark.
Most days, Andrea doesn’t know whether she wants to kiss Tanner or punch him in the gut. He is seriously hot, with legit bedroom eyes and that firefighter body of his, but he’s a major player, and they can’t get along for more than a handful of minutes. Until now.
Tanner knows he and Andrea have had an epic love/hate relationship for as long as he can remember, but he wants more love than hate from her. He wants her. Now. Tomorrow. But the more he gets to know her, the more it becomes obvious that Andrea has a problem. She’s teetering on the edge, and every time he tries to catch her, she slips through his fingers.
Andrea’s life is spiraling out of control, and it doesn’t matter that Tanner wants to save her, because when everything falls apart and she’s speeding toward rock bottom, only she can save herself.
Sometimes life makes you work for that happily ever after…
You can check out my full review HERE.
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10. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
John Green's The Fault In Our Stars is a very well known book and i think almost everyone who read it ended up crying.
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
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So thats my list of the top 10 books that made me cry. What are some of the books that make you cry?
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