TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five recommendations I loved

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

I don't get recommended many books, because all of my friends and family know that I have way too many books to read as it is. However, sometimes a book will slip through the net and I'll end up actually reading it... Then I fall madly, deeply in love.
These are five examples of that happening!

5) 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell

I'd been recommended 'Fangirl' by a couple of people, but only ended up reading it for one of my Goodreads group readalongs: I fell head over heels with the characters and the story, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading 'Carry On', the companion novel. 

4) 'Trigger Warning' by Neil Gaiman

I'd always thought about reading Neil Gaiman, but I didn't try until I was enthusiastically recommended this short story collection by my now-girlfriend. While it certainly wasn't perfect, the majority of the short stories were absorbing and intriguing, and I'm already looking forward to reading more Neil Gaiman in the future: his writing is unique and I love the characters he crafts.

3) 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth

Only the first book in the trilogy though, because I discovered the rest by myself. I can't remember who recommended 'Divergent' to me - I've talked about it with so many of my friends in the past few years! - but I'm glad that I read it because this first installment is one of the best books I've ever read. 

2) 'Autumn' by David Moody

I only read 'Autumn' a couple of weeks ago but I absolutely loved it. It was recommended to me by a colleague, and I'm so glad that I took a shot at it: I love zombie stories, but the development of the zombies is vastly different to any others that I have read. 

1) 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan

'Atonement' is one of those almost classics that everyone should read at least once in their lives, and I'm grateful that my friend recommended it because I ended up really enjoying it. It wasn't perfect, but it certainly tugged on the heartstrings and it's very intellectually written - it was a really nice change of pace for me. It's not my favourite Ian McEwan novel - that distinction is currently awarded to 'On Chesil Beach' - but it's definitely worth a read with it's unreliable narrator and quickly moving pace.

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! What books have you been recommended that you absolutely loved?