Friday Reads #9 - December 30.

Hi booklovers

I can't believe 2016 is coming to an end. It's been a weird year at times, but luckily one thing has been a constant for me: reading.

So, why not end the year with a Friday reads post?

This week I finished Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and oh my, that last but one chapter really got under my skin.

Because I was suffering from a mild book hangover, I decided to pick up a book in a totally different genre, because I was afraid I was going to compare every other fantasy book to CK. I was also scared I might get into a reading slump, so I picked up Some Kind of Perfect by Krista and Becca Ritchie.

Now I know these aren't the easiest, lovey dovy kind of books either and I might suffer from an even bigger book hangover, but I felt like it was time to dive into this book. It's good to visit Lo, Lilly, Connor, Rose, Daisy and Ryke again, but it's also bittersweet because it's the last book about them. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it before my Christmas break is over.

If so, I might pick up Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

or Amour Amour by K. & B. Ritchie, the first book in a new series(?).

I also started listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I probably won't finish that before the end of the week.

I hope you had a great reading year and that 2017 may bring you much joy and a lot of reading pleasure.

Bye for now and Happy New Year

Annelies

Winter Wonderland Book Tag.

Hi booklovers

Since it's winter - and this is my favourite season - I felt like doing the 'Winter Wonderland book tag'. I found this tag on thriceread.

1. What book is so happy and sweet that it warms your heart?

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Even though it has some heavy themes, I thought this was such a sweet and cute book, which is why I've read it twice already :-)

2. What is your favourite book with a white cover?
Even though I have a few white books on my shelves, the only white(ish) book on my shelves that I've actually read is Champion by Marie Lu. I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

3. You're sitting in a nice comfy chair, wearing a onesie, with a lovely warm hot chocolate, but what MONSTER read are you reading?
There are quite a few monster size books on my TBR, but Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is the one I'm most likely to pick up next.

4. It started snowing, so you decided to have a snowball fight! What fictional character would you love to have the snowball fight with?
I'm going with a character from one of the most recent contemporary NA novels I read: Chris from Fractures in Ink by Helena Hunting.

5. Sadly, your fire is beginning to go out. So what book would you tear the last few chapters out to throw into the fire?

Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han. I really enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, but I didn't like the direction the third one went in and I certainly did not like the ending!

6. What book is so close to your heart that you would gift to someone this Christmas who hasn't read before but wants to get into reading?
Although my preferred genre is fantasy and I could go with the Harry Potter books I would still recommend two contemporary books: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I know the last one doesn't really have a happy ending, but it still such a good book. And I think these books would be ideal to get someone into reading.

What would your answers be to (some of) these questions? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

My top 10 favourite books of 2016.

Hi booklovers

2016 is coming to an end, so it's time to take a look at my favourite books of 2016. Before we move on to the list, here is an overview of my reading year according to Goodreads:

I actually just finished book 59 literally 30 mins. ago.

Note: the books on this list weren't necessarily published in 2016.

#10. ACOMAF by Sarah J. Maas.

After finishing this book I would have put it in my top 3, because I suffered from a very serious bookhangover. But as time went by and I read / listened to some more reviews I started to see the flaws of this book. I still really love this book, but I've read 9 books that were even better (even if they didn't all give me bookhangovers).

#9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo.

Last year, my number one favourite book was Shadow and Bone and this year I finally continued and finished the trilogy. You might wonder why I didn't include Ruin and Rising, but even though I loved the conclusion to the trilogy and I did give it 5 stars, I was a bit disappointed with the ending, it was a bit anti-climatic. Siege and Storm, in my opinion, was better than Ruin and Rising and it didn't suffer from second-book-syndrome.

#8 and 7. Clipped Wings and Inked Armor both by Helena Hunting.

These were the first books I read by this author and they blew my mind. Some might say that these NA stories have a cliché storyline, but I disagree. To me, they were very gripping and raw and they really got under my skin.

#6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

I read (listened to) this book for the anti-bully-readathon and I loved it. It was so touching and honest.

#5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

It took me about 100 pages to get into the format of this book but after that I loved it. It was the first sci-fi book I read and it totally blew me away. Fun fact: the whole time I was reading the book I thought of the AI Aiden as being a 'she', but most other people think of it as a 'he'.

I can't wait to pick up Gemina very soon and hopefully that will make it to my top 10 of 2017 list.

#4. Long Way Down by Becca and Krista Ritchie.

Putting these books in my favourites list is becoming a tradition. This is the conclusion to the Addicted and Calloway Sisters companion series (not including the epilogue book Some Kind of Perfect - which I still need to read) and I don't even know how to begin to describe how much I love these books. I'm glad this final book was about my favourite couple Ryke and Daisy and it's a bit bittersweet that there will be no more books in this series. But luckily I can visit their stories one more time with Some Kind of Perfect.

And now for my top 3:

#3 and 2. Crooked Kingdom and Six of Crows both by Leigh Bardugo.

And no, I didn't put them in the wrong order, I enjoyed SoC a little more than I did Crooked Kingdom (I gave both of them 5 stars). Two more books that have me lost for words. Where do I begin to describe how much I love the Grisha world and the characters in these books. I loved all of them, but Matthias and Nina were my favourite, followed by Jesper and Wylan. And let me say that the last but one chapter of CK completely tore me apart! (Can you tell this was the book I literally just finished?!)

And now, my number 1 favourite book of 2016:

#1. Fractures in Ink by Helena Hunting.

This is the conclusion to the Clipped Wings trilogy and what a conclusion it was. Like the first two books this one was raw, realistic, heart wrenching, filled with both despair and hope and I loved it to bits.

I have to admit that the books in my top 3 could easily switch places, so maybe I should've put all three books in a shared number 1 spot.

All in all, I've had a very good reading year with very few disappointing reads. Let's hope 2017 will be equally as good.

What are some of your favourite reads of 2016? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

My Bookish Crate #1 (October 2016) - Unboxing

Hi booklovers

Since I received an e-mail today saying my November My Bookish Crate box has been shipped, I think it's high time to show an unboxing of the October box.

 A full size Funko Pop: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

 The theme card - Dark Retelling

 The theme card - the information about the items you get

 Jack and Sally magnetic bookmarks

 Throne of Glass colouring pencils

 ACOMAF art post cards

 Darkling's Kiss - tinted lip balm

 A letter from the author and a signed bookplate

 The book - Vassa in the night by Sarah Porter

I'm very happy with the items in this book :-)

Are you subscribed to any book subscription boxes? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Waiting on Wednesday #5 - November 16.

Hi booklovers

It's been a while, but today I wanted to do another Waiting on Wednesday.

This is created by Breaking the Spine

This week I'm going with King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard. I read Red Queen, Glass Sword and Cruel Crown this year and I really enjoyed it. Ever since I saw the cover of this one I wanted to have it.

This book comes out on the 7th of February.

What book are you excited for? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Anti Bullying Read-A-Thon 2016 TBR.

Hi booklovers

Today I want to share my TBR for the Anti Bullying Read-A-Thon.

This is the third year Sarah Churchill is hosting this Read-A-Thon. Check out her announcement video and the Goodreads group.

Last year I wanted to read three books, but only managed to read one. This year I would like to do better and since I am a member of Audible, I'm going to try to read two books as audiobooks, which should make it easier to read more than one book.

These books are in no particular order:

1) Aristotle and Dante discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. I'll be listening to this as an audiobook.

2) Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Last year I wanted to read Ashes to Ashes only to then realise that this is the third book :-s. I'm also going to listen to this as an audiobook.

3) Last year I'd also planned to read Augie & Me, three short stories about Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I hope I'll get to it this year.

Are you participating in this read-a-thon? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Friday Reads #8 - November 4.

Hi booklovers

It's been a couple of weeks but I thought I'd do another Friday Reads post.

Since my last Friday Reads I finished the following books:

- Saga Volume 3.

- Six of Crows (which I really, really, really loved).

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

- Hogwarts: an Incomplete and Unreliable Guide.

- Prodigy.

- Champion.

- Life before Legend.

Yesterday, I started reading Splintered by A.G. Howard. So far, I'm really enjoying it even though it's a bit weird. But it's a good kind of weird :-) I'm hoping to finish this one this weekend or early next week.

Today, my order of Crooked Kingdom arrived, so I want to start reading that one next - even though I don't want to the story to end just yet.

I'm not sure if I'll be starting a new audiobook next week. If I do, it will probably be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

My colleague lent me some graphic novels and I might start one of those while commuting, I'm not sure yet.

What are you reading this weekend / next week?

Bye for now

Annelies

Legend by Marie Lu - non-spoiler review.

Hi booklovers

At the beginning of September I did the 'Try a chapter tag' and the book I started reading because of that was Legend by Marie Lu. I'm finally getting around to posting my non-spoiler review.

Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: YA, dystopia
Format: paperback

*Story:
Day is Los Angeles' most wanted criminal. He's been taunting the Republic for a number of years now. Together with his friend Tess he roams the streets of L.A.
June is the Republic's best military student and she is destined for great things within the military. When June's brother Metias is killed, every finger points to Day and June starts to hunt him down. However, she soon discovers that not everything is what it seems.

*Characters:
-Day: He's a 15 year old boy who pretends to be dead in order to protect his family. He tries to boycott the Republic whenever he can.
Day is the kind of characters that immediately speaks to you. You feel for his situation and you sympathise with everything he does.

-June: Also 15 years old, June, at first, seems the complete opposite of Day. She firmly believes everything the Republic says or does. She regards the Colonies as the enemy. Her future has been planned out for her: she will graduate ahead of time and go on to a brilliant career in the military, just like her brother. But then her brother gets killed and her sole purpose becomes finding her brother's killer. I found June to be an intriguing character. She goes through some character development, going from believing everything the Republic tells her to questioning everything she knows.

*Plot:
This story has a typical dystopia-feel to it: the lay-out of the world has been changed completely because of several wars and conflicts, the 'good guys' vs the 'rebels', people being oppressed vs those in control, the oppressed trying to take control... It has been a while since I read a dystopian story, so I really enjoyed it. Sure, there are some typical dystopian elements that could be considered as tropes, but I found the different aspects of the society to be well explained. Also, the whole plague storyline was well executed.

*Overall rating:
Like I said in the beginning, Legend was the book that stood out to me after doing the 'Try a chapter' tag and it didn't disappoint. I have already read the sequels and the novella - reviews to come.

Have you read this book? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Fall Book Tag.

Hi booklovers

Today I want to do a tag - I haven't done one in ages - that's appropriate to the season: the Fall Book tag.

I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I saw this tag on the thriceread blog.

#1 CRUNCHING LEAVES: THE WORLD IS FULL OF COLOR.

CHOOSE A BOOK THAT HAS RED/ORANGE/YELLOW ON THE COVER.

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. I've had this on my TBR for a while now, maybe I should pick it up now that it's fall?

#2 COZY SWEATER: IT'S FINALLY COLD ENOUGH TO DON WARM COZY CLOTHING.

WHAT BOOK GIVES YOU THE WARM FUZZIES?

For this I'm going with Eleanor & Park and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Even though Eleanor & Park broke my heart, it still gave me the warm fuzzies as well.

#3 FALL STORM: THE WIND IS HOWLING & THE RAIN IS POUNDING.

CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE BOOK OR GENRE THAT YOU LIKE TO READ ON A STORMY DAY.

Fantasy.

#4 COOL CRISP AIR: WHAT'S THE COOLEST CHARACTER YOU’D WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH?

Inej. I recently finished Six of Crows and Inej is one of the coolest characters I read about this year. I can't wait for my order of Crooked Kingdom to arrive.

#5 HOT APPLE CIDER: WHAT UNDER HYPED BOOK DO YOU WANT TO SEE BECOME THE NEXT BIG AND HOTTEST THING?

I'm not sure if these series are actually under hyped, but I haven't heard much about them on BookTube or Instagram.
His Fair Assassin's by Robin LaFevers. The Queen of the Tearling trilogy might not be under hyped, but a lot of people don't like this trilogy.

#6 COAT, SCARVES AND MITTENS: THE WEATHER HAS TURNED COLD & ITS TIME TO COVER UP.

WHAT'S THE MOST EMBARRASSING BOOK COVER YOU OWN THAT YOU LIKE TO KEEP COVERED UP IN PUBLIC?

Any of the NA books that I have. That's the reason I only read them on my e-reader :-)

#7 PUMPKIN SPICE: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FALL TIME COMFORT FOOD/DRINK?

I love eating chocolate and during the fall I really enjoy drinking hot chocolate. Who am I kidding, I love drinking hot chocolate all year 'round :-)

Bye for now

Annelies

Bookish DIY-project.

Hi booklovers

Today I felt a bit creative and decided to turn a plain red dress into a bookrelated dress.

Last week I went to Veritas, which is a Belgian shop that sells socks, stockings, accessories and DIY things to pimp your clothes. While browsing for stockings I came across some 'iron on patches' from Alice in Wonderland: Alice and the White Rabbit.

Since I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, I immediately bought a few patches to pimp one of my dresses. Today I finally got around to using the patches and I really liked the result.

1. The plain dress and the 'corresponding' book :-)

2. The patches

3. Positioning the patches

4. Cover the patches with a cotton cloth

5. Place the flat-iron over the patch for about 25 seconds

6. Iron the back of the - in this case - dress where the patch is situated

(Again, about 25 seconds)

7. Admire the result :-)

I might buy some more patches to add to the dress, because I think it would be cool to make a 'White' rabbit border :-)

Bye for now

Annelies