TBR readathon - wrap up.

Hi booklovers

Yesterday, the #TBRreadathon, created by Irina from BeautifulPages, ended. I really enjoyed this two month long readathon. By giving myself a couple of options per challenge I was actually motivated to keep reading.

I managed to read 9 books and I completed 8 of the challenges. I call this a success :-)

Let's take a look at which books I read for the different challenges.

 

1. Read a book from a series you're in the middle of. 
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb.

2. Read a book you own for a while.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.

 3. Read a book you got recently. 
Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff.

 4. Read a short book. 
Quidditch through the Ages by J.K. Rowling

I listened to this on audio, but I actually had it on my physical TBR as well, so I'm counting it :-)

5. Read a long book (over 500 pages or around that).

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. This has 504 pages.

6. Read a book you're excited about. 
 Legendary by Stephanie Garber.

7. Read a book out of your comfort zone (or a book from a genre you don't normally read). 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

8. Read a book with a beautiful cover. 
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

9. Read 12 books. It is preferable if you choose 9 different books for the challenges and then have other 3 books of your choice :) The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling.

I started Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb last week, but since that book has 800+ pages, I wasn't able to complete it because the story is moving along very slowly :-s 

So, like I said I reduced my TBR by 9 books, by I kind of also added 9 books to my TBR because I placed a BookDepository order three weeks ago :-s Ooops.

Oh well, at least it was evened out :-D

 

I had a lot of fun participating in this readathon, so I want to thank Irina for hosting it and hopefully she'll do it again in the future.

 

Bye for now

 

Annelies 

June - July 2017 - wrap up.

Hi booklovers

I'm halfway through my summer holiday and July has flown by so quickly, so it's time for my June - July wrap-up.

June

*War and Wind (e-arc) - Alex Lidell - 4 stars. I was really happy when I recieved my review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Air and Ash, (review here) so I was really looking forward to reading War and Wind. I enjoyed the second book just as much, if not more than the first one. We get to see a lot more of all of the beloved characters: Nile, Domenic, Catsper. We also got to meet some new characters, who were very interesting - even though some got on my nerves because of what they did (not because of how they were written!). I still hate captain Rima with a passion - even more so than in book 1. He is such a manipulative bastard!
There were so many plot twists I didn't always see coming and I was very pleasantly surprised by them. They kept me intrigued and made me want to keep reading. I loved Domenic even more as a character because of how he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness in order to give Nile her 'happy ending'.
The ending was the perfect stepping stone to the third book and I can't wait to read that.

*A Thousand Pieces of You - Claudia Gray - 5 stars. I've had this book on my TBR for quite a while now and I finally felt like picking it up. I loved this story very much - I alternated between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook and that definitely added to the great reading experience. I don't think I've ever read a story about interdimensional travel and it really intrigued me. I loved Marguerites character - even though she made some stupid mistakes - and I liked her interaction with Paul. I liked this book so much I immediately ordered the second and third book so I could binge read them and I hardly ever do that!

*Ten Thousand Skies Above You - Claudia Gray - 4 stars. The second book in the Firebird trilogy was just as fast-paced as the first one. I really enjoyed seeing the different universes and how Marguerites, Theo's and Pauls stories develop there. Not as good as the first one, but still a solid 4 star read.

*A Million Worlds With You - Claudia Gray - 4.5 stars. The fact that I read all three books in this trilogy back to back is saying something. This was a very solid conclusion. I have to admit it was sometimes a bit confusing to know which Marguerite we were following but I enjoyed this nonetheless.

I'll be doing a review of the trilogy and link it here once it's up.

July

*Bad Romeo (e-book) - Leisa Rayven - 3.5 stars. I liked the story, but it did have some clichés and one of the main characters was very, very angsty. I, nonetheless, will continue with the series.

*Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raash (reread) - 4 stars. I buddy (re)read this with one of my pupils. When I read it the first time I gave it 4.5 stars, but this time I'm taking off another 0.5 star because I found there to be some clichés I didn't pick up the first time around. However, I still enjoyed it very much.

*Written in Red - Anne Bishop - 5 stars. This is one of the best books I've read this year and it will definitely make my top 10 of 2017. The interaction between the Others (shapeshifters) in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg (the squeeky toy) and some of the other humans is great and refreshing. Finally a book where vampires actually enjoy being vampires :-)
(I'll be posting a full review later.)

*Second position (e-book) - Katherine Locke - 4.5 stars. This is the second NA novel about artists that I've read this month (the first one being Bad Romeo) and I have to say I enjoyed this one a whole lot more. I read this book for the #OWBookclub and the theme for July was mental health and disability.

This book deals with topics of mental health and disability in a very human and realistic way. At least it feels realistic to me since I don't suffer from any mental health problems or disabilities. To me it felt like the problems were dealt with in a sincere way, without glossing over it or exagerating things. I loved the conversations between Aly and dr. Ham.

The way the relationship between Aly and Zed progresses and develops was at a much slower pace than in other NA novels and that was good. Given their history together, it wouldn't have felt right if everything went back to normal from the start. I also like how 'normal' they act, they do every day things.

Both their professions - Aly being a ballet dancer and Zed being a teacher - appealed to me very much.

The only thing that didn't feel completely necesarry for me was the 'epilogue', the interview Aly gave. I'm definitely going to read the sequel.

*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (reread - audiobook) - J.K. Rowling - 5 stars. 
The way Stephen Fry did the voice of Umbridge made me hate her even more than I did when reading the book for the first time.

*The Unexpected Everything - Morgan Matson - 3.5 star. Definitely not the best book by Morgan Matson. The story was too long and it dragged at times. It was a cute read, but I fear Morgan is starting to use the same 'concept' in her stories. What I did really like, however, was the appearance of previous characters and places. It makes it more fun to read the books in publication order.

I'm very happy with my reading over the last two months even if there were some books I didn't enjoy as much as others.

What was your favourite book of June of July? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

March - April 2016 wrap-up

Hi booklovers

This is what I read in March and April.

March
- Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo - 5 stars   
- Ruin and Rising -  Leigh Bardugo - 5 stars
- Inspire - Cora Carmack - 4.5 stars

- Nowhere But Here - Katie McGarry - 4.5 stars (reread)

April
- Walk The Edge - Katie McGarry - 4.5 stars  

- Clipped Wings - Helena Hunting - 4.5 stars 

- Cupcakes and Ink (Clipped Wings #0.5) - Helena Hunting - 4 stars

- Between the cracks (Clipped Wings #1.5) - Helena Hunting - 4 stars  

- Inked Armor (Clipped Wings #2) - Helena Hunting - 4.5 stars 

- Cracks in the Armor (Clipped Wings #2.5) - Helena Hunting - 3.5 stars 

- Kindred Spirits  - Rainbow Rowell - 3 stars

- The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan - 4 stars 

- Fables: Legends in Exile (#1) - Bill Willingham - 4.5 stars 

- Ice Like Fire - by Sara Raasch - 4.5 stars  

As you can see, April has been a very good reading month, but this is mostly thanks to the two week Easter break at the end of March and the beginning of April and the fact that I've read a couple of novella's.

My favourite books (per genre) of these two past months are:

* Fantasy: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. I loved all the books in the trilogy, but the second one is my absolute favourite.

* YA Contemporary: Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry. Katie is one of my autobuy authors and she hasn't disappointed me so far.

* NA Contemporary: Clipped Wings and Inked Armor by Helena Hunting. I really liked that this has such a raw edge to it.

What have you liked reading during the month of April?

Bye for now

Annelies

April 2015 - wrap up

Hi booklovers

This is my April reading wrap up. This month was a great reading month, thanks to the Easter break :-) I read a total of 9 books.

You can click on the titles to go to the Goodreads pages.

1) Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers.

This is the sequel to Grave Mercy. This time we get the story from Sybella's POV. We already met her in Grave Mercy. While GM was packed with political issues that could really be tedious at times, this book focuses a little less on the political stuff. I found this book to be slow at times and action packed in other parts. Especially the last part is action packed and some surprising secrets are revealed. I really liked the characters, especially the interaction between Sybella and Beast. It's also nice that Ismae  and Duvall (Grave Mercy) are still part of this story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I gave it 3.5 stars.

2) All Lined Up by Cora Cormack. 

This is the first book in the 'Rusk University' series. I really liked Cora Carmack's Losing it series, so I wanted to give this a try. This series made sure that Cora is now one of my auto buy authors :-) I really liked this book about Dallas and Carson. I did have some problems while reading the parts about football, because I hardly understand the game :-s. On the other hand, I could really relate to Dallas' love for dancing - having taken dance lessons myself for 10 years :-). I really liked how sassy Dallas can be sometimes, she is a rather strong character with good character development. I also really like the interaction and (sexual) tension between Dallas and Carson.

This is New Adult, so beware of sexual content. I gave it 3.5 stars.

3) When I'm Gone by Abbi Glines.

This is book 11 in the Rosemary Beach series. This is part of a massive companion series where the stories all tie together.
After You Were Mine I was really hesitant about picking this one up, because I began to find them a bit 'more of the same': SPOILERS READ AT OWN RISK  boy meets girl or vice versa - something bad happens (usually an unexpected pregnancy) - they split up - they find out they can't live without one another - they get back together - they live happily ever after.

I also really don't like the covers anymore. I have the first 7 books in these 'nice' black covers with items on them. But books 8 and 9 have people on the cover and they are soooo cheesy. (I have book 10 on my e-reader since it is a free e-novella) From now on, I'm only getting them on my e-reader, because the covers are just so bad. But anyway, rant over. This story focuses on Mase - Harlow's (Take a Chance - One more Chance) brother and he is a typical cowboy, including the boots and hat. Reese - the female protagonist - got a bit on my nerves because she could be so naive at times.
I have to admit I rather enjoyed the story. Just don't go in expecting high quality literature. It's cheesy at times, full of clichés, but still addicting nonetheless. There's something about these stories that keeps drawing me back in, although some parts make me cringe. I'm going to give the next one in the series, 'When You're Back', a go - it comes out June 30th. There are still more books to come in this series but it'll really depend on the next one whether or not I will pick them up. I gave this one 3 stars.

I do recommend you read the books in order, because they contain major spoilers for the other books. You can find the reading order here.

4) All Broke Down by Cora Carmack.

This is the second part of the 'Rusk Univesity series' and this time we get Silas' story. At first I didn't think I would like Silas because of what happened in All Lined Up, but that soon changed. He is such a loveable character and so is Dylan, the female protagonist. In this story the focus isn't so much on actual football games, so it wasn't as confusing for me to read as the first one. (It still revolves around football and college, but it was looked at from 'the outside'.) Maybe I should read up on American football so that it's not so confusing anymore :-)
This story is a bit heavier on the sex scenes, but it's still not too overwhelming.
Like All Lined Up I read this one in almost one sitting and I can't wait for the third one in the series to come out. I also gave this one 3.5 stars.

5) Making Faces by Amy Harmon.

This one was a bit of a disappointment. I went into this with really high hopes because of April's NA recommend video. She was raving about this book so much that I really wanted to read it. The premise of the story is good, but I didn't think it was that well executed. I found the story to be very slow at times. I was actually more moved by Bailey's part of the story than I was by Ambrose's, which is supposed to be the main plot line. I gave it 3 stars.

6) Addicted to you by Becca & Krista Richie.

This is the best book I've read so far this year. I have a non-spoiler review on my blog, if you want you can check it out. This is NA, so beware!
This is the first book I've rated 4.5 stars this year.

7) Ricochet by Becca & Krista Richie.

This is the sequel to Addicted to you. It's actually an in-between novel that links Addicted to you to Addicted for now. I really enjoyed this. It gives you a good insight in the processes that both Lily and Lo have to go through. But not just that, you also take a look at their past, which helps you to better understand some of their actions and decisions in the first book. I'm not going to say anything else because I don't want to spoil you. I gave this book 4 stars. I'm dying to continue this series, but I want to pace myself, because I want to make this series last as long as possible. Fortunately, the authors assured me that the books get chunkier as they go along, so YAY for chunkier books :-)

8) Encounters by Bre Faucheux.

Since this is the third part in 'The Elder Origins' series I'm not going to say too much about it because I don't want to spoil it for you. What I can say is that I really enjoyed this story. I have to be honest that it was a bit confusing at times, but in the end all the information clicked into place. The characters develop even further, which I really enjoyed. As with the previous two parts, this is a good combination of historical elements with fantasy ones. And I'm so happy the vampires - or vampyrs - don't sparkle while walking in the sun!! I can't wait for Bre to publish the 4th part of the story. I gave this 4 stars.

9) From the first sight (2) by Gwendalyn Fox.
This is the second part in Lexi's story. I have come to enjoy these stories very much because they are quick but very addicting reads. I think Lexi is the most complicated character in these companion novella's and I really feel for her and the struggle she is going through. Can't wait for the next one because this one ended on a major cliffhanger :-) 
Remember, this is erotica, so it's heavy on the sex scenes. I haven't rated this yet, but I'm thinking of giving it 3.5 to 4 stars.



I think we can safely say that April has been an NA month :-) Maybe this is because Spring invites me to read more 'lighthearted' things. What genres do you prefer to read during Spring? Also let me know in the comments which books you've read in April and what you thought of them.

Bye for now

Annelies 

March 2015 - wrap up

Hi booklovers

Apparently I forgot to write my March wrap up, so here goes: 

In March I read 5 books (although, some of the books I read were 3 books in a boxset), so it was a good reading month.

1) Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan.

This was my first TBR-jar pick and the first Colgan I've read and I really enjoyed it. I gave it 3.5 stars on Goodreads. At first I had to get used to the way the story is told. You have two different POV's: Rosie Hopkins', her aunt Lilian's and then you also have flashbacks from Lilian's past. But once you figure this out, it's a really fun story to read. Mind you, the parts about Lilian's past were heart wrenching at times. Being the sweet tooth I am, I really enjoyed reading about the different sweets that used to be sold in Lilian's shop. The only problem was that I didn't know them all. I'll have to look up some of the sweets to really know what they are. And this book made me want to visit old sweetshops :-) I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, because when I picked it from my TBR-jar, I didn't think I was in the mood for it. But it pleasantly surprised me and I will definitely be reading more of her books. I already own 'Meet me at the cupcake cafe' and I'll be picking up the sequels to this story: 'Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' sweetshop' and 'The Christmas surprise'. 

 










2) Exile by Bre Faucheux.
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

This mini-review contains spoilers. I you want to read it, just highlight the text.

 bit helpless, but iThis is the second novella in 'The Elder Origins' series and the story picks up where 'The Elder Origins' left of. We meet Madison after having fallen into the river and waking up with a Sioux tribe. During this part of the story we find out more about what Madison and Jayden have become: vampires. They learn how to deal with their new 'life', their abilities and their thirst for blood. They receive help from a healer from a Sioux tribe. The healer knows what happened to Madison and he wants to help her come to terms with her new condition. Jayden is a bit more restless and he wants to return to their homeland and he asks Madison to join him. During this story we get to know all the cool things vampires can do, all the abilities they have along with the characters. I really enjoyed the character development in this book. First I thought that Madison was a bit whiny and she seemed an this story she really grows and she learns to stand up for herself. She has to, considering Jayden is the only one of her homeland left and the only other vampire she knows. And believe it or not, Jayden is actually growing on me. He can still be arrogant and selfish, but you also get to see a different, more compassionate side of him. When I told Bre this, she said that Jayden was such a misunderstood character :-)
When they arrive in England they discover that the plague has been wreaking havoc. And this is where the story takes an interesting twist: they find out that another one of the original 'crew' has survived: Lyndon. And with that cliffhanger, the 2nd book ends.
Like in the first part, Bre manages to combine historical and fantasy elements brilliantly.

3) From the first touch (1 - 4) by Gwendalyn Fox
These novella's are in the romance / erotica genre. They were actually the first erotica stories I've read. In this series we meet Jayme and follow the development of her relationship with actor Lucas Wolfe. They were fun, sexy, steamy reads. Sure, sometimes they're a bit cliche, but that doesn't stop me from reading them. Beware these books contain a lot of sexual content! I gave the whole series 3 stars.

4) From the first kiss (1 - 3) by Gwendalyn Fox
This is a spin-off series of the 'From the first touch' series, focusing on Lauren - Jayme's friend - and her story of finding true love. I really enjoyed these novella's. I appreciate them for what they are: erotica, nothing more, nothing less. I still believe in judging a book by it's genre. You shouldn't expect complex stories from books in this genre, they are meant to be fun, exciting, enticing. If you want to read something more complex, choose a different genre! I gave the series 3.5 stars.

5) From the first sight (1) by Gwendalyn Fox
This is another spin-off series. This time we get to know Lexi's story - Lexi is Lauren's colleague and friend - and I have to admit that this is the most intriguing character so far. I hope that there will be more to her story, because she is a more complex character with a heavier background than Jayme and Lauren. Although I have to admit that Lauren's background isn't all that pleasant either. I also gave this one 3.5 stars.

What have you read in March? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

February 2015 wrap up

Hi booklovers

During the month of February I was able to read 5 books, thanks to my midterm break and some shorter, quicker reads. I've added the links to the Goodreads pages so you can check out the synopses.

1) Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes: non-spoiler review / spoiler review.

2) Faking it by Cora Carmack. This is the second book in an NA companion novel series. I've read Losing it and Keeping her (a novella) last year. The first two books are about Garrick and Bliss and I really liked reading about them, so at first I was a bit hesitant to read the other stories. (I tend to have that reaction to companion novels, I had the same issue with Katie McGarry's books.) But while I was on the train to go to Waterstones Brussels the other day, I decided to read it on my e-reader. I was still reading Gathering Darkness at the time, but I didn't feel like taking such a chunk of a book with me, so I took my e-reader instead.
This story is about Cade and Max - it's written in dual POV - and I read it almost in one sitting. Cade is trying to get over Bliss but he has a hard time forgetting her. And then, all of a sudden Max comes into his life asking him a weird question.
Like Losing it and Keeping her this was a quick, fun, sexy read, but with a bit of an edge. I know most NA stories are about the same themes but this one didn't have the cliches that Abbi Glines' stories sometimes tend to have. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. (Click here if you want to know how I rate books.)

Beware if you're a younger reader because this has sexual content.

3) Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes: non-spoiler review / spoiler review. (coming soon)

4) Finding it by Cora Carmack. In this book we follow Bliss' best friend Kelsey on her trip around Europe. On this trip she want to discover herself and find out what she's going to do with her life. What I like about this book is that although there is instant attraction between Kelsey and Hunt, they don't hit it off immediately. You have your typical characters weighed down by their personal histories, but it was so well written that this didn't bother me. My heart was trampled on a couple of times. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

5) Seeking her by Cora Carmack. This is a novella in which we get part of the Finding it story told from Hunt's POV. I really liked it because we get to know a bit of the story before the start of Finding it. It was nice to get to know the story from Hunt's POV and some of his back-story. The only problem I had was that I thought it ended at a weird point in the story. I would've loved to read a bit more. That's why I gave it 3.5 stars on Goodreads. 

All in all, February was a good reading month :-)

Which of these books have you read or would you like to read? Let me know in the comments!

Bye for now

Annelies