March - April - May wrap-up

Hi booklovers

Since we're already 10 days into June, I think it's high time to post my combined March, April and May wrap-up.

During these three months I was able to read 20 books (including graphic novels and audiobooks).

March

*The One by Kiera Cass - 3.5 stars. I read The Selection and The Elite last year and I saw that they had the third one in my local library, so I borrowed it. Like the first two, this was a quick and fun read, but nothing mind-blowing.

*Y - The Last Man - Unmanned (Vol. 1) by Brian K. Vaughan - 4 stars. A colleague of mine collects graphic novels and he lent me a few. I had heard a lot of positive things about Y - the last man and I really wanted to try it out. I ended up really enjoying it and I will definitely be continuing with the series.

*Transmetropolitan - Back on the street (Vol.1) by Warren Ellis - 4 stars. This was the second GN my colleague lent me. This was all kinds of weird, but I really enjoyed it. Another series I'm going to continue reading.

*Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling/Newt Scamander - 5 stars. The fact that this book is narrated by Eddie Redmayne (Newt) himself made this an even better experience.The animal sounds were so realistic I thought something was behind me a couple of times :-D

*The Boys - The Name of the Game (Vol.1) by Garth Ennis - 4.5 stars. Forget everything you think you know about superheroes when you read this graphic novel. This was so hillarious and I will definitely be continuing with the series.

You can find my spoiler-free mini-reviews of the three GN here.

*Winter by Marissa Meyer - 4.75 stars. A very solid conclusion to the series. You can find my (mostly) spoiler-free review here.

*Saga volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan - 3.75 stars. This was a bit of a disappointment but I did continue with the series.

April

*The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh - 3.75 stars. If it wasn't for the last 40 pages, this would have been a 2.75 stars read. I didn't really feel connected with the characters. Because of those last pages, however, I am going to read the second book.

*Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (reread - audiobook) 5 stars. After hearing a ton of people rave about the audiobooks of Illuminae and Gemina, I thought I'd give it a try. I wouldn't recommend listening to it when you're reading this for the first time, because you'll miss out on the wonderful format, but it's ideal for a reread. I know I'll be listening to this again in the future. 

*Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - 5 stars. I hardly ever marathon series anymore, but I needed to move straight onto book two after finishing my reread of Illuminae. This was equally as good as Illuminae. I'm also definitely planning on getting the audiobook, so I can have that experience as well. And no, I don't like the fact that we have to wait a year for the conclusion to this trilogy :-(

*Air and Ash by Alex Lidell - 4 stars. I was kindly sent this e-book in exchange for an honest review. This was a very refreshing read. You can find my spoiler-free review here.

*Saga volume 5 by  Brian K. Vaughan - 4 stars. Still not as good as the first three, but slightly better than volume 4.

May

*The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson - 5 stars. After having a couple of people on IG telling me I needed to pick up a Brandon Sanderson book, I thought it was finally time to read The Final Empire. I was very impressed by this book and I definitely want to continue with the series.

*Saga volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan - 4.5 stars. Finally, this was back up to the standards of the first three volumes. Now I only need to get my hands on volume 7.

*A Court of Mist and Fury (reread) by Sarah J. Maas - 4.75 stars. In preparation of the release of ACOWAR I wanted to reread this one. I didn't reread ACOTAR, because after my reread last year I discovered that Feyre really got on my nerves in that book. I thoroughly enjoyed my reread - the book definitely has its flaws (and no, I'm most definitely not referring to the lack of diversity or the poor representation of some of the 'diverse' characters) but I still enjoyed it very much (although it didn't give me a bookhangover like the first time I read it). You can find my review here.  

*Alex + Ada volume 1 by Sarah Vaughn - 5 stars. This was an extremely good graphic novel.

*A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas - 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book and it has made me very curious to see whose storyline we'll be getting in the spin-offs. However, it does again have its flaws (again, not talking about diversity).

*Deep Surrendering: part 1 by Chelsea M. Cameron - 3 stars. I've had this on my e-reader for over a year and because I wanted something light and fun after ACOWAR I thought I'd give it a go. I got this for free from the Kobo website and I'm very glad I didn't pay for it, because this was weird. I don't really know what to say about it, but the 'domination' aspect of the story is not my cup of tea.

*Deep Surrendering: part 2 by Chelsea M. Cameron - 3 stars. This one was free on Amazon so I thought I'd give this another chance. My opinion, however, remains unchanged. I'm not sure about the 'domination' part. I probably won't be continuing the series.

*Fables Volume 3 by Bill Willingham - 3.5 stars. The ending ruined it for me. I'm not sure if I'll be continuing with this series.

All in all, these past three months were pretty good reading months.

What did you read in the past couple of months? Have you read any of the same books I read? 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

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