Book hauls revisited - May & June 2016 - 2017.

Hi booklovers

It's been a while since I've taken a look at my previous book hauls, so this time I'm looking at both May and June 2016 - 2017.

May 2016

*An Ember in the Ashes by Victoria Aveyard

May 2017

*A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

June 2016

*Little Women & Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott

*The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

*The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan

*Spellwright by Blake Charlton

*Vampire Academy graphic novel by Richelle Mead

June 2017

*Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

*A Million Worlds With You by Claudia Gray

*Roar by Cora Carmack 

First of all, apparently May was a good month when it comes to book buying. And I've actually read both books.

Out of all of the books I got in June 2016 I've only read The Vampire Academy graphic novel. But I am currently reading Little Women, so yay for me!

From my June 2017 book haul I read Ten Thousand Skies Above You and A Million Worlds With You.

Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now 

Annelies

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

May and June wrap up.

Hi booklovers

I know this is a bit late, but I still wanted to tell you what I read in May and June.

May:

*Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft (V1) - Joe Hill - 4 stars. 

This was the second graphic novel I've read and even though it's completely different from Fables, I really enjoyed it. This is gritty and dark and at first it took me a while to get into it, but once I got used to it I loved it. I'm really looking forward to continuing with this series.

*Cruel Crown - Victoria Aveyard - 3 stars.

This was an okay read. I really liked the story of Queen Coriane, Prince Cal's mother. I really felt for her throughout the novella. I didn't like the novella from Farley's POV. Her story just didn't appeal to me. I don't know why, but I somehow pictured her to be much older while I was reading Red Queen. Do you need to read these? No. They add a bit to the main story, but they are not necessary.

*Groo: Friends and Foes (V1) - Sergio Aragonés - 3.5 stars.

I found out that this comic book isn't suited to read while on the train because sometimes you just start laughing out loud and that can be a bit embarrassing. I enjoyed this a lot and I want to read more stories about all of Groo's shenanigan's.

*The Great Hunt (WOT 2) - Robert Jordan - 4 stars.

I listened to this as an audiobook. Like with The Eye of the World I seem to pick up more details while listening to this story than when I'm actually reading it myself. It also helped that this is a reread. I'm slowly continuing with the series.

June:

*Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard - 4 stars.

I enjoyed this sequel a lot. There were a few plot twists I didn't see coming and the cliffhanger ending made me very curious to see where this will go. Have you seen the cover for book 3? It looks stunning.

*A lost legacy: Awakening (book 1) - C.E. Dimond - 3.5 stars.

This is an e-book I recieved in exchange for an honest review. I liked it, but I also had some problems with it. You can read my spoiler-free review here.

*Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson - 5 stars (reread).

After reading all those fantasy/dystopian/paranormal stories, I felt like reading some contemporary so I decided to reread this book by Morgan Matson. I have a spoiler-free review of this.

*Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson - 5 stars (reread).

Since I loved my reread of Amy & Roger so much, I needed some more Morgan Matson, so I reread Second Chance Summer even though I knew I would be heartbroken. You can find my spoiler-free review here.

All in all I had two good reading months. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What have you read - and enjoyed - during the months of May and/or June?

Bye for now.

Annelies