Friday Reads - January 13.

Hi booklovers

It took me an entire week to finish Some Kind of Perfect and I'm very sad to have to say goodbye to all these beloved characters.

But I'm also glad I finally picked it up. I feel like we as readers have witnessed such immense growths in Rose, Connor, Lily, Lo, Daisy and Ryke. Thank you, Becca and Krista for writing such wonderful stories!

I've also listened to about 3 hours of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

I'm hoping to start Heartless by Marissa Meyer this evening, because I need something completely different again, otherwise I'm just going to compare every contemporary (NA) book to Some Kind of Perfect, which wouldn't be fair. 

I feel I'm in the mood for some fantasy, especially after reading all the recommendations from the members of the Goodreads Of Wonderland bookclub :-)

Hopefully I'll be able to get through a large part of Heartless this weekend and early next week. On Monday, I'll be picking up a graphic novel my colleague lent me, I just have to decide which one.

What will you be reading this weekend and the upcoming week? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Waiting on Wednesday #6 - Jan. 11.

Hi booklovers

This is created by Breaking The Spine

For this week's Waiting on Wednesday I want to talk about The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye.

I have the first book The Crown's Game on my TBR, but I haven't picked it up yet.

But I'm very intrigued by the synopsis, so I'm going to read it before The Crown's Fate comes out.

Evelyn is holding a giveaway on her website in preparation of the release of The Crown's Fate in which she's giving away an arc of the book and a gift related to one of the characters. You should really check it out here.

This book comes out on the 16th May.

Have you read The Crown's Game? What did you think of it? Are you looking forward to The Crown's Fate? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - non-spoiler review.

Hi booklovers

*Hides in shame* I reread this book in 2015 in preperation of the release of Winter - which I still haven't read, btw :-s - but I never got around to posting my review. (Luckily, I wrote most of my thoughts down after finishing the book.)

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA, dystopia
Format: paperback

*Story:
This is a Cinderella retelling. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Bejing. She has a stall at the marketplace and there she meets Prince Kai. They get to know each other, but unfortunately Kai can't make decisions about his own future because the Lunar queen, Queen Levana wants to marry him. There's also a plague, called Letumosis. Scientists are working around the clock to find a antidote and cyborgs are being drafted to help find it. After Cinder's stepsister Peony becomes a victim of the plague her wicked stepmother sends Cinder off to be tested for an antidote. From this point on, the story really takes off.

*Characters:
-Cinder: She finds herself in a typical cinderella-like situation, which made me really feel for her. She has two stepsisters, one who's nice, one who's a total bitch and a stepmother who can't stand her. Cinder is an interesting character because as a reader you find out about her past at the same time she does. On the other hand, she is also a typical teenager, trying to find her place in the world - which is made even more difficult because she is part cyborg.

-Iko: Cinder's robot. Well, actually she belongs to Adri (Cinder's stepmom), but she constantly accompanies Cinder. I love Iko, she is such a fun and emphatic character. She acts more like a teenager than a robot and she is a total drama queen, but that's part of the fun.

-Prince Kai: the handsome future emperor of New Bejing. He has a lot to deal with: the plague, the death of his father, the eminent threat of Queen Levana and her explicit wish to marry him. You really feel his struggle when all he wants is to be a normal young man, able to choose his own destiny.

-Adri: Cinder's wicked stepmom. Urgh, the number of times I've wanted to strangle that wretched woman... Like the typical fairytale Cinderella stepmom, she never wanted to take care of Cinder, especially after her husband died, so she never lets an opportunity pass to make this known to Cinder.

-Queen Levana: the ultimate villain, oh how I hate this woman! She's manipulative and deceiving, usually gets what she wants and she is so unbelievably cruel!! This character was so well executed, she is such a complex character and that's what makes her a 'good' villain.

-Dr Erland: He's the doctor leading the research for the letumosis antidote. He's such an intriguing character and there is definitely more to him than meets the eye!

*Plot / world building:
I really liked the world building, you get a clear view of how the 'new' world is constructed. You have the different countries, ruled by different people and then you have Luna, the inhabited moon.. We don't really get to know that much about Luna, only that the Lunars believe they are better than the Earthlings. There are Lunars who possess the gift of manipulating people and there are those without this gift, called Shells. Several Lunars live hidden on Earth, even though Queen Levana has put a sentence on those helping Lunars hiding on earth.

*Overall rating:
Reading this for the second time made the story even better. I remember it took me some time to get into the story the first time around, but not this time. I was immediately drawn into the action. You get a great insight into the character's emotions and the growth they go through. The book contains some major plot twists which I didn't always see coming. This was the first fairytale retelling I read and it set the standards high.

Also, the esthetics of these books are stunning: the cover and font are beautiful. The title page for each new 'book' is done beautifully.

Have you read Cinder or the other books in the Lunar Chronicles? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Friday Reads #10 - Jan. 6.

Hi booklovers

The first week of January is almost over, so it's time for another Friday Reads.

This week I read about 320 pages of Some Kind of Perfect by Becca and Krista Ritchie. I did the right thing by picking this one up after finishing Crooked Kingdom. This was the diversion I needed. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it this weekend. These books give me some serious sleep depravation, because I don't seem to be able to put them down and I'm going back to school next week.

Yesterday, I got invited to join the Of Wonderland book club on Goodreads. In this book club you don't have to read a specific book each month, you just read a book from a certain genre. (Just click on the name of the book club to go to the Goodreads group.) This month the genre is fantasy, so next week I'm probably going to pick up Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

Since I'll be commuting again starting Monday I'll probably continue listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

A while ago a colleague of mine lent me some graphic novels and I might pick one up to read on the train. I don't want to bring my copy of Heartless with me on the train, it's so beautiful I would be scared to damage it in my bag.

What will you be reading this weekend / next week? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now and happy reading!

Annelies

2017 anticipated releases.

Hi booklovers

After taking a look at my 2016 anticipated releases and seeing I didn't even get half of the books I anticipated, I decided to really limit the number of books I'm putting on this year's list.

I'm going to divide the books into separate groups again:

A) The next book in a series:

*Long Way Home by Katie McGarry.

This is the third book in the Thunder Road series and it comes out on the 31st of January. I'm really looking forward to reading Chevy and Violet's story.

*King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard.

I really enjoyed the first and the second book, so I'm looking forward to reading the third one since book two ended on a major cliffhanger. The release date is the 7th of February.

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

This is not the final cover!

This is the third book in the ACOTAR series and the last one from Feyre's and Rhys' POV's. This is set to be released on the 2nd of May.

*The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye.

I know I haven't read the Crown's Game, but I have it on my TBR, so I should be able to get to it before book two releases on the 16th of May.

*The sixth book in the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes.

We don't have an exact release date yet, but it will probably be December, so I have ample time to catch up with the series since I still need to read books four and five.

*The third book in the Illuminae Files trilogy by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman.

Again, this book doesn't have a release date yet.

B) I have the first book on my TBR, I just haven't gotten around to reading it:

*Infini by Becca and Krista Ritchie.

This is the second book from the Aerial Ethereal universe. I want to pick up Amour Amour really soon, so I might read them back to back. This will be released in January of 2017.

*Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken.

This is the second book in the duology and it comes out on the 3rd of January.

C) I have the first book on my wishlist:

*Windwitch by Susan Dennard.

Release date: the 10th of January.

*The Dark Days Pact by Alisson Goodman.

Release date: the 31st of January.

*The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine.

Release date: the 14th of February.

D) Authors I've read books from:

*RoseBlood by A.G. Howard.

I liked Splintered - I haven't continued with the trilogy, though - and this one is a Phantom of the Opera retelling, so I'm quite intrigued.

Release date: the 10th of January.

*Roar by Cora Carmack.

This is the first book in a new YA-series by Cora Carmack.

Release date: the 13th of June. I'm also hoping both her other announced NA-books - Inflict and All Closed Off - will be released this year.

*Damaged Like Us by Becca and Krista Ritchie.

This is also a new series from these two genius sisters I'm really looking forward to. There is no exact release date yet, their site just states: Spring 2017.

E) Books by new to me authors:

*Hunted by Meagan Spooner.

Since I still haven't read These Broken Stars she is still a new to me author :-). This is said to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Release date: the 14th of March.

*Frostblood by Elly Blake.

Although this sounds a lot like the Red Queen storyline, I'm still quite looking forward to it.

Release date: the 10th of January.

Which 2017 releases are you excited for? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

2016 anticipated releases - in review.

Hi booklovers

First of all, let me wish you all the best for 2017 and a very good reading year!

Before sharing my 2017 anticipated releases, I thought I'd take a look at my anticipated releases of 2016: which ones did I buy, which ones have I read, which ones haven't I bought (yet)?

A) Bought and read:
*Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry. I really enjoyed this second book in the Thunder Road trilogy and I can't wait for book three to come out.

*A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I absolutely loved this book. It even made it to my top 10 books of 2016, even though I know there are some flaws to the story - and no, I'm not talking about the cast of characters not being diverse enough! I'm talking about some exaggerations in some character's attitude and behaviour!

*Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard. I have mixed feelings about this one. I really liked Queen's Song, the story about Cal's mom, but I didn't enjoy Steel Scars all that much.

*Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. I liked this one a lot better than Cruel Crown and I'm curious to see how the story will continue after the major cliffhanger. (I have to admit I might need to reread Glass Sword before reading King's Cage :-$ )

These three authors have the next book in the trilogy / series coming out in 2017, so expect them to appear in my 2017 anticipated releases.

*Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This is my most recent read and my feelings are still all over the place.

B) Bought but still unread:
*Stars Above and Heartless by Marissa Meyer.
*The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson.
*The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johanssen.
*Frost Like Night by Sarah Raasch.
*Passenger by Alexandra Bracken.
*The Crown's Game by Evelyne Skye.

C) Not bought:

*Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas. I haven't even read Queen of Shadows, so I thought it was a bit useless to already get Empire of Storms.

*Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes. Same story as with EoS. I only recently bought Frozen Tides so I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, so no point in already getting Crystal Storm.

*The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman.

*Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake.

*Truthwitch by Susan Dennard.
*The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.
*Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.
*A Million Worlds Without You (Firebird #3) by Claudia Gray. I haven't even read A Thousand Pieces of You or bought Ten Thousands Skies Above you, so I won't be getting this one any time soon.

*The Glittering Court by Michelle Read. I'm not sure I'm even going to get this one anymore. I kind of lost my interest in it.

D) These publications were pushed back:
*Damaged Like Us by Krista and Becca Ritchie.
*All Closed Off and Inflict by Cora Carmack.
*The Star Maiden by M.J. Melrose.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed these books will be released in 2017.

I didn't include any of the books I don't even have the first book in the series of.

What's the conclusion of my 2016 anticipated releases list? I had way too many books on it. This time I'm not going to include books from series of which I don't even own the first book.

Did you get/read all of your 2016 anticipated releases? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

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