Alice in Zombieland

A few weeks ago, my niece let me lend her, probably, all time favorite book: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. Last summer she was rereading the books when I was with her in the Ardennen. If you wonder where that exactly is, it's down south in Belgium. It's where nature surrounds you! We've had our own little space behind the caravan with a table and two chairs, and read. The whole time. 

One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. There's one night, on what was supposed to be a big and good day, where everything she loved turned to something bad. It took one night to change Alice's life forever . 
Every since that night, she's been seeing things and has been telling herself that what she sees isn't real. She's delusional and being crazy and because of that she doesn't tell her grandparents anything. 

It's a big relief that she met a girl she'd be going to school with, one that makes her laugh after her tragedy. 
She feels a little bit more comfortable until she makes eye contact with a boy that seems murderous. Ever since then he's annoyed by her and she's been seeing more things that make her feel a lunatic. Especially when the white rabbit cloud passes along... 

This story was a little harder to get into for me. The first few pages that described the awful tragedy where really good but then I felt a little lost for some chapters. After living through those chapters I fell in it, like Alice fell in that hole! 

The mystery around the boy, the things that happened and her own disbelief in what she was seeing made it a very thrilling and exciting read. The author really makes you feel like you're her too because she describes a lot of her feelings and her surroundings. I did like that the most about the book because you could really visualize everything in detail. 

Things got only better when we got to know more of Cole. The mysterious and tough looking boy, in the beginning I wasn't really fond of him because he really challenged Alice. And he kind of pushed my buttons but when we see more of him and are allowed in his zone, he's really a sweetheart. He's very protective over Ali and it also gives us a fierce romance you didn't expect. 

I did expect there'd be some sort of romance but not this kind. It was really strong in my point of view and something I loved in this book. It did bother me a little that Cole was hot and cold and kept jumping between those. Make up your mind, Cole! I guess it did make it even better for the reader that he did that because then you'd keep reading to find out what it's going to be. 

As for Alice she's a very strong character with a very strong personality. She might be broken on the inside and struggling with the loss but nobody is stepping on her toes! She's very protective and will stand up for herself or her new friend. 

Alice was a very cool character because of her stubbornness. She might've been broken ever since that night, she wouldn't let anybody else break her even more. She would pretend that she was a lot stronger than she actually was. Shielding herself and her true emotions so others wouldn't pick on her and I really liked that about her. She's also very daring and not scared, she'll do anything to protect her grandparents, even if it meant for her to die. 

There's one character I'd like to discuss because she might be my favorite in the story, Kat. She's really eccentric! She'll also stand up to anyone who steps on her toes or on those of her friends. In the beginning you might think she's a little vain and very enthusiastic but further into the story, you'll appreciate her. 

There's even a moment in the book where her character surprises you and the outcome did make me feel a little sad. Not that sad in the way that it ruined the character but sad in a way that you have compassion with her.   

Which brings me to the actual story, the book makes you feel a lot of things. There are books that you can read and think okay, I get it but this books (as many others) really grabs you at the heart. Next to that the book is very mysterious and thrilling which I adored! The ending was also very surprising and that did things with me! Also there were some references of Alice in Wonderland, such as the white rabbit. It was presented as a white cloud that looked like a rabbit and it has it's purpose and I liked it that the author used elements of the fairytale.

But the chapters are long! I point that out because I'm easily bothered by very long chapters. I'm that kind of girl that want's to read the whole chapter before stopping so I can go to bed or go out to do something. Because the chapters were so long, you either didn't start it and or started it but didn't finish it. I don't like to stop mid a chapter, it just bothers me for some reason. That's a little negative point but something that's really personal and can be different from reader to reader.

The book was a very good read and now I understand why my niece really enjoyed it and was really fond of it. It's also the first in a series of 4, I don't know if there'll be a fifth or not. Just so you know, it (currently) has 4 books in this White Rabbit Chronicles series, right now and the fourth came out last September! 

"She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever."

November TBR

A new month, a new stack of books! I'm the kind of girl that just buys a 'big' amount every now and then so I can read for a while (well, most times). I'll now present the books I've recently bought, although I said on Instagram  I was going to wait until I received my other books. Later I realized that I could already do it since I recently bought some books and I really wanted to update my blog. 
I'm planning on reading as much books as possible this month since I couldn't read a lot in October because of school. Let's just get started ha!

Pure by Jennifer L Armentrout

The first book I want to talk about is Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout. It's the second book in the Covenant series, the first one was Half-blood which I wrote a review on (Half-Blood Review). It's a series of 5 books and has two novella's. I started reading the series because of a good friend, Fien. She's also into the Jennifer L. Armentrout books and she said they were really good and that I should read them. And she's right! If you read Jennifer's books, read these! If not, read these! My friend also wrote a review on Half-blood but also on Pure and the review about the third book is on it's way. (Yeah, she's ahead of me. She contains so much information haha) So I recommend to go check out her blog: My Bookish Rambles by Fien. 
I'm already head into the book but school made sure I had to stop at page 37, thanks school I love you so (not). I can't tell too much about it because then I'll just spoil the fun! But I'm really excited to read on and to know what'll happen next with Alex and the others like Aiden. Mainly Aiden. But no spoilers. What does really attract me to the book is a sentence that's on the back of the book: 

"When the gods are involved, some decisions can never ever be undone."

Doesn't that sound promising? Then again Jennifer never disappoints. I like her books, easy reads, funny, some romance. What else must there be? 

Angelfall by Susan EE

Angels. It's my weakness. I... I can't explain it differently. The first book that got me into reading was about Angels. Ever since then books with Angels are my favorite ones! This series is also about Angels, logical because of the title right! It's also been recommended by Fien and I've read a lot of reviews that said it was absolutely amazing. I just went with it and bought the book and Oh Holy Alien Babies (saw what I did there? :D) the cover is absolutely stunning. I'm a person that likes to feel things, it's maybe weird. But it has these wings and they've got a feeling, like a texture or something and then I'm just totally happy. It feels good, it looks good and yes, they say it is good. It's again a series and it's the first book in a series of three. 
"It has been six weeks since the Angels returned to earth and destroyed the world as we know it. When they fly away with a helpless little girl, her sister Penryn will do anything to get her back." It sounds like it's going to be a whole adventure which I'm totally for. I've also read some bits and pieces in it because I couldn't contain myself (as usual) and from what I've read, it sounds very thrilling. I think the adventure will be underlined in this book and also finding her sister. I'm not sure if it'll be like that and I'll keep you guys posted! If anyone has some thoughts that they want to share about this book, please do!

"They have arrived..."

Because you'll never meet me by Leah Thomas

I got this book just today and it's kind of a funny story. I met up with two of my friends to go to the city so one of my friends could find a gift for his girlfriend. We went in two bookstores because my other friend likes to read too and we wanted to go inside. Nothing. Literally nothing in my hands when I came out because I said in myself: no. You just bought 3 books that are on the way. We went into another store, a media store. I'm so sorry wallet, I just couldn't contain myself. It's been on my list for some months now and I saw it, I grabbed it and I kind of screamed my friend's name. I was like: "Look! Look!" and yes, that's how I got this book. I think we've all had this before! Anyways what it's about: It's basically about two boys. One of the boys has a weak heart and now has a electronic pacemaker but the other boy is allergic to electricity. So they don't chat through WiFi or mail but just write letters to each other all the time, knowing they'll never meet because one of them would die if they did. Can you imagine? You have a friend but you can't meet because you can die or you lose your friend. But on the other hand you really want to see him! But that's not all there is to the story, their bond becomes stronger because both of them struggle with life. Losing a friend, being bullied in school. Those are things that'll come presented when you read the book. So I'm really excited because I got so many questions like "how did they meet?" "will they ever meet in real life?" "will both of them die because they think that's fair and then they did see each other before they died?" The latter doesn't sound all that logical but I'm bracing myself for a very emotional (positive or negative? I'll keep you posted!) book. But I'm so excited!

"There are truths you can only tell a stranger"

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter 

The last book I want to announce in my November TBR is Alice in Zombieland. I've never heard of the writer before, I didn't find the book on Goodreads  but also this time the book has been recommended by someone I know. My niece, Marika, is also into books and this summer she was really hyped about this book series. The third book was coming out last September so she was talking about it and read the books again. She said "hey, you should definitely read these. They're good!" so yesterday, I went to their home to pick up my brother and sister and asked if I could lend the first book. I could see she was happy that I asked! And I'm happy that I asked because I read the first chapter and it is indeed good. She says it'll only get better. I'm curious if there are similarities with the Alice in Wonderland tale like you have Cinder and Scarlet that sometimes refer to Cinderella and Red Riding Hood. 

The back of the books says: "If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. Her father was right. The monsters are real. To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies." So it's about Zombies and I'm curious if I'll like that because I'm not

into Vampires either so I wonder if it'll go to the "appreciated in books"-side or the "rather not in books"-side. But like I said the first chapter is really good so it might say something about the rest of the book. And also... Can I just ask you to pay attention to that cover! Darkness and then you have Alice in a blue dress! And see those details around her! The back, which you can't see on here has a white rabbit (aha, first reference to Alice in Wonderland). And if you ditch the jacket, it's so nice. I like the simplicity of the hardcover without the jacket and the insides of the book have room for details. Another thing I like is the name of the series: "The White Rabbit Chronicles". I like the sound of that! As soon as the book is done, I'll write a review about it. So stay tuned!

"Off with their head"

"Hun koppen eraf"

So those were the four books I recently bought or am lending and which I'll hopefully finish this month! But there are 3 more books coming this way and I'm very excited about those too so if they're here I will talk about those. But for now I have enough books to entertain me for this November. If you have any recommendations or you just have something to say, don't hesitate to leave it in the comments.