Anticipated releases!

As always summer makes me more eager to read, especially because most days I'm working! So not a lot of the days are over to get a lot of reading done, because then you're just so tired as well... You know the drill! Even though I can't read a lot right now, I'm really looking forward to two books that will be releasing in the next coming time! Both feel like a big summer read but one isn't coming out until 2018! Sad face... Here are my anticipated releases!

Just Friends by Tiffany Pitcock
Release date: 1st august 2017
I might never have read anything by this author, the cover and the synopsis just really make me feel like this needs to be read during summer. I'm in luck, it gets released this summer in August so I will be able to read it this summer and feel absolutely great about it! 


Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.

With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.

I also just read that the author is a debut author which makes this release even more exciting! I'm always on the lookout for new authors that present a first book. It's nice finding new ones because it means a new writing style and who knows maybe a new favorite author!

Also the story just gives me amazing vibes and who doesn't love to read something like this? It's a classic romantic one so I'm hoping that it'll get a twist anyway and maybe a bit of drama. For short I'm just really, really excited about the book and I can't wait to get it in my hands. 

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
Release date: 1st May 2018
A little downside to the book: we need to wait another year before we can get this book! Nevertheless am I absolutely thrilled for this one! Last year Jenna Evens Welch brought her first book Love & Gelato which I fell in love with the moment I saw the cover.

A few of you might remember that I wanted to take this book with me on my trip to Italy because the characters were based there but that the release was postponed to a later date and I had to leave without the book. I read the book when I got home and boy, I loved it! This book has so much thrill and romance and a beautiful written description about the city that it was hard not to love. Of course I just had been to Italy and I had seen the beautiful piazza's which added a lot to my imagination in the book.

This time around the author will do something similar but in another city and with another background story! I'm already very excited for this as the cover is very close to Love & Gelato's so that makes it even more thrilling in my opinion.

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way. 

I'm already so excited to visit Ireland through the eyes of the characters, and through the eyes of the author. I really love her writing style and it was also very easy to read in Love & Gelato so I'm hoping that this won't be any different. I really loved the author's first book so my expectations are high!

If you're interested in reading my review on the first book by Jenna Evans Welch, the review on Love & Gelato is HERE! It was my summer read of July 2016 so it's absolutely a recommendation to read during summer!

Those are the two books with summer-y feeling that will be released in the next couple time (ugh year!) that I'm really looking forward to! Hopefully I can read both during summer as I know this will add more to the feels while I read. I do wonder if I'll be able to contain myself for a month with Love & Luck since it comes out May but it's not summer yet... we'll have to see!

We All Looked Up

You guys, the book I'll be reviewing today contains so much hope and has such a good content I actually might faint because of it. This was so unexpected! A book I bet a lot of people would absolutely enjoy: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. I am so happy to review this book!

Two months. That's how long everyone on earth has before an asteroid crashes down onto them and kills everyone on it. Two months to do what you always wanted to do now you still can. For some that means loving, for others that means making music, everyone has two months to find their purpose and to fulfill it. Two months of really living. Two months to really feel alive.

This book has amazing characters that undergo such huge changes and that all because of this asteroid! I absolutely loved to see how each of them changes so dramatically because of it and how they'll change. This asteroid influences their life so much and I feel like that's something realistic, if everyone got 2 months to be and do what they really wanted we'd see this changes around us as well. 

This book follows 4 teenagers during these two months and I enjoyed each of them so much. First of all there's Peter. Peter is the good guy, the one that had great grades, is loved by everyone, is popular and so on. Yet Peter never felt like he was living, never thought he had a purpose. These two months Peter is on his way to find out what his purpose is and what would make him truly happy. Readers will really enjoy him because even though he thinks he needs to find a purpose, his gentle character won't change and that made him a very pleasant person. His actions however, will drastically change and I was a fan seeing that! 

Then we have Eliza, who has a connection with Peter. A year before the world was coming to an end, Peter had kissed her. He had a girlfriend! A very mean one. The girlfriend made sure Eliza already changed before the asteroid, in a girl that made guys want her. In a girl that's up for anything. Above that her father is not alright and her mother has left her a few years before. This is a character I was really curious about on how others would act around her. Eliza might act very tough on the outside but her home situation is so different. This character also changes during the last two months, she will chase love while becoming famous by her artwork.

Her artwork was something that defined her even before the asteroid. Eliza loved pictures and now made it purpose to picture everything through her lens as the world is coming to an end. I felt like the author really described each important picture really well which made sure we had a very good vision on it too, and that was something that added to the story and the vibes to my opinion. However I was really into the fact that Eliza started to chase love because it's something she's been holding back for a year now and this is her trying to grab everything left in life. 

Then we have Andy, a character that already had a lot of potential to me from the start! Andy has a very bad home situation and basically lives on his own. Also his friends aren't a very safe situation, Bobo (his best friend) is into bad things and expects Andy to be in those things too. Andy is a people pleaser, he doesn't want to lose his best friend and therefore sticks to whatever it is he needs to do. He also didn't believe in forgiveness. This character undergoes such a huge change and he's actually my favorite in this story. 

Andy begins to understand what forgiveness is and how love feels. Although he had the wrong purpose in the beginning and it took him a while to see he was wrong, this character has so much good in him. His character is really gentle but funny, a lot more smarter than he leads on and so much different from what Bobo wants. I really enjoyed Andy so much because he started to realize what real friends and real love was which made him such a strong character in this book.

Lastly there's Anita, a girl who's life has been all about pleasing her parents. When the end of the world was announced, she finally decided to make her last two months worth living. Anita never got the chance to do what she really loved to do: sing and now this is her last chance. Whatever it was that was holding her back, it isn't worth it. This girl grew so much, from being the hard worker, she became the girl who did what she wanted to do all her life. And she finally starts to realize who she really is and what she really wants which also made this character a very strong one.

Each of these characters bring so much to the story and come together in the karass, as Andy describes it. "A group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial linkages are not evident. Created by Kurt Vonnegut." when this word was introduced I think I screamed because this was absolutely amazing. It brings all these characters together, one way or another, and made sure that the characters are a very strong feature in this book. I absolutely fell for each of them and enjoyed them so much! 

As for the plot, I actually didn't really know what I had to expect with a book like this. I didn't want it to be depressing but I also didn't want everyone to be happy about it. The author made a very nice balance between the two while the world became complete mayhem.

This mayhem sure did add to all the feelings and the vibes that were going on and also made sure that the characters go to explore more and develop more so that's a great thing. But even more this plot was just so much different from what I had expected. It was a lot more action and thrill than I had expected. 

Now the world is coming to an end, people decided it was time to take over, others decided it was time to get together with family and yet other people thought it was a good idea to lock everyone up because others got together to talk about the people who locked people up. It's a complete mess but still very easy to follow, yet another great asset to the plot. I feel like the author really thought the plot through and probably put his finger right onto how the world would look in this kind of situation.

Another thing I really loved was the fact that there'd be this big End of The World Party that brought everyone together for the end. It's just amazing to see how much hope seeps into the story just because of this. The coziness, the love, the feeling like you belong, all these words describe how it felt reading about it and how much it actually feels like the end in this book. The author did such a great thing describing the situations that it also really felt like the end was nearing and I really loved to feel that because that's what it's about!

However, the book also made clear that the end might never come. Scientist weren't sure if it would destroy the world, although it looked like that with a 66.6 percentage. That made sure that the readers would feel really curious towards the end: would it be the end or not? And how would people be if it weren't the end? How would they be if it were really the end? Tommy Wallach also made sure to put different perspectives of the end in the story: people who believe, people who think there's nothing at the end and so on. The reader will really be able to think how he or she would act and what their heart would desire: the end or not?

Lastly I'd really want to point out how much I enjoyed to see the different perspectives from each character as they had their own plot line. Every character backtracked part of the chapter before it so you would know what the character thought after what happened or what he or she was doing before the last part of the chapter before it. All that really came together in a very nice plot with hope written all over it.

Oh, before I forget! The story makes use of songs as Anita's purpose is to sing. The author only gave the titles but after the end of the story I was going on his website and found that he had all the songs and sang all the songs. If you'd be interested in that I'll put a link to it right HERE! And that leaves me to conclude this review...

This book is so different from all the things I've read before and I am absolutely speechless. The content is so deep and the characters undergo such a huge change, and that all because of the circumstances. I absolutely loved the concept behind this book and how it influenced everyone's life. People coming together for the end of the world also made sure that the readers will feel the hope that the author is trying to give us through his words. An absolutely stunning read with amazing raw and tender content, surprising elements, things I didn't expect in this book and absolutely amazing characters. If the end of the world would look like this and it's inevitable, I'd say let it come because I'd like to have a karass of my own. What a book...

"Question: How could you look the end of the world in the face and not go crazy? Answer: You couldn't. The only sane thing to do was seek out enough distraction to numb the terror."

Invaded

So we had the month of April which was basically invaded by Luxen, aliens. We're June and once again this blog is going to be invaded by yes another alien species! It's also the 21st of June which means it's FINALLY summer and we can all look out to summer reads that brighten our day even more. And of course the lay-out will change with the season, so I'm excited! Anyway, back to our invasion of today: Invaded by Melissa Landers!

Note: this is not a first in a series! I recommend not reading any further as Invaded is the second book and there have been many developments and changes made since Alienated. If you're interested in the series or want to read Alienated, I wrote a review of this book on my blog HERE!

Earth is in need of planet L'eihr's technology but L'eihr won't help out Earth before they have an alliance where everyone agrees to the terms. Cara and Aelyx need to make sure that alliance will be formed by pleasing their people. Cara needs to please L'eihr and Aelyx needs to please Earth. Both knew it would be a huge adjustment and them being away from each other doesn't make things any easier. Especially because both are being targeted and the alliance is in danger.

First off, the characters! Cara seriously grew so much onto me. I can't believe that I didn't like her at first in Alienated. This character really has a very big task and she's very sure of herself to make it true. Her determination and her trying so hard was something I really appreciated. Especially because she's now on another planet, surrounded by species who don't like her at all, Cara is really being tested. I appreciated that this character showed us to always believe everything will come to a good end, and didn't give up. 

I did love the fact that the author made the balance between her being totally alright and not giving up and then give her moments where she really doubts if she can do this and want this. I think that's a very realistic perspective of life as well, the ups and downs, and our character has these moments which gives the book a very realistic twist (well in the feels department since Aliens are not real yet.)! Cara really surprised me by her actions and motivation and I'm really keen on her! 

Then we've got Aelyx, also he is on a planet where the species will test him. Also Aelyx the alien has changed a lot over the past two books, his hatred for mankind has simmered down now he knows Cara. During the book we'll also see his perspective and his feelings towards her and can I just scream? He's so adorable! Another trait in this character was his patience on the unknown planet and try his hardest to form the alliance. He's also really gentle, gentler than I had expected, and really caring which really is a trait that I feel he had less in Alienated! 

The bond between Cara and Aelyx will be tested as both are on unknown territory and are away from each other's support, but they're still there for each other and that will be highly appreciated by the readers. Both of them might be far away from each other, but the cuteness and gentle, comforting moments will get a chance in this book as well. Something I really appreciated to see as I was a bit scared that we wouldn't see these moments at all because they were apart. However readers might also really appreciate the fact that they're on their own, it really gave them the chance to feel one with the planet they're on and also made sure that the characters knew further development! 

Lastly, I really want to talk about Cara's brother! It might come as a surprise but he really grew on me! I don't want to spoil too much because it really is something to enjoy during the read, but I just love this character so much. He's really funny and caring but in his own way and I was really happy that we'd get to know him after all. Troy is a very surprising character, especially after all the things we already knew about him (which weren't all the most positive ones) and readers will really be pleased by him!

The plot really surprised me the most, because it felt like a huge contrast and I actually really liked that. I'm in love with the fact that it's a reversed world where both characters go to the partner's world and live there. Of course there's this bigger task that's important while they're there but still, it is something really cool!

Especially because now Cara lives on planet L'eihr we'll even get more drowned into the culture and above that get to see the landscapes, the government, the daily schedules and how everything works on the planet. Get ready to become full L'eihr! I really think this is a great asset to the book to see the functioning of this other planet and the contrasts it shows with ours.

But as I already mentioned, a bigger task needs to be done: the alliance. It's only because of the alliance that both character now reside on each other's planet. Thank you alliance, now I know how planet L'eihr looks like. The alliance between the two should help the earth with it's problems but readers will soon try to find out why the L'eihrs want this alliance: what's in it for them? And that's how all the suspicion starts to take place. 

It's not a secret that the Earthlings hate Aelyx and it's also not a secret that L'eihrs hate Cara, these relationship between the alien and the earthlings and the earthling and the aliens will really create a tension and more division in both camps. The remaining question is how everyone is going to react to the tension and that was also the surprising moment in this book. (Which I'm not going to get say because hello spoilers!)

This book actually really contains a lot of surprise and I really loved it a lot more than I did Alienated because there's a lot more action and mystery that's supported by the tension. Above that now Cara resides on L'eihr she won't only find out more about their culture but also about many more other cultures in the galaxy which once again gives a nice twist to the story. When we finally find out what on earth is actually going on, you'll be actually really surprised by this as it is something unpredictable, yet fantastic to find out. I have to say this outcome was actually a lot more twisted and original than I had expected. Then again, I hadn't expected anything like this in the plot.

Next to mystery, action and thrilling I really felt like the story made a lot more room for the feels. Now the characters are divided, the tension will also be transferred onto their relationship which then causes moments of comforting, love and caring but also moments of jealousy and uncertainty which I actually really appreciated. The bonds created will receive a new dept that was really amazing to witness and of course there are also the family bonds and friendships that get more attention! 

Lastly, I noticed that this book has a third in a series, but I don't know if I want to read it. It's not that I hated the two books in this series, not at all. In fact I absolutely enjoyed them! However the author made it look like this was the last in the series as the end feels really the end for me. I'm satisfied with it. I think that's a good thing actually, if readers want it to be the end they can but they can also go on and explore further. I did notice that there's a suggestion that opens the way for a third book, but I also thought that it could be a future thing that we wouldn't ever know and didn't really mind that. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, either read on or stop here and make this my ending. Either ways are possible and I like that about the series. 

PS: I actually originally thought that this was a duology! That's why I thought this was the end, until I found out a few minutes ago that there was a third in the series! 


This book shows such a contrast to Alienated! The characters are now more evolved but still show their traits and strengths through the book. I even felt like we finally got to know them a lot more and a lot better, which is a very big asset to this book. Above that the plot takes a whole new turn as the worlds are now reversed: Cara is on the planet L'eihr and Aelyx is on earth. I really loved to see this going that way because both are foreign on the planets and that causes a lot of new things and a lot of adjustment. We finally also got to know the L'eihr culture a lot more because Cara lived there and I must say this culture was nice to explore! To top it all off, the two characters need to make the alliance between the two races stand, but some don't agree and sabotage which gives the plot a taste of action and suspense! I loved this book even more than I did Alienated!

“When you preach hatred, how do you expect your followers to respond?” 

PS I Like You | Audiobook

It's been a long while since I've read anything this cute and adorable. I do have to say, this author always knows a way to my heart with her books. I always wish there was a second part to every book she writes but it's also satisfying to read a standalone, especially when they're so adorable: PS I Like You by Kasie West. 

Little note: I read this as an Audiobook! Can I just say how much I actually liked listening to an Audiobook? I had never expected that I'd like it because I also don't like e-books. I just want the physical copy! However, I have to say an Audiobook might become very welcome in my life, especially when I'm driving or walking or when my eyes are too tired to read. This also means I don't have a lot of pictures about this book at all, which is sad because I like the cover so much but well, it's worth it!

Lily hates chemistry. All she wants is to write song lyrics and make music so she can enter the competition. Yet one day, during her chemistry class, someone has left a note for her and she feels intrigued. Whoever the person was, he or she knew what real music was! Lily soon finds herself constantly writing with her anonymous penpal and because of that, she can even write amazing lyrics. But who is the person at the other end?

I have to hand it to Kasie West, she knows how to write intriguing and realistic characters. Each character we came across in this book has so much of reality and it so easy to relate to, I absolutely enjoyed each one of them. 

Lily is very passionate about music and really loves to write lyrics but she feels very shy and self conscious when it comes to that. This character will really show you her passion and it was really nice to see and feel it through her, but she'll also have that realistic side of her that's scared of what people might think about the words. This just really shows how realistic the character is: her need to please the people around her is something a lot of us will be able to relate to! However, I really loved this character's toughness. 

Although she's very shy about her words, her actions will show you how much she actually cares about what people think about her otherwise. It's a nice contrast added to Lily, one many readers will enjoy. Even though she sometimes is a little bit naive, I really think a lot of readers will love her for her strength to face society and bring it down while still being the shy but passionate girl that doesn't want to be judged. 

Another character that I absolutely adored was Isabel, the best friend of Lily. I felt like she was a little bit more bright, shiny and funny in comparison to Lily which also shows a nice contrast between the characters. Isabel is a very supportive friend, a very sweet friend and I really appreciated that about her. The thing is, Isabel always means good. During the story you'll see how she wants to set Lily up with boys and how she'll react on Lily's behavior. It's a very funny thing to see because she really tries hard and means well with her intentions. I also feel like Isabel is someone readers will easily relate to. 

Lastly, I would like to shine a light onto Lily's family! Oh boy, they're a handful! Lily has 3 siblings, one sister and two younger brothers and then her parents. During the book she'll explain how hard it is to have such a big family and how she feels about that. This is yet another thing that would be something people can relate to! Her siblings really gave me a very satisfying feeling. Her sister is more observant than I first thought which brings a very intriguing and special part to the book and her two younger siblings are just too cute for words. I really loved how Kasie West played the card of the massive family, especially because more contrast will be caused with the characters.

While Lily has a very busy and noisy family, her penpal has nothing: divorced parents who don't look after the penpal and a stepfather who absolutely doesn't like the penpal. I'm saying penpal because I just want to grab and hold onto its anonymity! The contrast between Lily's penpal and Lily is massive but still, they enjoy each other's company during the exchange.

I was really keen on seeing all these contrasts coming together to create the characters individually but also made them seem connected through it all. After all, in real life we're also very diverse but still connected to each other by our passions, dreams and feelings. That's also the thing I adored in PS I Like You, it's so realistic and so real which makes it very easy to relate and to feel with the characters! 

Lastly, I really want to point out that, as in real life, society will have such an influence that I ADORED! Lily and her penpal will really show us how easy it is to get two faces because of society. Lily being very shy about her words because she don't want to be judged, her penpal by acting like another person so their secret is being kept. While they talk through letters, you'll notice how easy it became for the both of them to talk about the real them and I think it was an important message for us as well as something very unique and special to see during the read. 

Now, the plot what other things can I say that it was just cute? When I envision Kasie West, I think instant cute! Yet this book, as all her other books, do have more than just cute. This story line was very intriguing because it really shone a light on how people act and how they really are.

As mentioned above, the characters will show a very diverse personality with each their own weaknesses and strengths. The plot will really close up on Lily and her penpal for this and show us how diverse you can actually be on daily basis (two faced in other words) and the cause of this. I really was keen on the underlying message in there. Or it might've been me that over-analysed it and thought there was a message! However, I feel like the author made a very special story line by letting the comparison of the real life Lily and the Lily in the letters go on for a while, it shows the reader the effects of the judging society and how Lily goes along with that.

The letters provide anonymity in this story which was another factor I was really keen on. First of, it made us get to know both Lily and her penpal way better because the anonymity made them open up and show their real selves. Secondly, it made the mystery come alive: who was at the other end?

And that other end of course will make sure this story will become cute and adorable. It's really about the letters at first but the plot will develop more and more towards the question about who is at the other end. Also this was something I really loved to see in the book because I was also very curious to that other end, although I have to say when the development is made it becomes more and more predictable.

Even before Lily discovers who it really is, the readers will already have known it for a long time. I think that's a negative side of the story, however I didn't mind it and still really enjoyed it. For others this might be the thing that makes them stop loving the story. I do have to say that after Lily knows who it is, the story will become less predictable! It's just the penpal who isn't a surprise at all.

Of course the plot isn't all about the penpal, but this is one of the important things. It's also about Lily overcoming her fears and her judgments towards herself and others! I already said that Lily is very passionate about music and she wants to get into a competition. Because of her noisy and loud family she doesn't have a lot of success with finding the right words, because of her penpal she does. However Lily is still shy to speak up and tell her lyrics. This story will also go onto the journey of opening up for this and finding your way around your weaknesses. I really was keen on that as well.

And of course there's Lily's family to give the plot a rest of the penpal and the competition and making room for funny encounters between the members. I really enjoyed these parts because they were so light and so humorous. I also absolutely loved her family and the weird habits they have just make you smile.

Lastly, readers will also really be able to enjoy the conflict that will present itself to Lily when she knows her penpal. Her judgments about the person will contradict with what she learned through the letters. It's really intriguing to see how she'll feel about it and how she'll solve this, if she'll solve this at all!

 Although this book was predictable, I absolutely loved this book. It's all that I had expected from Kasie West, and once again she fulfilled my desires by giving me a very adorable, cute and funny read! The characters are absolutely amazing and also a reflection of so many real people out there. Their two sides, their side to please society and their side where they are themselves, were really raw and also really realistic and I just adored to see it in PS I Like You. Next to that, the readers are in for a very tender romance that starts with just the anonymity of writing with a stranger and the growing force of this. I also really liked it that we could go on and think about who the penpal may have been, although that was the most predictable part in this book. Yet I couldn't resist it and really fell head over heals with this book: predictable but oh so sweet! It's a great book and I hadn't expected anything less by this author.  

“You’re my favorite way to pass the time. But time stands still when you’re on my mind.”

3 Books I want to read in 2017

Before we get into this blogpost, I just wanted to wish everybody a very happy new year! I know, I know, we're already days into the new year we all call 2017! However, I want to wish everybody a good year with health and a lot of love. I hope you all get what you wish for in 2017, including all the books your little bookheart desires! If you read this, I'm also already busy filling in exams on college so I'm sorry if I'm MIA on Instagram, my blog should still be posting a review each Wednesday. Anyway, let's jump into the post!

Since it's a new year, I think it was time to go check my Goodreads' want to read-list and see which books I really want to read in the new year. Of course, I want to read all of them, obviously but I wanted to pick 3 books that I really HAD to read in 2017.

1. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
A book that's been on my reading list for a few months now is this book. The first time I came across it, I was absolutely mesmerized by its cover. Just the darkness in the back and then the girl in an amazing dress. Waw, just waw. The back of the book says the following:


As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

I just want to underscore that this book sounds amazing and thrilling and suspenseful. I mean "a story of deadly games"? YES! Kestrel hiding her growing love? HELL YES! And him having secrets? I can only imagine how this will go...

The reviews I've read about the book are very mixed. Some say they're very stereotype, others say they're relieved they finished the book and others say it's a good concept but are indecisive. However, the book does have a 4.04 stars out of 5 which I find a very good score for a book. Wendy Higgins, author of the Sweet Evil Trilogy says that "If you enjoy forbidden love, twisty plots, well-built fantasy, and gorgeous prose, this is for you. Amazing!" What a coincidence... I love all the things she just summed up. 

I'm really curious to this book and what it'll bring. Hopefully it won't disappoint me, but we shall see!

"Winning what you want may cost you everything you love..."

2. Reboot by Amy Tintera
A book I only found in November but really would love to read in 2017! I saw the book in Dutch in my local bookstore and first, I wasn't attracted to the book but then after a quick rundown of the other shelves, my eyes just went back to the book. And so I had to take it in my hands and read the back:


Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

This is something I've never read before. It doesn't score as good as The Winner's Curse, 3.92 out of 5 stars but I think it's still decent and shouldn't be that bad. Especially after I read the back of the book! I'm really interested and curious to where it'll lead, it really feels like a dystopian read and I'm ready for that!

"The perfect soldier is done taking orders."

3. Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
A book that's been on my TBR-read for years, and I really mean years! It's about time I'm going to read this, ain't I? I don't know why this book always makes me doubt. I remember that the first time I found the book on Goodreads, I was sold and wanted to read it but now I don't know.


For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . 

Also with this book, the opinions are very different from each other. Some are absolutely hyped about it and others aren't at all. I think the thing that makes me doubt is that I don't want to be disappointed? I don't know really but I really want to get it off my list and try it out. If it's not good, then it's not a shame. I tried. The plan is to read this book for Valentine's Day since the theme is love or maybe not. So I'll keep you posted on what I think!

"Are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?"

These were my three books I really want to read in this new year! If you've read any of these books and have any comments on them, please don't hesitate to respond or send me a message! If you've got other books you want to recommend, please do! I'm always looking for new books. 

Top 5 Children's books

Since I'm studying to become a teacher in kindergarten, my book collection has expanded. Not with English books but with Dutch children's books! This post therefore might be more for the Dutchies (and teachers) around here because they might not know these books. I'm saying Dutchies because these books are all in Dutch. However, it might be translated in English too!

Note: the books are not enlisted in hierarchy of how much I like them. These 5 books are equally good in my opinion.

1. Elke Dag een Kabouter (Each day a Dwarf) by Eline Hermans.
This is a book that's really old! It's a book that my mother used when I was little, it might be 18-20 years old already. Still, I think it's an amazing book though!

This book has little stories about dwarfs for each day. And when I mean each day, I mean each day! It's really fun to use, especially when kids are able to see what day it is on a calendar. That way they can go check the date and then find it on their own in the book.

The stories also vary a lot. One time the dwarfs go visit an old man and other times they're busy trying to find a solution for a problem. There are drawings in it too, they're not too detailed either but I don't really mind because I think they do just fine with the story they're drawn for. It's a book that also makes sure that the children use their imagination because there aren't drawings for each thing that happens in that little story.

2. Versjes en liedjes voor de kleintjes (Poetry and songs for the littlest) by Marianne Busser and Ron Schröder.
What I like the most about this book is that it contains songs and poetry for kids. On school we got two syllabus' full of songs but this one is a nice addition to it! I actually bought this book in my library, they were selling lots and lots of books and I was really curious so visited my library.

I only found this book but it wasn't like I regret going. In this job you need to sing a lot and learn songs and with each event you celebrate you need something to sing that also isn't known (that's what my school thinks). This book has many themes like Christmas, Mother's day, Cleaning up, and so on! So I'm really happy to have this book because it covers so many topics that each differ from the other one.

It also has the staves with all the different music notes which is also practical because I'm learning to play instruments. That way I can use that too.

3. De Superreuze Vervelende Olifant (The Slightly Annoying Elephant) by David Walliams and Tony Ross.
Good news for the English people that are reading this, this book is an English one that is translated to Dutch! Also, this book is amazing! It's from my library but I wish it was mine. The second I opened up the book I really laughed.

The things that happen in this book are really unrealistic but they're really, really funny! It sure does make the kids laugh and use their imagination so then its purpose has succeeded. The book is by a boy that signs a contract of adopting an elephant but he didn't know that. So one day there's an elephant at his doorstep and he has to take him in. Of course the elephant is too heavy and big for the house so things break and the boy gets slightly annoyed by it. This of course brings some humor into the story.


I'm also a big fan of the cover and also of the drawings themselves. Another thing I really like is how the words are pictured on the drawings, it's very creative and musical which is a great thing for kids (something my teacher told me). It's also a good book to create an activity with so after the book we can do something related to it.





4. De paraplu (The Umbrella) by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert.
This book is really one of my favorites! This book only contains drawings, there are no words. I really love that because children get the chance to really make their own story with every drawing. So even if you already told the story, they can go back to it and make their own story.

Also the drawings are absolutely amazing! My teacher presented this book in class and I was so glad she did. It was like a recommendation by her.

This book is about a dog that finds an umbrella and then starts flying with it and sees the whole world. A really nice concept and also something that can be used in many themes if you ask me. What I also enjoy a lot in this book is that when it ends, you see another animal looking at the umbrella like the dog did in the beginning. The story therefore could just start again but then with another animal!


5. Taart voor mama (Cake for mom) by Veerle Derave.
My first children's book bought this year! It's like my real first children's book and I feel really proud. I found the book on the Boekencircus at Ghent together with my mom. It's like a book fair but then cheaper. I was a bit disappointed though because I had expected more but hey, I was glad I went anyway.

This is a book that really can be used for Mother's Day, it's also what the book is about. When I have my internship in April/May I can therefore really use the book. The drawings are also very special in my opinion and the story is something many kids can relate to if they have celebrated Mother's Day before.

These were my top 5 children's book for the moment. I just started studying this, it's been a few months now so maybe an update will follow soon! If you have recommendations, don't hesitate to send them to me. I'm really looking for cool books but also books that only have drawings! So anything is possible. Thanks!

Summer read of July: Love & Gelato

I know it's still early to already pick my ultimate summer read of the month (which yes, is a new concept I created for my blog), but I'm pretty sure nothing will be a better summer read! I'm really satisfied with this book and so excited to write a review about it and recommend it to you guys because it really has so much to be a really good book. Above that this is the first book the author published which makes this an absolute masterpiece: Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Lina's mother makes her promise that she has to go to Italy. Lina doesn't know why her mother would want that but promises it anyway because it's her mother's last wish. After the loss of her mother, Lina finishes her school year in Seattle and then moves out to the country she didn't want to go to. There, she is confronted with her mother's memories and above that she finds out why she is in Italy. Her mother wanted her to go to find her father and together with the journal she'll discover much more than only that. Lina meets a new friend, which makes her time in Italy more interesting and together they find out the real truth about what happened in Italy...

This was the book I actually wanted to take with me when I was touring around in Italy but unfortunately the book got postponed and I had to pick another book that was set in Italy: Love, Lucy. The day I went to Italy, Love & Gelato was delivered at my house and I was so disappointed it wasn't there the day before because I realize now that this book... would've been the perfect book for my trip! 

First off, let's discuss the characters! Carolina or as everyone will call her in the book Lina. She's one hell of a girl, and I say that mostly because she's been through a lot. She lost her mother when she's just sixteen and now she had to move to Italy because she promised her mother. Fulfilling her mother's last wish, Lina can't stop plotting her escape! She didn't want to be here because she doesn't know what her mom expects from her.

With this I mean the following: she's living with her father. The father who hasn't been around for sixteen years, so I did understand why she didn't want to hang around. Yet there comes a certain moment in the book where she almost forgets all about it and will stick around longer than she had expected to.

One of her father's coworkers gives Lina a journal, one that her mom has send her a while back. Lina'll have a difficult time with having it around because it constantly reminds her of her mother. What I admired a lot in Lina was the fact that she kept really strong. She didn't want people to baby her or act weird around her and she's in a whole new different environment and then gets a journal in her hands,... This is hard stuff for her and that's why I admired this character the most. She will show her weaknesses and let her guards down every so often which shows you the realistic side of losing someone very close.

But we'll also see Lina grow to become a better version of herself that has conquered it all. One version that will show you things won't always stay bad and it will get better as long as you go for it 100% and try. This book really focuses on the trying because Lina will try to be on her best behavior, try to be her best self, try to become comfortable again and happy but also try and go through with what her mom asked her to do: find her father. Together with the journal of her mother, we see her grow a lot in the book! 

Lina will have to make a lot of decisions and what I liked most about this character was that I could easily project myself in her shoes and understand why she decides this or that. Or why she feels the way she's feeling. This was a major asset to this character and of course to the book!

Another character worth discussing is Howard. Howard is the one Lina will be residing with during her visit in Italy. He's somewhat uncomfortable in the beginning and doesn't really know what to do with a teenager under his roof. What I admired the most in him was that he did try and made the best of it. Another thing that he contributed a lot to the story were parts of history. He's very interested in it and during the book we will see him telling stories that I found very exciting as well as interesting. 

Other than that Howard is a very relaxed guy that has weird hobbies during the night and is very laid back which I certainly appreciated about him. He's a very open person and does his best in life to keep very positive. We'll also find out a little bit more about his past, which was interestingly exciting and sometimes a bit sad but I really enjoyed to get to know him better!

The last character I want to discuss is the first friend Lina makes in Italy: Ren, which is short for Lorenzo. I won't tell you why Lina calls him Ren because I think it was pretty funny to read the reason which is why I want you guys to find it out on your own. Ren is a lot like Howard, he is laid back and always tries to be positive. But he was also a genius, very weird at times and he said what he thought. These are the things I really liked about him because I can easily relate to him and also understand him. Above that, he's always in a very good mood and is really funny! I was very keen on him because he didn't act strange around Lina because her mother died. He payed his respects and then tried to make the best of it by showing Lina around in Florence and give her a good time. Yet he's also there when she needs a friend and will always help her out. He's like the perfect best friend mixed together with his weirdness!  

There will follow a lot more characters that come and go in the story, most of them are friends of her mother and because of the journal we'll get to know them on a more personal level. The thing is, we often never met them but at the same time we did because of what Lina's mother wrote down about them. This was a very nice thing in the book, discovering her friends without meeting them. The journal gives you detailed versions of her friends and that way you get to know them. 

But there are also new friends that Lina has made during her stay in Italy. Each and every character has its own way of expressing him or herself and is very unique. That's what I was fond of: the uniqueness in each character, but also their behavior. The characters will almost always be identified by their characteristics which was also a great asset because it gave away how they acted and how they were.  


Now the plot, if you think this is only about love and gelato, then I already will tell you: it's not. Of course these two will come around in the story: you're in Italy how can there not be love or gelato?! But this story has another side too that's very important to the plot!

As I already said, Lina receives a journal of her mother. This journal will describe the memories her mother had when she was in Italy. As a reader you will discover how her mother was and what she enjoyed the most. The journal will be very important in the book because it makes sure Lina will take a leap in the dark and discover new things. What it felt like for me was the following: her mother is her tour guide in Florence. She's not longer alive but she still lives in her memories. Lina will discover so much about her mother and will visit the most beautiful places in Florence together with her mother because of what she has written. 

I really enjoyed the concept of the journal because her mother describes everything so well, it felt as if I was back in Florence. Florence was my favorite city in the ten days I was in Italy and I was very pleased in reading it and be able to visualize every places there was described. If you haven't been to Italy or Florence for that matter, don't panic! The descriptions will be so clear and so easy to visualize, you will devour the city in no time! Above that, it's also Lina's first visit and she will add more to the descriptions and add her own thoughts which made it all the more spectacular to read. 

The journal will not only bring the most beautiful places of Florence, it will bring much more! The first thing it brought was a close friendship between Lina and Ren. This due to the fact that Lina trusts Ren a lot and will tell him about the journal. He will show her the places in Florence himself which made this friendship absolutely solid, strong and interesting! 

The best thing the journal brought was an adventure, not only discovering Italy through the eyes of her mother but it will also bring her secrets. Lina often asks herself if this was really her mother because she sees such a whole different side of her, so when the mysterious secrets come up she questions herself more. This will become the adventure of a lifetime! I was so into it and I wanted to discover the truth as badly as Lina wanted it herself. That's also why this was such a good book: you were able to really throw yourself into it and enjoy it, this all the while you waited with suspicion on a new lead to the truth. Who wouldn't want to know the truth when the first sentence in the book is "I made the wrong choice"? It gives unexpected twists and turns and will give you so much mystery it's hard not to keep reading on! The mystery will just add so much more dimension to the book! 

Another thing I want to point out is that there are also Italian words and sentences in it which I was so glad about! We're in Italy, some Italian should be in it. The author did really surprise me with adding this because I never thought there would be Italian in it. Of course, I didn't understand all of it but then there was the context and sometimes translations (by the characters) to make clear what was said but overall, many of the words were understandable! 

We'll also be able to read the journal of her mother ourselves because Jenna Evans Welch made sure there were dates and another font which made it clear that you were now reading the journal. Again, I really want to say it was a great asset to the book because it showed you how her mother was but also gave away her memories, descriptions and of course caused much more thrill and suspicion in the book. It also shows sides of Florence I didn't know of such as secret bakeries! 

The last thing I really want to point out are the resemblances between Carolina and her mother. While you're part of Lina's story, you're also part of her mom's memories. After reading the book, I was so content that I started thinking about it really deeply and found out there are so many things alike. Not only their stories show identical aspects (but then in a different time and of course with each its own differences) but it also showed you, as a reader, they were really mother and daughter and that was something I really appreciated!

As for the author, I really want to congratulate you! This was your first book ever but it was, still is, a masterpiece! I never expected to receive a story like this. It made me get lost in the streets of my favorite city but also showed some other cities. It make me fall back in love and made me want Italian gelato but it also made me wait in suspense and gave so many mysterious leads, thrill, secrets and plot twists. Next to that, the friendships that were created were absolutely stunning to witness. I really hope you'll write more books so I can devour those too! You did an absolute great job with this debut book. 

Love & Gelato is an absolute summer read! And if you didn't get the clue yet: Sì, io raccomando questo libro! Let's hope that translation was right... anyway: I do recommend this book. If you want to wander through the streets of Florence and want to fall in love with it, dream of gelato and above that receive a big dose of mysteries created by a journal full of memories? Then this is your read. I promise you this book is absolutely amazing and will give you so many things to adore about it, you can't do anything else but devour it. 

"I made the wrong choice."

TBR of April

New month, new books in my TBR! Last month was my birthday and that means that I've more books to get through. In my last TBR, I said I was only going to 'force' myself to read 3 books, unfortunately I only read 2 books of them. But I will try to read that one this month too! 

The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins
At the beginning of March Wendy Higgins has published a new book: The Great Hunt! Ever since I had found out she was writing this book, I was looking forward to having it myself. The cover release only made you want it a lot more and the plot seems really, really good! 

The lands of Lochlanach is being terrorized by a beast. The king asks for all hunters to come aboard and rescue the lands. The one who kills the beast gets the prize: his daughter. She is not really happy that she'll have to mary a stranger but she knows her duty. Yet her happiness and hope returns with a young good looking hunter, who has mystery around himself. He, on the other hand, is not the type to mary anyone at all. The two start getting more and more along, but that also means that secrets are being revealed... 

This sounds like such a great story. I'm not a fan of stories with "princesses and princes" but this absolutely seems like something with royals but also not with royals. I think the main focus will be on the beast and the story between the girl and the huntsman rather than on the princess' roots. So I'm really looking forward to this book! 

“I must ask you to sacrifice the promise of love for the sake of our kingdom.”

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, also for me it's time to move myself over to a read by Cassandra Clare. My friends just keep telling me how good this story is and how badly I should read it, etc. I guess most of the people know what this story is about since it's a really known series. But for the ones who don't here the synopsis of the book:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...  

To be very honest, I have no idea if I'll like this book as much as my friends do. I might not like it at all, I might have difficulties to get through it OR I might totally love it and get obsessed about it. For me it's still a mystery but I'm looking forward to checking the book out! 

“The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.” 

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
For my birthday I received my first ever CoHo read! To be all fair and honest, I'm already reading in it since last week, so March, but I had to put it to a stop. It's not that I don't like it, in fact I'm liking it! But it's the Easter holidays and I promised myself I'd read Did I Mention I Need You? in this holiday so I didn't need to rush through it. But there's also homework etc so I decided to stop Maybe Someday and concentrate on homework and the book by Estelle Maskame for a while. But I'll be sure to finish the CoHo read this month!

Sydney has it all: a beautiful boyfriend, a great best friend, she goes to college, she has a roof above her head and to be fair: she's really happy. That all changes when she find out that her boyfriend is cheating on her and soon she's also left with nothing else but despair. 
Yet some other day she sees her neighbor again, one that's also very attractive. And he does see things in Sydney too. When everything collided together for Sydney, she now has one light in her dark tunnel: the neighbor. And their friendship is only growing...

“Sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective.” 


My Italian book?

Other than that I had another book in mind for this TBR! April is the month where I'm going on a school trip to Italy. I had found a debut book that was totally located in Italy: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. When I pre-ordered the book it should've been here on the 12th of April... unfortunately it's postponed to the 3th of May. So that's a sad thing because I really wanted to read the book in Italy! Now I have to find another book for my trip and this TBR. Other than that I don't know if I'll have time to read more books since the exams are also coming closer. So these are the books I really would like to read in this month. We'll see how far we get!