Bookreview: Elite

Goodmorning everyone!
It has taken me a while to pick up a book again, but recently I've been reading a lot more than I have in the passed months. I've been so busy that it felt a bit weird to just lay down all day to read, but I've gotten used to it again, haha!

I recently finished reading "The Elite", which is the second book in Kiera Cass' series called "The Selection". You can read my bookreview on the first book in this series by clicking here.

America found herself in a contest called "The Selection". She's competing with a bunch of other girls to win Prince Maxon's heart and become the next Queen. This contest really means a lot, because America grew up rather poor and this contest could change her whole life - and her whole family's life. It could help all of them to escape the conditions that they live in and America is struggling - does she really want this or not? Because if she wins, it'll be for life.

Even though she wasn't really in it to win it at first, she is now amongst the six last girls.  In this book, America still hasn't decided if this is what she wants. Should she trust Maxon? What about her boyfriend at home? What if she wins, and what if she doesn't?
Aside from that, the political situation hasn't been too steady either, which makes everything much more difficult.
America is much more different than all of the other girls and sometimes it is an advantage, but sometimes it's a really big disadvantage...

I enjoyed reading this book a lot! Some of my friends were kind of laughing at me because they thought I was reading a book about princesses - and I must admit that it looks like I am - but if you can read between the lines, it's about so much more!
I'm very excited to see what happens in the next book. I'm for sure rooting for America!

Thanks for reading!
Have you been reading any books that you'd like to recommend? Leave a comment!

"The Selection" by Kiera Cass bookreview ♥

It's been a while since I've done a bookreview. Every year I challenge myself to read as much as I can but last year I had a bad year and I didn't read a lot at all. 

I did collect quite a few new books! This year, I decided I'd start my year with this beautiful book.

The book that I read is called "The Selection", it's a young adult book by Kiera Cass and it's the first part in a trilogy.

This book kind of reminds me of reality tv in which people try to find a lover. The prince in this book has come of age and is now looking for a princess, so all the girls that are the right age are invited to participate in this contest to become his girlfriend.

America Singer is one of those girls. She doesn't want to go, but she needs the money and she promised her parents she would participate. They don't know she already has a boyfriend but a few days before she leaves he breaks up with her, so she decides to just go and make the best of it.

The prince and the public seem to like her from the very first minute and of course that means some of the girls see her as competition and want her out as fast as possible.

I really like the way this book is written, it really sucks me in and that's what I like in a book. It's a bit of a chick flick but I love a chick flick every once in a while!

I would really recommend this book if you're into Young Adults. I am and I love this book! I will for sure read the second and third book!

Thanks for reading!

"Matched" bookreview

It's green and shiny and it's not an eyeshadow...

It's my "Matched" book by Ally Condie! 

I have written a haul on this already and I've mentioned this book a few times already. Today, I'm going to review it! 

In this book, the government matches you to the person you are supposed to marry.

They also decide how many kids you can have, what you eat, when you die...

It's all pretty strict, but the people are happy. That's exactly what the government wants: a society that feels satisfied, healthy and happy.

Cassia is getting Matched and she has her head in the clouds. But a book wouldn't be a book if there 

wasn't some kind of problem that needed to be solved.

Cassia has a huge problem: she gets matched to two people! Basically she just has to figger it out herself and get over some obstacles along the way.

She also discovers that the government isn't as perfect as she first thought!

I did like this book, but I read the "Delirium" series before this, which is very alike - so I felt like I was reading "Delirium" for the second time.

I also wasn't very surprised at the end (I knew which one of the two guys she was going to pick because I thought it was pretty obvious), but I wonder what's going to happen in the second book!

I'll let you know!

Thanks for reading!

Bookreview: "Pandemonium" by Lauren Oliver

Hello everyone!

As you all know, i’ve had a lot of time to catch up on my reading this month. Here I am with another bookreview! This time I will review “Pandemonium”, which is the second book in the “Delirium” series by Lauren Oliver.

 

In the previous book, “Delirium”, Lena was “infected”. She got “delirium amoris”, which basically means she fell in love. The only problem is that it isn't allowed in her society! She crosses the border of Portland with Alex and tries to live a free life. It's a life with little food and constant watching over the shoulders, but it's a life where love is allowed.

You can read my bookreview and my opinion on this last book by clicking this link.

In this second book, Lena loses Alex, the guy she left everything behind for, the guy that "infected" her with love.

Not only does she lose Alex, she also gets kidnapped while on a mission, along with a very important teenager in the Delirium Free society. 

After a while, it turns out that this teenager is not who she thought he would be and they actually grow to like each other.

But then Lena discovers Alex didn't die while trying to cross the border...

I loved this book, it's even more cruel than the first one but it's explained so well that I actually can understand why everything happens.

The details have been thought through and the storyline just keeps getting better. I am falling in love with this book. I hope the next one is just as good!

I'll for sure check out more of Lauren Oliver's work! 

Thanks for reading!

Bookreview: "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver ♥

Hey you guys!
How are you doing? Last night I couldn't sleep due to the heat, so I decided to read a little bit... I read "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver, and finished the book. This book is the first book in the "Delirium" trilogy.

Basically this book is a Young Adult, dystopian book. It's about a society where Love is believed to be an illness. You can even die from it.
So to stop people from getting infected, everyone gets a surgery when they're 18, which stops them from being able to love. All the people live thesame boring lives, day by day, without love for each other. They believe not being able to love is the only way to a happy life.

 

Lena, the main character, can't wait to get her surgery. Her mom and dad were killed because of Love and she is scared of it. So she counts the days until her Surgery.
But then she meets Alex and before she knows it, she falls in love with him - only a couple of weeks before the Surgery. Now Lena has to choose: the Surgery or Alex?

 

I was very surprised by this book. I didn't think I would get into it because I love "Love", but it's actually written very well and I can understand why people would fear Love - it makes you unstable.
A lot of things happened and it never really went how I expected it.
The book actually made me think of our society and what is going on in our lives. I can see something like this happening in the future!
It only took me a couple of days to read this book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel: "Pandemonium".

I would recommend this book to everyone who is into young adult and dystopian books. If you like "The Hunger Games" and the "Divergent" series, you will for sure love this book! 
Check it out! 

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day!
 

Bookreview: Iron Fey series part 2: The Iron Daughter

Hello everyone!
Today I'm going to review "The Iron Daughter", which is the second book in The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I just finished it and my feelings are all over the place.
I loved the first book so much but I've been struggling to finish the second book due to a lot of work for school.

Finally, I finished the book today. Let's just say this book is even more heartbreaking than the first book. I on't see what could possibly happen in the third book at this point, because the end right now was so dramatic, but I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to read.

In this book, Meghan Chase returns to Queen Mab, as a prisoner (because she had a contract with prince Ash). During her stay, the Scepter (which is the source of extreme power - whoever has it becomes more powerful) is being transferred from King Oberon's empire to Queen Mab's empire (they each get it for half a year, that's the deal), but just after the ceremony, it already gets stolen.
Mab thinks Oberon did it and declares the War, but there's much more going on.

Meghan Chase, daughter of Oberon, knows all about it. She was in the room with the Scepter when it got stolen an now wants to find it back.
The only problem is that it's the Iron Fey who stole it. And they just happen to be Meghan's worst enemy!

I never saw this ending coming. It took my breath away and it broke my heart.
Time for more! Haha!

Thanks for reading!

Bookreview: The iron king by Julie Kawaga

Hello everyone! Today I have a new bookreview for you! This last week, I have been obsessed with the Iron King by Julie Kagawa. This is the first book in "The Iron Fey" series. I got all four books at thesame time. They looked quite beautiful and interesting, and the reviews also gave me good hopes.

Now that I've read the first book, I know it's good and I think I will enjoy the other books as well.

First of all.... How beautiful is the cover? Lots of great details, beautiful colours, it just looks so magical and inspiring! I know you should never judge a book by it's cover, but doesn't a beautiful cover help?

"Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart."

Oh my god you guys. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this first book. There are no words. Suprise after surprise you get to know the world Meghan now lives in. The book is easy to read but it's not too childish. It's easy to understand and feel for all the characters as well.
As for the prince with the icy heart... Well, you'll just have to find out how you feel about him on your own!

I absolutely loved this book, I think Julie did a really great job!
Thanks for reading!

Bookreview: Stephen King

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to review one of Stephen King's thrillers.
Since I'm Dutch, the title of the book is in Dutch as well but it's translated to "Dreamcatcher". In this book we follow Sam. The story starts off when he has to do a presentation because another one of his collegues couldn't do it. Sam doesn't know how to do presentations or speeches so he asks his secretary Naomi for advice. She tells him to get some books and get tips from there. So he does.

 

The only problem is that you have to return the books in time, or else the "book police" will come after you and do horrible things! Only, Sam forgets about the books. Next thing he knows, he's lost them!

In his search for the books he meets Dirty Dave, who's responsable for the missing books and the posters of the book police in the scary library. He also meets a whole new side of Naomi. And what's up with the library? Why does it keep on changing? Why does the book police look so familiar to him? Why does he hate licorice but knows exactly what it smells and tastes like? And then there's this girl.... Ardelia!

Sam is in a parellell, terrifying world where nothing is what it seems.

I absolutely loved this book. It was scary, yes, but that's why Stephen King is the thriller King. Luckely it wasn't so scary that I couldn't read it, which has happened with one of his books, it just gave me nightmares! Haha!

I also love how unexpected things happen in this book and how there's played with flashbacks and flashforwards. Really great, loved this story! It takes a true genious to come up with something like this!

Thanks for reading!

Favourite books and recommendations!

I haven't written about books in quite a while! Today I thought it would be fun to show you the books that I've loved and would recommend! I know not all of you are readers and not all of you like books, that's okay! This post is especially for the people who do like to read!
Good. Are you ready for my favourite books?

1. Any Stephen King book
When I read Stephen King books, I have to read them during the day, reading stories this creepy (but let's face it: genious) is not something for when it's dark or for when I'm home alone. But there's one thing we all agree on: Mr. King is really a king when it comes to thrillers.

2. Divergent Trilogy

I haven't enjoyed a series in a really long time (exept for Harry Potter) and this series! This is a trilogy by Veronica Roth, it's a dystopian story. I honestly enjoyed reading these books so much! The third one, "Allegiant", has been released a little while ago. I can't wait to pick it up and read it! I can't even describe how much I enjoyed it.

"Divergent" bookreview

"Insurgent" bookreview

3. J.K. Rowling

Everyone knows how much I love J.K. Rowling. Not just the Harry Potter series, but her newest book "A Casual Vacancy" as well! It couldn't be more different than Harry Potter but this shows that J.K.

Rowling is an amazing author.

 

"A Casual Vacancy" bookreview

 

4. The boy in the striped pyjamas

Nearly everyone knows the boy in the striped pyjamas. If it isn't because of the book, it is because of the movie. What can I say, both the book and the movie were really good. I love books and I love war stories so that made me excited to read the book already. It is written so well and explained so well, and even though the two main characters in the books are kids, I didn't feel like it was written in a childish way. It was so fasciating!

"The boy in the striped pyjamas" bookreview

1. The dog who spoke with gods

One of my first "big" books I read when I was a kid was this one: "The dog who spoke with gods" by Diane Jessup. My mom read it and let me read it. It broke my heart. This book is about a dog in a kennel and a girl who's studying to become a surgeon, like her dad and granddad. The only problem is, she'll have to test on dogs and that scares her. It isn't right. One day she goes to visit the dogs who are captured and being tested on, when she finds this dog that she has a connection with. She breaks about any rule in the book in order to keep the dog alive and to remain friends. I can't explain it, you just have to READ it. It for sure is a big book but don't let that scare you. The story is truely amazing and inspiring - and it also gives a few different views on animal testing.

I honestly cried my eyes out while I was coming towards the end of this book. I have so many positive things to say about it. This is a book that you should read, even if you don't like reading! I would recommend this to anyone and everyone!

That's it! My favourite books! Don't forget to let me know what your favourite books are or if you have different opinions on the books I showed today. I do have many more favourite books so maybe I should make a sequal? Let me know!

Don't forget to check these books out, by the way! Thanks for reading!

Bookreview: The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne

Hello! It's been a while since I've done a bookreview! I now have a bookreview for you on "The boy in the striped pyjamas" by John Boyne. This book is quite known and there's also a movie about it. I had to read it for school and I wanted to give you my opinion on this book.

The book is basically about a German boy who moves to a house near Auswitch, where he meets a little Jew boy. Now, of course the boys don't quite understand what's going on, they don't know they're suppost to hate each other. So they become friends. And friends, as you know, do things for each other. But some things just go wrong... They end tragically. So do things in this book.

 

I saw the movie before I read the book (but it was the film edition). I do have to say that there are only two differences in the whole book, so if you've seen the movie or if you want to watch it, you'll get what it's about. I was very touched both by the movie and the book. I think it's written beautifully and in a way that you can understand the boys' feelings.

This is a very nice book, I loved it. Just sad that it's based on a real story - I hope something like this never will happen again.

Peace will come when power of love is greater than the love of powder.

Thanks for reading and let me know your opinions on the book! 

Have a nice day!

Bookreview: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Happy Monday you guys! I know I'm a bit late with my update today but I got back from school really late. More about that tomorrow in a lifestyle post!

I have been loving dystopian books for a while now. Dystopian? If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain really quickly: a dystopian story is a story in which the government has all the power and controls the people - think of the hunger games, where the people from the districts are used for the Capitol's entertainment.
"Divergent" by Veronica Roth is a book just like that.

After war, people split into factions, each one meant to uphold a particular virtue of humanity: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent).
When you turn 16, there's a ceremony. People who are 16 get to choose if they want to stay in the faction they were born into, OR if they want to switch factions, but if you do this, you'll lose your family because they say "faction before family". It's like a rule, to always love your faction more.

The main character, Beatrice Prior, was born in Abnegation. Before the ceremony they all do a test to see which factions would suit you the best, but Beatrice doesn't get a clear result. She doubting. Should she stay in Abnegation, even though she struggles? Or should she switch factions and leave, disappoint everyone?
Beatrice ends up switching factions and she becomes "Tris". Her older brother Caleb switches factions too, he goes to Erudite (which is unbelievable because Erudite has been insulting Abnegation - where he was born in and where his family still is - for a really long time).

After they have chosen their new faction, they have a couple of weeks of training. They have to prove that they're worthy enough.
What the others don't know is that Tris has some kind of advantage, and what she doesn't know is that everyone would try to kill her if they knew.
And what is going on between her new faction - Dauntless - and her brother's new faction - Erudite?

I absolutely loved the book, I was so sucked into it. I think the author explains everything really well and that way you understand why everything is happening and why people in the book do the things they do. I also really wished some of the characters were real people (for those of you who have read the book: TOBIAS! - spoiler alert!). I really really enjoyed reading this book.

Oh and I just realised that the cover art (the fire) stands for Dauntless. Now, the next book has a tree on it so it's probably the sign of another faction.

Even my cat enjoyed the book!

I have now started reading the sequal called "Insurgent" and I can't wait to see what's going to happen in that book!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you read it too and what your opinion was!

Bookreview: A Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

I've been doing bookreviews for quite a while on this blog and I know not everyone loves to read and that these posts are probably not the most popular ones,
but I did notice that a lot of other book addicts like myself do like these posts. Today I wanted to do a review on the new J.K. Rowling book.
If you don't know who J.K. Rowling is, well, then you have been missing out for the last twenty years. The insanely talented woman wrote the Harry Potter series that broke many many records worldwide. And I can see why. I am very fascinated by the series and by J.K. Rowling. She's my favourite writer so I was actually very happy when I got her new book. This is not another Harry Potter book, it's actually a book for adults.

This book was $26.32 dollar which is €19.95. It took me quite a while to get it and it also took me quite a while to read it. The biggest thing that kept me from reading it was school and work. I thought that I would have a lot more time to read now it's springbreak but I actually spent most of my days at work.

Okay, so now it's time for my opinion on the book. I do have to say that this book is a lot different from the Harry Potter series. A LOT. Do I think she failed or do I think she should stick to series like the Harry Potter series? No!
The book is a lot different but it wasn't a let down for me. It's another story, another side of J.K. Rowling but most importantly it's another book that proves she is talented. Even though it's about politics - J.K. Rowling made it easy to understand. 

"When Barry Fairbrother unexpectedly dies, the Pagford residents are shocked. Pagford seems an idyllic English rural village, a charming market square and an ancient abbey, but behind the beautiful façade go major hidden conflicts; rich against poor, teenagers against their parents, women against their husbands, teachers against their students ... Pagford is not what it seems. The empty chair Barry leaves behind in the city council is the reason for the biggest fight that the village has ever known. Who will triumph in this election full of opportunism, forgery and mind-boggling revelations? " 
As mentioned in the summary of this book it's about the death of Barry Fairbrother, a special man in Pagford who is loved by everyone. Everyone is stunned when he dies - some because they can't believe he's gone, some because they now have a shot at the chair in the city council. It's everyone against everyone and the games are played dirty. A lot of secrets come to the surface and ruin lives. Seriously. Some juicy stuff as well. Poor, rich, young and old - everyone seems to get involved in the huge fight the death of Barry provoked. But there are people out there who actually miss him a lot as well...

I loved the book a lot, there's a lot of different situations in there, a lot of different people. People who have good intentions, people who have bad intentions, people with a lot of dark secrets or a dark past, people who are mentally sick, rapists, drugusers, people who have a reputation but are struggling and fighting to be happy without anyone even noticing. It all mealts together nicely. I could really imagine this being people who live in my city.

I really liked the story, it's so special and I just really wish some of the people from the book existed so that I could be friends with them. I can't wait for J.K. Rowling to write a new adult book!

BOOKREVIEW: "Damaged" by Alex Kava

Hey guys!
Today I have a bookreview for you, it's been quite a while but I finally got around to reading my book! I’m reviewing an Alex Kava book today, it’s called “Damaged”. I have read one of her books before and I liked it so I had really high expectations for this book.
This is how the book looks:

I think the cover looks good but I’m not blown away by it, it does have something to do with the theme of the book.

On the back there’s written; “What’s fear, chaos, death and loss to most people, is morbid chance for others….” Oh, do I have to mention this is a thriller?

The story is set on the Gulf of Mexico. Just before a hurricane is about to strike,  the Coast Guard finds a fish tank full of carefully packed body parts.
FBI Agent Maggie O’Dell investigates the case and discovers that one of the body parts belongs to a man who disappeared during the last hurricane. It is also remarkable that the man lived thousands of miles away. What happened, how did a part of his body end up in there?

The book itself was good but I did not really “wow”. The storyline was nice and beautifully written but I do like surprises, things that happen in a book which really “shock” you. And I didn’t have it in this book. I actually knew immediately who the bad guy was, which wasn’t really nice because I still had a hundred pages to read at that time. I also had many questions at the end, things that had been mentioned before but that weren’t mentioned later on in the book, which is a pity because I’m always thinking about the details and I wanted to know what it turned out to be in the end. Also I think the summery in the back says a little bit too much about the story. You can already guess what’s going to happen.

So it was a good book, but my least favourite one from her so far, just because I knew how it would end long before it ended. 

Bookreview: "Shatter me" by Tahereh Mafi

Hello everyone, today I'm going to write a bookreview on "Shatter me" by Tahereh Mafi. It has taken me quite a while to finish it because I had a lot of other stuff to do.
I bought a whole bunch of new dystopian books because I absolutely love them, but as you all know it's not possible to buy the time to read the books. Like I said, this is a dystopian story (where the government has all the power, where people have no rights, stuff like that).
In this story there's a girl locked up girl with weird powers. Her name is Juliette and when you touch her, or when she touches you, you die.
Nobody knows where it comes from but the people from the government see it as an option to make her a "soldier". After all, she only needs to touch someone long enough and they die right away. Juliette of course, doesn't like that idea and decides to fight.
I loved the book because it's a dystopian story but also because it was all worked out so well! I really enjoyed this book. The one thing that I didn't like at first is that some sentences were constantly repeated or crossed out, but that didn't happen as much later on in the book. As for the cover of the book, well holy moly I think it's beautiful. I love it when I'm reading a book with a wonderful cover because it'll make me grab the book sooner (I know, don't judge a book by its cover but sometimes I do without knowing it!)

I did enjoy this book, I think it's lovely and it's a must-read for people who like dystopian books as much as I do!

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