Monthly wrap up April 2016

April has been a massive reading month for me. After being stuck in a reading slump for the past three months, I have finally been able to find books that seem interesting enough to me to actually read them! A round of hurrahs for Goodreads reviews! So, without further ado, here are the books that I've read this month!

Am I normal yet? - Holly Bourne

All Evie wants is to be normal. She’s almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as the girl-who-went-crazy. She’s even going to parties and making friends. There’s only one thing left to tick off her list…

But relationships are messy – especially relationships with teenage guys. They can make any girl feel like they’re going mad. And if Evie can’t even tell her new friends Amber and Lottie the truth about herself, how will she cope when she falls in love? (Goodreads)

How hard can love be? - Holly Bourne

Amber, Evie and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Amber’s story of how painful – and exhilarating – love can be, following on from Evie’s story in Am I Normal Yet?

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber's hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there's prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie's advice, there's no escaping the fact: love is hard. (Goodreads)

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. (Goodreads) 

Kindred Spirits - Rainbow Rowell

If you broke Elena's heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she's expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she's not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. Kindred Spirits is an engaging short story by Rainbow Rowell, author of the bestselling Eleanor & Park, Fangirl and Carry On, and is part of a handful of selected short reads specially produced for World Book Day.

The manifesto on how to be interesting - Holly Bourne

Apparently I'm boring. A nobody. But that's all about to change. Because I am starting a project. Here. Now. For myself. And if you want to come along for the ride then you're very welcome.

Bree is a loser, a wannabe author who hides behind words. Most of the time she hates her life, her school, her never-there parents. So she writes.

But when she’s told she needs to start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting is born. Six steps on how to be interesting. Six steps that will see her infiltrate the popular set, fall in love with someone forbidden and make the biggest mistake of her life.

Marked - T.L. McDonald

When 17 year old Hanna Harper agrees to see a local band at The Iron Knife Club with her two best friends, she has no idea her life is about to change forever and that everything she thought was impossible...isn't.

Marked with a mystical symbol by a dying boy, she's thrust into a world she never imagined existed where her eyes are opened to the reality that fallen angels are very real, and very dangerous. And with just one look from their soulless black eyes, they can take everything from you.

And now, because of the symbol and the secret it contains, a secret she must protect at all costs, those black eyes have set their sights on her.

Relentless - Karen Lynch

Sara Grey’s world shattered ten years ago when her father was brutally murdered. Now at seventeen, she is still haunted by memories of that day and driven by the need to understand why it happened. She lives a life full of secrets and her family and friends have no idea of the supernatural world she is immersed in or of Sara’s own very powerful gift.

In her quest for answers about her father’s death, Sara takes risks that expose her and her friends to danger and puts herself into the sights of a sadistic vampire. On the same fateful night she meets Nikolas, a warrior who turns Sara’s world upside down and is determined to protect her even if it’s the last thing she wants.

Sara’s life starts to spin out of control as she is hunted by an obsessed vampire, learns that her friends have secrets of their own and reels from the truth about her own ancestry. Sara has always been fiercely independent but in order to survive now she must open herself to others, to reveal her deepest secrets. And she must learn to trust the one person capable of breaking down the walls around her.

Reasons I fell for the funny fat friend - Becca Ann 

It’s stupid to fall for your brother’s ex. It’s even worse to enlist another’s help to win the ex over. But Brody is desperate and Hayley, his partner in American Sign Language, is more than willing to lend him a few tips.

She’s the school’s matchmaker,’ and with her bizarre and positive personality, Brody finds her easy to talk to, even about the most awkward situations. Hayley’s tips seem to be working, but as Brody learns more about his matchmaker, he starts finding reasons to spend time with her, and not the girl he thought he was in love with.

But Hayley isn’t ready to fall for anyone. Labeled the “Funny Fat Friend” within her group, her self image makes it impossible for Brody to share his feelings without Hayley shrugging it off as a joke.

Convincing her Brody can, and did, fall for the “Funny Fat Friend” turns out to be harder than simply falling in love. 

Eight books in total, pretty good right? I wonder how many pages that is...

Book review: Me before you

About a year ago, I stumbled across a book called "Me before you", written by Jojo Moyes. It wasn't a new book, seeing as it came out in 2012, but with the upcoming movie inspired by the book, I figured now would be a good time to post my review of the book!

Summary
'Me before you' is the story of Lou, a young woman who is in dire need of a new job when she loses the job she has had since she was a teenager. Nobody seems to be hiring, until she gets invited for an interview at the Trainor manor. The job description? Taking care of a disabled man full time. Figuring it would be an old man, she goes on the interview, only to realize that the man she is supposed to be taking care of isn't that much older than herself and kind of an asshole...

Review
Words cannot describe how beautifully written this book is. Not once did I feel like the writer was laying it on too thick, or focused on one part of the story for too long, whether it be the disability or the possible romance blooming between two of the characters. Speaking of characters, there wasn't one person in the book I didn't like (no, wait, actually there was one, but I'm not going to spoil the story for you) for the way they were written. Every person in this book was well-rounded and just plain lovable, even the ones you don't want to love, you will wholeheartedly. From the start there is a clear vision you have for Lou's future and the way the writer has worked that part into the story is stunning. Plus, there is a plot twist that even though you kind of see it coming, still hurts so bad. 
To truly paint the picture of how much I loved this book: I don't cry, not with movies, not with books... Ever! But with this book, I came sooooo close! 
Well, if that's not a stellar recommendation, then I don't know what else to say to get you to read this book!
Rating: *****

For those of you who are curious about the movie version of the book, you can check out the trailer above... 

Bookreview: "Anna dressed in blood" by Kendare Blake

Ik houd wel van een horror-thriller-fantasy verhaal, vooral als het gaat om het bovennatuurlijke. Heerlijk vind ik het om dat soort boeken te lezen! Maar dan moeten ze wel echt goed spannend zijn en dat lukt niet altijd...

Plot
Cas Lowood heeft een hele speciale baan, hij jaagt op de doden. Net als zijn vader deed, voordat hij op gruwelijke wijze vermoord werd. Nu staan Cas en zijn moeder er helemaal alleen voor. Ze reizen het land door op zoek naar mensen die geteisterd worden door een geest. Cas is goed in wat hij doet en heeft nog nooit getwijfeld aan zijn krachten. Tot hij onderzoek gaat doen naar de geest van de jonge Anna Korlov, een meisje dat op brute wijze vermoord is in de jaren vijftig. Nu spookt ze rond in haar oude ouderlijk huis en vermoord iedereen die voet durft te zetten op haar grond. Is Cas sterk genoeg om haar te verslaan?

Oordeel
Zoals ik net al zei, vind ik boeken waar een goede spanningsboog in zit ontzettend leuk om te lezen. En boy oh boy, is dit verhaal spannend! De opbouw naar de grote onthulling is niet alleen nerve-wrecking, maar op een heleboel stukken ook grappig en schattig. De bijpersonen zijn niet nutteloos in het verhaal geschreven, zoals bij veel YA-verhalen het geval is. Iedereen heeft zijn eigen verhaal en speelt een even grote rol. De hoofdpersonen Cas en Anna zijn het soort karakters die je wel leuk en aandoenlijk moet vinden. Ook al is Anna een enorm monster en kan ze in een oogwenk in honderd kleine stukjes scheuren, je ziet ook haar zachte kant, haar menselijke kant. De kant van haar die helemaal niet wil moorden en die vastzit in dit monsterlijke lichaam. Cas is grappig geschreven, niet de standaard "jager", hij heeft behalve zijn kracht ook nog meer om op terug te vallen. Hij is ontzettend beschermend over zijn moeder, hij is trouw ten opzichte van zijn vrienden en is niet bang om zijn mening naar buiten te brengen. Het verhaal zou niet hetzelfde zijn geweest zonder deze ontzettend goed geschreven personages. Wat ik zelf het leukste vond aan het verhaal was dat het zo veelzijdig was. Er zat voodoo in, witte magie, vriendschap, cutesy romantiek, maar ook dood en verderf. Klinkt perfect toch?

Rating: *****

P.S. Een enorme aanrader voor liefhebbers van Supernatural of Ghostwhisperer!
P.P.S Dit boek heeft ook nog een vervolg "Girl of nightmares", waar ik nu aan probeer te komen!