TRAVEL | BOOKS I'M BRINGING TO CRETE

In a couple of days I'm flying to Crete with my boyfriend. We are staying in Koutouloufari for eight days and of course next to sunbathing, swimming, eating+drinking and partying, I will also be reading! I am bringing the next three books with me to Crete!

I decided to bring 'Lola and the Boy Next Door' and 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' to finally finish this companion trilogy. I read 'Anna and the French Kiss' two years ago and ever since been wanting to read the other two novels. Since I bought them in May I've been saving them to read them on holiday. I think they are the perfect summer reads!

I wasn't sure if two books were enough so I decided to add a third novel, a classic. Since watching 'Orphan Black' I've been excited to read 'The Island of Dr Moreau' so I'm bringing this with me as well. It is less than hundred pages, but since I need more time to read classics I thought this was great to bring with me as well.

What are you bringing on holiday?

BOOK REVIEW | THE ROSIE EFFECT BY GRAEME SIMSION

Title: The Rosie Effect
Author: Graeme Simsion
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 432
Rating: 4/5

This review contains spoiler for 'The Rosie Project', book 1 in the Don Tillman duology. 

In 'The Rosie Effect' we follow Rosie and Don, now happily married living in New York. But they have to face new challenges because Rosie is pregnant!

I absolutely adored the first book in this duology and I had really high expectations for this book and although this was great, it did not live up to the expectations.

In this book we follow everything from Don's point of view, and Don is hilarious so that is fun. What I didn't have in the first book and did find in this book was, that Don sometimes said really embarrassing and stupid statements. At one point it was a little bit annoying but that went away quite quickly.

The writing style was exactly the same as in the first book which I had been enjoying a lot. Overall this was an enjoyable read.

BOOK REVIEW | THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER BY LESLYE WALTON

Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author: Leslye Walton
First published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 301
Rating: 4/5

Foolish love appears to be a Roux family birthright. And for Ava Lavender, a girl born with the wings of a bird, it is an ominous thing to inherit. In her quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to join her peers, sixteen-year-old Ava ventures into the wider world. But it is a dangerous world for a naive girl. 

This is, I think the first book of magical realism that I am reading. Or at least, the first book of magical realism of which, I know that it is magical realism. Okay with that being said, I think I really want to discover more from this genre.

This book contains a story of loss and love that spans different generations. When I started the book I didn't know where it was going to go. It was different from what I expected from the synopsis, but it was even better than I expected it.

The characters were so lovely (except for a couple). I especially loved Rowe, such an intelligent, sweet boy. 

The writing style was great, the story itself beautiful and the characters absolutely lovely. I would definitely recommend this!

BOOK REVIEW | VECTOR BY SIMON DE WAAL

Title: Vector
Author: Simon de Waal
First published: 2016
Language: Dutch
Pages: 96
Rating: 4/5

At the end of the Cold War a deadly virus dissapears in a mysterious way. Twenty-five years later, in Amsterdam, a man called Alex, son of a runaway Russian scientist, get's confronted with the dark past of his dementing father. When his brother al of sudden apears in the picture, a well-kept secret surfaces. His father though, doesn't have any memories left of his past. Does he even have a brother? And what is 'his brother' searching for?

This is a Dutch thriller short-story that I got as a gift while buying an other book during 'De week van het spannende boek', the week of Dutch thrillers. When I read the back I was really interested in this story. It sounded very interesting, because it is very short I decided to read this when I was in the mood for something short and easy.

'Vector' was quite a good story. The prologue was exciting, the characters were cool and I really liked the setting of it, both in Russia and Amsterdam. I read some mixed reviews on Goodreads, most people think this book was too rushed, I disagree. I think these people forget that this is a short story that is meant to be short and sweet, and that is just what this is.

It was refreshing to read in Dutch. 

COLLECT | PENGUIN ESSENTIALS

There are a lot of beautiful collections of books going around. Yesterday I stumbled on the Penguin Essentials, and I immediately fell in love with the look of these editions. The covers are very pretty, they have beautiful art on it. Most of the Penguin Essentials are modern classics, which don't always have the most aesthetic pleasing look. But these are beautiful.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Foe by J.M. Coetzee
In The Country of Men by Hisham Matar
Junky by William S. Burroughs 
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Saffran Foer

These are my eight favourites. In total there are 56 Penguin Essentials out right now!