MID-YEAR BOOK FREAK OUT | TAG

Hi everyone! 

Since we've surpassed June I thought it's the perfect time to do the book freak out tag. Let's kick it of with some basic facts. When writing this post I have currently read 40 books. The oldest book I read is 'Leaves of Grass' which was published in 1855. 20 books have been written by female authors, 19 books by male authors and 1 book has been written under an anonymous pseudonym. 15 books have been written by an author from The United States. 

Best book you’ve read so far. 

I think the book I enjoyed the best so far is 'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang. I really enjoyed reading this story and especially the fact that the plot turned out to be a lot different than I expected.

Best sequel you've read so far.

Definitely 'Blood of Wonderland' by Colleen Oakes. This book has been on my shelf ever since it's been republished and I don't know why but I postponed picking it up ever since. When I finally did pick it up I absolutely loved it. Most of the times I don't really like the second book in a trilogy because it just feels like an unnecessary bridge between the first and last book but I highly enjoyed this one. 

New release you haven't read yet, but want to.

I am very excited to read 'The Good Immigrant'. I have it on my shelf already and can't wait to pick it up very soon!

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I am super excited for the last book in the 'Queen of Hearts' saga. The last book 'War of the Cards' will be published on 7 November.

Biggest disappointment.

'Makkelijk Leven' a short story by Herman Koch was probably my biggest disappointment. I was very excited to pick up a book by this high praised Dutch author but was quite let down. This book was just nothing special or outstanding. I have another novel of him on my shelf so I'm very curious to see if that book will be my cup of tea.

Biggest surprise.

- 

Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Hands down. I read three books by her so far this year and absolutely loved all of them. I plan to finish her other three books as well this year. With 'Americanah' already waiting on my shelf. 

Newest fictional crush.

I don't have fictional crushes.

Newest favourite character.

I adored the character August in 'The Secret Life of Bees'. I can't explain much about her character without spoiling anything but she is one of the Calendar Sisters and I love her!

Book that made you cry.

'Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet' by Jacques Vriens. This title literary translated is ' 6th graders don't cry' and it's the story of a girl who gets leukemia. Jacques Vriens used to be a teacher before he was an author and this story actually is based on true facts when he was a teacher of the 6th grade and one of this students got leukemia. 

Book that made you happy.

'Het Paradijs' (The Paradise) Suzanne Vermeer. Not necessarily because of it's theme because it is a thriller. But because it is set in Greece, which sets me in this amazing holiday mood. 

Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year. 

I only have seen one book to movie adaptation this year which was 'A Monster Calls' and I really loved it!

Favourite blog post you've written this year. 

Probably the blog post on '100 female writers' because it has made me motivated to write on this blog again.

Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received).

Probably 'Tales of the Peculiar'. I have this in the hardcover edition and it's clothbound and has beautiful gold lettering. It's absolutely gorgeous. 

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I want to finish all the books on my TBR but mostly the underlined ones.

Mannen die vrouwen haten (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) - Stieg Larsson

De vrouw die met vuur speelde (The Girl Who Played with Fire) - Stieg Larsson

Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) - Stieg Larsson

The Trees - Ali Shaw

The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri

De Greppel - Herman Koch

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I Heart Christmas - Lindsey Kelk

The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

The Arabian Nights - Translated by Sir Richard Burton

Madness - Roald Dahl

Cruelty - Roald Dahl

Ten Thousand Skies Above You - Claudia Gray

We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families - Philip Gourevitch

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

The Power - Noami Alderman

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

The Good Immigrant - Nikesh Shukla

The Song Rising - Samantha Shannon

The Righteous Mind - Jonathan Haidt

Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari

Emma - Jane Austen

A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

Fates and Furies - Lauren Groff

BOOK REVIEW | ON THE OTHER SIDE BY CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER

Title: On The Other Side
Author: Carrie Hope Fletcher
Published: 2016
Pages: 345
Rating: 3/5

"Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it's too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow , some way, she may also find her way back to her long lost love... Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won't open." 

I was really curious to read this book because Carrie was the person who got me back in to reading. I used to watch every book video of her multiple times. I was so excited to find out that she had written her own novel.

I really, really like the story and the fact that this is not you average love story. It was super cute and whimsical. I really enjoyed the story, it was nothing special just adorable.

The characters were all very likeable and all characters that I would love to be friends with if I would knew them. If you are looking for a cute contemporary which you can fly through I would highly recommend this read. 

BOOK REVIEW | MEN EXPLAIN THINGS TO ME BY REBECCA SOLNIT

Title: Men Explain Things To Me
Author: Rebecca Solnit
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 130
Rating: 4/5

"In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters."

I found this a very interesting read. Since I listened to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk in the end of 2016 I have been interested in discovering the feminism topic. For me it felt like 'Men Explain Things To Me' was a good book to start with. I felt like it explained the basics of feminism. 

It's a relatively quick read but the emotion that comes with this book, makes it no fast read. Most of the numbers that I now read about for the first time are so shocking, as well as the fact that most numbers get explained with horrific stories. 

I would recommend this book if you are new to the topic of feminism and would like to discover this subject. I think that it won't technically be mind-blowing to ones that have been reading more about feminism. 

2017 READING GOALS

Hi everyone!

A couple of months ago I posted about my midyear reading goals. I talked about some thing I wanted to reach by the end of this year. Unfortunately on most point I didn't succeed as much as I would have liked to. Setting the reading goals dit however inspire me, and really kept me wanting to make progress. That's why I decided that for 2017, I wanted to make some more reading goals. Here they are:

5 RE-READS:

I want to re-read at least 5 books. 

6 HISTORICAL FICTION:

Historical fiction is slowly becoming my favourite genre and I want to discover more of it.

 5 DUTCH FICTION:

I want to read at least 5 Dutch books!

8 TRANSLATED FICTION:

I would really like to read more diverse and I want to read at least 8 translated books.

3 MAGICAL REALISM:

I only ever read one or two books of magical realism, but I really enjoyed those. In 2017 I would really like to discover more of this genre.

3 NON-FICTION:
I also want to start to read a little non-fiction every now and then. At least three in 2017 would be great.

5 POETRY:
I would love, love to read more poetry!

4 CLASSICS:
I would like to read a few classics next year!

12 MY WISHLIST - RANDOMLY SELECTED:

I want to select a book from my wishlist through a random name picker each month. 

12 - MY WISHLIST - IN ORDER (FROM TOP OR BOTTOM):

I also want to pick one book from my wishlist in the correct order each month. Can be chosen from the top or bottom.

This year I had set my goal to read 65 books which I succeeded. In 2017 I would like to bump up this goal by a bit and set it to 70!  Blog-wise I would like to upload at least 4 reviews a month and post more consequent. 

Lastly for myself, I want to make an Excel file and write down some statistics of all the books I read in 2017. For example: where is the author from, where is the book set, is the author male or female, etcetera. 

What are your reading goals for 2017?

2016 CONCLUSION | BOOK DISCUSSION

With just a few days away from 2017 I would like to talk about my 2016 - reading wise.

First of all my mid-year reading goals. The only reading goal I (sur)passed was reading 2 Dutch fictions (I read 3). I only read one translated fiction, one classic and one poetry. I read 3 historical fictions where my goal was to read 5. Although I didn't reach all of these goals I am really happy with the books I did read. Click here for the specific post on my mid-year reading goals.

This year I read - books. I read - pages. The shortest book I read had 37 pages and is called: 'Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth'. The longest book I read had 600 pages and is called: 'Illuminae'. The average length of the books I read was 314. My average rating this year was 3.6 stars. The most popular book (on Goodreads) I read this year was: 'The Lovely Bones'. The least popular book (on Goodreads) I read this year was: 'Indiase Sprookjes'. For my exact Goodreads statistics click here!

I am really happy with this reading year and I cannot wait to read even more next year! Talk to you soon, lots of love!

BOOK REVIEW | A CLOCKWORK ORANGE BY ANTHONY BURGESS

Title: A Clockwork Orange
Author: Anthony Burgess
Published: 1962
Language: English
Pages: 141
Rating: 3/5

""What we were after was lashings of ultraviolence." In this nightmare vision of youth in revolt, fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends set out on a diabolical orgy of robbery, rape, torture and murder. Alex is jailed for his teenage delinquency and the State tries to reform him - but at what cost?"

I was really excited to read this because the title of this book always drawn to me. When I entered it as bookclub choice and it got picked I couldn't wait to pick it up. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy (or understand?) it as much as I had hoped.

We follow Alex in this story, and his friend and the first thing I notice when starting this story is the words that are used. Alex and his friends have their own slang which even after reading almost halve the book, I still didn't understand. I felt like an adult nowadays, trying to understand what their children are talking about but not understanding a crap.

This really, really made the book very unpleasant for me to read. I actually finished the book understanding maybe 60 percent of it. I went and looked for a summary on the internet to fully understand this. From the summary I really liked the story of it, but for me it was not executed the right way so I can't give this more than 3 stars. 

I would recommend this to lovers of classics, who like to puzzle with language. 

Get your copy of 'A Clockwork Orange' here!

BOOK REVIEW | NAAMLOOS BY PEPIJN LANEN

Title: Naamloos
Author: Pepijn Lanen
Published: 2016
Language: Dutch
Pages: 254
Rating: 4/5

In 'Naamloos' we follow a month in the life of a man who can not remember who he is. We read about his confusing time, in a battle against addictions and fear, and a fight against himself. 


Pepijn Lanen is in the Netherlands very famous for his work as artist in the band 'De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig'. When I saw he had a book coming out I was very curious about it. I was excited to see what he had to offer - Dutch literature wise. 

This book surprised me very pleasantly. Pepijn is just as inventive, witty and original in this book as in the songs he writes. The writing style is easy to follow, and the short chapters keep it fast paced, even though the writing sometimes got a little monotone. 

I would really like to see this book gets translated, so that non-Dutch reading countries can see what a Dutch writer like Pepijn has to offer to our modern literature. 

This book is available to listen for free on Spotify (in Dutch). 

BOOK REVIEW | A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU BY CLAUDIA GRAY

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 358
Rating: 4/5

"Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected."

This was a bookclub pick and I was very excited to pick this up. Mostly because the cover was so appealing, and when I read the back I saw it was recommended to 'Orphan Black' fans. I was super enthousiast to start this book. 

In this book we meet a handful of different characters but we deal the most with Marguerite, Paul and Theo. All three of who were awesome characters! The character building was great and I can't wait to see how they evolve in the next two books.

What I loved as well was the world building. We travel through different dimensions within the live of Marguerite and see the different versions of her living in different places/time. This was super awesome to read about and very well executed. 

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of dystopian's with a girly twist to it!

Get your copy of 'A Thousand Pieces of You' here!

BOOK REVIEW | ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE BY ANTHONY DOERR

Title: All The Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 531
Rating: 5/5

"Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge."

I loved this book. All The Light We Cannot See really intrigued me from the moment I had heard of it. I was really curious to read from the perspective of a girl who is blind. Besides that, the fact that the other main character, views the war from a totally different point also got me very interested.

This book was so well written. I love short chapters, which this book definitely had (most chapters were 3 to 5 pages). I loved the characters, not only Marie-Laure and Werner but also the side characters like Jutte and Etienne. 

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's touching, devastating and wonderful.

Buy your copy of All The Light We Cannot See on Book Depository here!

NOVEMBER 2016

November was a good reading month, luckily, since I didn't read anything in October. I was in quite the reading slump for a while but I finally got out of it in November. I am very satisfied with what I have read and I'm really excited to continue this in December. What also excites me is the fact that I can almost set 2017 reading goals and share them with you! 2017 is going to be such a good reading year! But for now; here is what I read in November 2016.

BOOK REVIEW | THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER BY RENEE AHDIEH

Title: The Rose and the Dagger
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5

This review contains spoilers for 'The Wrath and the Dawn', book 1 in 'The Wrath and the Dawn' duology.

"In 'The Rose and the Dagger' we follow the aftermath of what happened to the city Rey and it's ruler who'm are both vulnerable. We follow the multiple characters we first got to meet in 'The Wrath and the Dawn' such as Shazrad, Khalid and Tariq."

It took me two and a halve month to finally finish this book. This was not because I didn't enjoy the book enough, it was all through the lack of time. I do think the fact that it took me so long to read this book, made me enjoy it a little less. I couldn't invest in the story as much as I wanted to, I think that once I will re-read this duology, in a short period of time, I will like it much better.

Anyhow, I did really enjoy this story. I really liked the setting and I liked where Renee brought this story. I loved the characters in this book and the writing style is great. almost poetical. 

Although I really loved it, it didn't live up to the kick-ass start we had in the first book. Therefor I gave this book 4/5. 

Buy your copy on Book Depository here!

BOOK REVIEW | HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD BY J.K. ROWLING, JACK THORNE AND JOHN TIFANNY

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tifanny
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 327
Rating: 4/5

"It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

I went in to this book without any expectations. I didn't want to see this as the eight book in the Harry Potter series, and also not as a book written by J.K. Rowling but a story written by Jack Thorne based on a new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. That's what I did, and I really enjoyed the reading experience. 

It was absolutely amazing, to meet the new characters J.K. Rowling had to offer and although it was quite the cliche, and something that probably a lot of fans could have come up with, the story was great. I really liked the elements that came back and I would love to see the play one day!

I can definitely see and understand why people either love it or hate it, but if you are still in doubt whether to read it or not, I would highly recommend to give it a chance.

BOOK REVIEW | BOY MEETS BOY BY DAVID LEVITHAN

Title: Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Published: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 185
Rating: 3/5


"This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance. When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right."

I wasn't planning to pick this up anytime soon, but when this got chosen as the bookclub pick in one of my bookclubs, I picked it up anyhow. I went into this booking knowing that it contained quite the unrealistic LGBT-utopia, but that didn't matter to me. I just saw this as a light and entertaining read.

And both it was. The LGBT-utopia in this book was as said before, unrealistic. Although it didn't bug me, I can understand why this is a thing that make me people like this book less. For me this was definitely a nice, light read and definitely something I would recommend to pick up, when in a reading slump.

I wasn't to impressed by anything, but overall it was fun to read this. I definitely liked the fact that this is quite a diverse read. 

BOOK REVIEW | DIARY OF AN OXYGEN THIEF BY ANONYMOUS

Title: Diary of an Oxygen Thief
Author: Anonymous
Published: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 151
Rating: 2/5

"Hurt people hurt people. Say Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer's assistant and somehow they met in Bright Lights Big City. He's blinded by love. She by ambition."

I was intrigued to read this when I saw the first page of this book pass by on Twitter. "I like hurting girls. Mentally, not physically. I never hit a girl in my life. Well, once. But that was a mistake. I'll tell you about it later. The thing is. I got off on it. I really enjoyed it." 

I was so curious about this book, and what it had to offer. I wanted to find out what sort of sick person thought this thing, and the reason behind his feelings. But this book was one disappointment. Our main character was super annoying. Ninety-five percent of the time he was pitying himself, the other five procent he was talking about how much he enjoyed hurting women. 

The only reason that this is a 2-star read instead of a 1-star read is because of the way this book was written. It is a fiction, but I felt like I was reading a non-fiction. I find it really impressive that one can make such a horrible character, and make him feel so real. 

BOOK REVIEW | ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 339
Rating: 4/5


"Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. "

Isla and the Happily Ever After is the last in this companion serie consisting of three books, and I definitely liked this one the best. First of all I absolutely adored Isla, I thought she was a lovely and sometimes relatable girl. I also absolutely adored Josh, he was cute and definitely fit in the image of what my imaginary boyfriend would look and act like.

This is in my opinion a typical book for it's genre, and this is not in a negative note at all! It is super cute, fluffy, easy to read and enjoyable!

One thing that did annoy me, is that one point some characters are 'feeling depressed'. I think that this term should have not been used. The way the characters feelings were described, I wouldn't say they were depressed, they were just not feeling to great. I think that when you use a term as depressed you really need to think twice. Are your characters really depressed or are they sad?

Overall I really liked this series, I am definitely planning to re-read them. I think I might pick up Anna and the French Kiss next year, because I read that one already over two years ago.

BOOK REVIEW | MY LADY JANE BY CYNTHIA HAND, BRODI AHSTON AND JODI MEADOWS

Title: My Lady Jane
Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 491
Rating: 4/5


"Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown. Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended. Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified."

The storyline hooked me instantly, it sounded fascinating and I was very intrigued to see how the writers had rewritten history. 

The characters we meet are all so lovely, especially our main characters Gifford, Edward and Jane. You almost instantly like them reading the first chapters about them, and grow on them even more as you continue the book. Most of the other side-figures were also lovely! 

The sarcasm and humor that was used in this book was on point. It was used at the right timing, and it had the right amount of it throughout the whole book.

For me the downside was the ending, where the whole book took it's time to build up, I felt like the ending was rushed. Way to rushed, I think for that reason the ending was a lot less action packed and exciting as it could have been.

AUGUST 2016

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to apologize for my inactivity the last week. August has been a busy month, and although I had a lot of my posts scheduled I failed the last week of August to keep this blog updated. Since school and internship is starting again this week, I will get back into the normal rhythm of life, and will be posting a lot more every week!

Books I read:
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion 4/5
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 4/5
Lola and the Boy Next Door 4/5
Crossed by Ally Condie 4/5
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton 4/5

As you might have seen, my blogposts have lacked of photo's. I don't know what is happening, but my camera won't be on for longer than 6 seconds, even though the battery is in the adapter the whole day. I will soon be going to the store, so they can fix it, but I don't know how soon I can use my camera again. Therefore I want to apologize in advantage when there are no picture in a post (yet), because I will upload them, but sometimes later than the post is actually uploaded. Thanks for your understanding. 

BOOK REVIEW | CROSSED BY ALLY CONDIE

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Published: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 367
Rating: 2/5

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MATCHED, BOOK ONE IN THE MATCHED TRILOGY.

"Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by Society to his certain death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life . . . and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game. On the edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make Cassia's path more twisted than ever."

As mentioned in my review of Matched, I had quite the problems with the writing style in the first book. It was too youthful and boring in my opinion. In this book a lot more things happened and it Cassia was acting way more adult until the romances resurfaced. 

There were also some new characters introduced in 'Crossed' which I really liked, they were all very likable especially Eli. Still the story didn't grab me and I can't say I was attached to either the story or characters.

I do own the final book in this installment which I will be reading and reviewing, but only because I already own it and because I want to finish a series once I start it. Not because I actually would like to know how it ends. 

BOOK REVIEW | LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
First published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5


"Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion... she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – the more sparkly, more wild – the better. And life is pretty close to perfect for Lola, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend. That is, until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket return to the neighbourhood and unearth a past of hurt that Lola thought was long buried. So when talented inventor Cricket steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally face up to a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. Could the boy from Lola's past be the love of her future?"

I read 'Anna and the French Kiss' two years ago and ever since I have been wanting to pick up the other two companion novels but I never did. A couple of months ago I finally bought them and because I knew I was going to go to Crete, I decided to save them for my holiday. I find these books the perfect summer read.

I really liked our main character Lola, she was different and unique and you really get to see this. I also completely fell for Cricket, Lola's neighbour, I thought he was an absolute sweetheart. I was not to keen on Max, Lola's boyfriend. He was annoying, needy and way too jealous. 

I really liked the storyline, it was quite simple, but the things that happen along it's way are great. What I really liked as well is that family bonding also emerges. It was a very important aspect in this book, and is something I always really enjoy reading about.

This book was a lovely read, and I can't wait to complete the companion trilogy by reading 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' soon. 

NEW ON MY WISHLIST | I