BOOKS, DREAMS AND LIFESTYLE TURNED 1 TODAY

Happy first birthday for my blog!

I am so happy to say, that this blog turned one year old today. This is probably one of the most exciting thing that has happened to me over the past year and let me tell you there was competition. But writing this blog makes me so happy and also it makes me so happy to be part of a community and be able to share my thoughts with you. There is a lot coming next year and I am so excited to for you to see it. I hope you're all having a very-merry Christmas with your loved ones and with your families.
And also stay tuned in the next weeks, because I have an exciting surprise coming up for you in order to celebrate the blogs first birthday, amongst other things
Until next time,
Bianka

October Wrap-Up

Hey Everyone, I am here with my October wrap-up and I know it's a little bit late, but I thought I would do this post anyway, because I have read a couple of books during the month of October. There were good ones and there were some, which disappointed me, but that is how it is with books, right?! So without further do, let's jump right into this:

Stay with me by J. Lynn aka Jennifer L. Armentrout:

This is the third book in the Wait for me series and this is a new adult contemporary romance. I loved the first two books in the series, but for some reason this disappointed me a lot. The story wasn't really for me andI also think the main characters were a little bit too basic, but that's just my opinion. Other than these little things, I enjoyed reading this book, it cheered me up and I will definitely pick up the next book in the series. You can find the book on Goodreads here.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: 

I enjoyed reading this book so much. It didn't disappoint me at all, it was exactly what I was expecting it to be. My reason for picking this book was really simple: someone wrote a review on Goodreads, saying it's very similar to the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter (you can find my review for the Gallagher Girls series here or my Embassy Row series review here) and after reading that sentence I immediately ordered it. Okay, maybe I lied a little bit earlier about this book being everything what I expected it to be, because I didn't expect the story to go this way, but other than that it really gave me the feeling of a good Ally Carter book, except it wasn't written by her. You can find it on Goodreads here.

Rose Under Fire by Elisabeth Wein: 

If you have read my blog in the past year you know how much I love a good historical fiction book and I knew Elisabeth Wein wouldn't disappoint me after what she did to me with Code Name Verity (review here). And she didn't. I won't tell you a lot about my opinion on this book, because I want to write a review about this or if it's up by the time you read this I will link it here. Until that here is the link for the book on Goodreads.

Perks of being a Wallflower: 

Years ago when it was very popular and the movie came out I tried to read this book and I couldn't. I just hated it, I didn't understand it. But recently I felt the urge to pick this one up and this book suddenly talked to me. And I think the reason for that is I am just experiencing really growing up, the same as Charlie, the main character in this book does. And yes there will be a review about this one as well, because I just have to write the effects of this book out of myself.

The last month was super-busy and if I am going to be honest I never thought I won't be able to write posts on the blog regularly or take care of my bookstagram and this is something that disappoints me a lot. So one thing I want to change in the next few months is my time management, because now I am definitely not on top of that lately, so this is kind of a problem for me. i hope you are all having an amazing time and thank you so much for reading my belated wrap-up post.
Until next time,
B

5 things that make me happy

Hey Everyone, I hope you're all having an amazing day, I am here with a very personal post today, since I realized how many things changed in my life in the past couple of months, I thought I would share 5 things that make me happy right now. Not all of the things are super big or life changing things, but I thought it's always nice to think about things, that cheer you up or make you happy. And who knows, maybe this post will inspire you to think about the things in your life that make you happy.

1. The people around me.

It sounds strange, but I never felt entirely happy with the people surrounding me. I am one of those people, who needs her environment to be very positive and full with good vibes, because let's say I am very sensitive to the mood and the vibes around me. And now I finally feel like I am surrounded with extremely good people and I cannot help but smile all the time.

2. Being able to experience new things.

This is one of those things I could have done before as well, I just never had the chance to be spontaneous. There was always something scheduled. And now I can go wherever I want to, exactly when I want to. Just this possibility is a new experience for me. And also I am very enjoying to experience my limits, although it's not unicorns and rainbows all the time, but it's very useful. I just realised so many things about myself in the past couple of months and although there is no regret in me for giving those up until now, I cannot imagine not having them in my life right now.

3. Stretching my boundaries.

Most of my life I was more an introvert, especially in my teenage years and honestly as weird as it sounds the world is just opening for me now. I get to go out more and as I said previously I have the possibility to be spontaneous. I start to realise how tight my boundaries were and it feels good to stretch it. And, yes sometimes I just cross a line with that and freak out, but hey, that's another experience too. I am very enjoying to experience my limits, although it's not unicorns and rainbows all the time, it's very useful. I just realised so many things about myself in the past couple of months and although there is no regret in me for giving those up until now, I cannot imagine not having them in my life right now.

4. Write again.

Writing has been such a vital part of my life since I was a kid, it was a way of coping with things in my life for me. And through the previous year it seemed like I have lost my voice. That is part of the reason I started this blog. I thought if I start to write in English for a change, maybe I will be able to write in Hungarian an well. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to (it turns out I like writing poems), but still, I got my voice back. And also I got something entirely different out of blogging as well:I got a bunch of new book-friends and I get to share my opinion about books with a whole community. That's sounds like jackpot for me.

5.Feel good in my body.

Outside of the ice rink I was always shy and quiet and I never wore clothing that caught eyes. Considering the fact that I always had the shortest skirt and the sexiest dress when it came to figure skating dresses, it sounds weird. I think I started to mix the two "personalities"together finally and it is working really well. I am just looking through my closet and seeing all those oversized clothing I wore in the past couple of years I just feel sad. I just feel like I could've shown a lot more of my personality though my clothing instead of hiding in it.

I just cannot tell you how happy I feel, because of these little things in my life and I just cannot tell you how grateful I am for all the above and for you of course, for reading my inner thoughts. I hope I inspired you to think about you're life a little bit and if you feel like it, please share one thing in the comments that make you happy at the moment.

See you later,

Bianka

Your voice is all I hear book review

Hey Everyone, yes, I am finally doing a book review, I feel like I haven't done one in a long time, but today I am going to. I am sorry for my absence from social media in the past couple of weeks, but I could really do a proper schedule, because everything is all over the place right now, so be patient and I will be back on schedule in a couple of weeks.

The book I am going to talk about is Your voice is all I hear by Leah Scheier and this has been on my TBR for the longest time, but I never really picked it up, I don't know why. When I saw, it's going to be published in Hungary, I knew I had to get it. Especially after I saw the cover. It's so beautiful.

The summary:

April won't let Jonah go without a fight. He's her boyfriend-her best friend. She'll do anything to keep him safe. But as Jonah slips into a dark depression, trying to escape the traumatic past that haunts him, April is torn. To protect Jonah, she risks losing everything: family, friends, an opportunity to attend a prestigious music school. How much must she sacrifice? And will her voice be loud enough to drown out the dissenters-and the ones in his head?

My thoughts:

This book is one of those YA books which features mental-illness, but it talks about it with a twist. We see what is happening to Jonah from Aprils point of view. We don't see what is happening in Jonah's head, we see how it affects his surrounding. We see how it makes April feel, how it affects her life and thoughts. And this was where it became interesting. The most appealing thing about how April reacted was how she always tried to explain it and find excuses. I think it's just how it is with mental illness, the people around you just cannot believe anything can be wrong with you. I have read plenty of books with the main character suffering in mental illness, but I have never see the "other side" of the story. It was really eye opening and it really shows that every story has two sides and honestly I think seeing the other side of the coin is bad. In my opinion YA would need a lot more of these kinds of books. April in this book tried to keep things together and honestly her love-story with Jonah was so cute, I don't think I would want to believe there is something wrong if I have a relationship like that. And as title says, Jonah for some reasons listenes to April. He hears her voice among the other voices. I think April managed to be strong during this whole craziness and tried to be there for Jonah, but it just wasn't enough. I don't feel like I can talk about Jonah, because honestly I don't know what was going on in his head and honestly I would really read this book about his point of view. And I don't think this book was necessarily about him or his illness. It was about April and her family and about Jonah's family. And there were problems to talk about on both sides.

All around, I definitely think you should read this book if you want to see the other-side of a common problem. I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't that rough and emotional, which was good. I hope you enjoyed reading my review and leave your thoughts in the comments if you feel like it and I will see you next time. 

I'll meet you there by Heather Demetrios book review

Hello Everyone, 

how are you today? I wanted to write this review since the minute I finished reading this book, but I didn't had the time back in August, so I finally decided to do it. Throughout last week I tried to collect all my thoughts about the story and the characters, so here we are. I'll meet you there by Heather Demetrios is not just a contemporary romance book as I heard it before. Going into it I thought it will be a fluffy, typical, YA romance book, but soon it turned out it, is so much more than that.

What the book is about:

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom―that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she's ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. 

What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise―a quirky motel off California's dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

My thoughts on the book:

Yes, there is  romance in this book, a cute one actually, but for me it was the least significant part of the story. It deals with so many, more important topics. Let's start with Josh, since he was by far one of my favorite characters in this book. His personality is the most interesting. I don't see young "boys" coming back from war in YA often. Or I haven't read a book, which featured a character like this. I think Josh is one of the toughest characters I read in YA. He translated to me as a fighter, as a person who has a goal in life, who found a cause he would die for. Not a lot of people find that goal in their lives. And not a lot of people would continue fighting for it after loosing a leg. Especially not as a 19 year old young person. And I especially found his chapters interesting. I wish there was more from his point of view, but at the same time I liked it was just peek into his mind from time to time.

Skylar is a young person, who wants to get out of her little town. And I have to say I understood her really much. I think at age, almost every person feels like exploring a world. At some point everyone wants to be independent. And that's why Skylar is so relatable to me. 

And my other favorite character was Dylan. While every friend of hers wants to get out, she is perfectly happy where she is. She doesn't have much, but she loves it. It couldn't be easy to watch all of your friends complain about the place you'll probably live for the rest of your life. But she is strong and knows what she wants. I liked that there was friend like this in Skylar's life.

And the Paradise motel... I loved, that it was differently themed in every room. I would totally go there, if it would be an existing place. Also, somehow it seemed like the center of everything to me and I was always toying with the idea of hanging out in a motel or in a hotel all the time (hello, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody), I think I got that from my Dad. We both would move into a hotel or even to airport, because there are so many people from different places and it's so good to talk with all these different people.

Altogether I really enjoyed this book, although I didn't necessary think the romance was needed in order to tell the story of these two characters. It was a cute addition to the story and it just made it enjoyable.

So this was my short review, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have read this book feel free to share your opinion in the comments and I'll see you next week.

Bye,

Bianka

P. S.: From now on I am going to upload my new blogposts on Wednesday, so if you want to keep updated follow me on twitter and on my Instagram or just subscribe to the blog.

August Wrap-Up

Hey Everyone, I am officially back from vacation and also I had bit of "writing-slump" as well, so today I am going to share all the books I have read in the month of August. It's been quite a busy month, but I now I am saying that all the time. This month was I think the best reading month I have had in a long time. I read eight books this month and I could finally catch up on my Goodreads reading challenge. Most of these books I read during my vacation, so the lesson is I should go on vacations more often. But hey, who doesn't?! Without further do, let's see what I read in the month of August and also my favorite memory from this moth.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristof: 

I have already talked about this one in my July wrap-up post, but I wasn't finished with it at the time. After finishing it I think this book is genius. I am not a huge sci-fi fan and I am not a big audiobook fan either, but this book made me like both of these things. I have a review about this one up on the blog, if you want to read it, just click here. 

The Siren by Kiera Cass:
I was a little disappointed by this book, honestly. It was't what I was expecting. And I also had a few problems with it. Altogether I enjoyed reading it, if you want to read my review about it, please click here.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by J. K. Rowling: 
This was my first time reading any Harry Potter books and I have only seen the first movie, so although I had high expectations, I really didn't know what to expect from this book. Everyone knows what this series is about, butI didn't know, whether I am going to love the writing or not. I enjoyed reading it, but I don't think I can form an opinion just after one book.

P. S. I like you by Kasie West:

Kasie West never let's me down. This was a real fluffy contemporary romance and although the characters are still in school in this book, for me it was the perfect summer-read. Especially now, when I don't have to go to high school anymore. I will write a review about this one, so keep an eye out for that.

Flat out love by Jessica Park: 

I don't give a book one star often, but in this case I had to. I didn't like this book and I am so sad, because I had such big expectations for this one and it had such good reviews on Goodreads....I didn't like the writing and the main character Julie annoyed me on a whole new level. But I really liked Celeste in this book, she was so weird and I think there is another series by Jessica Park, where she is a teenager and I think I am going to read that and maybe I will like it a little bit more....

I'll meet you there Heather Demetrios: 

Yes, another contemporary romance on the list. I have been feeling a little bit down lately, so I think the best way to cheer me up, is reading fluffy romance books and it totally works. This book was not what I expected it to be. Yes, there was a romance in it, a cute one actually. But the more captivating thing for me was Jake's character. Seeing a teenage guy back from war, after loosing his leg is not something you see in YA often. I'll also do a review about this book sometime in the near future.

Anna and the french kiss by Stephanie Perkins: 

I don't think I have to talk about this book, because we all know this is my all time favorite book. I brought this with me, because if this wasn't going to cheer me up, then nothing could. And also I couldn't go on vacation without Étienne St. Claire....I know, my obsession with this book is unhealthy.....Don't judge me, please....

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen: Honestly, I liked this book at the beginning, but it became slower and slower towards the end. I don't know if it was because of the translations (I read it in Hungarian) or the original is so slow as well, but this just wasn't for me. I am not planning to do a review about this book, but if you want me to, leave a comment and I will do it.

Highlight of August:

I started university!!!!!! Okay I haven't had any classes yet, but I got to know a lot of people already and they are all so friendly and nice. I have never made friends so easily before. It's definitely not high school anymore. Also, my brother just turned 18 this month, so that was a big highlight of the month as well.

August was a really fun month and also exciting, I pretty much think this was my favorite month of the summer. I am very excited for what's coming in the next months. How was your  summer? Are you ready for back-to-school? Tell me in the comments, because I am really curious.
Until next time,
B

The Siren book review

This week I am here with another book- review and hopefully it will will be more expressive than my previous one. This is a spoiler-free review, so you don't have to worry about being spoiled. As you could already see from the title, the book I am going to talk about today is going to be The Siren by Kiera Cass.

What the book is about:

Love is a risk worth taking. 

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again. Love is a risk worth taking. 

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny…and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

My thoughts:

Since I want to keep this review honest, I had really high hopes for this book, because after The Crown I wasn't really happy and I hoped, this book will make me love Kiera Cass-books again. Don't get me wrong I still love the first three books in the Selection- series, but the last two books weren't my favorites. And I was so disappointed, because this book just didn't live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed it, but it won't make it to my favorites-shelf. The story was really slow in my opinion and at the same time everything happened out of nowhere. The relationship between Kahlen and Akinli was just there after they'd only met like, three times, Kahlen was head-over heels for him and Akinli seemed to feel the same. I just don't like instal-love in books, because some romantic books are already a little unrealistic in my opinion and this makes it more unrealistic. But at the same time I loved them when they were together, they were really cute. I just couldn't see where it's coming from.

Kahlen was a likable character at the beginning, but she became more and more miserable with every single page. I get it, it's not easy to live as a siren serving the Ocean, killing people, but the other sirens could figure out how to cope with it. She had the longest time to get used to it and she couldn't. Miaka and Elisabeth were far more interesting characters and their background-story was also more interesting to me. Or at least what we get to know about their background. But my favorite character was definitely Aisling. She had the most unique story and I think her life as a siren would've been more worthy of telling than Kahlen's, but that's just my opinion.

Last, but not least, let's talk about the Ocean. In this book the Ocean uses sirens to kill people, because she needs them in order to stay alive. I already don't like the ocean and knowing that it can hear my thoughts, when I am in it or it can eat me any time makes it harder to even give it a chance. Although, I gotta say it's an interesting idea to think of the ocean as something alive, but it still scares me.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, it was a good summer read and although I was disappointed, I didn't regret picking it up. In my review I pointed out a lot of things, I have to point it out as well, that this was the first book Kiera Cass has written. And for a first book, it is really good and I know how good the Selection-series was, so I cannot wait to see her next book, hopefully soon. Have you read this book? If you did, what is your opinion about it? Make sure to tell me in the comment section.

Until next time,
Bianka

Illuminae by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff book review

Hello Everyone, in this post we are going to review Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I am going to be honest, I didn't plan on writing a review about this one, but at the end I loved it so much, I just had to.

What the book is about:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. 

My thoughts and review:

I remember the hype around this book, when it came out last year and I wanted to read this book, but as I said in a lot of posts before, overhyped books almost always leave me disappointed. But his book lived up to my already high expectations. This book was genius. I seriously cannot believe how two people can come up with such an interesting format for a book and at the same time make the story so complex. Yes, at the beginning I was afraid that the characters will stay flat and two-dimensional, but this was not the case at all. It surprised me, how the story came  together and how easily I could get to know the characters jut from their messages, e-mails and diaries. Kady was a strong female character and I really liked her sarcasm. I wish we could have seen more from Ezra, somehow I feel I got to know Kady so much better, than him throughout the book. My favorite character was AIDAN, although he wasn't even a real character, since he is a computer. I know that's strange, but it was interesting to see how a computer thinks and how at the end it can mimic human feelings. The drawings of the spaceships really helped to imagine the story and really follow up with the characters. The other thing that made me enjoy this book a lot were the scenes with the captains and leaders.

And I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists, but there were so many and they weren't the ones you could predict. Definitely one of those books, where you won't be bored.

And another thing: This book has an audiobook, that will blow your mind. I am not a big fan of audiobooks, but this one was like a movie without the screen. It made the story so much more enjoyable and a lot more realistic.
If you haven't read this book you definitely should, because it's amazing, plus the sequel Gemina is coming out this October, so you don't have to wait a lot for next installment in the series. Have you read this book? Did you like it?
Until next time,
Bianka

A peek inside my head...

Hey Everyone, how are you doing? Today's post is not going to be a book related one, because I just wanted to do a bit more personal one. I love writing about books, but sometimes I feel like talking about different kind of things, that happen in life. So, today I am going to talk about this year, kind of. As you could read in my wrap-up post (click here to read it) I got accepted to university and although I am really happy, thoughts just come to my head. I am a person, who is not a big fan of big changes. And although sometimes changes are good for you and are inevitable, it's still hard and scary. And this year so far has been the year of big changes. So many things happened in such a sort time and I feel a little bit lost amongst them. Leaving high school was a big change. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of it, it is still a big milestone in your life and it's a big deal. After that you're definitely not a kid. You're an adult. At the time I honestly felt like I don't even know how to be a teenager, let alone an adult. I was always an athlete. And that leads to the other big change: leaving figure skating. And there we are: I am not an athlete anymore. And it doesn't affect my everyday life so much as it affects my identity. It's just weird, because it was such a basic thing in my life, it was like my name or my birth date. Sounds awkward and silly, but think about it: How would you feel like, if you couldn't introduce yourself with your name anymore?! Now, I am laughing at myself for writing such things down. But really, I am still trying to figure out, who I have grown to be besides an athlete. Besides the girl, who loves to write and read books and watch TV-shows. I wasn't a very social-person until this point, but I was always tired, so that explains it. But what if I am a very social person? I am thinking about this so hard, I even questioned my love for my favorite things at one point. I am just trying to get to know this person I am now. Am I an young adult or am I still a teenager? I feel like this summer I finally got to be a real teenager and now I have to be an adult, because that'S everyone says a university student is, right?! Some people have years to be teenagers, I had two months. But at the same time I definitely feel like I am doing great, although I overthink it a little bit and I am doing right know what I want to do. Although it's hard sometimes and I am going to be honest, scary, I wouldn't change anything in my life back to how it was before. Even if I missed out on being a full-on teenager, I never for one second regret it. Because I had the most amazing "childhood" ever. and now it's time to grow up and see how I can use whatever I learned on the ice.
Now I definitely think, that I am overreacting this whole growing up, but this is how I feel. And I am sure I am not alone these feelings or I hope I am not alone... I hope you enjoyed this post and you could relate to it.
See you next time,
Bianka

July Wrap-Up

Yes, it's already the end of another month. It's crazy. This year is going by so fast, I cannot even keep up. So, today I am going to do a wrap-up post and later this week I am going to upload another post, so keep an eye on my twitter or my instagram, because I will notify you whenever it's up. From now on in my wrap-up I am going to tell you about all the books I read in the month, like usually and also I am going to tell you my favorite memory or thing in the month. I think it's a great way, to make these wrap-ups a little bit more exciting and personal.
Books I read in July:
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jody Meadows: I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this one. It was a perfect summer read. I gave it 3.5 stars on Goodreads, because the plot was little bit slow at some points, but overall I think its a very enjoyable read. A review is up on the blog, just click here, if you want to read it.
Én vagy senki by Dorka Mészáros: This was a Hungarian YA book, it's not available in English. If I want to translate the title, it's Me or no one. It was meant to be a thriller, mystery book, but I think it was really flat and unrealistic. It seemed very promising and I don't find hungarian YA books promising often, but this in my opinion was not a good book and I honestly wouldn't recommend it. But it's only my opinion, don't hate me, if you loved it.
Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover: For me Colleen Hoopvers books were always a little bit too dramatic, but in this one I truly fell in love with Colleen Hoovers writing. I think in this book the characters behaved a lot more mature than in other NA romances. It was a very enjoyable read, I am going to be honest, I think its my favorite out of her books. I liked that it had music written to it, like actual music, how cool is that?!
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff : I am technically just reading it, but I am almost done with it, so it counts right?! This book surprised me in so many ways. I am going to admit at the beginning it was a little bit confusing, but later on I started to listen to the audiobook and after that I understood everything. I know I said in my 25 bookish facts about me post, that I cannot listen to audiobooks (you can read the post, if you click here), but this one is pretty much like a movie without the screen. And I love it.
Best moment of the month:
I GOT ACCEPTED TO UNIVERSITY!!!!! I cannot believe I am basically a university student now and I am honestly so proud of myself, because all the hard work is just paying off and that feels amazing.
July has been very relaxing and at the same time a really eventful month and I cannot wait to see what adventures are waiting for me in August. How was your July? Please tell me in the comments, because I am curious as always.
Until next time,
Bianka

My Lady Jane book review

In today's review I am going to talk about a book, which was super hyped-up around the book-community. Because of that I am a little bit nervous about writing this review. I have heard nothing but great things about this book and going into it I was super excited, but I think my expectations were too high. It was a great, enjoyable read, don't get me wrong, but I would have loved it even more if there wasn't any hype around it. I am almost afraid to start these kind of books, because most of the time I don't like them as much as I want too. Tell me in the comments if I am not alone, because I start to think that I am just picky.

So lets jump right into today's book review and the book is My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton.

The synopsis:

The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

I would definitely want to keep this as spoiler free as possible, so I am not going to go into details about the plot. This book seemed to me kind of a historical fiction novel, with a fantasy twist. Usually fantasy books don't really catch my attention, so why did I buy this exactly?! The humor. All of the reviews I read said, this book has a good amount humor in it.  And they were right. Whenever the plot slowed down a little bit (honestly it happened a lot) and you just wanted to put this book down, a joke or a little sarcasm was there and you wanted to continue on, because it just "hit" you out of nowhere and you were curious if there is more. I don't say often that a book is funny, but this one is, without forcing it. And lucky for me, I even liked the fantasy part of the story. People changing into animals is even cool in my opinion.

The main character, Jane is a book lover and because of that I couldn't hate her when she was annoying. I think it was really funny, that whatever situation they got into, she has read a book about it. G was like any teenage boy and yes, sometimes he was annoying too, but I could understand him and that is always a plus point in a book. I think every teenager feels like running away at some point. Edward is the same, but he has to be a king and he doesn't really care about it at the beginning, but at the end I think he becomes stronger and more like a king. Mary and Lord Dudley were the perfect evil characters with obvious intentions, their characters were enjoyable. Gracie was kind of a side kick to Edward along the way and their romance was definitely the cutest thing in this book. Another good thing was the relationship between Jane and G. It wasn't insta love and it wasn't over-thought and all romantic, it just slowly developed between them and it wasn't too much in the way of everything and everyone else in the book. It was settle and simple.

And the best thing was how almost every character in the book has gone trough character-developement throughout the story. This is why this book got the 4th star on goodreads. Love when characters change throughout a book, because it just gives a lot of different aspects of a character and it is what makes them real and relatable, because let's face it: we all change through life.

I think if you haven't read this book and want to read an enjoyable, funny and cool story this summer, definitely pick this book up, you won't regret it. And if you have read it, tell me your opinion in the comments, because as always I am always curious. I hope you have an amazing summer so far,

Bianka

25 Bookish Facts About Me

In today's post I am going to do a tag, this is going to be my first ever tag here on the blog, so I hope you will enjoy reading it and also getting to know me a little bit better. I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I thought it would be fun to do it. So, here it goes:

#1. I am the only bookworm in my family.
#2. When I was little I hated reading. I remember I had to read Call of the Wild By Jack London in 4th grade and it felt like torture.
#3. The first YA book I read was Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. And yes, I only read the 3rd and 4th Twilight book.
#4. I never read Harry Potter, but I am going to.
#5. I actually prefer paperbacks over hardbacks, because they are easier to carry around, plus they are cheaper.
#6. I always have a book with me, wherever I go. I am a Rory Gilmore at heart.
#7. When people read in movies that makes me happy. I don't know why it just does. It is also the same when characters read in a book.
#8. I only like to read physical copies of books. No e-books.
#9. I cannot listen to audiobooks, I just can't. I tried, but for most of the time it is not working out for me.
#10. I do most of my reading on the bus or on the tram.
#11. I sometimes forget to get off the bus at the right nation, because of reading a book.
#12. Before going to sleep I always read for about an hour.
#13. The first book I read in English was Allegiant by Veronica Roth, it was a struggle, because my English wasn't the best at the time, but I did it.
#14. I like to read contemporary in Hungarian.
#15. My least favorite genre is probably fantasy. It's just how it is.
#16. I love conspiracy and spy stories the most. And if they have historical fiction elements, thats even better.
#17. My favorite book of all time is Anna and the french kiss by Stephanie Perkins. It doesn't matter where I am, it always cheers me up.
#18. I never eat or drink anything, while I am reading.
#19. I buy most of my books online. Since there are no english books in Hungarian bookstores.
#20. I never start a new book on the same day I finished the last one. I just like to leave time for the endings to sink in.
#21. After finishing a book, I liked to imagine how the story continues for days. The characters just stay in my head.
#22. I never put a book down if it is bad, because I always want to give it a chance.
#23. My goodreads reading challenge goal for 216 is 70 books. And I am far too behind...
#24. I never let my friends borrow my books (not like a lot of them want to), because of bad memories in the past, in connection with friends destroying my books. I don't want to talk about it....
#25. I obviously have a book buying problem. But let's face it, this is the most obvious fact out of the 25 listed above and by the way we probably all have a book buying problem, right?
If you liked this post, please tell me one bookish fact about you in the comments. I hope you enjoyed reading this post, if you did and you want to stay updated on new posts on the blog, please subscribe on the right.
See you next time,
Bianka

The Fixer- Jennifer Lynn Barnes book review

Today I am here with another book-review and I have to say, for some reason it wasn't an easy one to write. Not because the book itself was bad or I didn't like it, but it was really hard to write about it without spoiling you. I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads, so you can imagine it was good, but in order to make this review as good as it can be without spoiling you, I m going to try a different method and I won't try to explain the plot.
The synopsis: 
Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.
And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.

Sounds good right?! This story was so much more than I expected it to be. It was kind of giving me the same feeling, as the Gallagher Girls series and the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter and also what caught my eyes in one of the reviews I read, it is little bit like Veronica Mars. Do you need any more than that in a book?! The only thing I was missing from this book was a little romance, because there was none. And I am okay with that for now, because this whole book was building up a story, we got to know the characters, but a romance would be adding more to the story. But it is just my opinion. Ivy, Tess's sister was an interesting character all along, although I figured one of the plot-twist before it actually happened, I could understand her and she was a kick-ass female character. Tess was a little bit grumpy for me, but I could understand, why she did what she did. But the most likable characters were Adam and Asher. Both of these characters were an amazing support team for Ivy and Tess and I cannot wait to see them in the next book, hopefully a little bit more. Asher was the funny best friend and was always making the situations funnier. Adam was one of those persons, who you could instantly befriend with in my opinion. Henry was my least favorite, because at some point he was rude and even if he had a reason for that, I didn't like it at all.
The plot in this book was not expectable, although I was afraid it would be. The main "mistery" ws well built up and I cannot wait for what is coming in the next part of the story.
If you have read this book, please tell me what you think about, because as aways, I am very curious.
Until next time,
B

June Wrap Up

Hey Everyone, since June is already over it's time for another wrap-up. I didn't do a May wrap-up, because I only read one book in that month, so I figured it would not make sense to do one. But in June I managed to read three books altogether, which is not too much, but it's enough to write a wrap-up. So, a lot of things happened in June, I have a full post about it, if interested go check it out here . Because of those things it wasn't my best reading month.
The first book I read in June was Salt to the sea by Ruta Sepetys and this book was just amazing. It made me cry, it made me laugh and most importantly made me afraid of ships even more than I already was. I have a full review on this one, so go read it if you are interested, just click here.
The next book I read was Be with me by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I have read Wait for me a couple of months ago and I liked it, so when I saw that the 2nd book in the series is coming out translated to Hungarian, I picked it up. I didn't like this as much as I liked the first one, but it was OK. It was a perfect for reading after my exams, because it'S a really easy and fast read. The story follows Tess and Jase and how they fall for each other, it's pretty basic, but the writing kind of makes it enjoyable. I liked the guy in the first book better, his name was Cam and at the same time I liked Tess in this book more than Avery from the first book. But since Cam and Tess are related to each other, I got where the similarity comes from. So if you're looking for a good romance for the summer, I definitely recommend this one.
And the last book I read in June was The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I am going to do a review about this book for next week, but I just want to say,it  was very impossible to put this book down. This story gave me the same feeling as the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter (click here for review) . The only thing I was missing from this book was a little bit of romance, so I hope there will be some in the next book.
This was my very sad and short wrap-up, but I hope I get to read next moth a lot more. I hope you enjoyed reading and if you have read any of these books, please tell me in the comments what you thought about them.
And one more thing is that yesterday I reached a 100 followers on Instagram and I am super happy about it. I am very thankful if you are following me and react to my pictures in some way and I am very excited about this first little milestone since I started my Instagram and my blog.
Until next time,
B

Life update-Big changes

Saying goodbye is the hardest thing in life in my opinion. And in the past couple of weeks I said goodbye a lot. Not a lot of you know, but I was a competitive figure skater for 16 years. Since I was 3 years old my life was skating. And last week I made my decision to quit. Everyone was surprised and it was very emotional. It was probably the hardest decision of my life or at least I hope so. It hurts a lot and I never thought it will be hard or painful to look at my skates. But it's okay, because no decision in my life has seemed so right before and I could say goodbye the way not a lot of people do. We celebrated this 16 years on the ice instead of being really sad about it. And I know that the people, who I got to meet through skating will always be there for me, because we became a family and me quitting cannot change that. I got so much love during these past couple of days, that I feel overwhelmed all the time.
Another thing, what happened was, I got my certificate about my final exam and I never thought this day would come. Although I haven't been going to school daily since a month, this was the week I finally felt that it's over.  I know I haven't been the most popular and social person in high school, but towards the end I finally felt like I grew up to the task and I was able to participate in almost everything.
Altogether big changes happened in my life recently and I really wanted to share this life-update with you, because I am so grateful for each and everyone of you for reading my blog, because right now it gives me so much strength and energy. And I always need a project to focus on. For now its my blog and summer. By the way I never before had a free summer before, where I could just do what I wanted, so please tell me in the comments the things you like to do and maybe I can get some ideas.
I am sure that these were very big changes, but I am so excited for what is coming.
Until next time,
Bianka

My Top 5 Favorite Series

Hello Everyone, I am here to share my top five favorite book series. It was a really hard decision, but I narrowed my list down to 5 and I am very happy with how it turned out. So keep reading if you are curious. By the way, these are all completed series, because I feel like I cannot decide about a series if it hasn't finished yet.
5. The Selection series by Kiera Cass - I knew that I want to see this series on my top five list although The Crown wasn't my favorite, I absolutely love the first three books.
4. The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella - A series about a woman, who cannot stop shopping and gets into all kinds of funny and sometimes awkward adventures?! Yes, please! This is one of those series, where you will laugh and will be able to relate to a the characters.
3. The Precious Stone trilogy by Kerstin Gier - I just cannot stop re-reading this series, because it is so cool with all the adventures and time-traveling. Plus, I love Gideon, but who doesn't? And plus the first two books were already made into a movie and the third one is coming out in less than two weeks. The only problem with it is that it will be a while until we can see it in English....
2. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter- I recently did a review about this series, if interested go check it out: https://booksdreamsandlifestyle.blogspot.hu/2016/05/gallagher-girls-series-review.html No need too say how much I love this series, not just because it's about a bunch of spies, but because it has mostly strong female characters and it's very rare to see that in books.
1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan - I never thought I will enjoy books, written from a 12 year olds point of view at 19 years old, but I did. Plus, I learned so much about Greek-mythology from these books, so I definitely recommend it.
These were my favorite series at the moment, but it always changes, so I will update this list every once in a while. What are your favorite series, or if you have read any of the series above, did you like them?
Until next time,
B

Me before you movie review

Hey Everyone, today I have a movie review for you, because I just saw the Me before you movie. and also this week I finished all of my exams so it's officially summer for me, so I hope I can read more, because June wan't my best reading-month.
Anyway, I liked the movie, but it wasn't as heart wrenching as the book was. Don't get me wrong, I was still crying, but not as much as I cried reading the book. Sam Claflin was one of my favorite actors since the Hunger Games-movies, so I got excited, when I saw that he is going to play Will. And he was a perfect Will in my opinion. It couldn't be easy to play a character, who can barely move his body, but he managed it. I haven't seen Emilia Clarke act, I have only seen a couple of interviews with her on TV and those interviews were really funny and I thought she kind of has a similar personality like Louisa has, so I was excited to see her act. And I was not disappointed, because she was great for the role of Louisa Clark. I think that in the book the family had a bigger role, but in the movie the focus was on Lou and Will and their relationship, but I would have liked to see a bit more of the family dynamics, which I loved so much in the book.
The scene on the beach wasn't as painful in my opinion in the movie as in the book, but the Switzerland scene was just as heart-wrenching. There were also a couple of changes in the movie, but it wasn't disturbing, it just made the story go on more smoothly.
Altogether I think it was a great movie and if you love these type of movies, just go ahead and watch it, you'll love it. I have a full book review up on the blog, about Me before you by Jojo Moyes, if you're interested: https://booksdreamsandlifestyle.blogspot.hu/2016/04/hi-i-just-finished-this-amazing-book.html
Also I have to mention that the director of this movie Thea Sharrock is going to direct the Selection movie, which is based on a book by Kiera Cass. After watching this movie, I can't wait to see the Selction movie.
What did you think about the movie if you have seen it? Are you excited about the Selection movie?Please share your opinion in the comment, because I am really curious.
Until next time,
B

Salt to the sea by Ruta Sepetys

Okay, I had this fear of ships already, before reading this book, but now I hate them even more. I don't think I will ever be able to go to a cruise ever again in my life. Everyone knows about the Titanic in my opinion, but the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff is just a hundred- times more heart wrenching.
Salt to the sea by Ruta Sepetys made me cry a lot and making me cry over a book is not easy. I expected this book to be more about the shipwreck, but in reality it is really about the people in this book running for their lives into safety, because no one really protects them in the war anymore. It takes place at the end of WWII. Germany is falling, but no one really admits it and the Russians are coming. In the center of the story there are four people, one thinks he is hero and is helping Germany, his name is Alfred. Joana is a nurse from Latvia, but she was allowed to go to Germany, because she had Germans in her family. She is wandering with a small group of people. Emilia, the Polish girl doesn't really know where she is going. Florian is running as well and tries to stay alive. He saves Emilia from a russian soldier and from that point Emilia follows him. And soon they meet the group in which Joana is and it turns out Emilia is eight months pregnant. The group pretty much goes together through the book from that point. Alfred is the one, who is in the harbor and he is preparing the ships for the people.
At firls I was afraid that, it will be disturbing to have the story told from four perspectives, but it tied together very well. The characters in this book were strong and captivating and they all had their own stories. The mutual thing to tie them together was the war and how much they have lost, because of it. They became a family on the road and they were holding on to each other. It's really interesting, that these people wouldn't have met if there wasn't a war. This is the example of, how something good can come out of something so wrong and tragic. Besides the four main characters there were so many other interesting people in this book, the Shoe Poet, who always talks about shoes, a little boy who joins the group one day from the woods, because his grandma didn't woke up.
The part when the ship sank was for me scarier than it was the Titanic movie. And that was on a screen and we saw the water and the ship sinking. But here it is told from peoples perspectives and it is also described, but you see the picture through emotions of people . And that made it so much different and so much more realistic in my opinion.
Lately I have read a lot of YA historical fiction and compared to this one, they were a little bit holding back on the shocking side of the war. This book just made me cry and feel thousands of emotions and it never let me down, because even if I only had time to read one or two pages, something always happened on those two pages.
If you haven't read this book, what are you waiting for?! And if you have read this book, what did you think of it? Please tell me in the comment below.
Until next time,
Bianka

Winter girls by Laurie Halse Anderson book review (World Eating Disorder Action Day post)

I just re-read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, because it just makes me think about so many things every time I read it. And June 2nd was World Eating Disorders Action Day, so I thought why not post this review. This  is a story about two girls, who are having eating disorders. One of them has anorexia and the other has bulimia. This book might be triggering at some points, but it really shows, what it's like to live with an eating disorder. At the same time it is about friendship, family, love and overcoming mental-illness as well as eating disorder. It is about the time, when you are not dead yet, but not alive either.

The story is told from Lia's point of view, she is the girl with anorexia and her best friend Cassie, the girl with bulimia just died in a motel room and Lia wasn't answering the phone, when Cassie called her. So Lia has to deal with the fact that her best friend died, but it is still not a wake-up call for her. It is perfectly clear that she is hungry, but she doesn't want to eat. Eating is something she can control and as she says in the book "empty is good, empty is pure". Everyone around her thinks that she is finally getting better, but in reality she is just really good in pretending. She is seeing Cassie's "ghost" and she wants her to join. Throughout the book we get to read about Lia's and Cassie's friendship and honestly it was a toxic friendship. Cassie started to throw up and then Lia kind of "followed" her into it, except she just started not eating. They promised each other they will be the skinniest girls in school, they kind of started to compete with each other.
I read this book a million times and I read it from two perspectives: the first couple of times I read it, when I couldn't imagine not eating for a day or two and I couldn't imagine, how could I not eat, when I am hungry. Recently I read it and now I fully understand this book and Lia's character. Some of those thing Lia feels, I feel too.  That is what makes this so realistic.
At the end I think this book is mainly about Lia, finally getting a wake-up call and finally being able to stand up. And it really shows that even though she wants to get help, she wasn't ready or wasn't strong enough to get better until this time. And that is what matters at the end.
This story is so captivating, because it shows a world which not a lot of people know, although it would be important to talk about these types of problems. Some people don't go and get help, because they feel ashamed and at the end that may lead to tragedies. If you're fighting with any kind of eating disorder stay strong and know that you're not alone and take one step at a time.
I hope you liked this post and if you have read this book, tell me in the comment if you have liked it or not and please write some book recommendations for my summer TBR, because I have no idea, what to read.
Until next time,
 Bianka

Gallagher Girls series review

Okay, I didn't plan doing this review, but I recently saw that this series is turning 10 years old this year, so I thought why not do it and if you become interested after reading my review you will be able to pick up the new 10th anniversary editions in June. Because although I have read all the books in this series, I for sure going to be buying the new editions, because there are brand new epilogues in the books.

So you probably assume that already, how much I love this series. I started this series when I was fourteen, I wasn't even speaking English at that time, so I read the first two books, because those were the only ones translated to Hungarian. and then at 16 when I was in England I saw the third book in the bookstore and I thought, why not? And it didn't let me down.

This series is taking place in a boarding school, except this is a school for spies. This is an all-girl school and everybody here is preparing to be the next super-spy. And the outside world doesn't know anything about it, they only assume it's just another girl-school for the "elite". It is like your childhood dream coming true, right?  Or at least I was always watching Totally Spies and I would play with my friends spy games, I know it's weird....
Anyway, our main character is Cammie, the "Chameleon", she is the daughter of the headmistress of the school, so she is from a family of spies. Her father disappeared years ago on a mission and they never found him. We get to read the story from her point of view. She has two best friends: Liz and Bex, Liz is the genius and Bex is also from a family of super-spies. And their team is going to be completed by someone, who arrives at the beginning of the first book: Macie McHenrie, daughter of a senator and she doesn't know anything about the Gallagher Academy being a school of spies and she is not very happy to be there at first. And there is the hot new Special Operations teacher Joe Solomon, who also happened to work with Cam's father, before he disappeared. And spoiler, there is also a spy boy involved... We get to follow these character trough many adventures and if you pick these books up you won't regret it. In the first two books the story is just slowly building up, but from the third one the actual big adventure will start. The first two books are fun, but in the ones after there is also a little bit of fun and besides that there is action, danger, romance and international conspiracy theories. And I didn't even realized how much I enjoyed this series from the 3rd book, I only realized how fast I read the books and how often I had to go online and buy the next book in the series. So yes, I love this series a lot. It has everything that spy novels should have, but it has that extra amount of girlyness and humor to it. Plus this book is full of kick-ass strong girls, who most of the time don't need a man to save them.

If you have read the series, comment down below your favorite scene or character, or if you haven't picked it up yet, what are you waiting for?!
Until next time,
Bianka

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein book review

Hey Everyone,
 I am here with another book review, which is going to be very emotional, I assume. I just finished reading Code Name Verity and I absolutely loved it. It moved me and it made me think about so many things. This book takes place in World War II., mainly in France, which is occupied by Germany by that time. I don't know why, but these days historical fiction taking place in WWII or between the two wars is my favorite type of book to read. Growing up I was never a big fan of history, but in the past two years I grew fond of it. I always had the greatest history teachers of all time in my opinion, but it was never my favorite subject. And then we started studying about World Wars and the time after them and between them and it is just very interesting what human kind is capable of doing with each  other. I think it didn't caught my attention before, because it wasn't so close to our lives and our "world". Even my parents and my grandparents can talk about some of the World War II and the fact that they had experienced this is horrifying. And there comes the question: is our world getting better or we are making the same mistakes again?!

The story of this book is told from two point of views, in the first part of the book a British spy girl tells her story, who is held as a prisoner of the nazis and in the second part her best best friend who dropped her off tells her story in the same time. In the center of this story there are two best friends, who share an amazing friendship, which survives everything, even war. The girl, who is held as a prisoner is told to write down everything she remembers, so she does from the beginning, except she tells her best friend's story, which will kind of include hers as well. She is kind of cooperating with the nazis, tells them codes, because she thinks she cannot get out of there anyways. All along she makes us believe she is cooperating with enemy. So after she finishes her story, until the point she got to France, we get to read the story from Maddie's point of view and it gives an entirely different look at everyone in Queen's/Julie's story. In Maddie's story we get to see some of the see the people who are around Julie in the prison and some of them are not really evil or aggressive at all. It shows that in wars no one really has a choice, they are all doing what they can do, because they want to survive somehow. And here is a controversial question in wars: What would we do in a situation like that? Would we save ourselves and do things opposite from our values or would we take the tourchure and the suffering, which comes with "doing the right thing"? It makes it hard to decide at the end of the book, who is good and who is bad.

Maddies and Julies friendship is such an extraordinary one and they are both very powerful persons and leading characters. It is very rare that a book has two strong leading female characters. They come from different backgrounds, but somehow they are equaling each other and they are both ready to do what has to be done. Maddie's decision towards the end showes that sometimes hard choices has to be made in wars and there is no way getting around it and you don't get to be selfish. And they way Julie knew Maddie is around just showed us how strong relationship they have.
Julie as a character was one of the most interesting to me, because I could never figure out, who she really was. Telling her story from Maddie's point of view never really gave us a full picture about her and even her days in the "prison", it turned out she never wrote down all the things that has happened. 

As I said in the beginning it is a book, which will make you think, about a bunch of questions and feel a thousands of feelings. It is great if you are into historical fiction or even f you are just looking for an interesting book. But I am warning you: you will not be able to put it down.
This book also showed a very realistic picture of the life in war and the details about the pilots lives and codes were definitely my favorite parts of the book.

If you have read this book, please share you're thoughts in the comments and I will "see" you soon! Also I am thinking about doing a Get to know me post so if you have any questions please ask them in the comments or on Instagram or Twitter.

Bye

Bianka

The Crown book review

Hey Everyone, I am here with an other review and this one is about my most anticipated book in 2016. This series started when I started high school and it ended this year just when I graduated high school. This series is so near and dear to my heart, because it is not only a great and entertaining series, but good memories are in connection with it.
This series is the Selection series by Kiera Cass. And today I am going to review the last book in the series, The Crown. I am not going to lie: The last two books (The Heir and The Crown) weren't as good as the firs three, but I was very happy to see everyone from the first trilogy again, I didn't even mind Eadlyn being a very annoying character. Because in my opinion she was and although this gave the possibility of her developing as a character in a good direction, she didn't seem to be such a strong character as America is/was. In my opinion, before we go to the spoiler section, if you liked the previous books, go read this it's very short and a fast read, but don't expect too much.

Okay, so this book caught me in a very bad mood, just because I have this decision hanging over my head, a big, life changing decision and somehow I expected this book to get me in some sort of way, because Eadlyn has to do her life-changing decision as well in this book. And it was only making me angry. The end, the actual choice was really rushed in my opinion, and although we got the emotional roller-coaster towards the end like in the One, I didn't feel like it was real and reasonable enough. I know that some people knew from the beginning, who Eadlyn is going to marry, but for me it was very insta-love between them. They have talked a couple of times, they had a little chemistry and suddenly Eadlyn thinks they are soulmates. It' either true love, and they are meant to be or it is another insta-love case. I would have even liked the pair of them if there had been more time to see them actually together. In the announcement scene, where Eadlyn finally did the announcement, Eikko seemed very passive for me and I don't know why I feel that way, because his character could have been one of the most lovable ones in this book, but I feel like I didn't get to see enough of him to form a whole opinion about him. The scene where Eadlyn says goodbye to Kile my heart was definitely broken. And it wasn't because I was shipping Eadlyn and Kile together, but they had a more developed relationship and for me it was more believable. I definitely think this book could have been longer. The good part was to see Eadlyn finally make some development a change of heart, but a little bit more determination concerning her choice, would have been better. America and Maxon weren't present in this book as much as I would have liked it, but less is more and they are still adorable.
I think this wasn't the best closure to the series, but I am grateful for Kiera Cass for making me go back into this world once again for the last time.
Let me know your thoughts about the book and I'll see you soon.
Bye, Bianka

My Favorite retellings

Hello Everyone,
In this post I would like to share my favorite YA retellings, because I feel like they are becoming more and more popular every day. I think they are giving a new aspect to every story, sometimes even for villains or they just place the situation into a more modern surrounding. So here are my 5 favorite retellings:
#5. Beastly by Alex Flinn: This was one of the first retellings I have ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it takes place in a modern world. Basically there is this very popular boy, who is very selfish and he gets cursed, so he turns into an ugly not a beast, but an animal like creature. He has to find someone, who loves him, so he kidnapps Lindy (the nice girl) to live with him, but don't worry her father was a drug addict and he kind of gives her away to him. And you guessed it, they find love. Cute, romantic, plus it's a retelling.
#4. Saving Juliette by Suzanne Selfors: This is not a really a retelling, but it takes place in Verona, where Romeo and Juliette's story does. It's about Mimi, who plays Juliette in her family's theatre and hates the actor who plays Romeo, because he is a selfish rockstar. But one day they end up in Verona and we get to see the iconic love-story through Mimi's eyes. And they even try to influence the story and save the tragical lovers. This book gave me a hole new side to the story.
#3. Dorothy must die by Danielle Paige: A story taking place in Oz, which is now ruled with the evil Dorothy, who is most likely a mean girl and there is this girl, Amy, who is chosen by the Wicked to kill Dorothy. And the evil ones are the good guys in this story. Now that is what I call an interesting story.
#2. The Wrath and The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh: This is a retelling of a Thousand and one nights, but it opens a whole new aspect to the story. A young Caliph, who is known for killing his wife after marring them and a girl who would do anything to revenge her best friend's death. But as usual things don't go as planned an Shahrzad (the main character) and Khalid (the Caliph) start to develop feeling for each other.
#1.: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson: I am going to be honest the first four books were in no particular order, but this one is by far my favorite, so I saved the best for last. This is a moving story taking place in Neverland before Wendy arrived. In this book Neverland can be reached from the normal world by ship, but people never really go there anyway. Lost boys don't fly, it is just a legend. And the reason why they don't grow up is, because at some point everyone on the the island stops growing.This story is told by Tinker Bell, and it tells the story of Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. Tiger Lily is part of the tribe, but she never really feels she fits in. Her father is a shaman of the tribe. When she meets Peter in the woods they start to have this weird friendship and of course they fall in love. But since they are both weird and stubborn their love is very interesting. And then Wendy arrives and everything changes. If you haven't read this one, I totally recommend it.
These are my favorite retellings let me know in the comments, what are your favorite retellings or if you have read any of the books above, let me know your opinion about them.
Bye
Bianka