Love-A-Thon 2017 | Questionnaire.

I am proud to present the first post of the 2017 Love-a-Thon! It's been a lot of fun to work together with Alexa, Cee and Kristin to make this another successful event. This is the time to show us your answers to the questions and to hop around other bloggers to show them some love!

An Introduction to You and Your Blog.

1. What’s your name? Where in the world are you blogging from?
   My name is Melanie, but most people call me Mel. I'm from The Netherlands, a really cold country, but it does have its perks.
   
   
2. Tell us your history with reading. Were you always a reader? Were you a reluctant reader? Was there a book that convinced you to become a reader?
   I've always been a reader. Ever since I was little I forced people to read books to me, until I was old enough to 'read' them myself. I also used my doll carriage to walk around with all my books, because I didn't like dolls.
   
   
3. How did you get involved in the online book community?
   I stumbled upon Goodreads and found this whole new world filled with other booklovers!
   
   
4. How did you choose your primary platform (blog, Instagram, YouTube, etc)? How did you come up with your blog name?
   I started to follow readers on Goodreads with similar taste and soon found out they used Blogspot for their blogs. I liked the fact that the interface seemed to easy and that it was free. My name comes from Harry Potter ( 'The Daily Prophet' ) and it was a very random idea that popped up in my head. I still love it. That happened in February 2012, so I've been around for some time now.
   
   
5. What’s your favorite thing about the online book community?
   The fact that I can discuss, rave, fangirl, cry and laugh together with other people who get me.
   
   
6. What sort of posts can readers expect from you?
   A mix of different type of posts. Mostly reviews. Sometimes I post a discussion, something about movies/TV shows and lately I've been really into bulletjournaling. It has been fun to explore this new hobby and to talk about it on my blog. I also talk a lot about fairytales, retellings and Disney whenever I get the chance.
   
   
7. What book genres do you talk about most?
   Fantasy and fairytales, my favorite genres.

Love-A-Thon 2017 | Sweethearts Candy Messages.

- You’ve received a box of Sweethearts candy, and you’re asked to share the candy with a person or couple – fictional or real. Tell us who you’d give these messages to. Link up at The Novel Hermit.

● LOVE WINS: A couple you didn’t think would get together, but against all odds, they did.
This could be a spoiler, but let me just say that I'm really happy with all the ships that (finally) sailed in Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

● I DO: A character you’d marry.
I know that a lot of people dislike him and I still don't get it, because I would marry Chaol from the Throne of Glass series in a heartbeat.

● DREAM BIG: A character whose dreams you want to come true.
Blue from The Raven Cycle (Maggie Stiefvater)

● CRAZY 4 U: A character you’re crazy about.
Lila from A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

● TRUE LOVE: Your ultimate OTP.
Robin LaFevers – Dark Triumph. If you've met Sybella and Beast, you know what I am talking about.

● TE AMO: A language you’d want to be wooed in.
I think Spanish/Italian, such passionate languages.

● BFF: A character you want to be your best friend.
I'm not going with the most obvious character (Hermione), so I'm going with Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest (Juliet Marillier)

● WINK WINK: A character you’d want to wink at you.
I wouldn't object to a nice wink from Hector (The Girl of Fire and Thorns)

● SWEET TALK: A character who knows how to sweet talk/flirt.
There are two characters that pop up in my head immediately.
Sturmhond from the Grisha trilogy (Leigh Bardugo) and Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles (Marissa Meyer). Boy, do they know how to use their words.

● BEST DAY: A moment from a book you wish happened to you or your IRL best day.
Getting that library from Beauty and the Beast, haha.

● OOH LA LA: A character you want to slow dance with.
Duval, because I think he has some great moves (Grave Mercy – Robin LaFevers)

● LOVE YOU: The character that gets your undying love.
Snape. I don't care how everyone feels about him [and Sybella from Dark Triumph] Always have, always will.

Review | By Your Side – Kasie West.

Title: By Your Side.
Author:  Kasie West.
Pages:  352.
Published: January 31st 2017 by HarperTeen
Source: Edelweiss and publisher, thanks!

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her. Only he doesn’t come. No one does. Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

Rating:

I've come to this point where I am sure I will never dislike a book written by Kasie West. This concept is probably my favorite one of her so far. I think every bookworm has a daydream where they are locked up in the library, especially if this happens to be together with a cute boy.

Autumn is on her way to a fun weekend with her friends, especially with her almost-boyfriend Jeff, when she gets stuck in the library. She keeps expecting someone to return and pick her up, but her friends don't seem to realize Autumn is left behind. Then she finds out she is not alone: Dax is there too and he has a good reason to be there. The two have a rocky start, mainly because of their prejudices, but slowly they start to talk and a friendship is formed.

I loved both Autumn and Dax. Autumn suffers from anxiety and has panic attacks - and now she can't take her medication. During the book we see her struggle with these problems and it was something I could identify with to a certain point. Dax has an entire different story that I'll not talk about in details, but believe me when I say he doesn't have the most happy youth while growing up and it has given him a reputation at school. Both Dax and Autumn have prejudices against each other and it was nice to see them overcome this. Autumn and Dax start to open up to each other and it was heart-warming to see them form a special bond.

I think West did a good job at showing Autumn's confusion, because she starts to like Dax while she is almost in a relationship with Jeff. There is no touch of love-triangle at all and this is the type of situation I could see happening in real life. She also struggles with his distant behavior, because can they keep this friendship alive outside the library?

Like always, this is a fluffy book with a deeper touch to it and I flew through the pages. Keep them coming West!

Review | Meagan Spooner – Hunted.

Title: Hunted.
Author:  Meagan Spooner.
Pages:  352.
Published: March 14th 2017 by HarperTeen.
Source: Edelweiss and publisher, thanks!

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Rating:

Oh my! You are probably aware of my undying love for Beauty and the Beast, so I'm happy to say this is a worthy retelling. I LOVED every single moment and I already can't wait to buy a hard copy, so I can re-read it.

Yeva's father loses all his money after a stupid gamble for even more money and power. Yeva and her two sisters have to move into his tiny house in the forest, away from town. Yeva is secretly relieved to live in a more quiet place, but her father's fraying mind is starting to worry her. One day he returns, claiming he has to hunt down a monster and Yeva decides to go after him. Yeva is captured by the Beast, but over time the two grow closer and she is torn apart by her feelings for him and her loyalty towards her family.

Yeva was fabulous and it didn't take me much time to fall in love with her personality and voice. I loved everything about her. She is (physically and mentally) strong, wild and stubborn, but never too rash in her decisions. She is so out of place in town, but I like her attempts to fit in to make her father happy. It was clear from the beginning that she was meant for a different life than what he envisioned, but I admired her loyalty to her family to try it anyway. Her restlessness and need for more is how she ends up in the hands of Beast.

Every once in a while you get to see his point of view at the beginning of a chapter and it is clear he has a troubled mind. I liked the jumpy and chaotic writing, because it truly set him apart from the other characters in the book. His background story was fascinating and I was curious to see what the authors was planning to do with his curse; awesome twist! It felt like a fairytale inside a fairytale - and that background story made him a fascinating character.

The plot and writing moved with a fast, yet steady pace. It was the perfect balance between giving things enough time and moving on, so it wouldn't get too boring. The romance had enough time to blossom and I felt it happened subtle and believable. The writing is smooth, absolutely fairytale worthy and filled with details without getting overwhelming. This book definitely shows instead of tells, which made it easy to get swept away. 

Definitely highly recommended.

Talk Bujo to Me | January '17.

If you are new to bulletjournaling: it is basically a wish list, to-do list and journal – and what I like to do is decorate it with doodles, handlettering, stamps and washi-tape. I have two informative posts about my step into this bujo-world and setting up collections. 
Setting up 2017.

I started with the set-up of my new bulletjournal in December last year and it has been so much fun. The best thing about the bullet system though, is that you can start at any point in the year. I started my dotted Emerald Green Leuchtturm 1917 in June last year and I filled it entirely. I wasn't really sure what to expect and what spreads I wanted to include, so setting up my new one was easier this time. I enjoyed using my Leuchtturm, so I bought a light blue one for 2017. The stickers you see are purchased from Redbubble.

My next informative post will be about all the materials I use, but here is already a little spoiler. I'm building a collection of different pens and I found this set of Staedtler fine liners (0.3 mm) for a good price. I really like to use them for that little pop of color in my spreads and they are also very easy to doodle with.

The first page is my key and the start of my Index. I googled a picture of the Disney castle and drew the silhouette as my key. The Index is the part where you list down all your spreads with page numbers to make it easier when you look for something. I have a few special methods to keep my Index simple and uncluttered that I will share with you next time. I'm currently 'reviewing' a few ways to make navigation easier as well, so be on the look-out for that post.

Another spread I enjoy using is the 2017 calendar. I flip to this yearly overview when I'm setting-up my monthly log and habit tracker (I include the days and dates). And let's be honest, I simply like the look for having a calendar as one of the first pages. The next page are a few of my goals, divided in 'personal' and 'hobbies'. I like to set goals to give myself some guidance what I want to achieve in a year. This can be something as simple as 'make time for my family/boyfriend' or 'be kind and open-minded'.

Recap January '17 | Family and Friends.

This month was not too bad, if you overlook the fact that one part of the world is crashing and burning. Again, it was a time filled with family, friends and good food! You won't hear me complain.

I had two bookclub meetings. The first one was for our Secret Santa and I got some awesome presents. We ate hamburgers and while the service was terrible, the food was delicious. The second one was filled with interesting stories, hehe. Good service and I had some fantastic pasta and a chocolate cake with nougat ice cream.

I had another spring roll day with my family, one of our best traditions if you ask me. I also went shopping with my mother and sister – and we had some Indian take-away afterwards. To top it off, I also went out for dinner with my boyfriend for our monthly date night. For the first time ever I tasted the world of Pilipinas food and I liked it a lot!

I dyed my entire hair purple and it took me some time to get used to all the stares, but I love it so much that I don't care anymore. It's one of those things I wanted to do for such a long time and I'm happy I finally did it.

I also started working-out by going for a run, until I caught a bad cold halfway the month and now I have to get back into that routine. I'm seriously trying out different things to get off my butt, but it's hard to find motivation with this cold weather. I'm thinking about purchasing PIIT from Cassey and combine it with yoga with my favorite channel Yoga by Adriene. Wish me luck for February! I'm setting up a work-out sheet, because crossing off squares might push me to do it more regularly.