Recap June '17 | More new books.

Bookclub! I was the only one who finished the book, but most of our conversations are about other things anyway, haha. Daph gave me a birthday present that took ages to arrive and it is this gorgeous Grimm's Fairytales picture book. It looks great in my growing Fairytale book collection. I haven't shot a photo of it yet, but it will follow!

Travel agency. We are busy with the planning of our vacation (we really need to start booking something..), so we went to an agency for travels with the train to get some information. Looks like we might visit Venice after all! I'm so excited and hope to share our booked plans soon.

Shopping. Because what else would you do when you get your vacation money from work? Haha. I'm building a new wardrobe, so every month I buy some new pieces and this time I discovered a new favorite store.

Family. My mom and dad celebrated their birthday together and it was fun to hang out with everyone. My father got a special tablet for photo editing and we treated our mom by going to La Cubanita. On one of the hottest days, Father's day, we went to the park and I had a barbecue over at my grandparent's house.

Music festival. There's always a free music festival, with different stages and lesser-known bands. Unfortunately, it started to rain really hard that day, so we only went there for an hour. We visited our friends and even took a walk in the woods after we had some delicious ice cream (Tony Chocolonely flavour!)

Team building. This year we went with Insights, which is a personality test that shows your percentage for certain colors – and those are assigned to certain personality traits. The test also makes some sort of story about you, with different subjects like 'strong and weak points' and 'the way you interact with others'. Some things were spot on, but I also noticed a few wrong elements that made me sound really harsh and cold. We had some team building elements, followed by a barbecue, so I had a great time.

Harry Potter. Twenty years of Potter magic! Seventeen years ago I discovered this fandom and it has never let me go. I can't believe it and it makes my heart so happy to see Harry Potter is still alive, especially now with the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

Review | Rainbow Rowell – Attachments.

Title: Attachments.
Author: Rainbow Rowell.
Pages: 357.
Publication: Published February 2012 by Orion.

It's 1999 and the internet is still a novelty. At a newspaper office, two colleagues, Beth and Jennifer, e-mail back and forth, discussing their lives in hilarious details, from love troubles to family dramas. And Lincoln, a shy IT guy responsible for monitoring e-mails, spends his hours reading every exchange. At first their e-mails offer a welcome diversion, but the more he reads, the more he finds himself falling for one of them. By the time Lincoln realizes just how head-over-heels he is, it's too late to introduce himself. After a series of close encounters, Lincoln eventually decides he must follow his heart... and find out if there is such a thing as love before first sight.

RATING:

This is one of those books I wasn't planning to read, until it was nominated and picked for our bookclub. I am someone who is pretty open-minded when it comes to reading books outside my comfort zone, so I bought it (I like the cover) and I dived right into it. I must say, I wasn't blown away, but I didn't hate it either.

The main character, Lincoln, is living his life without enjoying it. He is 29, recently moved back into his mother's house and he is doing a job that clearly doesn't excite him. He works at night, spends most of his day eating and sleeping, and the only social interactions he gets are when he plays Dungeon & Dragons with some friends. We see glimpses of his previous relationship and how it all stranded, leaving a mark on him.

Lincoln was a difficult character and at the end I'm still not sure if he grew on me. His work is checking emails and making sure that it is not used for personal use and that there are no inappropriate content/words. When Jennifer/Beth's email exchanges get flagged, he decides to read them and for some reason, he never sends them a warning message. Instead, he keeps reading their conversations and he is completely invested in their lives. I thought it was creepy, especially when he starts to fall for one of them..

I don't know. Maybe I'm just not romantic enough, but falling in love with someone because they write funny isn't something that speaks to me. The fact that we get to know Jennifer/Beth only through their emails also made it hard to feel connected to them, although I was quite fascinated by all the things they went through. Beth is in a relationship and is desperate to marry, Jennifer is happily married and feels the pressure of having a baby, but she believes she is not (perhaps never) ready for it.

I liked Lincoln's development and how he starts to get out of his shell, but the way he pretty much stalks the girl he starts to fall in love with.. I liked to read about his previous relationship, but I did not really care for the romance and that's a shame, because in the end, that's what this story is all about.

"I want someone whose heart is big enough to hold me."

Let it go | Collection of books.

Patrick Ness- Release. 
RATING: 2/5.
Patrick Ness' books always make me feel stupid. It's like I'm not clever enough to truly grasp his intentions, because I can't figure out how the two stories combine. It felt like I was reading two books at the same time and they didn't mesh together in my head.

The first story is about Adam and how he deals with his homosexuality and his family, who are very religious and believe it is something he can be cured of. They try to avoid the topic, but whenever they can they make it clear they aren't willing to accept him. No matter what he does, it is always wrong. The moment his father tells him that is is hard to love him, but that the tries, my heart completely shattered for Adam. The fact that there are people in the world who think like that is just unbelievable to me. Love = love, no matter what, as long as it makes you happy.

Adam's romantic moments with his boyfriend made me melt and it was good to see he was so supported by him. The sex scenes were nicely done. Also his friendship with Angela! That was one amazing girl.

The other story is about a Queen and a Faun. She is possessed with the spirit of a girl that was strangled to death and she is now on the hunt to get justice. The Faun is hopping along to sort of protect her? The story was really poetic, but I struggled with it. I didn't understand what this story had to do with Adam.. and why it was there in the first place. I just don't see what it adds to the overall story.

So yeah. I'm starting to believe Ness' work is just not for me?

Recap May '17 | Being active again.

May was a great month for sure. I became a little more active and it feels good. The awesome sunny weather makes it easier for me to go outside, so I hope to keep it up.


1. I went to a yoga class with friends and it was so relaxing yet intense. I love this way of toning your muscles and getting relaxed, so I need to get over my fear of going alone. First step was taken, now it is time for me to be brave..

2. I had a short vacation with my boyfriend's mother, sister, brother their boyfriend/girlfriend. We stayed at a bungalow house from Friday to Monday and we had some great activities and fantastic weather! The first day we swam in the subtropical pool and I got injured after I bumped my head really hard under water in the wild-water course. Nothing too bad though, but it shocked me and I had a monstrous headache that night.

The next day we had a parcour in the trees, about 6 meters of the ground. It was scary at times, but it felt so good to complete it without falling! After it we went into an Egyptian themed escape room, which we completed with 3 minutes left. Everyone went for another swim in the pool, but I stayed back home with my mother-in-law and finished a book.

The next day we went for a round of paintball. The guns were bad, but it was fun to do and afterwards we did a few adventure golf courses, which was challenging. Board game night!
On Monday we had to leave the bungalow at 10:00, so we went to the pool and stayed there until 14:00. We ate some ice cream, I played pool with my boyfriend (and won of course ;P) and then we went home.

3. I had a sport event with work. Archery tag, Lasergame, Volleybal, Estafette and Bubble football. We didn't win anything, but it was fun to hang out with some colleagues after work.

6. De-coloured my hair! It turned green, but after I washed it with ketchup and more Head & Shoulders it slowly turned back into blonde. I have to say; the purple hair adventure was great and now that I know it will wash out relatively easy, I will return to it!

Review | Erin Summerill – Ever the Hunted.

Title: Ever the Hunted.
Author: Erin Summerill.
Pages: 392.
Published: December 27th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers.
Source: Publisher on Netgalley, thanks!

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer. However, it’s not so simple. The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

Ever the Hunted is a story with potential that let me down, because it didn't manage to be something special. There are many cliches that don't have to be problems, but I couldn't overlook them in this book. The writing itself was good and the reason I decided to finish this book instead of DNF-ing it. It's fast and easy, but the true problem is the plot.

There is nothing wrong with a basic plot; it only starts to form a problem when the author truly keeps it basic. The story fails to deliver something more. The characters are only so-so, the plot is predictable and the pacing is on the slow side. It all felt flat and uninspired to me.

Britta's father, the official Bounty Hunter of the King, has been murdered and her best childhood friend is the suspect. When Britta is caught poaching she has two choices: die or join the hunt for Cohen. If she finds him, she will get her freedom back. On her way Britta discovers clues that make her aware Cohen is around; and eventually they meet and run away together. Cohen vows he didn't kill her father and it is up to them to discover the truth.

Britta and Cohen are both unmemorable characters. In the beginning I imagined her to be a little like Meria from Brave, but that really isn't the case. She is great at tracking and she knows her way with the bow. Her father has taught her many things, but most of the times she seemed clueless. There was nothing special about her and she had a slight damsel in distress syndrome. She faints and cries a lot. While I don't object to anyone displaying these emotions (because no, crying doesn't make you look weak), Britta doesn't seem to be able to pick herself up without having a guy around. She is always second-guessing herself and needs a lot of affirmations from the people around her.

Cohen also lacks traits that make him stand out. He is the typical boy-next-door, so I didn't give a crap about their plain romance. I always like the friends-who-turn-into-lover-trope (although I prefer sarcastic/hate-to-love romance), but not if both characters bore me to death. There was also too much emphasis on their growing feelings.

The ending sort of made up for it, but the overall story wasn't enough to make me want to pick up the sequel.

“Bravery is a choice that is yours to make. Don't let fear steal your will.” 

Audio book Adventures | Discovering Storytel.

I have tried to listen to audio books in the past, but for some reason it never managed to grab my attention. This was before I found out that I can listen, and enjoy, audio books on my way to work. Sitting in the bus with an audio book is the best thing ever! I still can't concentrate on audio books when I do something, but the bus ride is so much more fun now. 

This month I discovered Storytel and since it offers a 14-day free trial, I decided to give it a shot. I can already tell you that I've paid for my first month now. It is basically a Netflix service for audio books. For €9.99 a month you can listen to as many audio books as you want. You don't buy them, so when your cancel your subscription you'll not be able to listen to your previous audio books. I think this is a great deal. Also: I'm not sponsored by Storytel. They don't even know who I am.