My reviews on Goodreads?

On Goodreads, when you post reviews, you have more chance of winning the givaways you've entered. Therefor, my reviews will now be posted on Goodreads, as well as here, with this beauty on top :) Yes, I took this picture myself, in Budapest. But it wasn't nearly as good-looking as it is now. There's some special effect-thingy going on that I found on the internet. So what if there's actually no connection between the picture and bookreviews... pffshh. Nobody pays any attention to that anyway (I hope).

Wish me luck on winning a lot of FREE BOOKS hurray!

Review: I love you to death

Title: I love you to death
Author: Natalie Ward
Rating: 7/10
Extra info: starting date: 24/08/2013
                  finishing date: 25/08/2013
                  #pages: 278
To read the blurb, click here.
Review: I was feeling in the mood for a good romance book, because I knew I would love the love-interest of the main character regardless of anything. So I just looked at some books on goodreads, and took a random one, thinking: ah whatever, this seems decent enough. (And I love the emotion shown on the cover) In the end, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would. Mainly because the main character was blaming herself for all 12 deaths that occurred to those surrounding her. I hate it when people think they cause these things, but the reason I didn't hate it this time was that it is kind of suspicious, when 12 people's deaths all have a direct relation to you. I could see how ones mind would deceive itself when everybody you love, dies. I mean really, everybody. Asha's mom, dad, brother & his wife, first best friend, second best friend, first boyfriend, the mother-figure of her life, her therapist, her grandfather and grandmother and lastly, her boyfriend Sam, who always convinced her it wasn't her causing this because, 'he was still there, wasn't he?' Until one day he wasn't. So I get it. I hate it, but I get it. The struggles inside her were real. She was wrapped up in her defense-mechanism and afraid to let other people in. I didn't fall for Luke as much as I wanted to. I definitely felt the longing moments, the happiness and the loss, but I just didn't want him to be real and at my own side, instead of Asha's. I loved the end though. How making your own choices and living your life was the message. And though I hate self-sacrifice, I totally understand and encourage(d) it this time.

Recommendation: for anyone who's going through a grieving period, or just wants to learn about grieving, or experience it through a book. Also, for those who want a little hope, or encouragement to live life to the fullest.

Review: Inside Out

Title: Inside Out
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Rating: 8,5/10
Extra info: Start date: 23/07/2013
                Finish date: 25/07/2013
                #pages: 320
to read the blurb click here.
Review: First of all, I liked the casualness of the blurb. "Until i accidentally started a rebellion", that made me laugh, so I decided to give the book a try because I was up for a dystopian novel and I couldn't find anything that seemed even remotely decent. The book itself was surprisingly good. There were no sudden unrealistic turns, so once you accept the general unlikeliness of the dystopian part of the story, it's actually quite realistic. The end was very satisfying for me, it explained things, without it being too quick, know what I mean? It wasn't a sudden explosion of information that explained every single question ever previously asked in the book, a cramming of the entire story line in one explanation. Instead, it explained their entire world, but didn't give any reason why yet, because there was no possible way for the characters to know. I liked the main character Trella (or Ella, or ... *spoiler*), because she had a killer survival instinct. Even though she had a moment of 'weakness' where she doubted herself, and she allowed herself to feel bad and think about actions she'd done that may or may not have led to other people dying (she felt guilty for that by the way, which showed me that she was human underneath all the defensive survival walls that made her so strong), she kept to her main trait (still talking about the survival-instinct), which I admire. Usually in these kind of books, the main character starts out as a hard-ass survivor, sometimes whining about all they've been through and how tough it made them, and later on showing that they aren't at all tough, sometimes just realistic, but as soon as she meets the main male character (not immediately, because first they need to rant on about how they would've wanted to be with them if it weren't for the horrid living circumstances, but after they get over that) suddenly the main point of their lives switches and they'd do everything to be with them or protect them, which is in contradiction with their first survival instincts. Yeah, Trella didn't do that. She stuck with her principles, which is something very important to me personally. So generally I liked this book and I will definitely read the sequel "Outside In". Let's hope it doesn't ruin everything for me. Fingers crossed!

Recommendation: to anyone who's wanting an Awesome Dystopian novel but is afraid of the whining or self-sacrifice that might await them...

Review: Legacy of lies

Title: Legacy of lies
Author: Elizabeth Chandler
Rating: 6/10
Extra info: Start date: 15/05/2013
                Finish date: 15/05/2013
                #pages: 192
to read the blurb click here.

Review: I chose to read this book for an assignment for English, it seemed decent enough. And it was, it was... just not my type of book. It was all about the mystery and it was a fairly short story too. I don't really have much to say about it. I didn't really like it that much because: it had something to do with history, the people in the book were all acting paranoia because they couldn't trust each other, there was a swift change of minds at the end of the book to wrap it up, which really could've been made earlier, to save everyone trouble, and so on...
I did somewhat like it because: it wasn't badly written or anything, the story line was pretty neat with a twist at the end that no one would've expected.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who loves history, innocent love, family problems, reincarnation, ...

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths

Title: Ten Tiny Breaths
Author: K.A. Tucker
Rating: 8/10
Extra info: Start date: 06/05/2013
              Finish date: 09/05/2013
              #pages: 262
To read the blurb click here.

Review: What did I think of this book? I liked it, I really did, but I also didn't. I generally liked the book because it is realistic to a certain extent (meaning it could happen in real life, but only to few). It dealt with emotions very well. Tragedy has happened to the main character and she lives in a constant state of denial. This book is the story of normal people who turn crazy and help each other become sane again. I really liked the ending, in which she was able to forgive. I could totally understand her when she was certain she could never ever forgive the three college boys that had accidentally killed her parents, boyfriend and best friend, yet as she came to see it was an accident and such, I could also easily imagine her forgiving them, which is not an easy thing to do. But I also didn't like the book because it was a little bit depressing and you get very tired from living in denial, and so I was getting tired myself. Also, when a friend asked me what book I was reading at the moment, I didn't like it when I explained the plot. About a girl who has no luck at all and acts tough and the cliché happens, she meets a guy (!! no girl, incidentally) who makes her feel alive and they fall in love. When it's good it's great and when it's bad, you get totally shocked by the plot twist ... but that's what makes it equally realistic and unrealistic. I love the fact that there was a shrink helping her in the end. I liked the shrink (I want to become a psychologist later on, so this makes sense, naturally) and I loved that she went to college to become one too, to help people with post traumatic stress disorder, people like her former self. I'd have liked it even more if the guy she fell in love with, who eventually helped her heal - but there were major issues going on - was out of her life forever. I mean, I know they were obviously meant for each other, but it'd have been nice if there was at least one book in which the main characters help each other out in their lifes and then move on. So the main character (I-figure) can look back at her life and think it was a turning point which helped her along and healed her in many aspects, but nothing more. I guess it'd comfort me that there are no expectations that when you meet the one and it doesn't work out, you absolutely have to MAKE it work or else you are simply not able to live. A sort of independence I guess. But that's all besides the point. The point is I liked and disliked this book, but even though I disliked it, I still liked it more than the other books I've been reading in the past year or so.

Recommendation: Read when... read when you feel like life is hell and it can't get any worse, or when something bad has happened and you feel like you're never going to get over it, or when you think you can never forgive someone who's done something bad to you.

Review: Fallen crest high

Title: Fallen crest high
Author: Tijan
Rating: ?
Extra info: startdate: 08/04/2013
                finishdate: 09/04/2013
                #pages: 452
*adult contents*
To read the synopsys click here.

Review:
Whew, that was one scary book. It pulled me in, rattled me, shook me, but I don't know if that's a good thing. I can't grasp the fact that people can live with such a view of the world.
I've always known that I'm a pessimist but I found comfort in the fact that there is always one step below me on the pessimist-scale. So that's in which world the characters of this book live.
They are numb, they respect no one. Before I started this book, I'd already read some of the reviews on Goodreads. Some loved it to pieces, some were confused and were asking what this book was actually about in the end, others found the characters angry and bitter. When I first started this book, I had hope. The main character was different than others, but I was already shocked by her numbness, she simply did not care. About anything. At all. I thought 'wow, nice, there's going to be something that shakes her out of it, and that something is going to rock'. No such thing though. She was numb, I think it's part of her personality. What I also couldn't grasp was the lack of ethics this girl possessed. When the totally twisted kade brothers harassed her mother, adam, the 'elite' clique, and many more, she just stood there. And she found it normal. They mouthed off to everyone, they respected no one, and she was obviously used for sex by one of her soon-to-be stepbrothers. No feeling anywhere, nothing sweet, reassuring, no sentiments. All of the characters seemed afraid to feel. I'm going to be feeling this one for a couple of days, as I always do when I brush with the numb-ones.

Recommendation: I honestly do not recommend this book to anyone, unless you're really sure you can handle it. Also, if you wish to investigate the world of numbness, be my guest. Just not when you want a relaxing book to read after a long day or something like that.

Review: Vain

Title: Vain
Author: Amelie Fisher
Rating: 8,5/10
Extra info: startdate: 05/04/2013
            finishdate:06/04/2013
            #pages: 355
to read the synopsis click here.

Review: It is going to take me a while to come down from this book, I can already tell. I noticed I've been dropping a lot of books lately, because most of them honestly just couldn't keep my interest. That being said, it is already something I did not put this book down. The cover is not immedeatly one of my favorites, but I liked the synopsis. A lot. Why? Because this is a book where one can finally see things through the bad guy (or in this case, girl)'s eyes. I personally hate antagonizing*, and this book showed a little peak into the heads of those cliché characters, however briefly. I loved the story because it was about a change, it didn't shy away from real world problems or death, it didn't follow the usual seemingly prescribed storyline all YA's (young adult books, for those who don't know) have now. there is a lot to love about this book and it will captivate you for sure, even if you just want to forget about your problems and be swept away. You might not think it would, considering there are orphans with missing limbs in this book, and the setting is no less than a poor country/village in Africa, but this book will most definetly restore your faith in humanity. There was one thing that bothered me though, and that was near the end. Or actually, it was the end, for it was really just a last minute wrap up of the story.
*spoiler*
When Sophie went back home to get to court, she didn't tell Ian why, instead there we went again with the self-sacrificing -uuughh- she let him believe it was her who betrayed him, when really, she could've just explained the situation and everything would've been just freakin fine! But they did get the happy ending because Ian's mom suddenly explained everything to Ian, just out of the blue, no reason. Da eff? that's a bad ending if I ever see one.
Despite that, I really liked this book and would recommend it

Recommendation: to anyone who has to restore their faith in humanity, is jelly of upperclass people, hates upperclass people, wants to save the world or just poor people or just Africans, wants a sweet lovestory or likes helping in orphanages (who? what? No, if you're one of those, I expect you to get enough satisfaction in actually doing just that, instead of reading about it, jeesh)

Review: Fated

Title: Fated
Author: Alyson Noel
Rating: 6/10
Extra info: Startdate:23/02/2013
            Finishdate: 27/02/2013
            #pages: 352
To read the synopsis click here.

Review:    First of all, let me just say: That Cover! I was totally drawn in by the cover, and the blurb seemed okay too, so I decided to check it out. However, in the first (or second) chapter, I had already found things that were bugging me. For example, the main character, Daire, is obviously not used to attaching to things. This could be normal, given she travels the world and doesn't really have a home, but the way the author tried to portray that was irritating. She kept saying nothing could touch her, and oh no- can't do that henna, it might be permanent. And Daire doesn't do permanence.
Fortunately for me, the annoyance stayed low. There were only minor things I would've commented negatively on. Choices I would've made differently, conversations that were really weak...
In fact, the main character and the boy of her dreams (literally) didn't actually have a real conversation, ever. It's always superficial, yet still they act like they've known the other for forever. I did like that there weren't any tacky eternal love confessions. I hate those.
For the remainder there was only one last thing bothering me. Daire tried to escape the town she was sent to, but she was hit by a car. On this point, the writer decided to leave out a random amount of time, two weeks, to when you're dropped into the story again. Normally I wouldn't mind this, but I really wanted to read the part she left out. 'Cause when she's back, she suddenly knows a lot more, has this snob attitude towards the world...

Two weeks ago I never would’ve obliged
her.
Two weeks ago I fled from her, convinced
she was far more enemy than ally.
But a lot’s happened since then.
I’m starting to accept that I’m living in a
world most people couldn’t even begin to
imagine.That old saying—ignorance is bliss—
finallymakes sense.The ignorant are definitely the lucky oneshere.
Though unfortunately for me, I’m no
longer part of that group. I’ve split from their
ranks.
Now that I’ve seen what I’ve seen, know
what I know, I can no longer turn my back
on the truth, no matter how much I’d like to.

You'd think she'd explain on the road what she found out, what she knows that we don't, but she doesn't. Not really. Besides, I like the whole 'find-out' part where characters learn to deal with a new vision on the world. Bummer for me.
Alyson Noel does make up for these minor negative things with a mediocre to good storyline. She made a whole new world, thought of a lot of details, and the general storyline was, as I said, okay.

(I have had bad expirience with Alyson noel before, I didn't really like it,  but this book was more neutral. Still don't like her though)

Recommendation: read when you've had enough deep-reads for a little while, but you don't want any extreme-superficial light novels either... or when you're just in the mood for a paranormal adventure-ish book.

Review: Heart on a chain

Title: Heart on a chain
Author:  Cindy d Bennet
Rating: 7/10
Extra info:     startdate: 08/11/'12
                      enddate:  09/11/'12
                     #pages:    322

 To read the synopsis click here.
 
Review: heart on a chain is a good book. There was a good amount of characterdevelopement (: Kate has a dificult situation at home. And at school. Her father hits her mother, who on her turn hits kate. Her father is an alcoholoc, her mother a drugaddict. On the bad days, kate get's hit for breathing the wrong way. On the good days, she just cleans the entire house and makes dinner for her mother and father (I don't dare say parents), but she doesn't get to eat anything herself. At school, they have labelled her since middleschool. Everybody makes her trip, pushes her foodplate in her face or on her clothes, calls her names.
I  find that she is very strong and endurable. She does not complain. She has found what enrages her mother and tries to do the opposite, she doesn't call attention to herself at school. She is not a whiney person, she just lives with it. I do think it is too bad for her she doesn't get any help. It has been implanted in my brain that if I were in this situation, I was to immedeately alert at least my teacher. I think Kate is afraid her mother will find out (even though they don't have a phone.), but I know, as soon as somebody knows, they'll protect you and you're safe. Anyway, So then comes Henry, who I really like as a person. And there is relationship development. I like that.

However, there is selfsacrificing going on in this book, which was a huge turn-off.
And Kate is a little blind. Yet in the end, everything turns out fine.
Talking about the end,  --> that escalated quickly.

She suddently realises they should be together, and bam klabam, they are, and they lived happily ever after.
?
recommendation: read when you're feeling down and need hope, or when you're in the mood to critisize others, or to feel self-petty.

Review: Breathe

Title:             Breathe
Author:         Abbi Glines 
Rating:         5/10 
Extra info:   start date :08/11/'12                           end date :09/11/'12
                    pages: 166
To read the synopsis click here.



 Review: This book surprised me. The main character, sadie white, has an irresponsible mother (who is, by the way, very pregnant). Because of this, Sadie has to do all the chores. Maybe it is because I recently read heart on a chain, but I thought Sadie was being whiney. "Why can't I just have a normal life, and a normal mother?" but actually, all she has to do is work. Her mother isn't even mean to her. She does sometimes tease her, and Sadie takes this as being mean, but really, even I could laugh at it. (Because I don't think the intentions of the mother were bad)
What surprised me here though, is the fact that she doesn't whine the entire book, but actually does something, a.k.a work. She is a hard worker, which I admire. But after the initial surprise came the actual book. It is a lot like the twilight saga, but not too much. First, everything great, then self-sacrifice, then a friend helps her, eventually when she was in lifedanger, he realizes how much he needs her and in the end... wait, you already know what's in the end? How?
I have mixed feelings for the writingstyle. Sometimes it was so romantic I was biting my lip, and clenching my hands and shit. Yet sometimes, here comes self-sacrificing. With which I mean it was over the top, or downright tacky.
        What drew me in to read this book is it's cover. Very pretty. (:
But there are two thing that made me really dislike this book.
1. when they first met, nothing special happened, yet she is still already in love with him. So not much relationship developement there
BUT:  She only really falls for him when he is supernice to a little kid and made her day and all the shizz... so that kindof makes up for it.
2. when he leaves to do some selfsacrificing, she gets depressed and irritatingly dependant. While it is okay to be a little dependant, I always hated people who let their intire happiness depend on one person. (I can't breathe without him, nothing matters, I don't care if I die - just a little example to let you know what I mean)
BUT: She snaps out of it when her new sibling is born (and while I do spoil everything there is to this book, I somehow don't want you to know weither it's a boy or a girl) because her mother gets post-delivery depression and doesn't take care of the baby and so Sadie has to.
Let's admire her hard working skills again, this is what she needed to do everyday in the end:
- stay up all night to take care of the baby , because it sleeps during the day
- work for a lawyerassistent (paperwork)
- stay awake during school
- homework
- questions at school ...
And while this may not seem very much (only 5 -'s) she has no time to sleep.
So, quick recap: I didn't like this book very much but because of the lip-biting, hand-clenching, heart-throbbing moments, I decided to give it a 5.
Recommendation: Read when you're in a 'love at first sight' and 'let's selfsacrifice' mood .

Feather ~ DROPPED

Title:              Feather
Author:           abra ebner
Rating:            0/10
Extra info:       startdate:  24/10/'12
                       enddate: 27/10/'12 (= dropdate)
                       # pages: 352
To read the synopsis click here.

 Review: 
I began to sob uncontrollably. "Edgar," I struggled to form words through the well of tears, "I don't want this to happen, it's my fault, I'm so sorry."
He ripped me away from him gruffly and looked me in the eyes, his fury burning deep into my core, "Estella, this is not your fault, don't think that." His brows were pushed together and deep creases cut into his smooth skin, "Don't start blaming yourself, you've had enough sorrow."
I looked at him angrily, "And so have you, and it is all because of me!"
He grabbed my face, his hands like steel against my cheekbones. "Stop that," he snapped and I shook with despair.
He pulled me into him and I leaned against his stone chest, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
This was my fault and I refused to be told otherwise. I should have never come here. I should have killed myself as I'd thought to do a thousand times. ~ blah blah blah ~ in my selfish desire to feel something.

I decided to quote the part where I dropped this book, feather by Abra Ebner, to explain why I dropped this book. Usually, I'm really picky about which books I read, so I don't end up dropping books often. This however, did the trick for me. I must admit, I was a little biased. In a review on goodreads i've read : holly - UPDATE: After some research on Abra Ebners website i've lost respect for her as well as her book. She has dedicated parts of her website to openly bashing Stephanie Meyer, her novels, and her creative process. From where I sit Stephanie is not the one who should be ashamed here. Just a thought. 
I don't like it when people stab the person instead of the act. 
EXAMPLE:  A cuts herself with a knife, B says: "you are so stupid"
what B should have said: "wow, that was stupid / not very smart"
So when I read this I was already thinking negatively of the author, but I said to myself: let's see what it brings to you, and not to the other people. So I read the book. It wasn't really extraordinairy, and in the beginning I already thought: wow, she shouldn't be so easy to label someone else's work as unoriginal, because this was the typical paranormal romance, even her words or sentence-structioning were nothing special. But because the idea was, well, meh - it was something different, I read on. But I must say, this book is not very good. Up until this exerpt above, it is medeocre, as many other books, that I enjoyed reading in the end, but this is where I draw the line.
Let me explain this paragraph to you through my eyes:
Oh *insert name*, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I am the victim here, I need attention.
Guy is angry: It is not your fault, I'm seriously buying into your crap right now, and I need to protect you, you shouldn't blame yourself... you are so petite, and I am big, I basicly need you to tell me I'm mascular.
Everybody should feel sorry for you (playing the selfless) and you should be pitied.
What? No you should be pitied (playing the selfless) and *taking blame for everything*
I'm being a stubborn brat( I can't help quoting here:"This was my fault and I refused to be told otherwise."), and I am in denial (about my stupidness amongst other things) and what I say is right (and thus I'm a know-it-all. )
I should have killed myself (this may get the attention I need) Actually, that's not a bad idea. 

What would I do when someone told me I'm their soulmate, and they can prove it to me, and they do? Pump my fists in the air, do a happy dance (of course this is only in my head) and scream: Yes! I have a soulmate!

Then suddently there are people that try to break us apart...
"Hey soulmate, let's fucking kill these people together (or find another, less drastic way to get rid of them and be together) , because it wouldn't be as awesome if only one of  us was alive, and if one of us dies in the battle, too bad, the other can just kill himself (because you know, soulmates can't live without the other~or maybe that's another lie) and then we're both gone. No big deal, it's not as if we made that big of a difference to the world anyways, and you can't be in pain when you're dead.

I don't know what the fuzz is about. Don't sacrifice yourself for the other, if you don't want them to sacrifice themselves for you . Do the thing you're arguing about together. It was what you were created for anyway.

conclusion:

big fat FUCK YOU to selfsacrificing, because you suck and you're an attention whore.

Review: Flat-out Love

Title:             Flat-out Love
Author:         Jessica Park
Rating:         8,5/10
Extra info:   start date : 20/10/'12
                       end date : 21/10/'12
                       pages: 389
To read the synopsis click here.

Review:        I thought I was in for a psychological novel, with which I mean there are valid reasons for the character's actions, and I got that. In the beginning Jessica Park used a lot of dificult words in one sentence. And while I understood, there was a lot of unnecesairy information all crammed up in one tiny space. It looked like she was showing off her vocabulary. I also didn't like the show-off attitude of the main-character Julie Seagel, but when the intro was done, I did like her - a lot. I think the vocabulary-thing was to let the people know what the level was, and how Julie works. After that, it was a delightfull book. Julie has the right ethics, there is a good reason the main characters are apart in the anticlimax. She breaks open a shell and a secret she wasn't supposed to but she did anyway, helping an extremely dysfunctional family live their lives normally again. I love how she snaps the window shut when needed both with her father and seth. She's stuck in a fixing role, but I love her for it.

Recommendation: read when you need to restore your faith in humanity and are up for a decent lovestory where the characters get to know each other before falling in love.

Review: The Shifter

Title:                   The Shifter
Author:               Janice Hardy
Rating:                7/10
Extra Info:          startdate: 15/10/'12
                            enddate:  16/10/'12
                            pages:      370

to read the synopsis click here.

Review:     I was looking for something like the hunger games. Not the dystopian thingy, but a main-character that doesn't lie to herself, like so many do. something like this: i kept telling myself i didn't like him, even though he looked delish today. we couldn't be together, because insert name would suffer from it. after this there would be a tirade of oh poor me, i've fallen for someone but i cant be with him for a reason i'll break later anyway. boohoo. i found that here (the not-lying). The main character Nya, has a sister she wants to protect, like katniss. But where she felt the need to protect her, i didn't. Hardy didn't portray Tali (the sister) as a weak person, and when she needed help, so did 30 others, but Nya only had eyes for Tali, and made some sacrifices for it too. Moral sacrifices. And riscs. I did enjoy the read because it was something different. It was kind of awkward when she said: he's someone i could get to like if we weren't living in this crappy situation , (as if love is something you could plan - but then again, it's like, i like him i'd like to get to know him better - and that i do understand) when the writer tries to hint at love, but she writes it off as imposible and eventually, that thread disappeared in this book. it wil probably go on in the next, but i'm still deciding on weither or not to read that one.
Recommendation:       Read when feeling like all the lovestories are becoming too much, way too sappy or just boring, and you want a break from all that

<-- these stars are FUCKING obnoxious. i tried to move them in a row at the bottom of this review but they just refused to cooperate. I'll try to fix this, but i probably can't. it was there or counting stars all over the review (: