December Wrap Up

I can't believe 2012 is almost over already! December was a pretty good month. I didn't read as much as I would have liked, but I discovered some awesome books this month looking at your top somethings! I can't wait to read them all in 2013! And no we're on the topic, in general I can't wait for 2013 to get here and discover more awesome books! But first, here is my wrap up post for the last month this year. 

The stats

Read 8 | Reviewed 7 | Bought/Got 6

Reviews

Easy by Tammara Webber
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Broken by A.E. Rought
Renegade by J.A. Souders
Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson
Die For Me by Amy Plum
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

This Month's Favorite

Stacking the Shelves (25)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Bloggers share what new books (physical or virtual) they got this week. I like getting new books and showing them. So here's my haul for this week! 

I turned 24 yesterday! Yay for celebrating my birthday! Not so yay because it's right after Christmas and the books I asked hadn't arrived yet :P. So instead of a long list of books I only bought (yes bought, but with a birthday discount!) one book this week. Maybe that's a good thing, because I need some serious working on my TBR pile. One of my goals for next year! 

Bought 

Title: Plague

Author: Michael Grant

Published: April 5th, 2011 (Katherine Tegen Books)

Pages: 497
Series: Gone #4

What new books did you get this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week I'm waiting on 

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

Title: Mila 2.0

Author: Debra Driza

Will be published on: March 12th, 2013 (Katherine Tegen Books)
Series: Mila 2.0 #1

Synopsis from Goodreads: Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

The first thing that intrigued me was the cover! It's special and it makes me want to read this book! The synopsis sounds amazing too! And after seeing this on a lot of 2013-books-lists I'm even more curious! 
This is definitely one of the books I'm mostly anticipating in 2013! A nice pick for the last WoW of 2012!

What are you waiting on?

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday has another topic and different bloggers give their top ten. I love making lists, so here's mine for this week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I love the holidays! I'm spending this day with my family, but I couldn't resist making this TTT. I wish you all a very merry Christmas! I hope to make some time today to stop by other posts! It's a freebie week and I decided to do my favorite covers! They're not really in a particular order, only the first one. That's definitely my favorite!

This week's topic is 

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie
Favorite covers

1. Dance of Shadows
My favorite cover released this year! I love dancing and this cover is just so pretty! It beats most of the flyers for performances! I have an ARC of Dance of Shadows, but I still have to read it!

2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Another book I still have to read. But I'm in love with the US cover! I love the masks and the contrast between the black, white and blue. 

3. What's Left of Me
The first time I saw this cover I immediately knew I wanted to read the book! Just like the first books I still haven't, but it'll definitely happen in 2013!

4. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

When I first read the book I had the book with the old cover, so I was kind of used to it when this one was released. I had to get used to it, but I love it very much now! It's just as amazing as the story!

5. Unspoken

The copy I own has the UK cover, which I also love, but the American one is just so much prettier and special! You don't see many covers like this one! Like most books on this list: still have to read it! 

6. Storm
What can I say? I'm a sucker for hot guys ;). And it's one of my favorite series right now!

7. Unraveling
This cover just makes me want to read this book. I can't really say why, but I love these kind of covers!

8. Unearthly
Oh look, another book I still want to read so badly! I will in 2013, I promise! For now, I just love staring at the cover. I want that dress!

9. Matched
I've read this book a pretty long time ago, I think it's almost two years ago. I've loved this cover ever since! I love the green color and the way the girl sits in the bubble. 

10. The Game

I know 'girl on cover' is pretty worn out, but I love how good this cover matches the story! That house is really creepy! 

What's your favorite cover? 

Link me up to your TTT freebie if you have one!

Review Easy by Tammara Webber

Title: Easy
Author: Tammara Webber

Published: May 24th, 2012 (Razorbill)

Pages: 230

Source: bought

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

How to express my feelings for this book? This is what I've been thinking for the past couple of days? Ever had that dreading feeling of wanting to write a review for a book you totally loved, but you just have no words for it? That's me right now. Most of the time I don't come closer than it's AMAZING!!! But even that doesn't really say it all! Yes, that's how incredible this story is!

For a long time I felt hesitant about reading contemporaries. Don't ask me why, because I've no idea. But still, even after reading and LOVING Pushing the Limits I don't read a lot of contemporaries. But the books I've read so far are just so amazing! Like Easy, why didn't I read this sooner?!

The story is about Jacqueline, who followed her boyfriend to a college she doesn't particularly like and then he dumps her, out of the blue. To make things worse she's ignored by all her former friends (with a few exceptions of course) and when she's leaving a party alone she's assaulted by one of these former 'friends'. She's rescued by a mysterious guy she hasn't seen before and she manages to escape. 
And this was only the first chapter. It blew me away! Tammara, I can't thank you enough for writing this amazing book. 

I love reading YA, but the heavier subjects, like rape, aren't seen very much there. It's tough reading about it, even though I've never been in a situation like that myself (luckily!), but it's reality and things like that happen. People should be more aware how it (being rape or another crime) affects people and changes their lives. Tammara writes about it and makes you feel it! 

The relationship between Jacqueline and Lucas is so beautiful! They both have been through a lot, but you see that it brings them closer together. Easy was the first book in months that actually made me cry! You feel what Jacqueline feels and it doesn't let you go. This story will stay with me for a long time. Everything about it was just right. The characters, the plot twists, the writing style, just everything. 

While writing this review I'm trying to get my head straight about the story and what I thought of it. Writing this down makes it a bit easier, but also a bit harder. I don't want to give away any spoilers and I'm afraid I will when I go fan-girling about it! You just have to read this book and find out for yourself how amazing it truly is!

Fall Into Reading 2012 Wrap Up

On September 22nd I started my first reading challenge, Fall Into Reading 2012 hosted by Callapidder Day's. When I wrote my first post I got really enthusiastic about the amount of books I wanted to read (36 in total!). My goal was to lower my TBR pile with this challenge. If you only look at the list I wouldn't have completed this reading challenge! But I did read some of the books that were on my TBR pile for ages and that's what this challenge was really about for me.

So, looking back on the challenge I should have been more realistic with the list of books I made. I even put some books there I didn't even own (and some of them I still haven't bought). But I'm happy that through this challenge I've read some books I probably wouldn't have otherwise!
Participating in this challenge made me enthusiastic for more.

The books I read of the original list! I made some updates in the meantime, but I kept changing the list, so I decided to stay with the original one for the last post. I did lower my TBR pile, so I guess I reached my goal!

Read

1. Easy by Tammara Webber
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
3. Tempest by Julie Cross
4. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
5. Broken by A.E. Rought
6. Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel
7. Die For Me by Amy Plum
8. The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter
9. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
10. Immortal City by Scott Speer
11. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
12. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
13. The Violet Fox by Clare C. Marshall
14. Lies by Michael Grant

Haven't read yet

1. Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
2. Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
3. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
4. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
5. Abandon by Meg Cabot
6. Bitten by Kelly Armstrong
7. Hidden by Sophie Jordan
8. Hourglass by Myra McEntire
9. The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
10. Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Bought/Won during Fall Into Reading (haven't read these yet)

1. Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate & Michael Grant
2. Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
3. Partials by Dan Wells
4. Breathe by Sarah Crossan
5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

No own copy yet

1. What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
2. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
3. Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
4. Eve by Anna Carey
5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
6. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
7. Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Did you participate in this reading challenge? Leave the link to your Wrap Up!

Review Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Published: March 31st, 2001 (Penguin Books)

Pages: 563
Series: Caster Chronicles #1

Source: bought

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I almost can't believe I've finally read this book! I wanted to read it for so long, but somehow it ended up at the bottom of my TBR pile and I keep adding books to the top. So there were always other books I wanted to read first. It feels a bit weird to have read it now! 

I'm glad I did though, because it's a great read! Not the best I've read this year, but it did make me curious for the movie. It was also a first for me to read a book of which I knew the movie is coming out soon(ish). It made reading the book a bit strange, because I kept thinking "Will they put this in the movie?" or "Hmm, how are going to film this?". I think I would have liked it better if I wasn't interrupting myself with these annoying thoughts!

What I loved most about Beautiful Creatures were the characters! I had to get used to reading from a boy's perspective, since so many YA is told from a girl's perspective. But again, this is just me being weird. It was easy to empathize with Lena and Ethan. And although it took me a while to finish this book (fifteen days is really long for me) I wanted to know how things would end with them! 

I must say I was a bit disappointed by the end. It felt like the entire book was written as a stand alone and at the last page the authors thought "Why not make a series?". Don't get me wrong, I love that there's more books in this series I can read and I definitely will, but I thought the ending would be different, that's all. 

Overall, I loved this book, but wasn't blown away by it. If you love books about witches, than you'll love this one!

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week I'm waiting on 

Pulse by Patrick Carman

Title: Pulse

Author: Patrick Carman

Will be published on: February 26th, 2013 (Katherine Tegen Books)
Series: Pulse Trilogy #1

Synopsis from Goodreads: The year is 2051, and the world is still recognizable. With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.

In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters so powerful they will flatten their enemies by uprooting street lights, moving boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with great talent, the mind—and the heart—can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she’ll have to harness the power of both.

I love dystopian novels and this sounds pretty awesome! I think it's amazing that authors can think and write about such amazing world settings!

What are you waiting on?

Top Ten Books I Read In 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday has another topic and different bloggers give their top ten. I love making lists, so here's mine for this week!

This week topic is 

Top Ten Books I Read In 2012

I don't think I'll ever say making these TTT's are easy. Because every week it's about making choices between books I love so much and making choices isn't something I'm very good at. But once again I manage it! Although there is some cheating involved...

City of Swords by Mary Hoffman

Stravaganza has been one of my favorite series for some years now! I'm really sad that this will be the last one in the series. I expected and wanted more! 

[review]

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

One of the most wonderful things about starting my blog this year was discovering all kinds of new and awesome books! This was definitely one of them! 

[review]

Tempest by Julie Cross

I love books about time traveling and this is one of my favorites! Next year Vortex!

[review]

The Curse Girl by Kate Avery Ellison

My first encounter with Indie books and it couldn't have been better! This retelling of Beauty and The Beast is amazing! 

[review]

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

I'm a big fan of dystopian books and this was one of my favorites this year. I can't wait to read the sequel next year.

[review]

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Another dystopian and also a really good one! I love a story with a twist and this definitely was!

[review]

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

A book that takes place in space. It gave me headaches from all the thinking about time lapses and stuff, but this is one amazing story!

[review]

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Fourth dystopian in a row, that must really mean I love this genre! And I do! Shatter Me was my favorite this year. I've met Tahereh Mafi and she's absolutely amazing. Somehow that made this book even better!

[review]

Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

My new favorite series this year! Also a first where I love book two more than book one. I fell in love with Gabriel! And book three is coming next year. It will be an awesome year!

[review]

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry / Easy by Tammara Webber

Yes, I'm cheating with a shared first place. Pushing the Limits has been my favorite this year ever since I read it this summer. I already made this TTT when I finished Easy, but I just had to add it! It's really hard to choose between these two! I discovered contemporary YA this year and I want more!

[review Pushing the Limits]

Musing Mondays: Book Nemesis

Time for Musing Mondays hosted by Should Be Reading. Every week a different question!

Is there a particular book that is your nemesis–the book you’re determined to one day finish?

There isn't a book I would call my nemesis. The only book I DNF-ed in the past year which I still want to finish is Wuthering Heights. But I wouldn't call it my nemesis. I just didn't have enough time to read it, so I gave up on it for now. 

Last week in books: 

Finished 

Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Soulders

Easy by Tammara Webber

Currently Reading

Lies (Gone #3) by Michael Grant

Happy reading!

Review Broken by A.E. Rought

Title: Broken
Author: A.E. Rought

Published: January 8th, 2013 (Strange Chemistry)

Pages: 384

Source: for review

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

I'm writing this review after I've just watched the latest Criminal Minds episode. You know the one where that freaky man amputated legs and transplanted it to someone else. Really gross. And before you get scared, no this doesn't happen in Broken. Well, not literary anyway. But the episode did remind me of Broken. 

Broken is a retelling of Frankenstein. I must honestly say I've never read Frankenstein, so I can't say anything about that. I did hear Frankenstein is a lot creepier, and I expected that already after finishing Broken. And since I thought the retelling was pretty gross, I probably won't be reading the original story any time soon. 

The story starts a couple months after Daniel's death. The synopsis says that Emma is "a hollow shell" and that made me a bit hesitant about reading this book. But I think that's a bit exaggerated. I thought she would sulk all the time and we would only read about Daniel and how she misses him, but it's a lot more than that. Of course Emma's sad and she thinks about him. And OK, maybe she was a lot happier before, but I thought she was pretty amazing! 
Almost immediately after the beginning of the story we meet Alex. And all the freaky stuff starts there!

At the beginning it are just small stuff. One of the first things Alex does is opening Emma's locker. It gets stuck and Daniel always opened it for her and Alex does it in the exact same way. Might not be freaky at all, it's just a locker. And that's what Emma thinks too, but it keeps happening. When Alex calls Emma by Daniels old nickname, it starts to get really creepy. 
It's hard not to love Alex, even with all the freaky things going on. He's so sweet and he seems so innocent. 

I love the writing style and story telling of A.E. Rought. If you've read the synopsis you know something is pretty wrong with Alex. But of course Emma doesn't know this and slowly she, and so the reader, begins to realize that something is off about Alex. You pick up a new piece of the puzzle every few pages, until at the end everything is put together. 

The ending is the reason I gave this book 4 stars. It felt a bit too quick for me. Emma realizes something's off and goes over to Alex's house, where she's confronted with his father, the evil master brain. The last few passages I had to reread, because I didn't follow. But maybe I was just a bit tired and not focused. When I got it all, I liked it. 
Broken is not the best classic retelling I've read, but I think it's definitely worth to read it. 

Stacking the Shelves (24)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Bloggers share what new books (physical or virtual) they got this week. I like getting new books and showing them. So here's my haul for this week! 

Time is always going so fast in December! It's one of my favorite months! The only downside is the cold! I just don't like cold! 
But that didn't stop me from seeing two cool movies this week! I went to The Hobbit last Wednesday! And it's amazing! You definitely want to see this one! I also saw Anna Karenina, a beautiful movie, but I recommend reading the book before watching the movie. I didn't and it was a bit hard to keep up with the story! 

Next to seeing this movies I also got two books this week! I read Otherkin by Nina Berry a while back. It wasn't the best book I ever read, but when I saw the sequel on Netgalley I couldn't resist!
Also Kobo celebrated their three year anniversary in The Netherlands and they gave a discount for your next buy! Couldn't resist that either!

Bought 

Title: Soul Screamers Volume 1 (incl. My Soul to Lose #0.5, My Soul to Take #1, My Soul to Save #2)

Author: Rachel Vincent

Published: November 22nd, 2011 (Harlequin)

Pages: 570
Series: Soul Screamers #0,5, #1, #2

For review

Title: Othermoon

Author: Nina Berry

Published: January 29th, 2013 (K Teen)

Pages: 320
Series: Otherkin #2

What new books did you get this week?

That Reading Thing #1

Hi guys!

I've been blogging for something over half a year now and I think it's time to tell you a little bit more about me. By now, most of you will now I love YA, but in these posts I'll let you know more about me and my reading habits! 

Why That Reading Thing? Because in my environment I've so many people who just don't understand my passion for reading or for YA. I get those eye rolls A LOT. I just eye roll back and make a witty remark (well, as good as I can anyway). And that's why I love you guys so much! Because you understand my over-the-top excitement for books and most of all YA! I'm so glad I started this blog. My (reading) life would have been so different without it!

Let's get on with it! I'm just going to put some random things about me here. I hope you like it and maybe even recognize some of it in yourself. Let me know, than I know I'm not totally weird after all!

Look, that's me!

OK, let's start with a really embarrassing one. Well, I'm embarrassed about it!  Most of you will know by now I live in The Netherlands. Which on the book part sucks because 1. there aren't any cool book events here (and if there are it's always grown up stuff). 2. book prices are insane. But that's not what I'm embarrassed about. It gets worse. I think my English is pretty good, it's just that pronouncing the words might be a bit tricky sometimes. Yesterday I was watching the chat from EpicReads and for the first time I realized I've been pronouncing YA all WRONG. At that moment I just wanted to hide and never come to the surface again. But well, I can love about it now. I always said something like EA. Which isn't that wrong because the Y you pronounce like an E here. What makes it bad is that I pronounced the A correctly. But I swear that all Dutchies pronounce it that way. Or maybe that's just me.  

Fact #2 you should really know about me is that I *LOVE* talking. Doesn't matter about what (well, books is my favorite of course) and to whom, just let me TALK! Which would explain why I decided at first to do some short sentences with little things about me and the first is already half a page long... 

I might have a slight addiction to Facebook and Twitter, but it's just because it's full of awesome book stuff! I took care of that for my timeline! ;) I've always loved to read (look, something about me reading!) and I'll read anything. So if there's no book I'll just read something else, like ads beside the road (when I'm traveling). I can also obsessively read the rules on the train all over again. But I must say that when it comes to books I can be extremely picky.You can't read everything, so I choose my books wisely! 

Call me shallow, but I always start with the cover! I just love a good and pretty cover! It's not that I wouldn't read a good book because I don't like the cover (I'm not that bad!), but it does hold me back from buying all the books! Which is a good thing I guess, because my TBR pile is already almost buckling over. Just the other day I was browsing through my Amazon wish list to buy some new books. I've wanted to read The Daughter and Smoke and Bone for a while now and it's on that list, but with the UK cover, which I don't like. Especially in comparison to the US cover. Look: 

You've got to admit that the second one is a lot prettier! So I'm waiting for the chance I get to get that cover! I know it's a bit shallow, but I just like pretty things :). 

Before you start thinking all bad things about me, here are some 'good' things:

The very first book I ever read by myself was Jip en Janneke (a Dutch children's book). My mother and grandmother had read it to me so many times I'd memorized the first chapter and thought that I could 'read'. I still now the first sentences by heart! This is also my first bookish memory :).

I once started counting the books I own, but somewhere I lost count when I couldn't decide which books to count. Study books also? And what about the books I don't really want to own anymore? I've never finished the job. I do know I have way too much books for the space I actually have. They're all piled up. 

I read almost every day. When I haven't read anything I always go to bed thinking: "Oh no, I haven't read a single page today, bad Helene" ;). Someone told me once that she reads 150 pages every day. EVERY DAY! I read a lot and I can manage up to 400 pages a day if I set my mind to it, but 150 pages a day? No I would never manage that. I kinda have a life outside of reading too. 

Speaking of life besides reading, I also love to dance. I used to do a lot more.  Contemporary, ballet, jazz and all kinds of courses in African dancing, belly dancing and so on. I got a shoulder injury a few years back, so unfortunately that's no longer possible. But I discovered hoop dancing a few months back! I know it's been very popular in the US for a while now, but it's really new here. And I totally love it! I even have my own hoop, so I can practice at home as well. I'm not very good, but hopefully one day I will be!

Wow, I just looked back at my post and this is the longest post I've ever written! So I guess this is it for today! I've a lot more things to tell you, so I hope have another personal post next week! Let me know in the comments if you like this sort of posts (and also if you don't, but say it nicely please ;)) and if you recognize any of it!