Tag Archives: month in review

Month In Review: March 2019

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March turned out to be another busy month where I celebrated my birthday, filled my shelves with new books and ordered some more and where I finally stepped up my Bookstagram game. The weather has been going crazy down here, going from heat to rain and cold weather and back again… Preventing us from going on another camping trip and resulting in me having to prepare the garden for winter early. Bad weather did mean I was able to read a lot more than expected… And I’ve been having fun preparing for this month’s Magical Readathon as well.

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in March: 24
  • Total number of books read this year: 71
  • Total number of pages read in March: 7.811
  • Total number of pages read this year: 23.320

March turned out to be an excellent month and I definitely read way more than anticipated. I managed to get two! new 5 star reads and a whole pile of other excellent reads as well… I did have another DNF, but with only three books with a rating below 3 stars in total I’m calling March a success.

MARCH READS

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now.

A Thousand Perfect Notes – by C.G. Drews // The Travelling Cat Chronicles – by Hiro Arikawa

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer And Longer – by Fredrik Backman // The Bones She Buried – by Lisa Regan // The Enchanted – by Rene Denfeld // The Dry – by Jane Harper // Harry Potter Y El Cáliz De Fuego (reread) – by J.K. Rowling // Daisy Jones & The Six – by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Secret Child – by Caroline Mitchell // The Courier – by Kjell Ola Dahl // Verity – by Colleen Hoover // Wicked Saints – by Emily A. Duncan // We Are Of Dust – by Clare Coombes // Wolfhunter River – by Rachel Caine

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

The Fever King – by Victoria Lee // Then She Was Gone – by Lisa Jewell // Tell The Wolves I’m Home – by Carol Rika Brunt 

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic.  

Here We Are Now – by Jasmine Warga // Smoke And Key – by Kelsey Sutton // I Know You – by Erik Therme // Every Exquisite Thing – by Matthew Quick

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.

The Fourth Courier – by Timothy Jay Smith // 99 Percent Mine – by Sally Thorne

0 STARS (DNF): I didn’t even bother to finish this one. Either horrible or definitely not for me!

Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution –  by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

I joined more challenges than initially planned in 2019, but I feel all have doable goals that shouldn’t take too much work to finish. Things are going way better than planned so far! I’ll need to keep an eye on the Reading Through The Centuries one though because it’s going to be tricky to get enough new years in otherwise. But it looks like the other challenges are well on track without even trying. Not bad at all. 😉

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… Things are going better than expected! I managed to reread my second book of the year (also counts as my first Spanish read) so that’s one less goal to worry about! I failed to keep my ARC/backlist title ratio below the 40% limit though, but that is no surprise because I have a huge pile of ARCs pending. My TBR pile in general is pretty hopeless as well, but at least I’m well on track with my TBR jar picks, so that’s something. xD

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 3/3 DONE!! (The Painted Veil // The Big Sleep // A Wrinkle In Time)
  • Complete at least 10 series (rereads don’t count) 4/10 (Anastasia Phoenix // The Conqueror’s Saga // Women Are Some Kind Of Magic // Fire And Thorns)
  • Reread at least 2 books 2/2 DONE!! (The BFG // Harry Potter Y El Caliz De Fuego)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 450 books and keep it that way. 580/450
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 1/1 DONE!! (813 pages; Colombiano)
  • Keep ARC/backlist title ratio below 40% 40,8%
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 1/2 (Harry Potter Y El Cáliz De Fuego)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Read at least 15 international authors and/or translations  6/15 (Mala Vida (France) // The Painted Veil (France) // When Dimple Met Rishi (India) // And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer And Longer (Sweden) // The Courier (Norway) // The Travelling Cat Chronicles (Japan))
  • Read at least 10 TBR jar picks 4/10 (The Insect Farm // The Shattering // Be Frank With Me // Tell The Wolves I’m Home)
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 94%

Happy April and Happy Reading! 

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Month In Review: February 2019

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February turned out to be a busy month including a few days away visiting friends out of town, but somehow I managed to read a lot anyway. Definitely not what I was expecting! The weather has been crazy this summer, with 35+°C temperatures being mixed with almost freezing days… I’m seriously hoping winter won’t be coming early this year! *fingers crossed* Also, as you might have noticed, I haven’t been as active bloghopping and on social media recently. While I miss being around more, I really need the downtime to relax and not end up in a slump again… On the brighter side, I have been using Instagram more lately.

February was also the month I won my very first physical book giveaway ever, and a preorder I have been looking forward to as well. I can’t wait for it to be April so I can have it in my hands! ❤ And I tried ordering from Bookdepository for the first time last month (I wasn’t sure about the shipping in Argentina with customs problems and all, but Argentinian bloggers assured me things would work out), and my first batch of books arrived so fast! ❤ I also ordered a few more in February, and they just got here the other day as well. I’m probably going to do a Bookdepository book haul post soon!

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in February: 19
  • Total number of books read this year: 47
  • Total number of pages read in February: 6.809
  • Total number of pages read this year: 15.609

February turned out to be quite a good month with a second 5 star read and a few others that were excellent as well. I did have my first DNF of the year and a few 3 star or below ratings, but overall not bad at all. I can’t believe how many of my books had either a purple or blue cover! It almost seems like I did it on purpose haha.

FEBRUARY READS

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now.

What The Wind Knows – by Amy Harmon

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

Colombiano – by Rusty Young // The Bird King – by G. Willow Wilson

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

A Wrinkle In Time – by Madeleine D’Engle // The Mermaid’s Voice Returns In This One – by Amanda Lovelace // What If It’s Us – by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera // The Bitter Kingdom – by Rae Carson // An American Marriage –  by Tayari Jones // To Make Monsters Out Of Girls – by Amanda Lovelace // Moon Over Soho – by Ben Aaronovitch

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

Friend Request – by Laura Marshall // Until The Day I Die – by Emily Carpenter // Wintergirls – by Laurie Halse Anderson

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic.  

Mona Lisas And Little White Lies – by John Herrick // The Pumilio Child – by Judy McInerney // The Woman In The Window – by A.J. Finn

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

Half Lies – by Sally Green // Be Frank With Me – by Julia Claiborne Johnson

0 STARS (DNF): I didn’t even bother to finish this one. Either horrible or definitely not for me!

Shatter Me – by Tahereh Mafi

I joined more challenges than initially planned in 2019, but I feel all have doable goals that shouldn’t take too much work to finish. Things are going way better than planned so far! I’ll need to keep an eye on the Reading Through The Centuries one since it’s always tricky to get new years in (I read three classics but I already had those years listed). But it looks like the other challenges are well on track without even trying. Not bad at all. 😉

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… Things are going better than expected! I have somehow managed to read both my 3 classics and my 800+ pages book already, so that’s two goals less to think about… The series, rereads and TBR jar picks are also looking good. My NG ratio is still going strong, although I do have about 20 pending titles on my shelves. xD I’ll have to be careful with my ARC/backlist title ratio though, because it’s getting close to that 40% limit… I’m not sure if I will be able to keep it below that in March, because I have a huge pile of ARCs pending.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 3/3 DONE!! (The Painted Veil // The Big Sleep // A Wrinkle In Time)
  • Complete at least 10 series (rereads don’t count) 4/10 (Anastasia Phoenix // The Conqueror’s Saga // Women Are Some Kind Of Magic // Fire And Thorns)
  • Reread at least 2 books 1/2 (The BFG)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 450 books and keep it that way. 528/450
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 1/1 DONE!! (813 pages; Colombiano)
  • Keep ARC/backlist title ratio below 40% 38,3%
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2 
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Read at least 15 international authors and/or translations  3/15 (Mala Vida (France) // The Painted Veil (France) // When Dimple Met Rishi (India))
  • Read at least 10 TBR jar picks 3/10 (The Insect Farm // The Shattering // Be Frank With Me)
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 93%

Happy March and Happy Reading! 

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Month In Review: January 2019

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January has passed way too fast, although I’m glad it’s over because it means less days until the summer is over. I know some of you are freezing right now, but I’ll swap with the 35+°C humidity we have here if you want. (I never thought I would say this, but I prefer freezing over that torture.) January turned out to be an excellent reading month despite some DIY and a camping trip (just one of the trips we planned, we had to cancel the other due to excessive rainfall). I definitely didn’t expect to read this many books! But it turns out that most of my picks were either short or superfast reads in the first place.

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in January: 28
  • Total number of books read this year: 28
  • Total number of pages read in January: 8.800
  • Total number of pages read this year: 8.800

I started 2019 well with my first 5 star read already and a lot of other good reads… I did get eleven books with a 3 star rating or below, but overall I’m definitely satisfied with this month.

JANUARY READS

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now.

Finding Grace – by K.L. Slater

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

Beneath The Sugar Sky – by Seanan McGuire // Ghost Boys – by Jewell Parker Rhodes // Bright We Burn – by Kiersten White // Exquisite – by Sarah Stovell

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Crown Of Embers – by Rae Carson // Mala Vida – by Marc Fernandez // The Treatment – by C.L. Taylor // The BFG – by Roald Dahl // The Winter Sister – by Megan Collins // The Last Time I Lied – by Riley Sager // The Psychology Of Time Travel – by Kate Mascarenhas // When Dimple Met Rishi – by Sandhya Menon // Two Can Keep A Secret – by Karen M. McManus

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

The Couple On Cedar Close – by Anna-Lou Weatherley // A Tragic Kind Of Wonderful – by Eric Lindstrom // End Of The Lie – by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic.  

The Kiss Quotient – by Helen Hoang // Heart Berries – by Terese Marie Mailhot // The Insect Farm – by Stuart Prebble // Here And Now And Then – by Mike Chen // The Painted Veil – by W. Somerset Maugham // The Familiars – by Stacey Halls // The Shattering – by Karen Healey 

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

Artemis – by Andy Weir // We Told Six Lies – by Victoria Scott // The Big Sleep – by Raymond Chandler

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.

How To Experience Death For Beginners – by Jessica Branton

I joined more challenges than initially planned in 2019, but I feel all have doable goals that shouldn’t take too much work to finish. Things are going way better than planned so far! I’ll need to keep an eye on the Reading Through The Centuries one since it’s always tricky to get new years in (I read two classics but I already had those years listed). But it looks like the other challenges are well on track without even trying. Not bad at all. 😉

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… Again things are going way better than planned. I’ve already read two classics, did a reread and finished two series. I also managed to read three international authors/translations already as well as two TBR jar picks. My NG ratio is still going strong, although I do have about 18 pending titles on my shelves. xD I’m also very very happy that my ARC/backlist title ratio is that low! I’m definitely aiming to keep it that way and keep reading those poor backlist titles in the rest of 2019.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 2/3 (The Painted Veil // The Big Sleep)
  • Complete at least 10 series (rereads don’t count) 2/10 (Anastasia Phoenix // The Conqueror’s Saga)
  • Reread at least 2 books 1/2 (The BFG)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 450 books and keep it that way. 528/450
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 0/1 (416 pages; The Crown Of Embers)
  • Keep ARC/backlist title ratio below 40% 35,7%
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2 
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Read at least 15 international authors and/or translations  3/15 (Mala Vida (France) // The Painted Veil (France) // When Dimple Met Rishi (India))
  • Read at least 10 TBR jar picks 2/10 (The Insect Farm // The Shattering)
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 94%

Happy February and Happy Reading! 

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Month In Review: December 2018

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I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that it’s actually 2019, and that this is my final monthly review of 2018. Seriously, where did 2018 go?! December turned out to be quite a busy month, with a big pending DIY project during the first week of December that took away lots of reading time. It was worth it though, because I love the results! The Holiday season also ment I wasn’t able to read as much as the last few months, but thanks to a few short and fast reads I still managed to finish a more than decent amount.

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in December: 18
  • Total number of books read this year: 245
  • Total number of pages read in December: 6.004
  • Total number of pages read this year: 77.215

I somehow still managed to read a lot despite the DIY filled first week of December and the Holiday season, and most books turned out to be good reads as well. Not a bad way to end 2018!

DECEMBER READS

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

Vengeful – by V.E. Schwab // A Boy Called Christmas – by Matt Haig // The Girl Who Saved Christmas – by Matt Haig // Bridge To Burn – by Rachel Amphlett // A Spark Of Light – by Jodi Picoult

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Songbird Girls – by Richard Parker // My Life In A Cat House – by Gwen Cooper // The Couple Next Door – by Shari Lapena // I Have Lost My Way – by Gayle Forman // Down Among The Sticks And Bones – by Seanan McGuire // Big Little Lies – by Liane Moriarty // Outlander – by Diana Gabaldon // The Girl Without Skin – by Mads Peder Nordbo

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

Girl With A Pearl Earring – by Tracy Chevalier

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 

The Deal Of A Lifetime – by Fredrik Backman // Sorry Not Sorry – by Sophie Ranald

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

Love Looks Pretty On You – by Lang Leav // Doll Bones – by Holly Black

I’m happy to say I was able to finish all challenges in time.. I had decided last year to keep things low key and don’t set my goals too high, and it seems like it worked like a charm. I will definitely be aiming for the same in 2019.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… I managed to finish all of them except for my TBR one, which I already knew was hopeless. I’m definitely happy with this result!

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 3/3 DONE!! (Murder On The Orient Express // Slaughterhouse-Five, The Mysterious Affair At Styles)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 5/5 DONE!! (The Conspiracy Of Us // Bad Girls Don’t Die // Embassy Row // The 5th Wave // Legend)
  • Reread at least 2 books 2/2 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta // Harry Potter Y El Prisionero De Azkaban)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 300 books and keep it that way. 505/300
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 1/1 DONE (Outlander)
  • Read at least 1 book in Spanish 1/1 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 1/1 DONE!! (Het Jaar Dat De Wereld Op Zijn Kop Stond by Clare Furniss)
  • Read more international authors/translations (at least 10) 10/10 DONE!! (Stage Four (The Netherlands)/ Born A Crime (South Africa)/ Halfway (India)/ A Castle In Romagna (Croatia)/ My Sweet Friend (Belgium)/ The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter (Germany)/ The Letter For The King (Indonesia)/ The Air Raid Killer (Germany)/ My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry (Sweden)/ The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden (Sweden)/ Radiance Of Tomorrow (Sierra Leone))
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 94%

Happy January and Happy Reading! 

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Month In Review: November 2018

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I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that it’s almost 2019. Seriously, where did 2018 go?! I’ve been loving the Spring weather though, enjoying the sun and preparing our garden for the summer months. It’s one of my favorite things to do whenever I’m not reading. The good weather also ment it was time for a big pending DIY project during the first week of December, something that didn’t affect my November reading of course but does explain why this wrap up is coming later than normal. 😉

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in November: 29
  • Total number of books read this year: 227
  • Total number of pages read in November: 9.617
  • Total number of pages read this year: 71.193

I somehow managed to read a LOT last month; more than I ever read before in fact. Although I didn’t get a 5 star read, did have two DNF and quite a few lower ratings… All in all not the best reading month I had despite the high number of books and pages, although I did find a few new favorites.

NOVEMBER READS

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

The Cheerleaders – by Kara Thomas // The Liar’s Wife – by Samantha Hayes // Cold Dark Places – by Kylie Brant // The Great Alone – by Kristin Hannah

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

Corner To Corner Crochet – by Jess Coppom // The Chalk Man – by C.J. Tudor // Every Note Played – by Lisa Genova // Daughters Of The Lake – by Wendy Webb // All Your Perfects – by Colleen Hoover // Her Final Confession – by Lisa Regan // Last Lullaby – by Carol Wyer // PLUS+ – by Bethany Rutter // Blue Blood – by Sara Blaedel

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

The Cruel Prince – by Holly Black // Children Of Blood And Bone – by Tomi Adeyemi // Hunting Annabelle – by Wendy Heard // A Woman Of War – by Mandy Robotham

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 

River Bodies – by Karen Katchur // The Cottingley Fairies – by Ana Sender // The Wife Between Us – by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen // Babel – by Gaston Dorren // Heresy – by Melissa Lenhardt

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

The Burning World – by Isaac Marion // Educated – by Tara Westover

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.

Elevation – by Stephen King // The Living – by Isaac Marion

1 STAR: Boy, this one gave me a hard time. Not a book to touch again. 

Girl, Wash Your Face – by Rachel Hollis

0 STARS (DNF): I didn’t even bother to finish this one. Either horrible or definitely not for me!

An Officer And A Spy – by Robert Harris // Not A Clue – by Chloe Delaume

I haven’t joined a lot of challenges this year, mostly because I decided to focus more on ‘fun’ reading and less on goals I have to complete. I had decided to update my Goodreads Goal anyway, but I should have aimed higher because I’m done once again. This is officially the year I’ve been able to read the most ever… Although quite a few were shorter reads. I have managed to complete the When Are You Reading? challenge in the first days of December as well, so even though it technically doesn’t count as November achievements it at least means I don’t have any pending challenges open for the final days of this year. 😉

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… No progress whatsoever in the final two goals, and I’m pretty sure the TBR one is hopeless. I’ve finally started with Outlander so hopefully I’ll be able to finish that one before the end of the month.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 3/3 DONE!! (Murder On The Orient Express // Slaughterhouse-Five, The Mysterious Affair At Styles)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 5/5 DONE!! (The Conspiracy Of Us // Bad Girls Don’t Die // Embassy Row // The 5th Wave // Legend)
  • Reread at least 2 books 2/2 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta // Harry Potter Y El Prisionero De Azkaban)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 300 books and keep it that way. 435/300
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 0/1 (maximum 528 pages)
  • Read at least 1 book in Spanish 1/1 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 1/1 DONE!! (Het Jaar Dat De Wereld Op Zijn Kop Stond by Clare Furniss)
  • Read more international authors/translations (at least 10) 10/10 DONE!! (Stage Four (The Netherlands)/ Born A Crime (South Africa)/ Halfway (India)/ A Castle In Romagna (Croatia)/ My Sweet Friend (Belgium)/ The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter (Germany)/ The Letter For The King (Indonesia)/ The Air Raid Killer (Germany)/ My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry (Sweden)/ The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden (Sweden)/ Radiance Of Tomorrow (Sierra Leone))
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 94%

Happy December and Happy Reading! 

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Best Of… October 2018 @aharmon_author @bookouture @johnmarrs1

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I had originally decided to include this new feature in my monthly wrap ups, but I just felt there were too many facts squeezed into one little post and the whole purpose of putting my favorite reads in the spotlight was lost. So this is me giving those favorites their well deserved extra attention! I think most people will be able to guess what my favorite read of October was… Although there were a few other serious contenders. Without further delay, October 2018’s favorite is… *drumroll*

…

…

…

…

…

The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon!! Of course I just HAD to pick this story as my absolute favorite. Not only was it the only full five star rating of the month, it was also one of the top reads of the year and one I cannot recommend enough.

What I said in my review:

“This story has once again reconfirmed my love for her work. What an absolutely brilliant and moving story! ”

“Between the wonderful writing style, the excellent character development, an interesting plot and the paranormal angle The Smallest Part has everything and more needed to turn this into one of my top reads this year.”

Click here for my full review

There were five titles with a 4,5 star rating in October, but I’ve decided to only feature four of them. Three out of four actually belong to one of my favorite genres this time around. (I’m sure you can guess what genre.) All four of them are without doubt excellent reads and deserve all the praise! In the order I’ve read them:

What I said in my review:

“Before She Falls is creepy, dark and disturbing with a lightning fast pace and a few heartstopping moments; any fan of the genre will be in for a treat with this series is general.”

“This story has everything I could want of a thriller: a creepy serial killer, a clever plot, suspense, plot twists, interesting characters, an original touch… All blended together into a perfect detective thriller smoothie”

Click here for my full review

What I said in my review:

“There is just something about the way she writes that makes me forget all about the fact that is not my favorite genre, and she is one of the few authors that can make me enjoy it.”

“It’s short, well written, well crafted and entertaining, and 200% worth your time.”

Click here for my full review 

What I said in my review:

“There is just something about the writing style that draws you right in, grabs you and won’t let you go until you reach the final page. This is one of those books you’ll have to clear up your schedule for, because you’ll want to read it in one sitting!”

“The Perfect Family is another well crafted, suspenseful and deceiving psychological thriller that won’t let you go until you know it all… Perfect for fans of the genre.”

Click here for my full review

What I said in my review:

“If you are looking for a well constructed, elaborate and intriguing detective thriller with an original twist, Her Last Move is a great choice.”

“I really like how Her Last Move isn’t just another detective thriller, and adds its original twist to it. The plot itself is quite complicated with three different POVs to consider as well as various background stories. But it all just worked for me, and both the suspense and plot twists are well handled. “

Click here for my full review

Have you read any of these titles above? What did you think of them? What were your favorite reads in October?

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Month In Review: October 2018

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I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that it’s November already. I mean, November?! Where did 2018 go?! I’ve been loving the Spring weather though, enjoying the sun and preparing our garden for the summer months. It’s one of my favorite things to do whenever I’m not reading. I also have been baking a lot in October, something I always enjoy doing and never grow tired of. (Brownies to the win!)

Now to the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in October: 28
  • Total number of books read this year: 198
  • Total number of pages read in October: 8.540
  • Total number of pages read this year: 61.576

I somehow managed to read a LOT last month, and I even got another five star read!  I did have a few lowish reads, but overall I’m definitely happy with this month.

OCTOBER READS

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now.

The Smallest Part – by Amy Harmon

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 

Book Love – by Debbie Tung // Before She Falls – by Dylan Young // Evidence Of The Affair – by Taylor Jenkins Reid // The Perfect Family – by Shalini Boland // Her Last Move – by John Marrs

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Passion According To Carmela – by Marcos Aguinis // Closer – by K.L. Slater // One Dark Night – by Tom Bale // Reboot – by Amy Tintera // They Both Die At The End – by Adam Silvera // Pruning Simplified – by Steven Bradley // Before Her Eyes – by Jack Jordan // Rebel – by Amy Tintera // The Princess Saves Herself In This One – by Amanda Lovelace // Dear Mr Pop Star – by Derek & Dave Philpott // Baby Teeth – by Zoje Stage

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

Tell Nobody – by Patricia Gibney // The Walls Around Us – by Nova Ren Suma // The Darkness – by Ragnar Jonasson // Snowy Nights At The Lonely Hearts Hotel  – by Karen King

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 

Love & Gelato – by Jenna Evans Welch // The Giver – by Lois Lowry // The Giving Tree – by Shel Silverstein

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

Sadie – by Courtney Summers // Spell Bound – by Rachel Hawkins

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.

Demonglass – by Rachel Hawkins // Small Time Crimes – by Paul D. Brazill

I haven’t joined a lot of challenges this year so far, mostly because I decided to focus more on ‘fun’ reading and less on goals I have to complete. I had decided last month to update my Goodreads Goal anyway, but I should have aimed higher because I’m almost done again. This is officially the year I’ve been able to read the most ever… Although quite a few were shorter reads and I haven’t reached the highest page count yet. I have found the title for the last era (1600-1699) of the  When Are You Reading? challenge, but I still have to read it at some point.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals… No progress whatsoever in the final two goals, and I’m pretty sure the TBR one is hopeless. I’m going to try and read the 800+ pages book (AKA Outlander) in these last two months though.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 3/3 DONE!! (Murder On The Orient Express // Slaughterhouse-Five, The Mysterious Affair At Styles)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 5/5 DONE!! (The Conspiracy Of Us // Bad Girls Don’t Die // Embassy Row // The 5th Wave // Legend)
  • Reread at least 2 books 2/2 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta // Harry Potter Y El Prisionero De Azkaban)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 300 books and keep it that way. 435/300
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages 0/1 (maximum 528 pages)
  • Read at least 1 book in Spanish 1/1 DONE!! (Harry Potter Y La Camera Secreta)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 1/1 DONE!! (Het Jaar Dat De Wereld Op Zijn Kop Stond by Clare Furniss)
  • Read more international authors/translations (at least 10) 10/10 DONE!! (Stage Four (The Netherlands)/ Born A Crime (South Africa)/ Halfway (India)/ A Castle In Romagna (Croatia)/ My Sweet Friend (Belgium)/ The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter (Germany)/ The Letter For The King (Indonesia)/ The Air Raid Killer (Germany)/ My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry (Sweden)/ The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden (Sweden)/ Radiance Of Tomorrow (Sierra Leone))
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year 5/5 DONE!!
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 92%

Happy November and Happy Reading! 

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