Audiobook Recommendations

Dear readers,

Today I am coming with some book recommendations if you don’t know what to start with in your Audiobook app! Listening to books is an easy and practical way to read more, and I found I love reading contemporaries, thrillers and some YA fantasy as audio instead of reading on a Kindle or in paper. Also, it’s much more practical if you’re driving by car, or even in public transport.

Here are the ones I enjoyed most so far!

Contemporary

  

Crazy Rich Asians is such a funny story, full of different accents and it’s very interesting to see the Singapore/Chinese accents being acted out (which I cannot say how authentic it is, but sounded very authentic to me!). I think the audiobook gave an extra layer to the story!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is such a fabulous book, and the narration is equally good! I loved how distinguishable the voices were and the emotion in them.

They Both Die At The End is narrated with one voice for Ruffus and one for Mateo, which made it so lovely and painful to listen to. The different personalities were beautifully represented and it broke my heart.

Review: Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: Young Adult Fantasy

Goodreads / Amazon

Children of Blood and Bone is my favorite book of the year – I can say this with confidence although I finished this in mid July.

Zélie remembers the time before magic disappeared, eleven years ago. Her mother was a Reaper, a maji with the power over life and death. But one day, magic disappeared – and then the king’s men came to Zélie’s house and murdered her mother. Now, with the help of a fugitive princess and a scroll, she has the chance of a lifetime to bring magic back to the world.

The Sunday Snuggle W34/2018 #TheSundaySnuggle

Hello readers!

How are you guys doing this week? I finally got to see To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and it was SO CUTE, I smiled throughout the whole movie! Omg, I loved Lara Jean.

This week I got no books! YAY! Progress. Also, Noriko posted our discussion on Six Four, a Japanese crime thriller, on her blog! Here’s the link if you guys wanna read our spoilery talk on the book: Booktalk: Discussion on Six Four

Forgettable Books and What to Read Instead

Hi bookworms!

If you read any of those books and were underwhelmed, try some of the other books I recommend instead! Click on the picture of the cover of the recommended books to go to their Goodreads page.

If you were underwhelmed by…

Read instead:

  

Mini-Review: Illusive, by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Goodreads / Amazon

This wonderful gem is like Ocean’s Eleven met the X-men and had a Young Adult book child. When a dangerous viral disease swept across Earth, a vaccine brought the cure. But it also brought side effects – superpowers. These people are called immune, and Ciere is one of them – she can change her appearance to whatever she wants, whenever she wants.

I highly recommend this book, this heist story is so much fun, with lots of action and a tiny bit of romance! I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the second book!

The Sunday Snuggle W33/2018 #TheSundaySnuggle

Hello readers!

I’m back from vacation, and it’s lovely and sunny here in Germany now! Which is great, because when I left it was 35 degrees plus, and I really don’t like the heat. So I’m quite pleased.

Books I got approved for on Netgalley:

 

Here are the books I got in my Scotland trip! The picture isn’t the best, but the books are: The Book of Hidden Things by Francisco Dimitri, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Jade City by Fonda Lee, Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, The War in the Dark by Nick Setchfield, Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart (although I think this one even made it to one of my Anti-TBR lists?? Oops), How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (Ravenclaw edition!!), The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1991 illustrated edition!!).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmb3D-FlEE1/?taken-by=natysbookshelf

10 Series I’m Not Going To Finish

Hello readers!

I read a LOT of series, and there are so, so many to finish. I normally like to follow series to the end, even if I don’t love them, but it’s become quite overwhelming to do that lately, plus I don’t see the point anymore of spending money and time on book series I don’t really want to read anymore.

So here are some of the series I’m not going to finish, for one reason or another!

Review: My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

This is a weird book, with an odd protagonist – she is a beautiful, rich heiress with a cynical and witty personality. I didn’t realize while reading it, only as I started this review, but the narrator is never named. Despite all her privileges, she isn’t happy. But not to worry, she has a plan! A year of rest and relaxation – that is what she needs! So she leaves her job and starts seeing a rather irresponsible therapist, who’ll give her all the medication she needs to sleep for a whole year.

Yes! Sleep – for a year! That is our heroine’s grand plan for achieving well-being. While most of us try to squeeze a bit of self-care in stolen minutes and hours of our busy schedules, our protagonist chooses a deeply unhealthy coping method. I found her absolutely insufferable, lazy, spoiled. It was so addictive to read! She is clearly depressed, so maybe if you have depression this could be a trigger for you. This shocking decision does not sit well with Reva, her best friend. She struggles to fit within her ideal of a New York woman – thin, fashionable, knowledgeable in all gossip. Reva suffers from bulimia and is unhealthily obsessed with her looks, so please be aware of your own sensitivity if you’re going to read this book.

6 Books to Read if You Liked “Love, Simon” by Becky Albertalli

Hi readers!

I read Love, Simon (or Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and I loved it! It’s so sweet, and Simon is such an adorable character. Really, really cute book. So if you want to read other sweet YA books with cute love stories, here are my recommendations!

If you loved…

Then you might also like…

  

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
This cute YA contemporary romance (M/F)  has a Shakespeare play, a sweet love interest and a MC so cute and dorky. Also there is a cute F/F couple that I shipped so hard!!

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Okay, so you want adventure, a lovable but obtuse bi MC, his whip-smart sister and a sweet love interest? This book is a mix of M/M romance, hints of supernatural, a trip through Europe. It also talks about racism, sexism, and it’s so funny and cute.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
This is also a sweet and cute love story. This M/M romance has a bit of sci-fi to it, and a lot of emotion. It tells the story of the last day of both MCs’ life, and it’s so touching!

  

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
This is possibly one of the cutest books ever written, I literally squeaked while reading. There is a MC who suffers from selective mutism due to her anxiety, her love interest who is a sweet deaf boy, and a trip!

It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
This is a f/f romance with a Japanese-American girl whose love interest is a Mexican-American girl. It’s not only a sweet story, but also touches on many important topics, like racism, being truthful, loyalty, and so on.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
This book is a m/m romance, where two boys fall in love during Summer, and they only get four weeks together… it’s cute, heartbreaking and bittersweet.

Weird Book Trends

Hi Bookworms!

Today I’m listing some of the book trends I’ve been noticing lately that I think are a bit weird – which of course doesn’t mean they are bad at all, and I like a lot of those. But they’re weird.

Octopi Everywhere

 

Steamy Fish Romance