Stacking the Shelves: February Book Haul Part 2

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Every week, bloggers post the books they bought that week. This week, I got four books, and I hope these will be the last books I buy this month because together with last book haul, it's becoming quite expensive.

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 

I recently read The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and I really enjoyed it! I hear Six of Crows is even better, so I can't wait to read it!

2. Starflight by Melissa Landers

I heard someone compare this book to The Lunar Chronicles, so I can't not pick it up. The only problem I have with this purchase, is the fact that it is an expensive hardback. This is not actually a book I want in hardback as it the book itself is quite plain beneath the dustjacket, just black with the title on the spine and no endpapers. If this book would have been available in paperback, I would not have hesitated to pick it up. So the story better be good!

3. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

I hoped to join the read-along of this book on the blog: 
smartdamescleverbooks.blogspot.com, however, this blog has been removed, I don't know what happened but if anyone has more information about the read-along and if others are still going through with it, I would like to know because otherwise I probably bought this book for nothing.

4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I recently watched the BBC adaptation of War and Peace and I loved every second of it! Therefore I wanted to read the actual book as well! However this book is huge! It's more than a thousand pages long (and very heavy to lift)! I will probably need a little encouragement to read the entire book. If anyone is interested in doing a read-along or buddy read, definitely let me know! I bought the Vintage Classics hardback edition and it's so beautiful!

Have you read any of these books or are you planning to? And which books did you buy this week? Let me know down below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Valentine's Day Themed Freebie: Favourite Couples in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a Valentine's Day freebie, so I decided to write a top ten of my favourite couples in books! I chose the characters that actually do get together in end, so I'm not going to give the names of the characters because I don't want to spoil anyone. It's just the main couple at the end (of the series) that I list. This wasn't a very hard topic for me, so let's get started! These are in no particular order:

1. Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson

OMG! This couple is so, so cute! I need more!

2. Cress by Marissa Meyer

My favourite couple from The Lunar Chronicles!!! I hope they are featured extensively in the epilogue or get an entire series based on them because I simply need way, way more!

3. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I read this books years ago, and I still catch myself thinking about it every now and then. It's also probably the book that made me cry the hardest and longest of all books.

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

How can this one not be on the list? They are perfection!

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

6. The Winter Rose (The Tea Rose #2) by Jennifer Donnelly

7. As Shadows Fade (The Gardella Vampire Hunters: Victoria #5) by Colleen Gleason

8. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

9. De guillotine by Simone van der Vlugt

10. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger 

I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this book, but it felt very real to me and stuck with me.

Have you read any of these books or do you want to? I would like to know your thoughts about them, so leave them down below!

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. 

-- Goodreads.com description --

Truthwitch was one of my most anticipated reads of 2016 and it did not disappoint. I LOVED it! I believe it's going to a four book series and I want the second book right this instant, but let's face it, we'll have to wait a year. A WHOLE year for the second book to come out. I can't deal with that at this moment. It's safe to say, Truthwitch got me out of my reading slump, right at the moment my classes resume, I'm sorry to say.

However, back to the book. It's a fantasy that is highly focused on the friendship between the two main characters, which is so refreshing and much needed in this genre. Even though there is a romance in this book, you already know that it won't push the friendship between Safi and Iseult to the background. For this alone, you should read the book! Female friendships are so scarce in (fantasy) young adult novels.

Once more this year, I'm reading a book with all likeable characters. I loved all of the characters in this book, there wasn't a boring or unnecessary character to be found which was awesome. We get four different points of view, first of all, Safi and Iseult, of course, and then, we also get Prince Merik's perspective and the point of view of the Bloodwitch, Aeduan, which I found incredibly interesting. The only problem with these different perspectives is the fact that Susan Dennard only uses a double space to announce a change of perspective in the middle of a chapter. Once, the author also uses ***, which felt out of place and inconsistent since this wasn't included in the rest of the book. I would have preferred to have *** in every chapter to announce a different point of view. However, I'm not complaining, I could follow the story quite well, it just required a little bit more concentration.

The magic system, although interesting and intriguing, should have been explained a little bit better. The reader isn't told what the different types of magic can do, therefore, I was not as "scared" as the characters were when for example a Firewitch showed up. There are many more examples like this to be found in the book. Also, I don't know if I just missed it but suddenly at the end, a new type of witch was introduced. It would have been nice to have an overview of all the possible witches and their powers in the beginning of the book. As well, as a little bit more information about the world and the different countries and people. We only get a map in the beginning of the book and that just has to do.

Spoilers below about the romance in the book

The romance between Safi and Merik, although cute, felt lacking to me. Especially when told from Merik's point of view. I am shipping them, though, I wouldn't have minded for it to have dragged out till the next book, or so.

And then, there is Iseult. I have a feeling she could end up with Aeduan and I wouldn't mind that one bit. Did anyone else think this as well?

End of the spoilers:

All in all, I really loved Truthwitch and although I do have some minor problems with the book I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. There is a very high possibility that this book will be in my top ten books of 2016, we'll have to wait and see!

Have you read Truthwitch or are you planning to? I would love to hear your thoughts about it! Leave a comment down below!

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for. 

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

I finally finished Ruin and Rising! I started it in January, then I had to put it down in order to study for an exam and then, I had quite a lot of trouble picking it back up again, in part to blame to my reading slump. In the end, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, however, I almost gave it 3 stars because of the slump. It was definitely a struggle to read, mostly because it was most likely the wrong book at the wrong time.

I do love all the characters in Leigh Bardugo's books although I find Mal extremly boring on certain occasions (which, let's be honest, is most of the time). My favourite character would actually have to be Nikolai, I think he's amazing and probably the most interesting and resourceful character of all (his only rival in this is the Darkling). I'm hoping to see more of Nikolai in Six of Crows but somehow I doubt it.

The ending filled me with very mixed feelings, I would have preferred Alina to end up with one of the other love interests but I do feel the ending was nicely done, and I understand why the author chose this ending. It fits and wraps things up nicely!

All in all, Ruin and Rising is probably my least favourite book of The Grisha Trilogy but I would definitely recommend the entire trilogy to anyone who is even remotely interested in reading it. Especially if you like great and likeable characters and a pretty cool world and magic system! Before purchasing the books, I heard some really mixed reviews which made me hesitant to pick them up, but now I'm so glad I did! I will definitely check out more of Leigh Bardugo's works in the future, in fact, I already ordered Six of Crows!

Did you read The Grisha Trilogy or do you want to? Leave your thoughts down below!

Stacking the Shelves: February Book Haul Part 1

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. I will split my February book haul in two or more parts and these are the first five books I got in February:

1. The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski

2. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

3. The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1) by Raymond Chandler

4. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

5. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

I do have to admit that most of these are in part cover buys. I mean, how could I resist these?

Have you read any of these books and what did you think of them? Which books did you buy this month? Let me know down below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Historical Settings I Love

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten historical setting you love to read about. This one was quite difficult for me but I managed to find some

1. Shakespeare's England

I LOVE Shakespeare!

2. Jane Austen's England

Do I need to say more?

3. Victorian England

I love the classics and historical novels set in Victorian England (and movies too).

4. Egypt

I haven't read many books set in Egypt but I do find the time of ancient pharaoh's very interesting!

5. Canada

I loved my Canadian literature course and I can't wait to read more Canadian books, I'm especially interested in Margaret Atwood, Ann-Marie MacDonald and Barbara Gowdy.

6. WWI & WWII setting

I love to read about these wars and I also love the stories my grandparents tell me about their experiences and their family's experience in those wars.

7. Latin America

I've read several books by authors of different Latin American countries, the novels set during the periods of dictatorship were the focus of my last course and it interested me greatly! I recommend Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Roberto Bolaño and Isabel Allende, although I didn't read her in class.

8. Russia

I really want to read the Russian classics like War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

9. France

I really want to read Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. I've already read The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux and I loved it!

10. Scotland

I've always been interested in Scotland and I've been wanting to travel to Scotland for a very long time. I'm hoping to go in one of the coming years

11. The United States of America

I like historical novels set in the US although I haven't read that many. I would really like to read a book about the civil rights and anything of the early history of America.

Which historical settings do you like to read about? Do you have any recommendations set in these places or periods? Let me know down below!

January 2016 Wrap up

I don't write monthly wrap ups regularly and that is something I want to change this year! So far, I'm doing well with keeping up my resolutions  to write more on this blog, especially since I had exams this month. In the end, I managed to read two comics and four books! This counts for 9% of my Goodreads challenge, I'm on track!

1. Rat Queens, Vol. 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe

This was the first thing I picked up this year and I liked it so much better than the first one, which at the time didn't impress me. Maybe I liked it better because I knew more of what to expect. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

2. Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan

The second volume of Saga, I liked way more than the first one, as well. I believe I both were kind of a right book/comic at the right time! 4 stars as well!

3. Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy, #2) by Robin Hobb

I Royal Assassin quite a lot! I even wrote a review! I gave this one once again 4 out of 5 stars! Check out the review here.

4. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Loved this one! 5 out of 5 stars! Check out the review here!

5. Siege and Storm (The Grisha, #2) by Leigh Bardugo

This second book in the trilogy was amazing which I was happy to discover! 5 our of 5 stars! Check out my review here!

6. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

This book was a loan from my grandmother and I had it in my possession since the summer months. I finally got to it and I really liked it! I have read several of Isabel Allende's books but it has been a few years. I was happy to read her most recent novel and to know that I still love her writing! 4 out of 5 stars.
I read this book in Dutch which is probably why it took me so long to finally pick it up, but I'm really glad that I did!

I also started reading Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo but I had to put it down in order to study for an exam. Since my examinations ended, however I've been feeling kind of slumpy. I'm hoping to change that as soon as possible but before that I'm probably not continuing with this book and watch Netflix instead.

Have you read any of these books? And what did you think of them? Let me know down below! I would also really like to know the books you read this month! Furthermore, if you would like a review of any of the books mentioned, let me know down below as well!