A Message To You For 2016

Ahh - just a day till the new year starts!

It's not that special, actually. In the end it's still the next day and nothing will actually change, just the last number of the year.

But the fireworks, the great food and the people just make it special.

Now we all have New Year's resolutions.

"I want to be happy"or "I'm going to study hard in my final year and pass my exams".

All great visions on how great the next year will be. Because this year is going to be YOUR year; this year is going to be perfect; this year, ooh this year, this year is going to be the BEST!

Right?

But when all the festivities are over, reality strucks in like lightning and suddenly life returns to normal. Nothing's changed!

You're still the same person like few hours before and well, your same old life goes on.

And those New Year's resolutions?

Well, they're just resolutions, aren't they?

Now I'm not going to tell you to cling to thes resolutions - make them reality! Hold on! Believe! - no.

Nor will I tell you to give up on them.

The only thing I will tell you is this:

Know that you don't know.

Because if you expect to be this or that, to do these great things this year, it will only hurt more when it doesn't happen, when you realize you're incapable, that you lack skill or motivation etcetera etcetera etcetera...

So don't.

Although it's better not to, we till have the visions. I mean everybody has them!

Everybody feels like doing something!

The only problem most of us face is that we aren't prepared for what's next.

And you can't be prepared for what's next.

But you can be prepared for not being prepared. You can be prepared for not knowing what to do.

The point is:

Next year, when you have this list of things you want to accomplish, be prepared for not accomplishing anything of this list at all! Life's weird!

Everything changes every single time! So how the hell would you know what's going to happen? You don't! Will it be good, will it be bad - YOU NEVER KNOW!

And you have to be at peace with that!

But then, what do you do when you never know what to do?

You just live. You do thigs relevant for this very moment. You think you should do homework now? Do it. You see your room's dirty? Clean it.

What will happen tomorrow, what you will do tomorrow, is and stays in tomorrow and you'll see what's up then.

Not now. Because you can't do anything for tomorrow now.

It's true that your actions might have any effect on tomorrow. Like if you do most of your homework now, you might have to do less tomorrow. But what if you get an email tomorrow saying that you get extra homework? Or your mom gives you extra chores?

There goes your preparation for tomorrow. So you don't have any idea how tomorrow will turn out for you.

To this point you probably feel like "know that you don't know" is the worst advice anyone could ever give to you and it's pointless and idiotic and strange and perhaps a bit scary.

Okay then - let's get back to those resolutions.

What are these resolutions?

They are hopes, some impossible, some quite doable.

But in the end hopes are hopes.

We need hopes.

We do it all the time - it's what keeps us going.

Because if we don't hope, how the hell are we going to enjoy this strange, impossible madness called life?

But Nadi, isn't having hopes pointless when you never know what will happen next and you can't be prepared for anything?

You tell me. Is it? Do you feel better if you don't have hopes? Will you feel motivated to do something? If hopes get pointless, then doesn't life become pointless?

If you ask me: no, hopes are definitely not pointless.

Because it's all we can do for now. We can't look into the future, but having hope can give us all a great boost. It will make us try!

If you keep on hoping, you will keep on trying!

And those who keep on trying are mainly the ones who get where they want to be, and happily!

Yes, some don't - they just had bad luck. Maybe they're badly injured, they lived in abad environment or lacked the skills or were aiming for something impossible. But that's life.

But knowing that you don't know isn't supposed to keep you from living or make you feel down or take away your hope!

It should fuel your hope!

You have no idea what is up ahead, you have no idea how things will turn out, so all you can do is hope and try to make these visions come true.

And that will - hopefully (see what I did there? *wink* *wink*) - get you where you want to be.

So here's my advice to you for 2016, and actually every single moment in your life:

Know that you don't know.

You have no idea what will happen tomorrow or next year or if your dreams will come true.

And you need to accept this.

But don't stop hoping, and with that: DON'T STOP TRYING!

Because in the end all you have to do is:

Hope for the best and be ready for the worst!

Have a wonderful time tonight! Enjoy your New Year's Eve with everyone you love and don't forget to hope!

I wish you all the best for 2016!

Until the next blog post! :)

All I Want For Christmas Book Tag

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas, everybody!
I hope you're having fun and have got a lots of books or other presents, but mainly books, of course. Me and my family, we don't really celebrate Christmas - we just eat a lot and all the good stuff of course. And we get presents. Most times a few months too early.
Haha.
Anyway - that doesn't mean I don't enjoy Christmas! Festivities don't matter as long as you have your family to spend a wonderful time with, because that's what Christmas is all about, right? O WHO AM I KIDDING? OF COURSE NOT! ALL WE WANT IS PRESENTS!
(...Just kidding. Kinda. Sorta. Not really. Hehehe...)
So today I'm doing the All I Want For Christmas Book Tag!

1) What fictional character do you want Santa to leave under the Christmas tree?

I'm kind of alone so I kind of need someone who can be my bestie. So I need someone who's sassy, has some humor, likes my non-humor humor, likes to kick some ass (even though I'd probably fail at kicking someone's ass. I'll probably just make threats and run off as soon as someone tells me to actually do it. #heroic) and likes books.
Uh. Well. Uhm. Hm. I think...
Amy. Amy Gumm.
Because her sass-level is high with its sarcastic humor and she how to kick some ass. I don't know if she likes books, though. She probably does. Or I'll make her.
I'll manage with my sarcastic non-humor humor and my kind of sassy sass. 
We would make such great friends.

2) What character would you want to kiss under the mistetoe?

WHAT CHARACTER WOULDN'T I WANT TO KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?!
Well, actually... Let's just skip that question and get to the real question.
In my reading journey I've come across a lot of hot guys. Like really hot guys. Like legit hot guys. Like so hot, you have to have a pack of ice nearby otherwise you going to die of their hotness. But there was one that will always manage to blow me away with his hotness. And that is...
Ashallayn'Darkmyr Tallyn form the Iron Fey series.
He was my first book crush and he always will be, because of his ice cold hotness.
If he'd kiss me under the mistletoe my life would be complete.
#WishesOfALonelyReader

3) Write your Christmas Wishlist for Santa, what top 5 books are in it?

This list is kind of a mix between books that are already out and books that have to come out yet.

1. A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember In The Ashes #2)
2. Glass Sword By Victoria Aveyard
3. Everyday by David Levithan
4. She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
5. The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa (Dutch Version)

I need this in my life as soon as possible, Santa. 

4) It's secret Santa at Hogwarts, what do you want to receive the most?

Well, I still haven't read Harry Potter yet. But lately I've been watching quite some Harry Potter movies and what I'd really like to have is that time-travel-necklace-thingy Hermoine uses to do more classes on one day, in the Prisoner of Azkaban.
I want to travel through time. It sounds so cool.

5) You get to spend the day with your with the characters and movie adaption actors from one fandom, what do you pick?

Well, the truth is that I haven't watch many movie adaptions from books. Or I have but I didn't know until later that it was a movie adaption. But I think I'm going for the cast of An Ember In The Ashes, because these characters are awesome and I'm pretty sure that the actors will be awesome too. Hopefully. It isn't a movie yet, by the way. But it will be. Soon. I don't know when, but soon.
(It better be soon, because I don't know if I can wait much longer)

6) With what fictional animal would you like to replace Rudolph and be able to meet on your roof?

Grimalkin. Obviously Grimalkin from the Iron Fey series. First of all because he's the laziest cat I've ever read about and I want to see him pretending to be a reindeer and see his face while doing so. And secondly; everyone of the Iron Fey fandom would want to see Grimalkin in a reindeer costume and just take pics with him.

7) You invite 10 fictional characters to your New Year's Eve party, who would you pick?

This is no top ten, but just to make it clear and easy to read:

1. Todd Hewitt
2. Viola Eade
3. August Pullman
4. Amy Gumm
5. Nox
6.  Professor Andrew Martin (the alien)
7. Alexa Hollen
8. Prince Damian
9. Mare Barrow
10. Maven Calore (THESE TWO ARE GOING TO MAKE UP AT MY PARTY AND BE ALL KISSY KISSY AND STUFF #SHIPISREAL)

8) What character would make a good Santa (Doesn't have to be appearance, personality counts too)?

August Pullman, a little ten year old santa! HE WOULD BE SO CUTE. He's funny, he's happy, he's warm and lovely. Ugh, Christmassyness-overload!

That's it for this blog post!
I wish you all a Merry Chrismas!

Until the next blog post, then! :)

Review The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness

I fell for the first book and now I'm falling even harder for the second.
THIS SERIES IS INTENSE, I TELL YOU, INTENSE.
RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED!
This book ripped my heart out, squeezed it tight, put it back to rip it out again - I've never felt THIS moved by a book before. Never.

Summary

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS OF THE FIRST BOOK!!!

After arriving at Haven, the first and biggest settlement of New World who has the cure to Noise, Todd and Viola, who is badly injured find that they were too late.

Mayor Prentiss has already taken over and they've walked straight into his arms.

They immediately get separated from each other and both try to live under the new circumstances and both are wondering where the other is.

And then one day a group called the Answer pops up and the bombs start to explode...

My opinion

Rate: 9.5/10

The Knife of Never Letting Go was furiously paced, but The Ask and The Answer was terrifyingly slow.

O. MY. GOD.

Those were the first words I spoke after finishing the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. I am sooooooo moved? blown away? dead?

I don't even know what this book does to me, but it's good. SO. GOOD.

Ness has literally blown me away in this second book. I knew it would be a great series after reading the first book, but I never thought that Ness could make a build-up, a slow pace so utterly terrifying and awesome. 

This slow pace perfectly fits the protagonists' adjustment to their new environment and their feeling of hopelessness and desperation of not knowing who to trust, what to do or how to get back to each other. It also shows us these strong feelings they have for each other, which I really enjoyed reading. Well, I don't think enjoyed is the right word here, more like moved, heartbreaking, making-you-want-to-faint-of-happiness-and-or-sadness.

This slow pace felt more like filling a waterballoon. 

We got these creepy, confusing, mindwrenching events that filled the balloon; questions, horrible accidents, accusations, new friendships, more hatred, new discoveries - ALL OF IT - thrown into it and the balloon just gets bigger and bigger. And at the end of the book - BOOM.

It explodes. And I'm guessing that we're going to see the consequences of the explosion in the third and final - NOOOOO - book.

And it was this in particular that really absorbed me into the book.

The character development in this book is SO. STRONG.

At some point in the story you just feel like you're reading from a whole other perspective. Both Todd and Viola grow up in this book, learn how to make difficult decisions and how to do anything for the other. 

*faints while yelling "OTP! OTP! OMG OTP!"*

They both become these leaderlike, confident persons and that's just so beautiful to see.

And the connection to the characters grows stronger and stronger...

This connection I have with the characters I have in this book is one I've never had before.

I can LITERALLY feel their frustration, their hurt, their anger, thir longing for each other (Todd and Viola). The twisted, too nice but so not nice mind of the Mayor - sorry, President - scares the poo out of me, but I LOVE IT because I can really feel the fear it instills in the characters. It really messes with my feelings, absorbs me even more into the story, to the point where I'm never letting go till I got the answer on my asking.

(WOO- CHAOS WALKING REFERENCE IN ONE SENTENCE #pro)

And there are really no bad things to say about this book! Only that it ended to soon and it still doesn't feel that Sci-Fi-y, although I feel like we're going to get some more Sci-Fi-y elements in the third and last - o boy - novel.

Which makes me realize... I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THIS SERIES.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ah well, I'll just read it again.

That's it for this blog post!

Until the next blog post, then! :)

Review Fight Or Flight by Chele Cooke

After reading the first book for the Out of Orbit blog tour, I was really pumped for the sequel. I had a feeling that something big was about to happen for Os-Veruh and its inhabitants. The Belsa would finally take action and Georgianna would turn in this badass leader, wielding swords like she was born to do it and Keirran would by her side and they would FINALLY join (Veniche way of saying marry). The Adveni would be burned to the ground and the Veniche would be victors.

Yeah, that wasn't really the case.

Instead it stayed true to its secretive theme with its hidden truths and betrayals and it was pretty freaking cool.

Summary

“This is nowhere near over. This is just the beginning.”

Georgianna Lennox is now a slave, serving an Adveni master and caught in the middle of a brewing war between oppressors and insurgents.

As the rebels increase their attacks against the Adveni, Georgianna is recruited as their eyes behind enemy lines.

But the lies she is forced to tell her owner are nothing compared to the secrets she must keep from her friends.

Secrets that could change the war in their favour, and lies that might destroy them all.

My opinion

Rate: 8/10

A BOOK FULL OF SECRETS AND BETRAYALS AND A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE - AWESOME!

I really enjoyed how instead of my expectations of becoming this action-packed book it stayed to true to the secretive theme of the first book. Our protagonist, Georgianna, is confronted with lies and has to lie herself and kind of goes through the same progress as in the first book. Only now it's bigger, more important and we see her grow a bit more in the book.

I really liked the new additions to our cast of characters! Or more like the fact that old characters got a bigger part in this book, like Edtroka and Alec. Their personalities and ideals really spice things up in the story, because they pretty much completely influence Georgianna's actions and thoughts. Alec with his hate towards Keirran and Edtroka with his scary mood swings - they all really affect her and give this tension to the story.

Not much happened in the first half of the story; it was more Georgianna trying to get used to her new environment and her role as slave, but it were these "new" characters that made it way more fun to go through. 
Sometimes it was difficult to get through - the longing for the great life-changing, and action-packed twist was growing more and more and nearly made me throw the book away in frustration, but on the other hand I did enjoy, like I've said twice now, how we still had this secretive theme going on. Georgianna once again had to figure out the hidden truths and figure out what she was going to do with this knowledge.
The second half of the story took on this faster pace. More and more secrets were unraveled and I got to say - it got more fun too. Edtroka was throwing fists at someone, Georgianna got involved in another, but bigger plan and hell broke loose!
It made the wait totally worth it.

Seeing the other side, the Adveni-side of Os-Veruh in this book, really completed my vision of the world Cooke has created. After finishing the first book I kind of was afraid that the small part of the Adveni-world we saw, would be the only thing we would see, but luckily that wasn't at all true. I really enjoyed the "tech-feel" it gave to me, while I was reading it. The Adveni are this high-developed race and thanks to Cooke's detailed descriptions it gave me a better view on how developed they actually were.

The descriptions, like in the first book, did tend to drag on a bit every now and then. Though I appreciate them and sometimes, like with the description of the Adveni world, did enjoy them and found them necessary, I still thought they were just a bit too long.
It was another thing that made it a bit harder for me to get through this book.

But overall this book was great! I like the concept, the characters and the world and I'm really pumped for the third book! 
Ahh - I'm really hoping for some big character-developments in this book! 
I'm looking at you, Georgianna!

That's it for this blogpost!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)