Review of 100 Hours by Rachel Vincent

Title/Author: 100 Hours (100 Hours #1) by Rachel Vincent
Publisher/Date published: Katherine Tegen Books, March 28th 2017
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: A decadent spring break getaway on an exotic beach becomes a terrifying survival story when six Miami teens are kidnapped and ransomed.

Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends.

While Maddie craves family time for spring break, Genesis seeks novelty — like a last-minute getaway to an untouched beach in Colombia. And when Genesis wants something, it happens.

But paradise has its price. Dragged from their tents under the cover of dark, Genesis, Maddie, and their friends are kidnapped and held for ransom deep inside the jungle — with no diva left behind. It all feels so random to everyone except Genesis. She knows they were targeted for a reason. And that reason is her.

Now, as the hours count down, only one thing’s for certain: If the Miami hostages can’t set aside their personal problems, no one will make it out alive.

I used to devour thrillers when I was younger, but these days I gravitate more to other genres, but I've really enjoyed Rachel Vincent's writing style in the past and that combined with the summary made me pick up 100 Hours. Sadly, it didn't work so well for me.

I felt that it lacked something to make me care about what was going to happen to this group of teenagers before it started happening. We're thrown right into the story a little bit before the main events start to unroll and the rapid change in POV between Maddie and Genesis didn't make me connect to either of the characters. Especially because I didn't really like either of them. I mean, I sort of felt bad for Maddie, her father died and her brother's a recovering addict, but it was all so briefly mentioned that I felt like I was supposed to feel sorry for her, but it didn't fully register.
And then there's Genesis, who's supposed to be entitled and not a very nice person, but there's no depth to this character portrayal and she just randomly hooks up with guys who are not her boyfriend, which I can't really blame her for because her boyfriend is a douche, but he's RIGHT THERE, so that was a bit of a problem for me.

There was just a bit too much of random romance thrown in, I mean, why the heck are these people making out with each other when they're being held hostage? I mean, seriously? Why is everyone falling in love with each other in a matter of hours and willing to make sacrifices for said other person when they've known each other for all of 5 minutes and don't even know their real names??? I mean, SERIOUSLY?? Also priorities anyone? And I was just not shipping it. Because it was weird. And while I'm all for romance, it took away from the storyline in this case.

The ending left me going, WAIT WHAT? Because major dramatic events and CLIFFHANGER, but I still don't think I'll pick up the sequel, because while I think we'll finally get to some more interesting storylines, I'm not sure I want to read another full novel with these characters.

My rating: 1,5 stars

What I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

Hi all!

It's been a while since we talked. And that's basically because for a bit I couldn't talk about what I really wanted to talk about and then I had zero motivation to blog and SO MUCH going on. The main reason that I haven't been around much is this:

I've been growing a tiny human :)  and that's taken up a lot of my energy and strangely also time, not the growing itself, but the planning and being tired and feeling UGH for the first three months. And reading about pregnancy and tiny humans and everything they need. Last Friday was my due date and now I'm impatiently waiting for the arrival of our little girl, so it might be some time before you hear from me again after this.

Other highlights over the last couple of months:

We went to the Maldives! Which was amazing and SO gorgeous and the boyfriend actually proposed there, which was totally romantic. We relaxed and drank all the mango juice and snorkeled with sea turtles and actually saw dolphins and Nemo and Dory and it was just a lovely time!

We got married! We wanted to get married before the baby's here, so we decided to have the ceremony with just family and my best friend and her boyfriend and we had a wonderful day! We're throwing a party to celebrate somewhere in the summer probably.

We bought a house :) (I know, it's crazy right?) We'd been talking about moving and buying a house instead of continuing to rent and the baby just moved it a little bit forward on the timeline. And we were really lucky to find the perfect house that we both fell in love with and we've already been living here for 2 months now. I wasn't able to contribute as much as I would have liked with the moving process, but we're mostly unpacked now and I have an amazing set of built in shelves in the attic (thanks to the previous owners and my lovely father-in-law who built me some more when I told him it wouldn't fit all my books) and I just love it. We had so much help from our friends and family and I feel really blessed to have them in our lives!

I finished my GP residency. The day my maternity leave started was also the last day of my residency, though officially I'll be done on July 1st, but it's all maternity leave and vacation up until then, to basically it's done. I was REALLY sad to leave the GP's office I was working at, because it's such an amazing place to work at and my colleagues are the best ever, but I do feel really proud that I'm done and I'll visit with the baby and hope that I'll get to work there every now and then.

I've also been reading, but not as much as I thought I would, especially since my maternity leave started. But I did buy a book seat so in theory I'll be able to read handsfree which'll come in handy when the baby gets here ;) Fingers crossed it won't take long now for her to get here!

I feel so out of touch with the blogopshere! Let me know what you've been up to!

Review of The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

Title/Author: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
Publisher/Date published: Razorbill, February 23rd 2016
How I got this book: bought a shiny copy

Goodreads summary: She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world...

When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

I'm always up for a good fairytale retelling and Aladdin is one of my childhood crushes, so obviously I needed to read this!

And I'm very happy to say that I totally loved it! I was a tiny bit hesitant cause another Aladdin retelling I read earlier this year left me with less than giddy feelings and I was definitely not looking for a repeat of that experience, but I didn't have to worry, because Jessica Khoury took parts of the tale I loved and then added SO MUCH GOODNESS and it was just amazing!

I loved Zahra, she's a 4000 year old being and obviously she's seen a LOT and has experienced major heartbreak, but it hasn't gotten her down yet. She hasn't become this bitter person, but instead is still willing to fight for the people she cares about and I liked that. I also loved discovering her backstory and hearing her talk to 'Habiba' in her mind, sort of narrating the story to her. Though I did guess at one point who exactly she'd been before she was the jinni of the lamp, it was still more complicated than I'd imagined and I loved it!

Obviously Aladdin was wonderful. I mean, he's a thief with a heart of gold and it really shows. He's just this amazing boy who has set himself on a path and Zahra pushes him along on it, but I love that he realises what exactly the important things are along the way. There's some definite character growth going on here and I always like that! And he's kinda dreamy, so I was totally shipping it!

I really liked how Jessica Khoury added to the fairytale of Aladdin with the system of the jinni and how it affects the world that Aladdin lives in. There's so much more to it than simply a boy from the streets trying to make his way in the world and a genie who grants wishes and of course has a desire to be free of the lamp. Even though I totally love the original tale as well. But I like when an author takes a beloved tale like this and than adds his or her own twist to it without it detracting from the orginal. And I feel that with The Forbidden Wish, Jessica Khoury has done exactly that!

So basically, I'm saying you should read this and I'll be on the lookout for more from Jessica Khoury as well as kicking myself for not having read anything by her before!

My rating: 5 stars

Mini-Reviews (17): Diplomatic Immunity, My Fair Princess, The Best Friend Bargain

So sometimes I fail at writing reviews for the books I've read, and 2016 has me failing spectacularly (as did 2015). And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf (cause it's humungous, it's not even funny).

Title/Author: Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, September 6th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

I'm just gonna come out and say it: this book was a huge disappointment. It sounded like something that I would just LOVE, but instead it had me going 'meh' and having serious issues with several things happening in the novel. I wasn't feeling the main character, who was a bit of a hypocrite and just annoying and the love interest was just... Not interesting. I felt zero sparks and the whole system was messed up and it didn't feel like this was happening to teenagers.

I did like the relationships between Piper and her brother and Rafael and his brother, but all in all, it just wasn't enough to make me like the novel. I felt like it was trying a little too hard, which is a shame, because I remember very much loving Brodi Ashton's writing before.

My rating: 1,5 stars

Title/Author: My Fair Princess (The Improper Princesses #1) by Vanessa Kelly
Publisher/Date published: Zebra, August 30th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

So I liked My Fair Princess, it wasn't earthshattering or majorly shippy, but it was cute and I liked Charles, who was lovely and proper, but willing to let go of it for Gillian. I also liked Gillian, but she had a teensy bit of too stupid to live going on with all her diving headfirst into danger that you could see coming from MILES away. I mean MILES. But the two of them had nice chemistry and there was definitely some tension, which was wonderful. And I also really liked Charles' sister, who loved messing with him a bit, which is what sisters are supposed to do in my opinion.

My rating: 3,5 stars

Title/Author: The Best Friend Bargain (Kisses in the Sand #3) by Robin Bielman
Publisher/Date published: Entangled Publishing LLC, August 8th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

I like a good friends-to-lovers story and this was really sweet. I thought Olivia and Danny were kinda perfect together, but there was a definite lack of communication going on at one point ant that was just hurtful! I mean, wow. Also, I kinda had to laugh a bit at the way Olivia sorta just told someone that she and Danny were getting married and starting a family when she hadn't even told him that she was pregnant, it was all just a little crazy. I could sorta understand where Danny was coming from with his issues, but I was also a bit annoyed by it, because he was just throwing away so many things for himself and for Olivia (and for the women who came before him), that I just wanted to shake him.
Also, the ending threw me off a bit, I mean, that's REALLY quick for another baby (which to be honest doesn't seem all that healthy to me aside from being really quick). But it was a nice story and I liked it.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell

Title/Author: If I Only Had a Duke (The Disgraceful Dukes #2) by Lenora Bell
Publisher/Date published: Avon, August 30th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: After four failed seasons and a disastrous jilting, Lady Dorothea Beaumont has had more than enough of her family’s scheming. She won’t domesticate a duke, entangle an earl, or vie for a viscount. She will quietly exit to her aunt’s Irish estate for a life of blissful freedom. Until an arrogant, sinfully handsome duke singles her out for a waltz, making Thea the most popular belle of the season.

The duke ruined her plans and he’ll just have to fix them.

Dalton, Duke of Osborne, is far too heartless for debutantes or marriage—he uses dalliances and public spectacle to distract from his real purpose: finding the man who destroyed his family. When his search leads to Ireland, the last thing he needs is the determined, achingly innocent Thea, who arrives in the dead of night demanding he escort her to her aunt. His foolish agreement may prove his undoing. The road to the Emerald Isle is fraught with unforeseen dangers, but the greatest peril of all might just be discovering that he has a heart...and he’s losing it to Thea.

So I really enjoyed the first book in this series that features the basically identical looking half-sister of the heroine of this one, so I was excited to start this. And I liked it, just not as much as the first.

I liked the sassy correspondence between Thea and Dalton that starts of this story, it was witty and flirty and just lots of fun. And at first, the dialogue between the two is exactly that when they meet in real life. They challenge each other and have very nice chemistry and I was just really feeling it. But then the adoration started overflowing and it just sort of fizzled down a bit and I did still find myself hoping they'd find a way to be together, but it wasn't making me smile as much anymore as it did at the start.

I did very much enjoy Thea's antics, pretending to be an Italian opera singer and just getting up to all sorts of mischief. And the duke mainly just staring and dealing with it, while being a bit of a brooding hero with a not-so-servant-like man-servant. I did like the two of them together, they brought out a side of each other that was fun to watch.

The thing is, I was having a bit of trouble with the way that Thea thinks she 'knows him better than anyone' after having slept with him. I mean, seriously? You've known the man for what, two weeks, and because you've been intimate you know him better than ANYONE else? I can't help but roll my eyes when I read something like this, I mean, if you've actually known someone their whole lives and have deep conversations, then maybe you can say something like this, but having sex once or twice doesn't really do the trick. It's not a magic mind-reading experience.
But I could have gotten past this with just an eye roll or two, if I hadn't been disappointed by the way things concluded, which was a bit anticlimactic. ***SPOILER LIGHT UP TO READ*** Dalton walks away cause he's 'heartless' and then his brother ends up wanting a relationship with him and his brother and all of a sudden he's like YES I LOVE THEA and I'm like WHAT THE WHAT??? You left her like 5 minutes ago, I mean, SERIOUSLY??? What if his brother hadn't turn back around, then they would have been apart forever? And his mother magically learns to get over her fear of going outside that's kept her inside for 20 years because of said brother returning? I was seriously not into the ending at all. *** END OF SPOILER***

Aside from these issues, mainly with the ending, If I Only Had a Duke was an enjoyable read, it's just a shame that the ending left me not so much heaving a happy sigh at yet another happy ending, which is one of the things I love about reading historical romances.

My rating: 3 stars

THE READATHON IS HERE! :D

It's that time of the year again, the time where we get together and READ! YAY! It's readathon day! I LOVE Dewey's 24 hour readathon and even more so now that I get to spend it with my book club ladies of awesome :)

I'll be heading over to Daph's house in about 30 minutes and I still need to pack (EEP), as in pick out what books to take with me and gather the snacks and just... NOT ENOUGH TIME!

So here's a quick answer to the introduction questions :)

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'll be reading from Daph's home in Zaandam, which'll be awesome :)

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I haven't picked out my books yet! *panicks* *panicks some more* But I am looking forward to just reading some of the books on my shelves, though I'll also be bringing my ereader.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
ALL THE SNACKS! :) I'm bringing banana profiteroles, which are SO good! I'm sure the other girls will also be bringing snacks, so I probably won't have to eat for a couple of days after I get home tomorrow.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Hello everyone! :) I'm Daisy, 28 years old, resident of Holland, proud kitty momma and during the day I'm a GP in training, currently in my final year of residency. I've been blogging for about 6 (might be 7) years I think and try to always make time for the readathon, cause it's awesome. Other things I love include the boyfriend, cooking/baking, READING obviously, pirates and lots of TV shows (including but not limited to ANTM, Nashville, Awkward, Downton Abbey, Suits, White Collar).

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
I'm going over to Daph's and I'm finally meeting her cute cat, so that'll be different. Other than that, I'm just going to relax, read and enjoy my book club ladies' company.

Happy read-a-thon-ing everyone!!

Review of Once Was a Time by Leila Sales

Title/Author: Once Was a Time by Leila Sales
Publisher/Date published: Chronicle Books, April 5th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: In the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place? Her split-second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty's fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.

I LOVE Leila Sales' writing, so there was a LOT of pressure on this book to be awesome. And while I did like it, it didn't blow me away.

I'm always intrigued by timetravel and was curious to see how it would work out in this MG novel. And it was a very interesting concept, the thing is that it never really gets explained how the timetravel works and why Charlotte is able to travel while her dad's been spending his whole life loooking for the answer and never really getting it. And I guess I just sorta needed that explanation, because at one point it seems like we're getting it, but then NOPE, sorry!

I was really feeling for Charlotte, she went through a very traumatic experience and then ends up in the future all by herself, trying to make sense of the world that is all of a sudden filled with internet and all of the electric appliances that we now have basically everywhere. All by herself without her best friend and her family, she totally rallies though! She finds her safe place: the library (AWESOME) and things start to happen from there.

Charlotte seems like a nice girl, but she sorta loses herself in the drama that's a mean girl phase at school. And the figuring out of the whole timetravel thing gets put on the backburner until she finds a clue and then we're back in business! I felt that the ending was a bit bittersweet, but I did like it. The thing is that I was never fully emerged in the story and while I did like the way Leila Sales wrapped it up, I still have so many questions!

It was cute though, just not the amazing that I've come to expect from Leila Sales.

My rating: 3 stars