December Summary

December 31, 2017December 30, 2017 Book ChickLeave a comment

Well December is over and with that the year of 2017. A new year is standing in front of my door and with that new books to read. Wonderful and I can hardly wait to start my new year. This month I have not been big on reading. A lot of other stuff to do and then the last book i read (Looking for Alaska) was not that good and did not make my desire to read any greater.

Favorite book this month: No one left to tell – Karen Rose
Least favorite book this month: Looking for Alaska – John Green
Total read pages: 2346

The Darkest Corner – Liliana Hart
Settings: Last Stop, Texas, (USA) Pages: 368 Published: 2017
Genres: Romantic, Suspense, Fiction, Thriller
My rating: 3/5
Five word: No suspense, repeatable, disappointed, mediocre.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in Gravdiggers.

No one left to tell – Karen Rose
Settings: Baltimore, Maryland (USA) Pages: 544 Published: 2012
Genres: Romantic suspelsen, mystery, crime, thriller
My rating: 4/5
Five word: Lots of characters and information.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 13 in Romantic suspenses and book 2 in Baltimore.

The Nightmare – Lars Kepler
Settings: Stockholm , Sweden Pages: 528 Published: 2010
Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
My rating: 4/5
Five word: Little dry, but exciting, good!
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 2 about Joona Linna.

To kill a mockingbird – Harper Lee
Settings: Fictional southern town, USA Pages: 324 Published: 1960
Genres: Historical, classic.
My rating: 4/5
Five word: Cant choose five words that describes this book.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in to kill a mockingbird

The Knowing – Ninie Hammon
Settings: USA Pages: 361 Published: 2015
Genres: Horror, fantasy, paranormal
My rating: 2/5
Five word: Not worth the time.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in The Knowing.

Looking for Alaska – John Green
Settings: Alabama, USA. Pages: 221 Published: 2005
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, romance, contemporary
My rating: 2/5
Five word: Dull, cant understand the point.
Links: Review | Goodreads

Looking for Alaska – John Green

December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 Book Chick3 Comments

| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ 99561 |

Goodreads synopsis: Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.

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My thoughts: Well, I’m so glad to be done with this book and i dont think that is a positive feeling. I totally understand that young adult, tortured souls, great minds and ideas and that feeling that you will never learn to know the light and love you only read about in books. Come on, I have been a teenager to. But after reading this book I definitely feel that I’m more near a death of old age than my teenage years.

The book is about Alaska. A girl I really do not like and the whole story is told by another boy that feels like a narrator than a real person. The whole story is off and it was really the Colonel who made me keep reading because I really liked him.

I have trouble seeing the point with the book. Is it to discuss religion and afterlife? Friendship? School and education? Maybe it is about that life really sucks sometimes and you need to take it as it is and keep going forward. Straight and fast!

Fantasy/Paranormal · Thriller/Horror

The Knowing – Ninie Hammon

December 22, 2017December 26, 2017 Book Chick1 Comment

27791721 | GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: It starts with a school shooting.
It ends with the return of an evil as ancient as the skeleton of the universe.
In the middle, normal garden-variety people must figure out how to live their everyday lives—how to survive!—after they discover that all those childhood horror stories … well, most of them are true.
When the hot call comes over the radio: “Code Red! Active shooter at Carlisle Elementary School,” Police Sergeant Jack Carpenter has one job and only one job. Find the gunman; take him out. He rushes into the school, fully armed and focused on cold, hard reality. But what happens to him in the next few hours shatters the world as he has always known it. And in the next three days, everything Jack Carpenter believes about himself, about life and reality, about good and evil and the whole nature of the universe will be challenged.

Can it possibly be true—seriously?—that invisible monsters prowl among us every day?
That there exists in the real world a winged creature more horrifying than any Hollywood-animated, computer-generated, mechanical unreality?
And that the single-minded mission of that beast—a creation of absolute, soul-less evil—is to kill Jack Carpenter?
That’s crazy! Fairy-tale-science-fiction-horror-movie-bogeyman crap!
Bottom line: it flat-out cannot possibly be true.
But it is.

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My thoughts: Have you ever read a book that you really like but at the same time really did not like at all. And you can’t for the life of you, understand why? Why in the heck did I not like this book, when I liked the story. With a 4.23 at Goodreads and a 4.6 at Amazon, this should be a top book for me. But no, it really was not.

I cant put my finger on what exactly that rubbed me the wrong way. The story is the same as have been in other books and movies many times before. But I expected it and was prepared for it so I do not think it is that.

No, I will leave it with that. I can’t understand it. Oh and one more thing. There is nothing in this book that is in the category “Horror” for me. Maybe I’m just not that easily scared anymore, but everything that happened in the book was expected.

Bullet Journal · Everyday things

Let’s talk about Bullet Journaling

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 Book ChickLeave a comment

One of my other hobby’s besides books is Bullet Journaling. For those who do not know what it is, it is kind of an flexible planning system. You have an notebook, any kind, a pen and then write what ever you need to remember and to do and so on in that notebook. Ryder Carroll, the man behind the system, explains it really well on their webpage. There is also a ton of videos about it on Youtube. Everyone uses the system different. Some are also really artsy and paint more than write. That’s the thing with the system. There is no wrong way to do it, you just do what works for you. And I use it to track a lot of stuff, write lists in it, diary, planing, drawing and much more.

Anyway, I have been Bullet Journaling for about a year now. I have used 2017 to try some different systems within the Bullet Journaling genre and think I have found what works for me. This is an huge community and there is a ton of different books, journals, pens, tapes, stickers and what not that you can use. I want to go as easy and simple as I can, without it being boring. So I draw a lot in my bujo (short for bullet journal). I also use it as an diary where i put in pictures and write about stuff that has happen. One of my goals for 2018 is to be better and put in more pictures and write more about happenings than I was this year.

I also use my bujo for my love of books. I record books I have read, want to read, buy, bought and much more and I though I should show you a couple of pages from one of my journals that I used this year. This is a spread that makes me really happy.

Picture to the left: Every square represent one read book. There is 133 squares on that page.
Picture to the right: I also wrote down which book it was that i had read. I also use Goodreads to track my books, but this is so much more fun and visual.

The reason I write about this today is because since this year is almost over, I have spent a lot of time with my new Bullet Journal for 2018. I have drawn all of my yearly spreads and collections so that my Bujo is ready for the new year. That means, I have not had the time to read as much as I would like to. There has been a lot at work and a lot at home with the incoming Christmas and such, so the time has not been enough for all that I want to do. But I only has 4 more days, then I take the rest of the year of work and hope that I will get some downtime to read then.

Do you want to know more about Bullet Journaling? Maybe see more spreads in how I use it to track book related stuff? Leave a comment and let me know. 🙂

Classic/Historical · Fiction/Science Fiction

To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

December 15, 2017December 15, 2017 Book Chick1 Comment

2657 | GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior – to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

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My thoughts: This is an hard review to write. Trying not to step on any toes here. I dont really know how I should put my thoughts and feelings in understandably words. This is one of those classic books that “you just have to read before you die”. Well I haven’t read it before and the story intrigued me so why not? However I dont think it made the same impact on me like on the other millions of people. I have grown up with the learning that every human being, no mater skin color or sex, should not be treated different. We should treat all humans and living things, like for an example animals, such as we want our self to be treated by others. That is such an obvious thing for me that it is hard to think that this is not an reality all over the world. I have seen racism and I have friends who have experienced it. And quite frankly it is hard for me to imagine that people have been and still are, that mean, selfish and disgusting.

In that time period when this book was published (1960’s) the story takes on an really important topic that, at the time was highly discussed and Martin Luther King was on the way up. I know the books was banned from several states in the US and that really shows how close minded some people are and I wish to believe that this book did some great things with lifting some of the problems. Today I think it’s more used as an history novel and classic that shows us how it was and still are at some places. To not forget and to learn and understand and not do the same mistakes again. Do you understand what I mean?

To make a point with this review, the book is really great. Not an full five star rating from me because in this day and time, I do not perceives it as any greater than many other books about the similar theme I have read. I like the story, the characters and Lee has done a wonderful work with describing both the story line and surroundings so that me as an reader gets a feeling that I’m really there. I would totally recommend it to anyone who would listen and feel that no mater where in the world you are from, you should read it.

Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Nightmare – Lars Kepler

December 12, 2017December 12, 2017 Book Chick1 Comment

13722526 | GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A drowned young woman is discovered on an abandoned pleasure boat drifting by the Stockholm archipelago—strangely, her clothes are dry. The next day in Stockholm, a man turns up dead, hanging from a lamp hook inside his completely bare apartment—but how could he have hung himself with no furniture to climb upon? As Detective Inspector Joona Linna begins to piece together the two mysteries, he discovers that they are a mere prelude to a dizzying and dangerous course of events.

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My thoughts: For you who do not know it, Lars Kepler is actually a pseudonym name for the married couple Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril. They are both published authors but together they write the series about Joona Linna under the name Lars Kepler. This is the second book in the series and even though I’m not much for “local” litterateur, I really like this book.

I listened on the first book about Joona Linna, back in 2012. I know that I also started the second book but could not remember if I actually finished it. There where parts that i recognized but i dont remember it all so I just listened on the whole thing again to be sure.

This one is the continuing book about Joona. The first book did not end on a cliffhanger but you as an reader should know that there is a lot of details about Joona that you dont really get to know. Also in this book. But i recon that later on in the series, all my questions will be answered.

I like the book even though I think the story about weapon export is a little dry and there is some parts in the book that really do not make sense for the books plot. I do like that I have gotten to know Joona a little bit more but still do not know all of his “secrets”. It is a book I can recommend but be advised that this is a slow burner in 500+ pages. Not as fast pacing (in my opinion) as the first book, but sometime it is nice withe those to.

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

No one left to tell – Karen Rose

December 11, 2017 Book Chick1 Comment

11264393 | GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A car crashes in front of rookie PI Paige Holden’s home. And suddenly, she finds one of her pro bono clients dying in her arms—from a gunshot wound. With her last breath, the woman whispers cryptic words into her ear and hands her a blood-smeared flash drive.

Five years ago, State’s Attorney Grayson Smith put a murderer behind bars. But when Paige Holden shares the flash drive with him, its contents cast doubts on the conviction—and lead him and Paige into a world of blackmail, dark secrets, and a decades-long string of murders. An investigation they’ll survive only by trusting each other—and the truth.

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My thoughts: This is an extremely complicated story. And then a really nasty story to. Not in the way of blood and gore but in a way of politics, dark secrets and people taking the law in there own hands. There is a lot for characters to keep track on, a lot of information from different ways and it sometime gets confusing about which character knows what and do not know what. And it is not that easy for you as an reader to keep track on it. That is my biggest complain for this book.

However I do love the characters even though i do feel they are a little to superficial. Specially Paige. I love the backstory to Paige and it actually feels like it is another earlier book. I have however not found any evidence for it. I have however found that several people she is mentioning in this books have there one book in another series. Just so for your information.

Even though I feel that there is way to many characters to keep track of and that information could have been somewhat simplified and the ending is a little anticlimactic I still really liked it. It is a long book with over 500 pages but perfect for those cold winter nights. 😀

Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Darkest Corner – Liliana Hart

December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 Book Chick1 Comment

32620320 | GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: The Gravediggers aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families.

Sometimes the dead do rise…

Deacon Tucker is a dead man walking. A former black ops agent, he was disavowed and stripped of all honor before being recruited as a Gravedigger. But his honor and good name no longer matter, because no one knows he’s alive, and he’ll never get the recognition he deserves. His mission is simple: save the world or die trying. And for God’s sake, don’t ever fall in love. That’s a rule punishable by death. The kind of death a man can’t be brought back from.

Tess Sherman is the only mortician in Last Stop, Texas. She has no idea how Deacon Tucker ended up in her funeral home, but she’ll eat her hat if he’s only a funeral home assistant. Deacon is dangerous, deadly, and gorgeous. And she knows her attraction to him can only end in heartache.

Deacon is on a mission to stop the most fatal terror attack the world has ever known—what’s known as The Day of Destiny—a terrorist’s dream. But when he discovers Tess has skills he can use to stop them, he has to decide if he can trust her with secrets worth dying for. And, most important, he has to decide if he can trust her with his heart.

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My thoughts: Okay book. I liked bits and pieces of it. But it was not an great book and frankly , i’m a bit disappointed. I have read like 13 books by Liliana Hart and for the most part I have really liked them. She writes characters who are fun, quirky and really lovable and you cant not love the male heroes. They are awesome. But there is nothing of that in this one.

Somewhat repeatable. Specially about Tess’s temper, read hair and white skin. About Deacons “undead” life and past. There is no real explanations to WHY Deacon is where he is and they all is a little boring. The only character that actually did anything for me was Eve and I completely loath her. So yeah.

I’m not even sure if I will bother to read the next book in the series. Since I have read so many books by Hart and know what she is capable to do, I feel thorn. Should I risk wasting time on another mediocre book or should I risk missing one great story?

Monthly summary

November Summary

December 2, 2017December 12, 2017 Book ChickLeave a comment

November came and went way to fast and it is already December and soon Christmas. Oh my, oh my what the time flies.

Read 9 books this month. More than I would have forseen because I have worked ALOT this month. But since my time has been limited I have spend it more on reading than tv or other stuff so I guess it evens out.

Favorite book this month: Wait For It by Mariana Zapata. A close runner up is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline who was my month favorite until I read Wait For It.

Least favorite book this month: Making the cut by Anne Malcom.

Total read pages: 3228 pages.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K Rowling
Settings: Hogwarts. Pages: 341. Published: 1998
Genres: Fantasy, young adult, fiction.
My rating: –
One word: Reread!
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 2 in Harry Potter series.

Ready player one – Ernest Cline
Settings: Ohio, Oklahoma (USA) Pages: 374 Published: 2011
Genres: Science fiction, fantasy, young adult
My rating: 4/5
Five word: Fantastic, story, virtual world, exciting
Links: Review | Goodreads

Rekindled – Kaylea Cross
Settings: Pakistan Pages: 259 Published: 2014
Genres: Suspense, Romance, Military, War
My rating: 3/5
Five word: Finally, suspense, mystery, little slow.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 5 in Titanium Security series.

The Magician’s Nephew – C.S Lewis
Settings: Narnia Pages: 221 Published: 1955
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, young adult.
My rating: 4/5
Five word: Magical, exciting, classic, series, love.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Postmortem – Patricia Cornwell
Settings: Richmond, Virginia (USA) Pages: 342 Published: 1990.
Genres: Mystery, crime, fiction, thriller, suspense
My rating: 4/5
Five word: heavy, quite slow, nail-biting
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in Kay Scarpetta series.

Making the cut – Anne Malcom
Settings: California, (USA) Pages: 387 Published: 2015
Genres: Romance
My rating: 2/5
Five word: Excessive, predictable, invested, romance, dislikable
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in Sons of Templar MC

Ashes, Ashes, they all fall dead – Lena Diaz
Settings: Savannah, Georgia (USA) Pages: 399 Published: 2013
Genres: Romantic suspense, mystery
My rating: 5/5
Five word: Wonderful, suspense, romantic, great read
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 3 in deadly games.

Eli – Jessica Gadziala
Settings: Navesink Bank (fictional), New Jersey, (USA) Pages: 235
Published: 2017 Genres: Romantic, contemporary.
My rating: 5/5
Five word: Great story, raw, family, love
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 4 in Mallick brothers.

Wait for it – Mariana Zapata
Pages: 670 Published: 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance.
My rating: 5/5
Five word: Great, Must read, lovable, hangover
Links: Review | Goodreads

Contemporary · Romance

Wait for it – Mariana Zapata

December 1, 2017November 30, 2017 Book Chick3 Comments

| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis:If anyone ever said being an adult was easy, they hadn’t been one long enough.

Diana Casillas can admit it: she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing half the time. How she’s made it through the last two years of her life without killing anyone is nothing short of a miracle. Being a grown-up wasn’t supposed to be so hard.
With a new house, two little boys she inherited the most painful possible way, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask for.

Except for a boyfriend.
Or a husband.
But who needs either one of those?

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My thoughts: I read “The wall of Winnipeg and me” (twowam) earlier this year and back then I did not know Zapatas books or writing style. I have had this book in my Kindle long before I even read “twowam” but there is always been something there who have stopped me from actually starting the book. But now I have read it and i’m so happy I finally did because O MY GOSH this book is good. It is even greater than “twowam” and I freaking loved that book.

This one is also an slow burn and wordy book but I feel I was a lot more prepared for it this time. There is also a lot more characters in the story and even two kids. And I freaking loved the youngest one.

The story is great and really believable. The characters is warm, funny and feels real. The only thing I feel that I need to comment on is that Dallas mood and personality do not quite match his backstory but that is okay. He is freaking great and I totally love Diana to. The relationship develops in a natural pace and I was not bored for one second. I can see how some readers can feel this book boring because it is not that much going on. But Zapata has an great ability to write an day to day story without at least boring me out and that is a valuable thing for me to like an author. Because I get easily bored.

This book gave me major hangover but it is so good and so worth it and you just have to read it. If you want. 😉