Neverwhere

There are all kinds of people in the world. There are those who need to be the center of attention, wanting to be admired and they’ll do anything, as long as there is someone to talk about them and their achievements. But there are also those people, who move through life silently, and many times they end up falling between the cracks.

There’s a place for those people, just under the streets of London, and you can’t even dream of it. But Neil Gaiman has, and that’s a book it worth to be read.

InterWorld

This year is practically dedicated to Gaiman, for no particular reason. I just happened to read many of the books I wanted to read for so long. And let’s be honest, what is better than a Gaiman story?

Snow, Glass, Apples

I have a special love for Neil Gaiman and I bet many people have. His writing, his voice, his imagination can be very addictive. So lately, I find myself picking up many of his short stories.

And there is one that I cannot stop thinking.

Snow, Glass, Apples

The Red Room, by Nicci French

What would you do if you had to return to the site of your worst fears? Kit Quinn is called by the police to advise them on a simple murder inquiry about a young runaway that has been found killed by a canal. But nothing seems simple in this case. Especially when the chief suspect is a man that injured Kit the last time they met.

Will Kit help the police to convict this man?

Land of the Living

“When you know you’re dreaming you wake up. Sometimes you wake into another dream. But when you wake and nothing changes, that must be reality.”

Here we are in the Land of The Living, as Abbie calls it, the place where we are free to act as we please. We work, meet friends, we eat and drink and have fun without restrictions but the ones we set.

What if suddenly those simple things were snatched away from us? We find ourselves in a dark place and as much as we blink, the darkness won’t go away.

The Sense of an ending

I bought this book just because the title was so powerful that I couldn’t resist. I didn’t read the synopsis; I didn’t give it a second thought. I just stood there, watching the words on the whitish cover: The Sense of an ending.

“We live in time – it holds us and moulds us – but I’ve never felt I understood it very well. And I’m not referring to theories about how it bends and doubles back, or may exist elsewhere in parallel versions. No, I mean ordinary, everyday time, which clocks and watches assure us passes regularly: tick-tock, click-clock. Is there anything more plausible than a second hand? And yet it takes only the smallest pleasure or pain to teach us time malleability. Some emotions speed it up, others slow it down; occasionally, it seems to go missing – until the eventual point when it really does go missing, and never to return.”

The Amazing Gaiman: The Graveyard Book

When I hear the name Neil Gaiman, I think of strange stories, most of them dark but fascinating and mysterious. I dream of strange-looking characters and a very interesting plot. When I read the title, The Graveyard Book, I thought of ghosts, darkness and death.

And I was right.

What an usual book this is! A boy, surviving a cruel death, and ends up in a graveyard. How is he going to survive? Who will raise him? A place like that is not a place for toddlers.

Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets

The journey to Harry Potter world continues since I can’t find a reason to stop reading this series. Yep, I’m not young enough for those books, but we’re kids deep inside, right? And I did enjoy this second book!

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy book 1 & 2

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a very interesting book. All of a sudden you may wake up and find out that your house is going to be demolished because a bypass needs to be build. But guess what, this is okay, because your whole world needs to be demolished too for the exact same reason! 

No harm done, right?

So, don't panic and grab the hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy, and you may have a chance to survive! Arthur Dent at least has a chance and that's mostly thanks to Ford Prefect!

Harry Potter: The beginning (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

It took me a while, but I finally read a Harry Potter book! If you'd asked me two years ago, I would have said that there is no way I'm reading those books, just because I loved the movies and I didn't want to ruin those beautiful feelings.

Yep, I didn't read the books on time and then I was convinced that it would be a mistake to read them. Who does really want to ruin story like that one, huh? Even if it was a story learned through a series of movies.

But then I had a change of heart.

Gillian Flynn: The Grownup

When I saw that there was another book by Gillian Flynn, even if it was a short story, I just had to read it! So I ran to my favorite bookstore and bought a copy of The Grownup.

From the first paragraph, since I don't usually read the back cover synopsis, it was obvious that there's yet another troubled character. And I was hooked!

It starts like this: 

“I didn't stop giving hand jobs because I wasn't good at it. I stopped giving hand jobs because I was the best at it!”

Origin by Jennifer Armentrout

Daemon and Katy are not in a good place. And not because they are not getting along. It's just they are apart. Daemon is willing to do anything to get her back and he is really doing it.

It had been a while since I read a Lux book and to be honest I wasn't so thrilled since in this one the narration is changing. The first three books were from Katy's POV and here, we see Daemon's too. Well, I'm not sure how I feel about that. I loved the way Katy was talking about him and not being in his head was great. I didn't want to get to know him this good. I liked the mystery that was hanging in the air about him.

Police by Jo Nesbo

Oh, Nesbo, Nesbo, Nesbo.

This time I am not frustrated with Harry Hole but with Jo himself! Oh, yeah! I mean really? After all those books and adventures we shared, this is how you decide to play it? This is how you treat me?

From the beginning of the book I felt tightness in my heart and cold sweat beaded my forehead. 

But let's go back to the beginning ... before it gets ugly!

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This is a classic read and a book I should have read so many years ago! Guilty, I know!

Dracula was written in 1897 and it's a Gothic horror novel. Of course we've read so many different horror stuff so Dracula did not exactly scare me, but I absolutely enjoyed it!

The story is told by multiple POVs and the interesting thing is that we actually read parts of diaries and letters and I had such a vivid feeling that I was actually reading a true story instead of just fiction!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Peculiar Children and a peculiar book. Since I laid eyes on that book I wanted to read it. There was something strange and mysterious that made me want to grab a copy and explore it.

So I did!

It starts with a family drama but it's only the beginning for Jacob to discover the secret that his family is hiding all along. But can he believe? What happens when you find yourself unable to trust your own eyes?

Fever series: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

What can I say about this one, huh? Especially the beginning and the end left my jaw hanging open and my eyes wide with terror. What the feck, right? (as Dani would say.)

There are things in books that we never expect to happen because we're used to see the MC always protected or saved in the last minute by some magical power or some courageous character that has her back. I love that Mac isn't always protected and shitty things do happen to her quite often.

But this? Well, I didn't see it coming.

!!!!!Spoilers Alert!!!!! (only for the previous books! It's inevitable!)

Fever Series: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

This one is a game changer. And that's why I like it.

Since I read book one and realized that the MC was a blond, Barbie-like girl, I felt the urge to toss it aside and read something else. But a friend was urging me to read it, promising me that the rest of the books will make it up to me. 

And it did worthreading it.

The Monstrumologist series: The Isle of Blood

Doctor Warthrop goes hunting the "Holy Grail of Monstrumology" leaving Will Henry alone for the first time. But what hurts the most is that Warthrop doesn't go alone, but takes with him his new eager for hunting assistant, Arkwright. Will Henry doesn't cope well with his doctor's decision and when some months later a letter arrives declaring him dead, Will knows that he needs to go and find him.

Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi

Before I start talking about this book, I need to say that I was confused about this series. It was hard to make my mind about the plot, story and characters. But I wanted to finish the books and see the bigger picture. Well, now that I've seen it, let's talk about it.

Always spoiler free so don't hesitate to read the post! :)

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles "Pudge" Halter is going willingly to a boarding school. A choice he made in order to change his dull life and search for the “Great Perhaps”. The moment Pudge is stepping into Culver Creek Boarding School, his life is not dull anymore but crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring as the world of Culver Creek. But amongst the craziness there is Alaska Young, a girl that pulls him into her world and steals his heart.