Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I'm not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we're 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet? Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I'm not kidding, he says.
You should be. 

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits - smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love - and just how hard it pulled you under.

First of all, the cover. It fits the book perfectly, since Eleanor and Park came in touch through music and comics. But it's not very special, because imagine when you don't know the story, would you go for this book or for a book that jumps out and get's you to grab it immediately? But again, it fits the story, because being in love certainly isn't roses and pink clouds.

The book changes from Eleanor's point of view and Park's point of view, which I actually really enjoyed. They both have such different lives and different insecurities. Park is Asian and throughout the book he will grow and find his own style, he has a loving Asian mom and a white dad, who love each other and show interest in Eleanor. But Eleanor is so insecure, maybe even more than Park. She hates her bright red hair, her curves and lives with an abusive stepdad and three siblings. She gets assaulted by this mystery person, whom I won't name, but when you get to the point where you find out who it is, wow, I was so shocked. Then a lot of things happen at a time and when I finished the book I wanted to throw it against a wall (which means I loved it).

Eleanor's mother and stepdad don't have much money. Richie -her stepdad- spends it on gambling and booze, which is why Eleanor and her three siblings have to sleep in one room, don't have nice clothes (Eleanor only has one bra which she wears with a paperclip) and have to get groceries in a store where everything is after date. This made me realise how lucky I am to have parents who make enough money to buy me clothes and food. 

The story had a lot of swearing, which is fine if you're used to that. But if you'd rather read a book with a lot of swearing (b and f), then I suggest you don't read it.

I will give this book 4/5 stars. It was different than what I normally read, but still beautiful and I loved it.

Extra: Movie rights are sold for the book, so there will maybe be a movie soon.

Title: Eleanor & Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: Orion Books

Age: 14+

Price (Hardcover): €16,50, $18,99

Pages: 336

ISBN: 978-1-4091-5725-0

                                                 Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

Shatter Me- Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

The cover is really beautiful. You'd think, why an eye? I mean, that has nothing to do with the fact her touch is fatal. But, as mentioned in the book, Juliette doesn't know her eye colour. She hasn't looked in the mirror for years, and she is afraid to do so. Also, she recognized Adam by his eyes. 

Yep guys, love triangle. Aaron Warner, the leader of the Reestablishment, and Adam Kent, the only person who has ever been nice to Juliette. I'd say, by reading the first book, that I'm totally Adam. I did pity Warner, because his parents have never truly loved him. They threw him out like garbage, which I also thought he was.

The good thing about this book was (it has a lot of good things), is that they keep the excitement and action in it. It never gets boring. It has some cheesy love scenes in it, but come on, don't we all love that? 

I didn't find out the secrets until the very end. When I was done reading (I read it in 3 days, on vacation), I didn't know if I would throw the book at the wall or hug it, which is a good thing, I think.

I'll give this book 4,5/5 stars, minus all the really cheesy scenes, it'd have been 5 stars.

Extra: There will probably be a film made out of the books, or a tv-show.

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

Vampire Academy: Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, half-vampire and half-human, who is training to be a guardian at St. Vladimir's Academy along with many others like her. There are good and bad vampires in their world: Moroi, who co-exist peacefully among the humans and only take blood from donors, and also possess the ability to control one of the four elements - water, earth, fire or air; and Strigoi, blood-sucking, evil vampires who drink to kill. Rose and other dhampir guardians are trained to protect Moroi and kill Strigoi throughout their education. Along with her best friend, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, a Moroi and the last of her line, with whom she has a nigh unbreakable bond, Rose must run away from St. Vladimir's, in order to protect Lissa from those who wish to harm the princess and use her for their own means.

The cover is not that special, I don't think it suits the book perfectly. To be honest, I like the Dutch cover better. I do like the fence on the book, which you'll find in the book too, Rose, Lissa and the other Moroi and dhampirs can't leave the Academy. 

Okay, hold my purse so I can start fangirling. I WAS SO ADDICTED! I've always been a fan of vampires since Twilight (yeah, I know, still love the story). I read this book in 2/3 days, which is pretty fast for me. I had seen the movie before and I absolutely loved it, so I needed the books! I finally found them so I decided to read them :).

I really, really enjoyed the idea of Rose falling in love with her mentor, who is 7 years older than she is. Their relationship is pretty complicated, since they can't be together because of their work. 

I love Rose, this ass-kicking-sassy Guardian. They only one she really cares about is Lissa, who she has a special bond with since 'the accident'. She always does before she thinks, and has gotten in trouble for that many times.

I'd give this book 5/5 stars, it was amazing and I loved it so much (yeah, I love a lot)

Extra: This book has been adapted to a movie, click here to see the trailer.

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

The Iron Fey: Call Of The Forgotten: The Lost Prince - Julie Kagawa

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

God, I love Julie Kagawa. I have read all of the previous Iron Fey books and when I heard she also made a series about Meghan's little brother, I decided I needed to have it. 

I love the cover (Dutch and English), they have such a faery-like ambiance and I think it fits the book perfectly. Julie always uses the same font, which I like.

The book was really nice, but I must say I needed to lay it down a lot (only to pick it up ten minutes later). I didn't know what to think of Keirran. I have heard many spoilers (I will not share them with you) about him and that made the reading a little bit less for me. There was not many action in the book, sometimes it was a tiny bit boring, but I still wanted to keep reading because of the secrets you just wanted to know. 

Ethan and Kenzie, aaah! I like them together. I mean, who doesn't like a badass girl in books? Only to get sad in the end...

I'll give this book 4,5/5 stars.

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

The Hunger Games trilogy: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games. She and fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime maybe more than friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at a distance. Peeta turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol, a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. 

As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

It comes as a shock for Katniss, Peeta and their families. The vengeful president Snow is planning to sent them back to the arena, again....

First of all, yeeyeeyeey! I can't tell you how obsessed I am with The Hunger Games. I have watched all the movies and read the two first books. I love it.

This book? Mmh, not so much. It was almost the exact same as the movie. Not that that's wrong, the movie was adapted later than the books, but you still expected everything, which made it pretty boring at some times. 

Also, why wait that long on giving Katniss and one of the boys (don't want to spoil for the ones who have never heard of THG (what)) a kissing part? Like, why does Katniss wait that long? I had these moments where I was just like: 'UGH, WHY DON'T THEY KISS ALREADY JUST MAKE A CHOICE!' 

The good thing is, Haymitch is in the book too. He makes the book so much more fun with his drinking problem and his whatever mood all the time. And Effie just makes my heart light up, she is so sweet and you can tell she really cares about her little winners.

This review is getting too long, but I'll have to say this. Finnick is officially the hottest dude ever. If I wouldn't ship Katniss and Peeta, I would definitely ship them. 

With that being said, I will end this post with giving the book 4/5 stars. 

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

Precious Stone Trilogy: Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier

Gwendolyn Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful niece Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwendolyn, who suddenly takes her first jump to another time!

Gwendolyn must now solve the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon -the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line- Together, Gwendolyn and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century in London, they can trust.

I love this. Really, I have nothing bad to say about it, it's absolutely perfect. You would think Gideon will be one of those typical douche bags that suddenly turn out to be really nice (okay, he kind of was a douche bag) but the way the author describes him and Gwendolyn/Gwyneth is just amazing. You can feel with Gwendolyn, because she has never been prepared for any of this, but yay Gideon is :).

I love Gwendolyn! She's so upbeat and even though she travels through time and has this badass skill, I could really feel with her and relate to her. She's really clumsy, just like me :). She isn't the best in handling the whole time-traveling situation but she didn't make me feel bad about myself (that's why I don't read many Dystopians, because the protagonists all have these talents and I'm just a girl on the internet).

Gideon was a bit full of himself at first, but I got to know him more and more, which, again, made him actually really sweet. (I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit obsessed with Gideon and Jannis Niewöhner).

This book is for every age and reader, Fantasy/Sci-Fi fans will love this especially.

I'll give this book 5/5 stars, there were literally no flaws.

Extra: A movie is adapted from the book. If you want to see it, click here.

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

The Vampire Diaries: Nightfall - L.J. Smith

Elena Gilbert is alive again. When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her-the handsome, caring Stefan and the dangerous Damon- Elena dies, but gets pulled back by a powerful supernatural force.

Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What’s more, her blood makes her irresistible to vampires and other dangerous creatures.

At the beginning I was scared I wasn't going to like this, but it surprised me, and now I absolutely love it. It had some boring moments in it, but I could look past that.

I could really feel with Elena's character, she is so fragile when she returns from the death. And then she becomes this powerful chick that will do anything for her friends. I must say I want to be like her, especially because she has two VAMPIRE brothers that are handsome as hell and adore her. 

When people will ask me: 'What's your favourite brother?' I will definitely say Damon. Yes, Damon is dangerous and sometimes he does things I really hate, but I just don't like Stefan. The way he adores Elena is just too much for a 19 old woman. 

I will give this book 3,5/5 stars, because they all had really changed over Dark Reunion and Nightfall. They'd become nicer, also more powerful characters. 

Dominique (@myperfectreading on Instagram)

Hey loves! 

This is my first post as an official English blogger! (never did the English kinda thing).So if you're wondering who I am: my name is Dominique, I'm 13 years old and I love reading and Ariana Grande.

You may have gotten here by my fanpage on Instagram, or not, I'll stop talking now.

Why did I make a blog?

As you may have read, I love books. I read three books a month (I try, sometimes I'm busy with school and I sadly can't). I saw a Dutch blog (I'm Dutch, for the ones who didn't know that yet) and I started thinking, why don't I make a blog? I have various fanpages, from Instagram and Tumblr, and now I started with Blogspot! I made a Wordpress one too, but that was just bad.

What am I going to do with this blog?
Well, I hope to post reviews once in two weeks. I hope, so don't expect me to have rules or something (like, seriously, it's my goddamn blog). It's from various books, maybe a lot of Fantasy, but I'll try to read some requests.

If you have any questions about me, just ask on my Instagram: @sexyboca or another book page I'm currently making. Please remember someone loves you in this world.

Dominique