noriboo's reviews
488 reviews

Wat een bijzonder verhaal.
Ik had ontzettend te doen met Elin. Dit verhaal is fictie, maar kan me voorstellen dat het verhaal een gevoel van herkenning opwekt bij hulpverleners en kinderen en mensen die in hun jeugd te maken hebben gehad met ouders die plots verdwenen voor een langere periode zonder uitleg en/of psychische problemen hadden.

Wat ik uit het verhaal haal, is dat het ondanks de verwarring en verdriet belangrijk is om hoop te houden en dat hulp soms dichterbij is dan je denkt, wanneer je het durft te vragen. 

Ik heb het audioboek beluisterd dat is ingesproken door de auteur zelf. Milouska Meulens heeft een prettige stem en leest fijn voor. Een aanrader! 

De tweede standalone novelle van de Dochters van de Fae trilogie.

Dit verhaal vond ik een verfrissende twist op het sprookje van Rapunzel. We leren nieuwe details over de motieven van Corighane en de High Fae zijn nog net zo afstandelijk en onbehulpzaam. Rozella vond ik een sterk karakter. Ze is niet iemand die bij de pakken neer gaat zitten en ze leert van haar fouten. In dit deel van de trilogie komt naar voren dat wat goed is en kwaad, niet altijd zwart-wit is. 

Boek dat zich goed leent voor zowel voorlezen als zelfstandig lezen. Het bevat verschillende korte verhalen over situaties in de wijk waar de kinderen uit het boek wonen. Voor veel kinderen zal het herkenbaar zijn met o.a. een buurtfeest met hapjes uit verschillende culturen, een boze buurvrouw die ontzettend gezellig blijkt te zijn en buurtkinderen die spontaan aansluiten wanneer ze horen dat er roti wordt gegeten. We maken kennis met de verschillende huishoudens en in het boek word getoond dat het bij iedereen thuis anders gaat, afhankelijk van gezinssituatie, culturele achtergrond, en eventuele lichamelijk gebreken zoals migraine. Eén van de buurkinderen is een rolstoelgebruiker en deze is op dezelfde manier betrokken bij de verhalen als de andere kinderen. De illustraties in het boek zijn kleurrijk en vrolijk.
Ik heb het met plezier gelezen!

What a ride. 

The story is told from a 3rd person pov that primarily focuses on Jordan, our 14-year-old mmc, who goes out at night to protect the city of Houston as a vigilante with superpowers. One night, this goes wrong, and he's offered a deal to stay out of jail: to go undercover at the prestigious Fort Olympus, an academy where Espers (how the supes are called in this world) are trained. The 3rd POV occasionally switches to other characters, like Jordans classmates and teachers. This served the story well. It gives the reader a broader perspective as to what other characters are feeling and what their motivations are. 

The kids in this story are 14, and they act their age. Jordan and his friends are incredibly driven in their ambitions to become heroes, but like most teens, they make mistakes along the way. Quite honestly, as an adult reader, there were points where I just wanted to give these traumatised babies a hug and tell the other adults of for placing these high expectations on kids to handle issues that they as adults couldn't even solve. 

In this universe, the Olympians and other God's and Deities aren't myths. They are real and have been an active part of world history.
Besides the Olympians, there is mention of powers passed through ancestry of Nordic, African, and Hindu Gods. Honestly, I wish the author had given us more in-depth information concerning this part of their universe because it's quite interesting, and I would have loved to see how that manifests in the powers of the heroes. I still enjoyed the story regardless. 

TLDR: The vibes are Percy Jackson meets My Hero Academia. 10/10 recommend this YA superhero novel. It's a fast-paced standalone adventure that leaves the door open for future stories to be told, and I'm hoping that the author will.

Much like the first book, I wasn't able to put this down until I finished.

At the start of this book, we find Calla reeling from the events where we left her last time. She's looking for answers as much as she's trying to grieve. 
As for the villain of this story... my goodness!
I was holding my breath for Calla and Gryffin, and my stomach dropped to my feet multiple times while reading. 
I wanted to shake sense in both of these stubborn cinnamon rolls while simultaneously screaming in frustration for them. The cards don't seem to be stacked in their favour, and I'm so curious to see how they're going to work everything out!


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I received an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own 

This book is MESSY. And I liked it!
If you're into reality tv drama, I'm quite sure you'll like this, too. Just cute, messy  vibes, not that deep, and laughing at the shenanigans. 

Wonderful second book in this standalone series set in the world of the Originals of Grimm Academy. Anna has definitely grown as a person compared to the first book. She has gone through a lot and is still reeling from the events where we left the story the last time.
 Anna has learned to accept the help of others and to extend a helping hand to others in return. After reading A Dusk of Stars, one of my criticisms was that it appeared as if Anna didn't care for her friends. This time around, I'm happy to say that she's learned how to be a friend and how to extend grace to others and herself. 

 The author has done a wonderful job in creating an original fated mates arc that spans through lifetimes. The romance is a slowburn, which is my favourite. 
The cliffhanger made me tear up. I had a really good time reading this, and I'm really looking forward to the final book!

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I received an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own. 

DNF at 46%.
After reading the Princess Trap last year, I decided to give Get A Life a shot after seeing a mutual on Tiktok raving about it.
Up until I stopped reading, I did find the overall writing good, and I appreciated the dry witt. 

The male main character is sympathetic enough, but I found Chloe insufferable. I get that she's got a chronic illness, I do. That representation is why I picked the book up. But her way of thinking and behaving was just too childish and rude to me. I just got tired of it and put the book aside and found myself not wanting to pick it up again. 

While I would definitely give the author another go, this particular book was not for me.

This story is told from multiple perspectives of people who are all in some way connected to the New Seoul theme park. A recurring theme in these characters life is that they're unhappy with their life's circumstances and had hoped that a visit to the park would offer some solace or a momentarily feeling of joy, feeling like they belong. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

I felt that the way in which their life's connected with each other is cunningly done. This isn't a story that I'll forget anytime soon. 

My favourite part of dragon rider books is always the part where we get the interactions with the dragons, and I often find myself wishing that the book had a dragons pov. When I realised that this story was being told solely from the perspective of the dragon, I was so happy. And it didn't disappoint!

This is a ya fantasy story about finding friendship, believing in yourself, self-acceptance, grieving, and standing up for what is right. It is implied that the dragon rider Syl is aro and/or ace. What I appreciated in this story as a whole is that romance isn't the focus. We, instead, focus on the platonic relationship between Syl and Isidra, and seeing them grow as individuals and as bond mates brought me so much joy. It was wonderful to see the platonic love and trust develop while they're trying to figure out who's behind the mysterious murders.

Elena has written a brilliant story that's set in the same universe as her previously written Shadow War saga. This story definitely tickled my curiosity, and I'm also hoping to see more adventures of Isidra and Syl. 

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I received an ARC through Netgalley. My opinions are my own.