Wrap Up + Book Haul | January

I’m so immensely upset with my January wrap up.

I can’t tell you how excited I was with the beginning of the new year as usually that means a great reading month/start for me – so you can only imagine my disappointment when an unexpected reading slump decided to hijack my highly anticipated January plans. I’m currently feeling much better however it took me two unfinished books and almost two weeks of total despair until finally find the ‘one book’ that was going to help me get out of this nightmare – Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, I thank you both.

As for that, in January I only read two books:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I’ve reviewed this book on the blog so you can check my thoughts here. I truly enjoyed this book and I can’t recommend it enough – it’s an absolute must for all those book lovers who so often obsess after a certain author, book or characters. I saw so much of myself in this book, plus Rainbow’s writing style is delicious!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This book is not yet reviewed on the blog but it will be shortly. This was my first Laini Taylor book and gosh I couldn’t be more surprise! Karou is probably one of my all time favourite female protagonists and I love her to death! Feeling super excited with the next installment in this series.


My book buying plans ended up being way better than what I expected. I bought four books and received one from a publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I know that the image only displays four titles in total and not five – I purchased Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor in second hand and because the book is in horrible condition I simply couldn’t put it here. This means that I continue my infinite search for a good quality/condition Hardback edition of this title – if someone knows of anyone or a place where I can get one, please do tell me!

You might also be asking why the hell I bought book one and book three in a series – well, Ensnared was at a really good price when I acquired Splintered so I wasn’t able to resist. Now I’m only missing book two, which is sort of good in a way seeing that Splintered was one of my January unfinished books (I’m still hoping to go back to it some time soon, though).


Other interesting posts on the blog: 
British Books Challenge 2015
New Authors Challenge 2015
Fairytale Retelling Challenge 2015
Debut Author Challenge 2015
Fangirl's Book Trailer
Most Anticipated Books of January

And that’s all!

Let me know how your first reading month was… and how many books you got in January!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell | Review

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Series: None
Publisher: Macmillan
Release: 3rd July 2014
Source: Bought


Summary:
Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.

Without Wren, Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible.


Review:
I’m seriously in love with this book.
In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting to like it this much since there were quite a few things in the beginning of the book that sort of bothered me but as soon as I got over them and really started enjoying Fangirl for what it is I just couldn’t stop reading. It’s such an addictive book and so easy to read even though it touches strong themes like first love, mental instability and child abandonment. Rainbow Rowell has a gift with words and maybe that’s why it’s impossible to put her books down – her writing style is enchanting and beautiful in its simplicity.

This story is like an ode to fan culture. There are a lot of references in the book that mean so much and are so much fun for avid readers who have devoured those books in the past. Also, the whole Simon and Baz side story is fascinating by bringing a certain Harry Potter vibe – at least that was the first thought that crossed my mind when I read it.
Maybe this book is so enthralling because it focuses on something that many readers can connect to after finishing a series. Maybe it's the writing style that binds it all. Maybe the characters are the right answer. All I know is that Fangirl is absolutely amazing as a whole. It’s funny, it’s adorable and so, so real.

The characters are very relatable, and hilarious, and fascinatingly unique while also incredibly perfect in their own imperfectness. Cather is a great leading lady exactly because of that – she’s a little bit too obsessive with her fanfiction Carry On, Simon, she’s insecure, somewhat crazy but she has so many feelings and love inside of her. Wren, on the other hand, is super confidant, and outgoing and even though she makes a lot of mistakes throughout the book, I think she really understood the importance of maintaining a close relationship with her twin sister, Cather.
I really liked Levi – he’s super patient and so, so funny – but completely disliked Nick (I think you can guess why). Reagan is pure awesomeness and Courtney is certainly the symbol of bad friendship. God, this book has so many amazing characters that I could talk – write – about them all day.

The details are the last thing I need to mention in this review. I loved the meaning behind Cather and Wren’s name – not really how or why they got it but the sound effect behind it –, I loved the little glimpses of Cather’s stories, I loved Levi’s love seat, I loved the scene when Cather reads Levi The Outsiders, I loved… I just really loved this book and I think you all should read it. Seriously. Just go read it.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell | Book Trailer

I love, love book trailers. I think it's a fantastic, highly visual way of sort of selling a book to a reader who has never read that author before. And since I'm currently reading - or yet, devouring - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell I decided to post this super cute book trailer of Cath(er) and Levi.

Have you read Fangirl? 

What are your thoughts on it?