Tag: Dani Atkins

Best books I read in 2018 #BookBloggers #BookLovers #reading #BestOf2018

2018 was a good year for me reading wise. I managed to read 75 books which I’m pretty satisfied with.
When I look back at all the books I read, there are some I rated 5 stars that I don’t remember much about, but there are also some I rated 3 stars that left a huge impact on me.

I was thinking about doing my Top 10 books I read in 2018 list, but in the end I decided to go with 13 that now seem like the most important ones I read. I just couldn’t force myself to leave behind any of those books.

Not all of them were 5 stars, but they all left a big impression on me, and I am very thankful that I had a chance to read all of them.

 

1. The Olive Branch by Jo Thomas

This year I was fortunate enough to discover Jo Thomas, and out of all of her books I read, The Olive Branch was my favorite.
This book was perfect in any way, and it made me happy. It was well structured, with good story, great characters and so many positive vibes.
A chick lit novel at it’s best!

 

2. One Day in December by Josie Silver

You know a story is good when it makes you feel all kinds of emotions and you think about it again and again, even days after you finished it.
This is the book I finished two months ago, so it is the “freshest” in my memory, but I feel like it will stay with me for a long, long time.
If I could recommend only one festive book to my followers, it would be this one.

3. Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill

This middle grade comedy made me laugh out loud so many times that I lost the count. It won my heart and it is now one of my all time favorite books. It’s the one I recommended the most when it comes to middle grades, and I am so happy to know that there are so many sequels with Darcy to enjoy.

4. Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Good Me, Bad Me surprised me, because I never expected to like it that much. What I liked the most when it comes to this novel is it’s writing style. I wish more psychological thrillers were written in a similar way.

5. While I Was Sleeping by Dani Atkins

If I should pick only one book that put me on an emotional rollercoaster, While I Was Sleeping is the one. It made me sad in ways I didn’t even know was possible, and it made me care about one character like I knew her from my real life.
Even though I was mad the story didn’t took a path I was hoping for, I am still so in love with this novel because I remember the feels, and it is the book I will be coming back to.

6. Five Years from Now by Paige Toon

Speaking of emotional stories, this list wouldn’t be complete without Five Years from Now. It made me cry, and not many books can do that.
It contains my favorite theme: two people who love each other but can’t be together, finding their ways to each other.
It is also very realistic, especially with the way it ended.
This novel is also one I want to re-read many times during my lifetime.

7. The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

The Perfect Girlfriend is definitely the most unique story I have read in 2018. Written from the perspective of a psychopath, it made me understand and even root for the main character, even though I knew what she was doing was wrong.
This book is the one I recommend to everyone who likes thrillers, and I am so happy that it was also translated into Croatian.

8. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Going into The Cruel Prince my expectations were very high, but I was not disappointed. In fact, I was kinda surprised how good it was. I already knew I would like it, because I liked books by Holly Black before, and since my favorite creatures, faeries, were involved, I knew I would love the world too.
I fell in love with the characters, the story and of course, with the world.
This book is next on my to be re-read list, because the sequel comes out in a few days.

9. Give the Dark my Love by Beth Revis

Another ya fantasy I fell in love with, another series I can’t wait to continue. What I liked the most about Give the Dark my Love was character development, the dark atmosphere and the unique world.
I hope next books in the series will also be good, because there’s a big chance this could become one of my all-time favorite book series.

10. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

I feel like everyone and their mothers read this book already, and in 2018 I joined the club. Everyone from my colleagues also read it, and we discussed it many times. This book stayed with me, and even today I caught myself thinking about one scene.
I feel like books that you go back to again and again in your thoughts deserve to be on the best one’s list.
I can’t even count how many times I recommended this book to people around me, and to clients at my work.

11. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Of all the Mistborn books I read this year, I decided to feature the last one from the original series in this list, because of it’s conclusion.
This series is probably the best fantasy series I have read, it is certainly the most unique and Brandon Sanderson is an incredible writer. I love the creatures he created in this universe, called kendra. I am not sure if kendra is his own creation, or was it inspired by some mythical creature, but it is worth of admiration in any way.

12. Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

Surprise Me was one of my most anticipated books of 2018. and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it even surprised me, because it took a turn I didn’t expect. I liked how different it was from Kinsella’s other books, and it is now in my top 3 of her novels.

13. I See You by Clare Mackintosh

I read this novel back in January, but it stayed with me the whole time. I certainly didn’t expect what a huge impact on me this book will have, not even after I finished it. Sometimes we are not immediately aware of the quality in front of us, but time shows us what our subconsciousness recognized. This book is the proof, and it is now one of the best books I read.

 

That is it!

Please tell me what are your favorite books that you’ve read this year?
Also, if you have similar post to this one, feel free to leave your links.

Book Review: While I Was Sleeping by Dani Atkins #BookReview #BookLovers #WhileIWasSleeping

Title: While I Was Sleeping
Author: Dani Atkins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: July 26th, 2018
Pages: 543
Format: Physical ARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): What if someone else was living your happy ever after?
When Maddie wakes up in a hospital bed, she can’t remember anything about what happened to her or what has changed.
She just remembers she was about to be married and had everything to look forward to.
But it seems life has become a lot more complicated while she has been asleep …

Review:

Going into While I Was Sleeping I thought I knew what I’m putting myself up to.
I have heard good and not so good things about it, and one main thing everyone stated about this story was how emotional it is.

My expectations were not so high, but they were still there.

I know this will probably sound stupid after everything I wrote before this, but what took me by surprise the most was how emotional it was.
I know, I know, I just told you how everyone stated how heartbreaking the novel was, but I did not expect for this story to hit me as hard as it did.
I am not a crier when it comes to books, but my eyes were blurred with tears while I was reading this novel, and the tears appeared on multiple parts of the story.

The second thing about this book that took me by surprise was that it was written from two POVs: one is Maddie’s, and the other is Chloe’s.

The story is written in such a beautiful way. I think the writer knows how to use the words that hit heart, and I praise her for that.

Maddie was my favorite character, she was the only character I truly cared about and even though I can’t even imagine what she went through, I could connect with her.
Her happiness was all I cared about.

Chloe is the one who lived the life Maddie planned to live, before the accident took everything from her.
I didn’t like how it was so easy for her to put Maddie’s shoes, and I didn’t like how goody-good she was.
It was like she was some saint or angel sent from above to fill Maddie’s place, and then she took it completely.
I still can’t accept the fact that Chloe’s happiness was built on Maddie’s  misfortune.

Ryan was my least favorite character. I would use a word hate to describe my feelings for him, but then again I think that word is too strong and wrong.
I know it’s not his fault that he fell in love with someone else while his fiancee was in coma, but how he treated Maddie after she woke up was what made me angry and hurt.

This book is one of the rare books that stayed with me even when I wasn’t reading.
I kept thinking about it over and over again, couldn’t wait to have some free time to read at least one more page.
Even after I finished the book, I caught myself longing to read at least one more page, and then I had to remind myself that the story is over and that all the pages were already read.

This could have easily be a five stars book for me, and I wish it was, but I can’t make myself like it that much because the end ruined everything to me.
It took me few days (even weeks to be precise) to finally write my review because my emotions were all over the place and I was so angry, but still I didn’t want to write something I would be sorry about later, and I was afraid that because I hated the end I wouldn’t be able to tell you how beautiful and interesting everything else was.

In the end, this is a four stars book for me, and all of my feelings about the end you can read in the spoiler section down bellow:

Spoilers!!!

So this is how I feel about the end: I hate how the author didn’t give Maddie a happy end, but instead decided to put her into a long sleep again.
I wonder if she killed her would it be less painful? It probably would.

The only good that could come out of it (and I would never welcome that kind of story) was if the author decided to write a sequel in which Maddie’s daughter was sick and then Maddie would up and save her life because her daughter would need an organ or something).

This story could have a happier ending. Why Maddie didn’t start a relationship with Mitch??? They could have been a perfect couple.

This way Chloe got everything, all the happiness in the world, and Maddie didn’t even get crumbs. She got crumbs of crumbs, and I can’t put my head around why the writer decided to put her through so much pain and didn’t even give her at least that little happiness that she deserved.

Book Review: This Love by Dani Atkins

Title: This Love
Author: Dani Atkins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Date: March 23rd, 2017
Pages: 466
Format: Paperback
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

If you’re looking for a damsel in distress story done right, look no further!

This Love is the story about Sophie Winter who finds herself in a hard situation in which she can’t cope without someone’s help.

The story starts with drama. Sophie’s flat is on fire and she’s trying to get out before the fire swallows her too.
She managed to save her little cat Fred by letting him go out of the window (I really loved that cat, it was my mission the whole time to know that Fred is save), but for her it is a bit harder to get out.
That’s where Ben, our knight in shining armor plays his part.
He gives her directions what to do to get out of that flat alive.

Ben’s kindness doesn’t stop right there. Oh, no! He helps her find her cat Fred, and even (because of some circumstances) offers her the place to stay.

I know stories about ladies who need to be saved are not in fashion anymore, but as I already stated, This Love is done right. Sophie didn’t want to find herself in the role she played, but her entire home burned and she was in a really bad situation. She had no choice but to accept other people’s help.

At first I really liked Ben. He is that type of character women all over the world dream about. He has a good heart, always knows what to say and is kind, plus he looks really, really hot.
He is way too perfect to be real, and that is where my adoration for him fall back. 
I wished he had at least one flaw (actually, in my had I started plotting a story in which he was really a psychopath with great acting skills).

The writing style is really good. Dani Atkins pulls you in with her voice and makes you forget about the rest of the world. I was thinking about the book even when I was not reading.
It is written in third person.

This Love is a perfect title for this novel because you can feel and see the love in so many shapes through the story.
It is no wonder that it received RNA award in category “Romantic Novel of the year”.

I enjoyed reading This Love, and I feel like I gained a lot as a reader from this book, but it is my duty to mention that this story also reminded me of two very popular novels: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker.
I’m not saying it is a reap off of those two novels by any mean, I’m just saying it has some of the same elements as those two.

Overall, This Love is a perfect book for romance lovers and for those who want to read a good book about damsel in distress.