Date Archives november 2024

Toen een vriendin me dit boek aanraadde omdat het haar sterk deed denken aan onze eigen studententijd, was ik benieuwd of ik dezelfde nostalgische gevoelens zou ervaren. En of ik die ervaren heb! Wat een emotionele rollercoaster.

Ik zal beginnen bij het begin. Dit boek vertelt het verhaal van Ada. Ada heeft een paar moeilijke jaren achter de rug en wil een nieuwe start maken in Gent. Ze gaat er studeren en op kot. Terwijl ze haar plek zoekt in de studentenstad, met de bijbehorende ups en downs, probeert ze ook haar verwaterende band met haar vader een plaats te geven.

Van etentjes in de Kastart, verdwalen in de Krook en slenteren door de winkelstraten van Gent, tot het ontdekken van de prachtige boekenkast in Le Bal Infernal: alles was ontzettend herkenbaar. Het was heel fijn dat de schrijfster deze hotspots expliciet benoemde.

Dit boek bracht allerlei emoties in me naar boven: heimwee naar onze studententijd, maar ook dankbaarheid dat ik zo’n fantastische tijd heb mogen beleven, net zoals Ada uiteindelijk deed.

Het schattige liefdesverhaal leerde me dat je niet te ver in de toekomst hoeft te kijken, maar gewoon mag genieten van de (kleine) gelukjes die vandaag al op je pad komen.

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Like the first book, this one reads just as smoothly. You don’t have to think about much. Laurie Gilmore easily takes you into the life in Dream Harbor through her smooth writing style.

This story is about Hazel, who as she turns 30, is rethinking her life. Has she been adventurous enough? Isn’t there another life waiting for her besides the bookstore?

Noah, too, is at a questionable stage in his life. Afraid of disappointing his family, he flees to Dream Harbor. Plenty of future plans in his head, but does he dare to live up to them?

Hazel and Noah embark on an adventure together and have the summer of their lives. They grow closer but do they also dare to admit their ever-growing feelings for each other?

Despite the frustration of typical misunderstandings due to lack of proper communication, I still fell in love with Hazel and Noah’s friends to lovers story.

Even though this book is a cute love story, it has the requisite romantic and passionate scenes.

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Like many others, I joined the booktok trend. Fortunately, it’s a genre that suits me anyway, so even without the hype surrounding Laurie Gilmore’s books, I probably would have put them on my TBR as well.

If you love the typical Hallmark movies and want to know in advance if they will get their happy ending, then this book is for you.

This book is about Jeanie who seeks peace in Dream Harbor after years of the same stressful job in the city. She gets to take over her aunt’s coffee shop, and finds her place among the residents of the small town.

Logan has lived in Dream Harbor all his life. He tries to isolate himself somewhat from the town and doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. One (unexpected) encounter with Jeanie and you already know what the book will be about.

It is written in the stars that this will be a happy ending, yet to not give everything away Jeanie is not only concerned with Logan. In and around the café, in fact, strange things happen as well. It’s a fairly lighthearted story in addition to the romantic plot.

It really is the perfect fall book to read under a blanket with a cup of coffee. I’ll start the second book right away, before autumn is over. 🍂

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And the award for most beautiful book cover definitely goes to this one.

The story itself is about Ayla, who after the death of her sister, will have to fight to become the next ruler of the Realm. In between the fight, she gets to know Valdermar, the prince of the Kingdom of Winter.

Ayla is the main character, an insecure girl following in the footsteps of her late big sister. I think they described the grieving process well as well as the difficulty in remaining herself because she constantly compares herself to others, including her sister. But she is also a real family person, when her family is in danger, the fire in her comes out.

Valdemar is a character who is afraid to show who he really is. He wears a mask to hide his real self from his father. The longer he knows Ayla, the more his mask disappears. Very nice enemies to lovers story.

I loved the story. Everything is described so beautifully that it feels like you are there yourself . This book is one of my favorites this year, I really recommend this book and I can’t wait for the sequel.

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This book was smoother than the second part. It is very beautifully written, some parts gave me goosebumps. Even though I know, and it is very obvious that Nick and Noah are in a very toxic relationship, you still can’t stop hoping for those two. This is thanks in part to the various pov’s. ( Which I always like in a book.)

Nick’s character continues to have two sides, when he opens his heart you are his whole world. But if he closes himself off, makes his heart a stone, he can really hurt you with words and doesn’t care, how hard he hurts you. Very interesting to know from his POV, why he reacts the way he does and how his train of thought goes.

For Noah, it’s different. Without Nick, Noah is actually very sensitive, friendly and playful. But with Nick, I think she constantly feels like she has to hold up her shield, ready to defend against an onslaught of words. Yet in this book. When they are in love, they are so sweet to each other. You hardly recognize this during the loud arguments.

As in the previous two books, there are also the very intimate scenes. But if you don’t like reading these kinds of scenes as much, I can reassure you, there aren’t that many of them. (🌶️)

Several plot twists made me want to keep reading the book. If you want to know if Noah and Nick get their happy ending, I definitely recommend this book. But you will then have to read part one and part two of the series as well.

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