MONTHLY READS - APRIL

Hello, bookworms!

Oh, how the time flies! It feels like yesterday when I was writing a post about the books I'd read in March, and here I am with April already. I was pretty much satisfied with my last month's reading. At the start of April, I was hoping not to break the line and read as much as I could and as many good books as I would find. Let's find out if I managed to stick to my goal.

In April I've read five books. Here they are!

The Eye of the Storm

Patrick White

Genre: novel

First published: 1973

Pages: 557

Language: Czech

Rating: 4/5

When I started reading this book, I was confused about my feelings towards it. It was strangely fascinating. The story of an old woman, Elizabeth Hunter, left me with a bit of a book hangover. If you're interested, you can read about it in my review!


Chocolat
Joanne Harris

Genre: novel
First published: 1998
Pages: 320
Language: English

Rating: 5/5

I, as a lover of Johnny Depp, have seen the film adaptation to this book many times, but I only found out about it being a book about a month ago - and I was immediately sure that this book needs to be something I make time for. So I made the time this month and I regret nothing.


About a Boy
Nick Hornby

Genre: novel
First published: 1998
Pages: 307
Language: English

Rating: 4/5

First of all, I have never seen the film adaptation to this book. After reading this book, though, I'm definitely going to give it a try, because the novel is just amazing. It made me feel lots of things (from sadness to anger to pity to happiness). It was a great read, dealing with bullying, depression, friendship and the meaning of life. If you're interested in reading more about this novel and my opinion on it, check out the review!


Digital Fortress
Dan Brown

Genre: science fiction, techno-thriller

First published: 1998

Pages: 510

Language: English

Rating: 5/5

You may or may not know that I am a big fan of Dan Brown's work. This novel, unlike those with Robert Langdon that I have read so far, doesn't revolve around the theme of art and history. This book is about computers, math and programming - things I would expect would either bore me or make me wonder what the hell I am reading about. But Digital Fortress made me neither of these things. Brown has masterfully written this book so it is fun to read and easy to understand. You should definitely check out this book, but if you need some more convincing, read the whole review!


Dragonfly in Amber
Diana Gabaldon

Genre: historical novel
First published: 1992
Pages: 743
Language: English

Rating: 5/5

Outlander is my all time favourite series. I loved the first book with all my heart, the places, the characters, everything. My expectations for Dragonfly in Amber, second book in the series, were really really high. I was excited to enter the atmosphere of the 18th century, to read about Claire and to fall in love with Jamie all over again. I did all of these things. I loved the book. You can read the "review" I wrote, which is mostly just me being a regular fangirl, and I'd be the happiest if you talked to me about this piece of literature because there seem to be no people to share my feelings with!


I have to say, I'm satisfied. I haven't read many books this month, but I loved them all. And that's all that matters to me.

What about your April in books? How many books have you read? Were they mostly good, or have you read a book that was getting on your nerves? Share your April reads with me in the comments!

REVIEW | Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber
Diana Gabaldon

Genre: historical novel
First published: 1992
Pages: 768
Language: English

Rating: /5

Synopsis

For nearly twenty years, Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the mysteries of Scotland's mist-shrouded Highlands.

Here Claire plans to reveal the truth as shocking as the events that gave it birth:  the secret of an ancient circle of standing stones, the secret of a love that transcends centuries, and the truth of a man named Jamie Fraser - a Highland warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Claire's spellbinding journey continues through the intrigue-ridden French court and the menace of Jacobite plots, to the Highlands of Scotland, through war and death, in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

First things first. I'm always trying to write reviews without spoilers. The truth is, I am sorry but I may or may have not just got too much into this, so there may be parts with spoilers in it. You've been warned. (Also, this review is going to be LONG.)

Here. We. Go. I myself am not at all ready for pouring my heart out and going over all the feels the book gave me all over again, but I'll try. I promise, I'll try.

The book was giving me feels before I even opened the package it had arrived to me in. And from that point, it got only worse.

The first thing I saw was the beautiful cover art. I'm sorry, but I just need to tell you how in love I am with that cover. It's so sophisticated and neat and in overall just really sums up the whole story. You can feel the atmosphere of the book from the photo. I don't think it could have been done any better. Caitrione looks hot as hell in the dress, Sam (who would look hot as hell in anything) looks amazing. Murtagh, my favourite, precious Scot, is just great as well. I couldn't wish for more. And have you seen the colour? I mean, come on, it's burgundy. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that.

After opening the book, the first thing that amazed me was how lovely it actually looks. I'm always down for pretty pictures, cute doodles or lovely lettering. And this books has it all.

This review is going to be long for I plan to have my say to each of the seven parts. And I have actually quite a lot to say about them.

First of all, this photo right here, that's what I was talking about. The doodle, the lettering. It looks so magical. Also have I mentioned how much I love Diana's chapter names? I do. More than I love my phone, and I love that one a lot.

But let me get to the story itself. There's a little prologue before the start of Part One, and let me tell you, I already felt like dying after reading that bit. The worst thing is, in Part One, there's no Jamie, at least not in person, and even mentioning him made me realise how much of a Fraser trash I actually am. There are sixty pages completely without Jamie speaking or doing literally anything, and it still made me over-emotional. 

I have to admit, that I was a bit concerned about the different points of view. Then I got used to it, though (and then, in Part Two, it was just the regular ich-form again, thank god). On the other hand, a thing that I really enjoy is Diana's storytelling talent, and I like how, when referring to something that had happened in Book 1, she puts everything in a bit of a context (to make the healing wounds bleed again), so you can never get lost. Not that I would need it, I know the book better than I know myself, but it's nice to remember certain things again, and I'm completely okay with that as long as it serves the purposes of the story.

And since I started talking about Part Two, The Pretenders—or as I like to call it, The Suffering Begins—, let's take a better look at this part. I knew I was screwed after the first sentence—Claire and her referring to Jamie as to a large, warm object made me literally squeal. The worst thing about this part is that James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser appears and begins to talk and to do things. All the #JustFraserThings, such as being adorable, breaking my heart, being awesome, sweetly jealous, extremely chivalric, sassy, stubborn and definitely funny. There were parts where Jamie just casually said something, usually with no intention or effort to be funny, and it just came out being so hilarious that I had to put the book down a laugh. And there were parts where I had to put it down because I was experiencing feels—a lot of them, actually.

Also, this was the time where I randomly opened the book ad may or may have not accidentally spoiled myself.

But let's not just talk about Claire and Jamie for a bit. Let's take a look at the historical background as well. The first book of this series made me really interested in Scotland. Historical Scotland, to be more accurate. It even made me start learning Gaelic (no, it's not going as well as I would like it to). I became really interested in anything Scots-related and the 18th century and the Risings became my favourite time period. I've done a massive research on all clans and their tartans and mottos and flowers and coats of arms and castles. I've done a research about these clans participating or not-participating in the Risings. I've done a bit of a research of medicine of that time. I've read countless myths and tales linked with Scotland. I've done a research on weddings and on zodiac signs. I just became kind of obsessed. And all that just because of one book. I think it's fantastic how many historical facts we get to learn just by reading a book that's also really fun, really heartbreaking and really amazing. I love how everything is described in detail, the medical methods, the life in that time, everything. I'm seriously such a trash.

In the first book, the life in Scotland (mostly) was described. In this book, we get to see the life in France. And while reading, I could almost see myself walking the streets of Paris in 1740's, I could almost smell the sea in Le Havre, it just breathes out of the book. And I can certainly say that I'm really happy Diana's such a good writer and that I have such a good imagination.


Moving on. Part Three, Malchance—or as I call it, The One Where Everyone Comes Back and Claire's Being Unbearable. By the time I started reading this part I thought I had died and was in all the layers of hell at the same time. This part was awful. It was amazing but awful at the same time. Several heart attacks, goosebumps, tears. Sseriously one wild of a ride. An emotional roller-coaster. 

Also—one Scot breaking my heart is awful, but two, Murtagh, that's excessive and you really need to stop. Just be the great man you were in the first book, not bringing suffering into my life. That was an ideal relationship between the two of us.

Part Four, Scandale, otherwise known as The Part Where Everything Goes To Shit And Claire Is Being An Awful Person. I thought, at first, that I would finally have some peace, after the previous Part, since Part Four started off as calm, even funny, I would say. Good job with fooling me, Diana, good job.

This part was bad. Really bad. And not only between Jamie and Claire, that, of course, was awful, but the suffering was brought to me from a different person as well. I'm very fond of Fergus, the little boy Jamie had found in a brothel and brought him home to steal letters for him. And finding out what happened to him was just too much. He's a precious little baby that should be protected at all costs. I mean, come on, he even tries to speak with Scottish accent like his idol Jamie!

But, back to Claire and Jamie. This was a really stressful part for me and more often than not I was simply just mad at Claire. Some people could say that under the circumstances her behaviour was understandable (not in my eyes, though, not in my eyes), but just because someone's behaviour is understandable doesn't mean it's acceptable. And the way she behaved towards Jamie in this part just wasn't acceptable at all. I'm not saying that Jamie is a saint, not at all, he had done stuff that might had hurt Claire as well, but Claire's been hurting Jamie as far as I can remember, and she needs to stop.

Back to my favourite place. To Lallybroch. From the very first mention of this place in book one, I had loved Lallybroch and it's people. Jamies's sister, Jenny, his brother-in-law, Ian, and their kids are everything.

I don't have a particular name for Part Five as I had for the previous ones. The truth is, though, that the title is promising and sounds very hopeful but it actually refers to horrible things. Not only Jamie and Claire are come home.

The truth is, this Part made me feel mostly the positive feels. Jamie was a precious cinnamon roll, talking to Sawny, a wooden snake that his (older, dead) brother had given him. Jamie, talking with Jenny's youngest child all night. Claire and Jenny having a baby-talk. Small Jamie. Left-handed Jamie and right-handed Ian, guarding each other's "weak side". All of it was just so adorable that it made me somehow think that maybe nothing horrible would happen in that Part. I was wrong, as always. Of course, the Rebellion had to happen.

There's, though, one thing that made me really happy with myself. Jamie, talking to Jenny's baby, speaks Gaelic. He only asks her "how are you?", so it's nothing complicated, but if only you knew how satisfied I was with myself that I understood what he said (it's not translated in the book)! Yes, I just had to share that with you.

Anyway, let's take it straight (is that even possible in my case? whatever) to Part Six, The Flames of Rebellion. I call it "Too Much Unnecessary Suffering", and I have a damn good reason for that.

Not only this part includes preparing for battles and the battles themselves, it also includes Jamie's tearing your heart with his feelings. It includes many very unnecessary deaths that were breaking my heart. It includes Claire worrying the hell out of you by wondering what's going on with Jamie. It includes Bonnie Prince Charlie being a dick. It includes lots of weeping for the dead. It includes the MacKenzie brothers and the Randall brothers. It includes Claire being Claire. And Murtagh being the greatest clansman one could ask for. It also includes a chapter named "Damn All Randalls". But most importantly, it just includes Jamie, and that enough is something unbelievable. He's witty and funny in this part, sure, but he's mostly just sad and broken and so chivalric and proud it's heartbreaking.

If I thought the previous parts were those where everything had gone to shit, then I don't know exactly where did this part go, but it wasn't nice. At one point, I couldn't see through the tears.
The last part, Part Seven, was supposed to give me a nice ending, tell me it was all going to be okay and just make me feel a bit better. It wasn't supposed to end with a cliffhanger, leaving me wondering just what exactly had happened, wanting me to read the next book immediately.

I wanted to reach the last page as quickly as possible, but I didn't want the book to end. I didn't want to part with my favourite characters and my favourite places. The feelings this book is giving me are so intense.

I''ve also completely changed my habits of never writing in books. I've, of course, been highlighting quotes for as long as I can remember, but I never actually wrote in books. This book changed it. I just had to make little notes. I'll give you a little example of what I wrote, because I think that's going to show you better what I had been through than I could do with just describing it.

I wrote many notes, some of them being:
• Someone stop him
• You cannot even be mad at him
• Why did I have to imagine that
• Damn, Jamie, back at it again with that chivalry
• James are you serious right now
• Oh my god not this again
• I've imagined Sam doing that and now I'm dead
• What. The. Fuck.
• That's just Claire, casually causing more trouble to Jamie
• ???????
• I love his name.
• Yet another Scot breaking my heart. That makes three. That's unhealthy.
• :) :) :) :)
• This is so sappy and I am dying.
• Jenny what the hell I trusted you
• Bring me some ice for that burn
• Is everyone going to die in this part or what
• Here come the tears

Well, I think I'll leave it at that. You surely have an idea about how much I loved this book and about how much I want to read the next book in the series, Voyager.

RIDICULOUS THINGS I'VE DONE FOR WRITING

I love writing with all my heart and it has its place in the deepest corners of my little soul. The written word makes me feel safe and happy, and I feel much lighter when I'm pouring my heart out onto the paper (or onto the computer screen, for that matter).

Writing, however, is not just about writing. In fact, I probably spend the least time by doing the writing itself. More often then not, I spend the writing time doing things to either find inspiration or things that (I am naive enough to think that) would help my brain to think better. Most of these things are ridiculous, but I have decided to share them with you.

In the past months, for the sake of writing, I have:

1. started learning Gaelic and done a massive research on the history of Scotland. I've also done a great research on Scottish fairytales and myths, herbal medicine and found a book of medicine from 18th century from which I cannot read a single word but I'm still very satisfied with having found it.

2. listened to people while already imagining how I could use their stories for the one I was writing.

3. experienced awful things and my reaction was "at least I can write about this".

4. enthusiastically spoken a dialogue out loud to myself to see how it sounds.

5. spent hours in front of a mirror making emotional faces so I could "show don't tell" how the characters are feeling.

6. screamed at people for turning on the TV when I was in the room, writing.

7. sat there perfectly still trying to imagine what getting a boner feels like.

8. bought five different notebooks to write things down so I wouldn't forget them (and then ended up never writing down anything).

9. created my protagonists as Sims and played the game with them to see if the ships I'd decided there would be would sink or swim.

10. spent several minutes being upside down because I thought that more blood in the brain would help me think better.

11. attempted to read three books in one day.

12. written four different beginnings to my story, chosen one, written sixty pages, and then decided to start fresh so I deleted all of it and started writing again with a completely different plot.

13. sacrificed my social life.
14. spent more time carefully picking names for my characters than I would do picking a name for my own child.

Let me talk about this, though. If you're in need of names for your characters (or babies or dogs or plants) then this site is definitely the best I've seen. There are lots and lots of names from different languages, religions, parts of the world. There are mythology names, medieval names, names of literary characters and more. As a bonus, most of the names' meanings are mentioned and you can search for names by them. They have a "catalogue" of surnames as well. This site is just the most helpful so I thought I would let you all know about it.

15. published a story on my wattpad, got scared and deleted it. Then posted and deleted it again in a month's time. (Now I'm in the phase of being confident enough to publish things so you can check out my latest idea.)
16. drank approximately three litres of coffee in less than two hours to stay awake because I think better late at night and early in the morning and I needed to finish a chapter.

17. went for a run in really cold weather to see how the cold air would affect my lungs because I needed to see how my character was feeling. It ended in pneumonia, 0/10 would recommend.

18. assigned proper songs to scenes I was writing, making quite a nice playlist. (Also the other way round—after hearing an amazing song, I imagined my characters in situations in which the song could be played.)

19. double (sometimes tripple) checked meanings of words that I safely know just to make sure. I usually used two (or more) different dictionaries and thesauruses.

20. written.

What about you and your experience with writing? Are there any ridiculous things you've done for the sake of it? Have you ever published/thought about publishing your very own book? Do you share your writing with people on the Internet? (If so, I'll be more than happy if you'd put a link in comments so I can  check it out!)

NEW ON SHELF | Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Hello my fellow bookworms!

As you may or may not know, I'm a big lover of the Outlander series. Outlander (or Cross Stitch, if you like) is the best book I have ever read so obviously I had to purchase its sequel, Dragonfly in Amber.

When I bought the first book of the Outlander series, I bought the one with Sam and Caitriona on the cover since I didn't know there were more books and I didn't know I would want to read them. (No, I don't want to read them, I'm dying to read them.)

I had waited a year to purchase this book. I wanted to continue what I started so I had waited for the tie-in edition with cover that's got the Outlander series cast on it. Well, here it is! My suffering is finally over! You can probably imagine that my heart skipped a beat when I first held this precious in my very hands.

It's beautiful. Look at them. Look at them! I am in love. I'm obsessed.

The only thing that kind of bothers me (and is probably the only pet-peeve that I have) is that the first and the second books come in different heights. Also the "stickers" are ridiculous and someone should make a petition to stop them.

But that doesn't stop me from loving these two precious babies (whether that be the books or Jamie and Claire) with all that's left of me after reading the first book / watching the first season. I'm literally obsessed with this book. Both of them. They are beautiful. They are basically all a bookworm could ever dream of. I'm very tempted to re-read the Cross Stitch and I'm more than excited to read Dragonfly in Amber! You can prepare yourselves for a very emotional review because this is gonna be huge and it's going to be an emotional rollercoaster, I can feel it.

There's only one more thing left to say.

Welcome home, Dragonfly in Amber, welcome home.

REVIEW | Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Digital Fortress
Dan Brown

Genre: science fiction, techno-thriller

First published: 1998

Pages: 510

Language: English

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

When the National Security Agency's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage - not by guns or bombs, but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence.

Caught it an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.

There's one golden rule to reading Brown's books: suspect everyone.

I started the reading on Saturday afternoon and hadn't stopped until I finished the last sentence on Sunday, at 3:20 am, and let me tell you, it was one wild of a ride.

I'm not a technological type. I'd sooner write a fifty-page essay than solve a math problem that kids in the elementary school are able to solve. When it comes to codes, I cannot even do anagrams. But Brown and his amazing writing skill and his talent make the whole issue not only understandable, but also very enjoyable even for people like me who would more likely become a mermaid than an IT expert.

As I was looking at other people's reviews on Goodreads, I couldn't help but think that lots of people forget the book is sci-fi, which means most of the technologies used in the story don't exist. And I think that condemning a book so wonderfully written just because the author made things up is a nonsense.

Yes, the book is wonderfully written. The characters, just like in all of Brown's books I have had the pleasure of coming across, are real and believable. You feel happy for them, you feel sorry for them, you despise them, you're worried about them. As you read the book, these characters matter to you. Susan Fletcher and her incredibly smart and, according to the description, incredibly hot fiancé David Becker. Commander Strathmore and his service and devotion to the NSA. The genius Ensei Tankado who kicks the NSA's ass. All the supporting characters. I really enjoyed all of them.

Brown is marvellous. He makes you laugh at one page and then makes your heart race with anxiety at the other. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he just makes the reader on the edge of their seat with the cliffhanger chapters that just make you want to read one more. That's how I ended up sitting in my bed at three am, eyes burning, dying to finish the last chapter. If that's not a sign of a great book then I don't know what is.

Also the plot twist. I have to say, there were a few things that I predicted or figured out too soon. Sometimes I just knew what was going to happen. At the other hand, there were tens of situations that absolutely blew my mind as I didn't expect them, and made me think that those predictable moments were predictable intentionally (and even if not, it doesn't stop me from loving Brown's work). There's betrayal, no one's who you think they are, no one acts the way that you think they would. But the main plot twist, that was fantastic. Brown makes you think you know what's going on, and then he shows you that you don't. I know I am repeating myself by saying this, but that's just how it is. Fantastic.

I highly recommend this book to all of you, because even if you don't know a thing about computers and programming, Brown brings this topic to the table in a way that just makes you want to read on.

REVIEW | About a Boy by Nick Hornby

About a Boy

Nick Hornby

Genre: novel

First published: 1998

Pages: 307

Language: English

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Will is thirty-six but acts like a teenager. He reads the right magazines, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also discovered a great way to score with women - at single parents' groups, full of available mothers, all waiting for Mr Nice. That's where he meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old in the world. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Mozart, looks after his mum and he's never even owned a pair of trainers. Perhaps if Will can teach Marcus how to be a kid, Marcus can help Will grow up...

Someone told me once that if you don't enjoy a book while being about 20 pages in, you should put it down and not bother finishing it. If I did exactly that, I would never be able to experience all the feelings this book had to offer. I wasn't really enjoying Marcus and Will's story until I was about 60 pages in, but the good part was worth waiting for. I really enjoyed the book at last.

Will is really such a good character. And I do not mean a good person, I mean a good character. The type of character you despise at first and grow kind of very fond of him during the novel. He's an expert in shutting the life out and not answering the door to it, and only cares about what to do with all of his free time and money since he doesn't have to work because his father once wrote a famous song. He's kind of afraid of commitment and doesn't understand what falling in love is for except for making a wreck out of you. He basically just wants to have fun, and he only ever goes out with women he wants to have sex with. And for some reason, he thinks that making up Ned, a baby he tells single mums he's the father of, is a really good idea. At one of the SPAT!  (Single Parents - Alone Together) meetings he meets Suzie, best friend of Fiona, Marcus' mother. And it's precisely through Suzie that Marcus and Will meet for the first time.

Marcus lives only with his mother, who's simply nuts. She's seriously fucked up and annoying. She forces her beliefs onto her son in arguments that he doesn't have a chance to win, using kind of a psychological abuse (I honestly don't know what else should I call her behaviour). The worst thing is that she actually thinks she makes him think for himself. The truth is, Marcus is annoying and slightly weird as well at the beginning - but with a mother like that, I cannot really blame him, so I'm closing my eyes to that a bit. My heart was breaking for this boy so hard while reading the novel, because his mother is not only crazy and depressed, she's also completely blind to him telling her about being bullied at school.

The day Will and Marcus meet, Fiona tries to overdose and little Marcus finds her covered in her own sick. From that moment on, the whole book is about the developing relationship between these two.  And they're the best thing that has happened to me in a while. Seeing how they go from total strangers, overcome Will's dislike towards kids, and develop this really nice kind of relationship, that's exactly what my little sensitive soul needs to be happy.

The problem with reading a book basically in one sitting is that all the feels come at once. The novel made me laugh, it broke my heart, then it was funny a light again, and then it shattered me completely. It made me laugh out loud. Once I actually had to put the book down and laugh it off properly. It took me about ten minutes to be able to concentrate again without thinking about the funny part. (I won't spoil it but it was seriously that hilarious.) At the other hand, it was breaking my little, fragile heart. It was so real and raw that it made me cry once. I was really pitying Marcus for what he had to go through with his mum, with his classmates, just in overall.

Another thing that I really enjoyed (kind of masochistically), since the book is set in 1993 and 1994, was Hornby's idea to contain Kurt Cobain and his death in the book. It was a perfectly thought idea for the story, since we have a crazy, suicidal mother there. His death somehow gives space to the characters to wonder about life. And with the fact that Kurt is in the book, I have to mention Ellie, a fifteen-year-old who loves Cobain and "befriends" Marcus by accident. I really liked this rebellious girl, she kind of reminded me of myself when I was fifteen. Well done, Nick, you know exactly how to hit the right nail with your hammer, don't you?

I'm just going to say that I really ended up enjoying this book, and that I'm definitely going to check out the film adaptation. If it weren't for the slow start, I would rate About a Boy five stars.

REVIEW | Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Chocolat

Joanne Harris

Genre: novel

First published: 1998

Pages: 320

Language: English

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the preist denounces the newcomer's wares as the ultimate sin. Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a "Church not Chocolate" battle.

I started reading this book with really high expectations because I have seen the film adaptation with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche and I just couldn't help but love it with all my heart. I was hoping that the book would be at least as good as the film. Turns out, the book is even better.

When Vianne Rocher and her six years old daughter Anouk with a great imagination and an imaginary rabbit Pantoufle come to Lansquenet, they immediately disrupt the atmosphere of the village. 

I really enjoyed these two ladies. I loved Vienne's character, her kindness, her sense of humour and the level of her sassiness. She's such an amazingly written, strong woman. I also couldn't help but have this really big grin on my face every time Vienne's fierce love for her daughter Anouk was described. Their relationship is the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed. Such a pure and intense feeling that burns in the mother's heart for her little offspring. I'm not gonna lie, it made me very teary-eyed once. (Okay, maybe twice.) 

I also enjoyed Roux, the red-haired gypsy. I cannot help but imagine Johnny Depp every time he is mentioned in the book, and maybe this fact makes me a bit more affected. And least but not last, I have to mention lady Armande. Old, witty, lovely lady. She was breaking my heart and I am sure she would break yours as well.

What I also liked about the book is that we get to see two sides of the story. The changing point of view keeps the reader interested and entertained. I love Vienne's point of view, but I definitely enjoyed the story being told from the antagonist's point of view just as much. Entering père Reynaud's mind in the form of letters to another père was a delightful experience. He's exactly the kind of antagonst that is absolutely believable and you just get him; he's doing the wrong thing because he's convinced it's the best thing he could do. He's not particularly a bad person, he just likes when his flock is obedient and the members go to church every Sunday. I am by no means justifying his actions, but when you read his thoughts, you really get the feeling that he only wants to lead a peaceful life being surrounded by faithful sheep that are the members of his flock.

You could say I despise Reynaud. And you're right, I do. His behaviour is terrible (and kind of ridiculous). There is, however, one thing I liked about him. In the book, there is, besides others, one problem - Joséphine Muscat, who left her husband after years of, let's say, abuse. The thing is, Reynaud, due to obvious religious reasons, doesn't want the Muscats to get a divorce. BUT his opinion on Mr Muscat and his behaviour really surprised me. He actually thought he was being idiotic and defended Joséphine. And that made him a little bit better in my eyes (until he managed to fuck up again).

This book made me feel LOTS of things. I can definitely say that Chocolate might be one of my most favourite books of all time. The writing is just beautiful. Flowery descriptions, amazing dialogue and a great plot. I definitely need to pick up another of Joanne's books in the future.

Harris simply makes you want to read another chapter, just like a box of chocolate makes you crave another piece of the sweet delicacy.

I highly recommend this book to all of you.