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Sophie

About Sophie

Bookseller, stock buyer, display maker & Girl Friday at ABC The Hague & ABC Leidschendam. Has been at ABC since almost the last millennium. Current sections under her care are YA, Politics & Current Affairs, Sports, Prizewinners, and Staff Choices. Loves any book that makes her think, learn, and look at life from a new angle, whatever genre. Cat person, feminist, easily bribed with Nutella, preferred state of being = barefoot in the garden.

Book review: The Wedding Crasher

"Just weeks away from ditching DC for greener pastures, Solange Perreira is roped into helping her wedding planner cousin on a random couple’s big day. It’s an easy gig... until she stumbles upon a situation that convinces her the pair isn’t meant to be. What’s a true-blue romantic to do? Crash the wedding, of course. And ensure the unsuspecting groom doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. Dean Chapman had his future all mapped out. He was about to check off “start a family” and on track to “make partner” when his modern day marriage of convenience went up in smoke. Then he learns he might not land an assignment that could be his ticket to a promotion unless he has a significant other and, in a moment of panic, Dean claims to be in love with the woman who crashed his wedding. Oops. Now Dean has a whole new item on his to-do list: beg Solange to be his pretend girlfriend. Solange feels a tiny bit bad about ruining Dean’s wedding, so she agrees to play along. Yet as they fake-date their way around town, what started as a performance for Dean’s colleagues turns into a connection that neither he nor Solange can deny. Their entire romance is a sham... there’s no way these polar opposites could fall in love for real, right?"

2026-08-08T12:45:52+02:00Tags: , , , , |

Romancing the trope

by MariaS Some people love tropes. Others despise them. Unfortunately, many are poorly done. But when a trope is done well, it can take a book from just okay to a bestseller. Here are my (very subjective) picks of the best and the worst romance tropes. Enemies [...]

2026-08-25T21:38:40+02:00Tags: , , , |

Empire of the Vampire

"From New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness. Gabriël de Leon, half man, half monster and last remaining silversaint - a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night - is all that stands between the world and its end."

2026-08-08T11:23:13+02:00Tags: , , , , |

Book review: Killing Commendatore

"When a thirty-something portrait painter is abandoned by his wife, he secludes himself in the mountain home of a world famous artist. One day, the young painter hears a noise from the attic, and upon investigation, he discovers a previously unseen painting. By unearthing this hidden work of art, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances; and to close it, he must undertake a perilous journey into a netherworld that only Haruki Murakami could conjure. A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art, Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers."

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