I moved my blog!

Hey there!
I decided to move my blog to wordpress because I liked the features there a bit more.
You should get automatically moved to my blog there but apparently that doesn't work if you have adblocker or similar things.
So to see my new blog just click here

Winter's Curse

The Winter's Curse
author: April L. Wood
published: October 31st 2016 by Bellatrix Press
pages: 268
my rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I got sent an advanced readers copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thank you so much!

Before the light is reborn within the womb of darkness and the Sun returns, will Winter reverse the curse? 

When High Priestess Iris Rose-Thorne bets her granddaughter’s womb in a broom flying contest–and loses, Winter wonders where the real danger lies: from the Witch Hunters she fled from the far North or her shady grandmother. 

She finds safety with Turmeric of the Wormwood clan. His eagerness to protect her warms her frozen heart. But her love for him defies the Segregation Curse of Old, cast by the Elders to preserve ancient clan bloodlines. 

Can they find a way around the Segregation Curse of Old to be together? 

And with time running out as the Winter Solstice nears, will Winter be able to reverse the curse on her womb? Or will she agree to her fate and remain barren?

Winter Rose-Thorn is a real life witch and after fleeing from Witch Hunters in the North she is confronted with the modern world. Not only that but soon she is in the middle of conspiracies, lies, lots of danger and on top of that she is falling in love.

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2)

The Son of Neptune 
author: Rick Riordan
published: October 4th 2011 by Disney-Hyperion Books
pages: 521
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Contains spoilers for the first book The Lost Hero!
The Lost Hero review

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth 

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem — when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams. 

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery — although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely — enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart. 

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.

When I first started reading this book just reading the first couple of sentences made me extremely happy. Percy is back and so is his humor!

The Assassin's Blade
author: Sarah J. Maas
published: March 4th 2014 by Bloomsbury Childrens
pages: 448
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.


This book is a collection of five novellas about Calaena Sardothien's life before Throne of Glass. I personally read it after reading Queen of Shadows and kind of regret not reading it sooner. Sarah J Mass said you can even read it before Throne of Glass but really you can't ruin the reading experience either way.The stories all explain a lot about her character and how she ended up being the way she was in Throne of Glass.

Since Calaena goes through so much character development in the Throne of Glass series, reading this book kind of threw me back to the beginning and I know have the urge to reread the entire series from start to finish (I'll probably read Empire of Storms first though).
I really love how badass and powerful she is, she's basically the definition of a strong female character.

Her relationship with Sam truly broke my heart. She obviously loves Sam and he loves her. Reading it after Queen of Shadows made it so much harder to read *cough*. Especially the last story – The Assassin and the Empire – crushed me.

“My name is Celaena Sardothien," she whispered, "and I will not be afraid.”
That quote became so much more meaningful after reading these novellas.

The other stories were great as well and I really hope some of the people she meets come up in Empire of Storms or later books again. I also have the feeling that some people or situations were already mentioned in the earlier books which is why I wish I'd read this book sooner.

If you like Throne of Glass I highly recommend you read this. They might only be novellas but they can make you excactly as emotional as any other Sarah J Mass book can.

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1)

The Lost Hero – Heroes of Olympus #1

author: Rick Riordan

published: October 12th 2010 by Disney-Hyperion Books

pages: 557

my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jason has a problem.

He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret.

Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools.

When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who;s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason's amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

This is the first book in the series and it takes place after Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian. 

The start immediately drew me in, it's captivating from the start. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
author:  J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
published: July 31st 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books
pages: 327
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Let me just start this off by saying I was extremely nervous starting this book. There is so much about the Harry Potter universe that I don't want to get ruined and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to read it at first.

As many will probably already know this book is written as a play and I wasn't a huge fan of that. It took some time to get used to and I think the pacing was way too fast. But other than that it didn't made reading it harder and I could soon get completely get sucked back into the Harry Potter universe once again. The feeling of reading a Harry Potter book is definitely there, even though it is very different.

It did hurt a bit to see everyone grown up with jobs and adult problems. But it soon became clear that their friendship hadn't really changed at all and they're still a great team.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Draco Malfoy played a role here as well and I feel like his character gets a lot more detailed and layered. I don't think there was anything completely new about his character but I feel like he's shown from a different perspective and lots of things that weren't as clear in the original books gets a bit more attention here.

Albus, Harry Potter's son is one of the main characters of the play and in many ways he is similar to Harry. He has problems figuring out his place in the wizarding world and feels like an outsider which in many ways, Harry did too. And like Harry he is extremely loyal and goodhearted. Unfortunately he also makes some really stupid mistakes which ,again, Harry did too.

I did think that the entire conflict in the play could've easily been avoided and it's all kind of Albus fault, which is a thought I couldn't really get out of my head. It really seems like the authors where looking for a way to expand a story that had ended perfectly and that might actually be what happened.
But other than that I loved the plot, it completely horrified me at times and there where some amazing plot twists. It came way to close to destroying the peace and happy end I enjoyed so much and I was anxious to find out what would happen next.


I think you shouldn't view this as the "next Harry Potter book" but as something completely separate from the series because the format, plot and even the characters are different. By doing that I really enjoy this book without comparing it constantly.

Demon Road

Demon Road 
author: Derek Landy
published: January 1st 2015 by HarperCollins Children's Books
pages: 507
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers: they’re all here. And the demons? Well, that’s where Amber comes in...Sixteen years old, smart and spirited, she’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves.

Forced to go on the run, she hurtles from one threat to another, revealing a tapestry of terror woven into the very fabric of her life. Her only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be… 

When I saw this book on the shelf I couldn't resist buying it. I love Derek Landy's series Skulduggery Pleasant and I just knew that I would love this book as well. Spoiler alert: I did.

As Dead As It Gets

As Dead As It Gets
author: Katie Alender
published: May 15th 2012 by Disney-Hyperion
pages: 442
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is the third book of a trilogy. There will be spoilers.
Bad Girls Don't Die review
From Bad To Cursed review

It's been three months since Alexis helplessly witnessed Lydia Small's violent death, and all she wants is for her life to return to normal. 
But normal people don't see decaying bodies haunting photographs. Normal people don't have to deal with regular intrusions from Lydia's angry ghost, sometimes escalating to terrifying attacks.

At first, it seems that Lydia wants revenge on Alexis alone. But a girl from school disappears one night, and Alexis spots one of Lydia's signature yellow roses lying on the girl's dresser the next day. Soon, it becomes clear that several of Alexis's friends are in danger, and that she's the only person who can save them. But as she tries to intervene, Alexis realizes that her enemy is a much more powerful ghost than she's ever faced before... and that its fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn't possibly imagine.

Not even in her worst nightmares.

Prior to reading this book, I was wondering how Katie Alender could possibly write a third creepy ghost book without it being repetitive. I can confidently tell you that somehow she pulled it of perfectly and I might actually like this more than the first book.

From Bad to Cursed

From Bad to Cursed
author: Katie Alender
published: June 14th 2011 by Hyperion
pages: 442
my rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This review will contain spoilers for the first book in the series. If you haven't read it yet, check out the review here:
Bad Girls Don't Die review

Alexis is the last girl you'd expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs--an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who's finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized. 
Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs. It's strange, though, to see how fast the girls in The Sunshine Club go from dorky and antisocial to gorgeous and popular. Soon Alexis learns that the girls have pledged an oath to a seemingly benevolent spirit named Aralt. Worried that Kasey's in over her head again, Alexis and her best friend Megan decide to investigate by joining the club themselves. At first, their connection with Aralt seems harmless. Alexis trades in her pink hair and punky clothes for a mainstream look, and quickly finds herself reveling in her newfound elegance and success. 
Instead of fighting off the supernatural, Alexis can hardly remember why she joined in the first place. Surely it wasn't to destroy Aralt...why would she hurt someone who has given her so much, and asked for so little in return?

This is the second book of Katie Alender's Bad Girls Don't Die series and even though it's probably my least favourite in the series I still enjoyed it a lot.

Schachnovelle

Schachnovelle/ Chess Story
Autor (author): Stefan Zweig
Veröffentlicht (published): 1941
Seitenanzahl (pages): 64
Meine Bewertung (my rating): 2.5 von 5 Sternen

This is just a test. Since I read this book in German and it wasn't written in English originally I thought it might be more fitting to write this review in German as well. I'm not sure if I'll continue doing this but you can read the english version beneath this one (just scroll down a bit). Feel free to let me know what you think of this, I would really like to get some feedback:)

Bad Girls Don't Die

Bad Girls Don't Die
author: Katie Alender
published: April 21st 2009 by Disney-Hyperion
pages: 346
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

I read this book twice now and can confidently say that the Bad Girls Don't Die series is my favorite of Katie Alender's works so far. Even the covers are absolutely gorgeous!

The Art of Getting Stared At

The Art of Getting Stared At
author: Laura Langston
published: August 1st 2014 by Razorbill
pages: 293
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

After a school video she produced goes viral, sixteen-year-old Sloane Kendrick is given a chance at a film school scholarship. She has less than two weeks to produce a second video, and she’s determined to do it. Unfortunately, she must work with Isaac Alexander, an irresponsible charmer with whom she shares an uneasy history.

On the heels of this opportunity comes a horrifying discovery: a bald spot on her head. No bigger than a quarter, the patch shouldn't be there. Neither should the bald spots that follow. Horror gives way to devastation when Sloane is diagnosed with alopecia areata. The auto-immune disease has no cause, no cure, and no definitive outcome. The spots might grow over tomorrow or Sloane might become completely bald. No one knows.

Determined to produce her video, hide her condition, and resist Isaac's easy charm, Sloane finds herself turning into the kind of person she has always mocked: someone obsessed with her looks. And just when she thinks things can't get any worse, Sloane is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life.

This is a relatively short but surprisingly emotional book about beauty and appearance and what impact they can have on everyone, even those who don't want to care about how they look.

Fangirl

Fangirl 
author: Rainbow Rowell
published: September 10th 2013 by St. Martin's Press
pages: 461
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate 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.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?


For someone who loves reading and writing and is pretty shy this book was perfect. Lots of people love this book and now I can finally say I do too.

The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys
author: Maggie Stiefvater
published September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press
pages: 409
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

This book took me by surprise. I didn't really expect to like it that much and didn't really understand all the hype around it but now I get it completely.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope

The Sudden Appearance of Hope
author: Claire North
published: May 17th 2016
pages: 468
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Listen.
All the world forgets me. First my face, then my voice, then the consequences of my deeds.
So listen. Remember me.
My name is Hope Arden, and you won't know who I am. We've met before - a thousand times. But I am the girl the world forgets.
It started when I was sixteen years old. A slow declining, an isolation, one piece at a time.
A father forgetting to drive me to school. A mother setting the table for three, not four. A teacher who forgets to chase my missing homework. A friend who looks straight through me and sees a stranger.
No matter what I do, the words I say, the people I hurt, the crimes I commit - you will never remember who I am.
That makes my life tricky. But it also makes me dangerous . . .

Everything Leads to You

Everything Leads to You
author Nina Lacour
published: May 15th 2014
pages: 312
my rating 5 out of 5 stars

A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.

Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.


Everything Leads to You is a incredible sweet and addictive book with a lesbian lead who's sexuality isn't the main focus of the novel. I loved everything about it and could not put it down.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
author: Jenny Han
published: April 15th 2014
pages: 355
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars


To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all. 


When I first heard about this book I didn't immediately want to read it but since a lot of people really love it I became more curious and decided to pick it up. I'm so glad I did!

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies
author: Isaac Marion
published: October 28th 2010
pages: 240
my rating: 3.5 stars


'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...


Zombie books aren't usually my thing but I made an exception with this one. I don't think there are many books written from a zombies point of view out there and certainly even less love stories from a zombies point of view.

Bookshelf reorganisation/tour

I recently reorganized the bookshelf I share with my sister and now we each have our own shelf. The amount of books I own isn't normal anymore but hey, lot's of people have more so everything's fine:)
I'm sorry for the bad photo quality but I hope you can still see it good enough.

We Awaken

We Awaken
author: Calista Lynne
published: July 14th 2016
pages: 180
my rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Thanks netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review!

Victoria Dinham doesn’t have much left to look forward to. Since her father died in a car accident, she lives only to fulfill her dream of being accepted into the Manhattan Dance Conservatory. But soon she finds another reason to look forward to dreams when she encounters an otherworldly girl named Ashlinn, who bears a message from Victoria’s comatose brother. Ashlinn is tasked with conjuring pleasant dreams for humans, and through the course of their nightly meetings in Victoria’s mind, the two become close. Ashlinn also helps Victoria understand asexuality and realize that she, too, is asexual.

But then Victoria needs Ashlinn’s aid outside the realm of dreams, and Ashlinn assumes human form to help Victoria make it to her dance audition. They take the opportunity to explore New York City, their feelings for each other, and the nature of their shared asexuality. But like any dream, it’s too good to last. Ashlinn must shrug off her human guise and resume her duties creating pleasant nighttime visions—or all of humanity will pay the price.

We Awaken is a short but really amazing book. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.

The Merciless

The Merciless

author: Danielle Vega

published: June 9th 2015

pages: 279

my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .

This was another book I read for the BookTube-A-Thon. I didn't use it for any particular challenge but I did find out about it through BookTube. And although I heard many great things about it, I had little to no idea what it is about before reading it and I think that's the best way to get into this book.

BookTube-A-Thon Wrap Up

I know, I know, the BookTube-A-Thon ended a while ago already but I'm still going to post my wrap up now.
Like I already thought at the beginning of the read-a-thon I didn't read seven books and the ones I did read were mostly really short but I still think I did OK. In total, I read five books and completed four challenges. I also started the other two but since I didn't get far with either of them they don't really count. If you want to know more about my thoughts for any of these books just click on the title.

These are the challenges I managed to complete/ the books I managed to read:

1. read a book with yellow on the cover – Alpha Drive 
2. read a book you discovered through BookTube – Highly Illogical Behavior
3. read a book by one of your favorite authors – Tales of Beedle the Bard
4. read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation – Sapphire Blue
5. read seven books (a book of your choice) – The Merciless 

These are the challenges I didn't complete:

1. read a book only after sunset – We Awaken
2. read a book that is older than you – Interview with a Vampire

The Alpha Drive

The Alpha Drive

author: Kristen Martin

published: November 14th 2015

pages: 322

my rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Thanks netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review!

It's the year 2055 and an anarchist organization has taken control with the aim to create a world-class society. Half of humankind is unknowingly living in an alternate reality called Dormance . . . and there are no plans to wake them up.

Sixteen-year-old introvert Emery Parker is one such dormant. An academic scholar who avoids ruffling feathers at all costs, Emery finds herself being transferred to a boarding school on the outskirts of Arizona. Little does she know, a family secret has the power to change the course of the future. When she's approached with an opportunity to free the dormants, she sees no other choice but to accept, even though failure could mean having her memory wiped clean.

But when tech-savvy Torin Porter reaches out to her from the other side, Emery begins to question everything she was told about Dormance. If her family's secret falls into the wrong hands, the world as she knows it will be faced with irreversible consequences. Now Emery must play both sides to uncover the truth about her family's past or risk leaving mankind to live in an unconscious reality.

I picked up this book because it sounded like something original and fun and even though I didn't understand everything on the summary I hoped to get more explanations while I was reading it. Unfortunately though, this book wasn't for me at all. 

Sapphire Blue (book + movie review)

Sapphire Blue
author: Kerstin Gier
published: January 5th 2010
pages: 357
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Warning: this review may contain spoilers for ruby red (the first book)

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.


This was a reread for me and exactly like the other times I read it, I really loved this book. I also read this book in German since that's it's original language.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Tales of Beedle the Bard
author: J.K. Rowling
published: December 4th 2008
pages: 109
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars


The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.


I obviously love Harry Potter and so I was more than excited to read this companion book that is introduced as a story book for children in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And it did not let me down. Of course it's not comparable to Harry Potter at all but I still love everything that takes place in the wizarding world.

Highly Illogical Behavior

Highly Illogical Behavior
author: John Corey Whaley
published: May 10th 2016
pages: 256
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambition alone enough to get her in?

Enter Lisa.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa steps into his world, along with her charming boyfriend, Clark, and soon the three form an unexpected bond. But, as Lisa learns more about Sol and he and Clark grow closer and closer, the walls they’ve built around themselves start to collapse and their friendships threaten to do the same.


Yay, I read book one of the BookTube-A-Thon Challenge! And I really liked this book too! I haven't read many books about mental health but this was definitely a good start.

The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10
author: Ruth Ware
published: June 30th 2016
pages: 352
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Thanks netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was meant to be the perfect trip.
The Northern Lights. A luxury press launch on a boutique cruise ship.
A chance for travel journalist Lo Blackwood to recover from a traumatic break-in that has left her on the verge of collapse, and to work out what she wants from her relationship.
Except things don’t go as planned.
Woken in the night by screams, Lo rushes to her window to see a body thrown overboard from the next door cabin. But the records show that no-one ever checked into that cabin, and no passengers are missing from the boat.
Exhausted, emotional and increasingly desperate, Lo has to face the fact that her sleep problems might be driving her mad or she is trapped on a boat with a murderer – and she is the sole witness..

I liked this book from the very beginning I started reading it. Before reading it, I had no idea what it was about but I had heard some good things about the author so I really wanted to read it.

BookTube-A-Thon tbr

I decided to participate in the BookTube-A-Thon, the second read-a-thon I will have participated in. The first was a bit of a fail I only managed to read three books instead of the planned five. But since I am four books behind on my goodreads reading challenge and this sounded fun I just decided to give it a go. 

Here are the challenges and the books I chose for each of them:

1. book with yellow on the cover – the Alpha Drive by Kristen Martin
2. read a book only after sunset – We Awaken by Calista Lynne
3. book you discovered through book tube – Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley
4. book by a favorite author – Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
5. book that is older than you – Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
6. read and watch a book to movie adaptation – Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
7. read a total of 7 books – The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Sorry for the bad image positioning, but I'm having some problems moving them the way I wan't to.

The Challenge starts on Monday the 18th and finished on Sunday the 24th. I probably won't complete all of the challenges but I'll try nonetheless.

Mr Mercedes

Mr Mercedes
author: Stephen King
published: June 3rd 2014
pages: 436
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars



In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the "perk" and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again.

Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

This is definitely my favourite Stephen King book yet (I only read three but still). Even though it took me forever to finish, it was really gripping and I was definitely invested in the story.

The Institute

The Institute
author: Kayla Howarth
published: January 7th 2015
pages: 280
my rating: 2 out of 5 stars


Living in constant fear. Always looking over your shoulder. The source of your fear? The Institute.

Allira Daniels will do anything to keep her Defective brother safe from the Institute. They claim to protect Defectives, but it’s human nature to fear the unknown. Defectives are dangerous, they possess abilities that no human should be able to. To Allira and the rest of her family, the Institute seems more like a prison than the safe-haven they promote themselves to be. Protecting Shilah from that fate is their number one priority.

When Allira stumbles across a car crash involving two of her school classmates, she ignores all of her father’s warnings of laying low and not drawing attention to herself. By doing so, she may have just caught the eye of the Institute. She’s not Defective, but what seventeen-year-old girl has the ability to pull two teenage boys away from a fiery rubble and walk away without a scratch? It would definitely be seen as suspicious.

Allira and her family need to make decisions. Do they stay, or do they flee again? Will they be coming for her? Will her whole family come under investigation? Will they discover Shilah and his ability to predict the future?

Are you Defective? The Institute is coming for you. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
author: Neil Gaiman
published: June 18th 2013
pages: 178
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

"I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one in the whole wide world."

If I Stay

If I Stay
author: Gayle Forman
published: April 2nd 2009
pages: 201
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.


If I Stay is an incredible heartbreaking book (and movie) but still somehow peaceful and almost happy. I absolutely loved it! It's truly unique, amazing and just plain beautiful.

The One

The One
author: Kiera Cass
published: May 6th 2014
pages: 323
my rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars


The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants. 




This is probably my favorite book in this series. While the first book was mostly just a fluffy and entertaining romance book and the second not that much different but with a bit more action, this book felt way more serious and it didn't concentrate on the actual selection as much as the previous books.

Night Film

Night Film
author: Marisha Pessl
published: August 20th 2013
pages: 602
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars














Everybody has a Cordova story. Cult horror director Stanislas Cordova hasn't been seen in public since 1977. To his fans he is an enigma. To journalist Scott McGrath he is the enemy. To Ashley he was a father.

On a damp October night the body of young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Her suicide appears to be the latest tragedy to hit a severely cursed dynasty.

For McGrath, another death connected to the legendary director seems more than a coincidence. Driven by revenge, curiosity and a need for the truth, he finds himself pulled into a hypnotic, disorientating world, where almost everyone seems afraid.

The last time McGrath got close to exposing Cordova, he lost his marriage and his career. This time he could lose his grip on reality.

ONCE WE FACE OUR DEEPEST FEARS, WHAT LIES ON THE OTHER SIDE?


This may be one of my favorite books I've read this year. As a regular YA reader starting this book was a bit haunting since it has 600 pages and I wasn't used to the narrative in the beginning. I did end up reading this for a whole week which is way to long in my opinion but it was worth it for sure.

I've been nominated for The Liebster Award!

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by World of a Bibliophile. Thank you so much for nominating me, your awesome! If you haven't yet, definitely check out her blog and give it a follow. Until yesterday, I hadn't heard of this award but I'm excited to do it.

Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words
author: Katie Alender
published: September 30th 2014
pages: 320
my rating: 3.5 stars














Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to send her a message.

Meanwhile, a killer is stalking Los Angeles -- a killer who reenacts famous movie murder scenes. Could Willa's strange visions have to do with these unsolved murders? Or is she going crazy? And who can she confide in? There's Marnie, her new friend who may not be totally trustworthy. And there's Reed, who's ridiculously handsome and seems to get Willa. There's also Wyatt, who's super smart but unhealthily obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

All Willa knows is, she has to confront the possible-ghost in her house, or she just might lose her mind . . . or her life.

This book reminded me a lot of "Marie Antoniette, Serial Killer" also by Katie Alender but I liked this one a bit more. Both are mainly entertaining and not that creepy if you ask me. "Famous Last Words" was more mysterious though and didn't focus on the social life of the character as much as "Marie Antoniette, Serial Killer" which made it much more thrilling.

Dark Places

Dark Places
author: Gillian Flynn
published: May 5th 2009
pages: 349
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars














Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

Wow, this book was amazing. I've never read a book by Gillian Flynn before but everyone seems to be obsessed with them so I had pretty high expectations. Let me just say those expectations were definitely met.

Top 10 books to read this summer

So since summer is finally among us I thought I would recommend the top 10 books for the summer as well as the top 10 books I want to read this summer.
Personally, I don't usually pay that much attention to the season when I'm reading (I remember I read "When Santa fell to Earth" on the way to the beach once:)) but I thought about it recently and came up with some books I think are more fitting for summer than others.
From what I saw most people think of contemporary books as more "summery" but because I don't read that much contemporary, there are mostly other genres on this list. For some I have an explanation to why they are on this list and for others it just kind of felt right. Also there isn't a real order here so the first book isn't necessary my favorite. Anyway on to the actual list.

The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea
author: Rick Yancey
published: September 16th 2014
pages: 300
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Warning: May contain spoilers for the 5th Wave!










How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

This book was a great sequel. I already loved the first book and this was also amazing. Although I forgot a bit from the first book it wasn't hard to get back into at all.

The Reflections of Queen Snow White

The Reflections of Queen Snow White
author: David Meredith
released: October 2nd 2013
pages: 155
my rating: 3 out of 5 stars














What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone? 

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: 

The king is dead. 

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old. 

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means? 

Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review by the author (thanks again!).
I probably wouldn't have picked this up normally just because it's not what I usually read. Still I thought it was an interesting concept the moment I read the description and I did really enjoy reading this book.

The Beautiful Ones

The Beautiful Ones
author: Lori Brighton
released: February 8th 2014
pages: 67
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars














Some say we’re special, and that’s why we’re kept in seclusion. Beyond those walls evil lurks and innocent prey would be lost in minutes. Gone. Destroyed. Forgotten. 
Others say the opposite: we’re locked away because there’s something wrong with us. If we roamed the outside world, we might taint the beautiful ones. A species so pure, that to merely be in their presence is a gift. 

As for my beliefs…I’m not sure. 

But I do know one thing: neither of those reasons explains why it is that they come for us only after we’ve passed the age of sixteen. Whether we want to go or not, we’re taken through those iron gates. Escorted away from the only home we’ve ever known, escorted to our destiny—whatever that destiny may be—never to be seen again. 

This is a prequel to the young adult series The Chosen Ones. It's pretty short but it made me want to read on in the series.

The Girl Who Could Fly

The Girl Who Could Fly
author: Victoria Forester
released: June 24th 2008
pages: 329
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars














You just can't keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods.

Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie.

Sure, she hasn't mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she's real good at loop-the-loops.

Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma's at her wit's end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents' farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities. 

School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.

Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.


I didn't expect to love this book this much but I did. I expected it to be a entertaining middle grade book and even though it was that it was also much more. Also the cover is just amazing.

Curse of the Sphinx

Curse of the Sphinx
author: Raye Wagner
released: August 9th 2015
pages: 344
my rating: 3 out of 5 stars














Seventeen year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.

When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. For some reason it took me a while to finish even though it isn't that long at all.
It has been getting a lot of hype and when I saw that I could get it for free I obviously did. I did like it for the most part but I don't understand the hype around it.

The Trials of Apollo

The Trials of Apollo
author: Rick Riordan
released: May 3rd 2016
pages: 384
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Warning: May contain fangirling (and spoilers to the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series)










How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

“Zeus needed someone to blame, so of course he’d picked the handsomest, most talented, most popular god in the pantheon: me.” 

Before anything else, can we please just take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous cover? Believe it or not, the story inside the book was even better. Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors and this book was the perfect example to why.

UnEnchanted

UnEnchanted
author: Chanda Hahn
released: December 29th 2011
pages: 235
my rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars














Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her it's next fairytale victim. 

To break the fairy tale curse on her family and make these deadly occurrences stop, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

Rating this book was really difficult for me, because while I did like the overall story, there where some parts that just annoyed me way to much. Also I'm in a bit of a rating crisis because I rate books and then change the ratings later because compared to other books the rating doesn't seem right. I hope I'll get over that soon though. So even if 2.5 stars may not sound that great, I did enjoy the book overall.

Joyland

Joyland
author: Stephen King
released: June 4th 2013
pages: 283
my rating: 3 out of 5 stars














College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever. 

A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time—Joyland is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers.

I'm beginning to think that either Stephen Kings books aren't that horrifying or I'm just randomly picking the harmless ones. This was a great book, but I didn't know much about it when I started reading and thought it would be way more scary.
In fact, in a large proportion of this book nothing too horrifying happens at all. I think it began getting suspenseful in the last 50 pages or so. There is a mystery but it wasn't the main focus of this story as I had hoped it would.

That aside, I really enjoyed this book. The way Devin's time at Joyland changed him was great to read about and his character development was perfect. The amusement park itself and the people within it were also really cool. Since the story takes place in 1973 there aren't that many security measures and everyone does everything, which made Devin's work there really interesting. The whole thing had a feel to it that I adored.

It took me some time to get used to the narration, since it's narrated by Devin in the future and he sometimes mentioned things that only happened way later, but after I got over that, I really enjoyed the writing style (I read this book in German though, so I don't know if the translation changed anything). The fact that old Devin narrated the story also took some of the suspense away, since it's pretty obvious that he and some other people he mentions can't really die.

If you wan't to pick this book up because you want to read a suspenseful thriller, I can't really recommend this. But if you want to read a coming of age book with a bit of mystery, this is a great book for you.