What I've Read In 2021 So Far

After not having such a great reading year in 2020, 2021 has been going much better for me. I'm actually ahead in my goodreads challenge (!) and have already read 22 out of my goal of 52 books for the year. In the spirit of catching this blog up to what has been going on in my life, I thought I'd talk about all the books I've read so far this year. Just think of it as one big monthly wrap up for the months January to April.

July 2019 Wrap-Up

Look at this year just flying by! It's already August and I really don't know where July even went. I am back home in Switzerland and I've settled into things more or less, so hopefully I can get back into blogging soon enough. For now, I only have another monthly wrap-up to share, but hopefully different content will come your way in the next weeks.

June 2019 Wrap-Up

June is over and so is my exchange semester in Seoul, I'm traveling in Japan right now and I really don't know what this life even is. So please bear with me while I am finishing up my traveling and then settling back into life in Switzerland in a few weeks. I haven't even thought about blogging in the past few days or weeks but since I have a few moments to spare right now, I want to talk about the books I read in June.

Looking back on the list of books I finished last month, it feels like years ago that read some of these books. Was June really only 30 days?? I had a pretty good reading month and finished five books, and I think it's safe to say I discovered a new all time favorite book (but more on that later!).

May 2019 Wrap-Up

Already another month has passed without any blogging on my part, but I am not here to cry about that, because I had quite a good reason. My boyfriend was visiting me here in Seoul for three weeks so we were out exploring and enjoying our time together for most of May. Blogging, therefore, had to take a back seat this month. Luckily (and I don't really know how), reading didn't. In fact, May was the best reading month I've had in a long time, so I'm very excited to share all the books I finished this month with you.

April 2019 Wrap-Up

I'm trying to get over the fact that it's already May - can you believe it? I'm already over halfway through my exchange semester here in Seoul which I can't really come to terms with. Time just passes too quickly! Anyway, I did end up reading a decent amount in April and finished four books. I would be totally happy with this number if the Tome Topple Readathon hadn't also taken place this month. I was so excited to participate in my first readathon in a long time, but ended up failing spectacularly. Because of that, I decided it doesn't really make sense to make a separate wrap-up for Tome Topple, so that will be included in here as well.

March 2019 Wrap-Up

I was debating for the longest time whether it's even worth writing this post considering how little I read in March, but now here I am with a belated wrap-up. The month started out really strong and I finished two books within the first week of March. Of course, I wanted to keep the momentum going and so I picked up the third book in a beloved series, because nothing can go wrong with that, right? Unfortunately, I was very wrong, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's first look at the two books I finished in March.

February 2019 Wrap-Up

It might not be my proudest moment that my first post since my January wrap-up is my February wrap-up, but I still want to talk about the books I read this month, so here we go. February included a lot of leaving my comfort zone for me, as I moved to Seoul for my exchange semester and explored this city and tried to meet people to spend the next few months with (not very successfully, I might add). So to take a break from all these draining experiences, I have turned to reading quite a lot, especially in the past two weeks. So I ended up finishing five books this month:

January 2019 Wrap-Up

January was a very eventful month for me, but somehow I still managed to get some reading done. I finished nine books last month, which is a LOT for me. However, six of those nine were graphic novels, so the number again becomes average. Still, I had exams this month and also had to write a paper for uni and I moved out of my apartment and packed all my belongings into boxes because I will be leaving for my exchange semester soon, so I'm very proud I still managed to read as much as I did. So here are the books I finished in January:

August and September 2018 Wrap-Up

I definitely forgot how to do monthly wrap-up posts, but I felt like giving it a try again for August. And then, like the professional blogger I am, I forgot to post it until September was already over as well, so here we are with a combined wrap-up for August and September!

I read seven books in August and a grand total of one book in September, which leaves me with 37 books total read this year and on track for my reading challenge. Yay me! While I didn't discover any new all-time favorite books in the past two months, I'm still very happy with what I read. Except for one, all books met my expectations and even the rereads were still as good as the first time around.

Mid-Year Reading Update

2018 so far has been a bit of a weird year for me with regards to book stuff. Mostly, it feels different because I've taken a big step back from the online book community. My blog has been neglected for a long time, so it's not really news on here. But I also haven't been active on my bookstagram ever since I moved into my own apartment at the beginning of the year, and that has been a big change although I'm not sure whether for the better or the worse. 

The good news is, I'm still reading! Even if I don't share my experiences online so much anymore, I haven't stopped being an avid reader. And as kind of a catch-up post, I thought it would be nice to have a look at what I've read so far this year.

November 2017 Wrap-Up

If you - like me - are thinking WHO IS THIS PERSON? Uploading almost regularly? And a wrap-up? We haven't seen one of those since MARCH! -- Well, meet the new me! Let's enjoy it while it lasts. At the moment, I'm at that stage in my semester where I should really start studying for my exams but it doesn't feel urgent enough yet that I wouldn't try and procrastinate by doing literally anything else. So here I am, blogging! Which isn't the worst way to procrastinate, if you ask me. Unfortunately, the weather here isn't on my side recently and it's been way too dark to take decent pictures, which is why this post is a little late after all. But anyway, let's get to the good part: books!

March 2017 Wrap-Up

March started out great reading-wise, but towards the end I began slacking a little and then fell into a reading slump. Luckily, I'm still 10 books ahead in my reading challenge, so I'm not stressed out about it at all.

February 2017 Wrap-Up

February has been an amazing reading month for me, so please prepare for a long post. It's been a long time since I read this many books in a month, and on top of that I loved almost all the books I picked up. But without further ado, let's get into the wrap-up.

January 2017 Wrap-Up

I haven't done a wrap-up in forever but it's a new year, so why not pick it back up again. Wrap-ups are some of my favorite posts to do, so I really don't know why I ever stopped uploading them.

April 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello there and happy May! Let's have a look at what I read and bought last month, shall we?

What I Read

• The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski, 5/5 ★
This one was the perfect ending to an even more perfect trilogy. If you haven't read The Winner's Curse yet, what are you even doing?


• The Score by Elle Kennedy, 3/5 ★
After such an epic fantasy book, I needed some light reading, and this one worked wonderfully for that. New Adult is my go-to genre when I need to stop thinking and just read, and Elle Kennedy has managed to keep my eye-rolling at a minimum with her Off-Campus companion series.


• The Heir by Kiera Cass, 4/5 ★
This was definitely the biggest surprise for me this month. I went into this book with pretty low expectations, and they were far exceeded! Here's my full review.


• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab, 5/5 ★
This book blew me away. I still think about it all the time, and it's given me the worst book hangover. Nothing will ever live up to the awesomeness that was this book. I attempted to write a coherent review, but mostly just shouted how much I loved EVERYTHING.


• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, 3/5 ★
Unfortunately, this book didn't really meet my expectations. I wrote a full review for this one as well.


• Uprooted by Naomi Novik, 5/5 ★
This was all around great. Beautiful writing, gripping plot, complex characters and a unique, rather dark feel to the whole story - it definitely lived up to the hype for me!

What I Bought

• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

That's it! What are some new additions to your bookshelf? 

Any new favorites you discovered this month?

March 2016 Wrap-Up

Let's ignore the fact that it's already mid-April for a second, because I want to share my March Wrap-Up today! March has been a pretty eventful month for me and on top of that my uni workload is getting bigger and bigger. Somehow, I still read (and bought) an acceptable amount of books though and I even managed to catch up with my goodreads reading challenge for a second (now I'm behind again, but that's okay).

What I Read

• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, 3/5 ★ 
I think my problem with this book was that my expectations were simply too high from all the raving reviews I had read. As it was, I was rather underwhelmed, and didn't even cry a single tear, which in itself is a miracle for me. For my full review go here.


• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer, 5/5 ★ 
This book was everything I had hoped for. Additional background information on all my favorite characters as well as more closure. I loved every single story in this book. If you're a fan of The Lunar Chronicles (and who isn't?), this book will definitely make you very, very happy.


• Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell, 4/5 ★ 
I don't have much to say about this other than: read it. It's a short story about a girl camping out for the new Star Wars movie, and even though I'm not very much of a Star Wars fan myself, I really enjoyed it. It was quick, cute and quirky and left a smile on my lips.


• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare, 5/5 ★ 
I honestly feel like Cassandra Clare's books are getting better and better. Lady Midnight offered so much, and I loved it all. So many new characters were introduced that were all very individual and interesting. The whole Blackthorn family has definitely found a special place in my heart and so did Emma and Christina and everyone else. And as always, this book was super fast paced and action packed. Even though it's huge, I never lost interested or felt like the story was moving too slowly. Definitely recommend this one to all the Shadowhunter fans out there!


• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, 5/5 ★ 
V.E. Schwab is without a doubt incredibly talented with words. I love the worlds she created in this book and most of all, I loved how different the three of them were. While this book didn't make me feel all the feels or anything, I definitely care deeply for the unique characters and I can't wait to see what the future books will bring.

What I Bought

• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
• The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
• The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

That's all for my March wrap-up! I hope you all had a successful month!

What's your favorite book you read this month?

Any exciting new addition to your shelves?

Top Ten Tuesday #10: Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven't Talked About Enough

I'm finally doing another TTT again, yay me! This week's topic is books we really love but don't talk about enough and if that isn't the perfect topic, I don't know what is. So here are my ten books that I want to take this opportunity to talk about:

• THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE by Jennifer Mathieu: I read this book last year and feel like I barely even mentioned it since then, even though I actually really enjoyed it. This story deals so well with bullying and related topics and it deeply impressed me. I didn't actually get what I wanted as the story didn't developed the way I had hoped (I always need a happy ending for everyone), but I really appreciated that. It helped support the point the book was making and also underlined the topics/problems that were addressed, as did the different perspectives the story is told from. Overall I thought this was an important and thought-provoking book and I'd highly recommend it.


• ATTACHMENTS by Rainbow Rowell: I guess this book's problem is that it's always overshadowed by my undying love for one of Rowell's other books, Fangirl. But Attachments was brilliant in its own way. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book as the characters, the plot, the writing, everything simply worked together brilliantly. I have a weakness for books told in letters or the like, so the fact that an important part of the story is written in e-mails worked out perfectly for me. If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh as well as give you all the fuzzy feelings, this is the one for you.


• THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman: I can't tell you exactly what it was about this book that made me love it so much. I was pretty freaked out by the story for the most part (I don't do scary, okay??), but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Neil Gaiman's writing was so magical and wonderful, there are definitely some highly quotable sentences in this book.


• REMEMBER ME? by Sophie Kinsella: Sophie Kinsella is one of my pre-blogging favorite authors. I used to love all her books, and I guess I still do but I just haven't read them in a while. Her stories are always witty and unique (if pretty unrealistic) and they're overall just fun, light reads. 


• THE ELVEN by Bernhard Hennen: This one is German (Adult) High Fantasy that I loved it long before I ever read English books. I can't exactly recall the story of this 900 page monster, but I remember spending two weeks of summer holidays at my grandparents' and doing nothing but read this book (and the many sequels). I have a number of songs that I must have listened to while reading it that, when I hear them today, make me think of certain parts of the story. I just absolutely love that feeling and all the memories I have connected to reading this book (if not the actual story itself). 

• THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green: I guess the reason why I don't talk about The Fault in Our Stars that much is because it's such an obvious choice. This book is so well loved that everyone knows about it anyway. But it never hurts to mention it anyway: I loved The Fault in Our Stars. It's one of the books that really got me back into reading and it's definitely the first one that made me sob. I read it in one day and let's just say, it was a very emotional day for me.


• THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Leslye Walton: I'm 100% sure that this isn't everyone's cup of tea and that's why I hardly ever recommend it. But for me, the story and especially the writing worked out perfectly. I loved the magical elements and how unique it all is. This is a special story and it will always have a special place in my heart.


• THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer: I will never get tired of defending this book to anyone mocking it just because Stephenie Meyer happened to also write the very controversial Twilight series. Believe me, The Host is its very own book and to this day, I still love it with a passion. The story is unlike anything I've ever read and it made me feel all the feels. I can't even tell you how many times I've read and re-read this book, and yet I hardly ever mention it.


• DESERT FLOWER by Waris Dirie: This one couldn't be more different from what I usually read and maybe that's exactly why I love it so much. I think I read it after seeing the movie at the cinema. I was absolutely horrified by what I'd learned, but also deeply impressed by the strength of Waris Dirie. 


• LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira: Since I read this book, I've seen a number of mixed reviews and I guess I get it, but I also don't. I understand that not everyone can read this book the way I did. Throughout it all, I was so heartbroken by the fact that Laurel had lost her sister, I don't think I even registered anything else. The way this story is written just made me feel the raw pain her sister's death had caused Laurel and it constantly reminded me of how absolutely horrible it would be for me to lose my own sister. Because of that, I cried throughout the entire book (seriously, I was cried the entire time). And since this book could evoke such strong feelings in me, of course I love it. 

What are some books you love but never tell anyone about?

Have you read any of the ones I mentioned?

February Wrap-Up

Hello there. Well, isn't this year just off to an incredibly speedy start? It's already March, people! For once, February actually felt like a proper month to me, which is kind of ironic considering it's actually the shortest month of the year. So let's see what I've been up to.

What I Read

So I read a total of four books, one graphic novel and three novellas this month. Yay me! I finally feel like I'm out of my reading slump. This also has me almost caught up with my goodreads challenge, which is great. Two of the books I read were rereads, but I'm counting them anyway.

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: The Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay (Illustrations), 5/5 ★
Not surprisingly, this was completely amazing. Not only was the story fantastic as always, but it profited so much from the gorgeous illustrations. It made for a completely different reading experience, and I loved every second of it.


• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, 5/5 ★
When I first read this book, I only gave it three stars (and I'm not changing my goodreads rating now). But of course, I felt so much more connected to the characters now and I couldn't help but smile the whole time reading this. I actually listened to the audiobook (my first audiobook, yay!) while I lay in bed sick for two days.


• Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare
The Fiery Trial: 3/5 ★ Born to Endless Night: 5/5 ★ Angels Twice Descending: 5/5 ★ Overall I am just so glad that I read these short stories. At first, I thought I would wait for the bind-up to come out but I really think that it was the best idea to read these before Lady Midnight is released. If you love the Shadowhunters world, go and read these novellas!


• Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, 3/5 ★
This book just didn't quite manage to pull me in. None of the characters really grew on me and I didn't really care about where the story was going for the most part. It just wasn't really my book.


• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, 5/5 ★
I was over the moon when I read this book. It just made me so happy, especially because I had read so many mediocre ones before. This one definitely lived up to the hype for me. It was witty and adorable and it warmed my heart.


• Saga Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Illustrator), 3/5 ★
I really like this graphic novel series but with this volume, I had been a little confused (probably because it had been a while since I read the last volume) and then I was finished before I really got into it.


• Where I Belong by J. Daniels, DNF
Reading this book showed me that maybe I should stop with the New Adult for at least a little while. If you want to know more, I wrote a review here.

What I Bought

I'm not 100% sure this is right, but I think I only bought one book this month. It's almost too good to be true. I know for sure that I also got some ebooks but I'm not even going to try and keep track of those.. So here's what I can remember buying (though I had actually forgotten I had preordered it, so receiving it was a nice little surprise):

• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Life

So at the end of February, uni started again and before that I had been sick for almost two weeks and then spent one week in Turkey with my soccer team. All of this has obviously taken a toll on my blogging (which is why I decided to just leave out the 'On the Blog' section completely this time). But luckily, I still got some reading done and if I could just get rid of this lingering cold that I still have, I would feel completely ready to get back into things, uni, reading and  blogging wise. 

I hope you all had a great month and happy March to you!

January 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello there. I'm already here with my first wrap-up for 2016. Can you believe it?

What I Read

2016 didn't start out very well for me reading-wise. I've been in somewhat of a reading slump and only finished three books this month. This means I'm already three books behind on my goodreads challenge but I'm not trying to let this stress me out. I mean there are still eleven months left to catch up, right? I'm not doomed, right? *breaks down crying*

• Winter by Marissa Meyer, 4/5 ★
So this is the only book in the Lunar Chronicles series that I rated four instead of five stars. Why, you ask? It was just too long and I'm going to be honest, I kind of lost interest in the middle. I talked about this in my December Wrap-Up too. Winter just took me forever to finish and I'm sad I didn't like it as much as the other books in the series. Of course it was still very good, and a more or less satisfying ending to this brilliant series. I'm still really looking forward to reading the epilogue in Stars Above, though. 


• Long Way Down by Krista and Becca Ritchie, 4/5 ★
I enjoyed this immensely for the most part. My only minor complaint is about all the lovey-dovey talk. I was honestly a little annoyed by Ryke at parts (I know, how is this possible?) because he just kept talking about how Daisy and he were destined to be together and how much he loved her and things like that. It was cute, but you know, also a little annoying. Sorry, Ryke! I still love you. 


• The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson, 2/5 ★
So this was a pretty big disappointment for me. I had been hoping for a thrilling start to a new fantasy series and with all the hype surrounding it, I was so sure I was going to fall in love. Unfortunately, that didn't happen for me at all. The only thing I liked about this book was Kaden, and even he was a little boring at times. If you want to know more about why I didn't enjoy The Kiss of Deception, go here for my review.

So those are all the books I read this month. To be honest, all three of them I was a little disappointed with. Of course there's The Kiss of Deception, but Winter and A Long Way Down didn't really meet my expectations either.

What I Bought

I only bought two books this month, which I definitely think is a success! 

• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

On the Blog

I am very happy with the amount of blogging I managed to get done this month. Yay for a good start to the new year in that regard. Here are all the posts of the past month in case you missed one:

• My favorite books and series of 2015
• 2015 Authors A-Z Reading Challenge wrap-up
• My December 2015 wrap-up
• Celebrating my second Blogoversary
• Ten 2015 releases I meant to get to but didn't (TTT #8)
• Ten recent additions to my TBR (TTT #9)
• Discussing changing my blog name
• Seven reasons why I didn't enjoy The Kiss of Deception

Life

January mainly consisted of working and studying for me. I'm still on semester break from uni and I'm using my 'free time' to earn some money and to try to catch up with all the university work I neglected to do during the past semester. I also cleaned out my room and did some redecorating which I'm really excited about. I feel so much more comfortable in my room now. 

How about you? Any good books you read this month?

Tell me about all the fun things you have been up to in January!

December 2015 Wrap-Up

Hello there. Here I come with my very late December Wrap-Up. I completely forgot about this because of all the new year excitement, but of course I still want to let you guys know what books I read and received in December. So let's go.

What I Read

So I finished a disappointing four books in December, but I just want to say that I had also been reading the beast that is Winter all throughout the month. Or really, the second part of the month because the first two weeks were crazy because of uni and I had time for no reading at all. Also, all these books are New Adult because that's what I felt like reading when I needed a break from Winter.

• Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, 3.5/5 ★
This is the only book that I read in the first half of December and I enjoyed it but also had some problems. For my full review go here.


• Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker, 3/5 ★
This was just the usual NA read for me. I enjoyed it for the most part but it was also a little too dramatic and over the top. The instalove/-attraction was absolutely infuriating. What positively surprised me was how the aftermath of the 'big twist/reveal' was dealt with. This is usually where these kinds of books completely lose me, but I was actually really happy with the ending of this one.


• The Deal by Elle Kennedy, 4/5 ★
So this one was overall a very positive surprise. While it still had the 'super popular sports champion meets unknown girl' trope (and the horrible cover), that was where the NA clichés ended. I loved both the main characters and their relationship was perfectly built. The only reason I didn't give this five stars is because I was so happy with how everything was going and then right at the end there is still a stupid misunderstanding, not-telling-each-other-things kind of problem that just annoyed me to no end. But still, this is a NA read that I would recommend to anyone as it really is different from most of the books in the genre.


• The Mistake by Elle Kennedy, 3/5 ★
So after the success that was The Deal, I was eager to continue with this series. The second book (focusing on different characters) was still an enjoyable read for me but unfortunately, it couldn't live up to my expectations after the first book. I felt like it was a step back from the unique side of NA and featured a more cliché relationship (though still not as bad as other NA I've read). I'm definitely still looking forward to the third book, because Elle Kennedy's writing is very addicting and I love her characters.

What I Bought

I am very happy to say that I didn't buy any books in December! But thanks to Christmas, I still have some new additions to my TBR to show you. Also a special thank you to my boyfriend and my family for giving me these books!

• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

On the Blog

I uploaded an incredible amount of two posts in December. But I guess this isn't new for me, so I'm not even going to complain. Just hoping that in 2016 I will have more time and inspiration for blogging. But anyway, I talked about all the books I read in November in my November Wrap-Up and even reviewed an ARC (Firsts).

Life

So as I already mentioned, the first half of December I was super busy with university as I had an exam on the last day before my semester break. I studied a lot and luckily that paid off as I left the exam feeling like the king of the world. I honestly have never had such a good feeling after writing an exam. Here's to hoping that my grade won't be a disappointment now. Then the second half of December was basically filled with eating, sleeping and waiting for snow. While the I enjoyed the first two things immensely, I'm really unhappy with the fact that we still don't have any snow here. I mean, last year at this time, I was struggling to get out of the house because of all the snow and today it's raining.

What did you read in December?

Any new favorites?