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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

May and June Wrap-Up

Hello there. I'm doing a two month wrap-up today because of the blogging break I took for studying. I hope you're all doing well, I've missed you! But let's get into what I've been up to the past two months.

What I Read

I read 6 books in May and June and I honestly couldn't tell you which ones they were. But thanks to goodreads, I can just look them up. If you're wondering why all the exciting new releases aren't on this list, here's why: I put myself on a reading ban with all the books I was most excited for because I just knew I wouldn't get any studying done if I started, for example, ACOTAR. But let's get into the ones I did read:

Because of Low by Abbi Glines, ★★★

So I decided to give the Sea Breeze series by Abbi Glines another chance. After very much disliking the first book, Breathe, I didn't have very high expectations for the sequel. But it's Abbi Glines and I just have a weak spot for her books, which is why I picked this one up anyway. While it was definitely better than Breathe, it still didn't blow me away. It has given me hope, though, that the series might just be getting better with every book, so I do want to continue with While It Lasts eventually.

Pucked by Helena Hunting, ★★

This book turned out to be exactly how the cover promised it would be: not for me. Why did I read it then? Because it's Helena Hunting and I really liked her Clipped Wings books. Unfortunately, Pucked was quite the disappointment and for me it's proof that judging a book by its cover sometimes really is the best way to go.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, ★★★★★

My one exception from the reading ban. I just couldn't resist this one and it was so worth it. Definitely brightened up my studying days. I gave this five stars just because I love Lara Jean and Peter in general and not necessarily because I liked it better than the first book. Both of the books are just cuteness overload and I love them!

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, ★★★★

I also managed to finish the first Lord of the Rings book. It took me long enough but I did really enjoy it. The beginning was a little slow for me but then the story picked up and I really love all the characters.

The Edge of Always by J.A. Redmereski, ★★★

I absolutely loved The Edge of Never and therefore my expectations were extremely high for the sequel. I had a feeling before starting this book that maybe it would just be best not to read it at all so that it wouldn't taint my love for the first book if it couldn't live up to my expectations. This kind of turned out to be true. In my opinion, this sequel was kind of unnecessary and I just couldn't like it nearly as much as the first book.

Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire, ★★★★★

I will continue to read anything about the Maddox brothers that Jamie McGuire releases. The stories are often kind of similar and I have my problems with each of them but I can't help loving them all anyway. Taylor and Falyn's story started off perfectly and I could even imagine liking it better than Beautiful Disaster. But then the second half was just mehh and some things developed in ways that I didn't like at all. So the five stars are for how Taylor and Falyn fell in love and I'm ignoring everything else that happened.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, ★★★★★

I had very very high expectations for this book and am happy to say that ACOTAR lived up to them. It wasn't quite what I expected but I enjoyed it a lot. I'm also really looking forward to the next book because I have a feeling things are going to get complicated.

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor with illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo

To be honest, I haven't actually finished this book at this point but I'm including it because I'm leaving for Mykonos today and expect to finish it during the three hour flight. So far, I'm not a huge fan but I've only read the first story and hope it will get better. Laini Taylor's writing is beautiful as always but I hope I will be able to connect more to the other two stories.

What I Bought

Sooo I bought 11 books these past two months.. I guess I wanted to make up for the fact that I didn't have time to read by buying as many books as possible. Which doesn't make sense. Anyway, I just needed some summery reads and of course I intend to read all of these as soon as possible because I'm super excited for all of them. Time to get my TBR back down!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I don't really have to explain this one, right?

21 Proms by 21 different authors

To be honest, I bought this one simply because of John Green. It's been a while since I read one of his books and I just saw this one at the bookstore one day and thought I would get it. I also expected to really like to read stories about prom. I've already read the first few (very very short) short stories and to be honest, I hated each and every one of them. They were just not for me at all and I'm not sure how I'm going to continue with the book in general.

The Heir by Kiera Cass

Another one I had preordered and I'm excited to read this one but it's not my top priority. But the cover, THE COVER! I could stare at that gorgeous dress all day and can I please get married in one just like that? Thank you.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

I just love preordered books. They just show up in my mailbox one day and it's the best feeling ever. And when it's PSISLY, it feels even better.

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

I've heard nothing but fantastic things about this book and I couldn't resist any longer. It sounds amazing and I can't wait to see what all the hype is about.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

This one just screams summer and it sounds exactly like something I would want to read at the beach, so I had to get it.

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Another summery read that I couldn't resist. I really liked The Boy Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick and I'm sure this one will be pretty great as well.

The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

I've been intrigued by this book ever since I first heard about it, so I'm really excited to finally read it.

Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire

As you know, I've already read this one and loved it.

Broken Hearts, Fences and other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Last summer I read two of Morgan Matson's books and loved them, so when I found out that Katie Finn was in fact also Morgan Matson, I thought this would be the perfect summer read.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Again, Morgan Matson = perfect summer read in my opinion.

July TBR

My July TBR would be ALL THE BOOKS. I finally have time to read again and I intend to do just that all month, so no book is safe. After ACOTAR, I feel like I'm in a fantasy mood but I also intend to read all the summery books that I just hauled. We will see.

On the Blog

Here's where it gets embarrassing. In the past two months, I managed to upload all of two posts. Here they are:

My April Wrap-Up
Some pictures from my trip to Paris

Other exciting things happening in July

As I said, I'm leaving for Mykonos (Greece) today and I'm so excited for a lazy week on the beach, reading all the books. Then I'm going to Vienna for a few days and I'm also spending some time at my grandparent's to go hiking and all that fun stuff in the Swiss mountains. Overall, it's going to be a busy but FUN month and I can't wait.

So that's it for my May and June wrap-up. I hope you are all doing great and that it's nice and sunny wherever you are.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

I'm still alive!

Sooo, hello there. It's been a while and I'm SORRY. But it had to be this way. I finally, finally made it to the end of the my first year at University and I'm happy to announce that I've survived all of my exams. I can't say how they went at all and I'll only know for sure that it wasn't a complete disaster in September. That leaves me two entire months to worry about it and of course to read lots and lots of books!

I just wanted to write this quick post to let you know that I am not dead after all and that I intend to continue (or more like restart) writing this blog. I will be gone on vacation quite a bit in July but I think I'll still manage to post regularly.

My first order of business is to upload my May and June Wrap Up soon. I didn't read very much but I did buy some books that I want to show you. There are some that I'm dying to read but I've put a reading ban on the ones I was most excited for so that I wouldn't be too distracted while studying. Which means I'm going to be catching up on all of those now. ACOTAR here I come!

So yes, that's it. I'm happy to be back!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Paris in Pictures

Hello there. As you may know, I went to Paris for a few days at the beginning of April and I'm finally here to show you some proof. I went with a few friends from work and we had a really great time even if the weather wasn't always the best.

We arrived on Thursday night and only had time to find our apartment before falling into bed. Unfortunately the weather was still quite rainy on Friday, so we made the best of it and spent the entire day shopping (six girls in Paris together, you can't really blame us). Then we had a lovely and delicious dinner at Miss Ko.

On Saturday, we did the first bit of sightseeing. The weather was still pretty bad but we went to see the Eiffel Tower (for the first time) and Sacré Coeur anyway. Then we made our way to the Galeries Lafayette for some more (window) shopping. That night's restaurant of choice was Buddha Bar for some more deliciousness. Unfortunately it was too dark to take pictures of the food though, so you'll just have to believe me that it was amazing.

On Sunday we actually got to see some of the Parisian sun, so of course it was the day we took the most pictures and did the most sightseeing. We started off at and in the Louvre and then walked along the Seine to Notre Dame. Then we went to see the Eiffel Tower (again), this time up close. In the evening, after another tasty dinner at Brasserie Bofinger, we went to see the Eiffel tower again because we also wanted to take some pictures of it in the night with all the pretty lights (totally worth it!).

Then on Monday, after lots of fun, shopping and good food, we made our way back to Switzerland.

Overall, my first time in Paris was amazing and I fell in love with this beautiful city that I've heard so much about in books. I totally get it now, Anna and Lulu.

Friday, May 1, 2015

April Wrap-Up

Hello there. I considered simply ignoring this post because I'm not ready for May. Not at all. But since you would most likely all be devastated if I didn't tell you about the books I read in April, I decided to go ahead and sit down to write this anyway (the new month looming ahead has made me into a bitter and sarcastic person, I'm sorry. I blame University).

What I Read

I read a total of 10 books this month and, ignoring the fact that I should've spent most of that time studying, I'm really happy with this number. It's the most I've read in a month in 2015 so far. Most of these were pretty quick reads and since they're mostly in the New Adult genre, I'm not really surprised at the number of books I managed to get through. Whenever I'm in the mood for NA, I get addicted to the books really fast and don't do anything other than read them for a couple of days until my NA cravings have been satisfied for another month or so. Which is exactly what I did this month. So here's what I read:

When I'm Gone by Abbi Glines, ★★★★★

Losing It by Cora Carmack (ebook), ★★★

Faking it by Cora Carmack (ebook), ★★★★★

really

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, ★★★★

I Was Here by Gayle Forman, ★★★★

Whatever Life Throws At You by Julie Cross, ★★★★

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, ★★★★

here

Kiss The Sky by Krista and Becca Ritchie (ebook), ★★★

Addicted To You by Krista and Becca Ritchie (ebook), ★★★★

Hothouse Flower by Krista and Becca Ritchie (ebook), ★★★★

What I Bought

I bought a total of six books in April and I think that's okay. I'm going to try to not buy any books in May (except the ones I have preordered) so that I can buy some more in June that I want to read during the summer holidays. I have it all planned out. Now I just need to stick with it.

So these are the books I bought in April:

When I'm Gone by Abbi Glines

before

Whatever Life Throws At You by Julie Cross

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor with illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo

May TBR

I have one goal for May: to not read so much. This might seem strange but I really need to focus on University. I just started The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien because I absolutely can't read a fast paced story that I'll get too invested in and I hope that, because I've already seen the Lord of the Ring movies, I will be able to put this book down when I should be studying. Other than this, Jess over at My Reading Dress has strongly recommended (if not shouted at me through snapchat) that I read Vicious by V.E. Schwab and I intend to to that very soon as well.

On The Blog

Here are all the blog posts I've uploaded in April, in case you're interested:

My March Wrap-Up
A review of the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
My very first Top Ten Tuesday post: Top Ten Inspiring Book Quotes
My Top Ten Alltime Favorite Authors
A review of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

So that's it for April. I hope you had a fantastic month and that May will be even better for you. Also, since I talked about how I'm going to Paris in my March Wrap-Up: I still intend to upload some pictures of the trip (even though it's been almost a month). I never take a camera on trips like that because my friends usually have much better ones (I know, how can I even have a blog when I don't own a decent camera?) so I had to wait to get their pictures.

Do you have any exciting plans for May?

Or any good books you read in April?

Friday, April 24, 2015

Review: Red Queen (Red Queen #1)

Red Queen

by Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen #1

Publication date: February 10, 2015

Published by: Harper Teen / Orion

Hardcover, 383 pagees

My rating: 4/5 ★

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

If I had to describe Red Queen in one word, I would have to go for solid. The book neither exceeded my expectations (which were pretty high) nor did it let me down. Overall, it was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be. The story was nothing entirely new or different but it was executed well and very well written. I liked all the characters (at first at least) but didn't feel overly connected to any of them. The romance aspect was nicely done but it didn't make my heart race. The plot twists were kind of expected but the story still kept me on edge because I could never be entirely sure what as going to happen (well, until I glanced at the last page and spoiled myself. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!).

I think I just described a pretty average book, so why did I give it four stars instead of three? Because I still enjoyed Red Queen a lot, more than a three star read. I have this soft spot for the common-girl-is-thrown-into-nobility kind of story and the fact that our main character, Mare, was learning about an ability she never knew she had at the same time only added to that. Although it was nothing new and I think I've read many similar books before, I still loved reading another one. Especially because Red Queen was beautifully written and the small things that set it apart from the books I've read before were enough to make me really like the book.

I loved the world of Silvers and Reds. The Silvers with their supernatural abilities were fascinating and I kept comparing their powers to eachother and thinking about what ability I would want to have (I haven't decided yet). Other than that the Silvers have cool powers, however, we don't really know much about the world Mare lives in. There's a king, the Silvers are privileged, the Reds suffer and have to fight a brutal war for the Silvers. More than that, I still don't really know. But considering that the story is told from Mare's point of view and she probably doesn't know more about her world either, I can't say that the worldbuilding lacked or anything like that. I do want more information in the next books, though.

The romance aspect, or lack thereof, was another thing I really liked. Often with books like these, I expect a heavy focus on who the girl falls in love with. Red Queen was certainly different on that point. Throughout the book, Mare doesn't really have the time and energy to think about what feelings she has for which guy and that just made so much sense to me. Here's a girl whose world just changed completely from one day to the next and it would've ruined the story for me if her only problem had been that she doesn't know who she's in love with. Thank you, Victoria Aveyard, for not doing that.

Overall, I feel like Aveyard took the best aspects out of several books and put them together with the goal to create a believable story that feels simply right, leaving out all the things that sometimes bother me about YA fantasy. Hopefully, the other books in the trilogy will keep this up (I do not want that love triangle I can see coming, thank you!).

I would definitely recommend Red Queen to anyone who's intrigued by the story (or also just by the absolutely gorgeous cover).

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday #2: All Time Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is All Time Favorite Authors and boy, was it a hard one. I don't have ten TOP favorite authors but then of course a lot that I really like. So it was hard to choose exactly ten to mention here. Also, I tried to not pick authors that I've only read one book or series from because I think it takes more than one good story to become a favorite author. But of course there are also some of those on here, mostly because I'm convinced that I will like anything that they write.

So before we get to my list of favorites, I want to mention two authors at this point that haven't made the top ten, even though I love the one series I read by them to pieces. First, someone who I'm sure will be mentioned in many Top Ten Tuesday posts: J.K. Rowling. Of course, I love the Harry Potter series; they're the books I grew up with and will always have a special place in my heart. But somehow I'm not very interested in Rowling's other books, such as The Casual Vacancy or The Cuckoo's Calling (which she worte as Robert Galbraith), which is why I can't really call her a favorite author, even though Harry Potter is certainly one of my favorite series. The same goes for Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games trilogy is another of my all time favorites, but since I haven't read anything else by Suzanne Collins, I didn't want to put her in my favorites.

But now, let's get to my actual list of Top Ten All Time Favorite Authors. I tried to put these in some sort of order, whereas the top five really are my top favorite authors.

10. Sophie Kinsella

I used to read a lot more by Sophie Kinsella before I got into YA but she's still one of those authors where I know that I will like any book I pick up. I haven't read the Shopaholic series, but most of her standalone novels, which I all love.

9. Abbi Glines

Abbi Glines' books are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I absolutely love her Rosemary Beach series even though I'm well aware that it isn't the height of literature. Her books just make me feel good and I will continue reading them as they come out. I also gave the Sea Breeze books a try but kind of hated the first one. Still, I intend to continue with those as well and hope they will get better with time.

8. Jamie McGuire

So far, I've only read the Beautiful Disaster/Maddox Brothers series/companion novels, whatever you want to call it. I do intend to try her other books and as soon as she writes something else in the New Adult genre, I will be all over that. Her writing style is so easy to read and her books, again, just make me feel good and happy.

7. Stephanie Perkins

Just like every other person on this planet, I loved Anna, Lola and Isla. I've also read My True Love Gave To Me and Stephanie Perkins' story was one of my favorites. I just need more by her because she writes the cutest stories ever.

6. Cassandra Clare

I'm going to read everything Cassandra Clare comes out with. Unlike some other people, I love the idea of more than one series taking place in the same world and I will most likely never get bored of the Shadowhunter world. I liked The Mortal Instruments, loved The Infernal Devices and am looking forward to anything else we'll get.

5. Gayle Forman

Another contemporary author I admire. Even though none of Gayle Forman's books can quite live up to the Just One Day duology, so far I liked everything by her and will continue to read anything she comes out with.

4. Sarah J. Maas

This is where I cheat a little because obviously I've only read the Throne of Glass books by her. But considering how blown away by those I am and all my excitement for A Court of Thorns and Roses, I think it's safe to say that Sarah J. Maas is indeed a favorite author of mine.

3. John Green

It's been a while since I read a John Green book but he has a top spot in this list for sure. I just love his writing and enjoyed each and every one of his books.

2. Laini Taylor

I first fell in love with Laini Taylor's writing through her story in My True Love Gave To Me. With the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, my love has grown and grown and grown. Laini Taylor knows how to touch my heart by stringing words together.

1. Rainbow Rowell

Does this come as a surprise? I don't think so. Fangirl was the first book I ever read by Rainbow Rowell and even though I didn't like the others quite as much, I've never been let down by a Rainbow Rowell book. Her stories and especially the characters always feel very real and I just want sequels to all of her books.

What about you? Do we share any favorite authors?

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday #1: Inspiring Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Sooo, this is my first Top Ten Tuesday post and I'm excited! After a long time only reading (and loving) all the Top Ten Tuesday posts, I thought why not join in on the fun. Since I also desperately need some post inspiration and always LOVE lists, I think this is the perfect meme for me to do. As you may know, I used to do Top 5 Wednesday because five books seem to be much easier to choose than ten, but the topics over at Top Ten Tuesday are always so good, I couldn't resist.

So this week's topic is Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books. I love to write quotes I like in one of my many notebooks. I had a look through them and here are the ten most inspiring ones I found that made me think when I read the book, in no particular order:

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."

(The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank)

"Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation."

(Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)

"If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and injust, the wicked people would have it all their own way; they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse."

(Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)

"The river was mild and leisurly, going away from the people who ate shadows for breakfast and steam for lunch and vapours for supper."

(Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury)

"I learned joy and pain at the same time. I learned that happiness is not what you have, because I never had anything and I was so happy."

(Desert Flower by Waris Dirie)

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strenght. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."

(A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin)

"We'd been born into an ugly world, and the OASIS

was our one happy refuge."

(Ready Player One by Ernest Cline)

"Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and 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."

(The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman)

"We all fight our own private wars."

(Aristotle and Dante discover the Secrets of the Universe

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz)

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love."

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

Let me know below some of your favorite quotes!