#TheReadingQuest Wrap Up

The lovely Aentee @ Read at Midnight organised this challenge and the amazing CW @ Read, Think, Ponder created the stunning artwork. Once again thank you for all the fun!

I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t push off writing the wrap up post any further. I’ll definitely participate in the next round if this challenge comes back and Aentee already made that promise so I can’t wait! I hope I’ll keep up better next time, but all in all I’m quite happy that I even got to nearly complete my challenge.

I managed to level up once and I gained a couple of health points. I had a lot of fun running down the Mage’s quest’s board. I read great books and had a lot of fun discussing them with some of my friends. I also got to add a lot of new books to my tbr when I saw other participants reading them. See the irony? Collecting new books to read throughout a challenge although it should help you make your tbr list smaller… Oh well. Life as a bookworm, right?

I read a total of 2016 pages and sadly I didn’t manage to read titles by any marginalized authors. I intend to look out better for this part next time around!

If you’re interested here’s my Sign Up Post from back in August. Like many others I tend to ignore my tbr’s though and changed two books ‘cause I’m a mood reader. Oh and there you’ll also find all the info on how you could collect points and level up.

What Did I Read?

A book set in a different world

This was my favourite read! Not only of this challenge, but of the entire last half year. The book gripped me so hard and didn’t let me go until the last page, and not even then did it leave me be. A month later and I still couldn’t start the next book in the series because ACOMAF was so good! Here’s my full and very lengthy review. Might I convince anyone to do a buddy read with me forA Court of Wings and Ruin? Pages: 624/624 Marginalised Author: No

A book based on mythology

	I’m a huge Rick Riordan fan so it’s no surprise that I included one of his books for this challenge. What better book to read for a mythology theme than one based in Percy Jackson’s world? Pages: 359/359 Marginalised Author: No

Expansion: Read a companion novel or short story

	I’m kind of ashamed to say this, but this book has been standing on my shelves for ages and I’ve never come around to reading it… (by the way, do you also hear a distant Septa Unella shout repeatedly “Shame”?) Pages: 109/109 Marginalised Author: No

The first book of a series

Oh this one. I LOVED this one! It took me ages to finally start the Throne of Glass series and I was wrapped up in it from page one! This is seriously so good, I couldn’t let go of the book. And now I’m silently judging myself for not ordering the entire series at once. As soon as I’ve found a new job and get my first paycheck I’m going to order the rest of the books and read them asap! Oh and by the way: Chaol and Celaena all the way! (and please don’t plop my bubbles if anything should happen to this ship! I’m going to find out on my own time..) Pages: 404/404 Marginalised Author: No

A book with a one word title

	This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to in ages! I think the last one I’ve heard must have been a Harry Potter one years and years back. So I was quite happy listening to this one and it’s been a while since I’ve read a dystopia. Pages: 326/326 Marginalised Author: No

Multiplayer: Buddy read a book

I sincerely apologize to Cornelia for letting her down on this one! We made a plan to read this together and I didn’t manage to keep up because of my vacation in the first place, and second because this book annoyed me so much I couldn’t bear reading it for too long. I’m still not finished! Though I’m taking it with me everywhere I go to read it on the bus or train. Pages: 144/440 Marginalised Author: No

Grind: A book with 500+ pages

	I didn’t get far with the first book in the Final Empire series either. I didn’t get into it right aways and started reading other books instead, so I’m still trying to pick this back up again.. Pages: 50/721 Marginalised Author: No

In total I read 2016 pages and finished 5 books. I also managed to collect 11 points using the social media interaction bonus points. In the next few weeks I’m going to post the remaining reviews and I can’t wait to discuss the books in full detail with you! I’d love to hear what you read for this challenge and what your thoughts are on the books so feel free to link me up to your Wrap Up posts!

Down The TBR Hole #5

This meme created by Lia @ Lost in a Story helps me go through my to-read shelf on Goodreads and sort out the books that I feel no longer belong there. Check out my first post I made for this feature Down The TBR Hole #1 - there you’ll also find the guidelines about how to do this if you want to join. So let's see which books I can remove from my shelf today.

Today I’d like to introduce a new shelf that I’m going to be using from now on. I created an exclusive shelf on goodreads named physical-to-read. There I’ll be shelving all the books I currently own, but haven’t read yet.

#51 The Elite

	I haven’t started this series yet, so I’m not sure if I’m even going to read the sequels. So I’m going to remove this for now from my tbr. Verdict: remove from shelf

#52 The Pointless Book

	Wow, this book is a huge flashback to my past days where I spent hours and hours on Youtube watching british videos. I’m not fangirling over Alfie all too much anymore so I think I can safely remove this book from my tbr. Verdict: remove from shelf

#53 Hopeless

	Although a lot of my Goodreads friends rated this book very highly I don’t see myself reading this anytime soon. There are so many other books I want to focus on especially since I’m really into Fantasy again. Verdict: remove from shelf

#54 The Immortal Rules

	Dystopia mixed with Vampires. Sounds very intriguing. Although I’m probably not going to read this very soon, I’m going to keep this on my tbr for some time longer. Maybe one day I’ll get to it. Mainly this decision lies on all the positive ratings from my Goodreads friends. Verdict: remains on Goodreads shelf

#55 The Shock of the Fall

	If I come across this book in a bookstore I might just take it home, but other than that compulsive buying habit of mine, I don’t think that I’d get a copy of this. It sounds interesting, though not at all like something I want to read at the moment. Verdict: remove from shelf

#56 Matched

	Dystopiiaaaaa. The decision is clear. I’m going to keep this on this list until I finally read it. This is a series that many of my friends have read and one of them even wrote her Final’s paper on it (and tried to interview me for it but I had to decline because I hadn’t read it yet -.-). So one day, I’ll definitely read it. Verdict: remains on Goodreads shelf

#57 Hunting Lila

	I can’t even remember putting this book on my tbr. I’m going to have to remove it, though, because it sounds like way too many other stories I’ve read so far and I don’t quite feel like it’s something I’d want to read again. Verdict: remove from shelf

#58 Incarnate

	Reincarnation is such an interesting subject and we know so little about it. Already in history lessons this has always amazed me what different cultures believe in. This book sounds really interesting too and might make me think about the whole subject from a new point of view, who knows? Plus, the cover is reaaallly stunning. Verdict: remains on Goodreads shelf

#59 The Winner's Curse

	Another series everybody seems to have read, but me. The plot sounds so promising and I hope it’ll be as good as everyone keeps telling me when I finally read it. Verdict: remains on Goodreads shelf

#60 Winnie-the-Pooh

	Ehm… This must have ended up here after me remembering how much I loved the movies when I was a child. I don’t think that I’m going to read this though. Verdict: remove from shelf

So this is today's Down The TBR Hole. What do you think of my decisions? Would you have kept a book on your tbr that I discarded? What did you remove from your TBR this week?

Comic Book Review: Runaways #1

About the comic book

Title: Find Your Way Home
Series: Runaways (2017 - #)
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Artist: Kris Anka
Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes
Publication: September 13th, 2017
Pages: 18
Read: September 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Edition: Single
Purchase Location: Kabooom Comic Store, Zurich

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

GET READY TO RUN! The "IT" book of the early 2000s with the original cast is back – Nico! Karolina! Molly! Chase! Old Lace! And, could it be? GERT?! The heart of the Runaways died years ago, but you won't believe how she returns! Superstar author Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park, Carry On) makes her Marvel debut with fan-favorite artist Kris Anka (ALL-NEW X-MEN, CAPTAIN MARVEL) in the series that will shock you and break your heart!

My Spoiler Free Review

This is my first time picking up a Runaways’ comic. I’ve heard of the group, especially now that there’s an upcoming tv show. However, I barely know anything about them. When I heard of Rainbow Rowell writing this series, though, I couldn’t resist to put it on my pull list¹. (I love all of her books and can’t wait to see how she’s going to do with this series. I also believe that it’s her first time publishing a comic with Marvel and this is a huge chance for her.) I love picking up new comics and getting to know the world and the characters without any forehand knowledge.

The first issue is already packed with action and it gives a short introduction to the characters. I believe that you can understand it pretty well without any prior knowledge, although I don’t know anything about the past adventures that led to this new happening. We get “reminded” that most of the Runaways are dead, but this issue already reunites some of the old gang, even those believed dead.

This series looks very promising and I can’t wait to continue with the next issue. Usually going back in time to rescue someone who died never ends well in the superhero world so I’m eager to find out how this will run out. Also since there are supposably more than only one dead character I’m curious about how they plan to get the rest (or at least some of them) back, too, without repeating the entire time traveling process each time.

With some quick internet research it’s quite simple to get a little overview on the original Runaways gang, so if you’re worried you won’t understand anything in this new series: don’t be! And be careful! This will not be a sunshine and rainbow kind of comic series. It never is, when the Runaways are involved.

I'd like to know

Are you going to pick up the new Runaways series or did you even beat me to it? Isn’t the cover just great? Have you read any of Rowell’s other books? I’d love to chat more about this with you guys in the comments!

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^{1 A pull list (in comic terms) is an agreement with your local comic book store for reservation of particular comic books. This way you receive the comics you regularly read two-weekly or monthly basis, so you don’t miss out on any issues because they’re specifically reserved for you."↩"}

Top Ten Tuesday #6: Ten Books On My Fall TBR

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

Tatata it’s Tuesday! And finally I decided to join this feature today because I feel like pressuring myself to read this book in the next few months (and I shall be damned if I don’t manage to do so… naaah just kidding, we all know I’ll probably totally ignore this list and just read what falls into my lap anyways). And without further ado, here’s the list consisting of 10 books that I really intend to read, but probably won’t (at least some), this fall.

Oh and by the way!! I’m so excited to share this absolutely beautiful (at least in my eyes) logo for the first time with you guys which I’m going to use for now on for TTT.

#10 VIRALS

	Ugggghh. This is probably the only lie on this list (but I’m still hoping that I’m going to actually read this someday so I’m putting it on basically every tbr list I’m putting together until the day I will finally have it on my read shelf). So yeah, those brackets actually sum it up.

#9 NIGHTMARES!

	I think I started this book a year ago around Halloween already. But (again because of Uni, somehow it just always has to come between me and reading books for joy) I got sidetracked and never got that far. This year I’m going to read this for Halloween month (in 3 weeks I’ll be going crazy so you’ve all officially been warned now!) and I hope this time I’m going to actually finish it.

#8 REBELLION

	During the spring semester at university this year I actually started this already, but gave it up really quickly because I just didn’t have the time to read a book of my choice. I intend to finally finish the The Hundred series this year in order to cover some of the time until the TV series return (btw: can anybody tell me when season 5 will finally be back??).

#7 THE JOURNAL OF CURIOUS LETTERS

	The other James Dashner series I haven’t started yet (and hinted at in #5). I got a copy from NetGalley and therefore will read this one soon, too.

#6 THESE BROKEN STARS

	Such a beautiful cover! And the synopsis sounds so promising! I’ve waited so long until I finally ordered this book and I hope it’ll live up to everybody’s positive reviews.

#5 THE EYE OF MINDS

	This is the first book of one of the two series by James Dashner that I haven’t started yet and are on this list. My plan is to read all of Dashner’s books, or try at least and hope that I like them all, because I love his stories.

#4 CINDER

	Cinder is the first book in a series I can’t believe I still haven’t started yet. After over two years on Goodreads and one and a half years blogging I’ve seen great reviews of this series on countless blogs and friends’ shelves.

#3 FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

	One of my favourites movies, even in the entire Harry Potter film franchise. Before I watch it again I’d love to read the script and see how I’d imagine it in my mind and how it captures the movie on paper. And I’ve got the absolutely gorgeous Hardcover at home.

#2 A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN

	I read A Court of Mist and Fury last month and I ABSOLUTELY loved it. I think I mention this at every possible point so a lot of you might already know this. ;) Anyways I’m planning on reading this as soon as possible, too. I just still need a little time to process the ending of ACOMAF.

#1 WARCROSS

	I bought this book on Saturday and I CAN’T WAIT to start it. As number one on this list you can imagine how excited I am. As soon as I finish The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue I’m going to devour Warcross. I really enjoyed Marie Lu’s Legend series and I hope this will live up to my expectations.

I'd love to hear what you are planning to read this fall! Do we have any books in common or do you want to convince me to read one of the books on my list first instead of Warcross. Link me up to your TTT posts so that I can check 'em out! :) Have a lovely Tuesday xx

Stacking The Shelves #11: The I Went Overboard Edition

"Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual." It's a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So as you can guess from the title I went on a little shopping spree this week. Today I visited my favourite comic book store in Zurich and guess what, I walked out with full bags once again. Next to so many series that I’ve got on my pull list, I finally got some awesome new trade paperbacks that I’m so excited about. Also I’m especially excited about Runaways by Rainbow Rowell starting and just had to get the first issue. Gotham Academy is finally back with a new series!! And the new Ms Marvel is out too, I need to catch up with the previous four though first :/

Two nights ago I spent a little time on NetGalley and instead of reading those arcs that I ALREADY HAVE what did I do? Of course, I downloaded three new ones! Why do I never learn? I was so excited to see the first book in James Dashner’s 13th Reality series being up there for grabs that I just couldn’t resist.

Oh and the best part about today’s shopping trip: I went to a bookstore in Zurich where they have this big charitiy book project running for a few days. If you donate books you can get discounts on the new ones you’re going to buy and for the very first time in YEARS !!! I bought a Hardcover book (The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) and I finally got my Warcross copy!! So yeah, I’ve added quite some reading material this week.

The Goodies

   

1. Runaways #1 by Rainbow Rowell
2. Gotham Academy: Second Semester, Volume 1: Welcome Back by Brenden Fletcher
3. Superman Action Comics (Rebirth), Volume 3: The Men of Steel
4. Ms. Marvel, Volume 7: Damage Per Second

For Review

  

5. Noble, Volume 1 by Brandon Thomas
6. Charmed: A Thousand Deaths by Erica Schultz
7. The 13th Reality: Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

Bought

 

8. Warcross by Marie Lu
9. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

I'd like to know

What did you stack your shelves with today? Do your local book stores also have book donation weeks or other charitable bookish events? Link me up to your StS posts in the comments! :)

Book Review: Flame in the Mist

About the book

Title: Flame in the Mist
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Series: Flame in the Mist #1
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings
Publication: May 16th, 2017
Pages: 416
Read: August 2017

My Copy

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Edition: Ebook
Purchase Location: NetGalley
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she's ever known.

My Spoiler Free Review

When I tried to get a copy of this book everybody was talking about it. The cover looks absolutely stunning so my interest was caught right away. And the summary sounded pretty decent, too. I LOVE Mulan and it’s one of my favourite Disney stories so I had some expectations for this book to meet. It still took me a few weeks to finally start reading this after receiving a copy (due to the stressful time I had been going through with Uni and my results and stuff).

From the beginning on I was quite confused and had some difficulties remembering who was who and which characters were supposed to be the good guys / bad guys. I also didn’t really appreciate all the instant changes of point of views. I barely had enough time to register one character when we were already reading from somebody else’s view. Those povs were kind of tumbling in on themselves.

And the probably most important reason that made it so hard for me to enjoy reading Flame in the Mist: I do not like the protagonist. I find Mariko annoying and quite unreliable and she just simply did not make it easy for me to like her. (More about this in the spoilery part.)

I know that I’m one of the very few who did not really enjoy this book and I hope that all of you who still have it on their tbr will love it! It just didn’t have the wow-effect on me that I wish it had. Me not liking this book can definitely be blamed on the rough time I went through when I read it. I do plan on continuing with the series when the sequel gets out because I think it’s an interesting plot, it just didn’t fit me at the time and I hope I’ll enjoy it better if I re-read it one day.

My favourite quote from the book is very inspiring and I love it!

Okami: “I deny being a slave to any one thing. In any situation we can choose who we are and choose who we want to be.” - p.265

The Part That Might Contain Spoilers

Back to the part where I don’t like Mariko. I questioned every single decision she made starting with the very first (and probably most irrational) one; to follow the Black Clan although she thought of them as dangerous murderers. Let’s face it, if they were exactly how she imagined them, she wouldn’t have survived 5 minutes with them.

And I couldn’t take it seriously that NOBODY noticed she wasn’t a boy. If I remember correctly she should be around 17 years old and at that age you can see a woman’s feature very accentuated in a girl’s face , so why didn’t any of the guys look at her close enough? But I decided to let it be and find myself at peace with this because Mulan also managed to hide that (and it’s also kind of bothering me there so…).

Also I kind of feel like there were not enough character developments in the story..? Basically the only ones that really “changed” were Mariko, her brother and Okami. All the others just had hidden background stories that came to light to mark who they were, but they didn’t evolve throughout the pages...

In the sequel I would very much like to see more of the bromance between Takeda Ranmaru and Okami because that’s true friendship right there. And I want to know more about their history. Although this might seem like a very negative review (and I apologise if it really does come across like that), I hope to see the sequel perform better and that Ahdieh digs a little deeper into the characters’ feelings. This is my first time reading a book by her and I’m not sure how this makes me feel about The Wrath and the Dawn series that’s still on my tbr…

I'd like to know

Have you read Flame in the Mist? I’d love to hear what you think about the book! Or do you know any of Renee Ahdieh’s other works? This actually reminds me that I really need to rewatch Mulan again! Anybody with me?

Waiting On Wednesday: Turtles All The Way Down

"Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating."

My choice for this week is Turtles All The Way Down by John Green.
Expected Publication Date: October 10th, 2017

Goodreads Summary

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

Why I'm so excited about this book?

So far I’ve read all of John Green’s books except for Will Grayson Will Grayson and Let it snow. I loved each story and they all made me look at the world a little different. Especially The Fault in Our Stars made me look at my surroundings differently because I COULDN’T SEE THROUGH ALL MY TEARS. But yeah, you get the point. If you haven’t read one single book by him I suggest you immediately grab any book and start reading!! Seriously, you won’t regret it. So as you can see, my excitement for another new book by him is veeeryy biig (might only be topped by my feelings for when Rainbow Rowell finally publishes a new book).

Other books by John Green I reviewed

Looking For Alaska
This review belongs to one of my first on this blog. Therefore pleeeeasseeeee forgive me for the old and gruesome layout of the page.

I'd like to know

What's your WoW today? Have you read any books by John Green and loved them as much as I did? Don't forget to link me up to your post so I can check them out down below in the comments. :)