tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58891241497479475062024-03-05T05:35:08.245+01:00SwissbookwormCrystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-17021574932101469932022-01-11T11:00:00.077+01:002022-01-11T11:00:00.149+01:00Top Ten Tuesday #7: Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzeBFk1oL4Q9Yhy1beP2LZ6mfkCzSz78OKC8YfYgLwGEETPve_DRzZ9-RWIjUoNXwr47hZrRuavTLX2sEA_PkDgzlYEGk-j0-FzR18cDVEcH7ybMRTOz5kViQivO8EyNB8CNCz9sbjBA3qjgRwgaJ5JAbWneDfwkUo3yaspC38L3bQRclLb7wayYU1=s600" /></div>
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<i><a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/" target="_blank">Top Ten Tuesday</a> is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/" target="_blank">That Artsy Reader Girl</a>. </i></div><br />
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Tatata it’s a new year and it's Tuesday! What better time to bring back this blog again to some sense of livelihood and to start off the new year right? With today's TTT topic I just felt the need to post something on here again, and to show off my newest books that I bought over my Christmas vacation in London! All the books were found at Foyles, one of my favourite bookshops in London, and the comics I got in Forbidden Planet, where else?
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#1 The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMz3DjAqf7hL2NPrk0a8Fv1Rbigc2zXomGIv2As1mdLXYdEXq8jDNx4lNp5LsvzQ7Jbeq8T6I9LLOzX1A3ZE04u6nJMGBSORMuJY2bMkVOUeKMkGt0vByZKQv-4GGK6pJFhEO0I9xhlb4vwKfyrYxneFJB3DZ1K924fk6rnx67qlGeGmCaCwTd1Lek=w132-h200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I just read the second book of this trilogy in 2021 and loved it and I'm really looking forward to reading the finale of the Montague siblings' stories! <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#2 Certain Dark Things</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg245GKo_PQbRqwnRc8lZBrnM9Fkti5hXMdZ8WCGu9iyT68v2yT9AG0zFm8NXbrA8UnEdgfRSj_ZbjxKBbhIKv_S9FSL5qbng_sxie_RRV_x7bg-fFnPPoapu14G9YAqDmcOXfFURknVSSnKfsOxi3A9-WvQzXhBLykFu6E8CGdh-RI5fvJDOMVGBQR=w131-h200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I haven't read that many books surrounding Aztec history, so I'm really looking forward to this book! Also it's a signed copy!!!<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#3 Little Thieves</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOUn2KNJV7_e1er5gGLWZj8nKxdURJ5jqs8TKe4Ppi2syEOVQE3Utiy-Jh5SVn5CXxwGT_MJI8LLEvFB_5-gnGWmWiIoCg2ifSbTNhadEBDzdtt7M1lExLdr6MLdyIxjSzNf33cjOAhsnwsrYXH7gTA9OeBpe6YvWlAXsmBpnfZjm17NLmjRi1V9OB=w133-h200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Another new Hardback in my collection! This one just spoke to me when I saw it in Foyles so I grabbed it!<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#4 The Once and Future Witches</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_S3fOwCV-bBXA3jmfLN30_eIYQtgki2DFBvWG-uM1PjT9e2K6pleg6uZ-51J6aDX3GgdoLE2rgpuUZApVYb9acPYxlTFWr4qzz3NiY67NztluPc7w4VNG6b02kQ1gq34Y-rYUspl_5kXWiHJLyV23q1aT0K3quDjbgQVMZeIE8qBFWsn8P-lqztSM=w129-h200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I have to be honest here, this book I bought more because of the beautiful cover than the plot. But I hope it will still make for an interesting read! Otherwise I'm sure that this book will serve the purpose of brightening up my bookshelves.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#5 The Silence of the Girls</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUxuSXmsepMz_EpmsbBXSz8_PdrPzAfB91B-hvVOwWlpgcy37zN1v4MBetncat6iIXfcu-Em8QDExWh4eyAuNKxQrXZZmmrgbj0Xq3R5G8ozB98g9VmNXkqYGqJdU-iNJS2eN6HJMMWJgjGyiaeh8CXP6XvWfCStQEI51P63dZz4b3g1l56rW5-l_l=w130-h200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Greek Mythology is still probably my favourite myths genre so I couldn't stop myself from buying this book when I found it on one of the "best books" tables in Foyles! <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#6 Gilded</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP_IFx4UUAQ-OZTaAR8FXjFobd4i_Seh70M6mgKvOrO3MyH9bOtbAU9R6BXuTBsyIA8hPo8e3eBh54pHkLdnF4PgJ0M5QeOUbVolei_Wr8aevY-8rRQmwQPd4qlaH8uLqlwWa3SUDI7Xrn01sIvfm-4KPlGJSCN-C8oVeh6Y08Jbn2kbmj08Td9vo0=s200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Marissa Meyer has been added to my auto-buy author list after I read the Lunar Chronicles, so I'm excited to start reading this one! And the cover is just so lovely too! <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#7 Ready Player Two</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguUtoHCf2UkV79MwEBjVtooRw299QdwBpxHDS8hhV4-vSXnVyclb14oRH2S4nv77av4AycRF23tIagj03RzOSPtwgrzDy-ntDn4vX0RrpoMi3gqgE4C2URXM8qebLgJaEeF-9Dxw7Wwu4DFHsZbGeTTTsl6uuqRXZ9Upwvb_-5Z3wfcy7gpjJXp6O7=s200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I've heard a lot of negative reviews about this book, however I feel like I owe it to myself to give it a try. I really enjoyed Ready Player One and I'm going to read this second book no matter what.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#8 Magnificent Ms Marvel Omnibus</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZU5Dy3cxCVAbEnuVw2mCNJNwumF77orZRE6QbwNgW_RGtsR27XFUApCgnJBAdga9dPvKEpswBn2Gwbp6dtJyKLazKE3r0t8JCc_J3Kw2UlkAvAmWunwarFXISpIMU6ss_QAN7wl9JzYlDw2WpSDzvpNWs_MuqRirFNvVWUbH2Q_IXzK1DnxSSQ3y3=s200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I usually don't buy Omnibuses, as I like to collect my TPBs but this time I couldn't resist because Forbidden Planet didn't have the separate volumes of this. Plus, this also collects the Ms. Marvel Annual #1 Issue, so it kind of has a bonus!<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#9 Magnificent Ms. Marvel Vol 3</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9n4ThRWiOscJdoPWc-rNBMIjvfd_FyT3l9J7zPjPNhW-UM8SQ-n2PTBUmfrfZEkkHJk4dDD0H_FM6JjHp7b9pFZSzdXAFwgZX3kdopa1NvVqR-yTz6ibOMK5LSUVGZ_A_419zzf4H4R7BFvWglMmSlE_GmoBAQ1k4jBFXJG33MFDDBl1sxYJ5NydP=s200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Of course I also couldn't resist then buying the rest of the Magnificent Ms. Marvel collection that collects the singles after the Omnibus! <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#10 Extraordinary</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhouJkGhtkSxc0dzLrTsxaCDv-4e2rwQTRMy96uCSV3M509zcOL7GUcPrelsJ8ijI7Az2MXtw9W8fxex0EZ9I0QQvaBPz-X0xDyvvbvxK3Y6pWsekfi-G0bPb1LKjtITPTzOLjvc9e6H0GE-6xiur0w4KQLCJ2maRh-Ke3WPSzepNJ5s9oMK4QoMHAj=s200" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The hype about this graphic novel is really big on my Goodreads feed, so I thought I should pick it up. And it's even a signed edition!! This is going to be my first book by V.E. Schwab, so I'm excited to see if I like her writing as much as everybody else seems to. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
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I'd love to hear what you are planning to read this year! Do we have any books in common or do you have any great recommendations? Link me up to your TTT posts so that I can check 'em out! :) Have a lovely Tuesday xx
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-56321561779620534792021-08-09T16:16:00.004+02:002021-08-09T16:16:36.805+02:00Book Review: House of Earth and Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjcf0SGG7uTbk7wSbSggsIE3ojYIHmRwEgB6uoyGAHRBa57aTLgzQ9aUm5dc_90rQhfet-g0dsiQxpQbIDMbu6bAloFG6fw6UyAwhBhKIzzFtVUddcAj_QwtO1IP3qcs5-jrmTwsCok0/s600/BR+House+of+Earth+and+Blood.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjcf0SGG7uTbk7wSbSggsIE3ojYIHmRwEgB6uoyGAHRBa57aTLgzQ9aUm5dc_90rQhfet-g0dsiQxpQbIDMbu6bAloFG6fw6UyAwhBhKIzzFtVUddcAj_QwtO1IP3qcs5-jrmTwsCok0/s600/BR+House+of+Earth+and+Blood.png"/></a></div>
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<b>About the book</b></h2>
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<b>Title: </b>House of Earth and Blood<br />
<b>Series: </b>Crescent City #1 <br />
<b>Author: </b>Sarah J. Maas<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy<br />
<b>Publication: </b>March 2nd, 2021<br />
<b>Pages: </b>799<br />
<b>Read: </b>July 2021</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Bloomsbury Publishing<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository<br /></div>
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<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life. Every night is a party and Bryce is going to savour all the pleasures Lunathion - also known as Crescent City - has to offer. But then a brutal murder shakes the very foundations of the city, and brings Bryce's world crashing down. Two years later, Bryce still haunts the city's most notorious nightclubs - but seeking only oblivion now. Then the murderer attacks again. And when an infamous Fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, is assigned to watch her every footstep, Bryce knows she can't forget any longer. As Bryce and Hunt fight to unravel the mystery, and their own dark pasts, the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents, and down to the deepest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir ... With unforgettable characters and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom - and the power of love.</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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Wow! I am so glad I brought this book into quarantine with me, because I could not put it down and read through most of this book in 2 days straight. I am absolutely impressed with how good this book was and genuinly surprised that I read so many disappointed reviews before reading it myself. So I'm gladly going to share my thoughts on this book and try and convince you to read it as well, if you haven't picked it up yet!
<p><b><i>“Through love, all is possible.”</i></b></p>
The story starts with a loooot of information, setting the time and place of <i>Crescent City</i>, an imaginary city in <i>Lunathion</i>. I think <b>Sarah J. Maas</b> did a great job with the world building in this one, even though it might come across like "info dumping" in the beginning. Some might say that the build up of the story takes way too much time and pages, but honestly, that's what's needed in a book like this. Otherwise you would not be able to follow the story and understand the setting at all. However, I have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time getting settled in this new urban fantasy world as it contains literally every paranormal being I've ever heard of and many more.
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<b>The rest of this review definitely contains spoilers!</b></h2>
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<b>Bryce Quinlan</b>: our half-human-half-fae protagonist is a party girl and a very strong minded woman. Tragedy hits close to her when her best friend <b>Danika</b>, a wolf pack leader, and her entire pack gets killed in their appartment whilst she's out partying. Part of the group is <b>Connor</b>, a guy that has been trying to go on a date with Bryce for five years and finally got her to accept one. When Bryce discovers the murder scene at her appartment, an unknown creature runs away and she tries to follow and hunt it down, unsuccessfully. However, she finds it attacking and injuring an angel and tries to rescue him until help arrives. It's very clear that this tragedy traumatzes Bryce, and she only keeps up appearances of being a party girl to everyone else as a facade after these events. In truth she stops drinking and taking drugs and becomes very isolated. By taking a loan out of her salary to buy a <b>chimera</b>'s freedom from her boss, it becomes clear that she also has a truly good heart. So, a party girl on the outside, but a softie with a golden heart on the inside. Just the kind of main character that I like!
<p><b><i>“...There's nothing wrong with a party girl. I don't get why the world thinks there is...Its easier for me---when people assume the worst about what I am. It lets me see who they really are -- Bryce”</i></b></p>
The build up between Bryce and Connor's possible relationship already made the first couple of chapters seem like such a good intro, because from the beginning I shipped them and I had a very bad feeling that Connor would die too early. Sarah J. Maas managed to break my heart in the first 10% of the book already. Cue <b>Hunt Athalar</b>. A worthy replacement for the love interest for Bryce. The <i>Second Love</i> trope starts to creep up on us, and I feel like all readers expect the unsurprising. Whilst Hunt and Bryce have to work together to try and figure out who murdered Danika, they slowly but surely develop <spoiler>sexual</spoiler> feelings for one another. And boooyyy did I ship them! <br /><br />
Bryce starts off as very closed off and being rude to Hunt whilst she tries and starts to investigate her best friend's murder. The angel Hunt becomes her shadow in order to protect her from any dangers that could arise, not knowing that she is perfectly able to defend herself as she also has a lot of friends in high places. More and more, Hunt discovers the different layers that make up Bryce and they start to like each other, and gradually develop more feelings. When those feelings are nearly at a peak, Hunt gets injured badly as his boss and owner (as Hunt became a slave after a failed rebellion of the angels) <b>Micah</b> cuts off his wings after they wrongly accuse Danika's mother <b>Sabine</b>, the Prime apparent of the wolves, of murdering Danika and things escalate. <br /><br />
Then, Hunt's betrayal (wanting to buy synth to overthrow his master Micah and knowing and keeping the drug details from Bryce) came as a bit of a shock to me. It was very surprising and out of the blue for me, even though I expected something to mess up his "perfect personality" and "boyfriend material" characteristics. Nonetheless, I am really glad that Sarah J. Maas decided against the endless-seeming moping around and feeling betrayed trope of her protagonist and actually made Bryce realize very quickly that she still wanted to save Hunt, when she finds out that he's been sold to his worst enemy.
<p><b><i>“I see you, Quinlan, he silently conveyed to her. And I like all of it. Right back at you, her half smile seemed to say.”</i></b></p>
This leads to the epic final 100-ish pages of the book, that everybody else has marked as the "redemption pages" of the book, if they did not enjoy the beginning and middle part of it. Action packed like nothing else and absolutely gripping, these pages are what made this book such a great read! Bryce and Hunt face their deaths multiple times in these chapters and every time all hope seems lost, but they power through it! Bryce turns out to be <i>Heir to the Starborn Fae</i>, just like her brother <b>Ruhn</b>, but she's even more powerful than him and their father, the King. <br /><br />
<b>Ruhn Danaan</b>: To be quite honest, I don't really care that much for this character! I know a lot of people like Ruhn, but so far I'm not very impressed. I'm glad he's a good brother and tries to take care of Bryce and doesn't care about their heritage and standing in the royal line. He's not intimitaded by Bryce after finding out just how powerful she truly is and I really like the dynamic between him and his friends <b>Dylan</b> and <b>Flynn</b>! But other than that I feel like his character still has to prove himself to me. Hopefully in the next book! I am rather looking forward to his "relationship" with the new witch queen <b>Hypaxia</b>, because I'm sure this will turn into something very interesting as she's already proven herself to be a very powerful character! She's the one who freed Hunt after all, so that's already all I need to know to make me appreciate her role! <br /><br />
<b>Micah</b>: The big baddie. Turns out, Micah was way worse than I initially thought. I did suspect that he had some dirt on himself, but for him to turn out to be the villain of the story, that I honestly did not see coming! One thing that I really don't like, is when a villain thinks of themselves as untouchable and just tells their entire plan and reasoning for their actions to their victims, who will obviously win against them in the end. This is just such a useless waste of time, but was necessary for Bryce to clear her and Danika's name in front of everybody else (as it was conveniently broadcasted to all the powerful people of the lands). I think Micah made for a great villain and the writing was superb!<br /><br />
<b>Lehabah</b>: This fire sprite was honestly one of the cutest character in the story. I don't know why, but she kind of reminded me of Tinker Bell...
<p><i><b>“Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends.”</b></i></p>
<b>Jesiba</b>: I really don't know what to think of her. The most interesting chapter including her was the epilogue, and I'm guessing she will play a bigger role in the next book, but right now I don't really know if I like her. She always acted very indifferent towards Bryce, even though I think she should have cut her some slack? What I want to know is, if she knew about Bryce's true heritage all this time, or if she was surprised and found out at the same time as everybody else. <br /><br />
<b>Aidas</b>: I'm very excited to see more of Aidas in the next book, I think he's going to play a very big role! Somehow he knew about Bryce's heritage and has been appearing as "a friend" to her since she went to the Oracle as a child. I want to find out what his involvement with Jesiba is and how they know one another!<br /><br />
So all in all after writing this review, I will give this book a rating of <b>4.5 Stars</b> even though I initially rated this a 5 star read.
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Have you read House of Earth and Blood or any other of Sarah J. Maas' books? Are you as much a fan as I am? I’d love to hear what you think! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-10047110547581686932021-04-13T10:36:00.005+02:002021-04-13T10:36:59.639+02:00Book Review: The Gilded Ones<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2Zmch3rhIdmmdtgz5k3A4eKLkO9G0Jf7_xVMfHxPOiQec01ri3q-uD-DtVY6FvJhC6g2Oz8dbNkFckFsPkqPnma-5s9LkZwyEBKdJbQaNukttr6Njthw-b7m6veuTMjJW6u2gdMGskg/s0/BR+Flame+in+the+Mist.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2Zmch3rhIdmmdtgz5k3A4eKLkO9G0Jf7_xVMfHxPOiQec01ri3q-uD-DtVY6FvJhC6g2Oz8dbNkFckFsPkqPnma-5s9LkZwyEBKdJbQaNukttr6Njthw-b7m6veuTMjJW6u2gdMGskg/s0/BR+Flame+in+the+Mist.png"/></a></div>
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<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>The Gilded Ones<br />
<b>Series: </b>Deathless #1 <br />
<b>Author: </b>Namina Forna<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, PTSD, Feminism, High Fantasy<br />
<b>Publication: </b>February 9th, 2021<br />
<b>Pages: </b>400<br />
<b>Read: </b>April 2021</div>
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<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Usborne Publishing Ltd.<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed...</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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First of all, I don’t know how to describe all the feelings that I have for this book in this review! This book has now become my second favourite book of 2021 (Legendborn is still #1), and I can only hope that so many more people will read this book and give it the attention that it deserves! If you’re reading this review, I strongly recommend that you order your own copy of <b>The Gilded Ones</b> in case you don’t have it already!! <br /><br />Once I started reading The Gilded Ones, I couldn’t put it down. I immediately got lost in the world of <b>Deka</b> and <i>alaki</i> and had serious troubles concentrating on school work (tbh, I totally ignored all university work until I finished this book, so I cannot recommend anyone starting this book when you’re in the middle of exams or a stressful phase where you need to concentrate on work). Be warned, this book will capture you from the very first page with its fast story pace and a fascinating new world filled with great characters. <br /><br />
<b><i>A warning: this book talks about violence, PTSD, oppression, discrimination, abuse and bullying (mainly) towards women in detail.</i></b>
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We are introduced to a very patriarchal ancient kingdom, where women are oppressed and serve no other purpose in men’s eyes other than being useful to their families. Early on, we already get introduced to some very disturbing (in my opinion) passages from their “bible”:
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<blockquote><b><i>And upon the fourth day, he created woman - a helpmeet to lift man to his sacred potential, his divine glory. Woman is the Infinite Father's greatest gift to mankind. Solace for his darkest hour.</i></b></blockquote>
It is shocking to see and read how all the girls and women in this book live by these believes and how little they think of their own worth because this is what they were taught to think since they were born. They to 100 per cent submit themselves to the <i>Infinite Father</i>. The scary part is to think how close to reality this can come. There are a lot of tribes or religions or cultures in the world, that still to this very day think this way and treat their women in this suppressing way. And of course, in our very "advanced" world there are still a lot of people (men) who think very little of women’s worth and capabilities and sadly we probably all encounter this from time to time, which just shouldn’t happen. As this is a topic very close to my heart and I hate seeing women / girls struggle in any way because of “men-who-deem-themselves-superior”, I sometimes had troubles processing what I was reading here. But I feel like this book shaped my worldview on this a bit more clearly and I feel so much richer for having read this. This is definitely a central theme in this book. We see this “ideology” reflected or appearing on every page.
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If girls bleed gold (instead of red) blood, they are branded demons, and the priests take them away from their families and most often try to kill them immediately. So when nearly 16 year old <b>Deka</b>’s turn comes up for the ritual where they give the villages’ girls a small cut in order to find out if they’re “pure”, we know something is about to go down. But before it gets to that point, the village is under attack from the <b>Deathshrieks</b>, vicious creatures that attack village after village in the kingdom and kill the villagers. This is where Deka first finds out that she has powers, as she can command the Deathshrieks to go away from her village. But right after she saved the remaining villagers, they all turn on her and try to kill her.
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<b>Deka</b>: From the beginning, I had a strong feeling that there was something special about Deka. She undergoes a massive character development, and I am so happy to see her at the end of the book as a strong young woman that can stand up for herself. She isn’t the mindless believer she was in the beginning anymore and she definitely has strong leadership skills. I am looking forward to her using more of her powers and finding out more of the truth of the kingdom’s history.
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Deka’s friends <b>Britta</b>, <b>Belcalis</b>, <b>Katya</b> and the others are such an important feature in this book! I really loved how the focus in this book wasn't on a boy/man that Deka fell in love with, rather it was on her friends always helping her through everything and standing by her side. Friendship is probably one of the biggest topics in this book as well and it shines such a great light on this group of friends who help each other overcome their horrible past experiences. When somebody is near a panic attack or uncomfortable they're there for each other and try to help however they can. It's nice, for once, to see the girl friends help the protagonist save herself, instead of her love for a boy do that! Yes, love is nice and important, but it is not everything.
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<b>Keita</b>: The romance in this book was just the perfect amount. It did NOT get in the way of the plot and Deka’s self-development and it also did not interrupt Deka’s focus on her friendship. It was just a nice add-on and a great way to see Deka heal with her trust issues towards men. All in all, I don’t think that Keita is a very special character, but I’m glad he appeared anyways.
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The message in this book is really strong! If you haven’t figured it out by now, then have you really read my review? The representation in this book is stronger! With Deka, we strongly focus on a main character from a far southern part of this fictious world, and there are many other characters like her with important roles. I mean have you looked at the cover? IT IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and I cannot stare at it enough! I liked the world building and that it was mainly divided into the four compass directions for regions (Western, Southern, Northern, Eastern). But there is also a biiig part on the map labelled with <i>Unknown Lands</i>. I hope that we will read more about this in the next book and see what kind of people live there and why they’re sealed off from this empire.
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This series truly has so much potential and promise and I cannot wait for the sequel and hope that it will be just as great! There are still so many obstacles in Deka and her friends’ path in life and it’s going to be so interesting to see what <b>Namina Forna</b> comes up with next! I am truly inspired and hope this author will publish many many more books in the years to come!
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<h2>
<b>The Part That Might Contain Spoilers</b></h2>
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I have to admit, that early on I already didn’t believe the whole demon thing and suspected that the four Gilded Ones were actually Goddesses who were overthrown by men instead and then they changed the viewpoint on the Godesses, and I am so glad that I was right about this! I also made the embarrassing assumption when Deka met the Emperor for the first time, that he was actually her father. Which now, having read the last 50 pages of the book, I’m really glad I was wrong about!
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Have you read The Gilded Ones? Are you as excited as me for the rest of this series! I could talk about this book for many more hours, and I’d love to hear what you think about it! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-54460853886082173122021-03-31T14:00:00.063+02:002021-03-31T15:28:30.847+02:00March Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4RkEg5SIZFfZOUQ2Ao5luB4TEtkZ5RWkwBe8rRs7kUgK-v_6NCV0MjxCEfIlAgx4DgwWltQhxeHA1aXn5NT5hzIYy0x8OlmT38eq7z8GvGxrSlrijI3-Kef732ZqrqyhrGiZXYabL8Y/w640-h160/21+March+Monthly+Wrap+Up.png" /></div>
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This month, I've decided to bring back my monthly wrap ups. I haven't been very active on this blog in the past couple of years, but I'm trying to post my reviews more actively again. :)
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">BOOKS READ</span></h3>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K5MwgSqQI6Mz2F1uhxFtYDRZDKaEv-S7yrr4rmNw4t9dVp7KwGr7IS-usNQMjoPo9ChirwmZ9emw5I8s67BOIVVDkKj0MCklw277n-d4Qz8DDeXK9Lzfa7hyphenhyphenX9iWvWwolYlzv7G5sTY/w134-h200/Chain+of+Gold.PNG" width="134" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNk6yA-nqENd2YOIJVq4jPrYCZMOnmF8KJeVSejrc6yfH5gcGRbZOLFGl_I90KlUex6kajVlMi2svUvGVf3uZ2cQ05ZonXZQCnFFrIXBgB_2zeTYeU2NxOmbrhJIjmFLrZqWA3N34FPM/w131-h200/Chain+of+Iron.PNG" width="131" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">1. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />2. Chain of Iron (The Last Hours #2) by Cassandra Clare 4.5 <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">GRAPHIC NOVELS / MANGAS READ</span></h3>
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<img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="301" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UvPo4FgwR53JAXh4LvuUlSAppw964Agq5XN8dDPN0w6AZRUxJ7vyNdsB9_ThGBs6y7ncKotaTmgROGEb7P_MhLmJmXeSw2nfuDRQggttd8tKhSbdeLwK_FsOvWtiXAspYGEUtNTVcKo/s200/Trinity+Vol+1.PNG" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IOmZYquvzTXIfGtcM88uPWe3etPO03tm-2VL2289k0mselWxUXNLi5VstOaG7SyCzyAA5PXmUHhatrmr0QL3eqL3jLwv6kvMwoDRYtNRjwttD4IaSjWKac_FBUYrx7dgVdMHtGWof0Q/s473/The+Flash+Vol+8.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IOmZYquvzTXIfGtcM88uPWe3etPO03tm-2VL2289k0mselWxUXNLi5VstOaG7SyCzyAA5PXmUHhatrmr0QL3eqL3jLwv6kvMwoDRYtNRjwttD4IaSjWKac_FBUYrx7dgVdMHtGWof0Q/s200/The+Flash+Vol+8.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1Oc9e2QTc5PEa3r4o0hhF7rsQY7eyugqUTP6o2uK_3yT_hG7hsN4ypCNhyphenhyphenJO_c7Planvb_3E9uedTUJlER9pWu2EvH6uznFi47youA-rJiGyffWCg6JkX_nGlnocZs_3EeP8aYfhDls/s474/New+Super+Man+Vol+1.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1Oc9e2QTc5PEa3r4o0hhF7rsQY7eyugqUTP6o2uK_3yT_hG7hsN4ypCNhyphenhyphenJO_c7Planvb_3E9uedTUJlER9pWu2EvH6uznFi47youA-rJiGyffWCg6JkX_nGlnocZs_3EeP8aYfhDls/s200/New+Super+Man+Vol+1.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpEfKLNcGJQd6bm8d-JHQdULxpZeMQIXAeJmZsKFJUiIO5YxLuzXHUM4Avdzbbuxc9ku08VFAoQOKEZ4NItHGXQ_Ozk9O9OZ6IXDqaDdsSyTfxqHH6HpIMz8CZp_NVsrKAX8Rz9krjgQ/s472/Batman+Beyond+Vol+1.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpEfKLNcGJQd6bm8d-JHQdULxpZeMQIXAeJmZsKFJUiIO5YxLuzXHUM4Avdzbbuxc9ku08VFAoQOKEZ4NItHGXQ_Ozk9O9OZ6IXDqaDdsSyTfxqHH6HpIMz8CZp_NVsrKAX8Rz9krjgQ/s200/Batman+Beyond+Vol+1.PNG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UvPo4FgwR53JAXh4LvuUlSAppw964Agq5XN8dDPN0w6AZRUxJ7vyNdsB9_ThGBs6y7ncKotaTmgROGEb7P_MhLmJmXeSw2nfuDRQggttd8tKhSbdeLwK_FsOvWtiXAspYGEUtNTVcKo/s473/Trinity+Vol+1.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KtQtRm_oo3avwpoD1oJ711mm6-1zjUz9RrmL_0qln1tLFA9tos9PniKtRZybBD7ckdEMweqs9DlOpBTYtDoB60F7OjShylfgqwDTuT0TxnfK8SpcWzSgshw6Xqxk1hmt_edE1QryJPM/s475/The+Flash+Vol+9.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KtQtRm_oo3avwpoD1oJ711mm6-1zjUz9RrmL_0qln1tLFA9tos9PniKtRZybBD7ckdEMweqs9DlOpBTYtDoB60F7OjShylfgqwDTuT0TxnfK8SpcWzSgshw6Xqxk1hmt_edE1QryJPM/s200/The+Flash+Vol+9.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDGRkOaEgJNHNpv_yh_yVC565rvR-671rdqDDJmbn4Y5VievL9pAIa1UaR2uemX1Z6NR69dQXH1Br5AH8nJixuib6UaIo8nqFZeYe-LXtW61ZYjftD-021YJI1xm-VfK1HeMzdDjKQ8w/s473/Dark+One+Vol+1.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDGRkOaEgJNHNpv_yh_yVC565rvR-671rdqDDJmbn4Y5VievL9pAIa1UaR2uemX1Z6NR69dQXH1Br5AH8nJixuib6UaIo8nqFZeYe-LXtW61ZYjftD-021YJI1xm-VfK1HeMzdDjKQ8w/s200/Dark+One+Vol+1.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bZjF8OttNpy4mO_zJvFNxq0iCbD0rqKZ3nHk_kK7tIn88TsF178EAPrpVLXRk6Z4oTuKfIDuOzDikm27i2y2_CshDRartYHCYbc5YOLzgv1RJAco-2cuWprCXfI2qwXhL8rxcKpnW74/s472/The+Flash+Vol+10.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bZjF8OttNpy4mO_zJvFNxq0iCbD0rqKZ3nHk_kK7tIn88TsF178EAPrpVLXRk6Z4oTuKfIDuOzDikm27i2y2_CshDRartYHCYbc5YOLzgv1RJAco-2cuWprCXfI2qwXhL8rxcKpnW74/s200/The+Flash+Vol+10.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUWeJbVqZHb6l3Y5HjO7KQGef80PSfibU0PoMGINds_1nE_oYvE3ueqCgcDHQjckQSXMpzAmKaF22jL9lCfWD3LK8h6rFrmQiXadp8YG4brYKJ1hDpJYy5dHXM7H5TGfZiQGZ7IrJsMw/s475/The+Flash+Vol+11.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUWeJbVqZHb6l3Y5HjO7KQGef80PSfibU0PoMGINds_1nE_oYvE3ueqCgcDHQjckQSXMpzAmKaF22jL9lCfWD3LK8h6rFrmQiXadp8YG4brYKJ1hDpJYy5dHXM7H5TGfZiQGZ7IrJsMw/s200/The+Flash+Vol+11.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNi1CAtwLPughZwtkw2GX4MRp-gMvPw34tRjZ_G47sBcyZkgbhrc6XVR8vEExF5-KS5nhvVcK9pq-adF0kHEGcsLe6RSlJEPL82ipwj9y0YiFjKRIpdygjjeugyoGzhQnrUBkg3KrRrA/s804/Stitch+and+the+Samurai.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNi1CAtwLPughZwtkw2GX4MRp-gMvPw34tRjZ_G47sBcyZkgbhrc6XVR8vEExF5-KS5nhvVcK9pq-adF0kHEGcsLe6RSlJEPL82ipwj9y0YiFjKRIpdygjjeugyoGzhQnrUBkg3KrRrA/s200/Stitch+and+the+Samurai.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CC7_f6ZQ5izlSvkLasgicZjuytDBT498TiFVauTxwiEBF8VtL6o1ZNVAXfKZ4MpkYrxWUVhiF06dwTLx3M5NVo-fPU1il7XsRY_aG6t5ig6Ffy-FMpIl_7breeKJhU1fDLTgUT4j77Q/s474/Green+Lanterns+Vol+2.PNG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="307" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CC7_f6ZQ5izlSvkLasgicZjuytDBT498TiFVauTxwiEBF8VtL6o1ZNVAXfKZ4MpkYrxWUVhiF06dwTLx3M5NVo-fPU1il7XsRY_aG6t5ig6Ffy-FMpIl_7breeKJhU1fDLTgUT4j77Q/s200/Green+Lanterns+Vol+2.PNG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">1. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3845655570">Trinity, Vol, 1: Better Together</a> by Francis Manapul <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
2. The Flash, Vol, 8: Flash War by Joshua Williamson <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
3. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3847191625">New Super-Man, Vol. 1: Made in China</a> Gene Luen Yang <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
4. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3847191089">Batman Beyond, Volume 1: Escaping the Grave</a> Dan Jurgens <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
5. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3871933405">The Flash, Vol. 9: Reckoning of the Forces</a> by Joshua Williamson <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
6. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3871979889">Dark One, Vol. 1</a> by Brandon Sanderson <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
7. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3871933526">The Flash, Vol. 10: Force Quest</a> by Joshua Williamson <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
8. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3871933650">The Flash, Vol. 11: The Greatest Trick of All</a> by Joshua Williamson <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
9. <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/03/manga-review-stitch-and-samurai-vol-1.html">Disney Manga: Stitch and the Samurai, Volume 1</a> Hiroto Wada <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
10. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3847192175">Green Lanterns, Vol. 2: The Phantom Lantern</a> by Sam Humphries <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
</div><br />
<table id="title">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">CURRENTLY READING</span></h3>
</th>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoKtLgrtFvZQ6DRyHnCU1eECuctTDDqXva-EbCfHOQqWd1Eb6P765QNwEhQpb6Z-LKZKPrlYZDgR_-NSIbzuYS6cCPECuM05nf30fYgHKNaHURV3w-SNNpmDXOu6YyEh0ChX5S9WSWko/s200/A+Million+Worlds+Without+YYou.PNG" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">A Million Worlds Without You (Firebird #3) by Claudia Gray
</div><br />
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">REVIEWS POSTED ON THE BLOG</span></h3>
</th>
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</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNi1CAtwLPughZwtkw2GX4MRp-gMvPw34tRjZ_G47sBcyZkgbhrc6XVR8vEExF5-KS5nhvVcK9pq-adF0kHEGcsLe6RSlJEPL82ipwj9y0YiFjKRIpdygjjeugyoGzhQnrUBkg3KrRrA/w133-h200/Stitch+and+the+Samurai.PNG" width="133" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K5MwgSqQI6Mz2F1uhxFtYDRZDKaEv-S7yrr4rmNw4t9dVp7KwGr7IS-usNQMjoPo9ChirwmZ9emw5I8s67BOIVVDkKj0MCklw277n-d4Qz8DDeXK9Lzfa7hyphenhyphenX9iWvWwolYlzv7G5sTY/w134-h200/Chain+of+Gold.PNG" width="134" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNk6yA-nqENd2YOIJVq4jPrYCZMOnmF8KJeVSejrc6yfH5gcGRbZOLFGl_I90KlUex6kajVlMi2svUvGVf3uZ2cQ05ZonXZQCnFFrIXBgB_2zeTYeU2NxOmbrhJIjmFLrZqWA3N34FPM/w131-h200/Chain+of+Iron.PNG" width="131" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<p>‣ <a href="http://swissworm.blogspot.com/2021/03/manga-review-stitch-and-samurai-vol-1.html">Disney Manga: Stitch and the Samurai, Volume 1</a> Hiroto Wada</p>
<p>‣ <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/03/book-review-chain-of-gold.html">Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1)</a> by Cassandra Clare </p>
<p>‣ <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/03/book-review-chain-of-iron.html">Chain of Iron (The Last Hours #2)</a> by Cassandra Clare</p>
</div>
<table id="title">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">BLOG RECAP</span></h3>
</th>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">In case you missed it here's a recap of my latest posts and reviews.
<p>❥ <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/10/waiting-on-wednesday-batman-nightwalker.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a> as my Waiting on Wednesday</p>
</div>Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-68811942144507787472021-03-30T17:15:00.002+02:002021-03-30T17:15:15.576+02:00Book Review: Chain of Iron<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-Sfo5hFGn3OPsOgqCXDKFOqhTRwbG_rLdOxT4Syn6thraFxfbXmok4FiKwIH_vnb1wh8lxdp3Tm_77tAiBemfYjRJ1eVcBMoF0UdPptAgd3He4dfTNDpy-ogj27G3uZ8H5cdKpuC4Og/s0/BR+Chain+of+Iron.png"/></div><br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeEs_EN2kImzwS6RXYLouhIC_obMhU0Kgqy9g8oyc4cHTYMh_HWZfIPPIwL6uqV8uEfo0mZyDf6Zg3kxwLW6VZ4mAeXFMRRJEW959FsddOKE02mdUgSrmSHDRlvYnuRjz37_U_mtt0bs/s320/Chain+of+Iron.PNG" /></div>
<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Chain of Iron<br />
<b>Series: </b>The Last Hours #2<br />
<b>Author: </b>Cassandra Clare<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Magic, Shadowhunters<br />
<b>Publication: </b>March 2nd, 2021<br />
<b>Pages: </b>592<br />
<b>Read: </b>March 2021</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Walker Booksbr />
<b>Edition: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Illumicrate<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirG5iEy2aKPrJgDAQeOsdk2pQge04TisakDT0pCtpt_Utuiyp3egpcbPnIU6D8_6EDLEGzBSD5u8mnZig3lNO02cfK1hlDPsvALtVJ278IsVafITOTRGdl5R6fNFAcqlP1gQVSYmRog3M/s1600/4.5star.png" /></div>
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<table id="summary">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2>
<i><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-left: 15px;">
Goodreads Summary</div>
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</i></h2>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade. But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace. Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b>My Review (which might contain spoilers for Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron, beware!)</b></h2>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Wow. Just wow! After having read <b>Chain of Gold</b> just at the beginning of this month, I am so happy that I got my copy of <b>Chain of Iron</b> so soon too! I had ordered the special edition from Illumicrate (a book box subscription service with lovely content) and because of the high shipping costs to Switzerland, I could send it to my boyfriend's parents in the UK instead, and they then decided to send it on to me right away, even though I hadn’t asked (they’re book lovers like me too, so they wanted to make it possible for me to read this asap, even knowing nothing about the book or that I just finished the prior book in the series). With the current situation, we sadly can't travel to the UK any time soon, so I wasn't expecting to see the book anytime soon at all so this was a really nice surprise!<br /><br />
My heart aches and I don’t know what will mend it. Surely, waiting on the next book in this series for an entire year will only piece it back together to let it then be broken all over again. <b>Chain of Gold</b> was great. <b>Chain of Iron</b> was greater! So much character development, unpredictable plot twists and love triangles around every corner! Cassandra Clare managed to write another addicting book that I just couldn’t put down for days. And now that I finished it, I don’t know what to do with myself.<br /><br />
<b>Chain of Iron</b> picks up a few months after Chain of Gold, right before James and Cordelia’s “fake” wedding. Thinking about this now, it feels like ages ago! In reality, it was “only” 600 pages ago and yet I have little memory of the beginning because so much has happened after that. We get to see Cordelia and James grow affectionate of each other’s company in their new house and I really enjoyed seeing them enjoy their “married-life”. But it seems to be over too soon. The story picks up fast, and Shadowhunters are getting murdered.
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I have to admit: for a while I thought <b>James</b> was the murderer whilst under the control of his grandfather Belial. Alas, I was wrong about this, which I’m pretty happy about because this means the story wasn’t too predictable and there were enough plot twists that I couldn’t foresee. It is safe to say, the last 50 pages of Chain of Iron broke my heart. I am a sucker for the <i>they-love-each- other-but-neither-admits-their-feelings-openly-so-that-they-can-have-a-happy-ending-immediately</i> trope, but this is killing me! We are left wondering for the next year, where the third book in this trilogy will set off and how the story is going to end! And all the love triangles are shattered at the moment. Cassandra Clare did a great job at taking my heart in both of her hands and crushing it without hesitation.
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<b>Cordelia</b> oh Cordelia. Why is it that <b>James</b> and her just cannot catch a break from all the (rude) interruptions and tell each other what they feel for another?? They were so close, SO MANY TIMES! It drove me nuts every single time. But Cordelia also went through a big development in this book. She has become more self-dependent, very sure of herself and what she wants and she accepts no defeats. She stands up for her friends at every opportunity and I just really like her. It is great to read about a heroine who truly just wants to be a heroine and doesn’t let anybody else tell her that she cannot be that. Seeing her struggle with believing in herself after realising she’s become a demon’s paladin just hurt me so much. But she will get through this, because she is such a strong and strong-headed character.
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And then we have <b>Lucie</b>, who is slowly developing into a character I’m unsure will find herself on the right side at the end of this all. At the end of Chain of Gold, I already suspected that she and Jesse would fall in love. But now, this love is probably threatening her clear view on things and I fear that she is going to develop into an anti-hero. Surely, she must understand, that <b>any</b> kind of bringing people back from the dead comes from “evil/dark” magic, and that even her powers cannot stem from good. And yet she still tried everything to bring back Jesse and then finally did it herself, by commanding him back to life. But at what cost? It also annoys me that she’s working with Grace and just keeping all these secrets from everyone! How are she and Cordelia supposed to become <i>parabatai</i> if she doesn’t even tell her the smallest thing about this??
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So far, I like <b>Jesse</b> and I honestly didn’t think that he would be brought back to life in this book, rather than at the end of the trilogy. This probably means that he will play a crucial part in the war between Belial/Tatianna and James in the next book. I hope he’s going to stay one of the good guys, which is how I’d describe him right now. I do not like that him and Lucie are currently somewhere with <b>Malcom Fade</b>! It’s been a long time since I’ve read the first two books in <b>The Dark Artifices</b> trilogy (and I still need to read the last instalment there), but I remember it being about Malcom and Annabel Blackthorn. That is why I believe Malcom will already start to change his nature in the next book of TLH and slowly become “evil”.
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<b>Matthew</b>’s alcohol addiction needs to find an end. Immediately! Nobody wants to talk about it, but they have to. Matthew clearly needs help, and he’s not going to go looking for it himself because he thinks he’s undeserving, which is utter nonsense. Matthew needs to be protected at all costs!
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<b>Thomas</b> is still my favourite character, and although we’ve read more from his pov in this book, it still wasn’t enough!!! Please, I need more of Thomas’ story!!! Him and <b>Alastair</b> have finally made such good progress in their relationship and I really hope that Charles isn’t going to come between this again and mess it up for them. I don’t know how Thomas would tell the other <i>Merry Thieves</i> about his love for Alastair, but I am pretty sure that all of them (even Matthew, maybe after throwing a short rant) would accept it without hesitation.
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<b>Anna</b> didn’t really leave any kind of impression on me in this book. Previously, she was a major part of observing the other characters and had some secrecy to herself. But I feel like her character could have left out of COI and nobody would have noticed a difference, except for <b>Ariadne</b>’s character development which would have gone missing then. I like Ariadne and I think her decision towards of the end of the book was the right thing to do! You cannot pretend to accept that the person you love doesn’t want to give themselves to you entirely and that should not be enough for someone who clearly deserves love and attention.
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And still, <b>Grace</b> is my least favourite character (and I think that will never change). I think she’s unnecessary, her power is annoying, and I hope to read less of her in the last book. I understand that we needed to hear her backstory and see who she truly is, but I could have lived without that. The only decent thing Grace did in this book, was trying to stand up to Tatiana and telling her that she wouldn't do her bidding anymore. I hope she sticks to that and doesn't let her mother control her anymore.
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I actually already wrote down <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1533977724">my thought on Chain of Thorns and some of my predicitons</a> of what will happen in the last book of this trilogy.
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Did you read and enjoy the Last Hours series, as well? I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments! </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-23276420418730597292021-03-27T13:01:00.004+01:002021-03-27T13:01:34.418+01:00Book Review: Chain of Gold<div class="separator" style="clear: center; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJKzDUiowBBgSB5CqfjkDFQYfl2YR44ZV_X5RlpDlvSAjUdFjed4Tq1RCabtYVjREVf5M9z3XpBt_XH4wRqWF4nqZOtycHxtVzK00cFzEY10keBECmtt8upUy5VBzR8iF2siy_JbBGoQ/s320/Chain+of+Gold.PNG" width="138" /></div>
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<b>About the book</b></h2>
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<b>Title: </b>Chain of Gold<br />
<b>Series: </b>The Last Hours #1<br />
<b>Author: </b>Cassandra Clare<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Magic, Shadowhunters<br />
<b>Publication: </b>March 3rd, 2020<br />
<b>Pages: </b>617<br />
<b>Read: </b>March 2021</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Walker Books<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository<br /></div>
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<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague. James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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How do I express my feelings for this book? I don’t know! But let me try! This feels like the uncountable-th book that I’ve read by Cassandra Clare, and honestly, I could read uncountable many more! I never get bored! I really like the Shadowhunters’ world and it has been a while since I’ve read a book in this setting. I still need to catch up on some stories, but after having started with the <b>The Last Hours</b> series now, I am fully invested again. So far, <b>TID</b> series was my absolute favourite, and that still hasn’t changed. But my emotions for the characters in this new(er) series are just as strong. And obviously, I am so happy to read about Will, Tessa and Jem again! It’s even more exciting to go on adventures with their kids now. And there are so so many of them! I had a really hard time following who was who, and who is related with whom and so on. At one point I just stopped trying to remember everything and saw thought of all of them as cousins. <br /><br />
In <b>Chain of Gold</b> we follow the story of Cordelia Carstairs and her soon-to-be-best-friends-group, as they try to fight against mysterious demon attacks in London. We get to closely know James and Lucie Herondale (Will and Tessa’s kids!!!) and read about the apparently first ever known demon-shadowhunter-pairing’s grandchildren. Without surprise, this means that they have inherited some powers from Tessa and their demon grandfather, whose identity James tries to figure out. I have come to love everyone in the group of the <i>Merry Thieves</i> as they call themselves. It is a Cassandra Clare story, so of course there is going to be a love triangle mixed into this story (or multiple, or love rectangles and worse) next to all the drama of the shadowhunter society and attacks against human- and shadowhunterkind. So, it is not surprising that there are hints of another big “Main Trio Love Triangle”, although at this point it is probably already a love quintuple? I am very intrigued and can’t wait to see what’s in store for the romantic part in the sequel!
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Because I cannot fully describe my feelings for every single character in this book, I will have to suffice with some honorary mentions.
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<b>Matthew</b>: Oh my god, my love for this character is indescribable! Why do I have such a weakness for such self-destructive characters, that seem to wish for no more than to burn down their own lives (as Magnus wisely described)? It has been pointed out to me that I need to read <i>Ghosts of the Shadow Market</i> to find out what makes Matthew look a bit too closely at the bottom of his flask that he always carries with him. But Matthew seriously has to be protected AT ALL COSTS! If anything bad happens to him in the rest of TLH, I will seriously throw the books out of a window!
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<b>James</b> and <b>Cordelia</b>: At the very beginning I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Cordelia, as she seemed a bit rather curt and not that interesting. She was too focused on her mission to rescue her father and saving the family's face and therefore finding a suitable husband. But with time, I warmed up to her and her strong character has really proven me wrong! James is the book boyfriend all of us have and want! Prove me wrong, if you don't agree! It is so painful to see this lovely character not being able to live his own truth as I'm sure that there are too many things meddling with his destined path!
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<b>Lucie</b>: I believe (and hope) that there is more to her friendship with Jesse and that there will be some interesting developments there! I can’t wait to see her get a better understanding of her ghost-powers and I hope we’ll get to see more interactions between her and Cordelia. I don’t quite understand why they haven’t done the <i>parabatai</i> ceremony yet? But Lucie is truly precious and I love that she secretly ships Cordelia and James, too!
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<b>Anna</b>: Yes, yes, yes! She is everything I ever needed in a historical setting like this and I really hope that we will get to read more about her in <b>Chain of Iron</b>!
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<b>Alastair</b>: Honestly, I have high hopes for him and you probably all know who I ship him with so dearly! I really hope that their relationship will properly unfold in the next book and that Alastair can try and make things right! I do not like bullies, but I hope he finds a way to ask for forgiveness again and to get it.
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<b>Thomas</b>: Please, Cassandra Clare, can I get more chapters about Thomas in the next book? Please please please!!!
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And now lastly, let’s talk about the character that I really don’t like. Is there anybody who at this point has any positive feelings towards <b>Grace</b>? I have ZERO! <spoiler>I mean it is pretty clear that she LITERALLY has put some kind of spell on James and I cannot understand why not even Matthew, who has also fallen a victim to her magic or whatever that is that she can do, realised something is up! That bracelet is seriously messing with James “feelings/emotions” and whatnot and I just hate that he and Cordelia are not able to catch a break and talk about their true feelings towards one another!</spoiler> Ughhhh, honestly, I know Grace has been through a lot and lost a lot of people, but no! I just really don’t like her. And I really have a longing to re-read the <b>Infernal Devices</b> trilogy now!! But I don’t have the time for it and so many other new books still on my TBR! Ahh, the biggest sorrows of a book-nerd! :3
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I know there are a lot of people who do not like Cassandra Clare or her writing. Or even did like her books at some point but now cannot pick up another series of her set in the same shadowhunter world. How do you feel about this? Are you like me and can never get tired of this or are you of the opinion that she should just put down her pen and not write another shadowhunter related book/series? I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments! </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-46752921906208805052021-03-24T14:59:00.005+01:002021-03-27T12:51:49.985+01:00Manga Review: Stitch and the Samurai, Vol. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNi1CAtwLPughZwtkw2GX4MRp-gMvPw34tRjZ_G47sBcyZkgbhrc6XVR8vEExF5-KS5nhvVcK9pq-adF0kHEGcsLe6RSlJEPL82ipwj9y0YiFjKRIpdygjjeugyoGzhQnrUBkg3KrRrA/s804/Stitch+and+the+Samurai.PNG" width="138" /></div><br />
<h2>
<b>About the manga</b></h2>
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<b>Title: </b>Disney Manga: Stitch and the Samurai<br />
<b>Series: </b>Stitch and the Samurai, Volume 1<br />
<b>Author & Illustrator: </b>Hiroto Wada<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Manga, Disney<br />
<b>Expected Publication: </b>April 27th, 2021<br />
<b>Pages: </b>176<br />
<b>Read:</b> March 2021</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: Disney Manga</b><br />
<b>Edition: </b>Ebook<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Netgalley<br /><i>I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">Goodreads Summary</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">While fleeing the Galactic Federation, Stitch's spaceship malfunctions and he makes an emergency landing... not in Hawaii, but in sengoku-era Japan! Discovered by the brutal warlord Lord Yamato and his clan, Stitch's incomparable cuteness is no match for the battle-weary samurai, who decides to bring the "blue tanuki" home with him. Will Stitch's love of chaos turn into a formidable advantage for the samurai's influence? Or will his cute and fluffy form disarm the noble lord's stern façade?</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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Hmm okay, I have to be very honest. As much as I love Stitch (he’s my favourite Disney character ever) and as much as I wanted to love this, it just wasn’t for me. I think young children, maybe around the age of 3-7, would enjoy this (but honestly, I don’t really know a lot about what kids read as I don’t have any kids around me). The story is simple, the art is cute and very well done, and any young child would probably pick up great things from this manga.<br /><br />
However, for adults like me, this is missing some plot and sense to the story. In <b>Stitch and the Samurai</b>, Stitch lands in Japan instead of Hawaii. When Stitch’s spaceship malfunctions it crash lands right in front of a warlord called <b>Lord Yamato</b>, who immediately is consumed by Stitch’s cuteness (who can blame him?). But it goes so far, that he grows obsessed with Stitch, and trying to pet and feed him. This obsession leads him to absolutely ignore the war that he’s actually leading and his samurai don’t know how to handle the situation. <br /><br />
What I had some troubles with, was that Stitch knew the words “Ohana – Family” and there were some other small references to Lilo… But if this is a story about him landing in Japan instead of in Hawaii, how would he know this? Lilo taught him the meaning of Ohana… So this felt a bit more just for sales than for actual story telling, which was a bit of a shame. <br /><br />
Overall I enjoyed this as a quick read, and it truly did make me laugh at some ridiculous parts, but I don’t think I would read this again (however, if this is an on-going series I might pick up the next parts anyways). It’s a nice way to relax after a tiring day, if you don’t want to have to think about too much plot twists and drama.
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Who else has requested a copy of this on NetGalley? Did you enjoy reading it? And are you also as obsessed with Stitch as I am? I'd love to hear your thoughts!</span></h4>
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<hr />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-43978246479290112202021-03-03T17:05:00.000+01:002021-03-03T17:05:20.198+01:00Waiting On Wednesday: A Court of Silver Flames<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;">Happy Wednesday everyone! I haven't been very active on my blog in the past couple of years, but I'm motivated to change that again. Starting with a couple of reviews the last two months and today back with a WoW! <i>Waiting On Wednesday</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> was a weekly event hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ch/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;" target="_blank">Breaking the Spine</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. It seems that the blog isn't active anymore, but as I like this feature I'm going to continue with this again.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">My choice for this week is <b>A Court of Silver Flames</b> (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by <i>Sarah J. Maas</i>. <br />Expected Publication Date: February 16th, 2021</div> <br />
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it. The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other. Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts. Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
Why I'm so excited about this book?</h2></div>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I read ACOWAR about a year ago and I was so hooked again, that I've been waiting for the next book in the ACOTAR series to be released for ages now. My one problem is, it seems to be sold out everywhere and I cannot get a hands on a paperback copy in the size that I have the trilogy already. Which is annoying, because this probably means that I now need to wait another year until I can get the right version which is such a big shame. But it would also bother me to get another book in this series that won't fit with the books I already have in my bookshelf. Is that weird or does anybody else also have this problem / book peeve? </div>
</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
Other books in the series</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv145jAOXTqK6mEDpZ3hfxecLgtABSnMnSOQowfPJLb_Wv9zjDCAcUJQgAZnhy1iRlnPbNE9IY6AKIT4kJHXGD91JaliTV1FGk_kel9OhYW5nMcAQ-vdkURd35ku8v9MpmJFZ4c-Xx4qI/s320/A+Court+of+Thornes+and+Roses.PNG" style="display: inline !important; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUiS2cYUIiJErJ9d0BGXkWw4spsKbeFGPanh394HP1_00ROj3jL4ghl2vopqBfPZHW2zYxaImSPiTfCSJvm2W1N7fS1id1dF0SNChWbhnS490rIilP5Zb79bFsTNPMOwQoyi6tqmragY/s200/A+Court+of+Thornes+and+Roses.PNG" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVOjc6CbKDKqfmWjDMpFIE61njFr1eyMIpqj6qd2Rz7YMGN4FypaAT219DVmPWmuZ0e37GAFopaImT88U0Rj6LHRG0BopQf_YggJb3mJU-PMxr3Yob-6KpTIDXHfYDJtqfAkp64474rI/s200/A+Court+of+Mist+and+Fury.PNG" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZiCHSX9aP9GZFPoBZREBzpW1TiHKoLwGRq2Qwxh5-iXQK9DjZ9YMDJQauJT921gOieY6zwiJS_PmzqZfuAXNStULy4Sv1PjBPeE8ZOq2eeeignZ4uSpxySQpvN-Xm7lg7V9mpVDlsmc/s475/A+Court+of+Wings+and+Ruin.jpg" style="display: inline !important; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZiCHSX9aP9GZFPoBZREBzpW1TiHKoLwGRq2Qwxh5-iXQK9DjZ9YMDJQauJT921gOieY6zwiJS_PmzqZfuAXNStULy4Sv1PjBPeE8ZOq2eeeignZ4uSpxySQpvN-Xm7lg7V9mpVDlsmc/s200/A+Court+of+Wings+and+Ruin.jpg" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmj_Y5FYkBOmJLNQX0JOi103fgRDsVidY01VuP0x5SAK8RxsihC4mHOrjoiw0gSzzzkTyA4GyL1FxTThn5d-DXnsw_31LCwUmt4Ma2xhrmSn2IJOSXD766ERgny5b6N-CPaMyp-sR2Fs/s473/A+Court+of+Frost+and+Starlight.PNG" style="display: inline !important; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="311" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmj_Y5FYkBOmJLNQX0JOi103fgRDsVidY01VuP0x5SAK8RxsihC4mHOrjoiw0gSzzzkTyA4GyL1FxTThn5d-DXnsw_31LCwUmt4Ma2xhrmSn2IJOSXD766ERgny5b6N-CPaMyp-sR2Fs/s200/A+Court+of+Frost+and+Starlight.PNG" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
#1 A Court of Thorns and Roses (<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/02/mini-book-reviews-acotar-carry-on.html">My 4★ Review</a>) <br />
#2 A Court of Mist and Fury (<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-review-acomaf.html">My 5★ Review</a><br />
#3 A Court of Wings and Ruin (I gave this a 5★ Rating) <br />
#3.5 A Court of Frost and Starlight (I gave this a Rating of 4.5★)</div>
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<table id="questions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2>
<i><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-left: 15px;">
I'd like to know</div>
</div>
</i></h2>
</span></caption>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">What's your WoW today? Or what books are you currently waiting for that you can't wait to read? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to link me up to your post so I can check them out. :)</span></h4>
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Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-56352239687392250342021-02-25T18:50:00.004+01:002021-02-25T18:51:56.716+01:00Book Review: Stars Above<div class="separator" style="clear: center; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjee_MTJeqiKEdOvcdPkxyLOgiacjUq5joSklojqKe5gRPLhiOEJ7-LwlY6TFxRrIGkT2lN2vJrju32ED-is5lfsYVFR4sDFPGxQK29ekyJZ-7qhuitHaV25ZgcnuBfq0zu3FgpRIZSVXU/s320/Starsabove.PNG" width="138" /></div>
<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Stars Above<br />
<b>Series: </b>The Lunar Chronicles #4.5<br/>
<b>Author: </b>Marissa Meyer<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Science Fiction, Short Stories<br />
<b>Publication: </b>May 2nd, 2017<br />
<b>Pages: </b>400<br />
<b>Read: </b>February 2021</div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Feiwel And Friends<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirG5iEy2aKPrJgDAQeOsdk2pQge04TisakDT0pCtpt_Utuiyp3egpcbPnIU6D8_6EDLEGzBSD5u8mnZig3lNO02cfK1hlDPsvALtVJ278IsVafITOTRGdl5R6fNFAcqlP1gQVSYmRog3M/s1600/4.5star.png" /></div>
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<table id="summary">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2>
<i><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-left: 15px;">
Goodreads Summary</div>
</div>
</i></h2>
</span></caption>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The enchantment continues. . . .<br />
The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories - and secrets - that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories - five of which have never before been published - and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer's novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b>My Review</b></h2>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cinder was the first book I read last year after a basically 2-year reading slump (starting University was more stressful than I hoped, and I just couldn’t find the time to read for leisure). I immediately fell in love with the series, like hundreds of others! I’ve heard about the hype around the Lunar Chronicles for a while, but I only picked up my copy from where it was lying hidden in my bookshelf at the beginning of the pandemic last year. Immediately, I joined the rest of the fangirls and fanboys of this series. As I was also on a blogging and reviewing hiatus, I never actually wrote reviews about the series, which is kind of a shame! But that’s why I now decided to review <i>Stars Above</i> instead! It was kind of ironic, that I picked up a book at the beginning of the pandemic without knowing that it would also revolve around a pandemic!<br /><br />
<b>Please be aware, that this review might contain spoilers for the entire Lunar Chronicles series! </b><br /><br />
<b>Stars Above</b> collects short stories from the character’s childhoods and a story that takes place after the ending of <i>Winter</i>. My two absolute favourite stories in this collection are without doubt <i>Glitches</i> and <i>Carswell’s Guide to being Lucky</i>. I always loved <b>Peony</b>, as she embodies the “good sister” of the two stepsisters in the Cinderella-trope, but in such a sweet and lovely way! I think there’s nobody that can dislike her. The way she accepted Cinder into her home, as the only person of that family, is so precious and makes me miss her even more! Teenage Thorne is just so adorable! Honestly, I wished his story would have been even longer and that we could have read more about him and Kate Fallow. I could read stories about Thorne all day long, they would never get boring to me.<br /><br />
Another character I absolutely adore is <b>Winter</b>. She’s just so precious and I feel like <i>The Princess and the Guard</i> just proves what a strong character development she already went through at such a young age. Her decision not to use her gift is finally fully. In my opinion it takes a very strong character to decide to not use a gift one has to manipulate others even if it means that you would suffer from it. We also discover how exactly she got her scar and it’s a truly disastrous treatment from the Queen and I feel a bit torn between absolutely hating her and starting to understand her character and therefore not hating her. It becomes clear now, that she truly loved Winter’s father and how broken she was when he got murdered. This just makes me want to read <i>Fairest</i> that much faster, as I’ve heard great things about it apparently gives the Queen’s character new depth! <br /><br />
In <i>After Sunshine Passes By</i>, we get to read about <b>Cress’s</b> development as a 9-year-old and how she ended up isolated in her satellite. As much as I like Cress’s character in the Lunar Chronicles, her story here is one that I struggled with. Apparently, a 9-year old girl is the most capable hacker of all Lunars? And she gets exiled to a satellite because she’s the only person capable (or just that the Queen knows of) of spying on Earth. This seems a bit far fetched to me, as I remember myself as a 9-year old and I could just about use a computer to play games. I’m struggling with accepting that a 9-year old would be able to teach themselves how to become a highly capable cyber-spy and basically hack into very highly secured systems… It just seems so very unlikely to me. They even mention that the Shells were barely able to read at that point because the Thaumaturges didn’t see the point in teaching them. So how would a 9-year old that thought herself to read a couple of years prior, be able to write programs and code by herself and then make sense of all the encrypted data that she has to scan through? <br /><br />
Coming from an IT background myself, there’s another story that I have some problems with. <i>The Little Android:</i> I don't really know what to think about this short story. The ending is a bit “trist” and depressing, but overall, I guess it’s cute. However, seeing as I study computer science, I just have a really hard time imagining an Android developing its own consciousness and for it to make decisions based on emotions and pain that it apparently feels… But it was really nice to read a short story in this world’s setting, with new characters that basically had nothing to do with the rest of the characters we already know, except some few mentions of Cinder. <br /><br />
Now the only book set in Cinder’s world left for me to read is <b>Fairest</b>! Can’t wait to start with that one, and I think I’m definitely going to pick it up sometime soon. But first, I need to get some other books off my tbr pile!
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</div>
<table id="questions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Have you read any books in the Lunar Chronicles or even <i>Stars Above</i>? I’d love to hear what you think about it! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-78900698977755874002021-02-19T14:45:00.006+01:002021-02-19T14:45:53.566+01:00Comic Book Review: Supergirl (Reign Of The Cyborg Supermen)<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvkcAFVbnNO7swCgA7GYnO56ZCJldu6f6u-6M45ROholsImXS0-T13adO_hDY_0wLCUls11ym1FvpIXr9lRLfmRGZV077T7plGseCJEynM7ZxWorrqPyN0TGkvEClML1Cfa_xs4QL-z4/s320/supergirl.PNG" width="138" /></div><br />
<h2>
<b>About the comic book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Reign Of The Cyborg Supermen<br />
<b>Series: </b>Supergirl (2016 - #)<br />
<b>Author: </b>Steve Orlando<br />
<b>Artist: </b>Brian Ching and others<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Comics, DC Comics, Superheroes<br />
<b>Publication: </b>April 4th, 2017<br />
<b>Pages: </b>166<br />
<b>Read:</b> February 2021</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>DC Comics<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Kindle<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Netgalley<br /><i>I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-KVQgnZ16rUT_PYnR6X9TlbqSjklMvmrsthsZcYps-x6_PkwxO3cqa0hmEEzPCwU9giDE4EcOqkh1wlA8Xs520qg-FjxXC_fA_AQbwPEp8-26Y3lJuzVUMaPN0ucbiOvwlMa-M9xb3c/s1600/3.5star.png" /></div>
<table id="summary">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">Goodreads Summary</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<tr>
<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Supergirl moves to National City! As Kara Danvers, average American teenager and high school student, Supergirl must balance her life as a superhero with her new life on Earth. But some demons from her Kryptonian past are coming back to haunt her, and Kara will find herself face-to-face with her father: the sinister Cyborg Superman! Critically acclaimed writer Steve Orlando (Midnighter) comes a new beginning for Kara Zor-El in Supergirl, Volume 1, Reign Of The Cyborg Super-Men a new series that is sure to appeal to fans of the TV series! (Collecting: Supergirl 1-6, Rebirth)</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So back in 2017 I was very actively reviewing and reading a lot of comics and books. Back then I was also active on NetGalley and sadly after I started University, I fell into a blogging hiatus, that just wouldn’t stop. Now I’m in my last semester of my bachelor’s and I finally found the motivation again to spend more time on reading and reviewing books (and graphic novels). I found out that I still had a couple of ARCs on my NetGalley account that I never reviewed, so I’m gonna try to battle that specific TBR pile. <br /><br />
I actually had already read Supergirl back in 2017, but never got around to reviewing it, so I decided to start with this volume and reread it today! I honestly couldn’t remember much of the story anyways. And rightfully so, it’s a bit confusing, even for the Rebirth series. Supergirl once again battles the Cyborg Superman, who she battled in the New 52 area already. But now he appears to be her father? And he’s obsessed with bringing Argo back to life and basically “revived” the entire population with Brainiac’s technology. But for them to actually come alive they need the people of earth’s life force and attack Earth in order to kill National City’s citizens in Zor-El’s personal vendetta against Supergirl. It seems very strange to me that in such a massive alien/robot attack, no other superhero from Earth tries to save the city. It’s all left to Supergirl, the D.E.O. and CatCo to save the citizens. I feel like this would have been a scenario where the Justice League should have been involved?<br /><br />
But, there’s also good in this volume. I really liked the Artwork! However, I now am surer than ever, I don’t particularly like Steve Orlando’s writing (also after having read his Wonder Woman stories). I had bigger hopes for this volume, as I’m a big fan of the TV show!
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmO79sWzG2ws8wNkgbMBxT8D0dPX0sJyVtjZCkc4gAQRbZAxQu3cZU2pbB6Wr60HF4Yjtj0YI1DalIHLG0ckc8xBbj7rinDtaAbmNmH3DQzZiQx-B_nVh1NkGK9PXQnsbCbymdq3sGN0/s2048/20210219_124338.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmO79sWzG2ws8wNkgbMBxT8D0dPX0sJyVtjZCkc4gAQRbZAxQu3cZU2pbB6Wr60HF4Yjtj0YI1DalIHLG0ckc8xBbj7rinDtaAbmNmH3DQzZiQx-B_nVh1NkGK9PXQnsbCbymdq3sGN0/s320/20210219_124338.jpg"/></a></div>
<br />
<table id="questions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Is anybody else still on NetGalley? How are you keeping up with your reviews? And have you read Supergirl or watched the TV shows? I'd love to hear your thoughts!</span></h4>
</th>
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<hr />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-27164700116156841552021-02-12T17:54:00.001+01:002021-02-12T17:54:54.835+01:00Book Review: Legendborn<div class="separator" style="clear: center; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zMWl68esiAKN5vDJKTr6Ks8QTNoLp_BF2Z-Dq2VumSfCLy9cgx0DNUYhgtFMdpedz7WJXZlsvu0RqYv7pcCcLat58CShznIX_CP3QCTGHF4ykTABUGp2No8z7GhruI14EMr4Z0yHWME/s320/Legendborn.jpg" width="138" /></div>
<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Legendborn<br />
<b>Author: </b>Tracy Deonn<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Arthurian Lore, Retellings, LGBTQ<br />
<b>Publication: </b>September 15th, 2020<br />
<b>Pages: </b>503<br />
<b>Read: </b>February 2021</div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Simon & Schuster<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<br />
<table id="summary">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2>
<i><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-left: 15px;">
Goodreads Summary</div>
</div>
</i></h2>
</span></caption>
<tbody>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wow just wow! This book deserves a full 5-star review and nothing less from me! It covers so many important current topics in a wild and gripping adventure! Grief and trauma, racist macro and microaggressions, racist violence, ancestral pain, love and more. <br /><br />
The struggle of choosing between going to sleep at 2 am because you have meetings in the early morning again, or just to continue reading throughout the entire night because the book you picked up is THAT good, who knows this feeling? Legendborn is exactly what put me into this situation for 3 nights in a row. The moment I picked it up and got entranced by this story influenced by Arthurian lore I had troubles remembering that I had work to do and other real-life things that needed my attention, like cooking food, sleeping, showering, etc. I was immediately absorbed in this book. <br /> <br />
Bree Matthews, the protagonist, is such a strong character. She does not let anybody discriminate her without calling them out on it, and sadly this happened a couple of times. Tracy Deonn puts a lot of Older White Men to shame in this book (and rightly so) and the pure truth behind these happenings, and that this occurs nowadays more often than we’d like to think, made me angry at the world. Bree, being only 16, has to struggle with so much already, and even though there are hints at a love triangle, this is only secondary to all her other problems and her trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. Her path to find out the truth about her heritage and her ancestry was filled with plot twists, some not even I could foresee (and I usually pride myself on being able on foreseeing A LOT). <br /> <br />
On another note, I have to admit, I felt like I saw some references to Twilight. Am I the only one? In the beginning I already got a Twilight meets Shadowhunters feeling when we got to meet Sel in the woods. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b>The Part That Might Contain Spoilers</b></h2>
</div>
<br />
But then on page 349 I felt absolutely given right with this passage:
“How would you like me to carry you? What would please you, Page Matthews?” (Sel)
[…] “Piggyback.” (Bree)
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Like that movie-“
“Shut up.”
And then Sel says after Bree crushed her forearm against his Adam’s apple: “I do need to breathe,” […] “I’m not actually a vampire.” <br /> <br />
I also felt a bit of fear about Nick and Bree, who I absolutely shipped from the beginning, because they “got together” so early in the book. I think it was in about the end of the first half when they first kissed and then I was immediately filled with dread because I’ve read too many stories where an early “coupling” is a very bad sign. Most often, something happens to one of the pair or there’s a love triangle that destroys the relationship or other things. Here, however, it felt quite appropriate and I can think of worse things that could have happened to the two of them (yes I know, Nick being kidnapped is definitely a bad thing!). But I mean, at least nothing big happened between Sel and Bree that could have immediately killed any hope for Bree and Nick’s future, … if you know what I mean. I am 100 per cent on team Nick + Bree! But I guess we will have to wait on the sequel to see how things continue! <br /><br />
The big plot twist I was talking about, that I could not foresee, was that Bree turned out to be Arthur’s heir. The moment Bree discovered this truth was filled with so much ancestral pain and to think that things like this probably happened so many times in those days is just dreadful. So many people today cannot trace back their line of ancestry for that many centuries (because they weren’t given the means to), and it pains me to think how many (slave) women/families have been faced with such evil. I figured that Bree’s ancestry would be somehow connected to Arthur, but I actually thought that she would turn out to be Lancelot’s heir or something of that sort. I am very excited to see how Bree will handle this Arthur heritage and of course her other heritage that comes with Rootscraft in the sequel!
<br /> <br />
I hope that for everyone who picks up Legendborn, this will become your new favourite book as it has become mine!
</div>
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<table id="questions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Have you read Legendborn? I could talk about this book for many more hours, and I’d love to hear what you think about it! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! Does anybody have any other Arthurian retellings recommendations? </span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-15805027813970980822020-10-29T11:44:00.002+01:002021-02-12T17:22:21.490+01:00Book Review: Catwoman<div class="separator" style="clear: center; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90dI9PABWvdyPuagIDB0n7sxkzJhz2PjNefD-4f9omwk3dniGdo4qH3JCD1UjK_6BTrLh-UGPtGaDsCPptSRt7B3TAGmfsUn08CQGesHPGqTZNRptJtlGXKozEA5JXb4Z6diKpTsVcuo/s320/Catwoman.jpg" width="138" /></div>
<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Catwoman<br />
<b>Author: </b>Sarah J. Maas<br />
<b>Series: </b>DC Icons #3<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Retellings<br />
<b>Publication: </b>August 9th, 2018<br />
<b>Pages: </b>384<br />
<b>Read:</b> October 2020</div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Illumicrate Special Edition in collaboration with Penguin<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Illumicrate<br /><i>I received a copy in a subscription box back in 2018</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<table id="summary">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2>
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">When the Bat's away, the Cat will play. It's time to see how many lives this cat really has. . . .
Two years after escaping Gotham City's slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking. Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing's undoing. In this third DC Icons book--following Leigh Bardugo's Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Marie Lu's Batman: Nightwalker--Selina is playing a desperate game of cat and mouse, forming unexpected friendships and entangling herself with Batwing by night and her devilishly handsome neighbor Luke Fox by day. But with a dangerous threat from the past on her tail, will she be able to pull off the heist that's closest to her heart?</span></h4>
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<h2>
<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wow, just wow! I haven't read a book this fast since I picked up Cinder at the beginning of the Corona lockdown back in February/March of this year. I am really absolutely thrilled about this book. I've read a lot of comments and reviews of people I know that don't feel the same way though, and I can understand them. This book is great, and for people who don't usually read comics or aren't very into the DC world, this is a perfect start to get into the story of one of Gotham's famous characters. But for people who read the comics and have followed DC for years this might not quite meet their expectations.
<br /><br />
To be honest, I haven't read that many Catwoman specific comics yet. Sadly! I think she's a great character and has a lot to offer, but I honestly know most about her from the TV series Gotham. That's the Selina Kyle I know. And who I compared this book's Selina to the entire time. So, I know the series might also not have depicted Catwoman's story in alliance with the comic origin story, but I feel like the general background of the character stayed true to the comics. Now, comparing Sarah J. Maas's Catwoman it gets a bit more abstract…
<br /><br />
First things first! I LOVE Sarah's writing and I'm so glad that she picked up this story arc! I love all her books and think she has a fantastic way of bringing a story to live and the characters closer to the readers. So I knew I had to read this book anyway just because she's the author. My love for DC just made this point better. Luckily, I can separate books from tv shows and comics so that I see them all as different entities, therefore I was not offended at all about anything, although a lot of readers take things like this very seriously. For me it doesn't really matter. If I read something and I think it's great even though it's different to what I already know, then I'm still happy about what I've read. That’s the great thing about comic characters: every author can take their own view on them and tell a different story and it doesn’t matter if that’s in form of a comic, graphic novel or a literature novel.
<br /><br />
The story is told from 2 perspectives: Selina Kyle’s and Luke Fox. Oh, and here’s another interesting character! The Luke Fox that I know so far, is the one from the tv series Batwoman. That version also has another totally different character background then in this book. Sadly, I don’t really know Luke’s background from the original comics either, so this was a nice surprise and a totally different take on his person. But the story being told from these two protagonists’s view gives it a lot of energy and Sarah maintains a great reading flow. Never at one point was the switch of POV inappropriate or gave me halt. Selina and Luke’s relationship / character developments on point! Their behaviour and relationship with their alter egos and then the parallel superhero vs vigilante entanglement was fun to follow and to see develop. Sarah brought up some really important topics like the impacts of PTSD and how Luke dealt with it (or didn’t manage to) and how it impacted his behaviour as Batwing.
<br /><br />
One point that probably bothered me a tiny bit was that this version of Catwoman seemed a bit power hungry. Not that that’s uncommon in Gotham, but the Catwoman I know (or imagine to know) would not want to be “The Lady of Gotham City” as in rule over the other lords of Gotham like for example Falcone. This just really seemed a bit out of character for me, but who knows, maybe this actually also happens in the comics? I need to find out!
</div>
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<table id="questions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Have you read Catwoman by Sarah J. Maas? I’d love to hear what you think about the book! Does anybody have any Catwoman comic recommendations? I know have to urge to read more about Catwoman and I might just have picked Catwoman with Halle Berry for the next movie night!!
</span></h4>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-76268042386731530512017-09-25T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-26T12:32:44.553+02:00#TheReadingQuest Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">The lovely Aentee @ <a href=”https://readatmidnight.com/”>Read at Midnight</a> organised this challenge and the amazing CW @ <a href=”https://readthinkponder.wordpress.com/”>Read, Think, Ponder</a> created the stunning artwork. Once again thank you for all the fun!<br /><br />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.
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I managed to <b>level up</b> once and I gained a couple of health points. I had a lot of fun running down the <i>Mage’s</i> 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?</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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!<br /><br />If you’re interested here’s my <a href=”http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/07/thereadingquest-sign-up.html”>Sign Up Post</a> 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 <b>collect points and level up</b>. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>What Did I Read?</h2></div><br />
<table id="questtitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">A book set in a different world</span></h3>
</th>
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<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdqqJcu2vgciDtyWvi3E-1FtS_W1WUwZPdO_iX4rZ8Jhr2CEWbuHZSPwe1sy5Bsku5WLJmK9xWYKGNMpoayvUJ1m_7dbIQ0d89zUQQUiVLyedPF11M75EdeayYnbbHDIE31sMWsiwt-Y/s200/A+Court+of+Mist+and+Fury.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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 <b>so good</b>! <a href=”http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-review-acomaf.html”>Here’s my full and very lengthy review.</a> Might I convince anyone to do a buddy read with me for<i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i>?<br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 624/624<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">A book based on mythology</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR61A_7tetMzT-qgphyphenhypheniqCS1Qu0PF4qcY6QyUTu87qPj4O4R4m5xeWDd82glPRJ_4ojHdaPZjN048mFDeOCPBzR0wOl1ZWl6beL6eBkgnOxNx2Uh81L4VKeUYtsXVNtqhUjKBdnhICvq8/s200/The+Hidden+Oracle.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I’m a huge <b>Rick Riordan</b> 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 <i>Percy Jackson’s</i> world? <br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 359/359<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<table id="questtitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Expansion: Read a companion novel or short story</span></h3>
</th>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
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<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJd80gOItWazGnU_Ug-9LjcbpmDUH3NYmdCwcUScbtz-ko3a-24yCY1nLmodOt2RHm4-yEczIL4avc-xl2PEbfGiGupXiClYRPTeVIQffp50uTgQz07mTpQb1Z_Wdj0sJ-R6WdoPYXJ0/s200/The+Tales+Of+Beedle+The+Bard.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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 <i>Septa Unella</i> shout repeatedly “Shame”?) <br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 109/109<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<table id="questtitle">
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The first book of a series</span></h3>
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<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfE9lQwb7R3QpnzvQEMGYTnyYkWy61ZEc69CaH7AIj7RWRPDHG9kn12Z2xua4S4iE5ion8uPYFn5Hx9oSCgSs51gxUZmcNflVB-wMhFtqD8QIQZUAaEboCjA0UeSPx73vtKYrsvsmVlx8/s200/Throne+of+Glass.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Oh this one. I LOVED this one! It took me ages to finally start the <i>Throne of Glass</i> 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: <b>Chaol and Celaena</b> 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..)
<br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 404/404<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<table id="questtitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">A book with a one word title</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
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<tbody>
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<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eillyJtiILX6Dfl4Zoe9kkSY8u2y5dnn6K4eyr8aHtz3sSlfej1jL7V0JeM08_GAGiIO_ss1Qp8T7CUjiVpr_Sg3KBvsxyPo-q9ZO29oGaFgTJ3n2crk-VsX0q8_HdcXeGsp9IT10-g/s200/Anyone.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the first <b>audiobook</b> 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. <br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 326/326<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<table id="questtitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Multiplayer: Buddy read a book</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAkBBzPJi_lEE58iasPKJcIE4ZT6jSzCnmtkywUmf1eG4kIuZUChruXFXjYNu6gn8vkfkd9AzoMNMhIFxYnArSyXna_iGw8Yt3j0bOvGzORRrOtyhBCcrJog5YeokspmxrZ4AmzP0zPw/s200/Glass+Sword.jpg" width="132" />
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.
<br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 144/440<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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<table id="questtitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Grind: A book with 500+ pages</span></h3>
</th>
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<th><img align="middle" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" hspace="20" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApZJbc4los1WA_5dOcDPUkcd1NzLoHl6FaN9dw9Gwbya4KT4_mPqYI-HoJTBB0F_a2LrDa-WKc4ZGzCXHAiVDZDV9_phndwYpvDcSb0JykG_CgRSOpVQC5vymFof8N-wLjxYXnWKj1q0/s200/The+Final+Empire.jpg" width="132" />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I didn’t get far with the first book in the <i>Final Empire</i> 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..
<br /><br /><b>Pages:</b> 50/721<br /><b>Marginalised Author:</b> No</span></h4>
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In total I read <b>2016 pages</b> and finished <b>5 books</b>. I also managed to collect <b>11 points</b> using the <b>social media interaction bonus points</b>. In the next few weeks I’m going to post the remaining reviews and I can’t wait to discuss the books in <b>full detail</b> 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 <i>your</i> Wrap Up posts!
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-3270888957572257792017-09-24T17:00:00.000+02:002017-09-24T17:00:33.367+02:00Down The TBR Hole #5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDeBjoqh6U-dbKC0_WRH3PBlWzhuUdkeE9nT-5h8_bfIgf-Y6QYG-Oc2TYrh5stLPDO7rpKbhU2psNeip8NlSfbw1n2MgCn2INBJq1TecH_jOKgJTs18eOB62tP9RLxN5s6oY_2xjfQM/s1600/Down+the+tbr+hole.png" /></div>
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This meme created by Lia @ <a href="https://lostinastory.blog/" target="_blank">Lost in a Story</a> helps me go through my <i>to-read</i> 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 <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/07/down-tbr-hole-1.html">Down The TBR Hole #1</a> - 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.<br /><br />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 <b>physical-to-read</b>. There I’ll be shelving all the books I currently own, but haven’t read yet.</div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#51 The Elite</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjo3mFPNF8pg_BVr2dD3ewr7tHV0KRQxQKi89FAxvLkaolfBkd7FCcxAjYokQQTkJcFQgroq4h29tKh4fyPfCpYch7YS7zCA7IhIoeSDplE3GCGSD_pwW_1fnvOTKgFtBZHm8h_qRni6Q/s200/The+Elite.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#52 The Pointless Book</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLbQFcsIvg9u09WYIeXG7UBGi3mtw2_hbo2-lGgheoy_D_96FZhj5aF2LsUPlcMmNPYvARFIQlLSdjT5wCo3ofA6UYuUzBQ_kocuDqoHnCwgmampXgE_wsTaC5mefY3Dk0hEpmam6Gic/s200/The+Pointless+Book.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#53 Hopeless</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK1v4VY2eYBg20JlPW4ZOLYc7wuBaYpMgN4muebLCLVn8Cy9QmWIFq1u9qrIaYS55oR378qZRMoZca8h7aBPgW-yEpNpHk_Dy0TLDSUYvmkhUfFEiFNIPksyiEbt7f_jdi-OqtJwrnzw/s200/Hopeless.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#54 The Immortal Rules</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OI7LO_oa3pb6kmzIrg4pvfm1w9a7Zhg5rizf_g5r6NxM03YETicPm36yoGDI-zT9hpOoQMZOFKLUZ9obFS90Z0iWcpoZFmejqa576d8sRfA2RAAeeLqXLhHyfkU3KbEcrPLbhnokXZc/s200/The+Immortal+Rules.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#55 The Shock of the Fall</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOu0z_kCPNtvrZ6qgTYhyzOYkHxFP3nHMRQYuzE2arZ2yJtz3MxpByc06gUbEfw8WGZ8kLwuTNzb2ovGoerPgTfgu48OsobcudLRJn7hyQdGHKVdd7EuPTQAJ8H7YJPSu6iWD175jrQ0w/s200/The+Shock+of+the+Fall.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#56 Matched</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyt9baqVcAeOQ4l_BDpd3y8GZa6lBnaMbAfg940099Cydhl4RPX4s-yJ6jg6N2OOlNgK5qXwCbJkx2p9Akvt78EOm2WAMjw_4iaN2hW2Z25LDylbBWOyzlGsV7c4ewrRseZtqkeW8lFVo/s200/Matched.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#57 Hunting Lila</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVXOfbI9ERRU4FT6sFMg5FhV3W_CloIyTKnpzv51F6sIca_TCubCKkXA7JBANckoI8jm55s_URMQdT6hGCx3J_zkj-aPBaOQdo8fwVVW0uJM58hQo4bE8tTd7G1EQHM_lo8HoYLkE5QA/s200/Hunting+Lila.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#58 Incarnate</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlTjsXlABOAxJX9VXb3sk3ZUuVnB0PAwJoIavg5fmkuRiHZlK_F8vZJJAxRs3csVAvs3UzSNXewyoJqef6a76JrUbgIJ-HySKbEM_VyxAg5nlala5Pog-Bs_WD0Edq-Jib-86VAvq9jg/s200/Incarnate.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#59 The Winner's Curse</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL4uA0CjMPJCmC3v5RvwXI-16UodBrGXc0eaDZ4PYBHDcGHC2mQ2RrZLmf_H5V7OxsLTnpMEcfOoNE_OQdPVDiFOvxjFjfHrnjBWDN8hUySHOMN7m43uU894cPYvUq7Ch8AdCXSND23U/s200/The+Winner%2527s+Curse.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#60 Winnie-the-Pooh</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkFMD2Ukhmx5PxZi6b7cObn0eQQi1D6wy8hrt9gRF4Xq6SPjnzghLxT7_ige6FJ1Kg1et4lFz4_7U0Jkg9T0RrnV3TJ-jd0NXQaUKKcxpsH-dMoGG3KMgUBDgHTSHxIK68LdW6YamToE/s200/Winnie-the-Pooh.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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So this is today's <b>Down The TBR Hole</b>. 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?
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-20829263628165566822017-09-22T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-22T10:00:06.567+02:00Comic Book Review: Runaways #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSPbbUOZjN6v4yWZruwN0WbB6tObdkKOJru392mC0h2WuDbaaSUdRG6xTSMteFFzjD17JeUDO86mI2oCc_3Uw2ZUm6Wk_gNQyxGMPE78l70aRpTjJch0g8cyHRy5K6huUPNrXMxkBx-g/s1600/CBR+Runaways+%25231.png" /></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIttGIMLUcvF88biKWmScZ3EldLvWG4LeyVDXHdT5_zXGdM9_uvXTqfcnLSI1mGKXg9z6C3s98eZZpqAoGzm6HEJMzBpOEWnbOG6JHkHZBbkrV8KFpjCq6AofL6sUbddNzJGR1kATbuI/s200/Runaways+Single+%25231.jpg" width="138" /></div><br />
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<b>About the comic book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Find Your Way Home<br />
<b>Series: </b>Runaways (2017 - #)<br />
<b>Author: </b>Rainbow Rowell<br />
<b>Artist: </b>Kris Anka<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Comics, Marvel, Superheroes<br />
<b>Publication: </b>September 13th, 2017<br />
<b>Pages: </b>18<br />
<b>Read:</b> September 2017</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Marvel Comics<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Single<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Kabooom Comic Store, Zurich<br /></div>
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<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirG5iEy2aKPrJgDAQeOsdk2pQge04TisakDT0pCtpt_Utuiyp3egpcbPnIU6D8_6EDLEGzBSD5u8mnZig3lNO02cfK1hlDPsvALtVJ278IsVafITOTRGdl5R6fNFAcqlP1gQVSYmRog3M/s1600/4.5star.png" /></div>
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">Goodreads Summary</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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!</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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This is my first time picking up a <i>Runaways’</i> 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 <b>pull list</b><sup><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5889124149747947506#fn1" id="ref1">1</a></sup>. (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.
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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 <i>Runaways</i> are dead, but this issue already reunites some of the old gang, even those believed dead.
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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.
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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.
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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!</span></h4>
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<sup id="fn1">1 A <b>pull list</b> (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.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5889124149747947506#ref1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">"↩"</a></sup>Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-83631121085258002002017-09-19T16:05:00.000+02:002017-09-19T16:06:26.043+02:00Top Ten Tuesday #6: Ten Books On My Fall TBR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank">Top Ten Tuesday</a> is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </i></div><br />
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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 <b>intend</b> to read, but probably won’t (at least some), this fall. <br /><br />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.
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#10 VIRALS</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-PWOV8pLBedum0m0n1sEy2CixbJRnVErGXCvIkr3BuA-2wuSMLlNaBLsRZGaFoEZL7r1hQp95yFZlABzNeIiu71ZE1ERQXMvPKJiRtKPIBwmHi8PwP1U9GZIf3YqnJP8GAbtVy2MQH4/s200/Virals.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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 <i>read shelf</i>). So yeah, those brackets actually sum it up. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#9 NIGHTMARES!</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfc78f_Y2O-0gHv7DxvHISF-dJ2Di_Kwm5p6SBwh1dbtzpXKCPJ7VAEYHTMRtfDCRNLW6tN793qtvSzZfO0q_a0ZthqIIKQ7T4rSMfjipt4pXWC_AYfOirHVq0eB0Hy0SYD7QKdv6uA8/s200/Nightmares%2521.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#8 REBELLION</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPzcshWQ3bmPJpjtgcaImgMqoTKxQeBdHEehQ9HijeuBcXPcxf9dNwQes3fZK9QVfLKAZeMspnsTMr_Al8Oi5fqfr8GxNFYjhguM_77pbA6eN2ZwMtDQVbF5e71GZ-3Pwl_BHN8nPrKY/s200/Rebellion.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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 <i>The Hundred</i> 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 <b>finally</b> be back??).<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#7 THE JOURNAL OF CURIOUS LETTERS</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqVD8hvrhD0g-srDsWCGA0zfu_KGeSeYKLIxeuJoMYMeaciIEOYvqigC-X6FVV77jkqui1vOPLdZdXGkqhVgvztUXgYEqPirhX0Cobbi1aRytcHXp2E6h6IFMnUu4BfSGidV-vtbiGjs/s200/The+Journal+of+Curious+Letters+NG.png" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The other <i>James Dashner</i> 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.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#6 THESE BROKEN STARS</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8N7JrP-JmrIMEZQE9PXgkIZBLu5MNmceS78mzTV7D4byXF9NpjgwIuBNArLqqxROzWlqbAPgy2u2RB8EMn_cRI4xEU-GZ_kxUXtYmDed410skonRrIznv_CnjPbjyAmwpeZDSyaN8sq0/s200/These+Broken+Stars.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#5 THE EYE OF MINDS</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_CUkTGOcvbg3ojotNR8gieQJjSX4WlNwpVMnzfuvW4_Omakg4Cfw8pMNG4uY99ygF88BDXQN5OQpLol6tCDDXAnYPJNuoGT_65EXagE2uanaIpry-KD_LjmZ-Bb6oygK3IosRf5uISs/s200/The+Eye+of+Minds.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the first book of one of the two series by <b>James Dashner</b> 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. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#4 CINDER</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0B9zEJBPIwomoBMXPFsD0kl9sB92aI0lHZIi9Vk1dmxUBPV9JZtfR004NLqe8zM7wN5zWh5xKx9beXcHNmop5ifspPvhyphenhyphenqkL3EImNUz-HHjCixPeVERdejW-ODJ2QhmTibPxkmfN3gQ/s200/Cinder.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Cinder</i> 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.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#3 FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFwiQpfRvnZKbIqVDwfX8uclgMUJTSGxx0aMiGwIYIUeLoBpcR-zSVCGE261ZWvxehiHyUFSh_LLlvM2fjkYdwQ9k72MwVBbwVa3PCxNvGl-f-qrkOiwi6ZwYyapspeDIafMAxdXZPFA/s200/Fantastic+Beasts+Screenplay.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.<br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#2 A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaGm_xM-5X4wEztIRJVbI4BMlpEJe1Q5jijIZUdfB8skb79R0oEhZ2RAGMAGibQt1KsT0_gSit6rjnj-2_KaZ3BrqwuAIWeIu5EZzzutFVWKmWEZaIBAIAbFRvMLAD12p6lEIGRgffHI/s200/A+Court+of+Wings+and+Ruin.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I read <i>A Court of Mist and Fury</i> 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. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#1 WARCROSS</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBfxAa2telb7EVx3gRSyOsxKP37Po8PC2wd5Wg1OeYKsyOxJrk1O5e_9YAuhIuQ7bx5ufQYGeR9Qt9zA4Q3Qlk2vMlWtbepe6pH-AYkvvBqpEPNEjPfdh3cXaHok78nqqaNw-kbHh8Jg/s200/Warcross.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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 <i>The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue</i> I’m going to devour <b>Warcross</b>. I really enjoyed Marie Lu’s <i>Legend</i> series and I hope this will live up to my expectations. <br /></span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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 <i>Warcross</i>. Link me up to your TTT posts so that I can check 'em out! :) Have a lovely Tuesday xx
</div>
<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-27904646797023309602017-09-16T20:00:00.000+02:002017-09-16T21:23:09.279+02:00Stacking The Shelves #11: The I Went Overboard Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="397" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxCaX3J6fBmzvK1RoTYKn8I0emlnDA-hEHlTfLhj6mftOZuHcd8YYJYp-G-vMrEbfMcy-d4qXO5YLvuj9HnHuKwiaHjtNe4k12K7MLfiQ2n7wbB_Vuh-ZpR2GNC-13tAQa1aOQbJEDSg/s320/Stacking+The+Shelves.png" width="320" /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="text-align: justify;">"<a href="http://tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking The Shelves</a> </i><span style="text-align: justify;">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</span><a href="http://tyngasreviews.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"> Tynga's Reviews</a><span style="text-align: justify;">.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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 <b>full bags</b> 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 <i>Runaways</i> 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 :/
<br /><br />
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 <i>13th Reality</i> series being up there for grabs that I just couldn’t resist.
<br /><br />
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 (<i>The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue</i>) and I finally got my <i>Warcross</i> copy!! So yeah, I’ve added quite some reading material this week.
</div><br />
<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Goodies</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyDPZeEXarYFQ0d7PhdrixWgEcvXXT0o4hQuMgfccX1cCJM8GfDy29lQ31Hl1SkQaAwQocEgiKouDCle49wwl0WI-UMg1TrXI5pmJkNuWp5stj8-4I_H4oVB2JkRK9y1aq7MXnMtdtkQ/s200/Runaways+Single+%25231.jpg" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92cFAB1yqRX1ykWnraHl7QF4Ok912OEoLtJdX-d86ZG-o5U5emJnPL4nIP88lMEbbbNmcyLMvZJQr_Y8ND-7KUkAFsZsgGKe11YLgcpQkM8tYvA5tJouPqidqinuo7paLbO8aJqP57rY/s200/Gotham+Academy+SS+Vol+1.jpg" width="128" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHK_ufHWxrQ-VI5W0RdgbagqVAPbXt7nTWISC4A2zjykChii93s0ZtU6L8NCOI3IVwaQLh45rzQfQZPith_KgF1-4IVx7oV4i0HyGZ1aTxxQcm-jbIwn8aB0mkMVXu0oLt8xjzRgQ70E/s200/Superman+Action+Comics+Rebirth+Vol+3.jpg" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKVETk5U139BJnrMQ4qAu_2dZaMKIyGLoGGrPPyooZViMS6r7YuLLlybpaA-RRz9l8ia0mc_OBQYz0MXjZx5LkzbGrPGbN65zjvKfidpord3Z_JAETdjVHbIX_Iq43YLeL_V-D2O3aDE/s200/Ms+Marvel+7.jpg" width="130" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">1. Runaways #1 by Rainbow Rowell <br />2. Gotham Academy: Second Semester, Volume 1: Welcome Back by Brenden Fletcher <br />3. Superman Action Comics (Rebirth), Volume 3: The Men of Steel<br />4. Ms. Marvel, Volume 7: Damage Per Second<br /></div>
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<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">For Review</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YZUE93L3kWFhB0YENRXyJL9V8H6ngDSEOpovonCZc8zquSWiQ28YJnz7Jhm3iHOgb_rCqwQdwg_Zw8Y81pu0O3mTIBf-ZR_DyzB7sOWrl3DVIRoQpQ1lnYVCsIuQ83ETJxagJ36aE18/s200/Noble+Vol+1.png" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="256" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKlr_1AczMn23fQk613KmlCggoCspC4Eqo6YxX9hFJz4SnR560j42nlXK9FqAewx7T39GQU1VgUnlzUqZMZCEISImzg100efWuZBOAVqPElSGC9Hc-6ijAz5NSuH1_A2_l7zaPii_6Ac/s200/Charmed.png" width="128" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kl8YD4-Vz61kv1mipc0bUCvRAa9ZMnhK_HFBO4LWpahcWQ06xWdxdj8-vNgS3K1jEH-AZmbzUfCwkMEK5JusL5V9Bp8GSEewLFvP8I_KV_-SxtVuBHsfODXnGVl5TSkFztmxdgEXrxM/s200/The+Journal+of+Curious+Letters+NG.png" width="129" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">5. Noble, Volume 1 by Brandon Thomas<br />6. Charmed: A Thousand Deaths by Erica Schultz<br />7. The 13th Reality: Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner<br />
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<table id="tttitle">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Bought</span></h3>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0OlBQjkIlFu58vEefBxy0IkyVTlxaEkjQ54hgpH9xtvtFE07t8JPQjn_H7i-zq3hqYn5v0z_lZq42IhcsSGSkauGPTktX3TL0ou7tFFsAZWb4x_fp5WM_GjY8kY1_0b7eZLvYWQgzPY/s200/Warcross.jpg" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1n-Ls_HTgrSEccu4ZdsSGk7ky9x1Viq82liyxpg_4ywZ32YFLDiMG5A9zfddjAPtDvpBgENJgsfBTqMigX6HhiHKrGCsRqY3qMv9LcellxHMZdMIvCGHTkbP0Me-huxXzO2MGzLq0fdU/s200/The+Gentleman%2527s+guide+to+vice+and+virtue.jpg" width="131" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">8. Warcross by Marie Lu<br />9. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee<br /></div><br />
<table id="ttquestions">
<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 5px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">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! :)</span></h4>
</th>
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-42834306135886420392017-09-14T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-14T10:00:27.185+02:00Book Review: Flame in the Mist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhtyE2MN1iPiZKkmPFwEmwOoZ0r9qdhq2A0sX6PIxpoMZawfNAcE8rSThEyG1jr56rrQCEFyz0WOsN6YGU4_dNl9l4RE5p6rrUN-ABZYp5FOCgi0Zkvf_qV5MxLkZGZHWBe8KYi62IVI/s1600/BR+Flame+in+the+Mist.png" /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2ShXEnbrgV0oUveN5o33pyRNmOI6zOYoDkll-836zXi04OkCFVYiBo54J-xF3atP5yf9vZqeUNI9Wkv7blVCeL-ugOHNh7RcxFcnoW6SbGmxCmaln9oe7HWyPfC-yj_YPJMEUooa7Fk/s200/Flame+in+the+Mist.jpg" width="138" /></div>
<h2>
<b>About the book</b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Title: </b>Flame in the Mist<br />
<b>Author: </b>Renee Ahdieh<br />
<b>Series: </b>Flame in the Mist #1<br />
<b>Genres: </b>Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings<br />
<b>Publication: </b>May 16th, 2017<br />
<b>Pages: </b>416<br />
<b>Read:</b> August 2017</div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Ebook<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>NetGalley<br /><i>I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review</i></div>
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<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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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 <b>LOVE</b> 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).
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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.
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And the probably most important reason that made it so hard for me to enjoy reading <i>Flame in the Mist</i>: <b>I do not like the protagonist</b>. 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.)
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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 <b>wow-effect</b> 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.
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My favourite quote from the book is very inspiring and I love it!
<blockquote><q>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</q></blockquote>
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<b>The Part That Might Contain Spoilers</b></h2>
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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 <i>Black Clan</i> although she thought of them as dangerous murderers. Let’s face it, if they were exactly how she imagined them, <b>she wouldn’t have survived 5 minutes with them. </b>
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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 <i>find myself at peace with this</i> because Mulan also managed to hide that (and it’s also kind of bothering me there so…).
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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...
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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 <i>Ahdieh</i> 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 <i>The Wrath and the Dawn</i> series that’s still on my tbr… </div>
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 15px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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?
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<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-7724296425022319392017-09-13T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-13T10:00:18.869+02:00Waiting On Wednesday: Turtles All The Way Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0RSMTuhBEGSYsSffl5Y7-jtgFJJkEjdkEZCR8IYwmW2cgFhD4U5uM5XX90lYodw3gPlTja6uRPNIH4BmytinwovnolkYdLbzRu-r8jSRwbVCop8fSlzJmWYyZT7xbo0uz8slZCnn0C8/s1600/Waiting+On+Wednesday.png" /></div>
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<i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;">"Waiting On Wednesday</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> is a weekly event hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ch/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;" target="_blank">Breaking the Spine</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating."</span></div>
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My choice for this week is <b>Turtles All The Way Down</b> by <i>John Green</i>. <br />
Expected Publication Date: October 10th, 2017</div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5M3z5pIcOEJYEJE09C5hUFrGqURiRVDRQciS4BxrjN_4VFfvlEMsi1WnbIMCWt5iq5Y4ziAGXMsXwllJ6rpMX9FIrV169Q1q4Y2LU6RJpB4YzuP68Jn_0aYC3gXyoA_4Pl8bdzMsjy8/s320/Turtles+All+The+Way+Down.jpg" width="211" /></div>
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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.</span></h4>
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Why I'm so excited about this book?</h2></div>
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So far I’ve read all of John Green’s books except for <i>Will Grayson Will Grayson</i> and Let it snow. I loved each story and they all made me look at the world a little different. Especially <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> 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 <b>immediately</b> 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). </div><br />
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Other books by John Green I reviewed</h2>
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<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-review-looking-for-alaska.html">Looking For Alaska</a><br />
This review belongs to one of my first on this blog. Therefore pleeeeasseeeee forgive me for the old and gruesome layout of the page.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">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. :)</span></h4>
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Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-40835695788200798192017-09-08T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-08T10:00:09.883+02:00Book Review: ACOMAF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh284DsqyJcBPTrKOJFqDCkpo1Ap2AMcSVu4z5HMFEgIjZt_d6aZR7Tb1KcE3ppSOtdNOngxRLQ5yQJwV-yn3VtmKspLVsxPqdyDTCP1jjJvNek_FnP9HuAjyGlhxWoAkMVVjNKLoZ14qM/s1600/BR+ACOMAF.png" /></div>
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<b>About the book</b></h2>
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<b>Title: </b>A Court Of Mist And Fury<br />
<b>Author: </b>Sarah J. Maas<br />
<b>Series: </b>A Court Of Thorns And Roses #2<br />
<b>Genres: </b>High Fantasy, New Adult, Romance<br />
<b>Publication: </b>May 3rd, 2016<br />
<b>Pages: </b>626<br />
<b>Read:</b> August 2017</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966;">My Copy</span></b></h2>
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Publisher: </b>Bloomsbury<br />
<b>Edition: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Purchase Location: </b>Book Depository</div>
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<b>My Rating:</b></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.</span></h4>
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<b>My Spoiler Free Review</b></h2>
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It’s finally time to sit down and write this review. I think I can keep my emotions in check for a little while. Looking back at my review of <i>A Court of Thorns And Roses</i> I feel like it doesn’t deserve the four star rating I gave it. It should have maybe been a half star (if not an entire star) less. Alas, I can’t change that (and it wouldn’t be fair to do so). The rating I’d give the first book now has nothing to do with Sarah J Maas’ writing per se, honestly she’s am amazingly talented woman and her writing is wonderful. But I realised that I just didn’t enjoy the book enough for a 4-star rating and should have been honest with myself back then. <br />
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The sequel <i>A Court of Mist and Fury</i> however blew all the winds out of my whistle. Bare with me please ‘cause I’ve got a feeling this review is going to be rather of the very long sort which you won’t be used to by me. <br />
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Some of you might know that I had a rough time reading the first book in the series because I picked a wrong time to start reading it (and I like to moan about that, too). Therefore, I didn’t have all too high expectations for the second book, but so many people pushed me to read it that I finally caved in and ordered it online. Last month I found the perfect time to take this book on vacation with me and <b>I could not stop reading!</b>.<br />
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At the beginning I still clung on to the feelings I had for the first book, but then everything changed. When the first book felt a little slow paced, the second book in the ACOMAF series actually made me savour the tranquility of the plot. There were so many plot twists going on and the hundreds of pages and chapters were absolutely necessary to make the character development much more outstanding. You could literally feel them evolving and certain characters like <i>Rhysand</i> that I never thought I would like turned out to become one of my favourites. <br />
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The way that Sarah J Maas deals with posttraumatic stress disorder is truly amazing. It’s such an important part for the ending of ACOTAR and honestly I can’t remember another series where this was fully discussed in the way Maas does it here. It’s a very important part of the background and follows Feyre on every page, but it’s never called out word for word for what it is. And still, everybody knows what’s happening (and with everybody I mean us readers because clearly some characters didn’t acknowledge that, but my anger with those characters will be discussed in the spoilery part of the review). <br />
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With the new adventures in this book there come a lot of new characters, and I had a hard time at first keeping up with all of them. But they all grew into my heart and their part of the story felt so much more alive than the introduction of Tamlin or Lucien in the first book ever seemed like. <br />
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<q>Feyre: “Can’t you ever just call someone by a given name?” - p. 208</q></blockquote>
So yeah, I feel like I need to stop with the spoiler free part of my review before I get too carried away. I still can’t believe that the series took such a turn for the positive. And I recommend everybody who disliked the ACOTAR should definitely give <i>A Court of Mist and Fury</i> another chance because that was the best decision I ever made book-wise. </div>
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<b>The Part That Might Contain Spoilers</b></h2>
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Okay first off: <b>YOU CANNOT IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT IN TAMLIN</b>. Sorry for yelling, but I had to get that out there. He was so sensitive and friendly and kind in the first book and truly made me like him over any other character. And then this happened. Of course he’s got his own problems and suffers as much as Feyre with PTSD, but still, to ignore her emotions like that and then LOCKING HER UP? Nopes, never going to forgive him. And especially not for siding with the King of Hypern. It’s his fault that my favourite ship was ripped apart and how could he ignore the fact that they were ACTUAL MATES. Something as precious as that should even have sunken into his head that Feyre just wasn’t ment for him. <br />
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<q>Feyre: “I’m thinking that I was a lonely, hopeless person, and I might have fallen in love with the first thing that showed me a hint of kindness and safety. And I’m thinking maybe he knew that - maybe not actively, but maybe <i>he</i> wanted to be that person for someone. And maybe that worked for who I was before. Maybe it doesn’t work for who - what I am now." - p.156</q></blockquote>
Also I’m rather disappointed in Lucien, too. But I can’t wait how it will continue with him now that I know that he’s Elain’s mate. Very interesting plot twist (one of hundreds here). Oh and when we’re already on the subject, can we mention that I need Nesta to be Cassian’s mate? And then Azriel and Mor can end up happily ever after, too. (Do not dare pop my dream bubbles yet, please, I haven’t gotten to start reading <i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i> yet and I’ve managed to stay unspoilered so far). <br />
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I really like Mor and she’s an amazing character and I wish to read more about her in the next book. Also I feel like we didn’t get enough information about Azriel yet. We only know little about his path and I need some further explanation on why he hasn’t told Mor about his feelings in the past 500 YEARS! <br />
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I hope that we will get to hear more about Tarquin as the series goes on because he’s such a lovely character (from as much as I’ve read about him so far) and I feel like his court could also make for some very interesting stories. Somehow I feel like he could have been a very good match for Feyre, but seeing as that would interfere with my OTP I have to put those thoughts aside.<br />
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And now let’s finally get into it. The OTP of the series. The OTP that outshines the OTP we all couldn’t get over in the first book. <b>Rhysand + Feyre</b>. Do you know how I struggled through all those painful moments where they almost got together, but pulled back right before anything could happen? The build up of their relationship was phenomenal! Kudos to Sarah J Maas! And I knew that something bad would happen when they got together with about 100 pages still to come. The ending had me all torn up and my anger about Tamlin just came all back. <br />
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But back to the incredible power couple: When Rhysand explained his entire past to Feyre I think a part of me broke inside. It all made so perfect sense and lets so many moments from ACOTAR come back to life in a whole new light. All his doings had a reason and to realise that he knew for so long that she was his mate and not tell anybody anything makes me so emotional about it. These two NEED a happy ending and I’ll be damned if they don’t get it!
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<q>Feyre: “I wonder if some part of me knew what was waiting for me. That I would never be a gentle grower of things, or someone who burned like fire - but that I would be quiet and enduring and as faceted as the night. That I would have beauty, for those who knew where to look, and if people didn’t bother to look, but to only fear it … Then I didn’t particularly care for them, anyway. I wonder if, even in my despair and hopelessness, I was never truly alone. I wonder if I was looking for this place - looking for you all.” - p. 488</q></blockquote></div>
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<h2>
<b>Check Out My Previous Reviews</b></h2>
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#1 A Court Of Thorns And Roses (<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/02/mini-book-reviews-acotar-carry-on.html">My Review</a>)</div>
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So as you can see I have a LOT of feelings about this book and it’s definitely one of my favourite reads this year. I’m not sure if there will come many books that can top this one, but I hope the series does continue on this great path. Sarah J. Maas has just become a new favourite author of mine as I’m also reading the Throne of Glass series and loving it. What are your thoughts on ACOMAF? Is there anything I didn’t mention in my review that we want to discuss further? I’m open to as many impressions and thoughts of yours and even hour long discussions if you’d like because I still can’t stop thinking about this book. Let me know what you thought in the comments! </div>
<br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-36239094391585669472017-09-03T10:00:00.000+02:002017-09-03T10:00:09.101+02:00Down The TBR Hole #4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This meme created by Lia @ <a href="https://lostinastory.blog/" target="_blank">Lost in a Story</a> helps me go through my <i>to-read</i> shelf on Goodreads and sort out the books that I feel no longer belong there. Check out my first post I made in for this meme <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/07/down-tbr-hole-1.html">Down The TBR Hole #1</a> - there you’ll also find the guidelines about how to do this if you want to join. How many books will I be able to remove today?</div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#41 Scarlet</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdM2YzGKQTTVykn2QTH7d87wv4MSgmaYFXSx7eIKgeqaEXuGb1Z8GGgJ48XOU0qLJo7rNbBE1gOXSDxeEeK-o4xqk8rCE0CvZAcX0bAkAbfqjKhU8TDF9Kn3vkaQ3r2pzBakYNlBXuvhg/s200/Scarlet.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I can’t wait to start this series! I ordered the first book in the <i>Lunar Chronicles</i> a week ago from <i>Book Depository</i> and it’s going to arrive soon. I’ve heard so many great things about <i>Cinder</i> so I basically have no doubt that I’ll like it too. Because of this I no longer have to keep this on my tbr.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#42 The Felloship of the Ring</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NPi7wGgORFYTl0pL9cwte2TeC6b_ALZyjCOAA0nmZtvYlGAuxCgA9FZgzIlBDaiEHwnKikvRsqf3l7IYwV3uk9IKTELrbF4AKUEwBY9ylsMom3vL2vvw6swd5lIOgj4Z2fHo0hnJ4DY/s200/The+Fellowship+of+the+Ring.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I’m going to blame my unreadiness to decide on which edition to buy for not having read this yet. I love Tolkien’s world and I know so much about it which makes it so much more of a shocker that I haven’t read <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> yet. But I know that I WILL read this, so I can take it of my tbr shelf because I’ll never forget about it.<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#43 We Were Liars</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaXg-Y2QPWG_zL6PhJHNgFbA8jxdnE77ylA3hb2RVyRfUdogmr12kajfcH5zeiZSombuVYGfkW-Rizssf7EytepOgH03ArWiUKKdBtsBPSzSi06O2Thd4T4S8wRrcE5pHOavvNmM9qFU/s200/We+were+liars.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I might pick this up if I come across it in a bookstore, but I do not feel the need to read it right now.<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#44 Cress</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhxpt0-u7XFYt5Ur9gUSEwC9Lq39xeFsIRv2WveQKM-pl-8yzDS3B56o-z87xLkKNj62WUsGat6p7WOzzVqznhAdZTvCKx_BMJNPwBLzJKk37aSjU110HwlSam4R1jeS8OUhc7Zzwhh4/s200/Cress.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The same goes for Cress as it went for <i>Scarlet</i>. Can't wait to start this series. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#45 Angelfall</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjsW3vPP9UtNpL9CSkDTZG2j1s5PFH5WDsNNiaZnM7wMTj8OZoS4EoMN0FpCBRQCmJz7PRRk6LD2YpmyWKFd_SCnOo38o5H-YFb_SJMmF7zSrGyilAOBYJgncYmJxN32mMl41B9oLzQQ/s200/Angelfall.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I had this book already on my tbr (in my mind) before I even was on Goodreads. A dystopia mixed with Angels, how exciting does that sound? I haven’t read any good angel stories since Cynthia Hand’s <i>Unearthly</i> series anyway, so I should try this one, right?
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#46 Uglies</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZGzKoIWxhK3XrJ57GteGs5S_Ehdu-Kb6Wogg-vbFbi3XXL3cpvX-HGoydTz5MQSGwTMd9WqZAADmERaZ6f0WQv66SpuF3KDXyc9B3CrB9KcKS4LxzDQfDS4t741a6QIxXfBWO5wzF8A/s200/Uglies.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This sounds like such a bad idea. The idea of actually having to have an operation to turn pretty shows how messed up that world’s point of view is. I’m not sure if I’d feel comfortable reading that, but it’s another dystopian series so I’m going to keep it on my tbr a little while longer. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#47 Gone</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6QM39HLCwb29uz_lNA-qNAZGC5fVgwg-5hJ2pCLeK_LVsSpWfIFCyMu86G8hjbLV1U0TgX8Ryp-A9GsZNh70hFpThw4QdSLdZztUB4z7y6LDymwDkJ32rU9411uyVb1-T_y2XwfdCBw/s200/Gone.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The synopsis on Goodreads doesn’t reveal all too much about this book, but somehow it gives off a vibe of <i>The 100</i> minus the space plot. I’m starting to realise that there are so many dystopias on my tbr that I’ve forgotten about… <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#48 The Golden Compass</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYHGfYseEF0MnRDem6kxYVlgRoQ3koSN-uCz25cU91gIUx9QtYaW2bDgsXH_E2wke4d1__-PL1GaxHo30PrqekWITL04s5nnQ76slOq84meSrZPD3f9J-HZATKw98uOUUXKSVoceH_78/s200/The+Golden+Compass.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I saw the movie years ago and was quite annoyed about not getting a sequel because I actually pretty liked it. I’m not sure that I want to read the book, though, there are so many other books that are more important to me. So this is a no from me for now. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#49 The Great Gatsby</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6slkXSyEphU5IJpda-ead0jXhF1L_yVpaRXN5l_QWE4J4GCG-R36B4CrDCyi81zND7k8EhKMeb1qQ0gwmD0wCv7AGNjQi5LsR3q5l6sCmN76lbtbGf1P-eMARl886CrxLh1XEhWFuPQ/s200/The+Great+Gatsby.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">One day, I swear, one day I’m going to read this. Not today, not tomorrow, but some day in the future. I’m not going to forget this book because it’s pretty much a must read, so I can take it off my shelf. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#50 A Game Of Thrones</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_TVb2nhGsE0G1Reupfk_Yqtql_iYUbGwvZfRV4PxMd9YC85gtId35fw31l6upJIekcvHzeSRPn0yZZI9k-HHJEQhlzGkEsgfCBo67euMVnKXF81VvKXDG6F8Y_okmH3lRQB0yiAoyjs/s200/A+Game+Of+Thrones.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Where do I start with this one. I LOVE the series, but I’m a reeeeaallly late bloomer when it comes to <i>Game of Thrones</i>. I have to admit that I only just started watching the series in June this year (and I am proud to tell you that I watched the entire seasons 1 to 6 in no less than 3 weeks - as proud as one can be about an accomplishment like that… think of all the things I could have done in that time :0). Anyways, I reaaaally love it and I can’t believe the season finale of season 7 aired a week ago! Gaaaaaaah I need more episodes!! So yeah, basically I’m DEFINITELY going to read the books as soon as I’ve got my copies, so I can take this one off my shelf as well. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">So as a wrap up I’m really happy to tell you guys that so far in these 4 posts I managed to remove 26 BOOKS !!! from my tbr. Although, 15 of them are still lying somewhere in my room and therefore still on my physical tbr. But this is a real accomplishment! Can’t wait to continue with this task because there are still so many books to go through. Which books would you have kept or removed on your tbr? Do you agree with my choices? What are you excited to read from this list? I’d love to chat more about it!
</div><br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-42900670957142458382017-09-02T13:00:00.000+02:002017-09-02T13:04:22.280+02:00Stacking the Shelves #10: The Newest Book Depo Haul Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="397" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxCaX3J6fBmzvK1RoTYKn8I0emlnDA-hEHlTfLhj6mftOZuHcd8YYJYp-G-vMrEbfMcy-d4qXO5YLvuj9HnHuKwiaHjtNe4k12K7MLfiQ2n7wbB_Vuh-ZpR2GNC-13tAQa1aOQbJEDSg/s320/Stacking+The+Shelves.png" width="320" /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="text-align: justify;">"<a href="http://tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking The Shelves</a> </i><span style="text-align: justify;">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</span><a href="http://tyngasreviews.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"> Tynga's Reviews</a><span style="text-align: justify;">.</span></div>
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Two weeks ago I went on Book Depository and had this huuuge urge to order books. That’s how I ended up ordering a batch of new books at 1 am on a work night. I do not regret this. And finally they all arrived this week!
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Goodies</span></h3>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aOvpFLhyphenhypheni6K9zkJjySq2HTQepp6oHafnJHC3aya66245JWb0FxxtooCstBaEMNHmg4iyhYPxRgEoIlIWBhASemYbrPEWZ87SDTWsTN49zZAorsP2WEQLWgERbcZbNGv8UWsOMSnus-c/s200/The+Eye+of+Minds.jpg" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtfk-aQkLu5e7nuP9x03IhUOEO6E6SFtVqqsGrbgNhB_788eDuzjGCQzzJIkjIQBgBJcqFEJmAJVokx3S3W7qQUwLKrSY8RbodzlW5tBAtM51Nfmmaho3n5w1uvrzGv4Qk1XGc3qDuoI/s200/A+Court+of+Wings+and+Ruin.jpg" width="130" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTb9XyRgCOD_0wiyVsEsMJq9vJhiYUmwvuYJZ-me4qf8SwUUOv-WH7ee2nOrtS_AfweAsUC87ZM8z5pMC5NVYYEasl-HSlz6wctrZaMQ7i6uKGzhBnET_RIDaKxpsepTOKUJ6cbcIEuo/s200/Cinder.jpg" width="131" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhwICcBrk2J7TSeaWDTCRfX79MyhUH63HV6GvFx4w9g-1qJ3qj-VcDDoVzvT6Kiv3A6O-4Yrg3y7TuC5_luH-ulKbEC6xGfoRlL0J9KKWXsA7nvry7bSwQmXAimpIuaImGTSnNLYbBLk/s200/These+Broken+Stars.jpg" width="131" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">1. The Eye Of Minds by James Dashner - I'm so excited about this book. I've been meaning to read this series for so long and doing the <i>Down The TBR Hole</i> meme reminded me of that.<br /><br />2. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas - two weeks ago I read ACOMAF and absolutely LOVED it. Can't wait to find out how it continues with my favourite characters of that world. <br /><br />3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer - This series sounds so promising, I hope it lives up to all my friends' opinions. <br /><br />4. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner - Same goes for this one!</div><br />
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<caption><span style="font-weight: normal;"><h2><i><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 5px;">I'd like to know</div></div></i></h2></span></caption>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">What did you stack your shelves with in the past few weeks? Or are some of your orders still on their way? Link me up to your posts in the comments! :)
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</tbody></table>Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-46857651432133256912017-08-31T22:20:00.001+02:002017-09-01T11:09:36.017+02:00August Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Hello there! Another month coming to an end, another wrap up. I had a lot going on the past few weeks with not knowing what to do for my future (university and stuff) and it has been quite rough. Now I’ve made a small plan for the next year and am currently looking for a new job before starting University again in autumn 2018. <br /><br />I’ve been to 2 Festivals this month and got to listen to amazing artists such as <b>Imagine Dragons</b> (my favourite band ever), The Prodigy, Flume, Mumford & Sons, Parov Stelar and so many more. I love festivals and I’m quite sad about this season already being over. (But I’ve already started making plans with my friends for next summer again :P)<br /><br />I also went on a vacation for a week in Corfu, Greece. It was so amazingly relaxing and I quite miss it! I just love lying around the beach/pool the entire day and only getting up to play beach volleyball (where I hurt my hand on the 2nd day already and had to sit out playing until our last day) and go for a swim. What a dream!<br /><br />I have a lot of plans for September and I really hope I’ll find a job some time soon!
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<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69mkxQVKjTy5QfDJyH93qS0CX-LiVr0VRw6BMLgnXjLsLL1vyo6m8-j2nvr4cACdSyjtS31sKvV6Bm4OhQ5A7DiOra3XO18j4dSJYtYMrIX2eMfOxccfDD2bgE8KC0o1K32WOW1sAW1I/s200/Always+and+Forever%252C+Lara+Jean.jpg" width="100" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="270" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvzxHasGjf-UyQ1lc7H5Z1doVVcZCLH7NLJ0QB4-AEM2HmYIg21vZ3v5BzyePYra09dFHAEUtJ8xPGY_Id2LccdZfHkvpj2yRS_dHloDBxzWsBzFdjLOtxAHMBz3LKWxNmuaFvjgpwUQ/s200/A+Court+of+Mist+and+Fury.jpg" width="100" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBdMPfVOI75hHRb5BWdV1j6TyNGsh3sMBRkwf9YcjMZ5Rrc2kZpwYX_YpU-trQSeBX6gXkc3TjiGEuKBiA-QsdHgQUanuUmSm7n1t79HOePh-tM7N1rI-30a1hY5ZHPHyVRDTb1VsGGg/s200/Flame+in+the+Mist.jpg" width="100" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvp7YgZTNVVxzx6-ZtlaFtFyHwvbvLRVmmrW1_h4UuMnATW_HHirZQ4lwDFua14fJQR-9qFJFi6HtidvT23vIVZ7kjYOyY1pcIzJTUWe31zTq8SYdLZe2cd1LOSK2bFL_xIzcA6JREv9U/s200/The+Hidden+Oracle.jpg" width="100" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="300" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0PHqmNWVmgQlktZLXpScBy45dkYKQdko-ruQH4HrycbeE9dxce7XyTWRXqqvpiKvci0qSW0JL4iZip_kgVkLIVyWPRn9VJ3Dy9kJhIsB-Us1AzHp9sJVHJRflqFzYo5oKg6T0irdQDk/s200/The+Tales+Of+Beedle+The+Bard.jpg" width="100" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">1. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />2. A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J Maas <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />3. Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />4. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />5. The Tales of Beedle The Bard by JK Rowling <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see I read a lot of books I really liked this month and I finally managed to read so many again! Since the beginning of the year I believe I haven't managed to read 5 books anymore. ACOMAF was by far my absolute favourite and it really surprised me how good it was! I'm currently working on all my reviews. <br /><br />This month's theme for <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/208112-of-wonderland-book-club">Of Wonderland Book Club</a> was <b>books in a series</b> and as you can see I managed to read 4 books in a series which makes me pretty happy!</div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">CURRENTLY READING</span></h3>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBxKexmuOKgvxT2MDJ9n9I62ksG6Zux80COdRbvbldT9d9lB7OGqh40br44NN3UGAODUscaq3C-aKiHZ7qvVmqGzzjF-4Km3kfK4VDR47dJjRs17R-59ScCW275ZpMwvhwm4MdEsemLY/s200/Glass+Sword.jpg" width="128" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhonPtSTjWplQtRv7Ibr0IascpOuAs37ENLoghPtAQon37wrWTT9FKVY9XmCsa-ZAhoTu_Azbif7QqsWbXErdG2EaCw85bHCDVvVwPwLopFDQPFCJWPrGDTYMDB6PsIr0w0Vu-OyUfas/s200/Anyone.jpg" width="133" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1kdJyGZHB0rkTSPx8yduac_nhjkKrjYYt2pd5Y9puhkINRLI2LBGktHlFDJaizBltXJSKdVIzVom7JaB_i15C6xKHDAPOyljClux86qzGtmqjeYoRYNLogF8O-sDPTze2o2VumrJFhU/s200/Throne+of+Glass.jpg" width="131" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As you might know I’m participating in the #TheReadingQuest challenge and I took it upon me to give <i>Glass Sword</i> another chance after DNFing it earlier this year. Same as then, I’m not really enjoying it so I started listening to <i>Anyone?</i> at work, which is my first audiobook in like forever. Then two nights ago I had this really heavy urge to start <i>Throne of Glass</i> and I can’t stop reading it, it’s such an amazing book! If I didn’t have to work so much, I would just read it in one sitting throughout the entire night. </div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">2017 READING CHALLENGES UPDATE</span></h3>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Read 5 Books from my TBR Pile</b><br />Progress: 4/5 (80 %)<br /><br /><b>Flights of Fantasy 2017</b><br />Progress: 8/10 (80 %)<br /><br /><b>2017 Alphabet Soup Challenge</b><br />Progress: 12/26 (48 %)<br /></div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">TV SERIES HIGHLIGHTS</span></h3>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARRoaJ5_DOKz-vhRrnrriCIKHDCANb9w6QrA_FqaYfyn2bNn2xX85DYN54McEaVAgRP9YFiyMWdXMXwExbCCBt8j3euc7GQgcaBvjN1yDMV-ZCLeX3ULBSOifj3qdOaVhwVMIfkR83rI/s200/Hit+The+Floor+S3.jpg" width="135" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL03QQOb0PlBUC7jBYsjRtuIjjerouqSnRme7EUEG7JCLCDZJdn_bwXTxCmZWoH2gXpVJVQLY5Y4o5eNxuS4_Fx4sLBIX_h_-WAitBfnWG7NvqHY-tj7Y1iqmUqY7eLSvfV7GmvGIXmYg/s200/GoT+S7.jpg" width="135" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEi1GgEb6jFMyiaQ5KW0vhKCoR53699MYRYlfeyihqgzu72QP7BdkODu8PgLwuqsa1ewO08j5aSmoMQJOG-itghkXH8tHycsCW6AkMi8VijhuMNyIANwh2IF2lOzabNhad8ohkI9Zq5TM/s200/Modern+Family+S7.jpg" width="135" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuPPeJ88yB46u6EEKIp7WOUiopxVyvfVceodtlpBDgiWmJQIoLcdtBo53Rau-fe8a_6sI5R0wvffvF_QCzLlSO4uk2bkD3nulntMh7sQLfGCnU9ZSRGedkliTLekU-9Godj1Y-NixKxM/s200/The+Bold+Type+S1.jpg" width="135" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">SEASON 7 OF GAME OF THRONES HAS FINISHED. I can’t believe it. It went by so fast and it was SOOOO AMAZING! Seriously guys, I can’t believe how good this season was! Also, I watched the entire 3 seasons of <i>Hit the Floor</i> which upset me at first because it’s actually a series about cheerleader (not just about basketball as I thought, and I don’t like cheerleaders/cheerleading…) but it’s actually pretty good. But honestly, I only watched this series because of Jude and Zero. I nearly caught up with the entire season 7 of <i>Modern Family</i>. And I’ve been watching <i>The Bold Type </i> every week which is so good! I really recommend this one. </div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">BLOG RECAP</span></h3>
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<p>❥ My Book Review of <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-review-thousand-pieces-of-you.html">A Thousand Pieces Of You</a> by Claudia Gray</p>
<p>❥ My second time cleaning out my tbr shelf on Goodreads with <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/08/down-tbr-hole-2.html">Down The TBR Hole #2</a></p>
<p>❥ <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/08/waiting-on-wednesday-obsidio.html">Obsidio</a> as my Waiting on Wednesday</p>
<p>❥ Another <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/08/down-tbr-hole-3.html">Down The TBR Hole #3</a></p></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now I want to know all about YOU! What did you read this month? What did you do? Are you watching any similar shows? What are your plans for next month? Any blog posts I should read? I would love to read all you’ve got to say in the comments :)
</div><br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-47578702779705442222017-08-27T18:49:00.001+02:002017-08-27T18:49:12.391+02:00Down The TBR Hole #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRxoXh5WrlPg6yj6FWGk6FVF1D7VlX9HcHIGHy685dTk3dpa5P5KWD8C6tXOigqpCpgNDbuu5YoYUcW5ULI_bkBBLb_2CSxehQdTOVMVX-iGwC_rA-_8gqZqvEueH1r620WtSUkLRd2g/s1600/Down+the+tbr+hole+600x150px.png" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">This meme created by Lia @ <a href="https://lostinastory.blog/" target="_blank">Lost in a Story</a> helps me go through my <i>to-read</i> shelf on Goodreads and sort out the books that I feel no longer belong there. Check out my first post I made in for this meme <a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/07/down-tbr-hole-1.html">Down The TBR Hole #1</a> - 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.</div><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#21 The Blade Of Shattered Hope</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoli1u3pwlKJZKA52PXM6wirgggFtbt8yRI5n7V2biGtM2unx_82JRcYCxxVsOUElMJ8tfzRA9egf9DNvHUaWJE4B2dL0qhU6uYM_SsmAwRtzx5MsEpxKesREiJqW4IavxaYl2Rn44Xg/s200/The+Blade+Of+Shattered+Hope.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the third book in the <i>The 13th Reality</i> series. As I haven’t started this series yet and the first book is on my TBR I’ll remove this as it’s not needed as a reminder.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#22 A Mutiny In Time</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGITUmXhinapKthzd__uXrHEwc7llmQ2w3xs1Nq0xXVFoplaJr4hRH5eZi_djocSEqs-ZA4AEsqGdzanBlJgu0Xcn7MUcwWt8DDx0szrHQGhC_Wxdl3jbtikofu7jwB_y57WKPrA6mCrY/s200/A+Mutiny+in+Time.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
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</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This book sounds rather interesting and I haven’t read a lot of time travel books yet. So it’s high time I picked one up, don’t you think? I enjoyed James Dashner’s writing in <i>The Maze Runner</i> series so I might like this one too. And the cover is so beautiful!
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#23 Ignite Me</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89hbP5_nmajyV1Tfe5K6f8AGYM5qjHDRu15CLf0XmzTid9BdLR6JQg1Jp2VhJT96zbbpeNiBmDCZpI8tmbPvRV4eNgbqHfDyPVDc2fzNZY5CCaNMa2xRurp7MAIxLF2t5p9r3-H849Gc/s200/Ignite+Me.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
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</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the third book in the <i>Shatter Me</i> series. As I’ve got the first book still on my TBR I’ll also remove this one.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#24 Peter Pan</span></h3>
</th>
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</tbody></table><br />
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsI1p92AQgv9bd1jEqZFGisrlPcf4r2IPcvsQ6F0h-TiVQGfbJZbPPU2CCpao5xmc06M7mAGLlrpp7QWNFt2cTXM9KiLnX-aQhqW_dVE6GbdqP40CIPyJizgkbncwRjDIo0Mw2QjCBvuo/s200/Peter+Pan.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I bought this book in Hamburg and I definitely plan on reading this soon.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on physical TBR</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#25 Welcome To Shadowhunter Academy</span></h3>
</th>
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</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB90dcKqARzJT5n4TBQGrgn4ox2h1hydoRxRScu8rBNM6GZRliisjSNZOHfBGmCx57LnhepZFnA1sfFRVQdaGbWL2zOifFMe8Rv1jUt29hZ8C0kx0o0AqagvYRNQeZ16peFbKfrLaYiRE/s200/Welcome+to+Shadowhunter+Academy.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I’ve got the book <i>Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy</i> which is the collection of all these short stories. One day I’ll read this, but probably not all too soon. <br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on physical TBR</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#26 The Darkest Minds</span></h3>
</th>
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</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center">
<tbody>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaLOto5B7RsG7YS5jNZP3hosCy-cnbpI9Gtd5X37o2OJLQpiBh3e-r9FnQqm1PXcsgC6wer1sJkr0lSsN8brF2NbETQA3Kh4dXH-5fG4Tir5OmSYLL0_5Ibqb0Zberoj36xZqCyJZiFM/s200/The+Darkest+Minds.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The synopsis sounds so promising! And I’ve heard so many great things about this book and of course I love all kinds of dystopian stories. This is a no-brainer and is going to stay on my tbr until I come across my own copy.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#27 The Jewel</span></h3>
</th>
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</tbody></table><br />
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<tbody>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWB8GyQYCUbbTWba7INNYGi4Gmf4tLtfRZ0sqiCtFg3bMF_0WOF9hDkyhSEJAqDEOPeHRCPsf4cLFURwxBfkD2P57bSo3PfdlKeVsNVtj8pJ9GjfuPUxPwx_qaTk9eDh0qVMZy_2o93Q/s200/The+Jewel.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
</th>
<th align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I’m not quite sure yet if I’m going to actually read this one, but it’s a dystopia so I’m going to keep it on my tbr for a little while longer.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table id="tbrtitle">
<tbody>
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<th><h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">#28 The Maze Of Bones</span></h3>
</th>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDG4v0FRmBWBcPcml8dy1uqdShEarTBxHI5YzfRTzTKpsaXvkuQzKbXbJgbjrRrevToHwZjKRUa68pmcU25ZAK0S7hHEQPtpeAMeJOD5aI-zbmeljR2U9YpkSelX4MCgNzGTgB_BFub4/s200/The+Maze+of+Bones.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The synopsis sounds a lot like a mix between <i>Endgame</i> and <i>Ready Player One</i>. PLUS it’s by Rick Riordan so I’m going to keep this on my tbr, too.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remains on Goodreads shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#29 Six's Legacy</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinftAAmxfvbIHkul0TKl6aVE3VqHQ9lRtLHpJdgfK8dmklw7BcdmaFqyoJP60orDmWOXBbilRA9x3b8ptErnF7H8JTFt33bWthlduDwtlEbwAGWdjN2G1y4ssImBI0LZCFw5jxJoMBMXQ/s200/Six%2527s+Legacy.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">So this seems to be a companions book? I haven’t even read the series, although I quite enjoyed the movie <i>I Am Number Four</i> (huge Alex Pettyfer fan here). Maybe I’ll pick up the series one day.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">#30 The Return Of Moriarty</span></h3>
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<th><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0MOy7tTtGHfGrWteqgPRxQoU9Kofs8-B2z-_xKzfBjPnNfH78o-L2Ujxaiuc6_rwvEeNtyub4p1IRkiDlVXPjRF42KGL5fefZiM8_X4wZqGGpquoQLpRHQXVrWeC5SUI1B3I_WmdFxU/s200/The+Return+of+Moriarty.jpg" width="132" align="middle" hspace="20"/>
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</span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Totally unsure about this one. I just don’t see myself reading this anytime soon.
<br /><br /><b>Verdict:</b> remove from shelf</span></h4></th></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my choices or do you think I should keep any of the books I removed from my tbr? What would you have removed from your shelf? I’d love to hear your thoughts!</div><br />Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889124149747947506.post-77610219830891461152017-08-23T10:00:00.000+02:002017-08-23T10:00:03.480+02:00Waiting On Wednesday: Obsidio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0RSMTuhBEGSYsSffl5Y7-jtgFJJkEjdkEZCR8IYwmW2cgFhD4U5uM5XX90lYodw3gPlTja6uRPNIH4BmytinwovnolkYdLbzRu-r8jSRwbVCop8fSlzJmWYyZT7xbo0uz8slZCnn0C8/s1600/Waiting+On+Wednesday.png" /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;">"Waiting On Wednesday</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> is a weekly event hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ch/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;" target="_blank">Breaking the Spine</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.61px; line-height: 18.9063px;"> that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating."</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">My choice for this week is <b>Obsidio</b> (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. <br />Expected Publication Date: March 13th 2018</div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q5lqG7yQbxanfNngXIkWji-hPzzIF14nHLXPvyiHkfjo44wRYYa6kkcbZceqy2jaBw0F6WHYfA49kldCu05u1wKr3DD2JhHiciCukjQcJRaWwjyRghA4B1aiGa7WBbMYSwTAgI-JdOI/s320/Obsidio.jpg" width="212" /></div><br />
<table id="summary">
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Goodreads Summary</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken. </span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
Why I'm so excited about this book?</h2>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I love the Illuminae series! These books are something else. It’s so refreshing to read scripts and diary entries and computer chats instead of fluent text for a change. And the graphics are amazing. Combining these elements with a gripping story = happy Yasmine. I can’t wait to see what’s next in store for my favourite characters in space and to get to know our new protagonists. I’ve got high expectations for Rhys, I mean with that name he has to be a good guy, right? (Yes, I’m still really hung up on <i>ACOMAF</i> which I’ve just finished a few days ago.) Honestly, 2018 feels so far away, why isn’t it being released in autumn like the other two books before? I’ve got really high hopes for this book.
</span></h4>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
Other books in the series</h2>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKqUK8Brr53R6Oqcyllll94j82j8rHqlxpXApiDdLfspDmYAfCZsqrifRrlFUFTHPe2vQy9ng3b36dLQ_n1cNbWI0iCm7gpLR7aY_K-kDTk9SKAATQ9ewLF6Ck6RqU8Kh3Ikim1Bl0dM/s200/Illuminae.jpg" width="131" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRO86XDL5CbLe5Ma-Y89lJ8AfQhlRfgSjHsFvhX1BlLyHpwgWBvM9p8jIpYQUObfX0d1YhWlevGO2_7ew4b1W8l5uVdBMfpXCZSgSu9WaHz-R6zhHKWeeP4-jQ1GrQO_UuDGrcwLJY_8/s200/Gemina.jpg" width="132" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
#1 Illuminae (<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2016/04/book-review-illuminae_4.html">My 4 <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span> Review</a>)<br />
#2 Gemina (<a href="http://swissbookworm.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-gemina.html">My 4.5 <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">★</span> Review</a>) </div>
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I'd like to know</div>
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<th><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">What's your WoW today? Don't forget to link me up to your post so I can check them out down below in the comments. :) Are you also waiting for Obsidio? Or do you still have to start with the Illuminae series first?</span></h4>
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Crystal @ Swissbookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175730949191441762noreply@blogger.com