Book Review: Rebel Belle

Title: Rebel Belle
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Rebel Belle #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Mythology
Published: March 3rd 2015
Read: February 2016
Rating: 3.5 ★

My Copy

Publisher: Speak
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Kinokunyia, Singapore

Goodreads Summary: Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him--and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth. With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

Other books in the series:

 

Miss Mayhem (#2) & Lady Renegades (#3)

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My Review

First of: this book was fun to read. It was fast-paced, interesting and you don't have to think a lot about possible plot twists because they'll happen without any foreshadowing. You get sucked directly into the plot from page one and it doesn't leave you any choice in the matter. Action from the very beginning and no end in sight. 

So this beauty queen gets involved in a life-and-death situation. Naturally she would scream, cry about her broken nails and run away, right? False. The protagonist Harper Price totally took me by surprise in acting very maturally in such a situation. Now this is the part I had the most problem comprehending. When you see your school janitor die in the girls bathroom and somehow manage to kill your history teacher in a matter of seconds, would you just go on with your life and think: Well, I guess I'm a superhero now. Gotta go and safe the world. Would you? I think not. But that's exactly what Harper did. Her whole coping with the situation seems very unbelievable about the story and bothered me throughout the entire book. Not even dystopian heroes think of themselves that highly and they have to worry about a lot worse enemies than another teenage girl with magic. 

This first book reminded me a lot of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. Although it has nothing to do with Angels the female protagonist becomes the protector of a young boy and doesn't know what she has to do or what lies ahead in her path. And of course she falls in love with the wrong boy (but I have to admit I'm still not sure about which guy I prefer).

Now I'm a big fan of conspiracy theories and I couldn't stop myself thinking that maybe Harper's boyfriend was the bad guy (back when you didn't know who belonged to the good side and who to the bad). I even started suspecting Mary Beth, Harper's best friend. But luckily, the author didn't have that much of a deceitful treacherous touch in mind. The worst case scenario at the end of the first book though makes me wonder why I didn't see it coming. And then again I wasn't that surprised. 

The biggest reason why I gave this novel such a 'low' rating was Harper's reaction to the whole thing. I was just bothered to much by the whole I'm-going-to-save-the-world-because-I've-been-a-superhero-for-five-minutes-now attitude. Otherwhise I quite enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend it if you want some light-female-butt-kicking-action. 

Stacking The Shelves #4: The Pop Vinyl Edition

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

So as announced a week ago today I'll feature my newest additions to my POP! Vinyl collection.

Why are we always attracted to the bad guys? I think it's a desease. Here are my two babes Loki I and Loki II (from right to left). 

Because I like stalking my little Lokis here's a close up.

Awwww. Captain Hook or how I call him: Captain of my heart. Who doesn't like a little pirate action?

This is Alan. I do NOT own him because it's Severus Snape. Nopes. This is Alan, as in Alan Rickman. Although I absolutely hated his character I adored the actor. And I miss him! Rest In Peace.

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Your turn

Tell me about your POP! Vinyl collection. What do you collect? I'm really new to this whole collection thing, but they're so cute and my room will probably fill up with them real quick. They're too adorable. And it's a great way to fangirl even more.

Book Review: The Infinite Sea

Title: The Infinite Sea
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave #2
Genres: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy
Published: September 16th 2014
Read: November 2015
Rating: 4.5 ★ 


My Copy

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Casa del Libro, Madrid

Goodreads summary: The hugely anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.” For Cassie Sullivan and the rest of Earth’s remaining human survivors, the situation was already desperate when the 5th Wave hit. It’s about to get worse. No one yet knows the depths to which Earth’s conquerors—the Others—will sink in order to rid the Earth of the human infestation, nor have they guessed the heights to which the human spirit can reach. Characters introduced in Book One will come to the fore—and others will face the ultimate test. Readers will watch in awe as the Others give their answer to Cassie’s defiance.

Other books in the series

 

The 5th Wave (#1) (review) & The Last Star (#3) (WoW)

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My Review

After being so impressed by the first book I was kind of scared of the second installment in the trilogy. But all worries were for nothing because the second book was just as good! The book was filled with suspense (that nearly killed me at times, I mean I just have to know if my favourite characters are alive or not and yes Evan, I'm talking about you). A major plot twist toward the end, although it wasn't the only one in the book just one that I really didn't see coming. It changes the entire perspective of the story and I need answers Rick! You better answer all of them in The Last Star. 

If your world would get invaded by aliens how would you react? And especially after losing so many people you love, wouldn't you seek revenge? I can imagine that every little bit of revenge I could get I would go after, even if it wouldn't change a thing. Now imagine falling in love with the enemy. What must that feel like? Although there are a lot of controversies about this subject I totally ship Evan and Cassie together. Yes, it's another dystopian bad-guy good-girl relationship with a lot of drama, but come on. I'm a sucker for these things. 

What I really like about this book is that there are so many characters. And at the same time, this is the thing that I dislike the most. I don't dislike the characters per se, but all the different point of view. Rick managed to change the pov every time things got interesting. When I wanted to know how Cassie handled a situation it would change to Ringer's perspective and then again back to Evan when Ringer was in an interesting situation and on and on. Also, it took too long to change from one person to the other, which made the book a little breath-holding and I wish that we could have read more about what Cassie and the gang were doing in the end of the book (not that Ringer's story wasn't worth telling, just that you didn't know what was going on on the other side of the country - okay, maybe not the other side of the country seeing that America is so large, but my geographical memory of the story isn't that great). 

Now I really need some answers. What will happen to Ringer? What does this huge plot twist at the end of the book really mean? How will the relationship between Evan and Cassie end? Will the world go under? And last but not least: Who are the real villains?

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural, Magic, Romance
Published: February 19th 2008
Read: February 2016
Rating: 4.5 ★ 


My Copy

Publisher: Walker Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Can't remember

Goodreads Summary: When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder commited by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons--and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Other books in the series

   

 

City of Ashes (#2), City of Glass (#3), Ciy of Fallen Angels (#4), City of Lost Souls (#5) & City of Heavenly Fire (#6)

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My Review

Okay. So I've always loved the Shadowhunting world. I've read all books already years ago before even the movie came out. I fell in love with Cassandra Clare's fantasy world from the beginning I opened the cover of City of Bones. You might know that there is a new TV series now called Shadowhunters which I absolutely love! After a few episodes I decided that I just had to reread the books because it's been years and I want to remember all the small details. In February I started with City of Bones and I got hooked again from the first word on. Now, in this post I won't compare the book to the series because in my opinion you have to compare the series to the books (and yes, there is a difference in that). But that's going to have to wait for another post (which will probably come then, when the first season is over). 

Rereading this book was one of the best ideas I had had in a long time. I absolutely loved getting sucked back up in the shadowhunting world again and I can't think of anything negative about this book. I like all the characters (except Valentine, the bad guy in the whole story who wants to take over the world and destroy most of it). 

There are a lot of characters who play an important role in this book series and the first book serves to create some kind of bottom layer to later build up on. As I know already everybody's ending, it's still very interesting to go back to the beginning where certain relationships haven't taken up yet, where the family relationships aren't that complicated yet and where you can tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are (well, except one plot twist who was well unexpected (the first time) about a certain shadowhunter who only played the part of a good guy). 

I really enjoyed how complicated-free this first book was. Everything's understandable and you can read it in under 4 sittings (because it still has a lot of pages and you might actually want some sleep inbetween). I definitely recommend this book to everyone who hasn't set foot in the shadowhunter's world because it's absolutely great!

I read this book as part of the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2016

Stacking the Shelves #3: The Vacation Edition

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

This post actually refers to books that have already been sorted into my shelves at home a week ago. In February I went on a two week vacation (and of course I couldn't come home without any new books) and I arrived back home last Sunday. It's always one of the greatest feelings to add my books to my library (I've got them all listed in Excel Sheets to keep an overview) and then to sort them into the bookshelves. This time around, though, that was a bit complicated as I don't have any space left. Seriously, my room's full. I had to stack my books in two rows per shelf (which I absolutely despise because I now can't see which books are in the back). 

  

So here's a pretty picture of all the books on one stack. Let's have a closer look at them seperately. I bought all of these books in two hauls. The first one was kind of a yellowish theme (It ocurred to me that I don't really have a lot of yellow books so I thought, why not buy some).

   

1. I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson - the synopsis sounded really good

2. Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan - I love PJ

3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - finally I found the paperback edition

4. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins - this one has been on my tbr for a while

   

5. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - finally the edition I wanted

6. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - because I'll Give You The Sun really impressed me

7. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon - sounded like a book I needed

8. The Giver by Lois Lowry - the cover convinced me

  

9. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - dystopia!!!

10. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan - I just wanted that stunning cover in my shelf

11. The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis - because it's another book about the shadowhunter world and possibly contains stuff about Alec Lightwood

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Okay... That's it. I just realised again how many books I bought and this probably means I won't be able to go on a big book haul until summer. (I should really read all my books first before buying new ones - I know I'm not the only one who has that problem, right?) So yeah, tell me about your newest editions! I'd really like to know what you guys just added to your shelves. Oh and by the way, because this post contained enough material already I decided to feature my newest Pop Vinyl in next week's Stacking The Shelves so make sure you'll be back!

Book Review: Champion

Title: Champion
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Legend #3
Genres: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Romance, Action
Published: November 5th, 2013
Read: February 2016
Rating: ★★★★ 


My Copy

Publisher: Penguin Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: The Works, London

Goodreads Summary: June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic - and each other - and now their country is on the brink of a new peaceful existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government's elite circles while Day has been assigned a high level military position.

Prequels: 

 

Legend (#1) (review) & Prodigy (#2) (review)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Fever Code

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

My choice for this week is The Fever Code (The Maze Runner 0.6) by James Dashner

Expected Publication: September 27th, 2016

Book Review: I'll Give You The Sun

Title: I'll Give You The Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Series: -
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Glbt
Published: April 2nd 2015
Read: February 2016
Rating: 4.5 ★

My Copy

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Kinokunyia, Singapore

Goodreads Summary: From the author of The Sky Is Every­where, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying - all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver. Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don't realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world.

Other Editions:

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My Review

To start of the month of March I thought it would be great to start of with my February Favourite. This book was absolutely amazing! "I don't think I have any emotions in me anymore right now because I poured them all into this book. I'll have to tank up tomorrow again." That was my first thought after finishing this book. 

February Wrap Up

February has been such an amazing month! I had a LOT of time to read and I enjoyed 2 wonderful weeks of vacation in Asia. I came home with one of the biggest book hauls in my life. 

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Books read

I think I've never managed to read as many books in one month as this February. 8 books is my new record and I'm really proud of it! And now I just realised that this month has been a month of 4-star ratings... Well some pendle between 3.5 and 4.5 stars, but because you can only give them whole stars on goodreads they've all got the same amount...

    

    

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

Prodigy by Marie Lu ★★★★

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare ★★★★

Champion by Marie Lu ★★★★

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare ★★★★

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins ★★★★

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson ★★★★

Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan ★★★★

Bobbi Brown Make Up Manual ★★★★  

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February Favourite

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson was by far my favourite book in February and belongs now to my favourite contemporary novels. It was such an emotional ride to learn about Jude and Noah's life and it brought happy, but also sad tears to my eyes (and stained a few pages). 

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2016 Reading Challenges Update

Here is a little overview on what I've accomplished so far with all of my Reading Challenges.

~ Read 4/10 books for the 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge

~ Read 14/30 books for the Goodreads 2016 Challenge
~ Read 1/3 books for the Addicted to YA Challenge

~ Read 2/10 books for the 2016 TBR Pile Challenge

~ Read 5/10 books for the Flights of Fantasy Challenge

If you want to have a closer look at my progress and the challenges, click here. 

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February recap

- Book review of Legend by Marie Lu
- I featured The Last Star by Rick Yancey for my first Waiting on Wednesday
- Book review of To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
- I participated in the February Discussion Prompt for the 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge with my Top 5 Dystopian Romance Novels
- Book Review of Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
- In anticipation of Valentine's Day I participated in TTT with Top Ten Fictional Crushes
- I talked about Lady Midnight on Waiting on Wednesday
- Book review of Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
- Stacking the Shelves February Edition
- Book review of P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
- Book review of The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
- Book review of Four by Veronica Roth
- The second Trilogy Tuesday featured The Infernal Devices
- Book review of Prodigy by Marie Lu

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March Blog Insight

Upcoming reviews (amongst others):

  

Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu, The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey & I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Next to the book reviews I have these special memes planned. Feel free to join. 

~ March 15th:  Top Ten Tuesday #2 (Ten Books on my Spring TBR) hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
~ March 22nd:  Top Ten Tuesday #3 (Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven't Talked About Enough) hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
~ March 29th: Top Ten Tuesday #4 (10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads) hosted by The Broke and The Bookish
~ March 29th: Trilogy Tuesday #3 (The Maze Runner) hosted here at Swissbookworm

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March TBR

Every bookworm has got their own to-be-read book pile. Mine is so big that I could dedicate a shelve to them (... but I'm a very organised person and I don't like it when my books aren't shelved in alphabetical order). Anyway, the following books I really hope to have read by the end of next month.

  

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard & City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

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Your turn

I want to know what books you guys have read in February, what recommendations you have for new books and what's on your March TBR list. Just let me know in the comments.