Book Review: House of Earth and Blood

About the book

Title: House of Earth and Blood
Series: Crescent City #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Publication: March 2nd, 2021
Pages: 799
Read: July 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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.

My Spoiler Free Review

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!

“Through love, all is possible.”

The story starts with a loooot of information, setting the time and place of Crescent City, an imaginary city in Lunathion. I think Sarah J. Maas 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.

The rest of this review definitely contains spoilers!

Bryce Quinlan: 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 Danika, a wolf pack leader, and her entire pack gets killed in their appartment whilst she's out partying. Part of the group is Connor, 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 chimera'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!

“...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”

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 Hunt Athalar. A worthy replacement for the love interest for Bryce. The Second Love 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 sexual feelings for one another. And boooyyy did I ship them!

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) Micah cuts off his wings after they wrongly accuse Danika's mother Sabine, the Prime apparent of the wolves, of murdering Danika and things escalate.

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.

“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.”

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 Heir to the Starborn Fae, just like her brother Ruhn, but she's even more powerful than him and their father, the King.

Ruhn Danaan: 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 Dylan and Flynn! 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 Hypaxia, 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!

Micah: 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!

Lehabah: 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...

“Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends.”

Jesiba: 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.

Aidas: 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!

So all in all after writing this review, I will give this book a rating of 4.5 Stars even though I initially rated this a 5 star read.

I'd like to know

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!

Book Review: Chain of Iron

About the book

Title: Chain of Iron
Series: The Last Hours #2
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Shadowhunters
Publication: March 2nd, 2021
Pages: 592
Read: March 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Walker Booksbr /> Edition: Hardback
Purchase Location: Illumicrate

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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.

My Review (which might contain spoilers for Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron, beware!)

Wow. Just wow! After having read Chain of Gold just at the beginning of this month, I am so happy that I got my copy of Chain of Iron 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!

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. Chain of Gold was great. Chain of Iron 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.

Chain of Iron 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.

I have to admit: for a while I thought James 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 they-love-each- other-but-neither-admits-their-feelings-openly-so-that-they-can-have-a-happy-ending-immediately 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.

Cordelia oh Cordelia. Why is it that James 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.

And then we have Lucie, 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 any 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 parabatai if she doesn’t even tell her the smallest thing about this??

So far, I like Jesse 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 Malcom Fade! It’s been a long time since I’ve read the first two books in The Dark Artifices 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”.

Matthew’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!

Thomas 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 Alastair 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 Merry Thieves 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.

Anna 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 Ariadne’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.

And still, Grace 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.

I actually already wrote down my thought on Chain of Thorns and some of my predicitons of what will happen in the last book of this trilogy.

I'd like to know

Did you read and enjoy the Last Hours series, as well? I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments!

Book Review: Stars Above

About the book

Title: Stars Above
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4.5
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Publication: May 2nd, 2017
Pages: 400
Read: February 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Feiwel And Friends
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

The enchantment continues. . . . 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.

My Review

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 Stars Above 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!

Please be aware, that this review might contain spoilers for the entire Lunar Chronicles series!

Stars Above collects short stories from the character’s childhoods and a story that takes place after the ending of Winter. My two absolute favourite stories in this collection are without doubt Glitches and Carswell’s Guide to being Lucky. I always loved Peony, 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.

Another character I absolutely adore is Winter. She’s just so precious and I feel like The Princess and the Guard 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 Fairest that much faster, as I’ve heard great things about it apparently gives the Queen’s character new depth!

In After Sunshine Passes By, we get to read about Cress’s 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?

Coming from an IT background myself, there’s another story that I have some problems with. The Little Android: 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.

Now the only book set in Cinder’s world left for me to read is Fairest! 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!

I'd like to know

Have you read any books in the Lunar Chronicles or even Stars Above? I’d love to hear what you think about it! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Book Review: Catwoman

About the book

Title: Catwoman
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: DC Icons #3
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Retellings
Publication: August 9th, 2018
Pages: 384
Read: October 2020

My Copy

Publisher: Illumicrate Special Edition in collaboration with Penguin
Edition: Hardback
Purchase Location: Illumicrate
I received a copy in a subscription box back in 2018

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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?

My Spoiler Free Review

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.

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…

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.

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.

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!

I'd like to know

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!!

Book Review: A Thousand Pieces Of You

About the book

Title: A Thousand Pieces Of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: Firebird #1
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Expected Publication: November 3rd, 2015
Read: July 2017

My Copy

Publisher: HarperTeen
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Thalia, Hamburg

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

My Spoiler Free Review

I’m so happy to write my first review in months about this great book! I loved reading A Thousand Pieces of You and it totally brought me out of my reading hiatus. If you ever find yourself in a reading slump I recommend you pick up this book because I couldn’t stop reading it even though I was on a city getaway in Hamburg (and spent way too much time in our apartment reading, instead of discovering the city).

No regrets, though, none at all! Claudia Gray’s writing enchanted me from the very beginning. I have to admit I bought this book because of its cover. Isn’t it absolutely gorgeous? How glad was I to discover that the content was just as great. Traveling through different dimensions, experiencing alternative universes, chasing a murderer and discovering that nothing is as it seems. What more turbulence do you need in a gripping story?

Although Marguerite happened upon this adventure due to a devastating event, the very detailed experiences she goes through lets her develop herself as an even stronger character and lets her bond with her friends and family on so many new levels. Gray did an amazing job in creating an enthralling reading environment from page one on.

This was my first dimension-travel-book that I’ve read. (We’re just going to ignore the entire Marvel and DC comics because let’s face it, the amount of alternate universes and earths they have is giving me a headache. ) I’m so intrigued by this entire premise, I mean can you even imagine what it would be like to travel to another dimension, where your sister might have been a brother or you actually did manage to overcome your phobia of needles and get that tattoo you dreamed of? (These universes would be harmless in comparison to all the other things that could have gone different in our world, but I’m gonna stay positive here.)

I’m so surprised that I didn’t pick up a book with this kind of background earlier, but I’m glad that ATPOY (see what I did there?) was my first in this “genre”. There were some things I’m not all too comfortable with, though. When the characters jump to another dimension, they inhabit that version-of-them’s body. Now that’s just wrong. I mean, it’s still very unclear to me how much those people remember when the intruders leave their bodies and hop to the next dimension (and I wished it would have been explained better), but in theory they could lose months of their lives. How would you feel when you come to yourself, discovering you’re on the other side of earth with no clue how you got there in the first place? I’d feel robbed. I could go on about free will and all the immoral things about this, but luckily, this is just fiction.

Okay, I think I need to stop here. There are so many illogical happenings and plot twists I could talk about, you’d be sitting in front of your screen reading my review three days on. Nonetheless, I really liked this book and I need to get my hands on the sequel Ten Thousand Skies Above You.

Isn’t the entire series just gorgeous? Have you read ATPOY or even the entire series already? What are your thoughts on it or are you going to pick it up? How equally scary and awesome would it be if we could actually travel through dimension? (I have to be honest though, I’d like things to stay the way they are and hope that this is something we’ll never achieve.) If you leave your thoughts in the comments section I’d love to discuss this further with you guys! Also, I’d like to read your reviews, so link them up as well!

Comic Reviews: Batman (Rise of the Batmen) & Nightwing (Better Than Batman)

About the comic

Title: Batman: Rise of the Batmen

Edition: Detective Comics (Rebirth), Volume 1
Author: James Tynion IV

Genres: Graphic Novels, DC Comics, Superheroes

Published: February 7th, 2017

Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: DC Comics

Edition: Kindle

Purchase Location: NetGalley
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

The Dark Knight and series co-star Batwoman team up to take new protégés Red Robin, Spoiler and the villainous Clayface under their leathery wings! The only problem is, neither new super-instructor knows exactly what they're in for as the attempt to train these wiould-be heroes before a mysterious army takes Gotham for themselves. (Collecting: Detective Comics 934-940)

My Review

With Rebirth there comes a lot of responsibility. And James Tynion IV did a wonderful job in turning that responsibility into a great new story arc. The new team Batman puts together includes a lot of awesome people (Batwoman, Spoiler, Red Robin and Orphan) and to my surprise Clay Face. Somehow it works out great.

With a lot of turning events and tension the story goes along pretty fast paced and doesn’t leave you hanging. (Except at the end of course with a major cliffhanger which I still don’t know how to handle.)

A father would do anything to keep “his little girl” save, even though she might already be a grown woman and can make choices of her own. The complex story between Kate and her dad ensures an interesting plot. A lot of great fight scenes are involved which are executed perfectly with the beautiful artwork.

I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about this new installment in the Rebirth series, but I for one am really glad to have picked it up because it was such a great read! I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy this, too, if they’d give it a chance. The Batman family is displayed in such a great way in this new story!

I need to know how the story goes on because that cliffhanger sure wasn’t nice at all. I do not know where the Batman family stands right now or how their future looks like. I’m very excited for the next volume.

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About the comic Title: Nightwing: Better Than Batman Edition: Volume 1 (Rebirth) Author: Tim Seeley Genres: Graphic Novels, DC Comics, Superheroes Published: January 25th, 2017 Read: January 2017 My Copy Publisher: DC Comics Edition: Kindle Purchase Location: NetGalley I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

He's been Robin, he's been a super spy, a ghost. Now, Dick Grayson finds himself back in Gotham City fighting to reclaim the life that was taken from him. But when a new evil threatens those closest to Dick, as Nightwing he must once again choose whether or not to tear himself away from his home in order to combat this dark force. Everything Dick thought he knew about being Nightwing will be brought to bear, and his relationship to his former mentor Batman will be put to the test in Nightwing: Volume 1, Better Than Batman! (Collecting: Nightwing 1-4, 7-8, Rebirth)

My Review

I don’t know exactly when, but somewhere along the line of me discovering more and more of the DC universe Nightwing, or better Dick Grayson, has become one of my favourites in the Batman family. I haven’t read a lot of him yet, sadly, but his charm that I got to know in the Batgirl series hasn’t left me yet. So I decided to pick up the Nightwing Rebirth series, too.

I must admit, I’ve read better stories involving him, but there’s something about this first installment in his rebirth series that I like. It’s definitely not Raptor, because that’s a character I do not understand or like at all.

The plot is a little predictable, but I like Batman’s involvement in it. Him being a big part of Dick’s life makes him so much more likeable for me, although I’ve been a big Batman fan a long time already.

This story arc tells us a lot about Dick and who he is, or who he wants to be. Batgirl (who I LOVE) has some appearances and we get to know a little about his parents, too. Which I must admit I didn’t know anything about before. As I’ve mentioned, this is my first time reading a Nightwing story on its own. But Grayson is still high on my TBR list.

I can’t wait to tell you how it continues with Nightwing because I’ve started collecting the singles and they’re awesome. The story definitely picks up after this one, and in my opinion this is a great way for newbies (like me at the beginning) to get to know Dick Grayson.

I'd like to know

Do you read Graphic Novels or comics in general? If so, what do you like to read? Are you a (secret) Nightwing fan yourself? Or have you read any other Rebirth series? I would LOVE to talk to you more about comics in the comments! :)

Book Review: This Raging Light

About the novel

Title: This Raging Light

Author: Estelle Laure

Series: This Raging Light #1
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction

Published: January 14th 201

Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Orchard Books

Edition: Paperback

Purchase Location: Gift from my Mom

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Lucille Bennett is pushed into adulthood after her mom decides to “take a break”…from parenting, from responsibility, from Lucille and her little sister, Wren. Left to cover for her absentee parents, Lucille thinks, “Wren and Lucille. Lucille and Wren. I will do whatever I have to. No one will pull us apart.” Now is not the time for level-headed Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

My Review

On the night of January 4th, 2017 at 2 o’clock in the morning, a young woman dressed in her pajamas lying in bed all by herself, cried. Tears fell down her cheek and that was when she knew. She knew she had to put down the book and finally go to sleep to make it to the next day and continue reading then.

That’s how I know I’m reading a heartwarming story (or maybe I really was just too tired to think straight anymore and even the smallest of things could have made me cry - I’m not denying anything).

I was surprised to see that many of my Goodreads friends rated this book below average and that they really disliked it. Meanwhile, I think this was such a great read. Hmmm. Anyway, the story, though somewhat depressing, was written in a very light style - which I adore! I love it, when young adult literature pick up important issues, yet still make them easy to read about. Young readers should read about important issues in the world in my opinion and what better way to do that than with a strong yet vulnerable protagonist?

I totally recommend this book as a “get-away-read”. If you want a break from all your superheroes and love triangles and other drama pick up This Raging Light and give it a shot! Also reading about Lucille and Wren’s problems make your problem probably seem more solvable and you might gain more motivation and strength through Lucille's own strength.

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.

I can’t imagine being put in Lucille’s shoes and I hope that few people have to endure what happened to her and her sister. I definitely would never have pulled through as well as them. What I love about the story is that you don’t know who her friendly helper is. I always had this little hope that it was actually their mom, taking care of them in the shadows. But I think finding out that it was in fact their neighbours made the situation even better. And less forgivable for their mother.

A mother who just leaves her kids - a situation not understandable to me and one I’d probably never forgive. I don’t know what I would have expected from Lucille if her mother had reappeared, but I do hope to understand what happened to her in the sequel (which I’m very impatiently waiting for!). I’m also hoping to see what becomes of their dad, if he makes it back to his family and can take that heavy weight of her shoulders.

Most of all, though, I need to know how things turn out for Eden! Eden and Lucille’s friendship is so heartwarmingly beautiful. The fact that Eden missed out on a lot of Ballet classes (which she clearly lives for) to watch Wren just shows how deep their friendship goes. And of course, I want to know how things continue with Digby. I’m not quite sure yet how I stand on that end because I believe there’s nothing worse you can do in a relationship than cheat, so… Yeah, I can’t wait for the sequel!

I'd like to know

Have you read This Raging Light or are you planning to? What do you think of the plot? Have a chat with me in the comments! :)

Book Review: Gemina

About the novel

Title: Gemina

Series: The Illuminae Files #2

Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Space, Action

Published: October 18th 2016

Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Gift from my Mom

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed. The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault. Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion. When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. But relax. They've totally got this. They hope. Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

My Review

I can’t believe I waited this long to actually read Gemina. Okay, I just got the book after Christmas, but I could have ordered it online or got it from a bookstore… Anyways, I’m so glad that I finally managed to read it. After enjoying Illuminae so much, I was scared that I’d be disappointed by the second book in the series. But it was just as good!

I love the style Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff use to tell the stories. It’s so different to what I’m used to (there’s not really a narrator, but rather a collection of different chats, video commentary and other high-tech stuff). Also, this time around we get to see sketches from the protagonist’s diary which really lighten the story up a bit.

If you haven’t read Illuminae yet: Pick it up as soon as possible and I hope you’ll enjoy it! It’s definitely worth a try, and hang in there at the beginning. It might feel weird with this new writing style at first, but you’ll learn to appreciate and love it!

If you’ve read Illuminae already, but haven’t started Gemina yet: What are you waiting for? Go to the nearest bookstore and start reading! Don’t even wait until you’re home. Just sit down in front of the bookshelf in the store and start disappearing in the galaxy with Hanna and Nik!

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.

I really liked the characters Hanna and Nik! At first I was a little disappointed not to be reading mostly about Kady anymore because I adored her personality, but these two new protagonists were just as exciting to learn about. (I might admit that I missed the strong presence of AIDAN a little too, although he/it still creeps me out.)

There are so many plot twists and turns, that I never saw coming, and one that I just anticipated throughout the whole story. It was so clear that those Lanima would come back to get in the way of our heroes. I even expected that there would be some kind of parallel universe that got mixed up and would save Nik’s live, although at the same time I had barely any hope left for him to actually survive the story (read on for my conspiracy theory against the authors…).

The last few pages of the book, though. PHEEEWWW. I’m still not over those! The authors played with my emotions: Ripped out my heart, broke it apart and then tried to miraculously stitch it back together (which worked pretty well, but I wasn’t over that shock for a few days straight). I really thought that all those people actually died and that Rapier / Jackson survived… (I already had all my conspiracy theories against Amie and Jay lined up because I thought they had some kind of guilty conscience because they let both of the heroes live in the first book and they wanted to shake things up a bit. I’m really glad that it was all just a secret plot against Biotech!

Other Reviews in the Illuminae Series:

Illuminae #1

I'd like to know

Have you read Illuminae or Gemina? What are your thoughts on the series and do you share my opinions on the story? Let me know in the comments! :)

Mini Book Reviews: Kindred Spirits, The Kill Order, The Last Star

Hey there! Today I decided it was time to sum up all the books I've read in the past few months, but haven't reviewed yet. Because some of them have been read quite a while ago and I don't have the best of memories, or I just don't want to talk too much about them because I didn't enjoy them quite as much as I'd have liked to, I'm starting a new kind of Book Review post. It's going to be a Mini Book Review series, where basically I just review a few books at a time in shorter versions.

Today I'm going to review the following three books: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell, The Kill Order by James Dashner and The Last Star by Rick Yancey. The first two are quite recent reads and The Last Star I read rather further back in 2016. As always, if you click on the cover you'll get to the goodreads page.

  

Book Review: The Son Of Neptune

About the novel

Title: The Son Of Neptune

Series: The Heroes of Olympus #2

Author: Rick Riordan

Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade

Published: September 30th, 2011

Read: May 2016

My Rating: 4.5 ★

My Copy

Publisher: Puffin Books

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Amazon, Online

Goodreads Summary

ONE CURSED DEMIGOD. TWO NEW HEROES. A QUEST TO UNLEASH THE GOD OF DEATH - Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth. Only one thing is certain--Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk. Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed...

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

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.