Book Review: The Gilded Ones

About the book

Title: The Gilded Ones
Series: Deathless #1
Author: Namina Forna
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, PTSD, Feminism, High Fantasy
Publication: February 9th, 2021
Pages: 400
Read: April 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd.
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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...

My Spoiler Free Review

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 The Gilded Ones in case you don’t have it already!!

Once I started reading The Gilded Ones, I couldn’t put it down. I immediately got lost in the world of Deka and alaki 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.

A warning: this book talks about violence, PTSD, oppression, discrimination, abuse and bullying (mainly) towards women in detail.

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”:

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.

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 Infinite Father. 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.

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 Deka’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 Deathshrieks, 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.

Deka: 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.

Deka’s friends Britta, Belcalis, Katya 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.

Keita: 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.

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 Unknown Lands. 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.

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 Namina Forna comes up with next! I am truly inspired and hope this author will publish many many more books in the years to come!

The Part That Might Contain Spoilers

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!

I'd like to know

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!

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: Legendborn

About the book

Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Arthurian Lore, Retellings, LGBTQ
Publication: September 15th, 2020
Pages: 503
Read: February 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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.

My Spoiler Free Review

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.

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.

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).

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.

The Part That Might Contain Spoilers

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.”

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!

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!

I hope that for everyone who picks up Legendborn, this will become your new favourite book as it has become mine!

I'd like to know

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?

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: Flame in the Mist

About the book

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

My Copy

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

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

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

My Spoiler Free Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Part That Might Contain Spoilers

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

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

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

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

I'd like to know

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

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!

Book Review: But Then I Came Back

About the book

Title: But Then I Came Back

Author: Estelle Laure

Series: This Raging Light #2
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction

Expected Publication: April 4th, 2017

Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Edition: Kindle

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

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Eden Jones, a 17-year-old girl, feels lost after surviving a near fatal accident. Unable to connect with her family and friends, Eden forms an unlikely relationship with Joe, a boy who comes to the hospital to visit Jasmine, a friend who may soon be gone forever. Eden is the only person who can get through to Jasmine, but is she brave enough to face a world that’s bigger and more magical than she ever would have allowed?

My Review

When I saw that my request to read But Then I Came Back got accepted, I squealed around the house from joy until my brother came to see if I was alright. This was my first major request I did on NetGalley back in January and you can’t imagine how happy I was to get a copy of this book. It took me a couple of weeks though to start reading it because I had a lot of respect of the sequel. I had enjoyed the first book so much, I was scared that the second wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

My fear was proven unnecessary because the sequel was even better! I loved it so much, it made me question my feelings towards This Raging Light. It was quite a new concept to me to read a sequel in a series where the point of view changes entirely because the protagonist is somebody new. And although I think it’s a pity that Lucille (protagonist from This Raging Light) fades into the background, I appreciated reading from Eden’s POV so much. Her voice was so honest and totally different from Lucille’s.

Eden is in my opinion more ‘adulter’. She questions everything. She questions life, death, the meaning of coming back from The Inbetween. Lucille was way more stressed about surviving in her own way. Having to work and pay for everything herself because her parents abandoned her, having to look after her younger sister. Her “boy troubles” with Digby… Eden just has different flow in her life.

I can’t imagine how it must be for someone to come back to life from a coma (and I really pray that neither I, nor any of my family or friends, ever have to make that experience). Reading about Eden’s story gave me so many feelings I don’t even know where to start to describe those. It wasn’t easy for her to adapt to life again, but I really like the way how she did it and seeing her going down that path and fighting her problems so bravely.

One thing I really love about her is how immediately Eden accepts her “situations” without thinking it through. When she thought she was dead, the first thing she did was think Oh cool, I’m a ghost. I can haunt people now and scare them. Or when she thought that she might have psychic powers her first reaction wasn’t to question it but to try to make a painting fly off the wall. When she thinks she might not be alive, but only dreaming, she immediately tries to will herself to fly. It’s that carelessness - if you can call it that - that I like about her.

I didn’t expect to like But Then I Came Back so much. It didn’t let me go and I read it in like two/three sittings. In my opinion you don’t have to read This Raging Light to be able to pick up the sequel, which is way I really recommend you to get yourself a copy of this great book!

Other books in the series

This Raging Light #1 (My Review)

I'd like to know

Have you picked up the This Raging Light? Do you think you might add But Then I Came Back to your TBR list?

Mini Book Reviews: ACOTAR & Carry On

Once upon a time it was December in 2016. I finished two books and didn't even manage to review them. So I decided to share those reviews with you today, here and now. These are a little shorter versions of my usual reviews and don't go into the story too deep because I don't have all too much time right now, but I'd love to talk about these books anyways because they're AWESOME! :)

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About the book

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, High Fantasy

Published: May 5th, 2015

Read: December 2016

My Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Kinokuniya Singapore

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Feyre is a huntress. She thinks nothing of slaughtering a wolf to capture its prey. But, like all mortals, she fears what lingers mercilessly beyond the forest. And she will learn that taking the life of a magical creature comes at a high price... Imprisoned in an enchanted court in her enemy's kingdom, Feyre is free to roam but forbidden to escape. Her captor's body bears the scars of fighting, and his face is always masked - but his piercing stare draws her ever closer. As Feyre's feeling for Tamlin begin to burn through every warning she's been told about his kind, an ancient, wicked shadow grows. Feyre must find a way to break a spell, or lose her heart forever.

My Review

I felt kind of forced to read this book because EVERYBODY was talking about it. Well, I don’t mind really, reading books that are hyped about, because I usually love them (yeah, I know, I’m too mainstream. I usually like every single book I pick up, but seriously, I wouldn’t pick up a book if I didn’t think I’d like it so that solves that kind of problem, right?). However, I didn’t feel as flabbergasted or senselessly in love with the story as everybody else seemed to be...

Don’t get me wrong! I enjoyed reading the book and I think it makes for a good story. I think the main reason I didn’t like this book all too much is my own fault. It took me two and a half months to finish it and that just took a lot of patience out of me. I guess I shouldn’t have started it at the beginning of my first semester at Uni. I still felt this book deserved a four star rating from me, though.

The story was actually pretty interesting (it’s been a long time since I’ve read a fantasy book which such an imaginative world, and I really want to read these kind of fantasy books more often) and there were a lot plot twists and turns. I really liked the characters and feel like Sarah J. Maas did a really great job in creating this new fantasy-place.

Maybe the story felt a little too slow-paced for me, and there are definitely chapters that could have been shortened a lot in my opinion, but I liked Sarah’s writing style a lot! This is my first book of hers and I’m definitely going to continue the series and even start the Throne of Glass series sometime.

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About the book Title: Carry On Author: Rainbow Rowell Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Lgbt, Magic Published: October 8th, 2015 Read: December 2016 My Copy Publisher: Macmillan Edition: Paperback Purchase Location: Waterstones London

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words - to every 'chosen one' who ever had more on their mind than saving the world...

My Review

I can finally say it! I’ve nearly read every single book by Rainbow Rowell (there’s only My True Love Gave to Me left for me to read). I’ve loved most of them and this is definitely one of my favourites. I was skeptical at first because a lot of people disliked it because of its supposedly being a rip off of Harry Potter (and when it comes to HP I’m really overprotective). Honestly, I did not go far into that theory and didn’t research it either (so I have no clue what Rainbow’s reaction to this is). But I say: WHO CARES? Because Carry On is seriously such a cute story!

If it’s really fanfiction about Draco and Harry, then I must say: Well done. I really adored the story of the two nemesis, although we’re basically thrown into their “ending” part of the story. If you’ve read Fangirl like me, then you know that Carry On was the fan fiction Cath wrote about her favourite children books about Simon Snow. And now we got the actual story she wrote and it’s great!

There are similarities to Harry Potter, so I cannot deny that those allegations aren’t based on solid grounds, but I find it really well done. We all need some fan fiction now and then and turning it into such a great book needs a lot of talent. Carry On is definitely one of those books that I’m probably going to reread endless times, because it just makes you feel happy and be in a good mood and is a perfect read for a rainy day!

I'd like to know

Does anybody know if Rainbow is planning on bringing out a new book sometime soon? I need new reading material from her and I just want to cuddle up with a new fantastic story written by her. Also, let me know how YOU felt about these books! I'd love to talk more about them with you :)

Book Review: Miss Mayhem

About the book

Title: Miss Mayhem

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Rebel Belle #2
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Expected Publication: April 7th, 2015

Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Speak

Edition: Paperback

Purchase Location: Rome

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and her best friend, Bee, has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can focus on the important things in life: school, canoodling with David (her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie), and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant. Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.

My Review

So … my first reading progress update on Goodreads says: "I'm not eyerolling as much as I did when reading the first book so I guess that's a good sign, right? :3". I think it’s safe to say that it was a good sign. I remember not enjoying the first book at all. I think the plot was just kind of weird to me, without any real subtext and I didn’t like the style too much. Which makes me even prouder to tell you that I picked up the second book anyways, and actually quite liked it.

This book was filled with a lot of suspense, turning events and a lot of tension. I’ve come to like (okay, maybe that’s a strong word, let’s go with appreciate) Harper’s character a little better. In Rebel Belle she annoyed me quite a bit which isn’t a good thing for a book, when you don’t like the protagonist. However, it seemed to me that she matured quite a bit and took things more serious. She feels like she has to have everything under control, although that’s clearly not possible and the plot put a lot of obstacles in her way.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews of my friends who feel like they’ve been disappointed, let down even. I’m happy to say that this book actually made the whole series more interesting and against my expectations actually surprised me in a good way. I’m definitely going to pick up the last book in the trilogy Lady Renegades, but I’ll have to wait until the paperback version from speak gets released.

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.

I was so glad to see Bee return, however, I think Rachel Hawkins made it way too easy. I would have liked to see more about her background story. What happened to her exactly when she was away? How did she cope with things? How does she take in the world she’s come back to? I mean really, all the book told us was basically: Oh yeah Bee’s back. She didn’t like her Paladin training. But she’s stronger and better now than Harper. And she’s in love with Harper’s ex-boyfriend. But she doesn’t want to be a Paladin. I was a little disappointed with that turn of events. It was just a way too shallow description in my opinion.

The ending had me really upset. I need the next book to read on what happens. It didn’t make sense to me how David actually managed to leave, because it was clearly said that he couldn’t. I thought maybe he’d die trying or whatever, instead he “just walked over” the town line. I think this made for a pretty good cliffhanger, though! :)

Other books in the series

Rebel Belle #1 (My Review)

I'd like to know

Have you picked up the Rebel Belle series? What are your thoughts on the books so far? If you've read the third book, please don't spoil me! How do you go on with series where you didn't enjoy the first book all too much? I'd love to read your thoughts on this 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...

Mini Book Review: The Lost Hero

Hello there guys! It's been a while and I'm so sorry about that, but it turns out that I didn't get to work less this month. That's why I decided to start posting mini book reviews, because I'm so behind on telling you about all the books I've read the past two months. These book reviews will not contain any spoilery-contents which will make them a lot smaller and quicker to read (and write...). I'm so sorry, but I just don't have the time at the moment to write any thorough reviews, although I'd really love to. Hope I'll be able to do that soon again! Hope you'll enjoy my review nonetheless!

About the novel

Title: The Lost Hero

Series: The Heroes of Olympus #1

Author: Rick Riordan

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

Published: October 12th, 2010

Read: May 2016

My Rating: ★★★★★

My Copy

Publisher: Puffin Books

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Amazon, Online

Goodreads Summary

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? - Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. - Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who;s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason's amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes

Welcome to the official (very spontanious) Shadowhunters Week here on my blog. To start of I'd like to share with you my review of City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) which I finished rereading last week. This book does not count as part of my readathon, but should inspire me (and maybe you) to read more in the series.

About the novel

Title: City of Ashes

Series: The Mortal Instruments #2

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Supernatural, Romance, Magic

Published: March 25th 2008

Read: Reread: April 2016, Read first: 2014

My Rating: ★★★★

My Copy

Publisher: Walker Books

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Can't remember :(

Goodreads Summary

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father. To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father? In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.