♥ Namesake (Adrienne Young) – Review ♥

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“Helmsman. Dredger. Trader. Orphan. Father.
Daughter.“

Title: Namesake
Author: Adrienne Young
Published: March 16th 2021 by Wednesday Books
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.25 Stars)

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Synopsis (from goodreads):

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and the rest of the crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when Fable becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination, she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception, she learns that the secrets her mother took to her grave are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them, then she must risk everything—including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

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My thoughts

As some of you know, I have really enjoyed the first Part of this Series, Fable. Even though I didn’t like some parts of it, I still thought that it was an enjoyable read and really well written.
Last time the book ended with a rather interesting cliffhanger, which was another reason I wanted to read this book. (not just my obsessed love with pirates and the sea)

And to my surprise, this book was much better than the first one in my humble opinion.

This time I really fell in love with Fable. She’s a total badass, but she isn’t perfect like most of the portagonists in YA books. There are some things that she as a person needs to work on, and this is exactly why I started loving her. Fable, as a character, had sharp edges and depth which made her much more realistic and not just some kind of cutout perfect character that you can throw into your book without spending much thought about it.

Someone I also really fell in love with is Fable’s dad, Saint. I already loved him in the first book, but in Namesake the relationship between him and Fable got so much deeper and much more lovable, that I even cried when he has finally called her “his daughter”.
That was such a emotional moment for me, which made my body tear up and cry like a teenager who has just watched 13 Reasons Why. (talking about me here, how I literally cried my eyes out after the last episode of the last season)

I just really cherished the father-daughter relationship Saint and Fable had and it was really lovely and heart-warming to see them both evolve into such loving characters.

Talking about relationships, let’s take a look at the relationship West and Fable shared. Which was complete garbage in my opinion.
There was still no chemistry between them, which I already didn’t like in the first book. It all just felt really insta-lovey and just…bad.
To be honest with you, I think that Koy and Fable had way more chemistry in those few pages, than Fable had with West in the whole two books.

West was also a really annoying character for me. He seemed to do everything for Fable because he loved her, but didn’t really show any ounce of it.
This guy literally didn’t care about his whole crew not wanting to do something because he “wanted to help the love of his life” but Fable literally NEVER asked him for help.
At this moment I just wanted to reach through the pages and punch him.

But let’s move onto the worldbuilding. This is something I have criticized in the last review, and this is something that has changed a lot for the better.
I really loved the atmosphere of the whole world and also how distinct some things were. First, I wasn’t sure how much you can “world build” on the sea, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Looking back at the first book, Namesake was really much more packed with plot and action. So many things have happened and it was a complete 180 from the last book. This was something I really enjoyed as well, since I literally couldn’t put the book down and flew through it.

Overall, this book was much better than the previous one. I really enjoyed reading and listening to it while feeling like a pirate.
I would have loved giving this book 5 stars, but sadly there were still some things missing for me even though I was able to connect more with the characters and crying at the end of it.

I would recommend this book to the people who have read the first one of course. Especially the ones who didn’t enjoy it as much and found it quite boring.
This book really is a more action packed one and has a lot more going on that the last one.

Right now I am reading “The Last Legacy” by Adrienne Young, which is also set in this universe. So you can probably see that I really enjoyed this one quite a lot! ♥

♥ Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros) – Review ♥

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“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead.”

Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Published: May 2, 2023
Genre: Fantasy, New Adult
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 Stars)

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Synopsis (from goodreads):

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die

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My thoughts

I really fucking loved this book and enjoyed every minute I was able to read it. Being a really slow reader I managed to finish this book in 2 days, showing you how much I enjoyed reading it. This was my first 5 star in a while, and I am really glad that I was able to read it. I can’t wait for the second book to come out in this series, and I am waiting patiently for the day I will be able to fly through that book as well.

The writing style was really lovely to read, especially for someone who’s native language is not English. This is something really important for me as my mother tongue is German/Slovak. It was really easy to understand and follow along, especially in the fight scenes which are sometimes a real struggle for me to understand and follow. The pacing was also really well-chosen for the book itself where it is around medium-fast paced, making you always wanting to read more and more.

The characters of this book were very well thought through, giving them each a different personality and character. I was easily falling in love with all of them as they were very well crafted and I enjoyed all the conversations between all of them. Of course I had some favorites and some that I didn’t enjoy quite as much, but that is because I didn’t like how they were handling the main character at first (which was probably intended). Making me not only attached to the main characters, but also the side characters made me really emotional from time to time as I really only wanted the best for them and rooted for each and every one of them to survive.

The romance of Violet and the main love interest was also quite believable and I didn’t feel like it was insta-love. I could see the progression and how things changed within them, making it quite believable. I really started rooting for them and was so happy once everything turned out alright for them. The tension and chemistry between them both was building up in such a well pace and I really enjoyed the romance due to that. Plus the spicy scenes were really hot.

The world building was very well crafted and easy to follow, especially when it came to all the politics, which are mostly the hardest part for me to understand and follow. I was really able to be pulled into the world and escape from everything.

The dragons in this book were phenomenal. I really enjoyed the conversations they had with their riders and also how ruthless they were. When it came to the dragons of the main characters I was able to really fall in love with them as well, wanting to protect them at every given moment (even though they can protect themselves really well on their own). You can feel how some dragons give off this dangerous aura and I would probably be too scared to even come close to some of them.

The ending took me off guard as well and I loved how fast paced everything became when it came to the last 20%-10%. I really rooted for the characters and also cried a lot in those last percentages. As always, it ended off on a cliffhanger, but I’m really excited for the next book to come out soon so I can binge it again.

All in all this is one of my most favorite reads of this year and I really hope that my review makes you want to pick it up as well!

♥ April 2022 Book TBR ♥

Hello and welcome to my Book Blog ♥
Thank you so much for being here, it really means a lot to me 🙂

Today I wanted to share my April 2022 Book TBR as to what I am going to read this month (or at least try to read this month..)

Lately I have been struggling reading a lot, but I am really pushing myself to read more as it is self care for me and it makes me really relaxed in these stressful weeks ♥

Welp, let’s jump straight into it 😀

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The first book I am planning to read in April 2022 is…

Lost in the Never Woods
by Aiden Thomas

Synopsis (from goodreads):

When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.

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The second book on my TBR for April 2022 is…

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas

Synopsis (by goodreads):

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

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The third book I have on my TBR for April 2022 is…

If we were Villians
by M. L. Rio

Synopsis (by goodreads):

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day of his release, he is greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, and he wants to know what really happened a decade before.

As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain, hero, temptress – though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless…

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The fourth book on my April 2022 TBR is…

From Blood and Ash
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis (from goodreads):

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

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What are some books on your TBR for April 2022? ♥

♥ Serpent & Dove – Review ♥

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“I was no one’s sacrifice. Not then. Not now. Not ever.”

Title: Serpent & Dove
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Published: Published September 3rd 2019 by HarperTeen
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 Stars)

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Synopsis (from goodreads):

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

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My thoughts

First of all, I was really excited about this book. Not because it was hyped to death on Booktok, Booktube and Bookstagram, but because it was about a Witch and a Witchhunter who fall in love.
This was really interesting to me, as I myself am practising witchcraft and it has helped me a lot mentally and physically.

So already we can see that I had some sort of connection with this book going into it, because of me being a Witch myself and reading about Witches made me really excited. But this book sadly did not deliver, which is why I have given it 2 stars out of 5.

Mostly this rating came from it being problematic in terms of Fatphobia, Racism and more, but we are going to go into detail later on.
I will also link two videos which talk about these problems in detail and are much better at explaining than I am.

Starting off, with the least insulting thing in this book, and that is that it was pretty boring for me to read/listen to. I started reading this book physically but soon switched over to an audiobook because I just couldn’t concentrate on it too much.
This audiobook was the only thing that was keeping me from just DNFing this book because I kept on listening to it when I was playing Stardew Valley, one of my favorite games on my Nintendo Switch.

Somehow I have hoped that this would make me enjoy the book more because I have paired it with one of my favorite video games.
Yes, there were some scenes which made me enjoy the book quite a bit like the banter between Lou and Reid, which I thought was adorable and also with how the magic system worked in some sort of “exchange”-system (e.g. Lou breaking her fingers in order to lockpick or Coco needing to drink blood). It is not something normal witches do, of course, but this gave the magic a bit of an interesting touch.

The characters were like me in middle school wearing an A-Cup, and by that I mean flat, especially Reid. The only things he was good at, was that he was able to get really aggressive and possessive.
What a great personality.

Reid constantly felt like Lou was only his, and somehow treated her like an object which he could possess. I know that thirteen year old me would have found that quite sexy, but seeing that this book has an really explicit sex scene, this wouldn’t have been the book for me either ways.

Already talking about Lou and Reid, let’s look into their relationship shall we? Well, this book having a hate to love trope in it, I was prepared for them to fall in love with each other sometime in this book (especially because this is a romance). But boy was I shocked when they changed their opinion of each other faster than my dog starts to bark when he sees something which he’s not familiar with.
From one second to another they were able to fall in love with each other, forgetting everything that has happened between them. They literally just took more than half of the book at threw it outside of the window.

The only two characters I loved and were the saviour of this book were Coco and Ansel. Ansel is such a cutiepie and I loved him so much, shipping him A LOT with Coco.
Coco on the other hand was one of the most badass characters of this book. She was literally my sunshine in this book, but sadly the Author didn’t see it like this because Coco was just the trophy best friend who is black.

Starting from here, we are going to talk about the problematic stuff which has happenend in the book.

As I have already mentioned, Coco was a person of color and she was one of the only ones. This book was 99% white and 1% diverse, if not even less. I mean it’s great that the author thought about putting diversity into the book, but it was so poorly done.
Like all white characters were described really beautifully and when it came to the POC they have used the most common words and one didn’t even have a name and was constantly being referred to as “the ebony witch”.

Something different that really annoyed me, was the constant “bullying” Lou did to other females who weren’t her friends. She was literally the “I’m not like other girls”-girl.
This wasn’t the only thing occuring to women in this book. Lou was extremely disgusted by sex workers and needed to “scrub herself clean” after being in a brothel, plus when she made a list of the worst things she has ever done, she listed “sleeping with a prostitute”. I’m sorry, but what?
The Feminism in this book was extremely lacking, as we could have already guessed.

There was also fatphobia and transphobia in play in the book.

First, the fatphobia.
There was only one character who was a bit thicker than the whole cast of the book. Constantly he was being referred to as “waddling” and also being made fun of indirectly by being shocked of how he was able to stand up so fast because of his weight.

Now to the transphobia.
Witches were constantly referred to as only “females who were able to birth life”. This is not true, as anybody could literally be a witch, no matter what you are identifying as (talking here about IRL Witchcraft).
I am not trans myself, so I don’t want to talk about their perspective onto this, but in my opinion this went a bit too far, even if it’s just a fantasy book.

I wasn’t able to write down all of my thoughts as I am not the best at explaining myself, especially when ranting, so please if you would like to have more info on why this book is problematic and why I feel so strongly about it, watch these videos as they were able to capture my whole rant into a better explanation.

Talking about why the book is problematic overall

Talking about the Witchcraft aspects of the book

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All in all, I don’t want to ruin your favorite book here and I am glad that you enjoyed it as much. These things are just too much for me to be overlooked and shouldn’t be brushed away in my opinion.

Plus whenever I will hear of this book, I will be reminded of “Big Tiddy Liddy”.

♥ Fable (Adrienne Young) – Book Review ♥

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“You weren’t made for this world, Fable.”

Title: Fable
Author: Adrienne Young
Published: September 1st 2020 by Wednesday Books
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.75 Stars)

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Synopsis (from goodreads):

For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him, and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.

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My thoughts

This was the first book that I have read completely by Adrienne Young, and I have really enjoyed it. It was fun and entertained me quite well, even though there were some things that I haven’t enjoyed as much.

First of all, the world wasn’t built well enough for me. I didn’t expect some Lord of the Rings detail of world building now, and I also understand that you can’t really build a lot when most of the story takes place on sea. For me, personally, there wasn’t enough for me described and I wasn’t able to fully place myself into the story.
Granted, it is really hard to build a lot when most of it is just water.

For the characters, I really loved Fable and Saint. They were really well built characters for me with a lot of depth and you could really understand their situations and where they were coming from.
Mostly, I was feeling really sad for Saint as, in my eyes, he didn’t really deserve a lot of the hate from Fable.
Coming to the crew, the only ones who had a little bit of personality and character were Willa and West. Sadly, I didn’t really feel that connected to them as I wanted to.
The rest of the whole Crew was just pushed into the back a lot, which was really sad for me as I wanted to really know more about the LGBTQ+ relationship the crewmates had.

When talking about the characters I will also need to mention the relationship/romance between the main characters. For me, the story could have been great without the aspect of this relationship as well. It didn’t really bring a lot to the table and also felt a bit pushed. In my opinion, it was unnecessary.
Through the whole book both of them didn’t really have any chemistry and there were no indicators as to any of them liking each other in a romantic way.
Pushing this romance in there, especially in the last few pages, was a bit too much for me.

Now I will talk a bit about the pace of the book. It was really slow and dragged on a bit. Nothing much happened except in the last 10 to 20 pages, where so many things happened back to back. I somehow felt a bit overwhelmed as the pace literally made a 180.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable and I loved that it was a Fantasy on the sea. Sadly, I wasn’t able to connect too much to the characters, so that I wasn’t feeling many emotions while reading the book.
If I could have connected more it would have been a really good 4 Stars for me.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for adventures on the sea/on a boat. Be warned that it is not really past paced, so if you don’t enjoy books like these, it might be a bit boring for you.
The writing was also easy enough to read for non-native English speaking people.

I will definitely read the sequel to this book probably anytime soon as I already bought it yesterday.

♥ 5 MUST-READ YA books in June 2020 ♥

Oooh it’s already June? The time went by so fast! I hope you all had a great 5 months already and I hope that this month will be even better!

Today I will show you 5 books that will be released this month and my opinion about them based on their description! ♥

So let’s jump right in!

Book releases on June, 2nd 2020

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/36UyJah *

My opinion: I have the first book still sitting at home and I haven’t read it yet. But I’m still excited about the 3rd book in the series! I am planning on reading all three at once!

Synopsis (from goodreads):

Welcome ​to 1876 and a rootin’-tootin’ America bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou.

JANE (a genuine hero-eene)

Calamity’s her name, and garou hunting’s her game—when she’s not starring in Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, that is. She reckons that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.

FRANK (*wolf whistle*)
Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler is the Wild West’s #1 bachelor. He’s also the best sharpshooter on
both sides of the Mississippi, but he’s about to meet his match. . . .

ANNIE (get your gun!)
Annie Oakley (yep, that Annie) is lookin’ for a job, not a romance, but she can’t deny there’s something about Frank she likes. Really likes. Still, she’s pretty sure that anything he can do,
she can do better.

A HAIRY SITUATION
After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s been talk of a garou cure. But things ain’t always what they seem—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.

 

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3coDIBb *

My opinion: This one looks so good! ♥ I love the cover and the synopsis! It gives off such a witchy feeling! I’m so in love. Def. gonna read this one!

Synopsis (from goodreads):

The Wicked Deep meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this gripping, dark fairy-tale fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island city.

Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.

Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice.

Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.

When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.

Book releases on June, 9th 2020

Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3eK9xpS *

My opinion: This is the 2nd book in a series that I have never heard of. But it sounds so good??? I really want to read the first book and then the second!

Synopsis (from goodreads):

Dangerous secrets and forbidden desires lead to shocking consequences… Don’t miss book two of the fantastical Harbinger trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout.

“Jennifer L. Armentrout’s intoxicating new fantasy is her best yet!” — New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter on Storm and Fury

A half human, half angel and her bonded gargoyle protector must work with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.

As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led…herded…played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.

Book releases on June, 30th 2020

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2AC1e0c *

My opinion: OMG! So excited for this one! I have read and loved the previous books in this series and I want to read this book asap! ♥

Synopsis (from goodreads):

The follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie follows Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date—with disastrous and hilarious results.

Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.

Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady.

Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they’ll never forget.

 

TRUEL1F3 (Truelife) by Jay Kristoff

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2AB8GsQ *

My opinion: I know that this is the 3rd book in the series, but the series kinda never appeared on my radar. Now that I hear of this, I’m so angry at myself that I didn’t read it yet haha

Synopsis (from goodreads):

From the bestselling co-author of the Illuminae Files comes the thrilling finale in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy–hailed by Marie Lu as “a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means.”

Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you’re on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves–and each other–was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war–this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus’s army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn’t stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free, a task requiring both Eve and Ana, the girl she was created to replace. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.

* This is an affiliate link, if you buy through this link I will get a small commission from it. You don’t have to pay more than usual though!

 

♥ An small update ♥

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

― J.K.Rowling

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Hello everyone ♥
Today I am here to update you on why I haven’t been that active lately.

To start all off, I started University last September and I was pretty much stressed because of it. It stressed me so much that my mental health was getting worse and worse until the point that I needed a new therapist. Now my mental health is getting better and better but only slow steps at a time. I have been diagnosed with a new Disorder which really threw me off. But I’m not ready to talk about it yet. I don’t even know if I ever will be able to talk about it someday, but we’ll see.

Books were always something that helped me go through my mental health, but because of university I kinda stopped reading and everything just got worse. Right now I’m slowly going to read again, but it takes time. Currently, I have some books to read and review and I am planning on posting on Youtube and Instagram again, but please don’t stress me!

I will be trying my best to succeed with this and to live happily again, but it takes time. So there will only be some posts at a time, but everything will get better ♥ I promise ♥

Best,
Luna ♥

♥ January TBR ♥

Hello and welcome to my new blog post! How are you all? I hope you’re feeling well 🙂

Today I wanted to talk about my January TBR, I know, I know, January is nearly over, but I want to show you my TBR for the remaining moth 🙂

So let’s jump right into it!

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The first book that I would like to read is Follow Me Back by A. V. Geiger!

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2Re9vwc *

Synopsis (from goodreads):

Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like his speaking directly to her…

Eric Thorn is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies.

When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast—like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn…

Told through tweets, direct messages, and police transcripts.

 

I chose this book because I thought the plot was really interesting and the cover caught my eye. Currently, I am on page 176 and I am enjoying it so far! 🙂 I am only halfway through and it is currently a 4/5 Stars. Let’s see what will happen next! 🙂

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The next book is The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson!

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2NsgqAO *

Synopsis (by goodreads):

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—”not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

 

I chose this book because my mental health is really down currently, so I needed a self-help book and I saw many good things about this one! Really many people recommended this book to me, so I have really high hopes for this book and hopefully, I won’t be disappointed!

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The third and last book is Shadow Of The Fox by Julie Kagawa.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/30njxPA *

Synopsis (by goodreads):

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.

 

I got this book in a book box before and I was really intrigued to read it, but university and life came in between. So now I am ready to read it! I haven’t heard many things about it, but I love to jump into books blindly!

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Thank you for reading my blog post! 🙂
I have a schedule finally! Every Wednesday I will post a Review, TBR, Tag, etc. and every Sunday I will post a Book Diary of every week from now on! I hope you will enjoy! 🙂

I also have a lot of books to review, so be prepared for that! 🙂

 

* This is an affiliate link, if you buy through this link I will get a small commission from it. You don’t have to pay more than usual though!

♥ Forged Purity – Review ♥

{Unpaid Advertisement}

“Love was such a powerful thing; even the most wicked and callous were capable of feeling it.”

Title: Forged Purity (Book #1)
Author: Louise Rachel Malhi
Published: September 29th 2019 by Eruditus Publishing
Genre: Dystopian, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5 Stars)
BUY HERE!*

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

If you like The Hunger Games crossed with The Maze Runner, with the romantic elements of Twilight, this is for you. . .

When he is the only person who can’t be seen…

In a dark reality run by Media UK, everyone’s life is put on display for entertainment. Nobody escapes being filmed, and nobody questions the system. Until seventeen-year-old Adele Jones gets forced into their covert experiment…her memories manipulated and twisted as part of a grand test.

She must escape the experiment, before she is pushed to the brink of insanity. But to do this, hidden away from the city’s watchful eyes, she needs help. And there is only one option…

…Jason Highbridge – the one person who can’t be filmed. A guy with dark secrets more powerful than Media UK itself.

But will Jason’s unhinged nature get the better of her before she can escape?

Young Adult, futuristic thriller based on science fiction, containing mild dystopian themes

Mild language, mild graphic scenes, suitable for age 14 plus

Additional information

This story includes adventure, mystery, forbidden love, with plenty of twists and turns. It questions the morality of the money-grabbing media, and touches on the themes of the heavy reliance on technology, a big brother style world, genetic experimentation and drug development.

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“Great dystopian thriller from a debut novelist”

“This book is primarily aimed at the teenage market but ultimately transgress to the wider reading audience such as myself. The story is set in the not too distant future and the author touches on how much control the media has over it’s citizens and more importantly the government (Sounds familiar?)
It is a fast pace story featuring two protaganists and a six month timeline, jumping forwards and backwards. You are left wondering what is happening until the end for the big reveal. The ending of the story leads the way towards the next book, and i for one will look forward to it.”

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I’m going to start off by saying that I have received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All my reviews are honest and I wasn’t paid to say something positive about this book. That being said, let’s continue to the review.

I know, I know, you should stay objective in a review, but I need to say this. I LOVED THIS BOOK. From the first page on I was sucked into the world and I read through it really fast. I couldn’t put the book down. I literally stayed awake the whole night with my eyes nearly closing to read this book.

The writing was wonderful, so wonderful that I had the whole book playing in my head and it didn’t felt like reading anymore. I love that feeling! It wasn’t simple and not too hard to read, it was just perfect.

It was written that well that it was keeping you on the edge of your seat, wanting to read more and more. It was fast-paced and the characters were written really well. There was great character development and you could really feel the emotions of the characters.

For me, the best chapter was still the first, just how you got thrown inside of the world was wonderful and how it just grips you and pulls you in is fantastic.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopian sci-fi books. It’s a really great read and you can’t put it down once you started.

I’m already waiting for the next book from the author.

 

*This is an affiliate link, I get paid if you buy the product.

——> CLICK HERE!!! <——

♥ Grüß Göttin – Review ♥

This book is in German so this will be a German review.

{Unbezahlte Werbung}
Vielen Dank an Jetta Heinen das ich das Buch Testlesen durfte! ♥

“Live Your Life To The Max”

Titel: Grüß Göttin
Author: Jetta Heinen
Erscheinungsdatum: 1. November 2018
Genre: Slice of Life
Bewertung: ★★★★★ (5 Sterne)

Klappentext (von lovelybooks):

Was glaubst du, wie viele Menschen es da draußen gibt, die uns guttun und von denen wir nicht einmal wissen, dass es sie gibt?

Über Prag wollte die junge Lehrerin Elise aus Berlin ursprünglich nicht nach Zürich, doch auf ihrer Zugfahrt lernt sie die Künstlerin Babette kennen. Nach einer Zugpanne hinter Dresden beschließen die beiden Frauen in der kalten Winternacht alleine weiterzuziehen und schon bald wird Elise klar, dass mit dieser Frau alles ein großes Abenteuer ist. Was sie nicht weiß, Babette trägt ein schmerzhaftes Geheimnis in sich.

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Ich habe dieses Buch zum testlesen Anfang Oktober bekommen und habe mich sofort darin verliebt. Es ist eine wunderschöne Geschichte über Freundschaft und Familie.

Normalerweise lese ich Bücher in diesem Genre nicht, aber dieses Buch hat mich echt überzeugt! Der Schreibstil ist wunderschön und die Charaktere sind bis ins letzte Detail durchplant.
Als ich dieses Buch das erste mal aufgeschlagen habe, hatte ich noch nicht damit gerechnet so ein großes Abenteuer mit den beiden Hauptprotagonistinnen zu erleben. Ich habe mich gefühlt als ob ich mit ihnen dieses große Abenteuer durchlebe.

Dieses Buch hat mich sehr viel zum nachdenken angeregt und hat auch sehr viel mit meinen Gefühlen gespielt. Mal musste ich lachen, mal weinen und das ist was dieses Buch so unglaublich toll macht!

Das Ende dieses Buches hat mir komplett das Herz zerrissen und ich konnte nicht aufhören zu weinen.

Dieses Buch ist der netten Jetta sehr gut gelungen und ich finde es einen sehr guten Debütroman! ♥

Ich würde jedem dieses Buch sehr ans Herz legen, also hört auf mein Review zu lesen und kauft es wenn es erscheint! ♥