I read entirely too many books the last two weeks, and decided, that if I would write a monthly Wrap-Up no one would read till the end, because it’s just too long. Ain’t no one got time for this. So here are the books that I have read till now
Hollow City
by Ransom Riggs
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Rating: ✯✯✯
Summary: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.
This book felt like a filler. I enjoyed the first volume a lot. It was so much fun to read and similar to watching a Tim Burton Movie (I had that feeling before I knew there was a movie coming). But the 2nd book did not deliver, even with the positive things. Let’s get to them first. I loved that we get to know the characters beside Jacob and Emma better. Now I feel like they have a real personality, something I missed in the first book. The ending was great and I totally loved the last 30 pages. I also loved the one scene with the sisters. For the rest, I felt that this book was a patchwork of short stories, I wanted to have a fluent story, with character growth, and the kids overcoming themselves. And that’s not what I got, the kids stayed the same, Jacob stayed the same.Where was the angst? The weird- and wickedness? If there is an action scene and you know that one character is missing, you know who will save the day. If the characters don’t face consequences when something happens, a reader won’t break into sweat. So no sweat for me.
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Artwood
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Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
Summary: ‚It isn’t running away they’re afraid of. We wouldn’t get far. It’s those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge‘
Offred remembers her old life – love, family, a job, access to the news. It has all been taken away. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire
Includes exclusive content: In The ‚Backstory‘ you can read Margaret Atwood’s account of how she came to write this landmark dystopian novel.
A List of Cages
by Robin Roe
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Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
Summary: When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.
I picked this book up because it mentioned a character with AHDH, which I feel is like a big topic that just gets ignored all the time. Going into this book my expectations were pretty low, because so many people were raving about this book. After I finished the book, I joined the train, too. It’s awesome. The best part is, that this is the book I wanted to read when ‚The Fault in Our Stars‘ came out. I have a big problem with stories that center around one character dying. It’s horrible, yes, you are all going to cry about that, yes, but it doesn’t happen a lot. What happens a lot in reality is child abuse and poverty, and not a lot people write or talk about that. These kids always get forgotten. I love ‚A List of Cages‘ for that. For writing a story for these kids. (Plus the ADHD character is so well portrayed, I was reminded of the kids I get to know who suffered the same, it was so throughly positive, i wanted to cuddle the book to death)
Daughter of the Burning City
by Amanda Foody
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Rating: ✯✯
Summary: A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years.
„So, um, hi. I am Sorina, the MC of the book. I am right in the middle of a puberty crisis and basically have no consistency at all. I have that cool ability with which I can create other people, that look like freaks, hence the title of my show is ‚Freak Show‘. These freaks have their own personality and are actually behaving like total normal humans. I don’t have any friends beside that, because I do not have eyes, and people think that’s really monstrous, although they all grew up with me and are as freaky as I am. And really, who needs any friends if you’ve got your own creations to talk to, we can just create our own family, why not. I also should mention that I am kinda like a princes and am going to inherit the leading position of the whole circus at one point. I think I don’t really want to do this, but I totally want all the benefits that go with this position. I have never heard of the word responsibility, but if you break my creations I will totally go and cry to my daddy.“
This was hard to read, i never want to do this again. Yes, I know the cover is beautiful, but gosh I didn’t like that book.
The Sun is also a Star
by Nicola Yoon
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Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Summary: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
I think a lot of people have already written reviews about this book. I picked it up because of the short stroy from Nicola Yoon in ‚Because you love to hate me‘. Great book. No, I am still not going to read ‚Everything, Everything‘.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
by Becky Chambers
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Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Summary: Somewhere within our crowded sky, a crew of wormhole builders hops from planet to planet, on their way to the job of a lifetime. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, and one patched-up construction vessel is a mere speck on the starchart. This is an everyday sort of ship, just trying to get from here to there.
Originially I dnfed this book at 30%. That was sometime in May. It was slowpaced, nothing happened, and that nonviolent communication thing, gave me goosbumbs. Shortly afterwards my brother got his hands on this book and told me to read it, because he liked it, and if he liked it, I need to like it, too. Secret family code, so because I love and trust my brother, I finished the book. It definitely got better, it will never be one of my favourite books, but i enjoyed the last half a lot. Lots of people love this, so I think this is the ‚it’s me, not you‘ thing I have going on.
Atheists Who Kneel and Pray
by Tarryn Fisher
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Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Summary: Yara Phillips is a wandering muse.
She dates men who need her, but always moves on to something new, never staying in one place for very long.
David Lisey is in need of a muse.
A talented musician lacking lyrical inspiration. When he first sees her, he knows he’s found what he’s been looking for.
Yara believes she can give David exactly what he needs to reach his full potential: A broken heart.
David’s religion is love.
Yara’s religion is heartache.
Neither is willing to surrender, but religion always requires sacrifice
I had two days before #theReadingQuest started and I could continue with my TBR, so I made use of it and read the new Tarryn Fisher book in between. I should probably not do this, because these books kind of hurt. I think I didn’t like it as much as ‚the Opportunist‘ but it was still great. This book is for all those girls out there, that got so hurt in their lives, that they just can’t trust anyone anymore. Sadly, they will probably not get any hot rock mucisian who is willing to put up with their drama, but that’s not important. Important is, that you can change, that you can start a new, and start trusting other people again. Or you don’t and that is okay, too. I was no big fan of descriptions like slut or whore, because I wouldn’t call my friends like that, or people that I know, it doesn’t make anyone cooler. So 4 stars.
I may add quotes later, for now, I am pretty okay with leaving this post like this. it were A LOT of books in a short amount of time, you see.
I feel that Daughter of the Burning city’s book cover is calling to me. „Buy me“. But gah, the reviews, such a shame. One of the best covers I’ve seen this year though, for sure.
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YES I KNOW! That damn beauty and the book was just so bad. I feel like they needed the great cover, just to sell the story. And I didn’t even have high expectations or something. But there are so many people loving it, so I don’t know. It’s the same with Caraval. That book is total shit, but people loved the cover, and a ton of people loved the book. So I think for me it’s an age problem, I have totally outgrown that story.
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I’d most likely feel the same while reading. That’s why I go by your reviews. I’ve outgrown many things as well!
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haha, I am so happy I can help and you like the stuff i write 🙂
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