UPDATE

Hey guys! It has been FOREVER since I last wrote and updated here – and I thought it was probably about time to climb back up to the face of the earth and give a little update.

So, firstly, I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while. Around mid April I ended up in a pretty huge slump and it got to the point where even looking at books just didn’t interest me. Reading and blogging etc. was starting to feel more like a chore to me as opposed to something I was really enjoying and I just needed that break away from it. I didn’t even open up Goodreads during my slump, so I am not even sure whats been going on, whats coming out etc. So I am off for a good long scroll through Goodreads as soon as this post ends. I actually recently started reading stuff on Wattpad (THAT is a dark hole to fall into, I am telling you), so my interest is definitely returning and hopefully I will be back at it in no time. I am also currently beta reading, which I am also enjoying, so I will probably pick up something after that (that isn’t on wattpad!). My slump basically means that I am woefully behind on my Goodreads Goal (Which I honestly don’t think I am going to make) but I am still reluctant to change it – I’ll have a think about it. Luckily for me, the stories that I picked up on Wattpad are actually listed on Goodreads, so I can count them toward my goal 😉

In the meantime, I’ve been pretty invested in Kpop and Drama – yet another dark hole that is impossible to crawl out of! For those of you who are interested, Call Me Baby by EXO was my first ever foray into the world of Kpop (We Are One 😉 ) and The Heirs was my first ever KDrama. I also started watching more Korean Variety shows… in a nutshell, you can call me obsessed!

I also just want to thank those people that kept up with Goodreads Monday, even though I didn’t! I will be going through all my notifications and checking them out one by one! I hope you guys discovered forgotten books on your TBR’s!

 

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey everyone! I hope that 2018 is treating you good so far. I am having a terrible start to the year reading wise! I am in the biggest slump and I really don’t feel motivated to do anything bookish :-(. I do have a review I need to write and I have picked up a book in the hopes of reading my way through it, but we shall see how that goes!

Anyway, this weeks pick for me (for when I finally get out of this slump) is a book that I saw reviewed on Beth’s @ Reading Every Night blog. It definitely looks like something I will enjoy and I am really excited to get to it…

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart

Published: January 11th 2018 by Penguin Random House

Sep, Arkle, Mack, Lamb and Hadley: five friends thrown together one hot, sultry summer. When they discover an ancient stone box hidden in the forest, they decide to each make a sacrifice: something special to them, committed to the box for ever. And they make a pact: they will never return to the box at night; they’ll never visit it alone; and they’ll never take back their offerings.

Four years later, the gang have drifted apart. Then a series of strange and terrifying events take place, and Sep and his friends understand that one of them has broken the pact.

As their sacrifices haunt them with increased violence and hunger, they realise that they are not the first children to have found the box in their town’s history. And ultimately, the box may want the greatest sacrifice of all: one of them.

(Rezension) Das Reich der sieben Höfe Flammen und Finsternis – Sarah J. Maas

For all the German people who have been waiting for ACOMAF 🙂

Ruined by Amy Tintera

Ruined by Amy Tintera

Published: May 3rd 2016 by HarperTeen

A revenge that will consume her. A love that will ruin her.

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.

I was a bit wary going into this book because I have read books from Tintera previously which I didn’t enjoy. Whilst I mostly enjoyed this as a whole, I definitely had my issues with this book… so mixed feelings.

I think my biggest issue with this book was that, whilst I liked the characters and each individual voice, I lacked the empathy for them – so I wasn’t really affected when something happened to him. I think not caring about what happens to the characters takes away from the reading experience as a whole – it was more like the characters were acquaintances rather than friends.  I do feel like each voice was unique and each had their own story to tell, but I did struggle to empathise with them.

I did enjoy the plot! I loved watching the characters grow around each other and the way in which the relationships grew and changed throughout the book based on what was going on etc. There were times where I thought the plot was a little slow, but then something would happen and it would pick right back up again!

The ending was absolutely amazing! I was not expecting it to be so crazy… and Olivia! I don’t even know what to say about her! I think she is someone that I am probably not going to like very much throughout the series – but I am looking forward to seeing what she gets up to and just how far she is willing to go to get what she wants.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, but it definitely had its issues. I do feel like it missed that extra spark that made it amazing and I struggled to empathise with the characters. I gave this book 3.5/5 stars.

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and link up to the inlinkz below so that others can see what you picked!

Hey guys! Welcome to May! I can’t believe it’s May already! Anyway, this weeks pick for me is a book that I’ve had on my TBR for years now and I managed to get my hands on the entire trilogy in April (new condition) for 10 Euros – so I am really looking forward to getting to this!

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Published: September 20th 2011 by Greenwillow

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and link up the inlinkz below so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey guys! Happy easter! It has been such a busy weekend – it’s been crazy! I hope you all had a good easter, though, however you celebrate! 😀 Anyway, this weeks pick for me is a book that I am actually pretty excited to get my hands on (since I just re read the blurb) and a book that has been on my TBR since 2014!

Revolution 18 by Gregg Rosenblum

Published: January 8th 2013 by HarperTeen

Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky —they live with their parents in a secret human community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world—by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Hey guys! It is time for another WoW and this weeks pick for me is a book that I think looks really interesting and has all the signs of a twisty book!

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski

Expected Publication: October 10th 2017 by HarperTeen

THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted. You must be younger than twenty-five. You must be willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win.

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe.

Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take; the rigorous mental and physical tests designed to push her to the brink of her endurance. But nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her.

As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down . . . even if it costs her everything.

This sounds really interesting and I cannot wait for its release!

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Published: October 4th 2011 by HarperTeen

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she’s surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

So, I decided to start reading at least one book a month that has been on my Goodreads TBR backlog for a few years now! I always get so distracted by new releases, that I feel like I have forgotten about the not so new books – they need some love! So, here is my first backlog book… and to be honest, it was a DNF! I was majorly disappointed with this book! It is not a good start to my backlog books plan!

My major issue with this was the fact that it was basically a Twilight copy cat. I actually had the feeling I was reading Twilight and I often confused myself because it was just so similar! I mean, I am grateful to Twilight and everything because it got me back into reading and I own all of the Twilight books, I even own multiple copies of certain books (including in another language) – so Twilight is a guilty pleasure. However, I don’t want to be reading a book that copies it.

Another major issue I had was the fact that insta love happened 3% of the way through the book. I mean… insta love, ok – not the best thing in the world – but 3% of the way into the book? It became really repetitive and really boring listening to the MC pine after Edward…I mean Adam… and wondering why he is so hostile toward her.

I was just bored! I didn’t feel connected to the characters; I wasn’t a fan of the fact that we weren’t even introduced to what was going on before insta love happened; and I was not a fan of the fact that the book was written in the sense that it was telling me what was going on rather than showing me. The writing itself was extremely choppy and it changed so suddenly from one scene to another – it made it difficult to actually get into the book and to connect with the characters.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book. It’s a shame that the words did not live up to the pretty cover! I also found out that the third book was never actually published – so maybe it’s better that I didn’t like it! That way I won’t be disappointed with not being able to get the third book! I gave this book 1/5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish

Hey guys! It is time for another TTT! This weeks topic is top ten books I liked/disliked more than I thought I would. I decided to go with book that I liked more than I thought I would! Without further ado and in no particular order…

10. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma – If you read the blurb… I think most people automatically go NOPE based purely on the subject matter. However, I had heard some amazing things about this book, and I went into thinking that they can’t even be remotely right because…incest?!? However, this book broke me and my poor little feelings in all the right places and I would definitely recommend it!

9.  Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley – I really detest this cover and it is a book that I really would never have even considered if I hadn’t seen a glowing review first. I still went into this book thinking I wasn’t going to get along with it and I absolutely loved it!

8.  Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill – I was expecting to like this book, but I was not expecting it to blow me away the way that it did! I was left speechless and I had no idea how to even form words – let alone write a review!

7.  Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas – Anyone who knows me knows that I love myself a good whodunnit. I think this one is absolutely my favourite and I think after everything that happened and the feelings etc. If you’ve read it, you’ll understand – I loved this book more than I ever thought I would!

6.  Follow me Back by A. V. Geiger – Admittedly, I finished reading this on Saturday… I went into this book with the usual expectations of a book of this nature… but I was left reeling by the end and I just NEED THE SEQUEL!

5.  Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron – I actually lowered my expectations for this one because it’s really difficult to get the perspective right from which this book is written – and usually it’s done completely wrong! However, I was absolutely blown away by this and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

4.  This is Where it Ends by Marieke Niejkamp – I am always on the search for books of this nature, however, half the time, I’m left disappointed. This book, however, exceeded my expectations and I cried for so long afterward!

3.  Spelled by Betsy Schow – I have definitely read my fair share of Fairytale retellings, so I wasn’t expecting much different from this book. However, my poor ribs!!! I’m pretty sure I cracked one laughing!

2.  Everlasting Flame by Katelyn Anderson – I went into this expecting to like it because the blurb has everything I look for. However, Joan and Dane definitely have a special place inside of me and I could re read this 1,000 times over and never get bored!

1.  The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey – I was unsure about zombies in this. I doubted how well it could be portrayed considering all of the zombie films/ programmes there are out there. However, the way in which this is written etc. was absolutely amazing!

That’s it! I loved all of these books more than I was really expecting to and I am so glad that I picked these up! Have you read any of these? Did you enjoy them?

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. In order to participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off!! Don’t forget to link back here!

Hey guys! I wanted to check out a link in system so that those of you who participate can linkup at the end of this post and see what everyone else is posting… BUT I was ill – again! So, I am going to have a look and get back to you guys on that next week! Anyway, this weeks pick for me is a book that has a lot of controversy surrounding it. I have heard the arguments from both sides and I do understand that the book is problematic because it has hurt readers… however, I would still like to give this book a chance.

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Published: January 17th 2017 by Katharine Tegen Books

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

I did really enjoy Roth’s Divergent series (despite the horrific ending!!), and I have had this on my TBR since I found out about it! I am definitely excited to see what this book is like 🙂

What books are on your TBR’s? Feel free to let me know in the comments.