Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare // Book Review

Lately I have been reading books that I knew nothing about other than the genre and that other people on the internet (I sound so old here) had recommended them. I actually love reading like that. I generally never read the synopsis on the back of the book anymore because there are just way to many spoilers contained in that. There is nothing like starting to read a story and knowing absolutely nothing about what to expect. To me it adds a lot to the experience and that is precisely why I am so conflicted about writing book reviews. There is a delicate balance necessary between simply recommending the book and actually telling people what it is about so they know whether it is of any interest to them. This is me trying to do exactly that:

Clarissa Clare has written a lot of books by now and they all take place in the same world (as far as I know). The world that Clare has created is a big part of what I enjoy about her work. Clockwork Angel is the first book in the The Infernal Devices trilogy but it is not the first book Cassandra Clare has ever written set in this universe of demons, werewolves, and shadowhunters. I read the The Mortal Instruments before I read this novel but in my opinion it does not matter what series you decide to start with. One thing I would definitely not recommend doing is watching the movie / TV show adaptations of her work before you start reading because they both contain a unbelievable amount of spoilers while still being nothing like the books (it can be very confusing). Don't even watch the trailers.

This particular story is set in 19th century London and you follow the main character Theresa Gray as she arrives there from New York. That is about all I want to tell you before you start reading. I know it is not much but I will try to keep the rest of this review as abstract as possible to keep the possible spoilers to an absolute minimum.

Cassandra Clare is amazing at creating worlds, characters and over all atmosphere. To me there is something very distinct about her writing style. Her stories have a lot of twists and turns and even though I find it sometimes a little too easy to see whats coming next I only ever see it coming two pages before it happens and not right form the beginning (does that makes sense?). Something else I want to add here is that after starting to write this review before I started reading the second instalment in the The Infernal Devices I have changed my opinion a lot about this book. I have not finished the second book yet but all I want to say is that even though there a lot of (to me) YA cliches in this story they turn out not cliche at all.

Like I said I have not finished this series yet (let alone the second book) but I already feel like I can make the following statement: When I finished the first book I had this weird feeling of something missing in this story and I could not pinpoint it until I started the second book. I almost feel like this is one massive book and not three individual ones. I like the first book more the more I read of the second because so many things from that story make more sense now. I am not quite sure I managed to put into words what I mean but I hope it makes sense to you.

Overall this is a great YA, supernatural series and please do not let the movie or TV show keep you from reading Cassandra Clare's books. The characters in this book a lovely and let me tell you: there is absolutely nothing in this book that does not happen for a reason. I love how well thought out Clare's books are and I here the finally of this series is as satisfying as it gets for finales. I am really looking forward to that!

What is your favorite YA, supernatural series?

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes // Review

I am not quite sure how to categories Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - contemporary maybe? I do not want to spoil anything for you my summary of the plot is very vague. The story is set in a small town in England in 2009 and follows the main character Lou who - after losing her job at a cafe - starts a new job as a carer for Will Traynor who is a quadriplegic person.

This is my first book by Jojo Moyes and I loved it. I flew through it - I only had to take a little break to sleep for a few hours. Those are my favorite kinds of books, the ones you cannot put down and basically read in one sitting. I loved all the characters, the setting and I cried multiple times. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads and I would definitely recommend anyone to pick it up who is in the mood for a good, emotional, not too sugar-coated read.

I have worked as a carer myself and even though there were a few parts that were a little unrealistic to me the author still created a story that felt very authentic to me. I have heard negative opinions from people that are disabled and felt very misrepresented in the novel. I am not disabled and do not want to speak for these people but my personal opinion on this is that while I think I can understand what upsets them I still think this story is very specific to the characters involved. Every person has a different way of dealing with their circumstances and how they effect not only themselves but the people surrounding them. To me this novel was about people having very different but at the same time valid opinions about certain subjects and while you can try to change somebody's mind they are still entitled to their on opinion and have the right to follow through with their decisions on how to live their life. (I am sorry. I am not a native speaker and I find it quite hard to put these things into words without giving anything away about the plot).

The movie Me Before You is hitting theaters right now - but if you have not read the book, be warned: there are spoilers in the trailer! Even though I have not seen the film yet the trailer makes the story look a little more cheesy than the book actually was. I actually bought the book after picking up a brochure advertising the movie at the cinema when I went to saw the new X-Men movie that included a little extract form the book.

What did you think about Me Before You?

Please do not leave any spoiler in the comments!

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer // bookreview

This is a collection of short stories by Marissa Meyer about characters we all know from the Lunar Chronicles.

There are stories that take place before the events we read about in the previous books and others that take place later. There is a story included where we read a scene we already know (and love) form an other character's point of view. Another one of the short stories is a retelling of the little mermaid where we learn about characters that we never even heard of before.

I absolutely loved the Lunar Chronicles and was so very excited when I found out this book was coming out. You can imagine my expectations where high - probably a little too high. I did like this book but I did not love it as much as I expected to. The stories were all great but I would have preferred to read about what the individual characters did after the last book ended. (A little like the scenes after the credits of a movie... does that make sense?).

These stories were all short stories, so I understand that we have to skip over a few details but I did not like the way how major problems from the last book were simply explained in a few sentences. I would have rather not known how they solved it and for it to simply remain a mystery.

I still enjoyed Stars Above and loved seeing all my favorite characters again. If you loved the Lunar Chronicles I would definitely recommend to get your hands on this book.

What did you think of Stars Above?

January Favorites // 2016

alverde Shower Gel With Pomegranate & Ginger: Maybe I found my perfect shower gel brand? I cannot tell you why I have not tried alverde shower gels earlier since I generally like the brand you would think it was the first brand I tried. Now I am so happy I tried it! The scent is intense and different from any other shower gel I used before. It moisturizes my skin and there are a lot of other scents to chose from - I already got a new one to try after I use this one up!

p2 Perfect Nail Hardener: I just wrote a review on this nail polish that you can check out here: click. I started doing my nails regularly again this year and noticed that I had never really talked about this polish on my blog before. I am really happy with it and that is why it was time to include it in one of my favorites!

Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford Coloring Book: I got this as a Christmas gift from one of my best friends and I just freaking love it. I had my eye on these coloring books by Johanna Basford for quite some time now and I am so happy to finally have one! I like drawing and art in general but sometimes you just do not know what to draw. When I am lacking inspiration and just want to relax I love coloring. The drawings in this book are fantastic and I love the mix between very small patterns and bigger open spaces. If you want t try coloring I can highly recommend this book.

What were your favorites of January 2016?

Gone Girl // book review

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller by Gillian Flynn - or at least that is what I would call it. I have never read a 'crime story' or 'thriller' or whatever you want to call this. I am new to the genre so Cannot compare this book to any other of its kind nor do I know if the things I do not like about the book are due to the story or simply a matter of genre.

I do not want to spoil anything for you and because I think that it is best to start any book (or movie) knowing as little as possible here is all I will say about the plot: Amy and Nick are a married couple that lives in the US and one day Amy goes missing. That is all.

It took my a long time to read this book - which had nothing to do with it being almost 600 pages - I just took a longer break from it. I had to. The first half of it was not boring but it also did not capture me. The interesting stuff - in my opinion - happens in the second half.

Over all I liked it, but I did not love it. It did not capture me to the point that I had  to continue reading. I am also not so sure I enjoy the rather dark atmosphere of the whole story. That part - I guess - is simply part of the genre. I do not mind a story getting really dark, I am simply not a fan of a book that stays that way throughout the entire story. I will soon read another thriller and we will see how enjoy that one.

Over all I gave this book three stars on Goodreads and I guess I can recommend it. It is not a bad book, it is simply not one of my favorites.

What did you think about Gone Girl? What other thrillers can you recommend?

Please leave me recommendations n the comments!

Winter by Marissa Meyer // Review

Winter is the fourth and (as far as I know) the final book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. It actually comes out today  (11/10/15) but Amazon sent me my copy early.

You can check out spoiler-free reviews of Cinder, Scarlet and Cress on my blog if you are thinking about starting this series (which you should!!!).

Winter is retelling the story of snow white while still following the stories of all the other characters. Basically, with every book there are at least two main characters added. That means that now we are following eight (or nine) main characters (and of course queen Levana) which could be confusing but somehow it is not. I like switching perspectives with almost every chapter, I do not think I have ever read a book that does that.

It is an wonderful conclusion to an even more wonderful series. I am hardly ever happy with endings when it comes to book but this time I am - I am also devastated that I finished the book way too fast. Well, let's just hope Marissa Meyer will come out with a new book as fast as possible - tomorrow maybe? Needless to say I gave this books 5 stars on Goodreads, right?

PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!

Cress by Marissa Meyer - Book Review

Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.  I will link (spoiler-free) reviews of Cinder and Scarlet. This one is a retelling of Rapunzel.

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads. This is the biggest book in the Lunar Chronicles so far but if it was up to me it could be more than twice the size - I cannot get enough of the series! Why is Winter coming out in November?! Thinking about this makes me sad...

I still love all the characters and I love where the story is going. It was fast pace and funny while still leaving room for each character to develop and have their own part of the story be told. I do not want to tell you more because I just do not want to spoil you on anything. Just go read it, it is amazing!

What are your thoughts on Scarlet?  NO SPOILERS PLEASE !

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Book Review

Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. If you have not read the first book I will link the review here click because this review might contain some spoilers from the first book. There will be no spoilers for Scarlet though!

I gave Scarlet five stars on Goodreads, I read it in one sitting. It was impossible to put down. This book series consists of fairy tale retellings, every book focusing on an other fairy tale and another main character. Even though there is a new main story the story line from the first book Cinder still continues which I was very happy about. This was clearly a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood but that did not mean you know what was going to happen. I loved this book which is not that common for a sequel and would recommend anyone to start this series. It is something new and exciting, the characters are great and you can truly dive into this futuristic world.

There is just one thing I have to warn you about and that is that there are pretty and there (sadly) are very ugly covers for this series. I have accidentally ordered one of the not so pretty versions of the book and though normally I would not care so much about the cover it annoyed me a lot. It does have the same design but it is 'placed' differently so just be careful if you care about these kind of things!

What are your thoughts on SCARLET? Do you have any book recommendations for me? Please do not leave spoilers in the comments!

CINDER by Marissa Meyer -Book Review

Cinder is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer that was published in 2012. I do not want to spoiler this story so I will say is that it is fairy tale retelling set in the future. It is the most amazing thing ever.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. First of all I love fairy tales and the only thing sad about it is that this book is more a retelling of the Disney Cinderella version while grew up with the 'original' German version. I still loved this novel. I have never read anything like it before so I do not know what to compare it to. I liked the characters and the 'world' it is set in. What impressed me the most was the seemingly natural incorporation of typical fairy tale  themes like the evil stepmother. To me it never felt like they were just added to remind the reader of the fairy tale but all served a specific purpose in the story line.

This book is most definitely one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I have already ordered the sequel and cannot wait to get into it.

What are your thoughts on CINDER by Marissa Meyer? Please DO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS in the comments! - Thank you.

LEGEND by Marie Lu - Book Review

LEGEND is the very first book I read in 2015. I hope it will not be the last and so in order for me to feel more motivated to read I have decided to write reviews on my blog.

PLEASE NO SPOILERS!!!

LEGEND is a dystopian novel by Marie Lu. It is told from two different perspectives: fifteen year old girl named June who is looking forward to a great and fast carrier in the military and a fifteen year old boy called Day, a criminal the government has been searching for for a long time.

I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. I do not really get the hype about LEGEND but maybe I would have enjoyed this book more when I was younger (maybe 14 to 16). To me the way the characters act is rather unrealistic. They change their opinion way too easily and 'the way they discover things' seems a little staged. I did enjoy the way the book was written but I did not relate to any of the characters (Tess is my favorite though). Ultimately that is why I do not think that I will pick up the sequel PRODIGY any time soon. Maybe when there is a movie coming out? ;)

Over all I am sorry to say that I would not necessarily recommend this book but maybe if you are younger it is a cool story to read from the perspective of somebody your own age.

What are your thoughts on the LEGEND? Please do not leave any spoilers in the comments!