Saturday, August 30, 2014

SHADES OF EARTH BY BETH REVIS

      
All the data
Series:  "Across the Universe" Trilogy
Author: Beth Revis
Release: 2013
Publishing company: Razor Bill
Pages: 440 (paperback)

Synopsis
Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh—to build a home—on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight. Amy and Elder must race to discover who—or what—else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed—friends, family, life on Earth—will have been for nothing.

My review
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the previous books in the trilogy, Across the Universe and A Million Suns. If you haven't read Shades of Earth yet, don't worry, this review is spoiler free.
I'm so incredibly sad because another great YA fiction trilogy has come to an end. And, oh man, i'm still not over it. This book was fabulous and now i have this huge desire for another book set in this world (PLEASE, Beth, PLEEEEASE). I'm still not ready to say goodbye to all of these amazing characters Revis created. The author is able to invent well developed characters that you grow to love throughout the trilogy. They feel surprisingly real and i'm relieved that most of their choices are understandable and make sense.
I made up tons and tons of crackpot theories about what might happen in the final installment after finishing A Million Suns. I mean, everything could have happend. Everything. But luckily, i was completely satisfied with how the story ended. Of course I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that it wasn't unrealistic at all, at least for me. It's actually scary how realistic all of it felt.

Let's talk about the romance. I. LOVED. IT. My ultimate bookish pet peeve is instant love and Amy and Elder's relationship is everthing but instant love. Both of them continue to question their feelings for each other for several reasons and i enjoyed reading about those. I'm a bit jealous of Amy to be honest because i kind of fell in love with him, haha. He's one of the best male protagonists i have ever read of. I especially loved reading about how he learned to be a leader. It would have been incredibly unrealistic if a seventeen-year-old (Is he seventeen? I think so, not sure about that though) guy suddenly hapened to be able to lead a mission like that and control thousands of people that are also older than him.
Amy and Elder compliment each other so well and i just can't help but mention the 'stars' metaphor. If you have read book one and two (which you should have, because i am kind of spoiling those right now) you know what the stars mean to them and my heart melt when i read that they begun to use it as kind of a saying ("Oh, stars, Amy").

Beth Revis is a fantastic writer and I will definitely pick up every single book that she will publish in the future. She chooses her words so wisely and is not afraid to let bad things happen to her characters which i consider a positive thing because it makes the story feel much more real. Her writing style is memorable and makes me love this trilogy even more.

By the way: I CRIED LIKE A BABY.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Saturday, August 23, 2014

BOOK HAUL #1: THANKS GRANDMA

Whoop Whoop, i got my first book haul for you!


Daughter of Smoke and Bone // Laini Taylor (paperback)
THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC SO FAR. I'm currently on page 258 of 418 an this is one of the most unique fantasy stories i've ever read. Karou, our main protagonist, is fabulous and the whole plot is unpredictable, original and immenlsly interesting. A lot of people say that you need to take your time with this book - not because its hard to get into, but because there's a lot of world-building going on and you have to pay attention to every detail - and i have to agree, but that shouldn't stop you from reading it!

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay




The Catcher in the Rye // J. D. Salinger (paperback)
This is actually my second copy of The Catcher in the Rye, but because i desperately want to reread it and my first copy is a german translation, i immediately bought it when i found it at a book store. It was the first classic i ever read, mainly because it was in The Perks of being a wallflower (hands down, my favourite book of all time) and Green Day wrote a whole song about it since it's the lead singer's favourite book.

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay




The Eye of Minds // James Dasher (paperback)
If I didn't find this at the book store, I probably would have never ever picked this book up, but i enjoyed James Dashner's Maze Runner series and decided to give his new series a try. All I know about it is that it's about a group of gamers and that's basically it. The description got me interested, but the GoodReads rating is 3.77 and a huge amount of reviews weren't that positive, so i'm not sure when i will actually read it.



Forbidden // Tabitha Suzuma (paperback)
I have also already read this book and since i gave it a 4 out of 5 i obviously enjoyed it. The main characters, Lochan and Maya, fall in love, but there's this small problem they have to deal with: They're siblings. Do I have to say more? I'm not a fan of contemporary, but the topic of this one sounded interesting and i don't regret reading and buying Forbidden.

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay




Ignite Me // Tahereh Mafi (paperback)
Ignite Me is the last installment of the Shatter Me Trilogy which i liked, even though there were a few flaws, but Tahereh Mafi's writing is gorgeous and yes, call me unoriginal, but Warner is one of my latest book crushes. I know this doesn't fit in here but if you didn't know, Tahereh and Ransom Riggs - author of Miss Peregrine - are actually married and have a Youtube Channel. FUCKING LOOK IT UP, it's definitely the most adorable thing in the world.

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay


The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel Graphic Novel //Hyekkyung Baek & Cassandra Clare (paperback)
I'm a big fan of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices Trilogy, so there was no doubt that i would buy the Manhwa adaption of the first book, Clockwork Angel. I'm also finished with this one and i honestly don't know how to rate it. The book got a 4.5 or 5 - not sure right now - so i don't know wether to rate Cassandra's story again or ignore that factor and only rate the aspects of the Graphic Novel.

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay


Shades of Earth // Beth Revis (paperback)
Science Fiction is my favourite genre and this book is part of an awesome YA sci-fi trilogy called Across the Universe. I have started this one but i'm not finished yet (As you can see, I like to read a few books at a time) and i don't want to spoil the previous two books so I can't tell you much about it. I have high expectations though.

Amazon - Book Depository - eBay




Die Verratenen // Ursula Poznanski (hardcover)
Ursula Poznanski is a incredibly talented german author whose books were not translated into English yet which is sad because i rated every single one of them 5 out of 5. I hope this one is as good as the other ones. It's her first dystopian trilogy (all her other books are standalones) and i can't wait to get into the story!

Amazon 

Sunday, August 17, 2014

OBSIDIAN BY JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT














About the book
Series: LUX series
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release: 2011
Publishing company: Entangled Teen
Pages: 335

Synopsis
Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring...until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. And then he opened his mouth. Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is. // Source

My review
WHY THE FUCK IS THIS SO OVERHYPED?

i have to admit that i definitely was prejudiced against this book since i heard someone calling it 'twilight with aliens' and a few booktubers raving about the 'hot topless aliens' in this series. i actually never planned on reading obsidian but i came to the conclusion that i, a huge sci-fi-lover, will give armentrout's lux series a chance and forget about all the negative comments. i really wanted to be surprised, i WANTED to like it, i wanted this book to turn out to be a great YA science fiction novel but it truly wasn't. 

I HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS ANNOYED BY A BOOK BEFORE.

i don't get why this is classified as sci-fi. it's just an unoriginal, cheesy paranormal romance novel (which actually is incorrect as well since the two protagonists don't even end up together cause they're too stubborn and annoying AND FUCKING ANNOYING) with about three.. no, lets say five sentences in it in which daemon 'annoying' black tells katy that he is an alien. the part in which armentrout explains what the aliens in this story are 'made of' and where they come from was kind of interesting, even though it didn't blew me away. that part actually had potential, but the author totally ignored that and decided to go on with annoying me with a shirtless rude daemon and katy who couldn't resist denying her obvious beauty all the freaking time. 

have i already mentioned that the romance between the main characters annoyed me to death? because it did. daemon insults katy and treats her like she's worth less than a piece of shit but the female protagonist still is attracted to him (which she denies to admit, does it surprise you?) since he looks good and is shirtless 90% of the book. of course, who would not make out with a guy who treats me like shit just because he looks good? ARRRRRGHH. i just don't get why so many booktubers / book bloggers admire daemon black so much, he's a rude, sexist, arrogant dickhead to me.

i already told you what i didn't like about katy's character, but i actually did enjoy reading about her personality at times. that's why i rated obsidian as a two-star-book instead of a one-star one, even though i was close to giving it the worst rating possible on this website (which is one star, if you didn't know yet). she is a book blogger and lover, which i obviously could relate to, and sometimes, her comments could make me smirk a litte bit. but that's all i liked about this book, which is sad.

i know that this series is a favourite of a lot of book lovers out there. i'm sorry if i insulted you in any way, but i'm pretty angry at obsidian. i truly don't get the hype surrounding it.

My rating: 1.5 out of 5

Saturday, August 16, 2014

HI. I'M WEIRD. WELCOME TO MY BLOG.

Okay, i don't want to write a whole novel while i'm trying to introduce you guys to my blog so i'll just tell you a few random facts about myself and what i plan to do with this blog. Hold on. Wer're getting started.

- My name's Lina, i'm currently living in Hessen, Germany and i have no hobbies besides reading and the good old internet.

- i'm not yet finished with school, but when i am, i want to work as an au-pair in england for a year. after that, i plan to study publishing and translation. (i also dream of being a writer but, you know, i dream.)
- i'm a proud slytherin and my harry potter obsession is getting unhealthy.
- Green Day is my all time favourite band and i have absolutely no idea where i'd be without them. other bands i adore are Avenged Sevenfold, Blink-182, The Smiths, Queen, A Day to Remember, The Story So Far, Neck Deep, Emily's Army and Depeche Mode. I like music. a lot.

On this blog i will rave/rant/talk/obsess about books. all of them. I will post Book Hauls, Wrap-Ups, TBRs, reviews (of course), book tags and other things. You'll see.