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5/28/2016

Stacking The Shelves #8


is hosted by Tynga´s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks!

A little while ago I found at my library’s “antique shelf” (that is actually a rack that contains three shelves where you can buy books for one euro; money that goes straight into the cash box of the library for new books) a paperback by Mary Kay Andrews. I have never read any of her novels, but the cover caught my eye and it is an original one, so I bought it. Yep, a trip to my town library is always combined with some danger to my purse *smile* - because most of the time I go there I end up with a book I bought right out of that “antique shelf”.


Bought Books

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews 


First husbands
Annajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husbands, Mason. They´ve been divorced for four years, she´s engaged to a terrific new guy, and she´s ready to leave the small North Carolina town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe this happened for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back …
Second chances
But there are secrets afoot in this small Southern town, and soon Annajane discovers that change can bring out the worst in people – even her own friends and neighbors – and uncover family scandals. Happiness could be hers for the taking … and the life she once had with Mason could be in her future. But first, Annajane must find out what she´s really made of, and what really matters most.



Reviewer´s Copy

Rogue by Julia Kagawa


Okay, the cover of the original book is not as beautiful as the German edition looks (see the purple cover), but right now I am way more interested in how the story about Ember, Garret, and Riley continues. And since I got it a few days ago and am already close to the end, I put it in today’s STS.






Happy reading







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5/25/2016

Waiting On Wednesday #8 – Island Of Glass by Nora Roberts


is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. This meme is a place that spotlights upcoming releases that we´re eagerly anticipating with pure joy. I was in my early twenties when I discovered the books of Nora Roberts. The fact that she´s moved from a publisher she´s worked with for many, many years is in some ways wonderful news.

And now I sound strange – but don´t mean to. She hasn´t told what reasons exactly it was that had made her look for a new publisher, she only said that sometimes things don´t fit anymore and she now found a new place where she feels comfortable again. Those are my words, not hers, but the meaning of them is the same. So if I am informed right, the book “Island of Glass” will be the last one she´s publishing with Berkley. And I can´t wait to hold it in my hands, to read and see how the story of the Guardians will be finished.




Island Of Glass
Author Nora Roberts
The Guardian´s Trilogy #3
Publishing Date December 6, 2016
Publisher Berkley
Format Paperback
Goodreads

As the hunt for the Star of Ice leads the six guardians to Ireland, Doyle, the immortal, must face his tragic past. Three centuries ago, he closed off his heart, yet his warrior spirit is still drawn to the wild. And there´s no one more familiar with the wild than Riley - and the wolf within her ...
An archaeologist, Riley is no stranger to the cost of Clare, but now she finds herself on unsure footing, targeted by the dark goddess who wants more than the stars, more than the blood of the guardians. While searching through Irish history for clues that will lead them to the final star and the mysterious Island of Glass, Riley must fight her practical nature and admit her sudden attraction to Doyle is more than just a fling. For it is his strength that will sustain her and give her the power to run towards love - and save them all ...


And what are you waiting for? Let me know your thoughts about this one or leave me the link to your WoW and I check it out.


Happy reading & waiting on







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5/23/2016

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater


I fell in love with the fantastic cover the book has. It wasn´t the title or the fact, that this is the third installment of Maggie Stiefvater´s famous The Raven Cycle series. No, the way how the cover is created, the color combination, and that it shows obviously Blue – all that made me want it. I was asking myself after the first book The Raven Boys, what had happened to Neeve. In this book, I got the answer. And what answer that was – I literally smirked during I read that scene.


Blue Lily, Lily Blue
by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Cycle #3
Publisher Scholastic Press on October 21, 2014
Genre Mystery
Pages 400
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear. Visions can be mislead. Certainties can unravel. 
Story
Adam still works on his plan to repair the Ley-Line and his connection with Cabeswater is not uncomplicated but he has to deal with it. Blue´s life has changed a lot since her mother disappeared from the surface of the planet. Although she kind of knows where she is, her mother at least left her a note, but life isn´t the same without her. And when she, Gansey, Adam, and Ronan start to discover the cave and keep on searching for a way to awake the lost king, they also find some very interesting things in their own lives as well.

Style
The story is mostly told in the third person perspective from Blue. But from some other characters, the reader gets to know the thoughts and hopes as well. Maggie Stiefvater hasn´t managed to let her third book of The Raven Cycle, be as great as the former two books, but Blue Lily, Lily Blue is very entertaining, has a lot of acrimonious dialogues and scenes, and shows things you´d never have imagined. The author uses words like a weapon and combines them with a fantastic plot, entertaining scenes, and a bunch of thrilling characters. The mix is one hell of a diversified novel where a lot of different tones come up. The story is filled with irony, sarcasm, and wonderful thoughts, and Maggie Stiefvater is devoted to her unique writing style and how she uses words. Though I enjoyed it very much, for some reason, I couldn´t stay so focused on it as I was with the other two. There was nothing wrong with the things that happened, nothing wrong with the acting characters or why they all did what they did. I guess it was more of me. Despite that, I am looking very much forward to get to the last book of this series.

Characters
A lot of new characters show up in this third book. Well, they are not completely new – they were in the previous books part of a telephone- or a normal conversation, so they are not really new – but they never showed up in person. In Blue Lily, Lily Blue they appear and that with a certain kind of irony and sarcasm. I had to shake my head over some of their thinking, how they tried to scare the Raven Boys or Blue, for that matter. And to see how they were acting along with each other was quite fun.

Gwenllian – she is one heck of a crazy but great figure. Her appearance in the Sargent household is hilarious. She is a whirlwind and creates nothing but chaos. Well, okay after being kind of buried for several hundred years in a cave, I guess, we can concede a person this behavior. I admit, her lack of manners is not that ideal, but hey, she says nothing that´s untrue. She is blunt and yes, she has a sometimes very rough way to make her point, but she never harmed anyone; or at least not yet.

Blue gets for the first time in her life confronted with the cruel face death can have. And that shakes her to the ground. It is one thing to know that death is part of life and to help her family to get the names to warn those people if they were customers of them. But it is for sure something quite different to see death with your own eyes, to touch death. She is a remarkable teenager and how she deals with it, is outstanding.


Conclusion
I had my fun during reading, and it was very entertaining, but not as much fun as the other two Raven Cycle books before. I highly recommend it anyways.



Happy reading



Maggie Stiefvater
Maggie Stiefvater ©Robert Severi



All of Maggie Stiefvater´s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you´re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical edition (all of which she´s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She´s made her living in one or the other since she was twenty-two. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

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5/21/2016

Stacking The Shelves #7


is hosted by Tynga´s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks!

At first, I was told it would be delivered on May 13, 2016. Then, it was at the end of the first week of May, I could see that the book was on its way according to the green balk in my account. Expected delivery: May 13 – a FRIDAY! Okay, I thought; I am no friend of that date, but hey I wrote one of my most important exams on a Friday the 13th and all went perfectly well. So I kind of calmed down and couldn´t wait to hold it in my hands. Then Friday, May 13th dawned, I had a painter in the house and a lot of other things going on, but it came in no text that my book had arrived at the local post office, where it was supposed to be delivered to. Instead, I found in my customer account the info, that the approximately new delivery date would be June 23, 2016 – no reason was to find there why that had changed. So I called and asked why I had to wait because I saw that they had it in stock. I got the answer that they had no clue what had happened. But they would go back to me as soon as they would have an answer, but it could take a few days.

Then silence. Nothing happened.

Until two days ago when I received an e-mail that my book was on its way. On Thursday 19th, I could finally pick it up at the post office and since then I am literally dancing in my living room.



Bought Books
A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas       







Feyre survived Amarantha´s clutches to return to the Spring Court - but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can´t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin´s people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms - and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future - and the future of a world torn apart.


Reviewer´s Copy
Sternenwald by Julie Heiland










This book is currently only available in the German language. I already read it, but due to some publisher rules, I am not allowed to publish my review about it until its expected release date on May 25, 2016.


Happy reading

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5/18/2016

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater


It was no question at all that I had to read this one. The first book The Raven Boys was, even though it was a completely new writing style for me, a wonderful experience. And the second book was no exception. If I had to put it into one single word it would be: fantastic! Not only the cover looks great it also shows Ronan, which looks so great in my eyes, and who is – besides Adam – such an unbelievable fascinating character. Sometimes it has to be the right time for a reader to find pleasure in reading a book. For me, when it comes to The Raven Cycle, this time is obviously now.


The Dream Thieves
by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Cycle #2
Publisher Scholastic Press on September 17, 2013
Genre Mystery
Pages 416
Format Hardcover
Source Library
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶

If you could steal things from dream, what would you take? Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself. One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams. And sometimes he´s not the only one who wants those things. Ronan is one of the raven boys -a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who the think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan´s secrets it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.
Story
Gansey is still searching for the lost king. But since Adam awoke the Ley-Line to her original power without asking him first their relationship isn´t the best. And the fact that Blue stands between them things doesn´t make things easier. But Ronan tops them all. His nightmares are worse than ever, he isn´t sleeping anymore and when he finds out the truth about his mother and why his father´s last will is written the way it is, he is in rage and does everything to come to terms with his secret. A secret, he can´t any longer hide from others and he doesn´t want to.


Style
Maggie Stiefvater throws the fascinated reader into a story where the Ley-Lines and Gansey´s search for the lost king builds the wonderful frame for the growing love between him and Blue. Okay, I admit, I had a bit of a bumpy start over the first few pages. But that was me, not because of the writing style the author has or the story itself. For some reason, I had indeed the strange feeling that I hadn´t read the first one at all, and with that, I mean understanding the plot, seen the scenes before my inner eye – so many questions marks popped up in my mind. But the more I read, the better it got.

The Dream Thieves is written in the third person perspective mainly from Ronan, but from others from time to time too. The dark side of Ronan is shown in a very impressive way and together with the unique writing style Maggie Stiefvater has, this second book becomes one hell of a story. The author uses words like a weapon and she never misses her target. Not in a dangerous way, no, every word is to the point and in combination with the fine sarcasm, the irony that shows through the sentences, the reader can´t but feel haunted and thrilled. Great dialogues, fantastic scenes, and a very special atmosphere make this novel for every mystery fan the perfect one. And the scene close to the end, where they attend the 4th of July party one of the characters is hosting, is quite something.

Characters
Figures with a lot of pain, rage, desperation, and endless patience and peace give The Dream Thieves the special something. They're profound, very compelling, and seem to be like you and me – like out of real life.

Adam wants to leave his past behind him, to become someone – but not at any price. When he awakes the Ley-Line and makes a deal with Cabeswater, he starts to change. It takes him a while to understand what´s happening and when he finally knows it, he decides to do things his way. And exactly that is it, that makes him one incredible young man. He isn´t willing to let anyone else, but him, make the rules. He is in charge, no matter what. But despite that, he still believes that everyone sees from where he is, what evil heritage he carries inside him. The way how he overcomes that bit by bit is remarkable and perfectly set into words by the author.

Blue is still an important part of the group. Not that much around, as she used to be in the first one, no, but her impact on the others, her way of being is impressive and as strong as ever.


Conclusion
This novel became more and more haunting, thrilling and so wonderful entertaining – I am simply hooked. Now I can´t wait to read the next one.



Happy reading







Maggie Stiefvater
©Robert Severi



All of Maggie Stiefvater´s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully emplyed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you´re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she´s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She´s made her living in one or the other since she was twenty-two. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

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5/18/2016

Waiting On Wednesday #7 – Empire Of Storms by Sarah J. Maas


is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. This meme is a place that spotlights upcoming releases that we´re eagerly anticipating with pure joy.

After it turns out that I have to wait till the end of June 2016 to get my copy of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (God alone knows why!), I am at least happy that I now know how the cover of the newest book in Sarah J. Maas´ Throne of Glass Series will look like.

I am not really happy with it, but I guess the content of the book will be more important for me this time, as the cover itself.




Empire Of Storms
Author Sarah J. Maas
Throne Of Glass Series #5
Publishing Date September 9, 2016
Publisher Bloomsbury
Format Hardcover
Goodreads

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic fin themselves at odds with those don´t.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelinis to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.


And what are you waiting for? Let me know your thoughts about this one or leave me the link to your WoW and I check it out.


Happy reading & waiting on


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5/16/2016

A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas


I know Sarah J. Maas from her TOG novels and actually, read this book out of curiosity. A Court of Thorns and Roses is completely different from her other series and to be honest: I never expected such a story or the way she´s written it, from the author. A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in her new series. Usually, I am not a big audiobook fan, but this one I started as audio and was hooked from the first tone I heard. The protagonist has a fine sense of irony and after I listened to a few chapters I turned to the book and finished it with growing empathy and fascination not only towards the characters but the plot itself too.


A Court Of Thorns And Roses
by Sarah J. Maas
A Court Of Thorns And Roses Series #1
Publisher Bloomsbury on May 5, 2015
Genre Fantasy
Pages 432
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶½

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal  but Tamlin - one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As Feyre dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility to a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she´s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it ... or doom Tamlin - and his world - forever.
Story
Prythian is split. The land, in which Feyre and her sisters were born, is not what it used to be. The humans fear the Fae, and they torture the humans as they please. Since her father lost the family fortune, Feyre is the one who takes care of herself and her sisters. During one of her hunting trips, she kills a wolf. And with that kill, everything changes. Not only for her but for her family as well. The High Fae claim that the Treaty has to be fulfilled, and so Feyre has no other choice but to follow the monster, that showed up on her threshold. What she then discovers behind the wall, is a world of mystery, magic, and secrets. Some of them are wonderful, some of them cruel and soon she learns that it takes all that she is, has and will be, to save her love and the lives of those who are connected to it.

Style
The author has a unique fantasy. Her language is clear, full of emotions and especially the way how Feyre thinks, speaks and behaves is really thrilling.

Written in the first-person narrative, the reader has a very intense and intimate look at the protagonist and insight of her. The life she has to live wasn´t her choice. And she certainly doesn´t enjoy what she has to do, to keep herself and her family alive. But she does it without complaining. She holds herself back, and even in those moments, where she faces the pure Fae evil she stands strong and with her chin held high. Feyre shows a mix of courage, self-doubt, and self-pity. But when it comes to the moment where it counts she won´t back down.

Good, there are a few scenes in A Court Of Thorns And Roses, where I had my problems with the way how they were described (for my taste way to kitschy), and sometimes I couldn´t quite follow the logic the author had put into her lines. But all in all, I really enjoyed it and had a great time.

Characters
Sarah J. Mass created in her new series a great bunch of different characters. And with that, I not only mean the difference between Fae and humans. Endless hunger for revenge, the thirst to let others bleed and suffer tremendous pain, cruelty, passion in every form and compassion are among those characters as well.

It was a wonderful thing to see how all those emotions, feelings and reasons why they did what they did unfold during the story and with every page I turned I became more and more captivated by Feyre and Tamlin. And not to forget Alis; she has a very unique way to bring the world of the Fae closer to Feyre.

But to be honest, at some point I could have yanked Nesta against a wall and would have loved to give her some hand language! I mean hello?! Wants to have a warm meal and sit by a hot fire, but she´s too lazy and vain to either go hunting or clean or even go outside and chop some wood. Her coldness, her way to treat her younger sisters – at least Feyre – was a shame in my eyes. Okay, later on in the story the reader gets some kind of insight about how she ticks and why she acts like she does, but still, I couldn´t really get warm with her.


Conclusion
This book provides an emotional rollercoaster for both parts; the figures and the reader as well. And everyone who´s a fantasy fan and likes to read something that´s a bit out of the ordinary will find here a wonderful read. Yes, there are a few scenes in it in which I had my problems to follow the logic of the author and where I thought ouch, that´s a bit too kitschy, and made me give this novel four and a half stars. But in the end, I was stunned and needed a few days to come clean with my mixed feelings. And now I am looking forward to the arrival of the second book.



Happy reading

Sarah J. Maas
©private




Sarah J. Maas grew up in Manhattan and lives with husband and dog in Pennsylvania. Already with the first design to Throne of Glass she caused sensation. With sixteen she published “Queen of Glass” (the title back then) in an online forum for authors and initiated with that one of the earliest online phenomena worldwide.

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5/14/2016

Stacking The Shelves #6


is hosted by Tynga´s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks!

It seems that I have bought a lot of Nora Roberts books lately *laughing* No matter if it is a book written under her pen name J.D. Robb or under her normal name as Nora Roberts. The weird thing: usually a German edition of her title goes published around April or some months later. The last one was The Collector in 2015. This year there is no German edition of her book The Liar insight. And you won´t be able to gather any information about why that is or when it is planned to come out in Germany. No chance. But lucky me I already got it in English, so no real harm was done, right?

The cover design of The Raven King got my attention first – and was the reason why I bought it right away. In case you´re asking, nope, I hadn´t read any of the other three books till that day, and neither known that this series was so famous nor popular. Yep, I know, for one, whose passion is books and reading almost unbelievable *laugh*.

A few weeks back I was asked by a German publisher if I wanted to participate in the market research the publisher is doing from time to time. I thought why not? Signed in and a few days later I had a book by Lauren Oliver in my mailbox which turns out to be a thank you gift for my participation; isn´t that nice? Panic was for a long time on my “I-want-this-book-List” but it never made its way into my home. Now I´ve got it and hopefully will soon be able to read it.



Bought Books


The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater


For years Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he´s drawn into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a life; and Blue, who loves Gansey … and is certain she is destined to kill him. Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.


Angels Fall by Nora Roberts


The sole survivor of a brutal crime back East, Reece Gilmore settles in Angel´s Fall, Wyoming – temporarily, at least – and takes a job at a local diner. One day, while hiking in the mountains, she peers through her binoculars and sees a couple arguing on the bank of the churning Snake River. And suddenly, the man in on top of the woman, his hands around her throat … By the time Reece reaches a gruff loner named Brody farther down the trail, the pair is gone. And when authorities comb the area where she saw the attack, they find no trace that anyone was even there. No one in Angel´s Fall seems to believe Reece – except Brody, despite his seeming impatience and desire to keep her at arm´s length. When a series of menacing events makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reece must put her trust in Brody – and herself – to find out if there is a killer in Angel´s Fall before it´s too late.

Thank You-Gift From A Publisher

Panic by Lauren Oliver



Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12.000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She´d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he´s sure of it. But what he doesn´t know is the he´s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them – and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.



Happy reading











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5/13/2016

Verschollen Am Mount McKinley-Alaska Wilderness by Christopher Ross


I kind of discovered that book a couple of years back at my library and since I couldn´t find any other that caught my interest that day I took it home and started reading. Christopher Ross was absolutely new to me at that time and this series sounded promising. Today I have read all of his books from this series, there are four so far, and it is always some kind of pleasure. Sadly, his books or most of them – his Alaska Wilderness series included – are only available in the German language. But I hope that´ll change and till then I will publish my thoughts about them in English so that you can get at least a glimpse of their beauty.


Verschollen Am Mount McKinley*
by Christopher Ross
Alaska Wilderness Series #1
Publisher Ueberreuter on September 9, 2013
Genre Children 12+
Pages 224
Format Hardcover
Source Library
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶

Julie is her big dream, becoming Ranger, very close: She starts an apprenticeship at Denali National Park in Alaska. Even her beloved Huskies she´s allowed to bring with and to go on patrol with the Husky sled. As Julie with her colleague is about to lead a touring company to Mount McKinley, she wants to prove that she is good for ranger, and that not even the handsome Josh can destract her. Can Julie master her task, though her protéges get themselves into danger?
Story
Julie has a big dream: she wants to become a ranger at the Denali National Park in Alaska. A dream she does everything for. Together with her beloved Huskies she starts an internship at the park and discovers the beautiful landscape on the sled during she´s on patrol. Not even the handsome Josh is able to abstract her from making her dream come true. But when she is told to guide a hiking group during their tour at Mount McKinley, she has to prove that she is really able to master her tasks; even when one of her protégés is getting into real danger.

Style
Maybe not everyone will like the writing style of Christopher Ross. He writes very decent, uses a clear and simple language and you won´t find much of action or fights in his novels. But maybe this is exactly what brings the special charm to his stories. Verschollen am Mount McKinley is written in the personal perspective by Julie and takes the reader into the daily life a ranger or in this case, an intern has to manage. The care of her Huskies is as much important as the protection of the wildlife at the park. From his writing to get to know that the author knows what he is writing about, that he is somehow familiar with the landscape, the life in Alaska, and that he knows the American mentality. But I have to be honest, if it wasn´t for the great landscapes he´s describing in this book, I wouldn´t have lasted long reading it. It takes the author quite some time before he starts to bring some action into the plot before he gives you a really interesting glimpse into the daily work of the rangers in this story. But from there on you are hooked and can´t put it down anymore and it feels more like reading a thriller than a children´s book.

Characters
The author doesn´t provide a lot of description when it comes to his different characters. You get only what he thinks is absolutely necessary and the rest is up to you. I like that kind of space, to watch a character during a story, to see how and if they develop and with Julie you get a real good look inside a person who is bound to her dream, devoted to her Huskies and not in for a new love.

Christopher Ross created with Julie a young woman in her early twenties. Her parents are divorced and she is not what you would call a friendly or very extrovert woman. But she is fascinating in her own ways. She sees everything from a different perspective thinks differently and acts very thoughtful. For a woman, that age usually not normal but it suits her. And during the story evolves you get to know why that is and it makes her even more likable. Becoming an intern at the Denali National Park in Alaska is for Julie everything. One step closer to become a real Ranger at the park. And if that means that she has to concentrate completely on her work and leave her private life at zero for a while, then so be it.


Conclusion
A very sensitive novel, with some problems at the beginning, yes, but after that, it becomes a kind of almost thriller with a fantastic story and great entertainment.



Happy reading


*This title was at the time of review only available in the German language.

Christopher Ross


Christopher Ross is the pseudonym of Thomas Jeier, born in Minden, Westfalen in 1947. He grew up in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. After his apprenticeship as bookseller, he became editor in chief of a youth magazine. He lives nearby Munich and “on the road” in the USA. For his books and documentary films he has been decorated several times.


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5/11/2016

The School For Good And Evil by Soman Chainani


I love great covers, and this one caught my eye the very minute I saw it in the bookstore. Seldom had I seen one that promises so much fun, humor, and sarcasm in one and without reading the summary first. And my first impression was soooooo right! The two main figures are one hell of a show, the plot is set in a world everyone knows only too well and there is not a single page in it or word that is boring. Take your time and read this. You will be surprised at what you will discover and how great fairy tales can be – if you look at them from a different perspective.


The School For Good And Evil
by Soman Chainani
The School For Good And Evil #1
Illustration Iacopo Bruno
Publisher Harper Collins on May 14, 2013
Genre Children 12+
Pages 496
Format Hardcover
Source Publisher
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away. This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.
Story
The legend says that the Shadowman takes two. And the entire village is willing to fight and to keep their children at home with their families. But Sophie actually wants to be kidnapped and taken to the School for Good and Evil. She strongly believes that she is a good girl and that her life will change for the better the moment she sets a foot on the doorstep of that legendary school.

Style
Soman Chainani has a wonderful fantasy and a great way to bring new meaning into the existence of Snow White and many other fairy tales. His language is very pictographic and if you want to know how many sorts of blue there are then you have to read this book, that´s for sure. And another thing is for sure: I´ve never read a book with so much sweet stuff in the plot. Every room in the School for Good is made out of some sort of candy. Candy canes, caramel, candied plums; chocolate, and other sweet stuff are used to bring the opposite to the School for Evil to the reader. That one is dark, dirty, and everything else but a nice place to be. And when feelings kick in, and Sophie starts to turn her real self outside, the School for Good and Evil sees for the very first time what real evil means.

Characters
Agatha is the opposite of Sophie. She loves dark clothes, her dirty looks, and the greasy hair and that nobody wants to come closer to her. But when Sophie gets taken and Agatha tries to free her, both find themselves soon in that dark wood and right above the School for Good and Evil. Only that not Sophie is the one who becomes a student at the School for Good but Agatha. Both girls believe, that someone has made a huge mistake and from now on they do everything to set things right. But magic is all around and there are rules which need to be followed and when Agatha and Sophie find out the real truth behind the Master and his book – their destiny is already set.


Conclusion
Good, I admit the cover is really not what we grownups usually prefer as a book cover, but keep in mind that this is actually a children´s book. So it fits perfectly and the content is so fantastic, you should read it – honestly.



Happy reading



Soman Chainani


Soman Chainani’s first novel, The School for Good and Evil, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, as did each of its two sequels, A World Without Princes and The Last Ever After. The series has been translated into over twenty languages across six continents and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. As a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s MFA Film Program, Soman has made films that have played at over 150 festivals around the world, and his writing awards include the Sun Valley Writers’ Fellowship. When he’s not telling stories or teaching in New York City, Soman is a die-hard tennis player who never lost a first-round match for ten years . . . until he started writing The School for Good and Evil. Now he loses all the time.

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5/11/2016

Waiting On Wednesday #6 – It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover


is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. This meme is a place that spotlights upcoming releases that we´re eagerly anticipating with pure joy. I only know Colleen Hoover so far from her Slammed books, so I am really curious if her style will be kind of the same. The cover for sure got me already, but if the novel itself will be able to do that as well; I don´t know. We´ll see. So this time my Waiting on Wednesday is about “It Ends with Us”.




It Ends With Us
Author Colleen Hoover
Publishing Date August 6, 2016
Publisher Atria Books
Format Paperback
Goodreads

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.


And what are you waiting for? Let me know your thoughts about this one or leave me the link to your WoW and I check it out.


Happy reading & waiting on
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5/09/2016

The Obsession by Nora Roberts


A great novel that gives you everything you expect not only from the author but also from a fantastic plot. Yes, this book is not as light and bright as The Liar was, and it is for sure not always easy to read about all that sickness Naomi´s father has inside him and how that inspired others to follow his lead, but Nora Roberts managed to get all of it into a wonderful balance. But either way, it was a fantastic read and I was kind of sad when it was finished. I could have easily read more about Naomi, Xander, and their life.


The Obsession
by Nora Roberts
Publisher Berkley on April 12, 2016
Genre Thriller
Pages 453
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶


"She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her."
Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father´s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can´t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she´s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up - especially the determined Xander Keaton.
Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she´s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and as she´s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
Story
Naomi is a little girl when she discovers a terrible secret that puts her father behind bars for the rest of his life. She moves with what´s left of her family to her uncle Seth and starts all over. Still, her life remains clouded by the horrible past and a father who never lets his family forget what he did. But when she finds the old house on Point Bluff and starts to settle in, she also starts to believe that she can have a normal life of her own. And gets ripped off that dream the minute she discovers the corpse of a young woman only steps away from her house. The nightmare starts all over again, and when her brother Mason figures out that this wasn´t only the beginning but the conclusion of an obsession, she has to face the bitter truth: The unknown offender wants her, not alive but dead and she knows him even she can´t remember.

Style
As always Nora Roberts uses a clear and sensitive writing style and words to bring the darkest parts of a human soul to life. Surrounded by a beautiful landscape she throws the reader within seconds into the scenery, so horrible and disgusting, you only can believe it when you´ve read it. No child should ever see or know that things like that exist, what young Naomi had to discover. Written in the figural narrative situation the reader gets to know Naomi´s thoughts and feelings as well as the one of Xander Keaton. He is the man who shows Naomi that she is worth everything and what it means to be treated normally although he soon figures out the truth. Wonderful scenery, great dialogues, and some fantastic characters play well along and make this haunting novel a fantastic read.

Nora Roberts divided her novel into six parts and at the beginning of each, you can read a very fitting title.

Characters
Strong figures play in The Obsession very well together and make it a real pleasure to follow the plot. You´ll find all sorts of characters, some good, some bad but always convincing. And it shows very early, that one of them is up to no good and that you can expect from that one something awful in the ongoing plot – and so it happens. But don´t worry, Nora Roberts doesn´t tell you that right away. It takes some pages until the reader starts to guess who the offender is.

Naomi is a strong young woman with great skill. She has a very creative eye, can imagine how a picture will look like in the end, and her capability of seeing even in the smallest thing a wonderful if not perfect motive for a great photo is just fantastic. Her way of living, how she does everything to keep herself protected, and to see how she interacts with her family is beautiful. She is headstrong, knows how to defend herself, and in the kitchen, she´s a real hit. But she denies herself the greatest gift: Love.

Xander is a man who knows by instinct what Naomi needs and whatnot. He has his very own interpretation of how life should be, how people should interact with each other, and what to do when you figure out bad things about a person’s past. No doubt he is a man every mother wishes for her daughter.


Conclusion
I guessed it and I was right, yessss! And again NR rocked it. This was one hell of an awesome ride and pleasure pure. If you never read one of her books, this is the perfect start to get to know her. Big feelings, good as well as the bad ones, a fantastic landscape, and a thrilling plot; for every Nora Roberts fan, a must-read no doubt about that.



Happy reading







Nora Roberts
©Bruce Wilder

Nora Roberts, born in Silver Spring, Maryland, is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming. Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.” She is also the author of the bestselling futuristic suspense series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

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I am an avid reader, book blogger, and painter who loves to talk and write about books. A day without one in my hands is a wasted one. Skilled florist with a degree in writing - oh yes, that works! I like many genres, but horror is nothing for me. Here on Inkvotary I will show my love for books, things that move me and what´s going on off the blog - called life. The personal as well as life in general.

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