3/29/2017

Waiting On Wednesday #40 – Year One 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. This week I have a book to share that will come out towards the end of this year, but it is a Nora Roberts´s title, so I thought I share it already. When the author made the announcement and published the cover a little while ago, I actually didn´t quite realize what this new trilogy´s plot would be about. That came a bit later when I had time to let the summary kick in and when I noticed that I had, for whatever reasons, not really the chance to pre-order it yet; at least not from its original publisher.

Year One is the first in her new trilogy and the cover is soooo gorgeous! Not to mention the summary which sounds intriguing and thrilling like hell. And as an old NR fan, I for sure have to read this. Good, it seems very long until December, at the moment at least, but if the year goes on like it does right now, the release day will arrive very soon.

Year One

Author Nora Roberts
Chronicles Of The One #1
Publishing Date December 5, 2017
Publisher St. Martin´s Press
Format Hardcover
Goodreads

It began on New Year´s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed – and more than half of the world´s population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river – or in the ones you know and love the most. As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive. In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain. The end has come. The beginning comes next.

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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3/25/2017

The Secret Fire by C.J. Daugherty

Good, the German cover is not really mine. But the original one isn´t really mine either. Though it was definitely the fact that I loved the author´s Night School series and the summary of this one made me soooo curious that I wanted to read it. C.J. Daugherty has a fresh and easy way to write and with her former books, I had so much fun during the reading that it was no question at all that I wanted this book at my shelves as well. Good, the tone is a bit different here, and there are some other differences, but that is exactly what makes this one so good.

The Secret Fire*

by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld
The Alchemist Chronicles #1
Publisher Atom on September 10, 2015
Genre Young Adult
Pages 432
Format Paperback
Source Publisher
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶½

French teen Sacha Winters can´t die. He can throw himself off a roof, be stabbed, even shot, and he will always survive. Until the day when history and ancient enmities dictate that he must die. Worse still, his death will trigger something awful. Something deadly. And that day is closing in. Taylor Montclair is a normal English girl, hanging out with her friends and studying for exams, until she starts shorting out the lights with her brain. She´s also the only person on earth who can save Sacha. There´s only one problem: the two of them have never met. They live hundreds of miles apart and powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart. They have eight weeks to find each other. Will they survive long enough to save the world? 

Story

Taylors bid dream is to study at Oxford University where her grandfather works. Since her family went through some changes she sees her grandfather way to less. So when one-day weird things start to happen and she instinctively knows that it has something to do with her person, her entire life changes completely. She meets Sacha and with him a totally new world. And with that new world a lot of danger, threat and death start to happen.

Style

Through the personal perspective of Taylor and Sacha, the reader gets involved in a varied novel, not unlike Daugherty´s Night School novels. Taylor has some special skills and the world of the Alchemists comes alive. Long kept secrets come to light and two people discover what power they have and what they can achieve with it if they work together. During the ongoing story, the reader is thrown into an emotional roller coaster when it comes to tension and action. Some parts of this book are filled with dangerous scenes others are playing in a more quiet area. The author has a simple but very effective way of writing. She shows things that should actually be impossible to do and gives the reader enough space to use his own imagination and fantasy.

Characters

Being a teenager is under normal circumstances not easy but for Sacha, it turns out to be a time that isn´t only very limited but also anything but ordinary. The curse makes it impossible for him to die. At least not before he turns eighteen, so why live a normal life, why bother with school when there is no life where he could use all the knowledge school wants him to learn?

Taylor is a normal girl. She learns very hard, is involved in some necessary projects she needs for her time at the university and her grades are the best possible. She knows exactly what she wants to do on every level of her life – no space for the unexpected. Yes, her life is planned through and through in the tiniest detail. But when life threatens her family, or that what is left of it, and she has to face a brutal murder, she is done with planning.

Conclusion

Boy, that was an interesting book! If you don´t know the author C.J. Daugherty at all, this is a good way to get to know her work. And for her fans, this is as entertaining as her other books have been. Good recommendation.

Happy reading

*The German edition was published by Oetinger.

C. J. Daugherty

C.J. Daugherty is an international bestselling author and former newspaper reporter and crime writer. Her Night School series has been translated into 22 languages and has been the number 1 best selling young adult book in Germany, Poland, France, and Israel, topping charts in countries around the world. She lives in the south of England with her husband Jack Jewers and a menagerie of pets.

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3/24/2017

Shadow Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon

Okay, after a bit shocking end book one had and the fact that there was kind of a cliffhanger I had to know how the story would continue. It was a nice read, no doubt, and I felt with Megan all the time, that´s for sure. But I missed something. It wasn´t as much hilarious and fun as Carrier of the Mark and I am now kind of hanging in the air. Another cliffhanger and so far there is no third book insight. Not even close!

Shadow Of The Mark

by Leigh Fallon
Carrier Series #2
Publisher HarperTeen on July 9, 2013
Genre Young Adult
Pages 305
Format Paperback
Source Purchased

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶

Through the ages, Marked Ones have harnessed the powers of the four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Much about the elements is shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: A relationship between two Marked Ones has the potential to cause widespread devastation. Megan and Adam – Air and Water – are determined to defy the risks. But the power that swirls inside Megan is growing in twisted ways. And the closer she is to Adam, the closer Megan comes to unleashing a dark force that could spell destruction for the entire Marked line.

Story

Megan and Adam fight their feelings and do everything they can to avoid that the Order of the Mark is taking them apart. But the Order has a different plan and their fear that it could come to the worst is immense. But Adam doesn´t believe that he has to stay apart from the girl he loves only because they are both Marked Ones. In the end, he has to learn that some powers are way beyond his imagination and that love can´t fight everything – though he would rather have it so.

Style

This novel is, too, written from Megan´s point of view. The reader gets a pretty good insight into her thoughts, feelings, and what she is planning. The new woman in her father´s life is giving Megan a weird feeling. Something is going on with that woman but Megan can´t put a finger on it. The Order of the Mark tries to get a grip onto Megan and their attempts to force her into a life she doesn´t want to seem to give her a hard time. Somehow I thought or had hoped that in this book would be a bit more action, that the search for a way out would be a bit more intriguing and haunting. Yes, there is a lot of magic going on and to watch how Megan learns to control her skills, how she deals with her emotions is really wonderful. I admired her for the way she was dealing with all the things happening. And yet I had the feeling that there could have been a bit more. 

The writing is soft, easy to understand and the scenes are going from magical to what-exactly-is-going-on-at-the-moment? Not everyone is playing fair, not everyone seems to be what they claim to be and not everyone is telling the truth. 

Characters

The thought of having to mate with someone you don´t know or even love is something Àine is not really happy about. And for Megan, this new boy means a lot of anger, jealousy, and trouble ´cause Adam isn´t very happy about the appearance of the new member either. Leigh Fallon manages to bring the conflicts between young teenage boys really good. You can actually feel the distrust Adam has and that there is something not right about the new boy in town. But what happened with Megan towards the end is not really good. She changes into something and due to the fact that the cliffhanger happens in exact that moment doesn´t make it any easier for the reader to follow or understand what was really going on.

Conclusion

This one was not as much fun as the first book, but nonetheless, I could enjoy it. Now, I am waiting if there will ever be a third book as rumors say. At the time this review was written, there was none in sight. Not even a shadow.

Happy reading

Leigh Fallon

Leigh Fallon was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Cork in her twenties. Leigh and her family now share their time between Ireland and the United States. She is the author of Carrier of the Mark and Shadow of the Mark. 

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3/22/2017

Waiting On Wednesday #39 – Quests For Glory by Soman Chainani

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 wasn´t sure if I would have a book to name for this meme since most of the books I am waiting for are coming out later in the year or don´t have a cover published yet. And to be honest, I don´t like to share an upcoming book with you if I can´t provide you the cover for it. It seems to be only half of the fun and that is what this meme is all about, right? Having fun sharing the books we can´t wait to get our hands on or better said: eyes…

But I found a book that I actually have since a few weeks now on my wishlist, but I wasn´t even aware of it until the moment I wrote this post. The book I am telling you about will be the fourth book in the series The School For Good And Evil. It might sound silly but when I discovered the first book of this series some years back at my library, I found the cover design so great, that I spontaneously borrowed it. There are so many wonderful details that show up in the story itself, and to see them during reading was quite some fun. So after I had finished reading book one I knew that I wanted to read all the others as well. 

The School For Good And Evil: Quests For Glory

Author Soman Chainani
The School For Good And Evil #4
Publishing Date September 19, 2017
Publisher Harper Collins
Format Hardcover
Goodreads

The students at the School for Good and Evil thought they had found their final Ever After when they vanquished the malevolent School Master. Now on their required fourth-year quests, the students face obstacles both dangerous and unpredictable, and the stakes are high: success brings eternal adoration, and failure means obscurity forever. For their quests, Agatha and Tedros are trying to return Camelot to its former splendor as queen and king. For her quest, Dean Sophie seeks to mold Evil in her own image. But soon they all feel themselves growing more isolated and alone. When their classmates´ quests plunge into chaos, however, someone must lead the charge to save them. If Good and Evil can´t find a way to work together, neither side will survive.

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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3/22/2017

I Want To Hold Your Hand by Marie Force

This series is such a lovely, heartwarming and wonderful written series, that you can´t do anything else but to love those books. If you are in for some romance mixed with the great landscape of the Vermont Mountains and a bit of reality, then this is what you want to read. Despite all the romance, hot scenes and the appearance of some characters from the first book, this book contains a story that is a bit darker in tone and figures. Don´t get me wrong, you won´t miss a thing in this beautifully written novel, but if you´re expecting the same fun, wit, and hilariousness as in the first book, then you have to guess again.

I Want To Hold Your Hand*

by Marie Force
Green Mountain Series #2
Publisher Berkley on September 30, 2014
Genre Novel
Pages 342
Format Paperback
Source Purchased

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶

Almost seven years after losing her husband in Iraq, Hannah Abbott Guthrie isn´t sure she´s ready – or able – to move on, but the attentions of a lifelong friend are making her think about it for the first time. The memory of the sweet kiss she shared with Nolan Roberts hasn´t strayed far from her thoughts, but she also fears that pursuing something with him would mean betraying her husband´s memory. Nolan has loved Hannah for years, but he´d been giving her the space she needed to heal from her devastating loss. Now, when an opportunity arises to show her how he feels, Nolan can´t resist, but he knows earning her love will take more than a kiss. Somehow he has to prove to Hannah that finding love twice in a lifetime is possible – and well worth risking her heart.

Story

Hannah is still mourning the loss of her husband but the last winter has shown her, that she is kind of sick being a widow. Everyone is treating her as if she´d be an eggshell - fragile and with no strength at all. But she doesn´t want to be that isolated and without the warmth of a working relationship. So she decides to give it a try and see how things will turn out with Nolan. 

Style

Don´t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this book, very much. In fact, I read it overnight, had sometimes tears running down my cheeks, and laughed during some scenes. Yep, this book is quite emotional. Marie Force has a sensitive way of describing things. Good, she isn´t telling you much about the great landscape of Vermont, as she did in the other books, but that doesn´t matter much. Her focus this time is more on the different tone – darker – and that her figures have to deal with some serious troubles. 

I Want To Hold Your Hand is brought to the reader from Hannah´s and Nolan´s view and very quickly you get a sense of what they must have been like during all those years when she was mourning and he was waiting. The language is easy to read and understand and the writing style simple and clear.

Characters

I like the way how Marie Force created her figures. There is always something that isn´t the norm or not what people like to see. But she has a wonderful way to present it, to give her characters some rough edges. And with Cameron, it was quite charming and gave her person the special something that made her perfect beauty so wonderful imperfect. But I had my difficulties with Hannah. She always needs to hear that she wouldn´t lose the people´s respect when she is doing something that goes beyond her status as a widow and she is completely freaked out when she gets that little puppy. My goodness – is it me or is someone else thinking she is way out of line with her overprotectiveness and caring behavior? No, don´t misunderstand me. She is a wonderful figure, has the heart in the right place, and thinks things really through before she starts them. But before she does something, she has to reassure herself and ask all the others if she will lose the respect the town has for her, when she does what she plans to do. She is a grown-up woman for crying out loud! 

Conclusion

Okay, after I had finished this novel, I had to take a deep breath and to stop reading for a few hours. I wasn´t sure about my rating if I would give five stars or only four; about my feelings and for sure not what I should think of Hannah. But I can tell you this: read this series chronologically. No matter what the publisher says. Besides that, I highly recommend this series.

Happy reading

*The book was published in Germany by Fischer TB. 

Marie Force

Marie Force is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of contemporary romance. She writes series as well as stand-alone novels. While her husband was in the U.S. Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland, and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island.

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3/18/2017

Weekly Book Wrap-Up #48

In my weekly book wrap-up, I share with you the new books that have arrived at my place. No matter if I won a giveaway or got approved for a reviewer´s copy, got an ARC or just bought a new one. And I will tell you a bit about the how and why I added them to my shelves and why I wanted them in the first place. Weekly Book Wrap-Up is a combination where I link up with Tynga and Kimberly and their blogs. The rest will stay the same, don´t worry. I´ll keep you posted on what is going on with my bookshelves and the little stories about them.   

Stacking The Shelves #48 is hosted by Tynga´s Reviews. A meme that 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!

Stacking The Shelves #48

I bought one book, Lifeblood, though I haven´t even read the first book of this series yet but I want to know how Gena Showalter writes in the genre since I only know her from another series she is writing.  Does the name Wicked Nights sound familiar? I read that many years ago and though it wasn´t really mine, I got told her Everlife series would be a bit different. Now I am the proud owner of the second book and planning on reading this series next, even when the March TBR Pile Challenge is over I will continue to read more from my TBR than new books. Hopefully …

Bought Book

Sunday Post #5 is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and is a weekly meme where I share with you what happened off the blog, what I could read during the past week and where I will share the news what is coming up on Gone With The Books for the week ahead if I can. I am not much of a planning blogger and mostly write and post my things on a day to day basis, so be patient with me here *smile*

Sunday Post #5

A week full of sunshine and warm temperatures lies behind me. And as always the weather channel said: “too warm for this time of year”. For me, it was beautiful to see all the primroses coming out of the soil and bloom in yellow, red, purple, and pink. A former neighbor told me that over many years she had bought them for her apartment and when they were faded instead of throwing them away she had planted them outside in the garden around the house. And the following year they bloomed and she had her joy with the sight of them. I even spotted some snowdrops and one or the other purple crocus. Spring is definitely coming and the change with the clock, too. Next week I will have to turn the clock one hour forward and get one hour less of sleep and my entire body will be completely out of its usual routine.

Unfortunately, two of my book requests got denied with some absurd explanation, and two other challenges where I applied for didn´t get through either, but I won another book I had set an application for, so I am kind of good with the other failures. But more to that when the book I won has actually arrived at my place *smile*

   

I am still reading Island of Glass by Nora Roberts which is not good. I mean the fact that I am still reading on that 300 pages book is not good since I am reading it over a week now. The book itself is actually pretty good. But the fact that I am reading this book that long now THAT is not good. Not for me. So I am not displaying it separately and show this time only the books – or only one book - I´ve got.

Happy reading and have a great weekend

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3/18/2017

Carlotta – Internat Und Schneegestöber by Dagmar Hoßfeld

This is a fantastic series for young kids with a great main figure. The book is a special edition for all the Carlotta fans before the newest book will come out in the fall of 2017. An English title could sound like this: Carlotta – Boarding school and snowstorm. I love this series. There is a lot of heart, friendship, and warmth in it and the setting is a beautiful old castle. And the other thing that makes this new book so great: Sofie is back!

Carlotta_Internat Und Schneegestöber*

by Dagmar Hoßfeld
Carlotta Series #6.5
Publisher Carlsen on September 29, 2016
Genre Children 10+
Pages 261
Format Hardcover
Source Publisher
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶½

The Theater AG is rehearsing Charles Dickens´ A Christmas Carol at Castle Prinzensee. The joy is immense when Carlotta learns that Sofie will give a concert with the orchestra of her Belgian boarding school at the castle. But suddenly the temperatures slip into the cellar. It starts to snow and just doesn´t stop. The roads are blocked because of snow drifts. The castle is closed off. Nobody can get in, no one comes out. And now? (personal translation by ©Vi at Inkvotary)

Story

Carlotta had actually planned to go with her mother, stepfather, and the twins on a Christmas trip to Norway. But heavy snowfall and an icy winter storm have other plans with her. So she stays and endures Manu´s crazy way to get used to the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Takes pictures wherever she can, enjoys the beauty of the park, and some quality time with Jonas. Until a few seconds of joy destroy all her plans.

Style

This novel is written from Carlotta´s personal view in the past tense. She lets the reader see how she feels, what she thinks and believes, and that not everything is in unison with her. The Barbie´s (the girls´ clique with the blond hair, dressed all the same and who can´t live without their Smartphones and the internet) are some real bitches and complaining all the time. Dagmar Hoßfeld has a great way to show how Carlotta deals with them. The dialogues are fun to read, with a lot of wit in it, and how Manu responds to one of the Barbie´s when she is complaining that she still has no connection with her Smartphone is hilarious. I cracked up when I read that line and laughed tears. The author´s style is simple but effective. With only a few words she describes the landscape and scenery. Shows the beauty of winter and what a family means.

I was so thrilled when I read that Sofie, the girl from Belgium, would be appearing again. She has such a lovely way to speak with her nice accent, how she says things, and sometimes gets corrected by Carlotta in a really wonderful way. I missed her deeply when she was removed from the series.

Characters

Carlotta has grown quite a bit. Now a beautiful teenage girl, she knows exactly what she wants. Taking pictures and travel the world. Connect with new cultures and people and see how others live. Her parents are divorced and her mother got remarried and has now twins whom Carlotta loves dearly. What they give her a few weeks before Christmas is so sweet, I almost cried.

Conclusion

And she did it again. This book is pure fun, contains lovely characters, and lets you wish you could be a teenager again and living in a castle together with your dearest friends. For every Carlotta fan, this book is a must-have!

Happy reading

*This book was at the time of review only available in the German language. The summary beneath the Goodreads-link is a personal translation.

Dagmar Hoßfeld

Dagmar Hoßfeld was born 1960 in Kiel, Germany. When she was a child, she wanted to become a veterinarian, farmer or studs owner. The fact that she has decided otherwise, is due to her son. When he was about half a year old, she was eager to write a children´s book. She sat down at her desk – and didn´t stop writing. Luckily! Dagmar Hoßfeld lives in a little village between the Baltic Sea and the Schlei and, as she says, has the most beautiful profession in the world: author.

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3/17/2017

Follow Friday #15 – Novel Characters

This is a Friday meme hosted by Patricia of FiktiveWelten. Every week she asks a question that you can answer. Everyone who would like to participate, just answer her question, link to her blog, and write a comment under her post to let the others know that you are participating. The entire rules you can find here.

Since Patricia is hosting the Follow Friday I knew from her that she was open to any ideas for new questions in this meme. But I never had one I thought was worth being asked. A little while ago it kind of hit me and I sent her my ideas and she accepted them! How great is that?!

So this week the question is all about: What do you care about figures mainly?

Over the years I found out that I am not that fond of pale and too weak figures. If a female figure is too often asking or worrying about whether or not the others will still respect her when she does this or that – I start to roll my eyes. The same goes for a male character.  If a character is acting without thinking first and shows a huge lack of depth and brain I get bored and my thinking about that figure will not be nice.

I don´t need to have a main figure or any other figure looking like a god or a goddess, not at all, no. That is and can be wonderful if the plot is arranged for such spotless beauties and the novel itself is built on that. Yes, sometimes it can be quite nice or even entertaining to read a story with such figures in it, no question.

But in any book that happens to land in my hands? No. I need diversity. The main figure or a minor figure (female or male) can be a shiny beauty on the outside but please give him/her some edges, a bit imperfection, and a weakness no matter what that will look like. That is for me way more intriguing than the spotless beauty who acts as if she left her brain at the counter and who can frankly do nothing alone. But the most fascinating characters for me are those who look like ordinary people and who still experience all the things that those perfect beauties in other novels do too.

And if I am reading a series, I want to see how those figures change. For the better or worse, it is up to the author, but if a figure stays through every book the same that is boring as well.

How is it about you?



Happy reading

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3/17/2017

To Know Her Is To Love Her by Marie Force

For some reason, this story is not included in the German edition of the first book of this series and as far as I know, the other novellas of this series won´t be either. In my eyes, not a smart choice. This novella is about what happens when a relationship kind of moves on and the two involved parties have to find a way how to live together. Especially when they have their places far away from each other and it becomes clear that one of them will have to move.

To Know Her Is To Love Her*

by Marie Force
Green Mountain Series #1.5
Publisher Fischer digiBook on October 27, 2016
Genre Novel
Pages 54
Format eBook
Source Purchased

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶

Cameron is back in New York – but only to say goodbye. Her dream comes true: She will move to Vermont to move in with Will and become a part of his big, loving and caring Family. But before that happens she wants to show Will the big city and all the places she loves. But most of all she wants Will to meet her father and her friends. Only one question remains: Is Will really coming and can she really move and leave everything behind?

Story

Cameron is back in New York and getting everything ready and tied up for her move to Vermont. She wants to live with Will but before that can happen she feels the need to get him together with her friends and family. Especially with her father, since her relationship with him had never been easy. But life is not always as predicted and for sure not always easy to take. 

Style

This novella is written in the lovely and kind tone Marie Force is using for this series. Some fun scenes bring back the wonderful feeling that was from the beginning between Cameron and Will. There is humor and love to feel and energy, life in New York City has, absolutely beautiful. And the scene where Will meets finally Cameron´s father was really moving.

Characters

As always Marie Force lets the action of her figures speak. And for all those who already know Cameron and Will, it is great to see how they manage to get everything moving and how they deal will all the things that come up. The author has warmth not only in her story but also in most of her characters. And the way how she shows that is simply wonderful.

Conclusion

Since I was reading the German edition of the first book I got this one too separately. It was a nice, harmonic read and it was very sweet to see Will and Cameron together again. 

Happy reading

*This short story was also published in the paperback edition of All You Need Is Love by Berkley.

Marie Force

Marie Force is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of contemporary romance. She writes series as well as stand-alone novels. While her husband was in the U.S. Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland, and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island.  

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3/16/2017

Upcoming New Releases March

Most of the books I am displaying here are books I am looking very much forward to their release day. Some of them I already pre-ordered, others I started a request for and some I already have in my bookshelves since the month of March is by now a few days old. It can be that you will see some titles in my list that are already being published abroad but will hit the German bookstores only by now; or the other way around. I don´t know which of them I will be really able to read this month or over the year in general - not to mention buying them or getting them as a reviewer´s copy – but I will try to get to know as many as I can.

Yes, I know I am quite late with this months` list of upcoming new releases. And as I wrote this post I saw that I have way more books on the German part of this list than usual. But I guess that is because the Leipziger Book Fair is coming up towards the end of the month and usually that means that a lot of new books are being published. This list contains only the English titles & English covers for a better understanding if they are provided by the publisher at the time this post was written. Otherwise, I display the German title and cover.

Okay, now enough of the talking. My March list:

English New Releases

March 7, 2017

Undiscovered by Sara Humphreys

A long time ago, Zander Lorens was cursed to walk the earth stripped of his Dragon Clan powers. Every night, trapped in a recurring nightmare, Zander relieves his darkest moment. He can hardly believe it when the dream changes and a beautiful young woman appears. Zander believes she´s the key to ending his torment. Finding her in the real world is one thing, but how will he convince her of who – and what – she really is? Rena McHale uses her unique sensitivity as a private investigator, touting herself as a “human divining rod” and finder of the lost. By day she struggles with sensory overload, and by night her sleep is haunted by a fiery dragon shifter. Nothing in her life makes sense, until the man from her dreams shows up at her door with a proposition…

March 14, 2017

Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

Lindsey Nash has left an abusive relationship and her ex-husband was sent to jail. She has started over with a new life, her own business, and a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When her husband is finally released, Lindsey believes she has cut all ties. There is no way he can ever find her and her daughter again. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her, tracking her every move. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded. Even her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it´s her ex-husband, even though he claims he is a different person and doesn´t want to do her any harm. But can he really change? Is the one who wants her dead even closer to home than she thought?

German New Releases

March 1, 2017

The School For Good And Evil – The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani

Former best friends Sophie and Agatha thought their ending was sealed when they went their separate ways, but their storybook is about to be rewritten – and this time theirs isn’t the only one. With the girls apart, Evil has taken over and forces of Good are in deathly peril. Will Agatha and Sophie be able to work together to save them? Will they find their way to being friends again? And will their new endings be the last Ever After they´ve been searching for?

March 3, 2017

Water & Air by Laura Kneidl*

Since the rise in sea levels, people live in domes under water or in the air. With her eighteen years, Kenzie has never seen the sun and her life in the water colony is subject to strict standards. After all, she does not stop and flees into an air colony to make a new start. But then she becomes the main suspect in a mysterious murder series and only Callum with the mysterious smile holds to her. But not only the two are in danger, also the fate of the entire colony is at stake.

March 16, 2017

The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse – one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refugee with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid´s Empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan. While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn´t yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage you man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

Alles oder nichts by Simona Ahrnstedt*

Ambra is a successful journalist in search of a hot story. Tom a former soldier the terrible happened. Ambra has to return to the place where she never wanted to be again. Tom is trying to get back to life. In Kiruna, in the north of Sweden, where rattling coldness and eternal darkness prevail, two people meet, who are fleeing from their own past. Two people who carry deep wounds. And do not trust anyone. Two people who are overwhelmed by the attraction that prevails between them. It seems wrong to them. And yet so scary right. But can they really cure each other? Or will their love destroy them once and for all?

March 20, 2017

The Sins That Bind Us by Geneva Lee

I wasn´t given a choice. Not when I did my first line of cocaine. Not when I became a single mother. But I changed, and every decision I´ve made was to protect myself and my son from my weaknesses – and my past. Until Jude came along and made me question everything, even my own secrets. The sins I carry with me can never be discovered. Life handed me broken bits of people and left me to construct my own world, and it´s too fragile to take a chance on Jude Mercer.

March 23, 2017

The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irena Brignull

Poppy Hooper and Ember Hawkweed couldn´t lead more different lives. Poppy is a troubled teen: moving from school to school, causing chaos wherever she goes, never making friends or lasting connections. Ember is a young witch, struggling to find a place within her coven and prover her worth. Both are outsiders: feeling like they don´t belong and seeking escape. Poppy and Ember soon become friends and secretly share knowledge of their two worlds. Little do they know that destiny has brought them together: an ancient prophecy, and a life-changing betrayal. Growing closer, they begin to understand why they´ve never belonged and the reason they are now forever connected to each other. Switched at birth by the scheming witch Raven Hawkweed, Poppy and Ember must come to terms with their true identities and fight for their own place in the world. Enter Leo, a homeless boy with a painful past who – befriending them both – tests their love and loyalty. Can Poppy and Ember´s friendship survive? And can it withstand the dark forces that are gathering?

And I Love Her by Marie Force

As the oldest of the ten Abbott siblings, Hunter prides himself on his ability to solve other people´s problems, but now he has a problem of his own – how to convince the woman of his dreams that his love is for keeps. As the chief financial officer, Hunter Abbott manages the family´s various business interests while “fixing” things for the people he loves. But the one thing he can´t fix is his undeniable attraction to Megan Kane. Instead, Hunter is prepared to do whatever it takes to show Megan that he´s the man for her. Megan´s sister rocks her with the news that she and her husband are moving overseas, leaving Megan truly alone. With her sister – and her job at the diner – going away, Megan finds herself leaning on the sexy, button-down accountant who isn´t afraid to lay it all on the line for her. But Megan has watched too many people she loves leave her. Can she risk her heart on Hunter?

*summary is a personal translation


Happy reading

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3/16/2017

Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon

This cover! Soooo beautiful and it made me want this book from the moment I saw it. And with the summary and the fact that this would play in Ireland, it was even more intriguing. So it landed at my home and despite the fact that I read it a few years ago, this review had to be written. A novel about druids, a Celtic goddess, and the elements of the earth: can it get any better than that? With a soft writing style, humor, and a great main figure Leigh Fallon wrote a story that contains whatever a reader´s heart desires. 

Carrier Of The Mark

by Leigh Fallon
Carrier Series #1
Publisher HarperTeen on October 1, 2011
Genre Young Adult
Pages 342
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶

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.

Story

Megan moves with her father, a widower, to a small town in Ireland. From the first moment on she feels at home, feels that something is different. But she can´t name it. When she meets Adam DeRìs for the first time at her new school, things change completely. Her life seems to become more and more complicated and when the first magic moment happens and she gets to know that the DeRìs family has magic abilities too, she finds herself in the middle of an old Celtic ritual and with the burden of a very old fate.

Style

During some scenes, I had to laugh out loud when I pictured Àine soaking wet in my head when Adam took revenge with his magic abilities for some teasing. And maybe because Àine is a drawing genius that made me fall in love with her. Carrier of the Mark is written in a soft tone, easy to read, and filled with wonderful humor and irony. From Megan´s point of view, I discovered the beauty of Ireland and what it is about the Celtic gods. A lot of magic happens and though I found the first half a bit too decent, the second half had quite a mark on me. From that moment on I was not only smirking, but I had to laugh quite often because of the fascinating way Megan gets to know what she really is. Haunted and hooked I had to keep reading and in the end, I knew that I had to read the second book too.

The legend of the druids turns out to be a huge part of this book. The children of the goddess Danu show up in the legend and all that is presented in a diversified and wonderful amusing way. Oh yes, this novel is really a fantastic read.

Characters

Megan is used to it that she has to move a lot with her father. Since her mother´s death, there seems no place on earth where her father can stay very long. But when they move to Ireland everything changes. Not only her father feels like this could be the place where they finally will settle in, Megan thinks it too. For her, the small town seems to be the answer to almost everything. She easily connects with other young people. The different lifestyles, the school uniform, the food, the town itself; everything seems to fit and lets her feel at home.

Adam is not amused when he figures out what Megan is. Familiar with the legend and that there is some evil in the world that he has one day to fight in a certain way, isn´t exactly what he calls a normal life. Having friends isn´t the norm and a girlfriend is out of the question. But his feelings for Megan are strong from the very beginning and he doesn´t want to fight them.

Conclusion

What an enthralling book! If you are looking for some magic, mysticism, and romance then you should read the Carrier books. They have a beauty inside them that amazes me all the time I look into them. Highly recommended.

Happy reading

Leigh Fallon

Leigh Fallon was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Cork in her twenties. Leigh and her family now share their time between Ireland and the United States. She is the author of Carrier of the Mark and Shadow of the Mark.

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