The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh *REVIEW*

"In my life, the one thing I have learned above all is that no individual can reach the height of their potential without the love of others. We are not meant to be alone, Shahrzad. The more a person pushes others away, the clearer it becomes he is in need of love the most."                                                                   

To be honest it took me a little while to really get into this story because I prefer a first person narrator but boy did it get me.....

I am a fan of retellings (and fairytales) so I picked this book up. Plus I loved the synopsis and the cover :D

To the story: (SPOILERS BELOW)

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas *REVIEW*

Oh my……this book knocked me off my feet big time.

I really enjoyed ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in the series for those who don't know) especially the last part when Feyre had to undergo Amarantha’s trials Under The Mountain and I also liked Tamlin as the love interest but it doesn’t come close to how much I loved ACOMAF! It was simply amazing.

(Spoilers ahead)

First of all the further development in SJM’s world building was mind blowing. I can’t think of a fictional place I’d rather visit than Velaris, it sounds so beautiful.

I also loved the little action-packed heists throughout the book and all the new characters. They are all uniquely awesome and I desperately want to become a part of their epic squad. 

The way SJM handled the topic of PTSD is another positive aspect of this novel for me (not that there are any negative ones). Too often this subject is lightly brushed off by fictional characters after everything is over and goes back to normal. But in ACOMAF it was portrayed authentically in my opinion. I think we all agree that a guilty consciousness on top of PTSD can really way you down and only dealing with it and finding a way to overcome and live with it is going to make it better. That’s the first reason why Rhysand is just so much better for Feyre than Tamlin. Because he helps her to deal with her problems whereas Tamlin doesn’t even acknowledge them. I don’t hate Tamlin even though he did some pretty stupid and fucked up things and I hope he can redeem himself in the future but I’m glad I wasn’t too attached to him at the end of ACOTAR so my heart was wide open for Rhysand.

Speaking of Rhys…..where do I start?

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons *REVIEW*

  „Courage, Alexander,“ she whispered.

      „Courage, Tatiana.“

Were to begin when words are failing you….?

I love this book so much (and the entire series!!!).

When I first read the synopsis of this book I knew I would enjoy it but I did not expect to love it so so much. The Bronze Horseman is a truly beautiful tale of war, hardship, love and hope. And I think it is the mixture of these things that makes it so epic, so touching, so dramatic and so gripping. If you like a good lovestory, WII fiction and historical fiction in general this is the book for you.

It is a spectacular addition to my favorites-shelf and I must say I hardly ever put a new book there. When I do it really means something. And due to the fact that I was completely obsessed with it putting it up there was just the right thing to do. When I say obsessed I mean obsessed, like I would wake up at 6 in the morning lying in bed and being unable to go back to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about Tatiana and Alexander. I’m not complaining though.

So, the story follows seventeen-year-old girl Tatiana in Leningrad when WW II starts for Russia. On this crucial first day of war she meets a handsome solider named Alexander. Only problem: they both don’t realize that Alexander at that time has been seeing Tatiana’s sister, Dasha. And so the misery begins. Since Tatiana does not want to hurt her sister’s feeling she persuades Alexander to continue to date her sister and thus deny and act against his strong feelings for Tatiana. No need to say that things get very complicated with all the lies being told and the war raging outside Leningrad. But there is hope at the end of the tunnel….

(SPOILERS BELOW)

There are several reasons why I clicked with this book and feel a deep, personal connection to it (I know. This sounds majorly cheesy. But it is the truth).

First of all,

The Fifty Bookish Questions Book Tag

I’ve been thinking about what my very first post should be about and I think the ‘The Fifty Bookish Questions Book Tag’ is a good choice as an introduction of sorts. I saw this tag over on MyLittleBookBlog so go check out her post. So here are some bookish facts about me. Hope you enjoy :)


1. What was the last book you read?
    It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.

2. Was it a good one?
    YES!

3. What made it good?
    It was very emotional and eye opening.

4. Would you recommend it to other people?
    Definitely. Go read it!

5. How often do you read?
    If I could I would read every day and I try to but due to university and other things I love 
    like watching movies/ TV shows I’m not always able to. I read about 3+ books a month 
    (except for when I suffer from reading slumps grrr).

6. Do you like to read?
    Yes, duh.

7. What was the last bad book you read?
    Don’t think I ever read a really bad book but I kind of disliked While You Were Mine by 
    Ann Howard Creel. 

8. What made you dislike it?
    It’s not necessarily a bad book but I was simply disappointed by it because I expected 
    more from it (The Bronze Horseman series set the bar very high for WII historical fiction).

9. Do you wish to be writer?
    I guess so. I write for my own pleasure sometimes but I doubt I’ll ever publish something 
    or make it my job. Though blog posts count as writing, righ?

10. Has any book ever influenced you greatly?
      Yes, among others Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Bronze Horseman by   
      Paullina Simons have had a great influence on me.

11. Do you read fan fiction?
      No.

12. Do you write fan fiction?
      Can’t say I do.

13. What’s your favorite book?
      I have several favorite books:
      - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
      - The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
      - Fire by Kristin Cashore
      - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
      - Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
      
14. What’s your least favorite book?
      The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I don’t dislike the    
      story in general but I hated it while I was reading it. In retrospective it’s all right.

15. Do you prefer physical books or reading on a device (like a kindle)?
      Physical books, without a doubt!

16. When did you learn to read?
      In first grade at the age of 6.

17. What is your favorite book you had to read in school?
      Iphigenia in Tauris by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It’s a play though.

18. What is your favorite book series?
      At the moment, propably The Bronze Horseman series.

19. Who is your favorite author?
      I do not have ONE favorite author but if I had to pick it’d be Charlotte Brontë.

20. What is your favorite genre?
      Probably historical fiction, romance and fantasy.
 
21. Who is your favorite character in a book series?
      Fire from the Gracling Realm series and Rhysand from the A Court of Thorns and 
      Roses series.

22. Has a book ever transported you somewhere else?
      Doesn’t every book do that?

23. Which book do you wish had a sequel?
      The Host by Stephanie Meyer.

24. Which book do you wish DIDNT have a sequel?
      Can’t think of a sequel that I hated tbh.

25. How long does it take you to read a book?
      That really depends on how busy I am at the time. Anywhere between a few hours and   
      2 weeks :D

26. Do you like when books become movies?
      Generally I do. And it’s still okay for me when the movie isn’t as good as the book 
      because lets be honest that’s (almost) impossible. 

27. Which book was ruined by its movie adaptation?
      Not for me personally but Twilight, I guess. A lot of people hate the movies and thus  
      think the books are just as bad. I think the books are good and the movies are okay.

28. Which movie has done a book justice?
      The Notebook! I saw the movie first and absolutely loved it so I read the book by 
      Nicholas Sparks and was kind of disappointed. In my opinion the movie is better than 
      the book (Ryan Gosling might have something to do with that).

29. Do you read newspapers?
      Not really. Sometimes I read individual articles that interest me.

30. Do you read magazines?
      Not outside out of waiting rooms.

31. Do you prefer newspapers or magazines?
      I don’t have a preference.

32. Do you read while in bed?
      It’s almost the only place I read. It’s the best!

33. Do you read while on the toilet?
      I used to during my crazy teenage years when I was unable to put a book down for 
      even a second, not anymore though :D 

34. Do you read while in the car?
      That’s something I used to do when going on longer trips by car back when I was 
      merely sitting in the back seat. Now that I’m mostly driving myself I obviously don’t 
      anymore.

35. Do you read while in the bath?
      No. I’m too afraid to drop the book in the water. That’d be the ultimate MCA!
 
36. Are you a fast reader?
      I guess I’m average though I don’t really know how low/high the scale goes.

37. Are you a slow reader?
      Like I said, I guess I’m average. Not particularly slow but  not particularly fast either. 

38. Where is your favorite place to read?
      On my bed, duh.

39. Is it hard for you to concentrate while you read?
      Depends. When the story pulls me in then no. Also, things like fatigue play a factor in 
      that.

40. Do you need a room to be silent while you read?
      That depends on my state of mind. At home I generally need silence but when I read in 
      public places I can usually deal with it, too.

41. Who gave you your love for reading?
      I myself I guess. My mother read to me or told stories before bed when I was little but 
      none of my parents are readers. I just did it because I enjoyed it and it progressed from  
      there.

42. What book is next on your list to read?
      Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (I’m currently reading Six of Crows ♥)

43. When did you start to read chapter books?
      I think I was in grade 3 or 4 so at about 9/10 y/o.

44. Who is your favorite children’s book author?
      I like Erich Kästner ( espescially Emil and the Detectives) and Astrid Lindgren.

45. Which author would you most want to interview?
      I would love to chat to Charlotte Brontë but unfortunately that’s impossible.

46. Which author do you think you’d be friends with?
      Sasha Alsberg (she’s a writer now!). That’d be so awesome.

47. What book have you reread the most?
      Probably Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I was really obsessed with it when I was a 
      teenager and didn’t really had a lot of books so I read it all the time :D

48. Which books do you consider “classics”?
      A classic for me is a book that is read and loved by all kinds of people whether young or 
      old, male or female. Also, a classic is relevant regardless of the time it is read in; 50
      years ago, now or 50 years from now. It’s basically a book every human should read. 

49. Which books do you think should be taught in every school?
      I think as long as the book is age appropriate and sparks the interest of reading in  
      students (whether it’s a classic or not) it's ok. Of course the topic of the books should be 
      somehow life relevant as well. It all depends on what the goal of reading this particular 
      book is (sorry, my teacher self is shining through :D)

50. Which books should be banned from all schools?
      I cannot think of a book that should, really. Sometimes negative examples serve a 
      purpose, too.

So, that are all the questions. I really enjoyed answering them. Pick question(s) you would like to answer and let me know in the comments or do the whole thing and tag me (_kaate8 on instagram). Would love to read your answers :P