[Review] Victoria Schwab : The Archived

[YA]

You can buy it here:
The Archived (Amazon)

Rating:
5/5

FTC: eGalley received from publisher through Netgalley

Summary: (from Publisher)
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard won redemption.

My thoughts:
What a ride! Every reader has those few books that grip him and won’t let go right after finishing. These are the best books, and to find them is a search that will never end. For me, the sneak peek of The Archived (Please note, I only read part of the book, I received a sneak peek!) is a book that fits the bill 100%.

In this alternate reality, the dead are stored in an archive, they are histories kept by librarians and sometimes, one of them escapes. This is where our heroine, Mac, comes into play. She is a Keeper, and her job is to return escaped Histories to the Archive and to prevent them from getting out into the real world.

The world Schwab imagined is just wonderful, fantastic and full of the most conflicting feelings. You dive in and there’s no time to catch your breath, you don’t even want to! It’s an amazingly thrilling, sweetly dangerous adventure in a world so very similar to ours.

Now, The Archived is one book I will have to barter with. I was put on a book buying ban, but I absolutely need to read this! It is a craving that is as bad as a craving for chocolate – and if you know me, you know I live and breathe for chocolate!

[Review] Susan Mallery : Summer Days

[romance]

You can buy it here:
Summer Days (Amazon)
Summer Days (Amazon eBook)
These are affiliate links!

Rating:
2.5/5

FTC: eGalley received from Publisher through Netgalley - no money was exchanged and the review is my opinion only

Summary: (from the publisher, as provided on Netgalley
Rafe is trapped in the one place he vowed never to return to—the Castle Ranch in Fool’s Gold, California. He made millions facing ruthless adversaries in the boardroom, but nothing could’ve prepared him to go head-to-head against stubborn, beautiful Heidi Simpson. No one is more surprised than Rafe to discover that he’s finding Heidi—and life as a cowboy—much more compelling than he wants to admit.

For Heidi, the Castle Ranch is the home she’s always wanted. After a life on the road, the vivacious blonde has finally put down roots. She won’t give that up without a fight, not even for a man whose late-night kisses make her yearn to be a little less…wholesome.

As the two turn from passionate adversaries to passionate, period, they’ll discover that summer love can last a lifetime.

My thoughts:
Returning to this quirky small town called Fool’s Gold is always enjoyable. The characters usually are a pleasure and for a bigger family, whether they are related or not and even the reader feels included in the events in town. Mallery’s writing style never disappoints me. It may not be comparable to Shakespeare or Chaucer, but readers shouldn’t expect that.
Returning to see how all the old friends are handling their life and the changes they go through – marriage and children being only two examples – is a joy I can never resist.
With this 7th novel set in Fool’s Gold, however, I had one major issue: Rafe, the hero!
He is a pain in my booty and I disliked him for most of the book. His overbearing personality, his knowitall attitude and his unbendable, unchangeable opinions just drove me crazy. I would almost say I hated him for most of the book, not only for how he treated our heroine and her grandfather, but also his own family and everyone around him.

Attention, major spoilers ahead! (Please highlight to read.)

Thanks to Rafe, the ending just felt wrong and almost rushed. It was so anticlimactic I wanted to cry and throw the book across the room – and I might have done it, had it not been on my precious Kindle! Basically, our heroine, Heidi, decides she must tell Rafe that she loves him and follows him to LA, where she finds him in his office with a woman she doesn’t know. She immediately thinks the worst of him, which is no surprise considering his previous behavior, and… Takes it out on the woman! Not on Rafe, but the woman – who later turns out to be the decorator. The happy ending is already there right after they tell each other “I love you”. I feel cheated out of at least two more pages of story. There must have been something missing in my book, because clearly, this is not an ending Susan Mallery would normally write.

[Top 10 Tuesday] Almost Happy Halloween!

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Halloween-spirit-inducing (is that a word? probably not) books.

In Germany, we don't celebrate Halloween, so I didn't manage 10 books, however, I have for you - the two Halloween books I read plus the book that still (after years) makes me worry quite a bit...

1) Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party
Yes, I'm starting my list with a very British take on Halloween, but trust me, it's Dame Agatha Christie and she knows, what she's doing!

2) Leslie Meier's Trick or Treat Murder
This cozy mystery (with the biggest jerk of a husband among the characters) was one of the first cozy mysteries I read in English, so it holds a special place in my heart.

and the book that scared me so much I sometimes check under my bed is... 3) P.J. Tracy's Want to Play?, also known as Monkeewrench
This book is a mystery with blood and gore and psychopaths along the line, but also some pretty interesting computer stuff and naturally the detecting (my real pros, for a change). I can only recommend it, if you're not grossed out by some blood and creepy scenes!

Have you read any of those books? What did you think of them?

[Top 10 Tuesday] Author Love with a Touch of Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is our favorite authors of a genre we can pick. I decided to go with authors whose books can be considered fantasy or sci-fi.

My Top 10 Authors are:

1) Meljean Brook - she completely won me over with her Iron Seas series. The woman knows how to work her characters and settings. When she adds some steampunk, I'll automatically love it! But even the others are good!

2) Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl is a bit like Harry Potter for adults, if you ask me. I love the characters with all their quirks!

3) Richelle Mead - Because, who doesn't love the Vampire Academy? Rose, Lissa, Dimitri, Adrian and all the characters are my favorite company.

4) Ann Aguirre - I love Sirantha Jax! The character is unique, it's definitely sci-fi and if you don't know them yet, please check out the first one. It is absolutely amazing and totally worth everybody's time.

5) Tanya Huff - If you love vampires and PI novels, you should check out Tanya Huff's Blood series. There's a reason this once was a TV show called Blood Ties. (A pity they cancelled the show!)

6) Meg Cabot - Her Missing series and the Mediator series both have paranormal elements and are great reads for young teens and everyone who enjoys a fun, quick read.

7) Alice Kimberly - Her Haunted Bookshop series is a wonderful cozy mystery series featuring a book store manager/owner and a dead PI from the 1950s.

8) Jennifer Estep - Elemental Assassin? Need I say more?

9) Rick Riordan - I just love his MG/YA series with ancient gods as sidekicks...

10) Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - I could not end this list without this power duo! They write awesome thrillers and at least the first two, Relic and Reliquary, have a sci-fi plot aspect to them. They are absolutely amazing authors!

Have you read any of those books? What did you think of them?

Dewey's Readathon - Update 3 with End of Event meme

So, the readathon is officially over. However, I am still reading. I'm not at roughly 20 hours and my plan is to finish my current book. I ditched the Fables books for now because we headed out to get the mister a mouse and some cupcakes (I mentioned them yesterday - they are delish!). Since I didn't want to take my paperbacks into the rain, I picked up my iTouch to read Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. I enjoy it a lot and already have Shadows (Ashes #2) on my Kindle app and my Kindle.

On to the actual end of event meme:
1) The most daunting hour for me was around 2:30am when I actually fell asleep. I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
2) You definitely want to keep some lighter reading for the daunting hours. Pick a graphic novel (they come in all genres) or a manga series you want to catch up to. Maybe a short story collection? Anything that won't force you to pay attention for too long at a time. It will help, trust me!
3) As usual, I loved the readathon in its entirety. What's not to love??
4) I enjoy the mini-challenges, but they usually keep me from reading, so I didn't participate in a single one. I love my mini-challenges though, and usually browse through all the things people did the week after the readathon.
5) I so far read 3.5 books.
6) Bill Willingham's Fables #3-6, Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
7) I loved them all!
8) None
9) I was not a cheerleader, but would like to thank them for their wonderful work!
10) I try to participate in Dewey's Readathon whenever I can fit in in my schedule. As mentioned earlier, April usually is a bit inconvenient for me, because it's around my birthday *and* the beginning of the new semester, but I always try.

Dewey's Readathon - Update 2

Yeah, no updates here really. Can you blame me? I've been reading, still working on Fables... I even burned the pasta sauce because I was busy reading. #fail

Dewey's Readathon - Update 1 with Intro Questionnaire

So, I'm starting the readathon half an hour late, along with the Mister. We made lunch and it took longer than expected because we realized half way into him making BBQ burgers & fries that we don't have enough fries and no cheese. So off I ran to get the stuff while he finished the cooking.

On to the Introduction Questionnaire:

1) We're in Frankfurt, Germany.
2) There's no particular book I'm looking forward to because I picked them all based on my longing to read them. The mister would probably say he can't wait for me to read Jim Butcher's Grave Peril.
3) No snacks here, unless we run out to get the books I had a guy set aside for me at the antique book section at the Frankfurt bookfair - I'd stop by Jenny's Cupcakes then.
4) Can't, want to read! Argh! LOL I love books and this is the last weekend before university starts again (Monday -.-). Other than that, I love being a librarian & student and reader...
5) April readathons tend to be iffy for me because they're so close to my birthday and the semester usually already began. But just taking breaks in between helps, if you ask me. And drink a lot!

Book 1 for him: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (re-read #25857 :P )
Book 1 for me: Fables: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

[Top 10 Tuesday] Mix'n'Match for once

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

For this week you can pick any of the old topics you want to revisit, be it one you haven't participated in or one you would like to do again because you had more than 10 books in the first place.

Since this is only my 2nd or maybe 3rd Top Ten Tuesday post, I thought I'd change things up a bit and pick 10 topics I like and give you one to three books I would have picked for that. To make it a bit shorter, I will only give you a one sentence explanation.

1) October 12, 2010 brought you the Book(s) I'll never read.
For me, that would be Lord of the Rings. Not my cup of tea, and I just can't get into the story. Sorry, fans!

2) March 8, 2011 brought you the Dynamic Duos.
I'm going to be boring and say Harry & Ron, because really, without Ron, Harry wouldn't be as fun and without Harry, Ron wouldn't be well-known.

3) July 12, 2011 brought you the author I'd die to meet.
For me, this would be Dame Agatha Christie, because she was one awesome lady!

4) April 3, 2012 was all about books to read in one day.
Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that can, will and should be read in one day. This one fits the description to the dot on the i, so to speak.

5) April 24, 2012 gave you a look at all time favorite charaters.
That's a tough one, and I'l probably end up with a tie between Cammie Morgan (Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series) and Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles, the main characters in Tess Gerritsen's series.

6) Good beach reads were June 12, 2012's topic.
My all-time favorite beach reads are fluffy, but hilarious romance novels with good characters. Jill Shalvis' books exactly fit that bill!

7) On July 10, 2012, OCD Bookish Habits were searched - and widely found.
My biggest OCD bookish habit is probably, that I absolutely hate it when somebody mixes up my books. They're on different shelves, depending on whether I already read them or whether they're on my Mt TBR. Yes, I actually have TBR shelves!

8) Books for people who liked book X was the big topic for July 17, 2012.
My pick: If you enjoyed Divergent by Veronica Roth, I recommend you check out Lois Lowry's The Giver series.

9) August 21, 2012 brought you the best books read in the lifespan of the blog.
For me, some of the best books are Kim Harrington's Clarity, Sarwat Chadda's Devil's Kiss, and The Iron Seas by Meljean Brook.

10) July 24, 2012 brought you the Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books.
For me, that was without a doubt Divergent by Veronica Roth, because I could draw you pretty good pictures from that world even though I'm not good at drawing.

Have you read any of these books and did you like them (or not?)?

[Top 10 Tuesday] Old, but definitely not forgotten

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is all about older books, that may not be on the top of everyone's wish list, but definitely deserve to be spotlighted every once in a while.

Here are my old, but not forgotten books:

1 & 2) Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and The Other Way Around
British author Judith Kerr wrote these two autobiographical books (actually a trilogy, which is completed by A Small Person Far Away, which is not as good as the first two) telling of her life as a Jew in the early years of Nazi-Germany, along with her family's escape through Switzerland and France to Great Britain. These books give middle grade readers and young adults a close look at life during this horrible time, without appearing preachy or too horrific. Kerr manages to draw the reader into the happenings back in the 1930s and 1940s through her own eyes as a kid. I highly recommend these two books, as they are educational in a subdued way, so it is not very obvious to the reader that s/he is actually learning about World War II and Nazi-Germany.

3) Agatha Christie!!!
I recommend every single Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mystery Dame Agatha Christie ever wrote. No matter which one you will pick up, you are in for a treat. I must have read my first Miss Marple novel when I was 10 or 11 and I never got enough. She is indeed the Queen of Crime, that label is so very apt.

4) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
Come on, they have to be on this list. I actually know some people who never read the books, so I will never give up promoting them. Also, any possible future kids of mine must read and love HP, if they don't they can't be mine & must have been switched at birth! o_O

5) Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird
This one should be a no-brainer, but it deserves so much love! I first read to Kill A Mockingbird back in school, when I was bored with our assigned reading (my teacher never said a word when I read other books).

6) Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy
I absolutely love Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir. I have been listening to the audio books for this series mostly, because the German narrator does a wonderful job giving Dimitri a Russian accent and it gives him so much more character and personality. Even when reading the books, I hear Dimitri's voice with the Russian accent, which is "added goodness" in my eyes. If you love vampires you most likely will love this!

7) Enid Bylton's Malory Towers series
This is a series I devoured as a middle grade reader. Darrell (it's still strange for me that they changed all the names in the German editions, but I guess that's what they did in the the 1950s and 60s?) attends a bording school which is also a castle and has many wonderful adventures. This is a very girly series, naturally, but I can only recommend it, even for reluctant readers.

8) Enid Blyton's St Clare's series
Another of Enid Blyton's bording school series, which is great for the exact same reasons as Malory Towers.

9) Lois Lowry's The Giver
Many, many years ago, this was my first dystopic novel ever. Lowry imagined a society where everyone is the same, there are no differences, no discord. If you love distopic novels, you have to read this!

10) K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series I will throw this series in here because I recently recommended it to my kid cousin (he's 13) who loves to read, reads a lot & fast at that. The series revolves around five kids who with the help of an alien try to save Earth from an alien infiltration. The name stems from them being able to morph into all kinds of animals, thanks to the friendly alien they meet at the beginning of the series.

What about you? What are your older books that you hope will never be forgotten? Post them in the comments, please.
Have you read any of my older books I don't want to be forgotten?

Bloggiesta coming up!

I just found out through the amazing Trish that the Bloggiesta is coming up this weekend. It is hosted by Danielle and Suey (link to the Bloggiesta sign-up page), and I will sign up because I've not only been slacking with my blog lately, but with everything here.

I have a bunch of outstanding reviews that only need to be written (I take notes these days, so it's not that much to do - or it shouldn't be). Then I want to update the blog and deal with some minor things that have been bothering me a lot. I want to deal with that as well. And last, but certainly not least, I plan to figure out which memes I would like to participate in on a regular basis. I haven't participated in memes really, but I would love to.

Are you participating in Bloggiesta?
If not, do you have any suggestions for me regarding my blog? Maybe something you'd hope I would do (apart from blogging more regularly) or something that distracts you (maybe with the template or some other part of the layout)?

[Challenge] Fall Into Reading 2012

Usually, I miss out on this one because I just keep forgetting to sign up *ahem*, but this year, I want to participate in Fall Into Reading hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. This fall challenge started on September 22 and ends December 21.

My book list looks like this:
1) Ilsa J. Bick: Ashes
2) Ilsa J. Bick: Shadows
3) Cassandra Rose Clark: The Assassin's Curse
4) Heather M. White: When Destiny Knocks
5) Nick Sagan: Edenborn
6) Ann Aguirre: Wanderlust
7) Alex Flinn: Beastly
8) Pittacus Lore: I Am Number Four
9) Richelle Mead: Spirit Bound
10) Jim Butcher: Storm Front

Wicked Wildfire Readathon

It turns out you actually should write a post when you participate in a readathon. For some reason, this tiny, but important detail was lost on me these past few days. Then again, I also don't really have a good internet connection these days. You see, my router died last weekend & since I need the internet for research for a presentation, I am now going back and forth between Frankfurt and my parents' place. This means an approximatly 4 hour commute. Good for reading, not so good for actually having a functioning brain at the end of the day.

Without further ado: Today and through the weekend, there's the Wicked Wildfire Readathon, hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever and April @ My Shelf Confessions.

I have not really set any goals for myself. I just want to read as much as possible and I don't even have a real pile specifically for the readathon. I will of course try to change it up between paper books and e-books, because I have plenty of both.

So far, on Day 1, I have read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith and I started Lorelei James' All Jacked Up.

For Day 2, I got to 41% of All Jacked Up, but I'm taking a break. I'm not feeling "the love" for the book at all at this point, even though I wanted to know more about Keely. Well, maybe later? Instead, I started Susan Mallery's Summer Nights and so far I absolutely love it.

On Day 3 I was pretty busy. I was out and about for over 13 hours, and I only had about 2 of those hours to actually read. All the other time, I spent at work or at university. Once I was home, I was starving & just wanted to relax - but: I finished Susan Mallery's Summer Nights. I will try to get the review done soon, but I also have to think about the 2 presentations that are due within the next 8 days. What I want to read for the rest of the night? I don't know yet.

[48HBC] 48 Hour Book Challenge 2012

It is that time of the year again. MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge is a go this weekend and to get some reading done despite all the university stuff I need to do, I am joining in.

It is pretty easy. You choose a 48-hour period sometime between Friday, June 8, 7am and Monday, June 11, 7am and read. Since I have to write a 2-page essay on Yes, Minister, I will only commit to 12 to 23 hours. I have to stay sane after all. University is already messing with that quite nicely.

I will start in approximately 5 minutes, which means 11pm on Friday - my time. I will update on Twitter (@stackednpainted) and occasionally in this post, so stay tuned!

My first book will be Jill Shalvis' Lucky in Love, which I started yesterday. I am currently on page 85.

Update, 12pm Saturday - 13hours in:
So, I lost the results from my stopwatch earlier today already. I was at around 1h 45mins the last time I checked and had already read some more when some dumb girl (might have been me, but I'm not sure) accidentally reset it. I am now going to add everything I read from here on out to the 1:45. I am still working on Jill Shalvis' Lucky in Love and enjoy it a lot.

Update, 10pm Saturday - 23 hours in:
A major headache doesn't help with reading, but I am now at 7h 47mins. I finished Jill Shalvis' Lucky in Love earlier today and am now reading Kendra Leigh Castle's Shadow Rising.

Update, 9pm Saturday - 46 hours in:
So, I got some more reading done last night and today. I am now at 12h 5mins. I tried to read Michael Lancaster's 0.4 (also known as Human.4, but it turns out it is not for me. It will go into a future "clear my shelves" giveaway. In general, the story is great, but the way it is narrated didn't appeal to me. I then switched back to Shadow Rising, which I finished. I will probably read some more during the remaining 2 hours (for me).

[ArmchairBEA] The Future of Book Blogging

Today's topic:

It's the final day of Armchair BEA and we want you to keep your passion for books and blogging about them going long after we've closed the event. Today we'll be sharing tips on keeping book blogging exciting and unique to your vision for your blog. Our suggested post for today is "Ask the Experts". If you have any burning questions for your fellow participants about book blogging now is the time to ask and if you don't we'd love for you to share your own personal tips about book blogging!

I had a hard time with today's topic. I may have been blogging for years now, but I am really no expert at all. I can't tell you how to maintain a good relationship with publishers, because I live in Germany and generally, publishers don't offer to ship ARCs here. I can't tell you how to gain followers, because I don't know. In fact, I am not a huge fan of that anyway. I don't even like the whole "you must be a follower to participate in my giveaways", even though I have done that myself in the past.

So you see, I am really not one to give you advice beyond the very common sense things like
1) Be nice!
2) Link back if you copy something or use it for inspiration.
3) Have fun doing what you do and take breaks when things get overwhelming.
4) Participate in memes you like, but don't participate in too many.

You see, these are pretty basic, commonsense things, so I don't really have to say much about it, right?

However, I have a questions for the experts out there:
How do you get people to comment? I have even tried asking questions in my blog posts, but to no avail, so I am a bit at a loss. I would really love to have some conversation in the comments and usually, I try to reply to comments, but when I don't get any comments... I'm at a loss here and it makes me sad. Any help and any suggestions are most welcome!

[ArmchairBEA] Beyond the Blog

I mentioned this in a separate blog post, but chances are you will only go to this blog post and not the entire blog, so: I had problems with my internet connections for most of the week. My router assigned my computer an IP address starting with 168 instead of 192. This meant my computer could not connect to the internet and I was offline. Otherwise I would have been a lot more active during ArmchairBEA. I will try to catch up later today & tomorrow, so if you want to come back, I would love and appreciate it!

Today's topic:

So, you enjoy writing do you? Would you like to be involved elsewhere on the interwebs or possibly start writing for your local paper? Perhaps you'd simply like to start drawing an income from your blog? Today we will be sharing tips that will help you move your blog forward or perhaps your own personal goals of writing and making an income from what you love to do. Today we'd love you to share your top tips for getting beyond your blog! Have you done any freelance writing? Are you monetizing your blog and how so? How do you make connections outside the book blog community on the internet?

Writing... I have a very mixed relationship with the process of writing itself. When I have a topic I am interested in, it is obviously a lot easier, but even then it takes a bit until I find the right way to start. This has always been the case, both with blogging and with writing for school/university papers.

However, while it is hard work for me to get started, I enjoy writing and if I had time left on a regular basis, I would love to write and earn some money at the same time. So far, the only way this has happened only in a very small, but very exciting way. As I mentioned before, I study literature. This has led me to get to know someone who works for a German publisher & also offers classes every now and then. Thanks to him, I had the wonderful opportunity to write a few reviews for them before they bought the books. It is nothing I do on a regular basis, but I love it and I wouldn't mind reading and reviewing for them more often.

In theory, I could monetarize my blog and I even use the Amazon partner program for all my pretty cover pictures and links to buy the books, but I haven't made a single cent from my blog in all the years. I don't even get that many review copies, simply because I live in Germany and take breaks from blogging whenever I need to. All my review copies this year have been via Netgalley and I am glad they exist. I still buy most of the books afterwards to have a paper copy, but it is nice to be able to read them on my Kindle. Mostly because with my Kindle I will always have a second book with me for after finishing my current read.

As far as making connections, I have to admit I don't have many friends in real life or online. The sad thing is, usually people end up disappearing out of my life once they're in a long-term relationship, no matter how close we were before and how often we used to hang out.

[ArmchairBEA] Decisions first, blogpost later (I promise!)

So, these last few days I have been without proper internet (not counting in my phone) because once again my router decided to assign me an IP address that starts with 168. I'm pretty sure you've seen IP addresses before and know they're supposed to start with 192. I just wish my router would know that as well *sigh*

Anyway, I am now trying to figure out whether I should rather reply to all the wonderful comments I got from you all first or start out with writing a blogpost about today's topic? Any thoughts? I would really appreciate it...

[ArmchairBEA2012] Introductory Interview

It's that time of the year again. A great number of book bloggers is in NYC for BEA. And I have to admit, I'm jealous. I would love to be there, like in 2010, but BEA always takes place in the middle of the semester, and I don't dare skip a week just like that. Not this close to being (hopefully, finally!) done with university.

But we have ArmchairBEA for all of us that can't go and still want to get together, if "only" virtually. For this weeklong occasion, we will all start out with an introductory interview, so let's get started!

Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?
A: "Hello, my name is Kathrin and I'm a book addict!" That's what I keep thinking almost every day and actually it has been several times a day for the past weeks. It is true - and luckily I am not alone, although it can feel very lonely when I'm walking outside of the blogging world.
It feels lonely even though I major in American Studies with a minor in English Studies. You'd think all those literature classes I took so far would help me feel less lonely. The truth is, I feel it is frowned upon to read contemporary literature of (almost) any kind. I won't even go into the treatment of novels for young adults, romance novels, or the paranormal genre. It makes me sad that there is this a brandishing of a whole group of genres. There is a reason why these genres exist, they have a right to exist and my love for them does not make me a lesser person, within or outside of the academic setting. But tell that to the lecturers or even my fellow students!
I have been blogging for quite a number of years now. I believe I had my first blog in the early 2000s when I was still at school as I felt the need to have some place where I could keep track of what I was reading and a handwritten notebook never made me happy. (My handwriting kept getting sloppier the longer I wrote.) I doubt I will stop blogging any time soon because even though I have been scarce here, it will forever be my place to escape to when I want to tell someone, anyone, about the books I read. To me, my blog is now a place where I can express my feelings about books I read, whether I enjoy them or not. I don't mind telling what I didn't like about a book really, only, I tend to ditch them before I've finished...

Q: What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
A: Right now I'm reading Susan Mallery's Summer Days, which I am admittedly not enjoying as much as I had hoped. My second book is Meljean Brook's The Iron Duke, which I enjoy a lot more, but it's huge!
My favorite booka so far in 2012 are Veronica Roth's Divergent, Meg Cabot's Underworld and Jennifer Bernard's The Fireman who Loved Me (reviews to follow later this month).

Q: Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
A: My books may be the biggest "collection" of mine, but DVDs are a close second. I don't have a TV at my place, but I watch DVDs a lot and also collect them. There are no good DVD rentals around here unless I want to go online. So I have separate shelves for all my DVDs. They are sorted by movies vs. series and then alphabetically! Is that too much geekery going on?

Q: If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
A: It's a close call between Jill Shalvis because she is the most fun person I have ever encountered online (Really, check out her blog (link above)!) and Mr. Darcy because it's Mr. Darcy!

Q: Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?
A: Absolutely! When I first started keeping track of my books, I read almost exclusively mysteries and some thrillers. Then this phase stopped completely and I was hooked on young adult novels of (almost) all genres with some category romance over the summers.
Nowadays, I read what fits my mood without excuses. This usually means romance novels, novels for young adults (yes, they've stuck with me), but also chick lit and mysteries, paranormal and urban fiction, as well as books I would consider classics even though they might not fit the bill of popular classics.

[Minireview] Artist Arthur : Manifest

[paranormal YA]

You can buy it here:
Manifest (Amazon paperback)
Manifest (Amazon eBook)

Summary: (from the publisher)
Krystal Bentley is an outsider at her new high school, having just moved to a small Connecticut town. Lately she's been hearing the voice of a teenage boy in her head, and he has become her friend and confidant. The only problem is, he's dead...

Ricky Watson was killed a year ago in the alley behind Krystal's new school. The rumor mill is filled with stories of Ricky and his untimely death. Unfortunately, as a ghost, Ricky is unable to investigate his own murder, so Ricky needs Krystal to find the truth and she needs someone to listen. When Krystal befriends Sasha and Jake, both outcasts at her high school, the threesome soon discover that they have more in common than their outsider status. Each has a unique paranormal ability and an unusual birthmark in the shape of an "M." Jake announces that the M must stand for misfits, and so the three form an unusual clique. They soon realize that solving Ricky's murder can help them understand the mystery behind their powers and may reveal whether there are others like them.

My thoughts:

NOTE: This is mainly a summary of my thoughts as I read this book last year and and I still remember it quite well, but I may not remember all the details.

Krystal was not very happy when her Mom moved her away from her beloved home in order to move back to a small town in Connecticut and she had a hard time making friends. Once she stumbles across a ghost and a mystery, though, she meets Sasha and Jake, who seem to have a similar birthmark as Krystal.

After their initial difficulties, Krystal, Sasha and Jake build a team that works together. They form a connection that goes beyond your average high school friendship and it's obvious that despite their differences, they would pitch in for each other any time. It was this friendship despite the obstacle and odds, that made me enjoy Manifest even more. I enjoyed the mystery and the paranormal aspect of this book a lot. It kept me guessing throughout the book and while the mystery for the first novel was solved neatly, Artist Arthur left enough questions about the teen's paranormal abilities and their destiny to entice any reader to pick up the next book.

Rating:
4.25/5

FTC: I received an eGalley from the publisher via Netgalley.

[Bought & Finished] May 2012

And another month is over. I really have trouble keeping track of time, but of course my busy schedule (I have hardly any time left between classes & work) doesn't help. This post is supposed to help me keep track of my shopping sprees (not really, but you know?) and what I use up / read. So, let's go!

Up front, here's what I bought (picture spam first, list second):

Makeup:

1. Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clarifying Lotion
2. Allergika Lipolotio Urea 5%F body lotion - a recommendation from my dermatologist after dealing with perioral dermatitis
3. Essie Brazilliant
4. Essie Rock Solid Base Coat
5. Essie glass nail file
6. the content of my Douglas Box of Beauty: miniature flask of Christina Aguilera: By Night, Venus Body Scrub, Kings & Queens shower gel, a small Isadora lipstick, Be:Yu Cat Eyes mascara
7. Avène Couvrance liquid makeup in '01 Porcelain'
8. Avène Eau Thermale
9. Avène Lotion Micellaire

Books:

1. Meljean Brook: The Iron Duke - already started reading
2. Lisa Daily: Beauty
3. Joanne Greenberg: I Never Promised You A Rose Garden - a present from a dear friend
4. Kate Klise & M. Sarah Klise: Dying To Meet You - already read
5. Cassandra Clare: Clockwork Prince - discount, cost about €3.00 (please ignore the fact that it is on 2 pics!)
6. Jennifer E. Smith: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
7. Jeannie Lin: My Fair Concubine
8. M.C. Beaton: Death of a Dustman
9. M.C. Beaton: Death of a Celebrity
10. P.G. Wodehouse: Very Good, Jeeves
11. Leila Sales: Past Perfect
12. Meg Cabot: Underworld - already read
13. Veronica Roth: Insurgent
14. Sable Hunter: Cowboy Heat (eBook)
15. Lorelei James: Branded As Trouble (eBook) - already read
16. Lorelei James: Cowboy Casanova (eBook) - already read
17. Peter Anderson: Survivor 1.01: Blackout (eBook)
18. Peter Anderson: Survivor 1.02: Chinks (eBook)
19. Liz Crowe: Floor Time (eBook)
20. Bianchin/Darcy/Lee: Australian Bachelors - Masterful Magnates (eBook)
21. Nora Roberts: The Art of Deception (eBook)
22. Nora Roberts: Unfinished Business (eBook)
23. Lorelei James: Strong, Silent Type (eBook)

Used & Read:

Makeup:

1. 2x Bebe Young Care 3 in 1 eye makeup remover pads - nice, but I found something better
2. Bebe Young Care Holiday Skin Body Lotion - supposedly a self-tanner, pretty orange and sticky
3. Clinique Lash Building Primer - unfortunately way past it's time, so it had to go
4. Clinique High Lengths Mascara in brown - good & natural results, but there are cheaper mascaras with the same effect
5. Garnier Hautklar SOS Anti-Pickel-Stift - SOS anti-blemish stick with no significant results?!
6. Bare Minerals Prime Time sample from Sephora - very good, bought a full-size in the US
7. Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion - very good, bought a new bottle already
8. Betty Barclay Pure Style perfume - has been my signature scent for over 2 years, I still have one bottle at home
9. Odol Med 3 Samtweiß - whitening toothpaste, I tend to switch, though
10. Catrice Lashes To Kill Ultra Black - cheap & with good result, but I have enough mascara
11. Alverde Repair hair mask Grape-Avocado - awesome, silicone-free & I will get a new one!
12. Nivea Reinigungstücher - has been my favorite for a long time, but I want to try other products
13. Nivea Pure & Natural Action Deodorant - a good product, unfortunately out of stock more often than I'd like
14. Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clearing Moisturizer - a backup is already in my bathroom

Books:

1. Kady Cross: The Girl In The Clockwork Collar (eBook)
2. Medeia Sharif: Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.
3. M.C. Beaton: A Highland Christmas
4. Richelle Mead: Shadow Kiss (Hörbuch)
5. Mischa-Sarim Vérollet: Das Leben ist keine Waldorfschule (english title: 'Life is not a Waldorf School' - eBook)
6. Amy Fellner Dominy: OyMG
7. Meg Cabot: Underworld
8. Jennifer Bernard: The Fireman Who Loved Me
9. Rachael Johns: One Perfect Night (eBook)
10. Carolyn Keene: Nancy Drew - The Hidden Staircase (audio book)
11. Caroline B. Cooney: The Face on the Milk Carton
12. Lorelei James: Branded As Trouble (eBook)
13. Tessa Radley: Lady in Rot (english title: 'Black Widow Bride' - eBook)
14. Lorelei James: Cowboy Casanova (eBook)
15. Brandi Evans: Seducing Jason (eBook)
16. Shona Husk: Summons (eBook)
17. Vivan Arend: Exotic Indulgence (eBook)
18. Caedem Marquez: A Boyfriend Before Christmas (eBook)
19. Melanie Marks: Fall For Me (eBook)
20. Melissa Schroeder: A Little Harmless S** (eBook)
21. Kate Klise & M. Sarah Klise: Dying To Meet You
22. Nora Roberts: Bed of Roses (audio book)

[Review] Nora Roberts : Bed of Roses

[romance]

You can buy it here:
Bed of Roses (Bride Quartet) (Amazon mass market paperback)
Bed of Roses (Bride Quartet) (Amazon eBook)

Summary: (from Audible.de)
Since she was a little girl, Emma Grant has always loved romance. So it's really no surprise that she has found her calling as a wedding florist at Vows. She gets to play with flowers every day and work with her three best friends in the process. She couldn't ask for a better job....

And on the surface, Emma's love life seems to be thriving. Slim and sultry, she brings color into every room she enters, just like the arrangements she creates. Though men swarm around her, she still hasn't found Mr. Right. And the last place she's looking is right under her nose.

But that's just where Jack Cooke is. He's so close to the women of Vows that he's practically family. But the architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. And when Emma returns his passion - kiss for blistering kiss - things start to get complicated at Vows.

Jack has never been big on commitment, though, while Emma yearns for a lifelong love affair. If the two are to find common ground, they must trust in their history - and in their hearts.

My thoughts:
Bed of Roses starts soon after Vision in White ended. This time, we watch Emmaline fall in love with long-time friend Jack. Nora Roberts is the Queen of Romance for a reason, and I believe that she shows exactly why that is the case with this novel.

I have come to love all 4 women in the first installment in this series already, so coming back to see more was a pleasure. With Nora Roberts' novels, it is usually a joint joy with my Mom, so I tend to wait, which is why I had a long break between books #1 and #2, but this did not affect my feelings with this or my memory of book #1 in any way. It was easy to dive back into the story.

Emma is a sweet woman and the chemistry between her and Jack is obvious from the start, even though they try to fight it, as they don't want to spoil their long friendship and the interaction within their mutual circle of friends. Both are very likeable characters and although you know from the getgo that they will be together at the end despite the obstacles, Bed of Roses still has a wonderful and romantic ending.

Narration (audio): (Brilliance Audio)
My copy was an unabridged audio with roughly 8 hours and 56 minutes. When I listen to an audio book, the narrator is of course very significant. Books usually stand or fall with the narrator, so s/he is important.

In this case, Angela Dawe did a good enough job. She was easy to understand and follow, narrated the story in a way that was entertaining and got me hooked. The one thing that bugged me, really, really bugged me, was that she changed her voice for the different characters. Usually, that doesn't bother me, but here, Dawe chose a tone for the male voices (and especially for Jack) that annoyed me. The men sounded like male macho bimbos!

Rating:
4/5

FTC: Bought with my own money - via my Audible subscription.

[Review] Jill Shalvis : Christmas in Lucky Harbor

[romance]

You can buy it here:
Christmas in Lucky Harbor: Simply Irresistible/The Sweetest Thing (Lucky Harbor Novel) (Amazon mass market paperback)

Summary: (from the publisher)
Love awaits you in Lucky Harbor . . .

Simply Irresistible
After losing her boyfriend and her job, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim her inheritance-a ramshackle inn nestled in the little town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. She sees the potential for a new home and a new career-if she can give the inn the makeover it needs. Enter Jax, a tall, handsome contractor who knows exactly what Maddie needs...

The Sweetest Thing
Helping her sister set up the family inn is just the thing to make Tara forget her ex-husband and focus on her new life. Until she meets a sexy, green-eyed sailor determined to keep her hot, bothered, and in his bed. When her ex reappears, Tara must confront her past and decide what she really wants.

If the sisters are lucky, they might just find that everything their hearts desire is right here in Lucky Harbor.

My thoughts:
Wow! I don't need to repeat myself here again, but for the sake of this being complete: I love Jill Shalvis' novels! Also, I'm very, very late with this review because all my previous attempts seemed too gushy. This is my final attempt and no matter what happens, I will publish it!

When I first received this eGalley, I did not realize it was a compilation of the first two Lucky Harbor books. I had already read book #1 when I started reading Christmas In Lucky Harbor and had received book #2. I hadn't planned on rushing into book #2, but when I got this...

But on to the book(s)...

The setup is easy: Three sisters come together again for the first time in what seems to have been years when they claim their inheritance in Lucky Harbor. The sisters could not be more different from each other. Maddie is obsessive-compulsive and certainly lacks self-esteem. Tara is a successful go-getter with a marriage in her past. And the baby sister, Chloe, is a free spirit who lives into the day. This causes problems between them, especially when they decide to move into the run-down in they inherited to build it back up.

In Simply Irresistible, Maddie meets Jax, who is not only the mayor of Lucky Harbor, but also a very handsome contractor whom the women hire to rebuild their inn and home. In the end, he not only helps her with the house, but he also rebuilds Maddie's confidence & they fall in love.

In The Sweetest Thing, Tara has to figure out how to deal with her past and her failed marriage, when her husband comes to Lucky Harbor to try to win her back. But is Tara really still interested in her race car driving ex? Or is there a man in Lucky Harbor that would suit her far better?

Jill Shalvis created a whole small town of unique characters. It is easy to travel to Lucky Harbor at least in your mind while enjoying these wonderful novels; it is also easy to root for the main characters of each of the books while they work out their problems to find not only love, but also companionship, happiness and confidence in the end.

Rating:
4.5/5

FTC: I received an e-galley from the publisher through Netgalley.

Bout of Books 4.0

The Bout of Books Read-a-Thon was created by Amanda @ On a Book Bender on a complete whim in August 2011*. It took on a life of its own and was such a hit that Amanda decided to do it again and turn it into a somewhat regular occurrence. There are no set dates for Bout of Books; rather, Amanda tries to work with Bout of Books participants to determine the best dates for them.

My Goals
I am going to work a bit more on my presentation for Wednesday (Maimonides, anyone?) and then I will get back to reading The Fireman Who Loved Me by Jennifer Bernard. I heard about this book on two or three blogs, was sold after review 1 and had to buy it after review 2. It arrived some time last week and I had to read it as soon as possible - now!
I will be busy with university most of the time tomorrow, so I won't have much reading time then (other than on the bus/subway/whatever). On Wednesday, I have class in the morning (with the presentation) and in the afternoon I'll work, but after that I'm headed home to my parents for a long weekend. Thursday is a holiday here, so I will spend as much of the day with my books as I can. On Friday I have to work in the morning and then I have one class in the afternoon, but as I will be commuting from my parents', I will get about 3 hours of reading time in during that time alone. I don't know yet about the evening. Weekends I'm off.
So this is my basic plan for the week.
My all in all goal will be to read 4 books and prepare all the texts for next week up front (I never manage that on a regular weekend, so maybe this helps?)

Books To Read
I am very much a mood reader, so I can't really make a list. I wouldn't stick to it anyway. For now, I'm going to finish my current read. Everything else will be added in the following updates.

Updates

5/14
Number of books I’ve read today:1/2
Total number of books I’ve read: 1/2
Books: Jennifer Bernard's The Fireman Who loved Me

5/15
Number of books I’ve read today:1
Total number of books I’ve read:1
Books: Jennifer Bernard's The Fireman Who loved Me
I also started a Carly Phillips, but decided it was too slow for the moment.

5/16
Number of books I’ve read today:1
Total number of books I’ve read:2.5
Books: Rachael John's One Perfect Night & about half of Nancy Drew - The Hidden Staircase

I got some "wonderful" news today. Thanks to the Blockupy movement invading my hometown for the rest of the week and the weekend, I will have a 4-day weekend. Tomorrow's a holiday anyway and the entire university is closed down starting today. Also, I was told to not go to work (also for security reasons). As these protests go, you will always have enough crazies - last time we had a protest at/near university, they wrecked an entire building, and the last protest also ended with massive damage. Despite a big police presence, they can't guarantee anything, so I am securely holed in at my parents, an hour away from my place. Let's see how much reading I can get in!

5/17
Number of books I’ve read today:1
Total number of books I’ve read:3
Books:Nancy Drew - The Hidden Staircase

5/18
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Books:

5/19
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Books:

I have not managed to really get a feel for a single book these past 3 days. I had tons of time off, but instead of really digging a book I finally relaxed while shopping with my mom. (I'll post the results of this later.)

5/20
Number of books I've read today:1
Total number of books I've read:4
Books:Caroline B. Cooney - The Face on the Milk Carton

Readathon progress check

Introduction Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - Germany
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? - I don't have a stack, I'm just using my shelves & my Kindle
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? - The pizza tonight, I guess. With double chocolate chip cookies for dessert
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! - I need a break & I'm homesick :(
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? - I no longer have a stack and I will not even attempt to update this blog post regularly. Wheneve I find the time or need a break, you'll hear from me.

It's now 3:53pm here and we're almost two hours into the readathon. I started the readathon with a phone call from a friend. And I've already finished my first book: Clarity by Kim Harrington. Now I'm picking book #2...

I'ts now 7:35pm, we're in hour 6 of the readathon and I just fell asleep soon after the last update. I had picked a book before that though: Heart on my Sleeve by Ellen Wittlinger. But I'm not feeling it. I can't explain it, but it doesn't seem to be the book for now. Off to pick another book!

FINALE
I read for a total of 9 hours and 38 minutes (according to the stopwatch on my iTouch). I finished another book, a real chunkster by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. And if I remembered the title, I'd mention it already... -.-

Read-a-Thon

Approximately 2 hours from now Dewey's Read-a-Thon will start. This year, I will try to participate again as a reader. I haven't participated as a reader in a while. Last October I helped with the Prize Committee (I hope all prizes arrived!), April 2011 I couldn't participate because it was on my birthday and I think my family would have been a tiny bit upset if I had spent the entire day reading. After all, they had prepared a wonderful dinner with the entire family (at least the part that lives right here). But this year, I'll give it a try again.

However, you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging at all lately. I'm super busy with university and have been for the past year and a half, maybe even longer. Chances are, this will not get any better, but I also have changed a bit. This will also result in some changes here in my Dreamworld. I don't know yet how I'm going to incorporate it all, so I won't say much now. Just let me say that I plan to be a more reliable blogger from here on out!

But now, I'm off to read some more.

First "Book of the Day": Clarity by Kim Harrington
Background noise: a German cooking show with amateur chefs

If you want to keep up with me, I will update my Goodreads account as I go along, and I will also tweet occasionally. Updates here will be sparse so I can concentrate on my books and stuff.