- I love that there’s a map at the beginning and a little timeline about Egypt’s history to give the reader some context and later in the boo3.5 Stars
- I love that there’s a map at the beginning and a little timeline about Egypt’s history to give the reader some context and later in the book there’s also some mixed media - pictures and lists and more maps, makes the reading experience very engaging! - very easy and fast read in the beginning but during the end of part one I got a bit bored but in part two the story begins to pick up speed and it’s getting more interesting again - i really enjoy reading about Inez’ and Whit’s relationship - i love reading about people who are attracted to each other but don’t want to be because they’re not allowed to be together lol...more
»My Throat An Open Grave« was my second book by Tori Bovalino and I enjoyed it even more than her debut »The Devil Makes Three« - which makes me reall»My Throat An Open Grave« was my second book by Tori Bovalino and I enjoyed it even more than her debut »The Devil Makes Three« - which makes me really excited about her sophomore book that I still have on my tbr. Glad I’m always procrastinating picking up books I want to read.
»My Throat An Open Grave« follows Leah who lives in a very religious and narrow minded small town. The whole town believes in this mysterious creature called The Lord of the Wood that supposedly kidnaps their children and when Leah’s little brother Owen goes missing she has to enter the creepy woods and bring him back.
According to the synopsis the book is based on »Labyrinth« which I didn’t watch (read? Is it a book, a movie? I'm not sure actually) and I can’t say if it adds anything to the story to know it’s inspiration. I found the whole plot to be pretty predictable anyway but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story at all. At it’s core the book talks about religious trauma and how women often can get mistreated in society especially in very religious small towns. Leah’s journey was very heartbreaking to read because I assumed from the beginning what her story was and I was right and that hurt. However, I wish the book would have had a bit more depth. I felt like there was a lot written between the lines and I totally get what the author was trying to do with this book - I just wished it was also discussed a little bit more in the book, especially because it’s YA. I also found the book to be a lot less horror-like than the synopsis and my expectations from reading Bovalinos debut made me think. There were one or two scenes that were a bit gory but apart from that it’s more real-life horror and not supernatural. Especially for younger teens this may be a really good book to ease into reading horror in my opinion.
»My Throat An Open Grave« is also pretty romance heavy which I not expected and didn’t necessarily love. In my opinion the book would also have been great without but I also know I would have ate this romance up as a teen so I also don’t want to complain about it. I just personally as an adult would have thought the story may have been even stronger without the romance but I also appreciated how it was handled especially at the end.
Overall a really fast paced - despite not a lot happening actually - book that had me hooked from the first chapter that I would highly recommend.
Thank you Titan Books and NetGalley for the eARC!...more
Not gonna lie, I was a bit doubtful when I heard this book being described as Criminal Minds set in a fantasy world but there were definitely CriminalNot gonna lie, I was a bit doubtful when I heard this book being described as Criminal Minds set in a fantasy world but there were definitely Criminal Minds vibes here which is a win in my book.
»Blood and Moonlight« follows Catrin and Simon (whose romance I to be honest wasn't fully invested in) who team up to solve murders that are committed in the city of Collis. The whole murder investigation was pretty well done in my opinion - I had strong suspicions about who it was the whole time and I'm pleased to admit that the author managed to make me second guess myself constantly, especially at the end. The story really kept me on my toes.
The fantasy aspects were addressed more in the second half of the book than the first and while the case is solved (so you don't necessarily have to read the second book but I definitely want to), there are still some unanswered questions/I just want to know more about the whole world and magic system.
Next to the murder investigation and fantasy elements the story deals heavily with mental illness - there are several (important) side characters who have to deal with schizophrenia and I found the authors note at the end very interesting, especially regarding inspiration the author took from history or real places. Especially the latter is also shown in the names of a lot of places which I found fairly confusing - the names of the characters all sound pretty French but Collis is set in Gallia but everything sounds a bit like Latin? The world seemed to be inspired somewhat by (very) historical Europe but in a way that felt a bit random? I can't really explain it but I wasn't the biggest fan on the world building so far - but it also didn't bothered me enough to not want to keep reading, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can't wait to pick up book 2 soon! ...more
Sometimes you read a book and you feel like it was written just for you because it is 100% what you love to read about - and that was City of NightmarSometimes you read a book and you feel like it was written just for you because it is 100% what you love to read about - and that was City of Nightmares for me.
I had this book on my kindle for a few months and I acutally really regret not picking this book up sooner because I just loved it so much.
I think everyone who reviews books knows that it is somehow so much harder to talk about books you loved than books you disliked - I’m finding it pretty hard to pinpoint why I adored City of Nightmares so much but I definitely did.
I was hooked from the first sentence - the world was just so interesting and it is pretty dark, lots of literal nightmarish monsters and corruption and everything is just pretty weird but it’s told in such a fun way. Ness is… not your typical main character I’d think. She’s afraid of everything after her sister turned into a giant spider and ate their dad but she grows so much through out the story and I just loved Ness so much. She’s also one of the main characters who doesn’t forget her best friend as soon as she meets new people, which I thought was great, because I loved the friendship between Ness and Priya. But I also really loved Cy and how Ness was so suspicious of him in the beginning but learned to trust him. I also really liked that there wasn’t any romance in this book. Do Ness and Cy have chemistry? I think so. But I also wouldn’t be mad if they stayed friends. Either way, I just loved all of the characters so much.
Merged review:
Sometimes you read a book and you feel like it was written just for you because it is 100% what you love to read about - and that was City of Nightmares for me.
I had this book on my kindle for a few months and I acutally really regret not picking this book up sooner because I just loved it so much.
I think everyone who reviews books knows that it is somehow so much harder to talk about books you loved than books you disliked - I’m finding it pretty hard to pinpoint why I adored City of Nightmares so much but I definitely did.
I was hooked from the first sentence - the world was just so interesting and it is pretty dark, lots of literal nightmarish monsters and corruption and everything is just pretty weird but it’s told in such a fun way. Ness is… not your typical main character I’d think. She’s afraid of everything after her sister turned into a giant spider and ate their dad but she grows so much through out the story and I just loved Ness so much. She’s also one of the main characters who doesn’t forget her best friend as soon as she meets new people, which I thought was great, because I loved the friendship between Ness and Priya. But I also really loved Cy and how Ness was so suspicious of him in the beginning but learned to trust him. I also really liked that there wasn’t any romance in this book. Do Ness and Cy have chemistry? I think so. But I also wouldn’t be mad if they stayed friends. Either way, I just loved all of the characters so much....more
»Two Twisted Crowns« is the second and final installment in the »The Shepherd King« duology, and while I was a bit hesitant to pick this up beca3.5 ⭐️
»Two Twisted Crowns« is the second and final installment in the »The Shepherd King« duology, and while I was a bit hesitant to pick this up because of what happened at the end of the first book - I didn't understand how we should continue without our main character, you know? - I'm glad I gave it a chance picked this up because it was a very satisfying read.
While »One Dark Window« mostly follows Elspeth and Ravyn, the second book focuses more on Elm and Ione too, and I honestly didn't expect to love those two together so much, but oh boy, they had chemistry! This series is definitely one I read more for the characters and writing than for the plot. Rachel Gillig just has a beautiful, magical writing style that I adored, and I am already very curious to see what she comes up with next!
Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the eARC!...more
Kennt ihr das, wenn man ein Buch liest und einfach merkt, dass man nicht (mehr) zur Zielgruppe gehört? So ging es mir nämlich mit »Was bisher verlorenKennt ihr das, wenn man ein Buch liest und einfach merkt, dass man nicht (mehr) zur Zielgruppe gehört? So ging es mir nämlich mit »Was bisher verloren war«, dem zweiten Band der Vergissmeinnicht Reihe von Kerstin Gier. Das Buch ist ein Jugendbuch und während ich es gelesen habe, habe ich gemerkt, wie sehr ich nicht mehr jugendlich bin - whoops. Es ist einfach eines dieser Bücher, das mich nicht so richtig abholen konnte, bei dem ich mir aber sicher bin, dass mein zehn Jahre jüngeres Ich es großartig gefunden hätte. Ich glaube mein größtes Problem beim Lesen war daneben einfach, dass die Lektüre vom ersten Band gut zwei Jahre her ist und ich habe einiges vergessen, war aber ehrlicherweise auch zu faul den ersten vorher nochmal zu lesen. Aber auch abgesehen davon hatte ich das Gefühl, dass die Handlung für die Länge des Buches mit 528 Seiten nicht wirklich voran geschritten ist. Es wurden nur wenige Fragen geklärt, größtenteils hatte ich das Gefühl die Figuren traten auf der Stelle. Second Book Syndrom at its best. Ich hatte schon länger bei einem zweiten Band nicht mehr so sehr das Gefühl, dass er nur Füllmaterial sein soll. Ich habe nun fast 1000 Seiten in dieser Welt verbracht, aber wo es hingehen soll weiß ich leider immer noch nicht. Und schließlich ist da noch die Sache, dass Kerstin Gier in Vergissmeinnicht #2 offiziell alle ihre Bücher in das gleiche Universum katapultiert - sowohl die Geheimloge aus der Edelsteintrilogie als auch die Traumtüren aus der Silber Reihe werden erwähnt. Ist irgendwie ganz nett, wenn man die Bücher gelesen hat, aber ergibt gleichzeitig leider nur so mäßig Sinn in meinen Augen? Für mich war »Was bisher verloren war« jedenfalls leider etwas enttäuschend, was nicht heißt, dass ich die Reihe insgesamt bisher nicht trotzdem empfehlen würde. Aber halt eher für Jugendliche (was ja wie gesagt auch die Zielgruppe ist, also alles richtig gemacht.) Und idealerweise hat man noch nicht Kerstin Giers gesamte Backlist gelesen, denn ansonsten fühlt es sich auch etwas repetitiv an.
Danke an Netgalley und den Fischer Verlag für das Rezensionsexemplar! ...more
katharina ✨
>
Books:
young-adult
(528)
