Sunday, October 31, 2010

In My Mailbox #5



The idea of In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.


 ~ In MY Mailbox ~ 

King Richard III by WIlliam Shakespeare

I actually enjoy reading Shakespeare, but I had to buy the German edition so that I've at least got the chance to follow the plot. 

"Now is the winter of our discontent," intones Richard, Duke of Gloucester at the beginning of Shakespeare's Richard III, one of his most abidingly popular plays, and one of the most chilling portrayals of political tyranny ever seen on stage. Richard emerges from the chaos which surrounds the reign of Henry VI, already dramatised by Shakespeare earlier in his career, determined to become king by removing his elder brother Edward IV by convincing him that their brother Clarence is plotting against the crown. The deaths of both Clarence and Edward take Richard inexorably towards the crown, and the series of murders and conspiracies that Richard masterminds confirms his claim that "I am determined to prove a villain". 
  
Summary by Goodreads


Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Was reading Beautiful Creatures and enjoying it so much that I had to get up at night and turn the computer on again to order its sequel...

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. 

Summary by Goodreads


What is in YOUR Mailbox this week?

Saturday, October 30, 2010

On My Wishlist #4


On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own On My Wishlist post. If you want to know more click HERE.

~ On MY wishlist ~

There are numerous books I would love to read, so that my wishlist should be called wishbook instead! But I want to present only two of those numerous books on my Wishlist so I've got many many more weeks of wishlists and great books to present :) 

Here is #1 


Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Sounds like a fun read: cat fights, romance and magic!

In the wake of a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie Mercer, a sixteen-year-old witch, is shipped off to Hecate Hall, a boarding school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries. The traumas of mortal high school are nothing compared to the goings on at "Freak High." It's bad enough that she has to deal with a trio of mean girls led by the glamorous Elodie, but it's even worse when she begins to fall for Elodie's gorgeous boyfriend, Archer Cross, and frankly terrifying that the trio are an extremely powerful coven of dark witches. But when Sophie begins to learn the disturbing truth about her father, she is forced to face demons both metaphorical and real, and come to terms with her own growing power as a witch.

Summary by The Book Depository 


And #2

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

 We do not want the normal, but paranormal!

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal. Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. 

Summary by Goodreads 

What is on your Wishlist this week?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Follow Friday #4


Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee, where people spread the book love by following around the blogosphere! This week, the featured blog is Julie @ My 5 Monkeys, so be sure to check it out! This week’s question is…

If you have, or would have a daughter, what book would you want your daughter to read?

Oh, I would love to have a daughter! I would start with my favourite children books and fairy tales. Then I would love her to read The Chronicles of Narnia, great series! As lovely and instrusive is Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. But if she prefered to read about little vampire-bears or werewolf-pigs, I would be okay with that, too. I want her to read books that she loves and enjoy every single one of them :)
To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
  2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!  
  8. If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

ReCOVERy Friday #4


ReCOVERy Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Miss Page-Turner's City of Books and as the title suggests, I want you to recover from a busy week of working, studying, relaxing, as you like it. This meme should be fun for everyone and just a nice light start into our weekend : )

This is how it works:

1)      Think of a book cover you like (e.g. because of its cover art, model, author, title etc.) Doesn’t matter if it’s an old or new one, you just have to enjoy it!
2)      Create a ReCOVERy Friday post for your blog and post it with the whole wonderful weekend ahead ( I don’t mind if you post it one or two days later, because you lack of time)
3)      Maybe add some sentences and explain why you like the cover…
4)      Then add your ReCOVERy Friday post to Mr. Linky below so everyone can enjoy it
5)      Check out other  ReCOVERy Friday posts if you like to compare them, chat about them, get inspiration and just have fun!


My ReCOVERy Friday choice:

 Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

A woman with blue wings. The woman appears blurred and our attention is drawn to the blue wings on her back which seem to be drawn with ink.The title is surrounded by filigree ornaments showing pen holders. I really like the color scheme of this cover, because it perfectly fits the overall ink theme and emphasizes the magic which lies behind the story.







What is your favourite cover this week?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Book Review: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Title: The Girl Who Played with Fire
Author: Stieg Larsson
Publisher: Maclehose Press
Publishing Date: February 2009
Length: 649 pages
Genre: Thriller

4/5 **** Everyone who hasnt read this book yet, is suspicious. Get The Girl Who Played with Fire and join Lisbeths and Mikaels investigations!



~ The Author ~

Stieg Larsson gleaned a remarkable degree of success before his too-early death in 2004. He had delivered to his publisher three remarkable crime novels; the initial book in his ‘Millennium’ sequence, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, had enjoyed an unprecedented success in his native Sweden before the translation took the UK by storm. Larsson had made a considerable mark as a crusading journalist, with a speciality in tackling political extremist groups. But he offered assistance to many people and groups who he felt were vulnerable – something of a modern hero, in fact.

Author profile by Amazon.de

~ The Novel~

The Girl Who Played with Fire (February 2009) is the second novel in the Millennium trilogy, followed by The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (April 2010). The first novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was released in July 2008. The posthumous publication of the Millennium trilogy, not only resulted in high sales figures, turning all three novels into worldwide bestsellers, but it also showed which loss of a great writing talent the literary world has to mourn.

~ The Story ~

Mikael Blomkvist—crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium—has decided to publish a story exposing an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

On the eve of publication, the two reporters responsible for the story are brutally murdered. But perhaps more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander.

Now, as Blomkvist—alone in his belief in her innocence—plunges into his own investigation of the slayings, Salander is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

Summary by Goodreads 

~ The Review ~

The Girl Who Played with Fire continues the story around Lisbeth Salander and I have to accentuate her unique character once again. In general an author creates a protagonist and we love him because he fits into society’s conventions. With Lisbeth Salander, Stieg Larsson created a protagonist, who can be a rebel and actually be accepted and adored  at the same time. Despite her tough outer appearance, I felt a high sympathy for Lisbeth and couldn’t wait to learn more about her personality, past and moral.

But Lisbeth isn’t the only main character developing in the second part of the Millennium trilogy. Mikael Blomkvist tranforms from an engaged detective to an active, self- investigating personality. 

I loved the way Stieg Larsson causes interest in tLisbeth's and Mikael's further relationship and always keeps us reading and wanting to know more. 

Stieg Larsson doesn’t disappoint, his writing style is fluent and sophisticated. In The Girl Who Played with Fire he draws a very wide but intelligible and clever network of backgrounds and relationships around our favourite protagonists Lisbeth and Mikael.

The Girl Who Played with Fire continues The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo as artfully as expected. This novel represents a new type of thriller!

~ We love this book because… ~

1) we get a very authentic insight into the workspace of an newspaper
2) of our heroine’s interest in remarkable disciplines
3) a good friend is always by your side and doesn’t care about the whole world’s opinion
4) of its cruel cliffhanger at the end!
5) a heroine can actually be a rebel

~ The Verdict ~

Stieg Larsson achieves to disentangle a ball of relationships with the knitting needle of a single intrigue and make a bestseller of pullover out of it. Great read for all suspense lovers and fans of extraordinary protagonists! 

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Contest Support

Second Hand Saturday! A Book-A-Week Giveaway 24 by @ http://www.readingteen.net/


 Each week they will have a different challenge to complete . YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER TO ENTER! Open Internationally.  Ends at 10:00 pm EST the following Friday!

There is a huge list of awesome books to win, so be sure, to check their contest!

"Waiting On" Wednesday #3


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


What I am waiting for on this Wednesday: Awakened by P.C. and Kristin Cast ( January 2011)

Awakened is the 8th installment in the House of Night series and continues the story around Zoey and her friends. I am really looking forward to read more about her relationship with my favourite male character so far. Another anticipated story line: Stephie Rae and her growing love for a forbidden creature. 

Can't wait for this bird to be released of its cage! Which book are you waiting for?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

100 Follower Giveaway


Yay it happened! Someone just clicked the "Follow" button and started my first giveaway!


~ The Prize ~  

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (Paperback)

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.
  
Summary by Goodreads


 ~ The Rules ~ 

* This contest is OPEN INTERNATIONLLY, but please check if  The Book Depository ships to your  country first!

* Follow my blog and just leave a comment below to enter

* If you want extra entries, leave an extra comment for each:
- Follow me on Twitter
- Tweet about this contest
- Post about this contest on your blog
- Add my button to your sidebar
- Add my contest button to your sidebar

* Winner will be selected via random.org

* Contest ends November, 30th

* If you like to review this book after you've won it, I would love to post your review on my blog as a guest review.

Thank you all for reading, commenting, supporting, blogging. You are the best! Good Luck to you all :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Teaser Tuesday #4



Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.
 
My Teaser: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

" Even though I was about to walk into school and face a huge load of crap, I didn't care. It felt so good to have someone I could talk to, without editing everything I said."

~ p. 112

Book Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Random House UK
Publishing Date: December 2009
Length: 464 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance, YA, Fantasy

5/5 ***** Fallen is an absorbing battle between light and darkness, love and loss, future and past. Start reading! 


~ The Author ~ 

Lauren Kate grew up in Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started writing in New York.
She is the author of Fallen and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. She lives in Laurel Canyon with her husband and hopes to work in a restaurant kitchen, get a dog, and learn how to surf.

Author profile by Goodreads

For further information check out http://laurenkatebooks.net/
~ The Novel ~

Fallen is the first book in a proposed quartet about Luce and Daniel and was released in December 2009. The sequel, Torment was just released in September 2010.

~ The Story ~

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Summary by Goodreads

~ The Review ~

It all starts with the prologue set in 1854, in which we learn something about the story’s heart without being given any details. The embodiment of a teasing prologue!

Then story sets back into present time where we attend Sword & Cross school together with Luce, from whose POV Fallen is narrated. Although she is just one of many troubled teenagers at Sword & Cross who have committed crimes, identifying with her felt very easy to me. The more she puts the blame for a murder on her, the more I want to prove her innocence. Luce is a protagonist, whose whole identity hasn’t been revealed yet, which makes her interesting and mysterious.

Beside this haunting murder mystery, Luce has to experience immediate rejection by Daniel, one of the dark Sword & Cross students, she feels exceptionally attracted to. The more Daniel pushes Luce away, the more Cam, a fellow new student, uses the chance to lull Luce into his irresistible charm. I considered Daniel and Cam as interesting counterparts, Cam the charming, active and almost angelic and Daniel the passive, cold and dark fighter. Both hold high tension potential, that not only Luce gets mesmerized by.

I am not only eager to learn more about the future of each character and the mysteries that accompany them, but about Luce’ and Daniel’s past and the dark secret that lingers around their fate.

My favourite symbolism lies in the application of shadows as enemies and the growing power of an ancient evil. Although the final enemy hasn’t appeared yet, the threatening shadows produce an ever present awareness of the danger awaiting our favourite protagonists.

I like Lauren Kate’s pleasant writing style and the way she develops the story around Luce and Daniel, never giving away too much to hold the overall tension. She created a world in which every character seems to have an even darker secret than the other, you have to expect the unexpected every new page and in which you feel like a small feather in the infinite currents of heaven and the dark fires of hell.

~ We love this book because… ~

1) of its idea of eternal love and fate
2) a starlit beach has the potential to make you feel so much closer to heaven
3) even if you don’t believe in guardian angels, they are present, always protecting you
4) we love drawing and the way it lets us express our feelings very personally
5) an identity is more than some random lines on a file

~ The Verdict ~

It looks like Fallen is just the rising in a suspense curve about the quartet around Luce and Daniel. Go and get Torment, because you won’t be able to stand the tormenting wait for the story to continue for long! 

Sunday, October 24, 2010

One Lovely Blog Awards–Passing It On!

I received the One Lovely Blog Award from Annette @  http://annettesbookspot.blogspot.com



  
~ Here's how it works ~

  1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
  2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
  3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

~ Here are my Lovely Blog Awards choices ~

 1. Cicely @ http://ciclovesbooks.blogspot.com/
 2. Debbie @ http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/
 3. Briana @ http://www.breesbooks.com/
 4. CJ @ http://coffeecrackers.blogspot.com/
 5. Stephanie @ http://curlingupbythefire.blogspot.com/
 6. Dealings of a Book Junkie @ http://dealingsofabookjunkie.blogspot.com/
 7. Jenny @ http://jennys-books.blogspot.com/
 8. Emma @ http://emmamichaels.blogspot.com/
 9. Holly @ http://goodgollymisshollybooks.blogspot.com/ 
10. Ginger @ http://g-reads.blogspot.com/
11. Sam @ http://readsamread.blogspot.com/
12. Rebecca @ http://thelotuslibrary.blogspot.com/
13. La Coccinelle @ http://theladybugreads.blogspot.com/
14. The Book Vixen @ http://www.thebookvixen.com/
15. Emmegail @ http://emmegailsbookshelf.wordpress.com/


Sorry, if you've already received this award, but you deserve it. Just lovely blogs out there!

In My Mailbox #4



The idea of In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.


 ~ In MY Mailbox ~ 
Can you believe it? In my mailbox... is nothing, except a sad smiley! My whole book budget was eaten up by uni. I had to buy a horrible constitutional law textbook, which costed as much as three -3 thrilling, romantic, smart, funny, paranormal, fantastic- books! I am frustrated, so feel free to cheer me up with your happily bursting mailboxes! 
What is in YOUR mailbox?  
 

Saturday, October 23, 2010

On My Wishlist #3


 On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own On My Wishlist post. If you want to know more click HERE.

~ On MY wishlist ~

There are numerous books I would love to read, so that my wishlist should be called wishbook instead! But I want to present only two of those numerous books on my Wishlist so I've got many many more weeks of wishlists and great books to present :) 

Here is #1 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson


A very interesting starting point to get in contact with boys and maybe find true love! 
 
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Summary by Goodreads 



And #2

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

I've already read the first novel in this series and liked it, so of course I have to know what happens to Bianca and Lucas in this sequel.

The vampire in me was closer to the surface...
Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.
But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school. Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies. Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning....

Summary by Goodreads

Friday, October 22, 2010

ReCOVERy Friday #3



ReCOVERy Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Miss Page-Turner's City of Books and as the title suggests, I want you to recover from a busy week of working, studying, relaxing, as you like it. This meme should be fun for everyone and just a nice light start into our weekend : )

This is how it works:

1)      Think of a book cover you like (e.g. because of its cover art, model, author, title etc.) Doesn’t matter if it’s an old or new one, you just have to enjoy it!
2)      Create a ReCOVERy Friday post for your blog and post it with the whole wonderful weekend ahead ( I don’t mind if you post it one or two days later, because you lack of time)
3)      Maybe add some sentences and explain why you like the cover…
4)      Then add your ReCOVERy Friday post to Mr. Linky below so everyone can enjoy it
5)      Check out other  ReCOVERy Friday posts if you like to compare them, chat about them, get inspiration and just have fun!


My ReCOVERy Friday choice:

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Isn't this a beautiful cover, representing a down pour of feelings?
I like that everything is blackened out, but the kissing couple is illumitated. That both are leaning out of their cars into the rain, searching for each other, expresses that they are in a desperate, urgent need. Although their worlds look different (dark, light color scheme), they have this one moment, their feelings in common.





What is your favourite cover this week?


Follow Friday #3


To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
  2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - whatbookisthat.com
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!  
  8. If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Book Review: The Intern by Jess C Scott

Title: The Intern
Author: Jess C Scott
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publishing Date: August 2010
Length: 252 pages (digital version)
Genre: Young Adult, Humour, Contemporary Fiction

2/5 ** A rather unsuccessful attempt of an internship, but fixed with the style of dance.

~ The Author ~

Jess writes edgy/contemporary fiction (and is an English/Business senior at Adams State College). Her literary work has appeared in a diverse range of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered Suitcase. She is currently working on the SINS07 series, as well as an urban fantasy project featuring cyberpunk elves. Her novella, The Devilin Fey, hit #1 in Amazon’s “Hot New Releases in Bargain Books” in July 2010.

Author Profile by Goodreads 


~ The Novel ~

The Intern is the first book of the Seven Deadly Sins series, featuring light-hearted tales that explore each of the seven sins in order, beginning with lust.

~ The Story ~

17-year-old Suzie Q, smart kid and closet dance enthusiast, travels with a classmate to a world-class city for an internship program. She finds herself undeniably attracted to the suave hip-hop instructor, Jo.Zee, who recruits her into a dance fitness DVD he is producing. When Suzie sees (or thinks she sees) the real Jo.Zee, she must decide if she will trust him...or her instincts.

Summary by Goodreads

~ The Review ~

We join Suzie Q and her friend Chester on the way to their new internship and are introduced to their story as if we were old friends. I liked the idea of centering the story around an internship. I considered the combination of an internship at a museum and the first sin: lust, as an unusual one. But it was this unusualness which got me even more interested.

After successfully establishing a connection to protagonist and setting, the story went a different way. We meet the dance instructor Jo.Zee and Suzie starts spending almost her whole free time with him, his crew and the idea of making a Dance DVD.
The description of dance moves was very detailed, so that I could imagine their performances vividly. Dance, hip hop fans will really enjoy this large part of The Intern, but unfortunately I’ve got two left feet and can’t imagine enjoying dancing as much as Suzie Q.
Although hot dance moves and the perception of one’s own body hold a great potential to be connected with the sin of lust, I would have loved the setting of the internship itself, the museum, being more involved.  

In the end I have to rate The Intern with 2 of 5 stars, because I am really no fan of dancing and the story focused more on dancing than working as in intern. 

What surprised me about this novel was its ending, it was unforeseeable and a sensation of unexpected turns, rash actions and hilarious statements.

In addition every heading of the nineteen chapters represents a song, like “Leaving… on a jet plane” or “Girls just wanna have fun”. So before I started reading a chapter, I listened to the song and got a feeling for the course of the story even before it really continued. Nice song collection, I really enjoyed it!

I want to conclude with my favourite quote, which  is a well known one, just a bit adjusted to the world and concerns of women: “To be overdressed, or underdressed, that is the question”~  page. 186

~ We love this book because… ~

1) we would love to work in a museum, surrounded by our favourite paintings
2) we would love to spend two weeks with a good friend in a posh hotel for free
3) an Angel isn’t always free from devilish character traits
4) the mentioned web space really gets 1 million subscribers through it
5) song titles are sometimes just the perfect headline

~ The Verdict ~

The Intern is a light-hearted story about an internship and the bigger distractions coming along when being miles apart from home and everything you’re accustomed to. Fancy dance fans will enjoy this novel!


~ Thanks to Jess C Scott for sending me The Intern. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

New Layout

I am now actively blogging for about 3 months and I am really enjoying it. You fellow book bloggers and readers are just awesome!

Here you can see, what I spent the my whole Wednesday with. Yep, creating a new layout. There need to be done a few more improvements, but my bed is calling (also Beautiful Creatures which I can't wait to continue)!

Hope you like the new look. Feel free to comment.
Happy reading and a good night to you all.

xoxo Sarah

"Waiting On" Wednesday #2

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



What I am waiting for on this Wednesday: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater ( July 2011)


Forever is the third installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls triology and continues the story of Sam and Grace fighting a natural ticking bomb. 

Will Sam and Grace be in love...forever? I need to know! How about you? And I think we all want to know what happens to Isabel and Cole, Sir Sexy and Princess Pretend. This is going to be a long wait!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Teaser Tuesday #3

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl


"Two months until her birthday. I didn't need the picture to know we were running out of time."

~ p. 386

Monday, October 18, 2010

Book Review: Crash into Me by Albert Borris


Title: Crash into Me
Author: Albert Borris
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: July 2010
Length: 258 pages
Genre: YA, Road trip, Self-discovery

3/5 *** Sometimes a road trip can be the shortest way to yourself! There is much to explore, so fill up your car’s fuel tank and start travelling with Crash into Me!


~ The Author ~

Albert Borris has tracked snow leopards in the Himalayas, backpacked through Iceland, and skated ultra-marathons in Georgia, but his favorite daily adventure is working with teens. Albert is a national award winning student assistance counselor. In spite of the bad jokes, he chooses to live in New Jersey.

Author profile by Simon & Schuster 

For further information check out http://www.albertborris.com/

~ The Novel ~

Crash into Me is Albert Borris’ first novel, which explores the idea of finding your way in the world, in a road trip with four troubled teens. So he does, everyday. It’s part of what he does as a writer, a counselor, and as a human being.


~ The Story ~

Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.

Summary by Goodreads

~ The Review ~

When I first saw the cover of Crash into Me, I was intrigued. A boy and a girl holding on to each other like they will never be able to fall again when stumbling. I expected a quite steamy romance, so when I read the book’s back I was surprised to encounter something very different. Crash into Me is about four young people who still need to find their place in life... or in death.

Everyone of the Suicide Dogs, as they call their group, has a different personality and other reasons for suicide. The group’s name expresses something wild and uncontrollable, just like the kids themselves are in their decisions to take their lives. As we learn more about their pasts, we are drawn deeper into their dark secrets and begin to understand how they feel.

Suicide is a very drastic and burdening act to be confronted with in a YA novel. It is still a very important topic, a problem no one should ignore so easily. Albert Borris treats the topic with respect, but still achieves to integrate funny scenes which relax the dark atmosphere of this suicide trip.

Sometimes the ironic way is exactly the right way to call attention to an important topic. That Crash into Me didn’t turn out too dark and depressed was achieved by adding some romance and even the time for wishes and hope. Between each chapter of the Suicide Dogs’ journey are Top Ten lists or extracts of chat sessions, which I really enjoyed and considered as softening up the whole serious story.

The journey was very exciting, but in the end I missed some more informations. Suddenly actions accumulated and the end came way to abrupt. In my opinion this novel could have contained a few more pages, but the overall story and plot idea are thrilling and interesting.

This is a novel about the darkest of your days and the way finding the path back to light. Four teenagers go on a road trip, but they will explore so much more than just a few famous American spots.

~ We love this book because… ~

1) miles feel like seconds when you are on the road with friends
2) we enjoy its hilarious Top Ten lists
3) a tent isn’t the worst place to spend the night
4) of credit cards, cars, pink socks, permanent marker tattoos and the fun they bring
5) even during the darkest of your days, love and friendship find a place in your heart

~ The Verdict ~

Crash into Me is about a road trip full of adventures, freedom and self-discovery. Sometimes even the darkest of your thoughts can be fought with the bright shining light of friendship, comfort and love.