World After by Susan Ee

Hi, guys!
I'm back already with another review!
It's one of my favourite trilogy and I wish Susan Ee would write more than just one other book!
But at least, it's not a duology!

Basics

Tiitle: World After
Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2
Author: Susan Ee
Release date: November 19th 2013
Publisher: Skyscape
ISBN-13: 978-1444778533
Number of pages: 314

Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy
What's special? We have a badass main character, a lot of blood and a sexy angel – what do we need
more?

Summary

So, I can't say much about the content of this book because it's a sequel and it would – obviously - spoil you if I told you more.
That's all you need to know:
Penryn and Raffe are separated. While Raffe is hunting for his wings, Penryn has to look after her sister Paige and her mom and she has to deal with the prejudices coming from the Resistance members.
A mad schizophrenic, a Frankenstein-esque little girl and a revived teenager aren't the people you would normally do small talk with.

But then people try to lock Paige up and as a result – she rans away.
Penryn goes out looking for her again.
Soon she gets to know what the angels have planned for Earth.

My Opinion

Hot damn! This book was amazing!

Just as Angelfall World After is nothing for bad nerves. Be prepared for a lot of blood and gore!
For those of you who have read the book already: The. Party.
I was so shocked! I could only think: 'No, no, no! That cannot happen!'
That's a scene I would close my eyes if it was shown on TV.
But remember the little girls in Angelfall? That wasn't better either.

My first thought after reading the summary of World After was: Oh, please no.
I was so scared that this would be Angefall all over again.
Paige is abducted/runs away and Penryn goes looking for her. She then works with Raffe and finally gets her back.
But thank God, it wasn't like that! Boy, was I relieved.
Even though, the basis of both books is the same, it doesn't feel like rereading Angelfall.
So much is happening, we meet new characters and RAFFE AND PENRYN!


One new character we meet is Clara. Well, if we stick to the details, we've already met her at the end of Angelfall but she got sucked out her interior at that point.
Penryn saved her back then and during World After she joins Penryn and her mom.
“You broke me out of the grasp of a living horror when I thought all hope was gone. You gave me the opportunity to crawl back to life when no one else could."
She glances over at me, her eyes shining in the dark. "You're a hero, Penryn, whether you like it or not.”

Her life has been so cruel recently, I almost teared up at her last scene.

But now, let's talk about our main character: Penryn Young.
I can say with certainty that she is my favourite character of all time.
She has wits, a good attitude, badass fighting skills and her priorities sorted out!
That's what I love most about her. Family goes first, no matter what.
And then when she can't bear to look at Paige, my heart broke. Even though Penryn doesn't want to act like that, she can't help it.
There's this one quote which shattered my feels:

And if there's one thing I know that a kid her age shouldn't be doing, it's having to fight for her life while her big sister is around.

Only when I started reading World After, I realized how much I've missed her humour and her thoughts. And now I have to wait 4 months to read about her again!

Then there's Paige.
Oh my God, Susan, how cruel can you be?
How much more does she have to bear?
I had so big eyes at some of her scenes!

And her mom? Even creepier!
“My dad once told me life would get complicated when I grew up. I’m guessing this isn’t what he meant. My mom, on the other hand, agreed with him, and I’m guessing this kind of thing is exactly what she meant.”

But to be honest, at some points I thought: 'You go, Penryn's mom!'
Except for the scene in the police car. She knows exactly how to hurt Penryn and I don't care if she is schizophrenic but no mom should treat her kid like that.

What I also loved was Penryn's scene under water.
This will be a little spoiler-y here, so watch out.
In other books the main character guesses where the surface of the water is just by luck but Penryn thought of a method to find it out! Amazing!

And then there's Raffe. He, too, will forever be one of my favourite characters. He's sarcastic and kind after all and well, yeah, he's hella sexy.
“Raffe: "The unruliness of the women in your family must go back for generations. You're like a plague upon the land."
Penryn: "So long as we're also a plague upon angels, I'm sure everyone else will forgive us."
Raffe: "Oh, you're definitely a plague upon at least one angel.”

“Don't talk. You'll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.”
Their relationship develops really slow and nothing would have suited better. Just as I said, Penryn has her priorities straight – there's no time for lovey dovey. And these Locusts don't really set the mood.
But to see how much Raffe cares for her, is more satisfying than a hundred kisses!

My last point will be my favourite: Raffe's sword. It's so sassy!
I literally laughed two pages straight. You'll know which scene it is when you read the book, I promise!
And then, it showed Penryn some events from Raffe's point of view.

That's every fangirl's dream!
Thank you, Susan, for adding these parts!
Overall this book is worth every single one of its five stars!

Rating

5 out of 5 stars

See you guys soon!
Stay funky!
Franzi

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Hey there, guys!
Before I talk to you about Maggie Stiefvater's book, I wanted to tell you some new arrangements
concerning this blog.
Due to the rather big pile of my 'To-be-reviewed' books (five books in total) I decided to not post my reviews only on Saturdays. From now on I'll just post a review as soon as I finished writing and editing it. This will be way easier for me - I don't have to save a review for weeks just because I'm already posting two.

To give you some overview of what'll come in the next days:
1) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
2) World After by Susan Ee
3) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
4) The Selection by Kiera Cass
5) Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
They are in no particular order. I'll post whatever I feel like writing about!

Also, I thought about starting a thing called "Quote of the Week". Every Monday, I'll post a quote from a recent book or a line from my favourite books or maybe it has nothing to do with literature at all - be surprised!

Today's review is - as I've already told you - The Raven Boys

Basics
Title: The Raven Boys
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: September 18^th 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0545424925

Number of Pages: 416
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
What's special? Welsh mythology, psychics, Latin talking trees, ghosts – this book has it all!

 

Summary

Blue Sargent doesn't believe in true love. That's why she doesn't care about the prophecy everybody in her overpopulated home tells her either: If Blue kisses her true love, he will die.

But that isn't the weirdest thing about her.
Every year on St. Mark's Eve her mom and Blue go to an old, long forgotten church yard and watch the people who will die in the next 12 months walking past.
In contrast to her family she has no psychic abilities and therefore can't see the soon-to-be-dead.
But this year she notices a boy named Gansey who vanishes in front of her eyes. Her aunt explains to her: Either she's his true love or she will be the cause of his death.
And according to Blue's prophecy, she may be both.

Gansey – not knowing about his destiny - is a student at the Aglionby private school for rich boys. He and his three friends – Ronan, Adam and Noah – are looking for Glendower, a legendary Welsh king. It is said that whoever wakes him from his sleep will be granted a wish.
But Gansey is not the only one craving this favour.

Even though Blue tries to stay away, she is drawn to the Raven Boys and their mystical search.

My Opinion

First off, I've already read the Shiver trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater and I know lots of people don't like the books. But I fell in love with her writing style right away.
Even though, I sometimes just wanted to shake Sam, Stiefvater has the talent of writing interesting and realistic characters.

“My words are unerring tools of
destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.”
“When Gansey was polite, it made him powerful. When Adam was polite, he was giving power away.”

“How do you feel about helicopters?"
There was a long pause. "How do you mean? Ethically?"
"As a mode of transportation."
"Faster than camels, but less sustainable.”

“In the end, he was nobody to Adam, he was nobody to Ronan. Adam spit his words back at him and Ronan squandered however many second chances he gave him. Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year.”

All characters have flaws and edges and you get angry with them because they act like a total jerk.
The same is with The Raven Boys. Every character is unique with own issues and flaws and is special in their own way.
We have the poor and diligent Adam who always feels odd around his wealthy friends.

Noah who's always a bit stained and way too introverted. (I would never have guessed that twist! Like, my jaw dropped to the ground)
Ronan who talks with his fists and has trouble with his brother. He's my baby. I just want to cuddle him.

Gansey who is obsessed with his search for Glendower.

Then there's Blue, her mom, her aunt Neeve and her mom's friends who all live together. Everyone has their own speciality or tang.

I'm still not quite sure how to picture Blue's home. Apart from the people I already named, there seem to live a few other aunts and cousins? But Blue never mentions them – so was it just an exaggeration?

My next point is not about the beauty of the book's inside but the outside.
All of the covers are in the same really cool style, so don't you dare, Scholastic Press, to change the cover for book #4!
And have you seen the German ones? I really thought about getting them but my love for the English language prevailed.

So damn pretty!
Did you know that Maggie Stiefvater draws, too?

Her art is astonishing!
She drew the Tarot cards mentioned in the book:


Moving on to the plot! Most reviews I've read said that the first half of the book was rather slow or that they coulnd't dive into the story until the second half. I have to agree. There's so much going on and so much that has to be explained, which stops the plot from developing. Blue tells us about her family and the psychics while Gansey explains Glendower. But suddenly - when Blue meets the Raven Boys, I guess – the story takes off. It was so gripping! I just couldn't put it down.

One climax chased the other – I flipped page for page for page and then - they forgot to print a few chapters. Wait, what do you mean the book is over? I NEED MORE.

As I've already said, Maggie Stiefvater is talented with words. Especially if it comes to describing nature. Maybe it sounds cheesy or whatever, I don't care. How she writes about nature, really changed my view on it. It opend my eyes and showed me how beautiful it truly is.
And whenever I'm outside and look over to the forest, I think about not only Sam and Grace but now also Blue and her Raven Boys.
Thank you, Maggie!

I can't wait to get ahold of book two which is called The Dream Thives and Ronan will be in the center of the story!

You probably have read that in most of the reviews but I've never read a book like The Raven Boys. It has Welsh mythology on one hand, then there are pychics who watch the soon-to-be-dead, there is the Walking-Amplifier aka Blue and trees talking in Latin.

Rating

4 out of 5 stars!

See you soon, guys!
Stay funky - Franzi

'Alienated' and 'These Broken Stars' Fanart Friday

Hey there, guys!
How was your week?
I really do hope it was better than mine! More about that tomorrow and in my soon-to-be-posted Book Haul #January2015! =)

I just want to tell you that I enjoy writing these posts so much, they make me happy when nothing else can. So thank you for letting me share my thoughts and 
with you!
I know I still have to improve my reviews and posts in general a lot but I will, I just need some time
figuring everything out.
But enough said now!
'Worte sind genug gewechselt, lasst mich nun auch Taten sehen!' as Goethe would phrase it.

Let's start with Alienated!
To be honest, I had a really hard time finding Fanart. Not because there is none - I found a few -  but I just finished World After (second book in the Penryn and the End of Days trilogy) and I always found myself sooner or later drooling over some Raffe fanart.
No matter what will come, he and Christian Ozera will stay my number ones. I could spend ages fangirling over these two.
I wandered off the topic again.


The first four drawings were created by Anguiano Art



They all look lovely!

And look what I found here:
This reminds me of Aelyx!


Sadly, that's all I found.
Do you know any other Fanart? Or maybe you've drawn some yourself? Tell me, and I will post it for sure!

These Broken Stars
I found nothing. Not a single drawing. 
I don't now why. Maybe I were too stupid to search correctly but I found nothing.

Instead I found an extremly beautiful Scarlet/Wolf Fanart:

Thank you, The Thoughtful Novelist!

I'm sorry, guys. This was a pretty lame Fanart Friday.
Maybe I will 'create' some other theme-days soon! Do you have any suggestions?

See you on Sunday(I'm not at home tomorrow)with a few reviews!
Stay funky, guys!
Franzi

Alienated by Melissa Landers

I'm back, guys!

Basics

Title: Alienated
Series: Book one in the Alienated series
Author: Melissa Landers
Release Date: February 4^th 2014
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
ISBN: 1423170288
Number of Pages: 344
Genre: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
What's special? Intergalactic Exchange Students!

Summary

Two years ago the alien race L'heirs made contact. Because both sides would favour a peace agreement, they initiate the first exchange between human and L'heir students.
Abitious Cara Sweeney will host one of them.
When Aelyx arrives, she has to lower her expectations. He's cold and even though humans and L'heirs share almost the same DNA seems so unhuman.
But then the whole town starts to protest against this intimidating race. And it gets worse.
Her classmates start to bully her and threats are shouted through the halls. Cara's boyfriend and her best friend turn their back on her and the only person left is Aelyx. But he has a secret which could kill them all.

My Opinion

Even though I really did enjoy this book, I had a few problems.
Cara was sometimes too perfect for me. She's good in everything. Has won more titles than I have fingers on both of my hands and looks just stunning. Don't get me wrong – I enjoyed reading from her perspective and loved her jokes but I never really noticed a flaw.
I was really excited when I heard about the L'heirs but to be honest: I was quite disappointed. We have almost the same DNA and even though they acted coldly, they still seemed quite human. Actually, they reminded me of the Vulcans.
Aelyx state in the first half of the book:



But what I did enjoy was Cara and Aelyx's slow developing relationship. It was so cute and made me giggle so hard!
The baking scene, guys!

Landers is really good with writing funny and cute scenes!

“He prepared the richest, most indulgent and disgusting dish imaginable - a bowl of fudge ripple ice-cream topped with chocolate syrup, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, chocolate sprinkles, and, for good measure, a chocolate brownie from the pantry. He even garnished it with a handful of M&M's.
(...) "Look what I made for you. A bowl of diabetes.”

“Can I borrow the car today, Mom? We'll get soaked if we walk-"
"Hmph," Dad interrupted. "When I was a boy-"
"Yeah, yeah," Cara interrupted back. "You walked to school naked in the snow or something. So can I?”

“Aelyx's voice was guarded when he said, "Our geneticists terminated the program."
"Why?"
"Because we all started growing tentacles."
Her eyes opened wide. "Really?"
"No," he said, totally deadpan. "Not really."
Damn, she'd walked right into that one.”

But even though it seems like a fluffy read, it is balanced by darker messages surrounding xenophobia, racism and prejudice.

Just like in These Broken Stars we have dual points of view and it's great to get to understand Aelxy's – and the L'heir's – way of thinking. He learned to feel and love – which was just adorable. He's totally unable to cope with Earth and Cara and human traditions. 

“It's common knowledge that shiny rocks are preferred among human females.”

Aah, good ol' Aelyx.

He's hilarious. And so are all these L'heir-puns. All in all, this book is a cute, quick and fluffy read with meaning behind it!

I recommend this to everyone who enjoys books like this and doesn't mind the lack of originality concering the L'heirs.

Rating

3.5 out of 5 stars

Alien out, guys!
Stay funky!

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Hello, humans.
I come in peace to you.
I mean no harm.


Today, I'm back with two reviews - both set in outer space!
First we have These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner!
Later I'll post a review on Alienated by Melissa Landers.

Let's dive right into it!

                                   These Broken Stars

Basics

Series: Starbound (book #1)
Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Release Date: December 10^th 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

ISBN: 1423171020

Number of Pages: 374
Genre: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
What's special? Poor boy and rich girl have to survive after crash-landing on a planet!

Summary

Lilac LaRoux is the richest girl in the universe.
Tarver Merendsen is an 18-year-old war hero coming from nothing.
They both are aboard the Icarus - the largest and most luxurious space ship in history – built by Lilac's father. But then everything goes terribly wrong. The ship is pulled out of hyperspace and about to crash on a planet. Only the two of them survive, comletely alone now in an uninhabited area.
But soon they notice: They may be not alone after all.

My Opinion

Dun. Dun. Duuuun.
Shit goes down. Literally.

But first things first: The Beginning:
To be honest, I had some problems with the first chapters. I did enjoy them, I just couldn't really dive into the whole story. I think I expected more than the characters could give me at that point of the story.
The start of the book remembered me quite of Titanic.
Poor guy. Rich girl. Some flirting. Cannot be together. Aaand the ship goes down.

But then – almost suddenly – I was caught. I couldn't put the book down, needed to know what would happen to them. The whispers creeped me out and their relationship started to develop.
Even though they flirted with each other aboard the Icarus they almost hated each other due to a few misunderstandings. We get a lot of insight because this book is told in a dual point of view - with distinguishable voices!
We get to know about Lilac AND Tarver's struggle to not only survive but also to get along.
They do really fight a lot in the first chapters. Tarver despises everything Lilac LaRoux stands for. Wealthy. Arrogant. Spoiled. Used to getting what she wants.
Tarver is as different from Lilac as you can get. He's nothing like the people Lilac knows.

Then slowly...they start to care. They become friends. And more...?
AND THEN KAUFMAN AND SPOONER RIP YOUR HEART OUT OF YOUR CHEST AND CRUSH IT WITH THEIR BARE HANDS!

What I also adore is Spooner and Kaufman's talent with words. Here are some examples!“And there it is, against all hope, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. The smallest hint of a smile.”
“For a moment the image before us is frozen: our world, our lives, reduced to a handful broken stars half lost in uncharted space. Then it's gone, the view swallowed by the hyperspace winds streaming past, blue-green auroras wiping the after-images away.
Until all that's left is us”
“Where will I sit?” Sit? Why, on this comfortable chaise longue I’ve carried here for you in my pocket, Your Highness, so glad you asked. I clamp my mouth shut, struggling not to say it aloud.”
I loved these pre-chapter pages from the future! Tarver's sass was so brilliant! “Your key concerns at that stage?”
“Well, Miss LaRoux had a party she didn’t want to miss, and I—”
“Major, you don’t seem to understand the seriousness of your situation.”
“Sure I do. What the hell do you think our key concerns were?”

And if all this hasn't convinced you to buy the book, then just look at the cover again.
Imagine it sitting on your bookshelf and looking pretty. Imagine it reflecting the sunlight which makes the stars shine even more. And now don't you dare to tell me you still don't want to buy this book!

**Fangirl Alarm**
A TV-Show will be produced soon! That's just exactly what a tumblr-Fangirl wants!
I need the names of the actors' like right now!

Rating

4 - 4.5 out of 5 stars

Number Two will be up soon!
See you, guys!

HUGE Fanart Firday!

Hey, guys!
Today I'm back with the Fanart of not only one, neither two, but THREE books!
I cannot wait so show you what I've found!
I'll use the order in which I posted the reviews:
1) The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
2) Purpurmond by Heike Eva Schmidt
3) Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Let's get started!

The Darkest Minds
This drawing's so, so pretty! I could literally stare at it forever. I'm in love with Ruby's face. It was drawn by solesofwind!


This one, too, was drawn by solesofwind!

I love her Ruby!

The next one was drawn by compoundbreadd! Zu is so cute!


Clancy by TheVampireSheep



The next drawings were all done by SKPartist





Oh my God, Ruby - like hell yeah! She looks SO awesome!


Zu!


Moving on to: Purpurmond
I've neither found any Fanart nor I've found other editions.
Sorry, guys!

Vampire Academy
Here, I found loads of Fanart, so I had to be really picky.
But not with Christian. 1) There's not much Fanart featuring him
2) he's ma man
So pretty! It's from the graphic novel!

I don't know who this - sorry, guys!! Tell me if you know!

The next one was drawn by nurix



Thanks to jeminabox for this lovely picture!

And because I never let a moment to stare at his jaw pass:


This one's from the graphic novel, too! Dimitri looks so good!


No idea who drew this one:

I don't know the artist of this one either:


So pretty! Done by sparrowksenia


Yes please?!


And finally:

Do you even have to ask?



I could spend days fangirling over Christian and I've only read the first book!
Don't you dare to die, boy!

Here are some different covers!
US: there are two different versions! I myself one the latter version but I had liked the first one more.



But even the second version looks bad in comparison to the UK edition!
So wonderful!


Germany: They have a darker touch but if I saw them in the book store, I wouldn't buy them.


Italy: These are the best!


Sweden:


Greece:


Russia:


Netherlands:


Japan:


Indonesia:


And lastly Turkey:



That's it for tonight, guys! Tell me in the comments: What's your favourite cover?
Mine's for sure the Italian Edition