a booklovers journey

she/her, booklover, head in the clouds, traveling as often as possible

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Review || The Omicron Six by Endy Wright

Title: The Omicron Six Author: Endy Wright Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Fantasy Series: The Omicron Six Publisher: Koehler Books No. of pages: 304 Publication: November 30th, 2020 Date read: September 21th, 2021 Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Cooper Callister cannot speak. Coupe Daschelete is the victim of horrible abuse. No one would expect them to possess superhuman powers. But they do. When a fight in the woods forces them to reveal themselves to each other, they start a journey together that leads them to discover power they never expected, power they were never intended to have. To unlock those powers and fully understand them, they must follow a difficult and dangerous path of self-discovery and self-revelation. Cooper is forced to face the isolation of his silence. Coupe must confront the demons that haunt his dreams, planted there by those who have abused him and broken his mind. Alone they could not do it. Only together do they have the strength to conquer their challenges.

Review:

Can I just say how much I adore this book?! Reading it was so much fun and I can’t believe how lucky I am that I was able to experience this beautiful story and friendship.

Cooper and Coupe, two very special boys with very different upbringings, are amazing! In the first half we get to know them both and their special talents, they fast form a very strong friendship and protect each other from the world and their different struggles with it. The second half we learn more about the world they both live in, the circumstances around their powers and in total what it means to be human.

It took a few pages for me to get used to the writing, but the story and the characters were so hooking I just couldn’t put it down.

There is a small teaser for a second book and honestly, I can’t wait. This is one of the best books I read this year!

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Review || Glacier Haven by Elizabeth Means

Title: Glacier Haven Author: Elizabeth Means Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mytery Series: - Publisher: Monkey Tree Publishing No. of pages: 255 Publication: September 13th, 2021 Date read: September 20th, 2021 Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Thirty years into the future, polar ice is mostly gone and snow is a novelty. A corporation offers tourists a unique wintry adventure in their atmospherically controlled, underground attraction: Glacier Haven. Rach is a reluctant wing-woman for her ambitious best friend’s misguided meetup in the subterranean artificial glacier. But when she and six other tourists are left behind over a long weekend, locked inside the frozen tundra, tempers flare, relationships are strained, and Rach begins to suspect one of them was never meant to leave the facility alive. Will Rach and her party escape the deadly frigid cavern in time? And if they do, will any of them ever be the same?

Review:

I normally hate to say, that a book is surprisingly good, because why would I pick up a book if I wasn’t expecting it to be good? However, this one was good and surprising.

The concept was really interesting. Set thirty years in the future, snow and ice are a novelty and if you want to experience it, you can book a time slot at an artificial underground glacier and feel the cold snow and wintery atmosphere.

Due to some greedy staff members and unfortunate circumstances, 7 people get stuck in Glacier Haven for the weekend. Without food or any means of getting warm the tourists try to keep themselves alive and while the temperature sinks, some of the characters show their real face.

This book was gripping from the first page through the last, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time wondering what would happen next and how they would battle their environment. The creepy and gloomy feeling never left me while reading.

One negative thing I want to mention is, that one character is a victim of abuse, both physical and emotional, and even though it was never explicitly mentioned I sometimes had the feeling that the book wanted to say: see, she is horrible, it was okay how she was treated, which is not, of course. It doesn’t matter how bad a person is, abuse is never okay.

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Review || All I want for christmas is the girl next door by Chelsea Bobulski

Title: All I want for christmas is the girl next door Author: Chelsea Bobulski Genre: Young Adult, Romance Series: - Publisher: Wise Wolf Books No. of pages: 214 Publication: October 28th, 2021 Date read: September 16th, 2021 Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis:

Graham Wallace has been in love with the girl next door for a decade. Unfortunately, she's been dating his best friend for the past two years. Out of sheer desperation, Graham makes a wish on a shooting star—all he wants for Christmas is Sarah Clarke. When Graham wakes up the next morning, everything has changed, and he's the one who's been dating Sarah for the past two years, not his best friend. Graham assumes the wish would have only come true if he and Sarah were meant to be together, but as it becomes clear that he and Sarah bring out the worst in each other, not the best, and as he starts to fall for the new girl in town, Graham wonders if some wishes come true in order to show us what's not meant to be.

Review:

This book was very cute and endearing and it set me in the right mood for christmas time. I know it’s a little early for that but to be honest, Christmas is my favorite time of the year and it’s never too early to get in the right mood for that. I liked Graham as our MC, he is loveable and sweet. He’s set his heart on his neighbor, Sarah and is madly in love with her for years when a wish upon a star grants him to live in a world where Sarah is his girlfriend. There isn’t much chemistry between him and Sarah and I didn’t quite get his obsession with her and why he tried so hard to make it work between them, when it was pretty obvious that being together with her didn’t make him happy. For me, in the end there was a little too much religious stuff to feel comfortable and I think this book could have easily done without it. It did for most of the time, but in the end it suddenly turned super religious, something I do not feel good with.

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Review || Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Title: Scythe Author: Neal Shisterman Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Fantasy Series: Arc of a Scythe Publisher: Simon & Shuster No. of pages: 435 Publication: November 22nd, 2016 Date read: September 15th, 2021 Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Thou shalt kill. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Review

This was a wild ride, let me tell you. This book had a very unique and fresh story with a lot of twists I definitely didn’t see coming. I was hooked from the first few pages and couldn’t put it down, it was this good. I came to love almost every character. Both were not only loyal but had a very high moral compass and seeing them struggle through so many different circumstances and growing in the process was amazing. Rowan had it pretty rough in the second half of the book and I wanted to weep for them. Scythe was so refreshing, it just blew me away and I still don’t completely know what to say. I can’t recommend this book enough and I really can’t find anything negative to say about this book.

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Review || The Project by Courtney Summers

Title: The Project Author: Courtney Summers Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery Series: - Publisher: Wednesday Books No. of pages: 352 Publication: February 2nd, 2021 Date read: September 13th, 2021 Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis:

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joined the elusive community called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence. When Lo’s given the perfect opportunity to gain access to Bea’s reclusive life, she thinks they’re finally going to be reunited. But it’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, and as Lo delves deeper into The Project and its charismatic leader, she begins to realize that there’s more at risk than just her relationship with Bea: her very life might be in danger. As she uncovers more questions than answers at each turn, everything Lo thought she knew about herself, her sister, and the world is upended. One thing doesn’t change, though, and that’s what keeps her going: Bea needs her, and Lo will do anything to save her. From Courtney Summers, the New York Times bestselling author of the 2019 Edgar Award Winner and breakout hit Sadie, comes her electrifying follow-up—a suspenseful, pulls-no-punches story about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister no matter the cost.

Review:

I think this book was an okay read. For a great deal of the time it was good, but at the halfway point something changed and everything felt totally rushed and somehow like a different kind of book. In the beginning we meet Bea and Lo, two sisters, struggeling with the loss of their parents. The author takes their time to bring us closer to the two characters and to the world Lo is now facing. I was really invested in the story and liked Lo a lot. She had so much struggel to overcome and she tried to be her best self. After halfway through the book everything suddenly changes, it still gives the vibe of a slow paced book but there are so many sudden changes in characters behaviors and revelations. Like the author had so many ideas how the story should continue but wanted it done right away. The ending especially felt like Courtney Summers just decided to end the book then and there, before the actual climax and just goes on to the time after, where the reader gets a glimps at what happened but never the actual deal. There are so many unanswered questions. It felt really uninspired. I did like a lot of Courtney Summers' other books and I'll still check them out, even though this one was kind of a disappointment for me.

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Review || The unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson

Title: The unwelcome Guest Author: Amanda Robson Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery Series: - Publisher: Avon Books No. of pages: 416 Publication: November 23th, 2021 Date read: September 12th, 2021 Rating: 2/5 stars

Synopsis:

SHE HAD THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. UNTIL HER MOTHER-IN-LAW MOVED IN… Saffron vowed to love Miles no matter what life threw at them both. But when her mother-in-law moves into their happy family home, Saffron’s shiny life begins to tarnish. Even as Caprice’s barbed comments turn to something more sinister, Saffron hopes the new nanny’s arrival will shield her from the worst of it. She’s starting to feel paranoid in her own home. Little does she realise that Caprice longs for a new daughter-in-law – and she’ll do anything to make that happen…

Review:

This could have been a great book, and I’m sure it is for a lot of readers, but sadly it wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, it entertained me on some level, it just wasn’t as good as I thought it could be.

What I liked is, that it’s really fast-paced and for that a quick read. I was rushing through the pages and at some points couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t boring at all.

What I dislike, and that by far, were the characters. I didn’t get what Caprice’s reasoning was behind hating Saffron so much, except she just didn’t like her. Miles was so dense and brainless that he didn’t seem to get all the horrible things his mother did to his wife. They were all loathsome. And there were so many secrets and so much drama in this house, I would’ve gone crazy.

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Review || In the Forest of the Lost and Found by K. D. van Brunt

eReTitle: In the Forest of the Lost and Found Author: K. D. van Brunt Genre: Young Adult, Mystery Series: - Publisher: IBPA No. of pages: 336 Publication: April 8th, 2021 Date read: September 11th, 2021 Rating: 2/5 stars

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Allyssa Baylor lives a sheltered life of privilege. Not anymore. Now she is lost in the wilderness below the arctic circle with little more than the clothes on her back. A battle is coming and if she’s going to survive it, she must lose who she was and discover who she is. Ever since her mother’s horrible death, Allie wants nothing to do with her family, particularly her sister, Grace, whom she blames for the loss of her mother. But Allie is persuaded to join her family on one last vacation, one last chance to heal the breaches among them before college. The group travels by float plane to a remote lake cabin in northern Canada located 150 miles from the nearest road. The vacation becomes a disaster when the plane never returns to retrieve them, and they have no way to call for help. Soon, the food runs out. More ominously, something prowls the woods around the cabin, and they dare not go outside after dark. Finally, desperate and with no other options, Allie resolves to do the impossible: hike through the Canadian wilderness back to civilization and evade whatever predator is waiting in the surrounding forest. With her younger sister and brother in tow, Allie sets off into the wild with few supplies and no survival skills. They are not alone. A monster begins relentlessly hunting them. After weeks of running and hiding, the end has come. Allie must overcome the raw fear inside her and make a stand against the beast alone, buying what time she can for her family to escape.

Review:

This book is hard to rate for me, especially after just finishing a survival-mystery that blew my mind. That was the reason why I picked up “In the Forest of the Lost and Found”, sadly it couldn’t deliver that.

I hated Ally, she was just the WORST and I think it was intentional that the reader wouldn’t like her because she is a Bitch. She is spoiled, bratty, self-centered. I could go on and on. In the first few chapters it’s clear that this is a person I would never want to get to know or be friends with. That made it hard for me with this book because I just did not want to read about her. Even the little development she made during this trip was not enough to make her endurable. Her sister isn’t much better. Even her brother, one of the more likeable characters, was spoiled and entitled.

And don’t get me started about the bad decisions they all are making throughout the book. A lot of things that happened could have been avoided if they used their common sense.

I’m still wondering why the synopsis is hinting at a supernatural influence in this book, because there is none. I’ve read a few reviews and I’m not the only one confused about this, because at first I thought I missed something.

The ending is unsatisfying and in the end couldn't save the book. I finished this with no feeling of accomplishment and a lot of things were just never mentioned or concluded. It sadly just wasn’t for me.

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Review || Stranded by Sarah Goodwin

Title: Stranded Author: Sarah Goodwin Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery Series: - Publisher: Avon Books No. of pages: 400 Publication: September 16th, 2017 Date read: September 10th, 2021 Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Eight strangers. One island. A secret you'd kill to keep. When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year. Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come… But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.

Review:

Going into it, I thought this would be a typical whodunit, which is one of my favorite tropes. It turned out to be something totally different, but I loved it, nonetheless. We accompany a young woman who just lost her parents to a secluded island, where she is part of a TV-Show. The show is about 8 stranger who challenge themselves to live alone for a year on said island.

We get to meet our MC, Maddy, first. We learn about her struggles now, that her parents are dead. How isolated she always felt and still feels. Maddy always was an outcast and just seeks an escape from her life. This all caused me to feel for her and when everything on the island turned sour for Maddy, I was on her side.

The group reaches the island early in the story and we see them trying to build fire and shelter and forming bonds. With time going on we can see the first cracks in their solitary and team-spirit under the pressure they are under. One aspect that made this book so great, was that It felt realistic how the different characters acted and even when it was unfair towards Maddy, I think this could be something that happens in real life. This made the story feel genuine.

After the initial getting to know the characters, the situation, and the island it got super exciting and unputdownable. It was terrifying and I flew through the pages to get some resolutions. At times I felt very anxious, and I haven’t had that in a long time with a book.

The book was action-packed, fast paced and everything you want in a mystery thriller. I enjoyed the ride and I want more.

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Review || Non-Player Character by Victoria Corva

Title: Non-Player Character Author: Victoria Corva Genre: Fantasy, Adult, LGBTQ+ Series: - Publisher: Witch Key Fiction No. of pages: 376 Publication: October 4th, 2021 Date read: September 8th, 2021 Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Not all fantasy worlds live only in our imaginations. 32-year old Tar feels like a Non-Player Character in their own life. They’ve been utterly sidelined by their anxiety and they spend all their spare time playing video games. Then they get invited to play Kin, a tabletop role-playing game their friend swears will change their life. And it does, but not in the way Tar expects. Friendship, it turns out, is even better than escapism. But what none of them knew was that it would change their life a second time. Because the world of Kin is real. And the whole party soon discovers that changing your setting doesn’t change you. Non-Player Character is a cosy, queer portal fantasy for adults featuring a non-binary autistic protagonist and their found family of fantasy-loving nerds.

Review:

Where to begin with this book?! I first heard about the Kickstarter for it on Twitter and after reading what it’s about I knew I had to help make this book come to life. And it was SO worth it. This book was everything and definitely one of my Reading Highlights in 2021, I’ve only given 3 other books, that weren’t a reread, 5 stars this year so far.

The characters were all amazing, there is so much representation in this book and there really isn’t a character in this group of people I don’t love. Victoria Corva brought Tar and her friends to life and I soon felt like I was part of their crew. Seeing Tar growing and adapting to the new world, despite of their fear, made me so proud and happy.

The worldbuilding is amazing as well. I’m huge into RPGs and the book gave me the cozy feeling it promised, even with everything new and different. I don’t want to say to much, because reading this book was such a great experience that I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but from the front to the back, I was into it every second. It gave me all these emotions, happy and sometimes sad (yes, I cried…).

I can’t stress it enough how much I enjoyed this book and how I want EVERYONE to read it and fall in love with Tar, their friends and Victoria Corvas writing. It’s one of these books I want to have on my shelf so I’m already waiting for the paperback to come out.

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Review || The last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Title: The last Magician Author: Lisa Maxwell Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Time Travel Series: The last Magician #01 Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books No. of pages: 500 Publication: July 18th, 2017 Date read: September 4th, 2021 Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future. In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives. Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future. But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Review:

The last magician tells the story of Esta, a thief with magical powers, who has to travel back in time to save her friends and everything she knows. The writing style in this one is compelling and keeps you on your toes. There are some cliffhangers, which are fun but a little obvious. Nonetheless it keeps you reading and wanting to know more about the world and the plot. I enjoyed the characters and their arcs. How we got to know them over the course of the book and see how they grow and their characters evolve. I especially had a soft spot for Esta and Harte. The ending was great and now I want more of this world and the story.

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Review || Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Certain Dark Things Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia Genre: Fantasy, Adult, Horror Series: - Publisher: Tor Nightfire No. of pages: 272 Publication: October 25th, 2016 Date read: September 7th, 2021 Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized. Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn't include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in. Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?

Review:

Certain Dark Things was my first book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who is mostly praised for her book Mexican Gothic. In the middle of this fantasy-horror-story is Domingo, a garbage-collecting human boy and Atl, a vampire on the run. They meet in Mexico-City, a city that is ruled by cops and one of the supposedly vampire-free zones and try to get out of the city, without attracting Atls trackers.

I liked the vampire lore in this book, there are many kinds of vampires, all with different abilities and weaknesses and they all have a different background. We learn about them throughout the story while Domingo is trying to distinguish truth from rumor but it never felled to history-heavy for me.

I enjoyed all the characters, but Domingo was by far my favorite character. He wasn’t particular smart, but he was loyal, and the juvenility based on this youth was endearing. He took a lot of things like they were, without questioning them, and tried to make the best of every situation, even before he met Atl and was sucked into her world. I also really liked the friendship between him and Atl. Nick was quite the opposite; he was also pictured as a younger character and he took everything for granted and simply was a spoiled brat. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a way to make the reader feel that all the characters have a certain depth.

The first half was slower, and it took some time to get to know all the characters, their different situations, and the world. It wasn’t boring but it was a little dragging. The second half on the other hand was fast paced and filled with action.

Overall, this book was great. I can’t say many negative things about it, and I don’t want to. I had fun reading this and meeting all those characters. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

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Currently Reading: Certain Dark Things

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Review: All of us Villains by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman

Title: All of us Villains Author: Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Series: All of us Villains #01 Publisher: Tor Teen No. of pages: 400 Publication: November 9th, 2021 Date read: September 5th, 2021 Rating: 4,5/5

Synopsis:

You Fell In Love With The Victors of The Hunger Games. Now Prepare To Meet The Villains of The Blood Veil. After the publication of a salacious tell-all book, the remote city of Ilvernath is thrust into worldwide spotlight. Tourists, protesters, and reporters flock to its spellshops and ruins to witness an ancient curse unfold: every generation, seven families name a champion among them to compete in a tournament to the death. The winner awards their family exclusive control over the city’s high magick supply, the most powerful resource in the world. In the past, the villainous Lowes have won nearly every tournament, and their champion is prepared to continue his family’s reign. But this year, thanks to the influence of their newfound notoriety, each of the champions has a means to win. Or better yet--a chance to rewrite their story. But this is a story that must be penned in blood.

Review:

The Hunger Games with magic? I was sold once I read the description of this book and wanted to read it right away. It was different than I expected but that was so much better. We are experiencing this story with various characters, who all are very different but on some level they are the same. All 7 are selected champions from their family to win the competition and kill all the others, so that their family can rule over the city’s magick supply and the most powerful ressources. What I maybe liked most about this book is that you get the story from a lot of different characters who are in the competition, not just one. We learn a lot about all of them and their motivation to be where they are, beside staying alive. The teens form alliances in the tournament even though they know it’s mostly only a question of time when they’ll turn against each other. I liked the fast paced writing style, the whole story was a little slow in the beginning, since we are meeting all the champions first and get to know them but once the tournament starts it picks up a lot of speed and I couldn’t stop reading, because I was rooting for all of them. I can’t wait for the second book and see how everything turns out for our villains.