Review: Dreaming of Antigone - Robin Bridges

Uncharacteristically for me I've read a lot of Contemporary YA lately. In between I also read Dreaming of Antigone. I didn't like it as much as some of the others, but it was still a great book. I liked the way the main characters fell in love with each other and although it was a little bit unrealistic and instalovey it kind of makes sense that they would turn to each other for comfort after what happened before the book. I think there was happening a little bit too much at the same time for such a short book. Which means it was very fast-paced, but some topics felt a little bit rushed and I thought they could have been exploit a little bit more. I liked the characters very much. I love it when main characters are passionate about something. It gives them personality and makes them become alive. Also I often learn something new about hobbies the main characters practice. Still I couldn't quite connect with the main characters. But in the end I really liked the story and especially that it deals with so many serious topics. And even though I kind of guessed the plot twist it was still surprising and very interesting. I just think because of all the serious topics and sad events the characters were just coping a little bit to well and that was the only thing that made me really feel a little bit disconnected and not emotional enough considering all the terrible and heartwarming events. Oh yeah and by the way I LOVE this cover.

Review: Untraceable (The Nature of Grace #1) - S.R. Johannes

I can't decide if I hated or loved this book. The first 100 pages were kind of boring but it got better after that. The last 100 pages were really exciting and thrilling. I couldn't take my eyes of the book, but I feel like it was more like a train wreck. I wanted to stop reading but I just couldn't. That doesn't mean that I didn't like it. There were so many plot twists in the end and I love it if a book is unpredictable. Also I really liked the characters - at least the ones you were supposed to like ;). I would have wished for a better clear up of their relationships in the end. It was just like the emotions described in the whole book where in the end just gone and after three days everything was back to normal.
The end was just the thing that kind of ruined this book for me. It was like the whole book was pointless in the end and I wished it would have been differently.
Also I saw on Goodreads that it was listed as Fantasy and I waited the whole book for something fantastical to happen but it didn't!
I kinda wish I haven't read this book - although it was not that bad - but because of this stupid cliff hanger in the end I feel like I have to read the next one in the series but I didn't like this one so much that I wanna invest the time to read two more books, so I don't know what to do!
If you like mystery thrillers I think you should try it, but prepare for reading the whole series!

Review: Call Me, Maybe - Ellie Cahill

I normally don't read romance novels but it was a nice change. I actually liked the characters and I liked that they had a background story that influenced them til today. It made them human and relate-able. I liked the way their relationship started. It was nice and cutesy and really original I think. Also I liked that you get to know different characters who don't actually show in the book. That made the main characters come to life because they had other relationships in their life like a family and friends.
The story for me was kind of boring. Maybe it's because I don't usually read romance books and fantasy books have a lot more going on than just the romance between the main characters. I waited through the whole book for something unexpected to happen but it was pretty predictable. I still liked the story because it was also very realistic but it just wasn't enough for me I think.
But the writing was great. It was fast-paced and in the beginning I couldn't even put it down. After about 100 pages I realized how far I've gotten and was kind of shocked. That's also why I finished this book in a day. Since it covers only approximately 3 weeks it is easy to read in one sitting and also it is kind of understandable that there wasn't going on that much. I think the main part in a contemporary romance novel is the romance so it was very well done. I think I just don't wanna read romance novels all the time but I'm really clad I did read this book and I'm happy I got approved for this book on netgalley. If you like romance novels you should definitely give this one a try.

Review: Sentinel (Covenant #5) - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Ok first of all: Normally I hate the covers of Jennifer's book. The covers of the Lux series are really hideous, but this series has so beautiful covers. I just adore them!

I did a review of the first book of the series and talked about the resemblance to Vampire Academy. The first one was pretty similar, but as the series progressed it got more and more complicated and develop it's own story and it was very thrilling and captivating. The love story in this book was just amazing and I love how this all wrapped up in this book. I just really like it when a couple overcomes all its problems to be with each other and starts to fight their problems together. Also I liked the "love triangle" in this series. Normally I really hate them, but there are a few series where it's well done and this one definitely belongs to the well written love triangles.

I also love the main character's relationship to the other characters and how they develop and also how she develops throughout the book. You can really see that this book is written for young adults who are as well in the process of changing and finding themselves.

Also as the series progressed I started to appreciate the Greek mythology in this book. You can't really see much of that in the first book, but it definitely adds to the story later.

I really really loved the ending. It wasn't the typical corny and cheesy ending which you have sometimes with happy endings, but it was still a happy ending. I could have never thought about this ending. It was very surprising for me, but it was a nice surprise. And if I wouldn't have had all the feels already throughout the series with this ending I would have had them at the latest. I just wanted to cry and laugh at the same time throughout the whole series. It was heartbreaking and so relate-able and also so sweet and sad and scary at the same time. Really just all the feels!

Also this series is relatively long because there are 5 books and 2 novellas but they are really fast-paced and pretty short so you can read them in a short amount of time like all Jennifer L. Armentrout books but you should read the novellas as well to really understand the whole series and also the novellas are amazing especially the second one ;)

This series is like Percy Jackson for young adults. So if you wanna have a mix between Vampire Academy and Percy Jackson you should definitely try this. Just don't let yourself get scared of by the first one because you feel like you have read this already because there is a lot more to the story later on. 

Review: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) - Richelle Mead

This book was definitely the best one in the series so far. I really liked the other ones too but in this book the characters develop so much it's amazing. The other 4 books just feel unimportant beside this one. Which doesn't mean that they weren't good or interesting. They built the story but in this book the series reached it's excitement top!
I don't know if I like the series more than Vampire Academy because they are both so good!
I think I like the characters more than in Vampire Academy. Especially the side characters have more depth and their stories are a nice addition to the main plot. If you can even say main plot because in Richelle Mead's books there are always many, many plot strings intertwining and standing out. It was kind of confusing that in the fourth book the POVs started to change but I can see that it was necessary for the story and after getting used to it I like it. Also I like that you can see a lot of different kinds of relationships in this series. Of course there is the romance, but the relationships between family members and friends are also very interesting. I really like how deep the friendships always are in Richelle Mead's books.
I think this book was so far the most thrilling and emotional one of the series.
The first half of the book was hard to read because it was really depressing but it was even harder to put down because it was so exciting. And the end was so heartbreaking and lovely that it was nearly too romantic but at the same time still action-packed which made the book really unique.

Review: Half-Blood / Daimon (Covenant Series #1 / #0.5) - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Before I started this book I've heard that it is similar to Vampire Academy. Normally I don't care if YA books feel similar to other YA books I really liked. I think if I like a book why don't read a similar one because I will probably like that too. So for me it was ok that it was similar although I think there were a little bit too many similarities.
The characters and the whole story were practically the same. I still liked this book a lot and am very interested in reading on with the series. It's just that I often felt like I've already read this book. I think that the next books will be more interesting and new to me, so I'm glad I read this book and look forward to reading on with this series.
Also Jennifer L. Armentrout fulfilled my expectations as always. The writing was really good and the whole world building felt so real. Also I liked the characters a lot and I'm really curious how the relationships between the characters develop throughout the other books. Also it was the perfect book for a readathon because like always I just couldn't put Armentrout's book down. If I have had the time I would have read it in one sitting. It was short and captivating.
If not for the similarities to Vampire Academy it would get five smileys ;)

I also read the prequel to Half-Blood: Daimon. It isn't really necessary to read it but I still liked it as start of a series and it intrigued me into reading the series. It didn't really give extra information to the story or characters but it was a nice story and gave the reader more information about the main character before the events of the first book. I would recommend to start the series with this book but if you don't want to read it it's also ok to start with Half-Blood. If I haven't read it before the first book I think I wouldn't bother to read it later. All in all I think this series has a lot of potential and I really like it so far!

Review: Hollywood Witch Hunter - Valerie Tejeda

So at first I didn't really like the book. The first hundred pages were fast-paced but kind of boring. There wasn't a lot going on except from world building and character development. Since it is an urban fantasy novel the world building wasn't amazing but very relatable. For me the characters were the worst in this book. I mean I liked them but I didn't really feel like I get to know them in the book and that was kind of confusing. I didn't really know who to trust and also I didn't really know much about the main characters' background story. I know that the lack of information regarding the characters was part of the mystery and that the reader is supposed to puzzle over which side is the good one and which side the bad one but I would have liked to get to know some of the characters a little bit more.

The plot was amazing. I was surprised by all the changes many times and it was really gripping. Also there was a lot of action in this book and I think the main character was really sassy and badass. I never knew what was coming next and I really liked that. If you hate predictable books this is exactly what you should read because it was definitely the opposite of predictable.

Also I think for a fantasy stand alone novel it was really great although I really wish that Valerie Tejeda writes a sequel because I think there was a little cliff hanger at the end and a lot of potential for the story to become a series. I also can live with the fact that this was the end but I would be very sorry. I mean it wrapped up nicely and doesn't necessarily need a sequel but there where still a lot of questions left open. Also I would like to see more of the side characters if there is a next book. All in all it was a really quick and refreshing read and the perfect pick for a readathon ;)