A gathering of Ravens by Scott Odin | Review

Bearbeiten 4/5 Ribbons for this awesome book!

“To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas; to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind―the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days.”

A Gathering of Ravens is a great book about a lone Orc Grimnir! Odin manages to put Norse myth into a historical setting that will take your breath away and will leave you wanting more of it! Grimnir is determined to get his revenge that is long past due and so he abducts a female soon-to-be christian priestess ( or at least she wants to be) and uses her as a guide. He is mean and brutal and I wish there was a little bit more to him really

The story is full of old mythology, odd creatures, various religions battling for dominance and a world that you won’t forget so easily. I really enjoyed that we’re thrown into a time full of change and that everybody has to decide where they stand in this changing world.

The writing style is easy to read and the characters are deep and  well-developed. I honestly don’t want to spoiler you guys so my review will have to stay short! 

 The only thing that’s so-so is the religious theme and the price of the book. I am a student so I know how hard it can be to buy an expensive book  especially if you read as much as I do) but I would still recommend you to buy at least the ebook;) 

Also, the constant religious struggles were kind of tedious. Almost the first half of the book is only abou the religion of the people and no plot so I almost DNFed the book. I’m really glad I pulled through but it was a struggle in the beginning. 

*I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Immortal Fire by Annette Marie | Review

  4.5/5 Ribbons

Oh, Immortal Fire… ❤ ❤ (Initial Rating: 4.5 Stars)

This is the third part of the Red Winter Series by Annette Marie. I am a huge fan and that’s why I am really sad that couldn’t give five stars 😦 You can find the first book Red Winter, following the link above. This is a link the review of the second book, Dark Tempest.

But first, I want to tell you why I love this epic ending of a fantastic series. First of all: the characters. I just love how Shiro, Yumei and Emi evolve in the last part of the series and what we get to know about them. Emi really grew up nad started taking on even more responsibility, and to believe in er own strength and ability instead of relying solely on the strength the two yokai provide.

We got to know new characters and old friends helped them in their fight against Izanami and Izanagi who wish to destroy humankind. It was intriguing to read about the past of Yumei and his life before he met Emi and Shiro. There were a few romantic scenes but not as many as in the last book, which I was fine with because I enjoyed the action, fighting ans scheming a lot 😉

Nonetheless, there were lots of sad or emotional scenes and some of them really made me cry (!) which doesn’t happen very often- big plus here! The writing style was, as always, awesome. The words just flew from the page directly into my heart and don’t want to leave the place. I loved the world building in the first two books and Immortal Fire certainly didn’t disappoint here either!

The only thing I really didn’t enjoy so much was that it felt like they had many little tasks to be solved, which is fine usually. But it was really hard to follow sometimes because they finished one task and then suddenly, the reader gets to know that there is some other object, spell or myth that might or might not help them save the world and it was just exhausting at some point. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this book immensely, but I wish there would have been more hints at the beginning of the story instead of just different revelations popping up (almost randomly) after each accomplished task/fight.

This did not lessen my extremely positive reading experience but it didn’t sit well with me to just ignore it and give the book five ribbons.

A short note: If you don’t want spoilers, don’t read!

I really loved the ending and I was crying when I read the last page but I wish there would have been more interaction between Shiro and Emi and I also wish it wasn’t so sad because dang it! It wasn’t a bad ending even if I would have liked the book to end differently. I definitely want to read more about yokai! ❤

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Characters I can’t let go

There are billions of books out there. Some of them, I have read. Others, I shunned. Still others, I wish I had in every possible edition. Some of those beloved books hold characters, I will probably never forget, no matter how much time passes. In this little post, I want to you to get to know some of them.

The order is no ranking.

Bilbo Baggings from the Shire. Is probably my all-time favourite character. I loved his struggles, his bravery, his snobbish attitude, his love for smoking weeds and cakes. He is a hero of many sorts and I would be lying if I’d say I haven’t dreamt of writing my Bachelor Thesis about him. He is so afraid and wants to go home and snuggle up to his coziest blanket and forget the evil and dangerous world outside the Shire but he keeps going, saving his friends, showing how cunning he truly is and staying true to himself and his (moral) standards. I just adore him ❤

I guess all of you know the book he is from but I’ll post a picture anyway 😉 FUNfact: J.R.R Tolkien painted this cover himself.

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 I know that this might come a little unexpected, but I love Samwell Tarly with all my heart. Just like Bilbo ( I can’t help it, I know, I know ), or probably even more like Bilbo, Samwell struggles to find his place in a world that is alien to him. He says he is a craven but the old gods and the new know that he is a hero in his own right. He is brave, loyal and strong, even though he is a fat little fella who can’t carry his own weight around. Even though I am more a fan of the books than of the series, I just love the makers of Game of Thrones because they made Sam look just as I have always imagined him to be ❤

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I want to mention Ronan Lynch and Adam Parrish together because they belong to the same books. Ronan is somebody who is very.. socially awkward in a way that isn’t really obvious. He can’t express his feeling very well and some of his school mates even call him ‘soulless’ but that’s just the only way he knows how. He was different, at some point in his life before everything came crashing down and I just felt for him, his story, his life. I felt so connected to him that it physically hurt to read the books sometimes. Ronan is love, silent, dark and frail love ❤

I can say the same thing about a character I didn’t really like in the second book of the series. I don’t know why, but he annoyed me at that point. But later on, he turned out to be the spark that lit my heart on fire. I love this series and I love Adam and Ronan. Adam is a frail character in so many other ways than Ronan, but he struggles and struggles…. and he pulls through it all. He’s the one lesson everybody should keep in mind. It’s “Keep going and it’s going to be alright”. That’s the most important message of all I believe. Adam also represents a part of me that I never really acknowledge because I ignore it most of the time. There is a life-changing encounter he has with somebody ( no spoilers here ;)) that change him and I went through something very similar, so we’re basically stuck with the same problems. That was what really made me love Adam Parrish ❤

 

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 Last but not least: Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. This is probably the guy who doesn’t quite fit in the lot but I had to mention him here nonetheless. From the first book onward I just knew there was more to this guy than he let on but to what extend- I never truly knew untill I read he second part of the ACOTAR series. I don’t think it’s about him being sexy. It’s more about giving up everything for the people he loves, his people. He is the one who would never hesitate. Even though his might be an odd thing to say, I hated Tamlin from the start, so it really wasn’t hard for me that he did… what he did haha don’t want to spoiler anybody 😉

Rhysand s just funny, brave, loyal and independent, smart, what more would anybody want? ❤

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Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater | Review

 4/5 Ribbons

The Raven Boys is the first installment of Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Circle series. I listened to the audiobook via Audible. I was trough it within a couple of days because it was so exciting!

At first, I was really sceptical because the narrator Will Patton has this raspy, whispering voice that gave the story a haunted, mysterious feeling from the start. I really thought it was kind of ridiculous to force the story into such a setting, but as the story went on, I realized that this narrator was the best they could have given the job to.

I loved how the story unraveled, that it was not predictable. There was always something fascination to find for Blue and her Raven Boys. The places, the stories and the mysterious people they meet, it all adds up to a wonderful but dangerous place, full of myths and secrets. I loved how Stiefvater created magical places without having to describe their importance and their history. I just knew from what the characters saw that these were places I would have loved to visit, just to have smelled the air around them.

In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle | Review

 4/5 Ribbons

 

A living Myth- that is what Beagle’s In Calabria is about.

Claudio Bianchi is a solemn farmer who never wanted to be one in the first place. Even though he is not bitter, there is a sadness and mist around his little farm and around himself. It prevents him from having too much contact with anybody- except for the post man.

He seems as content as he can get when one day, she comes in his life. Not a woman, not a relative, but la Signora as he calls her. The white unicorn is searching around his farm, for what Claudio cannot say.

It is here our story begins as we see this world through Claudio’s eyes. The wonders of the unicorn, what happened to her and how Claudio finds somebody he can trust, somebody who he can love. Without fear without giving up himself.

What Are You Reading Wednesday #WAYRW 13

This is a weekly meme hosted by It’s A Reading Thing. I think it’s a cool way to let you guys know what I am currently reading. Let the show begin…

Killian by Elizabeth Kelly (Avalon #1)| Review

3.5/5 Ribbons

Killian was my Wednesday read and I enjoyed this book a lot. I was through with it within two days because it is such an easy, fast paced read. I loved the two main characters, Killian and Reagan. This one has it all: old prophecies, myths, sexy warriors, secrets waiting to be unraveled, humor and romance.