Review: Draco Dormiens by Cassandra Claire

Title: Draco Dormiens (The Draco Trilogy #1)
Author: Cassandra Claire
Published: August 2000 on Wattpad
Date Read: March 28th – April 7th 2016
Read In: English

I know this is only a fanfiction, but since it has got its own page on Goodreads and counts on my reading challenge, i might as well write a review.
This is Part 1 of the infamous Draco Trilogy written by Cassandra Claire, before she changed her name to Cassandra Clare when she became a published author.

This story really gave me a hard time. I love Harry Potter fanfiction and i've read good and bad ones, but this one wasn't so easy for me. I love Draco/Harry, but i don't like Draco/Hermione or Harry/Hermione. I've always shipped Ron/Hermione and never got warm with Hermione being with Harry. Even worse is the idea of her being with Draco. While reading i never thought "OMG, i want to know what happens!". Most of the time i was highly annoyed. I didn't like her Hermione at all, i didn't like her Lucius, i didn't like her Harry. And i didn't like how she left out Ron almost until the very end.

I've had this Trilogy on my to-be-read list for a long time because i wanted to know what the fuss is all about. But since Draco Dormiens wasn't such an enjoyable read, i don't think i will continue reading it. Parts 2 and 3 have so many pages, i don't think i can make myself go through them.

Review: Spelled by Betsy Schow

Title: Spelled (The Storymakers #1)
Author: Betsy Schow
Published: June 2nd 2015
Date Read: March 26th – 28th 2016
Read In: English

Fairy-Tale Survival Rule No. 32:

If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your prince charming to save the day.

Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks – like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the charming brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.

Talk about unhappily ever after.

Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas". Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse... before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.



I didn't know what to expect of this book. It's a fairytale retelling of The Wizard of Oz, Dorthea being a retelling version of Dorothy. She's the princess, and she's a naive little brat. I guess some people probably stopped reading because of the way she is. But she had to be like this in the beginning, so she could grow up a little through this book. The prince she is supposed to marry is Kato, who doesn't seem like a prince to her. But at first, she hates him, because she's not interested in marriage. Another sidekick is Rexi, who used to be a servant in the palace.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's easy to read and didn't take me long to finish. The end is kind of a cliffhanger, and even though Goodreads doesn't list it as a #1 to a series, the author Betsy Schow said on her Twitter page that she's working on a second book. I guess the series will be named The Storymakers or Storymakers, Amazon already says so. If you like fairytale retellings, i'd totally recommend this book to you. But have a little patience with Dorthea, she just had to be a little brat.

March Book Haul.

Since i've bought so many books in February, it's good i've only bought 3 books in March. 





 Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
 The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine
 Die Vernichteten by Ursula Poznanski


Die Vernichteten is #3 of a series by austrian author Ursula Poznanski. I'm really excited for it, i haven't read #1 and #2 yet because i wanted to have all three first. 

Review: The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Title: The Shining Girls
Author: Lauren Beukes
Published: February 1st 2014
Date Read: March 24th - 26th 2016
Read In: German

"It's not my fault. It's yours. You shouldn't shine. You shouldn't make me do this."

THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE
Kirby is lucky she survived the attack. She is sure there were other victims were less fortunate, but the evidence she finds is... impossible.

HUNTING A KILLER WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST
Harper stalks his shining girls through the years – and cuts the spark out of them. But what if the one that got away came back for him? 









I've had this book for quite some time on my shelf, but it almost joined to books i'm probably never going to read. But right before i did start reading it, i had it in mind for some days. So when i finished the book i was reading before, i just took it off of my shelf.

It actually sounded great, otherwise i probably wouldn't have bought it. It's about a serial killer, Harper, who is able to jump through time and kills girls he's called The Shining Girls. They just have something that makes them shine to him, so he needs to kill them. While reading this book, you really have to pay attention the the year the chapter plays in, otherwise i guess it could be confusing.

Kirby, on the other hand, is the only girl who survived. Harper doesn't know for quite some time, but one day he discovers she's alive. After he killed every Shining Girl, he needs to finish his job, which means he needs to kill Kirby.

Since i like reading thrillers, i really enjoyed this. I've read some reviews by others where some said this book is gory, but believe me, it's not. Most of the killing scenes aren't written down.

Review: Redeemed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Title: Redeemed (House of Night #12) 
Author: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Published: October 14th 2014
Date Read: March 6th - 9th 2016
Read In: German

In the final electrifying novel in the HoN series, Neferet has finally made herself known to mortals. A Dark Goddess is loose on Tulsa and the world. No single vampyre is strong enough to vanquish her – unless that creature has the power to summon the elements as well as the ability to wield Old Magick. Only Zoey Redbird is heir to such power... but because of the consequences of using Old Magick, she is unable to help.

Find out who will win and who will lose in this epic battle of Light versus Darkness. The House of Night series is an international phenomenon. With more than 12 million copies in print, rights sold in thirty-eight countries to date, and relatable, addictive characters, this series is unstoppable. Now, in the final instalment of the series, Zoey and her friends face the ultimate battle with evil which will determine the fate of the world, both human and vampyre.



I'm glad this series is over now. I'd give it overall 3 stars, because sometimes i was really annoyed by it. I know it's for teens and the characters are teenagers, but most of the time they were totally naive and stupid. Who really annoyed me were the "twins", Erin and Shaunee, and Zoey herself. Zoey was supposed to be their hero, but she acted like she was a little child. In Redeemed, she finally started to act like she should have. Shaunee wasn't so annoying anymore because there was no Erin. The series wasn't a total flop, but it wasn't very great either. When i started reading it, i kind of liked it, that's why i didn't abandon it, i wanted to know how it ended. But since it took 12 books, i thought it was a bit too much.

Characters i really liked in this series were Aphrodite and Kalona. Especially Kalona was in Redeemed the best character, Aphrodite wasn't in many scenes, so she didn't have to say or do much. The books were an easy read, so it didn't take me long to finish one. The language was stupid sometimes, but that could've been the german translation, i don't know. The novellas were better than the series itself.

Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Carry On 
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: October 6th 2015
Date Read: February 28th – March 1st 2016
Read In: English

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.

That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here – it's their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.








I'm really sad this wasn't Cath's fanfiction from Fangirl – when i heard about this book, i thought it was, but while reading it seemed different and in the end of this book, Rainbow Rowell said it was her own story about Simon and Baz and not Cath's fanfiction. I'd loved to read her fanfiction, i really enjoyed it while reading Fangirl.

But i still liked this book and even though it's not Cath's fanfiction, there was some kissing between Simon and Baz. The story Rainbow Rowell built up around Simon was good, it really reminded me of Harry Potter. The Mage was a little annoying, but he wasn't there all the time, just lots of mentions.

Review: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Title: Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles Collection)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Published: February 2nd 2016
Date Read: February 18th - 21st 2016
Read In: English


The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories – and secrets – that are wonderous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories – five of which have never before been published – and a special bonus excerpt from Marissa Meyer's upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the beststelling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.





This Collection contains 9 stories:
The Keeper
Glitches
The Queen's Army
Carswell's Guide to being Lucky
After Sunshine passes by
The Princess and the Guard
The Little Android
The Mechanic
Something Old, Something New 


I'm not going to review each story alone, so this won't be a huge review. These 9 stories were rather short, the longest one being The Princess and the Guard i think. All stories were nice to read and when i started this book, it felt like i've missed The Lunar Chronicles a lot, even though it's not that long ago since Winter came out.

The writing is great as always and all 9 stories were kinda cute. The first 8 stories take place before Cinder, the last one takes place after Winter. By their names you can probably guess who the story is about, if you've read The Lunar Chronicles – apart from The Little Android, which is about an android we haven't met before, but she meets Cinder somewhere in her life.

One day there will be another book about this universe, called Wires and Nerve. Until then, i'll really miss The Lunar Chronicles.