12/01/2018

2018 Beat The Backlist – Close-Up

This reading challenge was focused on knocking off titles that have been on my TBR for a while, or even ones that got pushed aside for new releases.

It was my first time doing this challenge and now I think it is time to close it. The end of the year is near and because I´ve reached my goal of 4 books already months ago, I am putting the closing seal on it now.

So far, I am not sure if I will sign-up for the 2019 Beat The Backlist Challenge. Maybe yes, maybe no. We´ll see over the next few weeks if I sign-up again or do another challenge that takes care of my TBR.

The good thing that came out for me while participating, was, that I started putting a short comment on Amazon for the books I was reading and reviewing. Good, I am not doing it for every book I reviewed, but for those that came from publishers in exchange for an unbiased review, I post a few lines there, so I call that a success.

So goodbye Story Sorcerers. I don´t know if we will see us again, but today it is goodbye for now and probably for good. But never say never. Time will tell.

Happy reading & Good luck

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2/10/2018

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

I don´t know how she does it, but Colleen Hoover gave proof again that she can catch you with romance and raw emotions the same way as other authors with their thrillers. Since I have finished this, I haven´t read any other book. I had some in my hands, yes, but I didn´t start reading – the impact this novel had on me has still captured me.

November 9*

by Colleen Hoover
Publisher Atria Books November 10, 2015
Genre Romance
Pages 320
Format Softcover
Source Library

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶✶

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon´s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. Can Ben´s relationship with Fallon – and simultaneously his novel – be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

Story

Fallon is what the world calls a “natural beauty”. A girl who is blessed with a gift. The gift of being a beautiful girl who has a heart. In Hollywood a rare thing. But since the terrible fire, everything has changed. Her father has turned himself into an ignorant asshole and her mother is the only constant positive and encouraging thing that has remained in her life. And then there is Ben. The stranger who comes to her rescue when her father once more proves that he is as blind and ignorant as selfish and heartless.

Style

The style is soft, easy to read, and yet has such an emotional and stirring impact – holy Christ! How does Colleen do it? I am still not able to tell ya. The story is haunting, sensitive, shows emotions of all different kinds, and is as beautiful as you could wish for. Sure, there are scenes in it that you rather wouldn´t have to read, but they belong in this novel and fit perfectly in. And they give you clues that something isn´t the way it seems at first sight. That there is something to come that will turn everything upside down and back again. 

While reading I had to literally remind myself to breathe again because I very often held my breath - the plot was so thrilling, fascinating, and breathtaking. And towards the end, it is even getting more romantic and thrilling despite all the drama that happens at the same time.

Characters

Fallon is a wonderful teenage girl. She has her heart in the right place, is sensitive to others, and knows how to deal with her father when he thinks that he can screw around with her. Not gonna happen. Nope, Sir. But with Ben, her heart is going on a rollercoaster. Fallon is fighting the feelings she is having from the very first second, she meets Ben. And Ben does everything to convince her that they can have both, their love and life. If only Fallon stops searching for answers or jumping to the wrong conclusions …

Conclusion

Holy mother of god, this was amazing! If you´re no Colleen Hoover fan yet, this is the perfect way to start. I am still trying to catch my breath, still trying to calm down and still in an emotional turmoil. And that´s saying something. Grab some tissues – you will need them!

Happy reading

*I read the German edition Nächstes Jahr am selben Tag by dtv on March 10, 2017 

Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, This Girl, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Ugly Love, Maybe Not, and Confess. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

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2/09/2018

All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This was a recommendation from one of the ladies who is running our library. She told me that they had just gotten it in and that it was a huge hit in the US. So, I had the honor to be the first person to take it home. Well, usually I am not jumping on such arguments, but this one somehow had something, that kind of spoke to me. I am still trying to figure out what exactly the German cover is showing, but on the other hand, I don´t think it is THAT important. Do you?

All The Missing Girls*

by Megan Miranda
Publisher Simon & Schuster on January 31, 2017
Genre Thriller
Pages 400
Format Softcover
Source Library

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶½

It´s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne´s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne´s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby, Jackson works at the town bar, and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic´s younger neighbor and the group´s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic´s return, Annaleise goes missing.

Story

Nic has refused to go home for the past ten years. She wants nothing more but to live a normal life, to have a husband, and to be as successful as possible in her job. But when her father tells her that he saw that girl again, she is forced to go back and help him calm down and settle in his new home. If only the past would do the same.

Style

At first, I noticed the short and very concise style. The author shows her reader a little from here and there but never gives you the full picture.  She jumps back and forth between the days, creates that way tension but confuses the reader as well with the fact that there seems to be no structure at all. And the fact, that the story is told backward, and that you read about things that have happened but will be told more detailed later in the book … well… not much helping either. But for some reason, I kept reading. I always had the feeling that if I could only read one more chapter, I might be able to get it. Sounds familiar? *smile* Because one thing is for sure. Megan Miranda has a fantastic psychological finesse built up in this book. You won´t be able to figure out the real story behind the story until the very end. 

Despite her nested construction, this thriller is crazy, irritating, extraordinary, and very haunting in its very own way. Believe me, after you´ve started reading, you won´t be able to put it down. At least not, if you are reading the printed book. Don´t know about the audiobook …

Characters

Unlike other thriller authors, Megan Miranda doesn´t give you much of an insight into her figures. She isn´t going too deep into them. Only scratching the surface and giving you a gist that there might be more than you see at first sight. Some of her characters are totally crazy, some of them have no stamina at all while others are so pale and obedient, that it seems eerie and weird.

Corinne is a young, rebellious teenager who has a very creepy way to get what she wants. If Nic does something she wouldn´t usually do, you can bet on it that Corinne is the reason why. Corinne knows exactly how to manipulate the people around her. What to say to make them literally jump. But the moment she steps over her parents´ threshold and goes back inside, she´s not visible anymore.

Conclusion

That was what I call an overnight read. Yes, I literally couldn´t put it down, and though I was supposed to actually sleep, I read it in one swoop. This thriller got something that made it impossible for me to put it down. Only-one-chapter-more was my mantra here, and within no time the night was over. No thriller in the usual style, but for all thriller fans and those who like to read a bit unusual, this is a great opportunity.

Happy reading

*I read the German edition Tick Tack-Wie Lange Kannst Du Lügen by Penguin on November 13, 2017 

Megan Miranda

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls. She has also written several books for young adults. Megan Miranda grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. The Perfect Stranger is her second novel of psychological suspense. 

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2/07/2018

Tochter Des Dunklen Waldes by Katharina Seck

A novel with a wonderful basic idea and a very poetic language. What I struggled with was the writing style. Despite that, fantasy is a beautiful aspect of this novel. This is my first book written by the author. I got intrigued by its cover and thought why not give this a try. Katharina Seck has another book I was thinking about reading, but after I´ve finished this, I might drop that plan. Why? Keep reading.

Tochter Des Dunklen Waldes*

by Katharina Seck
Publisher Bastei Lübbe on November 24, 2017
Genre Novel
Pages 413
Format Softcover
Source Publisher
Goodreads
✶✶✶½

Every sound of the nocturnal forest seemed to tell a story. And not every one of them had a happy ending … The morning forest is prohibited. He is dangerous. Since she can remember, the young Lilah hears warnings about the dark morning forest. Nobody from their village enters him, even though hardly anyone knows what truth and what legend is. But then the body of a woman is found at the edge of the forest. Are the old stories true? Are there monsters in the forest? Lilah will find out. Because at the same time disappears Dorean, the man who belongs to Lilah´s heart. He went to the cursed forest. And Lilah makes a momentous decision: She follows him … (personal translation ©Vi at Inkvotary)

Story

Lilah is in turmoil. The man she wants is sick and needs help. Her help. But how can she help him if she isn´t allowed to go into the morning forest? And who killed that strange woman she found close to the border? When one of the elder village people starts to torture her with his hate and rage he obviously has towards her, Lilah starts packing her belongings and to change the path of her life. Following her instincts she discovers a world she never knew existed and that is so much more than just a forest.

Style

If you love a novel with a very poetic language, you might like this very much. And if you also like to read a very long run-on sentence that dominates this novel, then this might be the perfect read for you. Well, for me, it wasn´t. Over the first few pages, it was kind of ok to read them, but the author keeps continuing with that style and after a while, I was exhausted. Everything, even short scenes, were stretched that way, everything was dealt with in a very long and tiring way. From my perspective a sad thing, because the idea of having a tree as your soulmate, from living in unison with nature and sharing the needs and sorrows of nature first hand, seemed very promising and beautiful in one.

Additional to that, the story contains many repetitions. As if the author doesn´t trust her readers´ ability to understand what she is telling on every page this book has. I got it already in the first chapter, that the morning forest was a prohibited area. And that Lilah had to fight her need to go in and to follow her inner voice every day. There was absolutely no need to tell me that on almost every page this novel has. The other thing that bugged me, was, it wasn´t until the last third of the book that it got exciting – and very brutal. Way too late, if you ask me. Not the brutal part, that is something I see as a plus to the other thrilling things that happened. No, what I mean is the fact that the plot all of the sudden got some action. The figures became somehow alive, there was a certain power that came to light, and the until then kind of passive story turned into a very thrilling one. Only it didn´t last long. My joy that the author had finally changed some things, went back to oh, obviously not.

Characters

It was fascinating to watch how Lilah changed from the girl that was following every word her uncle said to the young woman which did what her instincts were telling her. You can literally feel how she struggles, her uncertainty and that she can´t tell the others about that voice in her head whenever she comes close to the morning forest. And then there are her growing feelings for Dorean. The man who keeps his distance but obviously wants more from her than only friendship. Can she trust him? Will she trust him? But why is he only here over the summer? So many questions and no answers.

Conclusion

All in all this book is a bit above average. I would have liked it to be a pleasure read for me, but it wasn´t. I love it when an author knows how to use words when some poetry is in the pages and the characters are well built and you can see some development throughout the plot. And Lilah proofs that this is, what makes great characters so fascinating for us readers. But that alone won´t make a reader start to swoon over a novel. Sad, but this book wasn´t for me. If you´re a fan of a very long sentence, a very bloomy style and a plot that isn´t really visible, this is definitely a novel you should read. If the above said isn´t your thing – don´t touch it.

Happy reading

*This book was, at the time this review was published, only available in the German language. The title was kindly provided to me by Bastei Lübbe in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you.

Katharina Seck

Katharina Seck was born in 1987 in Rhineland-Palatinate. She grew up in a medieval, castle-crowned small town in the Westerwald and went to a high school, which is housed in a nearly 800-year-old Cistercian abbey. The fairy-tale atmosphere of this place also found its way into her fantasy novel “The Silver Queen” in the description of the picturesque town of Silberglanz. In addition to her work as a writer, Katharina Seck works in a municipal administration. 

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12/20/2017

2018 Beat The Backlist – Sign-Up

I found this challenge by accident while scrolling through the internet. Somehow, I landed on Austine´s blog NovelKnight and became aware of it.

This reading challenge is focused on knocking off titles that have been on your TBR for a while, or even ones that get pushed aside for new releases. While we LOVE new releases, we also want to show some of those older titles love too.

YOU set your own reading goal. YOU pick the books. YOU read at your own pace.

Whether you´re a casual reader looking to work on your TBR list with a bunch of people, or a competitive reader seeking a bit of extra motivation this year, Beat the Backlist is for you.

It sounds fun, my TBR is HUGE and I hope that I will be able to accustom myself to post my reviews also on Amazon since it means for this challenge to gain points for the team I will be on. Not to mention that authors and publishers alike will benefit one way or the other from every review that is put on that platform to their product.

This will be the first time that I am doing Beat the Backlist. Last year I was close to sign-up for it, but for some reason, I hesitated and ended up not doing the challenge at all. I want to change that now and hope that I will reach my goal.

My Goal

My goal for this challenge is to read at least 4 books of my TBR. I know, that doesn´t sound very much, but due to some personal changes in my reading life, I am not sure how the next year will turn out for me. So, I rather keep things low here and get surprised with more than the other way around.

I hate it when I fail at something. Yup, we are talking about reading books, having fun and do a challenge along the way. And all of this is meant to happen in a way that is enjoyable, pleasant and relaxing.

There was the suggestion, that I name some of the books I want to read for this challenge in 2018. Well, that is easier said than done, since I have no clue in what mood I will be in in a month or two from now and therefore it is rather difficult for me to say what I will read. It can be that I will go and read all the books I have in the Love-Women-Erotica genre, or from Sarah J. Maas in the Fantasy genre. Or only some thrillers. I do not know at this point and I don´t want to end up having the feeling that I NEED to read this or that genre/book only to fulfill my participation in the Beat the Backlist challenge.

But you can be assured, that I WILL read some of my backlist books, due to the above-named reasons.

Guidelines

The challenge will run from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018. You have an entire year to complete your goal!

Books must be released prior to 2018 to count for this challenge. This isn´t the challenge for new releases. For them, I do another challenge. You can read my sign-up post for it very soon.

It is highly appreciated that you post your updates throughout the year on your social media platform of choice using the hashtag #BeatTheBackList! I am posting all my reviews, no matter if they are old books or new releases, over at my Twitter account anyways, so no problem here. There is also the official (at)BeatTheBacklist account on Twitter and you can use the tag in your tweets.

Challenge Overviews

How does Beat the Backlist work?

• Post your goal for this challenge somewhere on the internet (blog post, Goodreads shelf, Twitter thread, etc.)
• Read books and earn points for your team and yourself!
• Win prizes and knock those books off your TBR!

Four Teams

This challenge has four teams. Those teams will be competing against the other teams to see who can get the most points by the end of each month. Each month one person will be drawn as a winner from the team with the most points and receive a book of their choice. Open internationally.

I am on Team Story Sorcerers.

If you have any further questions, check the FAQ section over at NovelKnight. Just click on Beat The Backlist 2018 and you will be led straight to the post where you will also find (if you scroll a bit down) the Sign-up-form for this challenge, as well as more challenge details.

Happy reading

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