A Veil of Shadows by Michael W. Garza | A great continuation to Naomi’s and Gavin’s adventures! + GIVEAWAY

Earlier this year I read and reviewed the first book in The Shadow Gate Chronicles  – «The Last Shadow Gate» by Michael W. Garza and it was a very whimsical experience. Make sure to check my review on the first book before reading this one!

Thank you YA Bound Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to continue reading this series and to provide my opinion on Naomi’s and Gavin’s adventures.

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Heir of Illaria by Dyan Chick | Too fast-paced “Princess Diaries” with fantasy elements

Do you love Fantasy? Because I do, but recently I feel like giving up on YA fantasy novels because they don’t usually bring anything new to the table and just continue redecorating stories that we’ve heard before.

I would love to say that «Heir of Illaria» was different, but unfortunately that was not the case. It was one of those stories where you don’t miss any flaws but you keep enjoying it nonetheless.

Warcross by Marie Lu | Clichés, romance and advanced technology

This must have been the book I was the most excited about this year. It’s all about gaming, hackers and virtual reality! The synopsis sounded very interesting, especially for someone like me, who loves video games.

Unfortunately, this was one of those stories where the romance ruined the whole experience and made me sigh and cringe multiple times throughout.

August Wrap Up | Reading demotivation & Fall expectations

There are certain months that mean something for me. For example, December is filled with holiday spirit; March resembles the approximation of warmer Spring days and September marks a new working / school year, like a twin brother of January.

And then there are months that don’t provide anything but crowded beaches and hot weather, especially when you live at a tourist destination. That what August was like. Many people, many events, many cars on the roads and some extremely hot days.

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls | A must-read YA, introducing the suffragette movement to the younger generation

«’It isn’t just about me,’ she said. ‘It’s about us all! All women! How can women live like this? How can women like Mother just go on – not caring?’»

You know how sometimes we read this, seemingly an amazing, book. It covers so many meaningful subjects; has great characters and plot, but for some reasons you are just not feeling it. I’m not sure if that happened to you before, but it certainly is a rare occurance for me and makes my “blogging” life so much more complicated!

I will try to dissect my feelings as thoroughly as possible and maybe we can actually find a reason behind my “low enjoyment level” for this novel.

Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith by Shaun Hume | Incredible writing, unfortunately, was not enough

There is probably not a single person out there who read and didn’t like «Harry Potter». J.K. Rowling created one of the most innovative fantasy stories of her time. When it was first released, I was only 6 years old and it was much later, when the story was finally translated to Russian and I was of age to read it that I picked it up.

Everyone talked about it, everyone watched the movies and waited years for the conclusion of this epic adventure.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell |Where I didn’t like Eleanor… Park was alright though!

Rainbow Rowell’s books will always hold a very special place in my heart.  2016 was the year of everything happening at once (good and bad) and one of the greatest things I’ve done last year was starting my blog and devouring «Fangirl» in one sitting, and I have been obsessed with her novels ever since.

After reading three of her contemporary novels, I was expecting «Eleanor and Park» to be just as warm and lighthearted. Oh, how wrong was I!

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell | A parody on fantasy?

It finally happened! After having it on my TBR for almost 7 months, in April I have read «Carry On». I love Rainbow Rowell and always will, but I was a little apprehensive to read her fantasy novel, and it’s for a good reason.

If you didn’t know, «Carry On» was a popular fantasy series first mentioned in «Fangirl» where Cate, the main character, was writing fanfiction for.