PERSONAL LIFE
July started out very hot. I worked and read, I spent some time suffering from heat, I spent days sick and listening to Gregor the Overlander audiobooks. Then my dad came to visit for a few days and we drove to the Sachsenring for MotoGP. It’s been a shared dream of ours to one day go to a MotoGP race and we finally did it this year. It was the first race I went to see live since 2015. So a decade later, I finally was at a raceing track again. And it was amazing. Honestly, I missed the noise, sitting under a burning sun and sweating my ass off to cheer for my favourite drivers. But I also, once again, realized how racing is still very manly men dominated, how beer is everywhere and so are weird ass comments and everyone doing their business in the bushes. Honestly, it’s a bit appalling and I underrstand why so many women still feel uncomfortable in the racing scene. Those men aside, MotoGP at Sachsenring was amazing and I’m already planning to go back next year!
Shortly after, we had our yearly summer vacation. This year, we took the ferry from Kiel to Klaipeda in Lithuania, where we spent one night before we took another, small ferry crossing the curonian lagoon to spend a few days on the curonian spit. There is only one single campsite and while it wasn’t that nice (full, not even remotely cozy, big), the rest of the spit definitely was. Endless beaches, beautiful water on both sides, the Baltic sea was beautiful and so was the lagoon. Nida was quite a charming village.
We left the spit to spend some time somewhere in the countryside. We found a nice campsite surrounded by only meadows and fields, next to a river. It was really nice there and there were the most gorgeous sunsets.
The next couple of days we spent around Vilnius. I absolutely loved the city and I’ll definitely come back. We decided to only do one day in Vilnius and then visited Trakai the next day, but honestly, it was such a flop. The castle(s) of Trakai were nice to look at from outside, but the inside gave me nothing. And then it poured the bigger part of the day which didn’t really make anything better. So this was very disappointing.
The rest of the holidays we spent on a campsite next to a lake in Mazury in Poland. We swam every day, no matter the temperatures and had a lovely time playing cards and picking mushrooms, swimming and reading and eating pierogi. Oh, yeah, I also ate my weight in cold red beet soup, absolutely amazing. Ate it in every Lithuanian restaurant and I already made it at home as well. I think I have found a new favourite food. I already wish I could go back on this trip, have dips in the lake and the sea, read and just enjoy my time outside.
BOOKS I’VE READ
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods & Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
Gregor #3+4
With two prophecies fulfilled, Gregor is now focused on the Prophecy of Blood, which calls for Gregor and Boots to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. But this time, his mother refuses to let him go . . . unless she is allowed to travel with them.
When they arrive in the subterranean city, the plague is spreading – and it claims one of Gregor’s closest companions. Only then does Gregor start to understand how the illness plays with the fate of all warm-blooded creatures. But how can he help combat it?
I absolutely loved the Underland Chronicles when I was a younger teen and I’m discovering them again now. The further we get into the story, the darker it becomes. I am truly surprised at points how brutal and dark it gets and how much it impacts me emotionally. But this series has so much to offer: friendships and a wonderful family, a lot of action and intrigue, political and social struggles, unlikely bonds, an interesting world. I absolutely love the Underland Chronicles.
Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday
Earls Trip #2
When not writing, poet Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, spends his time fending off the young ladies of the ton—and some of its young men—and avoiding his cruel father. As heir to the earldom, Edward knows he must marry someday. Alas, he is already hopelessly in love with someone. Hopeless because not only is Miss Julianna Evans not a member of the aristocracy, she is employed. She is a magazine editor—the only one to publish his work. Also, in all their years of increasingly personal correspondence, they’ve never met.
Also, she thinks he’s a woman. Named Euphemia.
Julianna is baffled. How can her soul mate not want to meet? Could it be that Euphemia is not the simple country girl she claims to be? Perhaps she’s wealthy. After all, she’s never cashed any of the bank drafts Julianna has sent. Perhaps Euphemia simply doesn’t want rank to come between them. Well, no more. Having extracted the details of a trip Euphemia is planning, Julianna squanders her meager savings and surprises her at the scene.
He is very, very surprised. As is she.
Now the two will have to decide what is true, what is not, and whether the truest thing of all—love—just might be worth an earldom . . .
Listen, I’m all for “no plot, just vibes” but unfortunately Manic Pixie Dream Earl didn’t even have the vibes, really. It was an okay read in which I mostly enjoyed the male group of friends and their unconditional love for each other. I also liked some of the discussions around sexuality and the standing of women in society. I just thought this would be more plot, more drama, more fun. Read my full review of Manic Pixie Dream Earl here.
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Joni Lark wants to create the melodies that get stuck in your head…and your heart.
Her hometown has always given her surf, sand, and inspiration. But when her parents decide to close the family music venue, Joni’s life begins to fall off key – she couldn’t possibly write another song. Until a melody comes to her, half-formed, and with an imagined voice that she can’t forget.
But when the very real, very aggravating man behind the voice shows up in Vienna Shores – Joni can no longer deny their inexplicable telepathic connection.
To get out of each other’s heads, they’ll have to finish the song haunting them both. But there’s just one problem – they can’t agree on anything – and if they don’t change their tune, it might just end in heartbreak first…
Ashley Poston isn’t one of my all time favourite authors for nothing. She has such a way with words, mixing the fun and banter while also leaving me crying. I really liked the romantic part of Sounds Like Love but even more I loved the family relationships and Joni’s friendship with Gigi. But I generally truly liked Joni and her narrative voice and her development. It’s not my favourite Ashley Poston book (Seven Year Slip, you’ll always be my #1), but it’s definitely somewhere very high up there. Especially on the cry scale 🙂
Novel Haven: Levels of Love by Anabelle Stehl
Novel Haven #1
Zwei Konkurrenten
Lara vs. Luca.
Unsicher vs. Selbstsicher.
Cosy Game gegen Horror Game.
Sie könnten nicht unterschiedlicher sein und verarbeiten doch beide ihre ganz eigenen Ängste in ihren Spielen.
Ein Wettbewerb
Die GameChanger-Convention ist ihre Chance auf Anerkennung, Sichtbarkeit – und das dringend benötigte Preisgeld.
Unzählige Gefühle
Hinter der Fassade aus Ehrgeiz und Konkurrenz sehnen sich Lara und Luca nach jemandem, der sie auch abseits der Bildschirme versteht. Sie könnten perfekt füreinander sein – doch am Ende kann nur einer gewinnen und seinen Traum verwirklichen …
Ich fand das Buch so, so schön! Es war wirklich ein Cozy Game in Buchform und ich hätte so richtig Lust, das Spiel Novel Haven zu spielen und in Laras Rückzugsort abzutauchen. Ich mochte Lara und Luca richtig gerne und wie sie miteinander umgehen, obwohl sie eigentlich Konkurrenten sind. Und ich liebe auch, dass es dennoch nicht so ein hin und her war, sondern dass die beiden einfach ihr Ding gemacht haben. Auch das ganze Team von PixelPulse und rund um das Spiel Novel Haven war einfach wunderbar und ich freue mich jetzt schon sehr, die ganzen Figuren in den Folgebänden wiederzusehen! Absolutes Wohlfühlbuch, das trotzdem nicht seicht ist, sondern durchaus auch belastendere Themen bespricht. Lieb’s sehr!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Hunger Games #Prequel 1
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined—every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
I knew Coriolanus Snow was bad but damn, being in his head hits different. He truly understands how to transform himself and how to manipulate others. And himself. It was so interesting to see how he sees himself and how other people see him, how the things he does only get worse but he always manages to put them in a perspective that works for him and eases his guilt. Snow makes the world as he wants it, shapes it and the people around him while being swept up in others’ intrigues as well. This book was so interesting to read, especially relationship wise. It was brutal, tense and uncomfortable. It made you hope for something better despite knowing what happens in the future (if you’ve read the Hunger Games trilogy). I’m still angry about this book and I haven’t finished processing it.
Die bärtige Frau by Bettina Wilpert
Die Leipziger Lehrerin Alex reist übers Wochenende zu ihrer Mutter ins bayerische Heimatdorf. Ihre Mutter hat sich das Bein gebrochen. Gemeinsam mit ihrer großen Schwester will sie das Schlafzimmer ins Erdgeschoss verlegen. Es ist das erste Mal seit der Geburt, dass Alex von ihrem einjährigen Kind getrennt ist. Sie vermisst ihre Tochter und merkt, wie sehr der kleine Körper ihres Kindes ihrem eigenen eingeschrieben ist. Dieses Gefühl bringt sie dazu, sich selbst näher zu betrachten, über ihre Lebensentscheidungen nachzudenken und das Begehren, den Körper, das Geschlecht sowie ihre Sozialisierung zu hinter fragen.
Das Buch haben wir im feministischen Lesekreis zum Thema “Körper” gelesen und es hat auf jeden Fall super zum Thema gepasst. “Die bärtige Frau” beschreibt sehr eindrücklich Schwangerschaft und Muttersein und wie sich beides auf den Körper, aber auch die Psyche der Frau auswirkt. Außerdem beschreibt Wilpert auch, wie die Frau von anderen wahrgenommen wird und wie sie sich selbst wahrnimmt. An sich passiert in dem Buch nicht viel, aber ich bin wirklich großer Fan dieser “no plot” Bücher, die trotzdem zum Nachdenken anregen, sich gut lesen lassen und irgendwie interessant sind. Einerseits birgt das Buch nicht viel Neues, andererseits gibt es viele Momente, in denen ich zustimmend genickt habe und in denen ich am liebsten das Buch zugeklappt hätte und einfach nur geschrien hätte, weil es so wahr ist. “Die bärtige Frau” zeigt den weiblichen Körper in verschiedenen Facetten und wie mit diesen umgegangen wird. Der Schreibstil ist eher nüchtern und sachlich, es liest sich sehr unemotional. Trotzdem hat es das Buch geschafft, mich emotional absolut abzuholen. Ich fand es großartig.
BOOK HAUL
Novel Haven: Levels of Love by Anabelle Stehl
Novel Haven #1
Zwei Konkurrenten
Lara vs. Luca.
Unsicher vs. Selbstsicher.
Cosy Game gegen Horror Game.
Sie könnten nicht unterschiedlicher sein und verarbeiten doch beide ihre ganz eigenen Ängste in ihren Spielen.
Ein Wettbewerb
Die GameChanger-Convention ist ihre Chance auf Anerkennung, Sichtbarkeit – und das dringend benötigte Preisgeld.
Unzählige Gefühle
Hinter der Fassade aus Ehrgeiz und Konkurrenz sehnen sich Lara und Luca nach jemandem, der sie auch abseits der Bildschirme versteht. Sie könnten perfekt füreinander sein – doch am Ende kann nur einer gewinnen und seinen Traum verwirklichen …
Die bärtige Frau by Bettina Wilpert
Die Leipziger Lehrerin Alex reist übers Wochenende zu ihrer Mutter ins bayerische Heimatdorf. Ihre Mutter hat sich das Bein gebrochen. Gemeinsam mit ihrer großen Schwester will sie das Schlafzimmer ins Erdgeschoss verlegen. Es ist das erste Mal seit der Geburt, dass Alex von ihrem einjährigen Kind getrennt ist. Sie vermisst ihre Tochter und merkt, wie sehr der kleine Körper ihres Kindes ihrem eigenen eingeschrieben ist. Dieses Gefühl bringt sie dazu, sich selbst näher zu betrachten, über ihre Lebensentscheidungen nachzudenken und das Begehren, den Körper, das Geschlecht sowie ihre Sozialisierung zu hinter fragen.
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Joni Lark wants to create the melodies that get stuck in your head…and your heart.
Her hometown has always given her surf, sand, and inspiration. But when her parents decide to close the family music venue, Joni’s life begins to fall off key – she couldn’t possibly write another song. Until a melody comes to her, half-formed, and with an imagined voice that she can’t forget.
But when the very real, very aggravating man behind the voice shows up in Vienna Shores – Joni can no longer deny their inexplicable telepathic connection.
To get out of each other’s heads, they’ll have to finish the song haunting them both. But there’s just one problem – they can’t agree on anything – and if they don’t change their tune, it might just end in heartbreak first…
Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue
Margo is a troubled schoolgirl. After the death of her father, she’s on her way to a new boarding school in a new city.
Moon is a salesman. He makes his living traveling through a series of interconnected worlds on a network of barely used train lines.
They never should have met. But when Margo suddenly appears one day on Moon’s train, their fates become inextricably linked. If Margo wants to survive, she has to pass as a traveling salesman, too—except it’s not that easy.
Move north on the train line and time speeds up, a day passing in mere hours. Move south and time slows down—a day can last several weeks. Slow worlds are the richest you live longer, your youth lasting decades. Fast worlds are sharp, cruel, and don’t have time for pleasantries. Death is frequent. Salesmen die young of skipshock. That is, if they’re not shot down by the Southern Guard first.
As Margo moves between worlds and her attachment to Moon intensifies, she feels her youth start to slip between her fingers. But is Moon everything he seems? Is Margo?
Furious by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos
After years racing go-karts and looking up to her mother, a celebrity Formula 1 racer, Jojo Emerson-Boyd should be starting her own racing career. But when she loses her mom in a tragic crash, Jojo’s future comes to a screeching halt. Now her dad won’t let her get a license, much less race. Instead, she’s stuck working at her grandmother’s mechanic shop in the sleepy small town of Dell’s Hollow.
But Jojo’s heart quickens when Motorcyle Girl Eliana “El” Blum shows up at the shop. El grew up on the motocross circuit sidelines, watching her sister and idol Maxine compete. When El mysteriously loses all contact with Max, she’s determined to find her, with her first clue leading straight to the mechanic shop, and to Jojo.
United by fate, the two quickly bond over Mario Kart showdowns and the Fast & Furious films. As their friendship shifts into something more, they’ll have to confront both their growing romance and the grief woven into their complicated families if they hope to chase down their dreams and make it across the finish line.
Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite
Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the forested East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. Raised in a woodland idyll by a few kindly adult caretakers, Kalothia can hunt and fish and fend for herself but knows little of the outside world. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king’s court in the West—a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots, and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy. Guided by the Goddess herself, can Kalothia navigate this most worldly of places to find her own role? What if she must choose between her country and her heart?
Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.
But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell . . .
The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald
Princess. Priestess. The most beautiful girl in Troy. Cassandra is used to being adored – and when her patron god, Apollo, offers her the power of prophecy, she sees an opportunity to rise even higher. But when she fails to uphold her end of the agreement, she discovers just how very far she has to fall. No one believes her visions. And they all seem to be of one girl – and the war she’s going to bring to Troy’s shores.
Helen fled Sparta in pursuit of love, but it’s soon clear Troy is a court like any other, with all its politics and backstabbing. And one princess seems particularly intent on driving her from the city before disaster can strike…
But when war finally comes, it’s more than the army at their walls they must contend with. Cassandra and Helen might hold the key to reweaving fate itself – especially with the prophetic strands drawing them ever closer together. But how do you change your future when the gods themselves are dictating your demise?
Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli
Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to escape and pay him back for every moment of misery she’s endured.
When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the rival Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight as she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she’ll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge.
But Lor doesn’t belong in the Sun Queen Trials. Not only does she not understand why she was freed, she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is removed from the competition, permanently.
Now Lor must win, because if she loses, she dies. Or worse, she’ll be returned to the evil—and now vengeful—Aurora King.
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.
Then one of them is murdered.
It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.
If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.
We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.
The Floating World by Axie Oh
Ex-soldier Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. Possessing just his name and sword, he comes across the score of a lifetime – a chest of coins for hunting down the girl who wields silver light.
Ren is a spirited acrobat travelling with her family. But everything changes when they are attacked by a demon. Desperate, Ren releases a blast of silver light and kills the monster – but cannot save her beloved uncle from grievous injury.
Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off for the mountains, where the creature came from – where Ren herself fled from ten years ago. Her path collides with Sunho’s, but he doesn’t realize who she is. As the two grow closer, it becomes clear their pasts – and destinies – are more entwined than they could possibly have imagined . . .
How was July for you? What was your favourite moment? What was your favourite July read?
Until next time,
