Hoohoo guys.
It’s the first of October already. Can you believe Halloween has begun already? Wow. It’s spooky season! Also after Christmas my second-favourite time of the year. But before I go into to much detail, we’re here today to talk about the books that have been read in September. What did you read? Any new 5★ reads?
Here comes what I have read.
Der letzte erste Blick by Bianca Iosivoni ★★★★ (German)
What’s it about?
After Emery went through a lot in school, she moves away from home to go to university. There she becomes the flatmate of Mason, whose nose she breaks on their first encounter. While the two slowly develop a friendship, she also gets to know his other friends, some of them more closely than others. But of course the happy times can’t last forever.
My opinion?
I really did enjoy this book more than I thought I would. The writing style was fluent and good to read and I quite liked the characters. Especially Emery who usually speaks her mind and is very quick-witted. She is a lot of fun, but also caring and just trying to live her life. The other characters are pretty cool as well. I loved how the girls’ friendships were written. The romance was okay, I guess. Not my favourite, it was nothing special.
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria ★★★★★
What’s it about?
The city of Eldra has been ruled by the council for several centuries with the help of prophecies. But not everyone in Eldra is a fan of the council and their laws. So a young group of rebels tries to bring them down, not knowing that they get sucked into a web of secrets and power plays.
My opinion?
I loved this book! The characters were very diverse, with PoC and LGBT+ main characters. They have a sort of friendship, though a lot just depends on their mission where each of them has a part to play. I loved the setting of the story and that the reader could never really know who the villain is. While it was quite slow at some parts, I thought these parts were especially important to get to know the characters.
You can read my full review here.
Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne★★★★★
What’s it about?
Olive knows there’s soemthing going on with her. In her head. Help comes in the form of Camp Reset, a camp that is a test for mentally ill young adults. Each of them have a different illness and Olive has made the perfect plan to help them, not expecting to make new friends.
My opinion?
This book is so important. Holly Bourne has a talent for writing realistic characters and showing mental illness in a really honest way. She just seems to get young people. She shows how it is to live with a mental illness and how people try to get better and have ups and downs. I also liked the general theme of kindness in this story. It not only says that you should be kind to others, but especially to yourself. And just… I can’t stress enough how important this book is and how much I loved everything about it. Except for the ending because it felt kind of unfinished. But anyways. Would totally recommend.
The Humans by Matt Haig ★★★★
What is it about?
Andrew Martin, mathematics professor at Cambridge University, has solved the most important formula and could change the course of human lives. But this is not supposed to happen and he gets abducted by aliens who replace him with a lookalike. That lookalike is supposed to get rid of all the information Martin collected. But in the process he also learns a lot about humans.
My opinion?
At first I was a bit bored because it seemed to be just some guy from another planet describing humans. But I know humans. I live on Earth myself. But I fell slowly in love with this book. Matt Haig manages to paint a realistic picture of how life on Earth is. It’s lovely and sad and touched something very deep within me. And we follow quite unremarkable people, a family with problems like so many people have, students and pupils, dogs, professors and doctors, everyone just trying to live their life, oblivious to what’s really going on. People being selfish but also caring and loving. And I just… this book described humans so perfectly. I will forever hold it dear.
Wildcard by Marie Lu ★★★★★ (Warcross #2)
What’s it about?
Emika discovered something terrible. Hideo now has the power to control most of the Earth’s population and she knows she needs to stop him. She gets help from Zero, the mysterious hacker who seems to be Hideo’s long-lost brother. But she soon realizes that not everything is as it seems and not everybody is telling her the truth.
My opinion?
Wow, what a book. It was really easy to get back into the story, Marie Lu starts without further explanations or much talking about unnecessary stuff. The reader really feels with Emika who is torn between her love for Hideo and stopping him, she does not trust Zero but he seems to be her only chance. It’s hard for her and for me it was hard as well because I didn’t know whom to like, all of them did things I couldn’t understand and made me like them less but then on the next page I fell for them all over again. The characters were just so good. And the story! There’s so much action. I love when there’s a time limit in books because you know soemthing is going to happen and you wait anxiously and then it happens and it blows your mind. Ah! My poor heart, this book was stressful, but so, so good.
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco ★★★
What’s it about?
After accidentally raising her brother from his grave, Tea is taken in as an apprentice in a house of witches. There she gets trained in singing, dancing, fighting, socialising and magic. But nothing ever goes according to plan and she steps onto another, darker path.
My opinion?
Mh. Not sure. On one hand I loved the world and the story and how it got darker and darker. It is told from Tea’s perspective from whe she is younger, then there are chapter inbetween that are set in the present and are told by a storyteller who visits her. So the reader already knows where the story is going, just not how and why. And while I was really curious about it, I got a really „meh“-reason. Revenge for a dead loved one. I don’t know why this disappointed me but I thought Tea might be above all that. I don’t know. I wanted her to be this independent woman riding her demons, not caring about any stupid men. But alas, of course she does. What I also did not like about this book was the role of women in general. They belong in the kitchen or in the background, and in the more advanced countries, they can only sing and dance and entertain men and do nothing else, while men are not allowed to sing and dance. And I just? Eh. Why?
So, to sum it up: YES to the magic concept and the women’s friendship and the dark theme. No to everything else, I guess.
Friendship Fails of Emma Nash by Chloe Seager ★★★★★
(Editing Emma #2)
What’s it about?
Emma realized that she doesn’t really need a boyfriend. So she stops stalking hot boys and trying to get one and instead concentrates on friendships, old a new ones. But of course the weirdo Emma is, she manages to get chaos into everything. And she can’t even talk about it to her best friend Steph because she has a boyfriend and is also mad at Emma. And so Emma has to try to get her life back together.
My opinion?
This book was hilarious. I mean, I already loved the first one but this was straight up relatable and funny and I enjoyed every second of it. To be honest, I could read about the disaster that is Emma Nash for the rest of my life. I really recognised those teenager problems, the stress with friendships and all that school drama. And Emma really has my kind of humor and I cried tears. My dad even asked me once if I was okay because I laugh-cried so hard. Chloe Seager really has written a brilliant piece of literature there. Relatable, funny and realistic. Please give me more from the life of Emma Nash.
