The lying game (Sara Shepard)

So The lying game by Sara Shepard is about Emma, a girl who has to live the life of her twin Sutton after her sister was murdered. She doesn't know who has killed Sutton but everybody is a suspect. And the only person knowing that Emma's twin lost her life is the murderer himself.

I heard different opinions about this book series. Some people say that the story is pretty bad while others think that the book is brilliant. I have to admit that I was confused when I started reading it bc the book is written in first person view but the narrator is the ghost of the dead twin Sutton. So a few times she tells about Emma (who is obviously called Sutton by everybody) and in the next sentence she talks about herself. But as soon as you understand the scheme, the book's really easy to read and less confusing.
About the plot I can say that it's nothing especially good or exciting but there are a few chapters which I did enjoyed reading.
I actually don't have a theory about the murderer and the motive. That's why I'm looking forward to reading the next book and I hope that the story behind all this won't be disappointing.

In general I'd recommend this book to people who like this kind of mystery books. But honestly you have to make an own opinion about this book series bc I'm actually not sure whether I like it or not.

Vicky

2015 Wrap up

This post is mainly for myself, because I usually feel during December like I haven't accomplished anything this year, so I'm hoping this will make me at least feel better about my reading accomplishments in 2015. I just don't want you to think I'm boasting about how much I've read nor do I want to be compared to anybody else. To make it a bit more interesting for you, I'll also share the rating I gave each book on goodreads, so hopefully I can recommend some books to you with this post as well!
I surpassed my goal of reading 50 books in 2015 by reading 62 books with a total amount of 26500 pages (and no, I'm not crazy enough to count it myself, goodreads did it).
In case you've never heard of goodreads, it's basically a social media for the book community. I'd definitely recommend you to check it out, it's really good for keeping track of your reading and is super helpful when you need new book recommendations.

The specacular now by Tim Tharp 1/5 ✹                                                             
The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 4/5 ✹
Anna and the French kiss by Stephanie Perkins 4/5 ✹
Lola and the boy next door by Stephanie Perkins 2/5 ✹
Just one day by Gayle Forman 3/5 ✹
Isla and the happily ever after by Stephanie Perkins 3/5 ✹
Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi 2.5/5 ✹
Unravel me by Tahereh Mafi 1/5 ✹
Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi 2/5 ✹
Throne of glass by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
Crown of midnight by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
Heir of fire by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
The assassin's blade by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard 5/5 ✹
All the bright places by Jennifer Niven 5/5 ✹
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 3/5 ✹
The iron trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black 3.5/5 ✹
The geography of you and me by Jennifer E. Smith 3/5 ✹
Since you've been gone by Morgan Matson 5/5 ✹
The 100 by Kass Morgan 3/5 ✹
Day 21 by Kass Morgan 3.5/5 ✹
Homecoming by Kass Morgan 3.5/5 ✹
The 5th wave by Rick Yancey 3.5/5 ✹
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai 4.5/5 ✹
The heir by Kiera Cass 3.5/5 ✹
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley 4/5 ✹
A court of thornes and roses by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
Snow like ashes by Sara Raasch 5/5 ✹
To all the boys I've loved before by Jenny Han 5/5 ✹
We were liars by E. Lockhart 3.5/5 ✹
A game of thrones by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹
A clash of kings by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹
A storm of swords by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹
A feast for crows by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹
A dance with dragons by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹
Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen 4/5 ✹
The hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle 3.5/5 ✹
Erebos by Ursula Poznanski 2/5 ✹
The hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 2.5/5 ✹
Can you keep a secret by Sophie Kinsella 3.5/5 ✹
P.S. I still love you by Jenny Han 5/5 ✹
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 4.5/5 ✹
Love letters to the dead by Ava Dellaira 4/5 ✹
The winner's curse by Marie Rutkoski 5/5 ✹
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3/5 ✹
The kiss of deception by Mary E. Pearson 4/5 ✹
To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee 5/5 ✹
Queen of shadows by Sarah J. Maas 5/5 ✹
The winner's crime by Marie Rutkoski 5/5 ✹
The wrath and the dawn by Renèe Ahdieh 5/5 ✹
Great expectations by Charles Dickens 4/5 ✹
Ice like fire by Sara Raasch 5/5 ✹
Six of crows by Leigh Bardugo 5/5 ✹
The book thief by Markus Zusak 5/5 ✹
Happily ever after by Kiera Cass 3/5 ✹
The maze runner by James Dashner 2/5 ✹
The scorch trials by James Dashner 3/5 ✹
The death cure by James  Dashner 3/5 ✹
Quantic love by Sonia Fernàndez-Vidal 2/5 ✹ 
A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens 4/5 ✹ 
A knight of the seven kingdoms by George R.R. Martin 5/5 ✹

I hope 2015 was amazing for you and wish you an even better year in 2016!

Leah 

Favorite books of 2015

So at first I wanted to choose my 10 favorites out of all the books I've read this year, but then I realized it'd be such a boring list, simply because I'd basically just pick books by George R.R. Martin and Sarah J. Maas. So I decided to change it up a bit and only choose out of the books that actually were released in 2015.
I'm also sorry for the weird lightning in some of the pictures, but I figured those are still better than none at all.


10. P.S I still love you (Jenny Han)

This book is the second in the To all the boys I've loved before series and was just like the first one amazing, and certainly also is one of my most favorite contemporary reads. I wish there'd be a third book in the series, but on the other hand I think Lara Jean's story was finished in such a beautiful way in this book, so I'm already looking forward to reading more (especially any new books that are hopefully being released during the next few years) by Jenny Han, since they'll surely be just as awesome as the To all the boys I've loved before series is.
(To know more about the first book in the series, read my review here.) 

9. Ice like fire (Sara Raasch)

Even though I have to agree with most of the other readers, who think Ice like fire was a bit slower than Snow like ashes, I definitely enjoyed it just as much, simply because it wasn't as predictable as Snow like ashes, which plot twists I basically saw coming during the first 50 pages. I love the concept of the world with the different kingdoms based of the seasons and rythms, thus diving deeper in it while learning and seeing more of the magic was an amazing experience.

8. The winner's crime (Marie Rutkoski)

I was really excited for this one because of the way the first book in the series called The winner's curse ended and it didn't disappoint at all! I enjoyed how it focuses a lot more on politics and intrigues and the ending makes me look forward to the next book so much! I especially like how the unique culture and way of living is portrayed, so I always love reading about the world The winner's trilogy takes place in.

7. Carry on (Rainbow Rowell)

I was at first quite sceptical towards Carry on, because I thought this would just be an extended version of the fanfiction Cath writes in Fangirl, but it simply blew my away. Such a fun and quick read with a great use of magical elements, both already known and new.
(You can read my full review here)




6. Red queen (Victoria Aveyard)

I already knew before starting this book that there'll be a huge plot twist at the end, but I wasn't even close to being prepared, so it still totally suprised me and that's something that didn't happen very often with most of the YA books I've read this year. I quite enjoyed the characters, the magic was pretty unique and as well as the world, even though I'm actually still not sure wether this is set in a fantasy world or a dystopian version of our world.

5. The wrath and the dawn (Renèe Ahdieh)

I've never really been into fairy tales, so I was quite suprised at how much I enjoyed this fantastic retelling of A thousand and one nights. I loved the writing, the beautiful titles for every chapter are an especially amazing detail. The only little problem I had was getting confused with all these for me very exotic and barely pronounceable names and terms, but there's a super helpful glossary in the back of the book. Not just the cover, but also the design of the pages inside are absolutely gorgeous and make imagining the world way easier.

4. All the bright places (Jennifer Niven)

I didn't really know what the book actually was about when I started reading it, so it blew me completely away with it's meaningfulness and managed to touch me in a way barely any book did before. Because the book deals with very important topics, I don't want to go into my opinion too much rather than say I absolutely loved it, since I want to keep this short. (If you want to, you can read my full opinion here)

3. A court of thornes and roses (Sarah J. Maas)

I honestly just love everything about this book - the breathtaking story, the characters, the world, magic and suprisingly also the romance, that was done especially good, since I usually like the romance part of a story the least because it's often so over the top, but I really enjoyed it in ACoTaR. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a big expert when it comes to fairy tales, but I did recognize some aspects from Beauty and the beast, which I definitely enjoyed and in my opinion fit in the story perfectly.

2. Six of crows (Leigh Bardugo)

This book suprised me so much! I basically just bought it because of its incredibly gorgeous cover, but the story inside was even better. It hooked me on the very first page and I couldn't stop reading until I finished it a few hours later, so I'm really looking forward to reading Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy and of course, the sequel to Six of crows as well, which comes out in september 2016. (You can get to the review here)
  
1. Queen of Shadows (Sarah J. Maas)

I honestly don't even know where to start. Sarah J. Maas just manages to outdo herself with every new book in the Throne of glass series, since they just get better and better! And I guess the only way I can describe it without spoiling anything of the complex and absoultely awesome story is by telling you how EPIC it is. I couldn't stop reading at any point, and I seriously experienced all the emotions, from being completely happy to feeling so empowered to sobbing my eyes out. I can barely wait until September next year when the 5th book is coming out.

In case you decide to buy any of these books, hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

Leah