How did it go: READ-A-THON | Bout of Books 7.0

So, how did my read-a-thon go?
Really really really well! I finished all the five books that I wanted so I'm very happy about that! I have participated in some challenges, you can see one of my entries as a previous post and I have been uploading and update each day on Youtube (sorry I forgot to put a link down here!). If you want to take a look: http://www.youtube.com/user/ReadingMissFroggy.
And now that the read-a-thon has ended I will resume back to my normal pace though I have to mention this: I have school until the end of June and this period will be very busy so there will be less reviews until than. But afterwards I will go back to my normal pace!
So if you have been participating let me know how it went for you!

Until the next time!

Bout of books challenge: resummarize a cover

So here I am with a entry for one of the challenges that are held during the bout of books read a thon. You have to resummarize a book that you have been reading for this challenge and here is my entry for Vanish, book two of the Firelight trilogy written by Sophie Jordan (and yes I have picked the Dutch cover version since that is also the one that I own)


Jacinda, the only fire draki in her pride, is back at home.
Even though this was the thing that she longed for the most when her mother ran away with her and her sister from the pride she has a hard time adjusting.
She misses Will, the draki hunter that stole her heart while she was out in the human world.
He knows who she is and he accepts her but do to a terrible accident his whole draki hunting family now knows one of the greatest draki secrets.
Jacinda does her best to forget Will, to get accepted once more in the pride.
But it's not easy, especially if the one she is trying to forget searches for her...
And finds her.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon

Hi Guys!

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to participate in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team!

I actually have internship and school next week but I'm still going to try to read as much as possible. I have selected five books that I definitely want to read and hopefully I can squeeze in some more. The five that I want to read next week are:

* Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
* Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
* Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
* Vanish by Sophie Jordan
* My so-called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray

I will post an update every day to let you know how I'm doing and I hope that you will participate with me and lots of others!
So let me know, are you going to participate? And if so what books do you want to read?
Good luck everyone!

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life... or be her downfall.

Pro's/Con's
I enjoyed Magic Study a lot though not as much as Poison Study. Why? Two reasons:
One: less Valek/Ari/Janco. They brought a certain charm to Poison Study and when they finally did return in this book I loved it just an eensy weensy tiny bit more. 
Two: the tension. In Poison Study there is a constant tension with the poison tasting and the enemies of Yelena who are always behind some corner. I somewhat missed that in this book until the antagonist revealed himself.
But I still very very very much enjoyed this story. For starters: the new characters. I loved getting to know Yelena's family. I found them all very charming and funny and they left a huge impression on me. Essau is very sweet and relaxt, Perl is very sweet and caring and Leaf... Well Leif is just very awesome and cool. And I can't forget Cahill and his troops oh and the other master magicians beside Irys! And then there is also Tula, poor Tula, and strong Opal. I literally can keep going on and on and on about all these new characters, I loved them a whole lot.
My next point is the antagonist. Omg, he is probably one of the scariest I have ever read about. He gave me goosebumps, literally. He is very creepy and very mean and I feel so bad for all his victims. He is definitely not someone whom I want to bump into in some dark alley.
My last point is the story and the plot. I loved it a whole whole lot. I love the journey through Sitia with all the cultural stuff and the clans, all the lessons Yelena has to follow and how the plot takes off and develops. There is a lot going on, a lot is found out and even more questions arise.

Recommend it?
If you have enjoyed Poison Study yes. If you have yet to read Poison Study pick it up now. There might be a little bit less tension in this installment but in the end I was very satisfied. Like I said: there is a lot going on, a lot is found out and even more questions arise at the end of this book. This is definitely one of my favorite series ever.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer were best friends, until Alison disappeared. Three years later, the remaining girls, now juniors at Rosewood Day, are leading separate, but charmed lives.
But in Rosewood, appearances are deceiving, and when the girls start receiving mysterious texts signed by someone named A, the past threatens to ruin their perfect present. A claims to know all of their secrets—but who is A? How much does A really know? And what can four pretty little liars do to protect themselves from the truth?

Pro’s/Con’s
The con for me with this book was the beginning. You switch so much between all the girls that I had a hard time remembering who was who and who did what.
But after I got that down it was an enjoyable read. I like the fact that you get answers to your questions yet there are still a lot of questions adding up to the pile and after finishing this book I still don't know a lot of stuff. Like Alisons killer and some other things that must have happened before A started to message the Pretty Little Liars. 
Another thing that I really liked was the switching point of view. In the beginning it might be hard but after that it gives you a lot of information and it makes it a better read if you ask me.
The last pro thing that I would like to mention is the tension. I think Sara Shepard has done an amazing job with building up and keeping up the tension. Whenever I felt that something must be it, it would be something totally different. And when something seemed so ordinary it turned out to be a whole lot more then that. Overall a job well done.

Recommend it?
Yes, I would. Don't worry if you think this might be too chicklitisch for you, I in general do not like chicklit but this is something different than pretty girls fighting over a pretty guy while one of their friends disappeared. And that's all thanks to A. It's exciting and you will want to read more after this. So pick this up on a rainy day (or sunny it doesn't really matter) and let yourself drown into the world of the Pretty Little Liars. One warning: you might not trust your friends anymore after you have read what these little friends kept from each other...

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey —ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

Pro's/Con's
You know, I still think that Meghan was a bit annoying and obsessive about the Ash in this book, a bit whiny in the beginning and such but after the first few chapters she got her stuff together and was ready for some action.
I really enoyed the beginning and ending of this book. They were filled with action, so much action, that I was just sitting at the edge of my chair (and almost falling off at times). The middle part has some lesser action but still is a lot of fun the read.
One of the things that I enjoy the most in this series are the characters. They are all so different and unique I just love them. And all my favorite ones are back in this second part! Meghan, Ash, Grimm, Puck and Ironhorse are all there to join the party and make it an awesome story. The couple of new ones that are introduced in this part are also very cool. I especially love Leanansidhe, I hope that she will return in some of the other parts in this series!
The antagonists in this book were very interesting, I like that you get to see more of them then the Ironking in the first book and I was somehow much better able to form a mental picture of them. They also seemd to be somewhat more evil then the Ironking, with all the things that they have done I find them pretty scary myself. Not someone I would like to meet in a dark alley at night, not at all!

Recommend it?
Yes, if you have read (and withstand Meghans whining) the first book you will love the second one. It has all those awesome characters and a lot of action and some revelations! Personally, I can't wait to read the next book!

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of... Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Pro´s/Con's
What I love the most about this book is the fact that it showed me Warner from a whole different perspective, you get inside his head and it's very interesting to see what he is thinking about the world and Juliette. You understand him a lot better after finishing this story and it makes it a lot harder (for me at least) to pick a favorite between Adam and Warner). After finishing Shatter Me I just preferred Adam a little bit over Warner but after reading Destroy Me I didn't have any preference anymore. Mafi has done such an amazing job with changing my view with just a little bit less then 130 pages, it's just amazing.
What I also truly enjoyed is that Mafi has written the story down in a very different way then Shatter Me, the voice and the way Warner is thinking is very different from Juliette which makes it very easy to slip into his head. I didn't think for even one second that I was in someone's else's head then that of Warner.
The story in this book is, while short, very good. In two weeks some things happen and they might not seem large at first but you know that it will mean something in the next book. Update: now that I have finished Unravel Me I can say for sure that the little things that happen in Destroy Me do actually have an effect in Unravel Me. It's amazing and awesome to see how it all works out!
Last note: I love the cover, it matches very nicely with Shatter Me and I can't wait to see the whole series standing next to each other.

Recommend it?
I (very obviously) recommend this book to everyone who has read and enjoyed Shatter Me. It doesn't matter if you prefer Adam or Warner, this book is a very interesting. You should read this before starting Unravel Me because it changes your view of Warner and it gives you some explanation for the things that happen in Unravel Me.