Waiting on Wednesday (3)

So it is time for another round of Waiting on Wednesday:
Since I started participating in this my TBR gets bigger with every week. At least I don't need to be afraid I will run out of books to read anymore ;)
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post that highlights upcoming books bloggers are excited about to read. It is hosted at Breaking the Spine.
This week I'm really excited about:

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School 1) by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

Expected publication: February 5th, 2013
I know, I shouldn't start another series, but have you read the synopsis? It sounds just great! And the cover! I love boarding school-stories, I love assassins, and I'm really praying that this book will not disappont me. 
What are you excited about this week? I can't wait to read about it in the comments :D
Love and Words
KJ

Books to Movies: The Hunger Games edition

Hello everyone :)

So I finally saw the Hunger Games movie a few days ago - I know, I'm like the last person on freaking earth that had not seen it before :D - and I could easily call this post "How awesome got even more awesome".
You all know that I love the Hunger Games trilogy. Seriously after finishing the last book I was like "Oh no, why did you read it? Now every other book will be a dissappointment for you!"
But watching a movie based on a book you read is always a different story. Of course we all enter the cinema knowing that the movie will not be as the book, that they cut things out because no one wants to watch a four hour movie, and that you may be disappointed. Telling a story in a movie is always different than telling a story in a book.
I started watching this movie prepared for anything. Would I love it? Would I hate it screaming "They ruined the damn thing!"
And what did I did? I freaking loved it.
Here is why:

1. The actors were just amazing. I could see every feeling on the screen coming to life. Every aspects of the characters. Especially Jennifer Lawrence did - in my opinion- a great job as Katniss. The last scene, when they were doing that last interview I could read all the things going to Katniss mind in her face. She was glad she survived and still she was uneasy because of the treat dangling in front of her. (And before I forget: Team Haymitch and Evie over here! :D) And the other tributes were great, too.

2. The setting. District 12 was not like I imagined it, but the desperation was transported in a really great way. I loved the capitol and the looks of the people. A wonderful use of picture language

3. The last scene of Seneca Crane. No words for that besides: Genius!

4. Anyway I loved that they showed what was going on in the capitol since the books were just from Katniss point of view and left that out. It was a great addition to the story.

And here is what I didn't like about the movie: 

1. I understand that they needed to cut out things because the movie would have been too long otherwhise. But I didn't like that they cut out so much of Rue and Katniss. Her end could have been a lot sadder if the viewer saw more of her background and the relationship between her and Katniss.

2. Peetas and Katniss relationship. I think it wasn't as clear as in the books who loved who and who was just pretending. My friend for example got totally confused.

3. The Mockingjay. I didn't like that Katniss got her mockingjay on the hob. This way it lost, in my opinion, some of its meaning. It was still a gift but not as a sign of friendship. Anyway Katniss does not seem like someone who's attention is caught by jewelery.

But all in all this was just a great movie! I loved every second and I may rewatch it a dozen times until Catching Fire hits theaters next November.
Talking 'bout Catching Fire: They just casted Glimmer and Gloss, yay! :) And there are a lot of rumors that Sam Claffin would play Finnick Odair. Don't get me wrong: I really liked the actor (And I liked him in the Pillars of the Earth, before Snow White and the Huntsman! XD) but I just can't imagine him with blond hair...

Are you as excited as I am for Catching Fire? Tell me about it in the comments :) What is your favourite book-based movie?
I just hope the world won't go down in December, the end of 2013 is filled with so many movies I need to watch... The next part of The Hobbit, Catching Fire, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones...

Love and Words
KJ

Waiting on Wednesday (2): PODs by Michelle K.Pickett

Hey everyone :)
I know I'm not posting a lot lately, but I'm really busy writing, so I don't have a lot of time reading :)
But anyway here is this weeks Waiting on Wednesday:

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post that highlights upcoming books bloggers are excited about to read. It is hosted at Breaking the Spine.
This week I'm really excited about:

PODs by Michelle K. Pickett

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it’s in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it’s a balm for the broken soul.
After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That’s the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.
Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Expected publication: June 4th 2013

(Summary and Cover taken from Goodreads )

Why I'm excited:
Yeah, the titel sounds not that great but the summary sounds like this will be a good dystopian novel with some Zombie-like monsters. It remindes me of Resident Evil (the games, not the movies ;D), The Passage and other Dystopian stories. I just love dystopian books! And since I'm participating in the It's the end of the world and we like it- Challenge, the book hits shelves just in time to be included :D And I would really like to find out why a society wants to kill almost everyone. I can't wait!
What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Love and Words
KJ

Fangirl heaven aka Mortal Instruments Movie Cast

CAUTION: This post will be filled with words like amazing, great, love, etc. and a LOT of capital letters. Pure excitement ahead, read carefully...

I know, I'm probably the last one who finds out about this but I'm utterly amazed and... I just can't find words for it right now...
I just checked the cast for the Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie.
When I heared that they are planning to turn this book by Cassandra Clare which I absolutely loved and adored (seriously, I LOVE TMI) I wasn't so sure what to think of it. In fact I was just afraid that the movie industry would screw up another book.
And than I heard about the first confirmed cast members. I wasn't so sure what to say about that either. Of course, they did not look like I imagined them, but seriously actors in movies never look like the characters you imagined while reading the books. It is more than hard to find an actor that looks like the person every reader imagined differently.

And today I just found out that two of my most favourite actors of all time (feels like this post will be filled with LOVE ;D) Jonathan Rhys Meyers (yeah, lovely Henry VIII) and Lena Headey (all hail Queen Cersei and the queen from 300 whose name I just forgot...) were cast as Valentine and Jocelyn. How AMAZING is that?
They are both amazing actors and I'm pretty sure they will pull of the characters just perfectly. And that though I never imagined Valentine and Jocelyn to look like those actors.

Now I'm pretty sure the movie can't be that bad. Because there are a lot of great actors on board (for up to date information visit the official page), known for their character portrails. And if Cassandra Clare is happy, I'm happy too. The only problem know: We have to wait a whole year to actually see the movie. But no rush, good things need time.

What do you think about movie adaptions? Are they always disappointing?
Who would you cast in the Mortal Instruments movie?
For my reviews of the books and more info about the books and the movie just click the Cassandra Clare-Tag :D

Love and Words
KJ

The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Hunger Games Book Three

The summary contains spoilers for the first two books.

Summary taken from Goodreads:

“My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.”

It is really hard to write a review for a book like this. Not because I do not find the words. The problem is, whatever I write it will not do The Mockingjay justice. I recognized that a lot of my reviews are with a high ranking so I promise myself I would not get thrilled so easily in the future. Than I read this book. I am more than just thrilled.
Whenever I finish reading a book I have this desperate urge to write my thoughts on it done, before I forget them. And now I’m feeling just the same. I need to write a review, before I forget anything about the greatness of this story. But maybe it would be better to just sit back for a little while and think about the book. Because the story of Katniss has a hidden meaning and tells the reader something. The book teaches something about war, how to protect, how to loose, and something about human cruelty.
There are not many contemporary books that have a message. Normally you find those messages just in old classics by Schiller or Goethe who tried to teach the people something. But the Hunger Games trilogy is different, there is a message hidden in every book. And you do not even need to read between the lines, it is right there in the open.

When I was younger I used to read books I loved in one sitting, stayed up all night just to finish them. As I got older it became harder to find such books, since I had less time and got distracted. I'm glad to say the Hunger Games series made me fall back into old habbits. It was unbelievable hard to put those books out of my hand, even after I finished reading them.
From the first page until the last word I was utterly amazed by this great book. It is definitely better than the first two, though, I loved them, too.
Suzanne Collins has a wonderful writing style that tells the story without to many details. She makes every word count. And she has a great way to show you, whenever you think the happy end is getting closer- bam- there is no happy end in war.
The interesting thing about her characters is that no matter how hard I try I can’t figure out which one I liked the most. I liked them all, even the bad ones, and especially the cat. Both cats :) There motivation, there feelings, everything was totally clear and understandable.
Oh, those feelings. I cried, I loved, I was sad and glad the same time, there is no feeling Suzanne Collins did not push me through. The book is filled with feelings, the story lives from that.
Just like in my review for the first book in this series I just loved the details and parallels to the Romans. Panem et Circenses, just to name one example. It is utterly amazing how much this whole series was though through. Naming Panem after that phrase gave me chills because of the deep meaning she showed through that.
So instead of writing a long review I just say “Thank you” to Suzanne Collins for writing those great books. I can say, with no doubt that they belong in my list of “Best books ever written” and the third has the highest ranking. And I am deeply sorry for every other book that will follow them, because it will be even harder to get me as thrilled as I am now.

I loved the ending. There it is. I loved it. A wonderful and amazing book. I do not recommend this series. I will just say: READ IT!


Challenges I read this book for:
Summer Wrap-up Read-a-Thon
It’s the end of the world (and we like it) Challenge
Goodreads Yearly Challenge 2012

Love and words
KJ

View all my reviews

Waiting on Wednesday

Hey guys :)

Waiting is a weekly post that highlights upcoming books bloggers are excited to read. It is hosted over at Breaking the Spine.

So for what upcoming book am I excited? My pick for this week would be: Taken by Erin Bowman:

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends...and he’s gone.
They call it the Heist.
Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive. 
Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

To be published by Harperteen.

(Picture and Summary taken from Goodreads)

Such a shame I have to wait until april next year before it hits shelves. It sounds really exciting and I really like the futuristic cover with the reflection of the tree. 

For what upcoming books are you excited? Will you check this one out?

Love and words

KJ

Summer Wrap-up Read-a-Thon

Hey guys :D

So I am participating in the Summer Wrap-up Read-a-Thon hosted by Jude@In between and Jennifer@ Some like it paranormal.
I think I won't be entering all the challenges in time, because of the stupid time-zone thing. But I will definitely post my updates here.
So the first challenge is to show of my TBR pile for this Read-a-Thon.
I am hoping to read at least three of these books during the next week:

Between Seasons by Cassandra Giovanni
Official summary from Goodreads:

At eighteen there is one thing Kate Ericson is certain of—the world is at war and has been since she was two years old. That was when her father pulled her family and a group of close friends to a God forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. For Kate there is no escape from the sea of lies she is drowning in until her world collides with Hunter Marks—the son of her father's biggest opponent. An opponent that Kate didn't even know existed. What Hunter kidnaps Kate for, and what her family will try to kill her to keep secret, is a knowledge that she doesn't have. Now Kate’s innocence seems to becoming undone at the seams of reality. Hunter then finds himself fighting the hopelessness that is creeping into the edges of her heart as she learns more about the corruption that has devoured their lives. As Hunter and Kate forge a strong and unique relationship it becomes clear that their love is something that the bureaucracy never expected, and that Hunter's father will do whatever he can to destroy it. Hunter believes he must sacrifice love in order to teach Kate that the world's deadliest weapon is her. Hunter and Kate will have to find the strength to rise above a deception that is so great, even the ones who created it don't realize its depth.

The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins:
Goodreads summary:

My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

And last but not least  The book of names by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori:
Summary from Goodreads:

Within each generation, there are thirty-six righteous souls. Their lives hold the key to the fate of the world. Now someone wants them dead.

When a childhood tragedy comes back to haunt Professor David Shepherd, he finds himself in possession of knowledge that holds the world in a delicate balance. He uncovers the Book of Names---an ancient text originating with the biblical Adam, and thought lost to history forever. By Kabbalistic tradition, the book contains the names of each generation's thirty-six righteous souls---the Hidden Ones---by whose merits alone the world continues to exist. Legend holds that if all thirty-six Hidden Ones were eliminated, the world would meet its end.

When the Hidden Ones start dying of unnatural causes, the world grows increasingly unstable: war in Afghanistan, massive flooding in New York, brutal terrorist attacks in Melbourne, a tanker explosion in Iran. David finds himself battling against the Gnoseos, a secret religious sect whose goal is to destroy the world by eliminating all of the righteous souls. David's involvement quickly turns personal when his stepdaughter's name is discovered to be one of the endangered. With the help of a brilliant and beautiful Israeli ancient texts expert, David races to decipher the traditions of the Kabbalah to save the righteous souls, his stepdaughter, and perhaps the world.

There are more books on my list, but I think I'll start with those first :D
I cannot believe summer is already at its end...
Love and words
KJ

Eternal Flame by Alyson Noel

Eternal Flame by Alyson Noel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And as promised here is the review for Eternal Flame:
Published: 2010
Goodreads Link

This book made me believe in Alyson Noels writing again.
It is a short story wich tells the first meeting of Ever and Damon from her bestselling the Immortals series.
The Immortals books are told from Evers point of fiew and this story is told in Damons point of view.
I read the first book in the Immortals series but never got to finish the second one.

First of, I just love the setting. Paris in 1608 is a place I would love to visit.
I like Damons art of telling the story more than Evers. Do not get me wrong, I like Ever... a little. But Damon is in my opinion a really great and deep character. It was fun to get in his mind, even just for a few pages.

It would have been even greater if Drina hat a bigger part in the story, since she is three dimensional and an interesting character, too, though in a completely different way.

I'm thinking about picking the next book in the series up again and finally finishing it. Once more Alyson Noel left me desperate for more and I can understand again, why I loved Evermore so much.

Yeah it is a rather short review, but it is for a short story anyway :)
Love and words
KJ

View all my reviews

What to expect next... TBR 1

Hey guys :)

Well, since I do not have a lot of time lately (yeah, still stuck up with reading ;D) I thought I may do the TBR Shelf Post they are doing on the Penguin Teen Australia Blog on a regular basis. This is to keep you updated (and me organized)

FYI: TBR means To be read shelf ;)

So here is what to expect in the next days: (or weeks ;D)

1. What is new on your shelf: 

I recently got Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I'm really desperate to find out how the Hunger Games trilogy will end and blog my thoughts about it as soon as I finished reading it. 

2. What have you just finished on your shelf: 

Eternal Flame by Alyson Noel. Yeah I know, it is just a short story but I finished it just a few minutes ago :D Review will follow soon. 

3. What is the most anticipated book you want to read next?

I would die to get my hands on Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr. But I guess the next book I will be reading is A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. (Do not get me wrong, I want to read the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series by Martin desperately, too)

Carnival of Souls will be released in september :) 

How would you answer those questions?

Happy Reading!

Love and words

KJ