May Wrap Up

Hello there! How time flies, huh? It’s already the last day of May which means half of the year is nearly over. I can’t believe I’ve already been blogging for five months. Well, scratch that. The past month I haven’t really been ‘blogging’. There were so many things going on in my life that I hardly found time to read, nor review the books I actually did finish. I also went to my very first comic con and it was absolutely amazing. I’m hooked! Can’t wait for next year where I’ll definitely go again. I’m still planning on writing about that experience, although it’s already 3 weeks in the past.

There are also a lot of books that I haven’t reviewed yet, but I hope that those will be up in the next month. Oh and I achieved my first reading goal for 2016! I read 10 (well now 11) fantasy books for the Flights of Fantasy challenge! So yeah, there are a lot of posts planned for June and I hope I’ll actually be able to write them all. Also, I’m thinking about asking you guys (and other newbies) to help me prepare some posts for July/August because I’m going on my big UK tour and would love to keep my blog going. I’m thinking about something like guest posts. Have you ever let someone guest post on your blog or did you yourself write anything for other blogs? Do you have any tips for me regarding this? Would be highly appreciated!

BOOKS READ

   

1. City of Glass (TMI #3) by Cassandra Clare ★★★★
2. Die Dunkle Gabe (The Strange Power - Dark Visions #1) by Lisa J. Smith ★★★★
3. Der Geheime Bund (The Possessed - Dark Visions #2) by Lisa J. Smith 3.5 ★
4. The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan ★★★★★

CURRENTLY READING

The Son Of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympia #2) by Rick Riordan - I'm probably going to finish this book tonight which will make it my number 5 read of May :)

2016 READING CHALLENGES UPDATE

Goodreads Reading Challenge
Progress 24/30 (83%)

Flights of Fantasy
Progress 11/10 (110%)

MOVIE & TV SERIES REVIEWS

Civil War
So this month I watched only one movie in the cinema and therefore I only posted one movie review. Hopefully there'll be more again next month.

Blog Recap

In case you missed it here's a recap of this month's posts and Reviews.

❥ A Shadowhunters Week was held in the last week of April and the first Sunday of May featured the Finale

❥ I talked about 5 Dystopian Books I'm Dying To Read

❥ I shared my Experience with Lovely Letters with you guys

INSTAGRAMMING

 

NEWS AROUND THE BLOG

‣ I finally did it! I designed my very own first Blog Header. It doesn't really look professional, but for the moment I quite like it and it will stay up there at the top of my blog until I find time (and the talent) to design a better header (which probably won't happen in the next few months). It's actually quite embarrasing how long it took me to edit that, which is why I will keep it a secret.

‣ I also made some changes to my side bar and finally designed my own 'Follow Me' Buttons for my social media, which I'm quite proud of because I had no idea how to do it and had to google it for a long time until I found some helpful tutorials.

‣ And the third change I did was to add the 'You Might Also Like...' widget to my blog posts on the Home page. I hope it isn't too annoying and that it will give new readers other posts to check out.

I'd like to know

Now that you know how my month has been I'd love to hear about yours! Tell me all about your life experiences, the books you've read the movies and series you've watched. Anything you'd like to talk about.

Movie Of The Month: Civil War

	About the movie Title: The First Avenger: Civil War Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, ... Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Release: May 2016 Rated: PG12 My Rating: ★★★★★

IMDB Summary

With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spiderman) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Sharon Carter, Scarlett Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.

Lovely Letters ♡ My First Pen Pal Experience

Hey there guys! I'm so excited about today's topic for this blog post. So in March I signed up for a really awesome pen pal program. It’s called Lovely Letters and is hosted by the lovely Claudia at My Soul Called Life. I got the pleasure of getting to know her better for the past two months and I really enjoyed exchanging e-mails with her. So first off, let’s start with the most important question for this whole post, shall we?

What is Lovely Letters Snail Mail?

Lovely Letters is a Snail Mail Exchange Program focused on building new relationships by sending Lovely Letters and packages all across the globe, one new friend at a time. We are bloggers who love connecting through the love of sending and receiving snail mail. This project promotes encouragement, collaboration, friendship, and growth as individuals and as a blogging community. For more information on how you can participate, click here!

Naturally, when I discovered this I had to sign up immediately. Which was such a great decision. I really had a great time and I will definitely sign up for this pen pal pairing again in the future, but sadly not right away because I will be away over the summer and won't have any time to send any parcels anywhere. But who knows, maybe in August I'll be able to join again!

CLAUDIA'S SUPREME PARCEL SURPRISE

I really enjoyed getting to know Claudia better. She's an awesome person and I've been following her blog since I started this blog and joined the 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge which she is co-hosting. So it was fun to get to know the person behind all those interesting reviews and other posts on her blog. Her parcel totally hit me off guard, though. She totally nailed it and I love every single thing she send me. Let me show you what goodies she sent me.

When I got home only seven days after she told me she mailed the parcel and found this huge package in my mailbox I was totally flabbergasted.

 

Let's just say that I'm a genious that I thought about unpacking this outside on our garden table because there were little glitter hearts everywhere! Seriously, I still find them on the floor in my room although I thought I left them all outside. But don't mistake this for a complaint, because it was totally cute and who doesn't love glitter hearts? Now just imagine me with a huge grin on my face unpacking this. I really took my time because I was so happy about this georgous content.

I was actually really shocked by how much I loved this. Claudia managed to send me goodies that were totally my taste. I do not know how she figured I'd like this so much, but can I just say Claudia: You hit the bull's eye! One of my absolute favourite goodies in this parcel is the donut keychain! I love it!

   

MY FIRST PARCEL SENT TO THE US

I had a few problems with my parcel before I could mail it. Somehow I bought the wrong format for shipping to foreign countries and it got totally messy until I found an official package I could use. But yeah, everything worked out in the end so I'm really glad about that.

This was my first parcel and I felt a little nervous about it because I didn't know if Claudia would like the things I got for her. But in the end I decided to include the following goodies for her:
❥ Lovely Stickers in pastel colours
❥ A cute little notebook with an owl motif (because I adore owls)
❥ A wooden butterfly for her to choose her new favourite spot in the house
❥ Joss sticks with the scent of strawberries and sandalwood
❥ A Minnie Mouse Notepad
❥ A Magnetic Notepad for the fridge
❥ And next to some personal notes I included my favourite songtext by my favourite Swiss singer called Bastian Baker in the hopes that she might come to like a Swiss artist

If you haven't guessed yet, the theme was {Invigorating & New} & the color theme was {Pastels}. I really liked following this themes and now I think I'd do an even better job next time. And I know that there'll definitelly be a next time!

I'd like to know

Do you have any experiences with snail mail programs or pen pals? What are your thoughts on Lovely Letters? Do you think you would want to join this one day? Maybe even the next time slots are open again? If you're ever interested in a pen pal, but don't want to commit to a parcel program, you can always leave me a message! I love pen pals and it would be great to get to know new people this way. And it's really fun!

5 Dystopian Books I'm Dying To Read

Hey there. It's time for another 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge Discussion Round (I haven't done one for quite a while, so I apologise for that and hope you'll enjoy this post!). Today I want to talk to you guys about one of my favourite subjects in the book world. Any guesses? Why yes, I'm talking about Dystopia (what else?). Here's a list of the top 5 Dystopian Books I really really want to read. Now, because there are obviously many more books on my tbr list, I narrowed them down to the ones that I currently obsess over in my head without having read them yet. Do you do that too or am I the only one who thinks about plots that I can't even really understand yet? Anyways, without further ado, here are my current Top 5!

5. The Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me #1 Summary

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Why I'm interested in this series I've heard a lot about this series, good and bad, and I want to make my own opinion on these books. The premise sounds real interesting and I think this could be a real interesting story to read. Also it does not yet sound as if there would be the typical love-triangle involved in the story, but who knows. Maybe the boys just aren't mentioned yet. (I'm still hoping though that that will stay that way.)

4. The Matched Series by Ally Condie

Matched #1 Summary

In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one…until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion. Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

Why I'm interested in this series This series has been on my TBR list for years now. A friend of mine even included it into her Finals' paper and she keeps pushing me to read it. I just haven't found the time yet, but one day I'll definitely read this series. The blurb sounds typical dystopian and kind of like the Divergent series, just with the slight difference that you don't choose your faction, but your love? Not sure if that's really true, but can't wait to find out.

3. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

The Selection #1 Summary

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

	Why I'm interested in this series So many people have told me to read this series. I can't even believe that I didn't start it yet. It sounds a little too girly (not in an offensive way!) for my taste because I'm not that into books who talk a lot about dresses, make up and so on, but if it turns out anything similar to Rebel Belle I'll probably really enjoy it!

2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One Summary

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune — and remarkable power — to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved — that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt — among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life — and love — in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

	Why I'm interested in this book Okay, have you read the summary? Then I don't think I have to explain any further why I want to read this book so bad! It sounds so awesome I can't believe it's been sitting on my shelves patiently waiting for me to grab it for a month now. I really have to get to it and start this one already!

1. The Last Star by Rick Yancey

The Last Star Summary

The Last Star is the heart-stopping finale to the bestselling 5th Wave series by award-winning author, Rick Yancey. Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner. We’re here, then we’re gone, and that was true before they came. That’s always been true. The Others didn’t invent death; they just perfected it. Gave death a face to put back in our face, because they knew that was the only way to crush us. It won’t end on any continent or ocean, no mountain or plain, jungle or desert. It will end where it began, where it had been from the beginning, on the battlefield of the last beating human heart. Master storyteller Rick Yancey invokes triumph, loss, and unrelenting action as the fate of the planet is decided in the conclusion to this epic series.

Why I'm so excited about this book IT'S THE FINAL BOOK IN THE 5TH WAVE SERIES! Sorry, I just can't contain myself. I've been waiting for this book to come out for such a long time, I can't even think about anything else. This is by far my most anticipated new release in 2016! And now I'm just waiting for my order to get delivered to my house which I've preordered so many months before the publishing date. Those of you who haven't read a book in the 5th Wave series go and grab a copy and start reading! Seriously, this is my favourite dystopian series and I'm so sad about it ending. But still, I can't wait to finally figure out how it will end!

I'd like to know

So yeah, these are my Top 5 Dystopian Novels I'm dying to read. Which 5 books are on the top of your list? Do we have any in common? Or do you have other suggestions that I should check out? Let me know in the comments and have a great day!

A Shadowhunters Week Finale

Hey there fellow Shadowhunters. Those of you who joined #ShadowhuntersWeek I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and those of you who just followed my posts and those of others, I hope you liked the content! Today is Sunday and herewith the week is officially over. Let’s have a short recap shall we?

❥ A Shadowhunters Week started with the rather spontanious introduction last Sunday
❥ On Day I we started off with my review of City of Ashes
❥ On Day II I finally got to share Part I of my Shadowhunters Season One Review about the Episodes & Show with you guys
❥ On Day III my five favourite LOL moments in Lady Midnight were posted
❥ Day IV featured Part II of my Shadowhunters Season One Review about the Cast & Characters
I kind of skipped Day V and Day VI which brings us to Dav VII and the final post of my first theme week.

MY ACHIEVEMENTS

So, about my ReadAThon... Originally I had planned to at least finish one book in the series. Sadly, I didn't. I got as far as 300 pages in City of Glass because I was so occupied with work that I didn't have any freetime to myself and my books. I'm a little disappointed in this, but well, I can't change it. I still had a really good time, though! I got to finally write my series review, some other fun posts and you know, it's not like I didn't read anything at all. Also, I began reading Tales of the Shadowhunting Academy (didn't get very far, though) and do you know what my Shadowhunter name would be? Yasmine Bluehood. I think that's a really cool name and I'm glad that I stumbled upon it. If you're also interested in doing so: Check out the book and the first two words that spring to your eyes on that page will make your name. If you don't have a copy of the book you can message me and I'll gladly send you an image of that page.

So yeah, all in all I'm quite happy with this week and maybe in the future I'll do another theme week from another fandom and hope you'll join!

I'd like to know

You can link up any posts you've published this week for #ShadowhuntersWeek below. Tell me about your accomplishments in the comments and what you love most about Shadowhunters.

An InLinkz Link-up