Immortal Writers - 4 stars

Coraline - 5 stars

The Castaways - 5 stars

Secrets of a Reluctant Princess - 2 stars

Blutdämmerung - 5 stars

Welcome Back, Vol. 1: Help, I'm Alive - 4 stars

Joyride Vol. 1 - 4 stars

Die Auserwählten - In der Todeszone - 2.5 stars

Maze Runner - Die Geheimakten: Alles über Die Auserwählten - 5 stars

Favorite book(s) of the month: Coraline, The Castaways, Blutdämmerung

Books started this month but haven't finished yet: The Sleeping Prince

I mean there are two comics and one really short book in there but I'm surprised that I finished 9 books. Two of the books were a major let down BUT most of the books were just pretty amazing. So success.

First things first: I received this book through NetGalley.

Summary: The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous.

Renowned for its infamous corn maze… and the kids who go missing in it.

When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undetectable island where a decades-long war between two factions of rival teens is in full swing.

Trapped, Olive must slowly attempt to win each of her new comrades’ hearts as Will—their mysterious, stoically quiet, and handsome leader—steals hers.

Olive is only sure about one thing: her troop consists of the good guys, and she’ll do whatever it takes to help them win the war and get back home.

***

Holy mother of everything, I loved this book so much. I didn't expect that at all.

There will probably be some vage spoilers cause I need to write about this book and some things that happened.

The story is seriously amazing and really creative. The writing is so great and really transported me in the middle of this world.

I loved Olive, the main character, right from the start. She got bullied REALLY bad. Like, the trio of girls that bullied her, took things to an insane level.

Later on the island we get many more characters. Characters that I loved from the first moment they showed up, Bug, Tilly (I didn't pick up the book for a day after THE THING happened) and Charlie. The rest of them were all just there and I didn't care that much.

I also didn't care much about Will and Olive as a couple. Cause I cared much more about the family dynamics. Before the island I loved the relationship between Olive and her little brother Lucky. On the island I loved Olive and Bug and Charlie, cause it reminded me so much of her moments with her brother. Also the whole family feel of the group, that just found there way on the island and who had to figure out how to life there.

I loved the character growth in the story, cause that was what I really cared about in the book. They all had their history, they all went through something terrible. They all grew so much on the island. I just. I'm getting the feels just talking about it. Especially Olive, cause we got the story from her point of view, so we could really see her growth. (The thing she did at the end of the book, back in school. I just. I felt like a proud mama)

To make things really short, I loved the book and I highly recommend it.

I'm NOT OKAY with things right now.

I received an advance copy of The Castaways and liked the premise right away. To escape the torment of bullies in high school, Olive jumps from the frying pan into the fire of a parallel world, an island where a war between two rival factions of teens is raging. The Castaways is an exciting YA contemporary fantasy with a nice romantic complication between Olive and Will, a dashing, stoical teen commander. The story could have transitioned to the island world a little sooner for me, but once there, the action-packed pacing kept the pages turning. I also liked the many secondary characters, who were well-drawn with compelling backstories for the most part. The ordeal of surviving on the island undeniably transforms Olive’s character, and the resolution is both dramatic and unexpected. An absorbing read.

Olive Gagmuehler is tired of getting picked on because of her name. While she's waiting for her best friend at the Castaway Carnival she runs into the trio of mean girls from school. She runs away into the infamous cornmaze, where kids go missing. She wakes up on an isolated island where a war between two teams of rival teens has been going on for many years. She's taken in by the Lions where she develops a strong bond with each of them and will do whatever it takes to protect them and help them win the war. Then hopefully find her way back home.

Poor Olive, not only does she hate her name, but she seems to always have a knot in her throat. Ouch. I liked the concept of this book - a Pirate Carnival with a cornmaze where kids disappear, an island of lost teens. It did kinda drag in parts, was a bit repetitious, full of clichés. And I didn't care for the ending because I just don't understand how that could happen. But overall it was a fun read.