3 Year Blogversary!

   It's been exactly three years today since I sat down and set up this blog, posted my first post having no idea what the hell I was actually doing. Now, three years later, I still have no clue but I try to wing it anyways. Looking at all the things that happened across those years, I think I've done a good job, somehow. I still have no idea how I got here and how already three years have passed, but I think it's a great opportunity to look back at a brief history of this blog:

   Back in July 2013 I had the idea of setting up a blog for my reviews. On July 31st I posted my first introductory post and so the journey began, but this blog hasn't always been the way it was now. Back in 2013 I originally planned on only posting in German because I wanted this to be like a exercise for me to not forget how to properly use German. But, very quickly, I realized that most of the books I've read were not even out in Germany, and would probably not be for a while, so I switched to english, adding the occasional movie review to my repertoire.

   Along the way I had the opportunity to go to a movie premiere with my best friend where we got to see City Of Bones, which arguably was quite a shit movie, but that didn't matter to use much then. What mattered was being there, experiencing a movie premier and being in the same room was the actors we were about to see on screen. Amazing!

   Thanks to this blog I've got to chance to do many other amazing things, but above all, I've discovered some of my favorite books that I would've probably never found otherwise. I mean, this blog gave me my now two favorite books in this world, and I totally know you know which ones I'm about to name: The Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin and The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. These books are amazing and I cannot get enough of them.

   But, I've also gotten the chance to receive a bunch of ARCs across the years, which truth be told is something I wasn't even aware was thing before getting into the book world and having this blog. Sure, I don't get like twenty physical ARCs sent to me by the big five publishers like some other bloggers do, but then again, this blog has never been about getting the most ARCs and bragging about them. I'm beyond thankful for all the eARCs I've gotten to read, the awesome books I enjoyed before they even came out.

   In 2015 I came across Francesca Zappia and her phenomenal novel, Made You Up. The idea popped into my mind that I wanted to interview her and talk about her book. With that idea, the Ask the Author segment was born and is still running to this day, even though it's been kind of on and off across the past two months. Ever since that post I had the pleasure of interviewing and interacting with an abundance of amazing authors, an experience I am beyond thankful for.

   Amongst my favorite people to interact with across the years were, in no particular order: Francesca Zappia (because of the above mentioned reason and because I loved her book), Andy Weir (because The Martian was literally everything and interviewing him was amazing and surreal // interview), Pintip Dunn (her books are phenomenal and she's such a nice person!), Amy McNamara (because her book was beautiful and showed a raw and stunning side of grief and just showcased impossibly beautiful writing // interview), Karen Fortunati (thanks to this blog I dare calling her my friend, her book is brilliant (review) and am beyond thankful for the time she took to have a look through some of my WIP) and Mia Siegert (whom I can now also call my friend, who is amazing and lovely, and let me read the first draft of her current WIP while she also read some of my WIP giving me amazing tips and critiques // review). Without this blog I would've never gotten the chance to talk to any of these people so this seriously all blows my mind.

   So, to celebrate, I've prepared a whole months of celebrations with a bunch of authors and people from the book community. I hope you're just as excited as I am, because I am busting with excitement tbh. Everyone who's part of this has answered a set of three simple questions (though they vary slightly between authors and book community people). I've enjoyed reading their answers so I hope you guys will too!

   Thank you so much for coming along this journey, thank you to regular readers and those who might be visiting this blog for the first time right now. The past three years were amazing and I cannot wait to see what the next years will bring, hoping you'll come along to see it with me.

   Cheers to three years and many more to come!

Cover Lust Friday: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

   Cover Lust Friday is a weekly meme that's all about covers. Pick a cover that stands out to you, add your reason why you've chosen that particular one or what you like about it. Let's have fun with it and share the love for our favorite covers.

   The Cover:

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Published: June 4th 2013 by Atria Books
Number of Pages: 434 Pages (Paperback)
Series: No

   I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.
   Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.
   All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
   Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery

she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.
   The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.
   Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language. (goodreads.com)

   The Reason:

   This is the second ever Cover Lust Friday posts I thought I simply have to talk about my favorite YA/NA Contemporary book and it's gorgeous covers. I say covers because there are two, as you can see above. The first one is the current cover it has under Atria Books and the second one is the old cover which it had under Antisocialite Press LLC.
   Back when I first stumbled upon this book the cover, the old one, caught my eye because of its simplicity and the beautiful font. It's remarkable how well the cover fits with the slow and tranquil atmosphere of the story. And there's also something intriguing about the new cover, which now stands proudly on my shelf. On one had it's there two silliest of faces looking at each other and on the other spilled while paint. I absolutely love these two covers and the book itself.

* * *

Want to join in? No problem! Just follow the 'rules' below:

1. Write a blog post about a cover you love.
2. Add your link in the comment section of the original post (click here) so we can have something like a list going on.
3. And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
4. Check out other posts, and have fun!

Top 5 Wednesdays - Couples

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lainey & Mindy. Check out the Goodreads page here!

   This week on Top 5 Wednesday we are talking about our favorite couples, or so called OTPs. For those who might not know it, OTP stands for One True Pairing but let's face it, we all have like a huge list of OTPs. Again, these are in no particular order.

   #1 Mara Dyer & Noah Shaw from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
   I love these two. They are perfect together. Mara is such a twisted character and Noah is so broken himself but together they heal each other. I love the dynamics between these two. How at first Mara almost hates his guts and they tease each other but in the end they fall for each other in just the most beautiful way possible.

   #2 Rose Hathaway & Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
   Do I need to explain this choice? I mean I think I've talked about these two surely the most often or at least as often as I've talked about Mara and Noah. They are both really strong and distinct characters with minds of their own and just reading about those two, about their relationship and everything is just so funny and heartbreaking and I loved all of it.

   #3 Katniss Everdeen & Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
   I must admit, at first I wasn't the biggest fan of Peeta for reasons I cannot remember but as the story continued over the books I started to love Peeta and just the way Katniss and Peeta start to feel for each other and then everything that happens in Mockingjay. It's just perfect, heartbreaking to a point that's unexplainable. These two are amazing and I love them.

   #4 Maddie Freeman & Justin Solvi from Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
   Maddie and Justin, so different yet so amazing together. At first Justin tries to keep their relationship on a mission level, meaning no feeling besides 'we have to because our cause makes us' but once they finally become a thing it's amazing. Especially the way their relationship unfolds, changes and grows over the second book. Just so good. So good.

   #5 Nastya Kashnikov & Josh Bennett from The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
   Here we also have a case of two really broken characters who manage to be the savior of the other one. Nastya is gone through a horrible thing and isn't willing to speak to anyone ever until she meets Josh. At first she just watches him but once they start to become friends and everything starts to unfold it's perfect.

Top 5 Wednesday - Favorite Titles

   Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lainey & Mindy. Check out the Goodreads page here!

   So this Wednesday is all about our favorite titles and, oh boy, there are some really amazing ones out there. Again, these are in no particular order, simply the five I like most.

   #1 The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
   This title is perfect. Not only does it sounds really beautiful but it also fits the content of the book like no other title could. The book is very slow and beautifully thought out, just like this title. Each time I read it I have this mental image in front of my inner eye of just this peaceful lake at night. Love it!

   #2 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
   I'm sure I'm totally original with this one but it's simply a really beautiful title.

   #3 Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
   This title sounds badass, so it's just like the book!

   #4 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
   This title is super long but at the same title really perfect. Sometimes you just cannot sum up the awesomeness of a book with a short title, so you take a long one. Some people might hate it; I utterly love it, just like I love the book and the brilliant cover.

   #5 These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
   Again, this is a case of a perfectly fitting title. These stars are broken, oh just how broken they are.

Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Published: September 5th 2012 

Number of pages: 380 (Kindle edition)

Series: No 

   I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk. 

   Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.

   All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

   Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

   The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

   Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language. (goodreads)

   So, according to GoodReads I read The Sea of Tranquility back in August 2013, which means that by now I might have forgotten some of the details but there are certain things I remember very clearly.

   One of these things is the overall beauty of this novel. It’s very slow paced and, just like the title might suggest, it’s very calm. As the story unfolds and the characters start to interact more, you realize that this book doesn’t need action packed scenes or anything like that, just the way it is written and the reader experiences what the characters go through, is more than enough. Because of the slow pace of the book it seems much more real and believable, unlike other books in which everything happens super-fast.

   Nastya is the type of girl that prefers to keep her struggles and problems to herself, especially by not even talking to everyone around her. No matter how hard others try, she won’t speak, but not because she can’t but rather because she just doesn’t want to. Her past and what has been done to her seems always to linger around the corner as a reminder that this is why she is the way she might be. Yet, despite her desire to be left alone she is a very likable character that seems very real, like someone you might really happen to know one day.

"Josh F**king Bennett. By now, I'm pretty sure that if I were to find his birth certificate that is exactly what it would say." (Nastya)

   And also Josh, the boy that keeps to himself and likes to work in his garage, was a very likable character. I found it very funny to see him try to understand Nastya and how he’s sometimes irritated by her. 

"I'm going to say this and it probably won't sound good or eloquent or whatever and I'm probably going to ramble, but just let me say it, okay? Will you listen?" (Josh)

   Also, I just love the cover! I think it’s one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen and it somehow for me also, in a way, mirrors the story itself. I know, this might sound just a little weird, but that’s just my opinion.

   All in all, if you are looking for a book that is beautifully written and about realistic problems and such, I would definitely recommend you this book. It might be sad and calm, but surely one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. The Sea of Tranquility is a novel full of raw emotions and soulful dialogues. It touches your deepest emotions and might break you, just a bit, yet at the same time it will help you heal.

   The Sea of Tranquility is one of those books that reminded me that books aren’t just here to entertain us, but that there is something more to them. Something that reaches deep inside of you, it touches your soul, while almost becoming a tiny part of you. I was thinking about this book for a long time, I mean it’s been over half a year since I read it and it is still on my mind at times. It’s a book you will not forget.

If I could I would give it at least 10 stars, but that isn’t possible, and so I give it 5 out of 5 stars.