Covers in the World: Poison Study

English covers 1:

I actually like these. They're pretty anonymous (aka no faces) and the title stuff makes it look a bit vintage. What I don't like is that Yelena seems to be wearing dress-like stuff, which is out of character.

English covers 2:

These are pretty, but they don't fit the feel of the books. I also don't like faces. In general. Maja for president: She will remove all faces.

English covers 3:

These aren't chatastrophical, but I don't like them for this series. They're more appropriate for a fairytale retelling of Red Ridinghood. Also YELENA DOESN'T WEAR DRESSES.

English covers 4:

These are cool but stiff af. Look at that model. His arm has never been bent. 1 like = 1 prayer for stiff arm man.

English covers 5:

No. Boring. Not even that pretty. Awkward text in the background. No.

English covers 6:

Wtf has the cover designers not read the books? Yelena still doesn't wear dresses! Anyways, the faces are tormenting me. Off with them.

English covers 7:

Why did we get this? Did we ask for it? I think not. Thanks for the relevant butterfly tho.

Turkish covers:

The first cover is ok but then it gradually gets worse. To quote Matilda: the third cover resembles a burning vagina. Also the second one looks like something from Ancient Rome.

French covers:

This reminds me of the "Covenant" series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Behold, these manage to be uglier.

Swedish covers:

When I read these, this is what I have to endure. Pain. Suffering. Ugly covers. The designer has something against noses, and a fetish for froglike human faces. I will not stand for this.

German covers:

A Sims character. Not sexy.

Indonesian covers:

Cute, but does it fit? Looks middlegrade, which this certainly is not.

Chinese covers:

Spooky? Not only lazy to use the same cover for all the books, but also this looks like a thriller? Either way, they're kinda cool, but no thanks.

Japanese covers:

We definitely needed a Japanese translation. I always get happy when I see a Japanese, Chinese, or Korean translation of western YA literature, mainly because it's rare. It's fun to know that books like this can travel across the globe.

Russian covers:

My battle on Russian covers continues. Perish, Russian cover designers. Perish!

Thai covers:

This is certainly not good.

Book reviews: Giftet | Magin | Carry On

Title: Giftet (The Poison)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Poison Study
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Poison Study #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 20/01/2019
Summary: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

My thoughts: Oh. My. GOD. This is BY FAR the best YA novel I've read for a long time. This story, with its writing and realistic characters, had me ensnared from the first page. I mean, come on, just the premise of this book is AWESOME. A teenage girl on death row in a Merlin-esque world gets the option of becoming food taster for the Commander, working alongside a vicious assassin. I LOVE IT. The romance had me hooked (and I know the age difference is questionable, but I frankly don't care). The characters are soooo good, the world building is solid, the politics aren't dull, and, again, the fricking romance. Yelena is such an interesting character to follow, with her dark and tragic past that is given to us in small hints throughout this first novel. And Valek is superb. Just fantastic.
All in all, I am so glad I finally picked this up after having it on my shelves for many years. This translation is really good and the book is so worth reading. You definitely won't regret it. If you enjoyed BBC's Merlin, you'll like this too (although this is mayhaps a bit darker). GO READ IT.

Rating: 5/5

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Title: Magin (The Magic)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Magic Study
Genre: YA, fantasy
Series: Poison Study #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 24/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster... 
With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.
But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye.

My thoughts: After absolutely loving the first book, I threw myself into the second book, “Magin”, or “Magic Study” in English. This was a really good continuation; the new scenery and characters keeps the story alive and exciting. We get to find out more about the political situation and how magic works. Yelena grows more badass as a character, I love her very much. I don’t have a lot more to say, except that I really like the romance in many ways. One big reason for that is that there’s no doubt between Yelena and Valek. She never doubts that he’s the one she loves and the right person for her, even when others show romantic interest in her. Her loyalty is strong, and so is his. It’s unusual to find such romances in YA books. Often there’s at least a love triangle.
Don't even look at the cover. It will distract you with its ugliness. It's absolutely froglike.

Rating: 5/5

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Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Carry On
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Simon Snow #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 517
Finished: 27/01/2019
Summary: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

My thoughts: Finally! I’ve been looking forward to reading this since 2015, when it first came out. I thought I’d read “Fangirl” first, but I guess the pull of this one was stronger. In the end, it was my friend, Emilia, who pushed me into reading it now. Something that's good to know is that this is basically a fanfiction on Harry Potter, but with a lot of stuff kinda changed. Idk, I like it, but then I've also had my fair share of experience when it comes to other Harry Potter fanfics.

“Carry On” was a quirky and fun as I was expecting it to be. The first 200 pages or so were basically just exposition and world building, and I’d say the good stuff starts after that. There’s the mystery about the Humdrum, the tension between Simon and Baz (who is a smexy BAZtard hehe), and a political war going on in the background. The romance was a lot of fun, but not as fun as the magic. Tbh, having spells be idioms, saying, and famous quotes or song lyrics’ is just brilliant and hilarious. I found myself giggling at even the most serious scenes, because someone would be casting “These are not the droids you’re looking for” and send me into a fit of laughter.

All in all, this was a great book for this god awful weather. Something to warm me up with both laughter and happy feelings overall. I’m very much looking forward to the sequel, which is said to be coming THIS YEAR, so I certainly hope it does.

Rating: 5/5

Book reviews: Fruset blod | Shadow Kiss | Löftet

Title: Fruset blod (Frozen Blood)
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Frostbite
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 334
Finished: 10/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

My thoughts: I read this book with the motivation to work on two of my reading goals for this year; to continue series I’ve already started, and to read books I’ve owned for several years. I read the first book in 2014, and have owned this second book for just as long. It was a really quick read, even surprisingly quick, and I’ll be moving on to the next book right after this. “Fruset blod”, or “Frost Bite” in English, was entertaining, but I didn’t love it. Don’t worry, I didn’t dislike it either. I just didn’t love it, which is rare for a book that I finish so quickly without forcing myself. I had a few issues with the novel that weren’t glaring to me, but which definitely affected my judgement. One negative aspect was an underlying sexism and quite blatant heteronormativity through the whole book; something I would probably barely have noticed had I read this years ago. It wasn’t annoying to an extent that I felt annoyed, but, you know, I noticed it and it was consistent. The other big thing was the main character, who is cocky and impulsive… a bit too impulsive, sometimes, for my liking. She often acts completely without thought for consequences, and more than once I felt an urge to face palm at her rash actions. Nevertheless, I don’t dislike her at all as a main character; in fact I can see good potential for her character development in later installments of the series.
Other than that? The romance is nice, the plot is exciting, and the world building credible. The language is easy and fun, and the amount of swear words seems to me a nice choice of style for a YA series. I had fun reading it and look forward to the third, but not final, book!

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Shadow Kiss
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Shadow Kiss
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Pages: 443
Finished: 12/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa - the last Dragomir princess - must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken... Then a strange darkness begins to grow in Rose's mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. The immortal undead are closing in, and they want vengeance for the lives Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most... but will her choice mean that only one can survive?

My thoughts: Spoiler free section: aaaAAaaaAAAAAaAaAAaaaaaaaaaaAaskjflkdsjgskl!!!!!!!!!!1! OMFG!!! ...phew. Damn. Wow. Where to start?
This book had me warming up to this series in just the way I was hoping it would. After the second book, “Frostbite”, I was entertained, but a lot was still missing for me. I wanted to see more character development for Rose, more wider world building, and definitely development in the main romance. Guess what I got? I got ALL OF THAT, baby! Woop! I think I prefer the English version over the Swedish translations, but as I already own books 4 and 6 in Swedish, the only other book I’ll read in English will be “Spirit Bound”, the 6th instalment. However, I’m not moping! I’m so looking forward to continuing with this series! This book had my adrenaline rushing and my blood pumping. If I could see the potential after reading book 2, imagine my anticipation after this! Kkjslkdjgksldg
Spoiler section: (mark white text to read spoiler review) Rose is still being called whore left and right, I feel, which had me siding with her a lot more than I thought I would. All the other characters having prejudices and suspicions about her just made me cheer harder for her. And fuck Queen Tatiana! >:( Some of the things I really liked about this book were the new aspect of Rose being affected by being shadow-kissed in a more clear way. It definitely adds more to her character. I only wish she would've taken time to talk more to Mason's ghost and, idk, apologised for never telling him she could never love him back? But I guess he got the message anyway. He didn't seem too upset. We also saw Rose developing a lot as a person, both after the finale of the last book, and in her interactions with Dimitri and evil peeps like Tatiana and Victor. Her new perspective on the relationship between herself and Lissa also brought a lot of credibility to Rose’s character and had me sympathising with her. Also, we got to know more about Dimitri’s side of the romance. He’s been pretty silent about the whole thing for the past two books, but in this one his character was really pushed to talk and act more, which I found to be positive. Therefore, I also felt a lot more about the romance in this book than earlier. Also, THE PLOT TWIST. I had Dimitri becoming a Strigoi spoiled for me years ago, so I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN sooner or later and I could sense it towards the end and I didn’t really want to finish the last 40 pages but I DID and it was rough but I also LOVE how the book ended with Rose leaving the school and Lissa (temporarily, maybe, according to her) to try to find Dimitri. I like Lissa and her friendship with Rose, but what I like more is Rose being strong enough to leave Lissa and do something for herself. Awesome characters development! Great plot! Woop!


Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: Löftet (The Promise)
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Blood Promise
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 522
Finished: 17/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? 

My thoughts: Big spoiler warning! After “Shadow Kiss”, I was super excited to continue the series, which I of course did immediately. Unfortunately I read this fourth book in Swedish, which was a bit of a downer. The translation is at times faulty, words are sometimes misspelt or completely missing from sentences, and the language overall feels stilted. There were jumps in time in the plot which seemed sudden and confusing, and I can’t tell if that’s the translator’s fault or the author’s. Overall, this book was darker than the last one, and I missed Dimitri a lot. Rose was distanced from her own self in a way for the whole book, which is understandable when you think about what she’s going through, but it also had me feeling unsettled at times. We followed another story in this book, namely Lissa’s. I was irritated at her character in the beginning of this novel, which I hadn’t really been before, but I also think we got to know her character better as the story progressed. The relationship between Lissa and Rose grew stronger and more credible. We’re also getting more familiar with both Adrian and Jill, which I like. Other than that, I don’t have much to say, except that I’m anxious to get my hands on the next book in the series.


Rating: 4/5

Covers in the World: Bloodlines

English covers 1:

Good consistency, nice colours. Can't say I'm in love, but they're gold compared to the other covers.

English covers 2:

Getting Swedish John Green cover vibes from this one.

Russian covers:

WHAT IS WITH RUSSIA? They always make these weird and ugly photoshopped covers. ALWAYS. And wtf is up with the second cover????

German covers:

You can always trust the Germans to translate every book there ever was. However, you can't trust them to deliver nice covers. I puke.

Dutch covers:

These are actually so pretty. Kudos to whoever made these. Pity they only translated three of them.

Portuguese covers:

I guess these are... interesting? Maybe they're pretty, but I don't get intrigued by them.

Bulgarian covers:

These covers look like they belong on hair dye and skin care packaging. And wtf is the last cover. omg.

Hungarian covers:

Boooooring. Looks like a teaser for an actual cover.

Slovenian covers:

I'm confused... y would u do this?

Estonian covers:

Getting slight pornographic vibes from the second cover. Overall ugly.

French covers:

France just dead ass gave up after the first book, which I can not respect, because this was like the best cover of the bunch.