Unravel me #1: Christmas Wishlist

                                                                    Unravel me                                                                          

Unravel me is a meme made by me that shows aspects of my life. This time I will show you my personal Christmas Wishlist. And let me tell you: There are a few books on my list that I hope to get!

 Insurgent and Allegiant   by Veronica Roth 
I cannot tell you how excited I am to get these! I found Divergent overwhelmingly good! I really can´t wait to see how Tris´story will continue!


















The Mortal Instruments Series
Normally I read the book first and only afterwards will I watch the movie. This did not happen with the Mortal Instruments. I saw the movie and I loved it...now I´m thrilled to find out if the books are even better (which they mostly are, don´t you agree?) Maybe Santa is willing to make this wish come true...


Samsung HMX-F90

And THIS is probably my biggest wish this christmas. I joined booktube recently and I´m still struggling to find out how to create good videos. I´m not a pro and I surely don´t need pro equipment, but a decent camcorder should help me with this matter. I love my mum for coming up with this! I didn´t even think of wishing for something like this for christmas...I think I´m getting a little bit too old for such big presents...but well, I surely won´t complain this time ;)


What are you wishing for?

Divergent (Divergent series Book #1) by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: purchased
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥ 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I practically devoured Divergent in a couple of hours and that happens not with many books. This story cast a spell over me. By now I wished I had Insurgent and Allegiant already in my hands, but I guess I´ll have to wait until Christmas...

I think there isn´t much left to say about Divergent that hasn´t already been said, but I´ll try anyway. It´s hard to sum up the story without giving too much away and thus spoiling my readers. I just say that much: 
Beatrice was born into the faction Abnegation and with age 16 you get to make a choice. Either stay with your family in the faction you were born into, or choose another faction that you truly want to belong to, betraying your family and friends in the process. Beatrice does not choose Abnegation on the the choosing day, but instead decides to live a life of the Dauntless. Beatrice transforms into Tris, a brave girl that finds it hard to truly adapt to just one faction. And she has to hide her "flaw": she is a Divergent. A person that is able to think beyond the rules and lies that her society and her government has put her under. Being divergent is dangerous, and Tris has yet to learn what that truly means.

I liked Tris from the very first page. She is the kind of girl that asks too many questions, is curious of her surroundings and questions other peoples actions and motives. I even adored her for her courage to leave her old faction, even though she knew she´d hurt her parents by doings so. (I´m pretty sure I would have chosen the easy way, probably leading a life in regret, never knowing what could have been...)
I found the world that Roth created quite cruel and I wondered most times what "being brave" actually means. From the beginning it felt like the Dauntless have a wrong sense of "braveness". I don´t think it is brave to jump on and off a moving train, I don´t thinks it´s brave to jump from a building, I don´t think it´s brave to beat another person up. All the time I felt like WRONG WRONG WRONG. I was so glad that Tris and a few other characters realised that it was indeed a wrong bravery they were being teached, but in the end some of that teaching stayed with everybody. Yes, Dauntless is probably the coolest faction in my opinion, but the definition of bravery rubbed me the wrong way all the time.

My secret star of this book and maybe even the whole series will be Tris´ mom. It was one hell of a surprise to find out about her and I was so amazed by her hidden spine and bravery that it brought me to tears. Even her father managed to bring tears to my eyes and I was so touched as Tris realises what amazing parents she actually has.

I many ways Divergent reminded me of The Giver by Lois Lowry. I don´t know if this resemblance was intentional, but I certainly do know that Lowry is one of the favourite authors of Roth. In both novels there is a "choosing day", where a decision will define the future. I just love those kind of reads! 

All in all Divergent it a book suited for both Young Adults and Adults as well, and I enjoyed every single second reading it. Divergend ends with a huge cliffhanger, leaving the reader (and me) wanting more. 

The Yearning Mermaid says: "To those out there who haven´t already read Divergent: If you are a fan of dystopian worlds then pick it up ASAP! You won´t regret it!"

Follow Friday #1

Q: Tell us at least one new or unusual thing you’ve done in 2013.

I started booktubing! This is really something unusual for me, because I´m kind of phobic that people find me on the internet with my real face and all :D But well, I´m having so much fun filming and stuff that I don´t care anymore, which is even more unusual!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
 

Guest Post by Author Terra Harmony

Hey guys!
I recently posted my review of The Rising (Painted Maidens Trilogy Book #1) by Terra Harmony, which I loved because of it´s uniqueness. In the Rising you can read about  mermaids, werewolves and a wonderful underwater landscape that is slowly destroyed by careless human behaviour. 
Terra Harmony writes eco-fantasy novels, which means she focuses - among other things-  on certain problems concerning our nature and wants to alert the reader, using subtle narrative techniques.

I´m beyond thrilled to welcome Terra Harmony, Author of The Rising, to my blog! She will answer a few really interesting questions concerning her series and her writing process.

Hi Lea! First, thanks so much for having me on your blog – and of course, for your wonderful review of 'The Rising'! I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and I'm already hard at work on the second one! 
Lea had several questions/suggestions for a guest post, and I wanted to be sure to address them all! 

Why did you choose to write a trilogy featuring mermaids?
Mainly because I like a challenge. Mermaids have been done, but not really in their element. Most books have the mermaids on shore, and when they are underwater they are using telepathy to talk. That is totally cheating! My goal was to show the mermaids in their own environment, and hopefully the readers will fall in love with the mermaids, their society, and their environment (which is where the whole 'eco' part of the book comes in – it is subtle, but the underlying theme of 'save our oceans' is definitely there). 

What does your writing process in general look like?
I can tell you it looks a whole lot different than what I imagine it to be before I start a project. I am very image-driven, so before starting a book I like to ramp up my pinterest boards (http://www.pinterest.com/terraharmony/mermaids/). I also spent hours and hours cutting out pictures from my husband's scuba diving magazines and National Geographic to transform our office space into a collage of underwater pictures.

I get nervous that I won't be creative enough, so I'll have to draw on sources like these. 
The reality is I wrote almost the entire book on my laptop – in bed – still wearing pajamas – before the sun came up each morning. It is the only time of day when a quiet house and a functioning brain coincide. Not once did I even attempt to write in my underwater office!
Also, no outlining and very little world-building beforehand for me. Working like that, I tend to get bogged down in details. I will say I rely whole-heartedly on my critique group, beta readers, and editors to really help make my book shine! 

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I love to write, and now on my seventh book I don't see that changing anytime soon. Even if I didn't make a dime off my novels, I couldn't force myself to stop writing! I have an overactive imagination, which helps with inspiration, but sheer drive is the only thing that can finish each book. 

What do you have in store for the next book?
I'm well on my way into it (I have it about 1/3 of the way done). There will be more surprises, of course, and a traitor.  And I will definitely delve more into the werewolf society. In fact, I'm considering having several chapters from Liam's point of view…

 
 About the Author                       

Terra is author of the eco-fantasy novels in the Akasha Series, 'Water', 'Air', 'Fire' and 'Earth', as well as the Painted Maidens Trilogy. Terra was born and raised in Colorado but has since lived in California, Texas, Utah, North Carolina, and Virginia.  Terra has served a 5½ year enlistment in the Marine Corp, has earned her bachelor's and master's degree and presently runs the language services division of a small business.
Terra currently lives in a suburb of Washington, DC with her husband of 14 years and three children.


 About the Book                                                                                

The Rising
Book One of the Painted Maidens Trilogy

Fifteen-year-old Serena is the youngest member of a dying race. The increasing acidity of the ocean is destroying her home, slowly eating away at the once thriving underwater landscape. But since the night of Serena’s birth, it is an outside force that most threatens their dwindling population. Werewolves, who once served as protectors for mermaids in the Kingdom of the Undine, now seek to eliminate all who dwell in the ocean—and Serena is about to find herself right in the middle of the deadly conflict.

Given the title of Werewolf Liaison, Serena is determined to make things right for her people. When she ventures to The Dry, she meets Liam, the werewolf with hazel eyes, and her whole world gets turned upside down.  As Serena discovers the real history between werewolves and mermaids, she is left wondering who her true enemies are.

                                                                                                      

 See my Review of The Rising here

Video: How I Read TAG

Hey guys!

I just uploaded a new video :) Check out my booktube channel on youtube or just click on the video down below if you want to know more about my reading habits!
In the next days I will post a review of Divergent by Veronica Roth and I´m also thrilled that Terra Harmony author of The Rising will do a guest post. So make sure to check that out!

Video: November wrap-up and December TBR

 Hello my friends!

I´m really excited to announce that I´ve opened a booktube channel on youtube. I´m still figuring out how to improve the video quality (but christmas is near, so a new camera will hopefully solve this problem for me). In the meantime check out my new and very first video. It´s my November wrap-up and my December TBR. 

And just notice how disturbingly crazy my thumbnail picture looks like :D Oh wow.
Let me know what you think!

Caressed by Ice (Psy/Changeling Book #3) by Nalini Singh

Title: Caressed by Ice
Author: Nalini Singh
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Source: Purchased
Age Group: Adult
Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥

As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now he is a defector, and his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins - cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna...

Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted - and had her mind violated - by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives...

When I finished reading Visions of Heat I hoped that in Caressed by Ice I would meet a couple I´d love yet again and Singh did not disappoint me: Brenna and Judd touched my heart with their unbelievable strong will to fight for their love.

Caressed by Ice is in no way an easy novel. Singh writes about a few really difficult topics like abuse and rape and I was curious how she would choose to deal with it. I was glad that she did not get to much into detail and mostly concentrated on Brenna´s mental state. It was so easy to connect to Brenna and her pain, because she is a lovely person one just has to admire for her strength and will to stay sane.  She is a really strong-minded female and I felt with her all the time. I exactly understood her longing to be free and her fear of loosing herself in the process.

Judd is not what Brenna needs, as she has to recover from the physical and emotional wounds she suffered. She knows it and he knows it as well. Judd is cold, merciless and conditioned to not feel anything. She needs touch and affection to not loose herself to insanity. However, both feel that there is more to them and are willing to risk everything in order to find out what that is - even their own lives.

This is the first novel that features the SnowDancer den and not the DarkRiver´s. I was surprised to find myself enjoying this "family" just as much and came to love a lot of characters. Brenna´s brothers are exactly like you picture big brothers: overprotective and prejudiced when it comes to potential boyfriends. Yet, their criticism doesn´t stand a chance, because Brenna got one mind of her own and her abduction showed her when to leash out. She does not want to be caged ever again, but her brothers are slowly crushing her with their need to keep her safe.

The plot this time concentrates on finding the evil person who sold out Brenna to the sociopath councilor. The reader is also introduced to another rebel Psy, who is still hooked to the Psynet. I know it will be one hell of a surprise to find out who the Ghost actually is...

It´s both funny and frightening to follow Brenna´s and Judd´s story. There are so many horrific elements that kept me reading and reading, but there are just as much lovely situations when Judd actually shows signs of affection and love. 

Their story is a beautiful one and I think their love is one of the most purest in the whole series. I really loved to see them interact and the ending is so stunningly beautiful that it brought me to tears. 

The Yearning Mermaid says: "Book #3 in the Psy/Changeling series introduces the reader to the Snow Dancers and the new characters will touch your heart! I know for sure they touched mine!"