Gallagher Girls series review

Okay, I didn't plan doing this review, but I recently saw that this series is turning 10 years old this year, so I thought why not do it and if you become interested after reading my review you will be able to pick up the new 10th anniversary editions in June. Because although I have read all the books in this series, I for sure going to be buying the new editions, because there are brand new epilogues in the books.

So you probably assume that already, how much I love this series. I started this series when I was fourteen, I wasn't even speaking English at that time, so I read the first two books, because those were the only ones translated to Hungarian. and then at 16 when I was in England I saw the third book in the bookstore and I thought, why not? And it didn't let me down.

This series is taking place in a boarding school, except this is a school for spies. This is an all-girl school and everybody here is preparing to be the next super-spy. And the outside world doesn't know anything about it, they only assume it's just another girl-school for the "elite". It is like your childhood dream coming true, right?  Or at least I was always watching Totally Spies and I would play with my friends spy games, I know it's weird....
Anyway, our main character is Cammie, the "Chameleon", she is the daughter of the headmistress of the school, so she is from a family of spies. Her father disappeared years ago on a mission and they never found him. We get to read the story from her point of view. She has two best friends: Liz and Bex, Liz is the genius and Bex is also from a family of super-spies. And their team is going to be completed by someone, who arrives at the beginning of the first book: Macie McHenrie, daughter of a senator and she doesn't know anything about the Gallagher Academy being a school of spies and she is not very happy to be there at first. And there is the hot new Special Operations teacher Joe Solomon, who also happened to work with Cam's father, before he disappeared. And spoiler, there is also a spy boy involved... We get to follow these character trough many adventures and if you pick these books up you won't regret it. In the first two books the story is just slowly building up, but from the third one the actual big adventure will start. The first two books are fun, but in the ones after there is also a little bit of fun and besides that there is action, danger, romance and international conspiracy theories. And I didn't even realized how much I enjoyed this series from the 3rd book, I only realized how fast I read the books and how often I had to go online and buy the next book in the series. So yes, I love this series a lot. It has everything that spy novels should have, but it has that extra amount of girlyness and humor to it. Plus this book is full of kick-ass strong girls, who most of the time don't need a man to save them.

If you have read the series, comment down below your favorite scene or character, or if you haven't picked it up yet, what are you waiting for?!
Until next time,
Bianka

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein book review

Hey Everyone,
 I am here with another book review, which is going to be very emotional, I assume. I just finished reading Code Name Verity and I absolutely loved it. It moved me and it made me think about so many things. This book takes place in World War II., mainly in France, which is occupied by Germany by that time. I don't know why, but these days historical fiction taking place in WWII or between the two wars is my favorite type of book to read. Growing up I was never a big fan of history, but in the past two years I grew fond of it. I always had the greatest history teachers of all time in my opinion, but it was never my favorite subject. And then we started studying about World Wars and the time after them and between them and it is just very interesting what human kind is capable of doing with each  other. I think it didn't caught my attention before, because it wasn't so close to our lives and our "world". Even my parents and my grandparents can talk about some of the World War II and the fact that they had experienced this is horrifying. And there comes the question: is our world getting better or we are making the same mistakes again?!

The story of this book is told from two point of views, in the first part of the book a British spy girl tells her story, who is held as a prisoner of the nazis and in the second part her best best friend who dropped her off tells her story in the same time. In the center of this story there are two best friends, who share an amazing friendship, which survives everything, even war. The girl, who is held as a prisoner is told to write down everything she remembers, so she does from the beginning, except she tells her best friend's story, which will kind of include hers as well. She is kind of cooperating with the nazis, tells them codes, because she thinks she cannot get out of there anyways. All along she makes us believe she is cooperating with enemy. So after she finishes her story, until the point she got to France, we get to read the story from Maddie's point of view and it gives an entirely different look at everyone in Queen's/Julie's story. In Maddie's story we get to see some of the see the people who are around Julie in the prison and some of them are not really evil or aggressive at all. It shows that in wars no one really has a choice, they are all doing what they can do, because they want to survive somehow. And here is a controversial question in wars: What would we do in a situation like that? Would we save ourselves and do things opposite from our values or would we take the tourchure and the suffering, which comes with "doing the right thing"? It makes it hard to decide at the end of the book, who is good and who is bad.

Maddies and Julies friendship is such an extraordinary one and they are both very powerful persons and leading characters. It is very rare that a book has two strong leading female characters. They come from different backgrounds, but somehow they are equaling each other and they are both ready to do what has to be done. Maddie's decision towards the end showes that sometimes hard choices has to be made in wars and there is no way getting around it and you don't get to be selfish. And they way Julie knew Maddie is around just showed us how strong relationship they have.
Julie as a character was one of the most interesting to me, because I could never figure out, who she really was. Telling her story from Maddie's point of view never really gave us a full picture about her and even her days in the "prison", it turned out she never wrote down all the things that has happened. 

As I said in the beginning it is a book, which will make you think, about a bunch of questions and feel a thousands of feelings. It is great if you are into historical fiction or even f you are just looking for an interesting book. But I am warning you: you will not be able to put it down.
This book also showed a very realistic picture of the life in war and the details about the pilots lives and codes were definitely my favorite parts of the book.

If you have read this book, please share you're thoughts in the comments and I will "see" you soon! Also I am thinking about doing a Get to know me post so if you have any questions please ask them in the comments or on Instagram or Twitter.

Bye

Bianka

The Crown book review

Hey Everyone, I am here with an other review and this one is about my most anticipated book in 2016. This series started when I started high school and it ended this year just when I graduated high school. This series is so near and dear to my heart, because it is not only a great and entertaining series, but good memories are in connection with it.
This series is the Selection series by Kiera Cass. And today I am going to review the last book in the series, The Crown. I am not going to lie: The last two books (The Heir and The Crown) weren't as good as the firs three, but I was very happy to see everyone from the first trilogy again, I didn't even mind Eadlyn being a very annoying character. Because in my opinion she was and although this gave the possibility of her developing as a character in a good direction, she didn't seem to be such a strong character as America is/was. In my opinion, before we go to the spoiler section, if you liked the previous books, go read this it's very short and a fast read, but don't expect too much.

Okay, so this book caught me in a very bad mood, just because I have this decision hanging over my head, a big, life changing decision and somehow I expected this book to get me in some sort of way, because Eadlyn has to do her life-changing decision as well in this book. And it was only making me angry. The end, the actual choice was really rushed in my opinion, and although we got the emotional roller-coaster towards the end like in the One, I didn't feel like it was real and reasonable enough. I know that some people knew from the beginning, who Eadlyn is going to marry, but for me it was very insta-love between them. They have talked a couple of times, they had a little chemistry and suddenly Eadlyn thinks they are soulmates. It' either true love, and they are meant to be or it is another insta-love case. I would have even liked the pair of them if there had been more time to see them actually together. In the announcement scene, where Eadlyn finally did the announcement, Eikko seemed very passive for me and I don't know why I feel that way, because his character could have been one of the most lovable ones in this book, but I feel like I didn't get to see enough of him to form a whole opinion about him. The scene where Eadlyn says goodbye to Kile my heart was definitely broken. And it wasn't because I was shipping Eadlyn and Kile together, but they had a more developed relationship and for me it was more believable. I definitely think this book could have been longer. The good part was to see Eadlyn finally make some development a change of heart, but a little bit more determination concerning her choice, would have been better. America and Maxon weren't present in this book as much as I would have liked it, but less is more and they are still adorable.
I think this wasn't the best closure to the series, but I am grateful for Kiera Cass for making me go back into this world once again for the last time.
Let me know your thoughts about the book and I'll see you soon.
Bye, Bianka

My Favorite retellings

Hello Everyone,
In this post I would like to share my favorite YA retellings, because I feel like they are becoming more and more popular every day. I think they are giving a new aspect to every story, sometimes even for villains or they just place the situation into a more modern surrounding. So here are my 5 favorite retellings:
#5. Beastly by Alex Flinn: This was one of the first retellings I have ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it takes place in a modern world. Basically there is this very popular boy, who is very selfish and he gets cursed, so he turns into an ugly not a beast, but an animal like creature. He has to find someone, who loves him, so he kidnapps Lindy (the nice girl) to live with him, but don't worry her father was a drug addict and he kind of gives her away to him. And you guessed it, they find love. Cute, romantic, plus it's a retelling.
#4. Saving Juliette by Suzanne Selfors: This is not a really a retelling, but it takes place in Verona, where Romeo and Juliette's story does. It's about Mimi, who plays Juliette in her family's theatre and hates the actor who plays Romeo, because he is a selfish rockstar. But one day they end up in Verona and we get to see the iconic love-story through Mimi's eyes. And they even try to influence the story and save the tragical lovers. This book gave me a hole new side to the story.
#3. Dorothy must die by Danielle Paige: A story taking place in Oz, which is now ruled with the evil Dorothy, who is most likely a mean girl and there is this girl, Amy, who is chosen by the Wicked to kill Dorothy. And the evil ones are the good guys in this story. Now that is what I call an interesting story.
#2. The Wrath and The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh: This is a retelling of a Thousand and one nights, but it opens a whole new aspect to the story. A young Caliph, who is known for killing his wife after marring them and a girl who would do anything to revenge her best friend's death. But as usual things don't go as planned an Shahrzad (the main character) and Khalid (the Caliph) start to develop feeling for each other.
#1.: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson: I am going to be honest the first four books were in no particular order, but this one is by far my favorite, so I saved the best for last. This is a moving story taking place in Neverland before Wendy arrived. In this book Neverland can be reached from the normal world by ship, but people never really go there anyway. Lost boys don't fly, it is just a legend. And the reason why they don't grow up is, because at some point everyone on the the island stops growing.This story is told by Tinker Bell, and it tells the story of Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. Tiger Lily is part of the tribe, but she never really feels she fits in. Her father is a shaman of the tribe. When she meets Peter in the woods they start to have this weird friendship and of course they fall in love. But since they are both weird and stubborn their love is very interesting. And then Wendy arrives and everything changes. If you haven't read this one, I totally recommend it.
These are my favorite retellings let me know in the comments, what are your favorite retellings or if you have read any of the books above, let me know your opinion about them.
Bye
Bianka

Captain America: Civil War movie-talk

Hello Everyone,
Since I haven't done a movie review in a while, coming out of the cinema yesterday, I definitely felt like I should, because the movie I saw really made me think and I got inspired.
Today I saw the new Captain America: Civil War movie and I though I would share my thoughts about it in a post. I like Marvel movies a lot and even the TV shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil. For me it's very interesting how they make the stories cross and how they build this world. I suspect it is not easy. After the second Avengers movie, I felt a little bit disappointed, because it was depressive and too "deep" for me. So when I first saw the trailer for this movie I began to be very excited, because I was ready for a good superhero movie. And after Deadpool came out I knew it will be good.
In my opinion it's not really fair to call this a Captain America movie, because it was basically an Avengers movie. The plot was well built up and every character knew their purpose in the story. The plot was fast from the beginning and it only slowed down, when it was necessary. The fun part was there as well and it was just the right amount in order to loosen up the tension.
The main question of the movie was the interesting part for me. It was about the boundaries, which even a superhero shouldn't cross and about power too. How can the government let these people run around without boundaries or if they need any in order to be able to do their jobs. This was the cause of the main conflict and it was sad for me, because on the two sides the "leaders" were my two favorite superheroes. And yes they are both the good guys, but even on the good side there can be bad decisions. They can have different values, which they have a right to protect. This fight gave an opportunity to a lot of other superheroes from other movies to show up and this was the very best part of the movie. There was the big fight scene and there wasn't even an evil criminal. Only the good guys fought. With each other. This was definitely the movie, where not just the action scenes were interesting. Also this was the movie where Spiderman showed up in the Marvel universe first time in ages and although I liked Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, but Tom Holland was doing great in his new role and I am interested to see how he does in future movies.
My favorite character was Captain America aka Rogers, because he stood out for what he thought is right and he believed in his friend even when no one else did. That is real friendship and for me in a hero those are very important values.
Tony Stark aka Iron Man wasn't as funny as in the previous movies, but I liked this more serious part of of him a lot.
So if you love this genre then you should definitely go and watch it, you won't regret it. And if you want to see a movie with epic action scenes then go and watch it. 
If you have seen the movie I would love to hear your opinion about it in the comments.
See you later,
Bianka

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski review

Hi Everyone, 
I know it's been a long time since I have posted a review, but now I finally have the time to write one about the Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski.  This is the 3rd book in the series and I couldn't wait for it to come out. But at the same time I didn't know if the author is capable of giving the right ending to the series. I don't even know why I doubted. If you haven't read the first two books in the Winner'

s trilogy or the 3rd, don't continue reading if you don't want to be spoiled.
So overall I think it was a great book and it was a good closure for this series. Although there were some weird situations. First, is it just me or the fact that Kestrel forgot everything by the time Arin came to save her, felt like a telenovela?! It was a risky move from the author, but it fit perfectly into the plot. I liked that it was taking place in the war and as a character both Arin and Kestrel grew so much. At first I was a bit nervous about Kestrels amnesia, but at the end I get why it was necessary. Kestrel needed this dramatic change of heart, in order to participate in the story of this book. And Arin is still one of my favorite character in this series, because he grew so much and changed so much, while staying true to himself. The thing, which bothered me was the God of Death inside of his head. I don't know what was the purpose of it, but it was really bothering me. It could've been represented as a simple inside voice or something.
My favorite character in this book was definitely Roshar. He always knew what to say, whether something serious or funny. It would have been interesting to see some of the chapters from his point of view. And the friendship between him and Arin was one of the best bromances in YA in my opinion.
When Kestrel and the General met at the end it was very emotional, at least for me and in my opinion it was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the book. Reading that scene, I didn't know what to expect, because it was such a weird situation in my opinion and there wasn't really a good solution to the problem.
The war part of the story was very realistic and well written and I felt like I am actually on the battlefield. Speaking of that, I don't think this war will ever be over and at some point in the book it was revealed. I liked this negative aspect to the ending and deep down it made the goodbye from the series a little less sad, because I know these characters will always be up to something.
The writing was also very amazing, although trough the middle it was a little bit slower, but it was slow at the right points of the story. I'm going to be honest, dual point of view was never my favorite in books, but Marie Rutkoski made me love it. It switched between Arin and Kestrel right when something important was about to happens I had to keep reading. 
Needless to say my love for this series only grew after this book and I am very glad that after the second book I didn't put it down. If you have read this series, what was your opinion about it? Leave a comment down below.
Until next time,
B