Challenging Zed

Challenging Zed

Joss Stirling

Description: Want to know what Zed Benedict was thinking when he met his soulmate Sky Bright for the first time?
The Benedict brothers all have different abilities and powers. One can move things with his mind, another can heal. Zed Benedict is the youngest and the most powerful of the seven brothers and he is on the road to destruction until he meets his soulmate, Sky Bright. She is his balance, the light to his dark. Together they are even more powerful. Zed knows that they are meant to be together and that there is a connection that cannot be denied. But how can he convince Sky that their destinies are entwined when she doesn’t even realize the true nature of her potential?

My opinion: "Challenging Zed" is a must-have for every fan of "Finding Sky". Reading the same story from his point of view - at least a part of it - is amazing and interesting in the same time.
Seeing Sky from the eyes of someone else is a great experience. It is fascinating to see, what people see and what they ignore or just not realize. Sky is sil the lovely, charming ´, new british girl, but this time she seems sometimes more confident than in "Finding Sky".
But this time the main charactere is Zed. He is a lot deeper, more sensible and more 3-D. You get to know a boy, who made some decision caused by events in his past and became the one you now know. He is still himself, but  you can understand him a lot better.
A bonus to this - as always - great written story, the interesting stroy line and the intelligent feelings behind it, you can get it free, as addition to "Finding Sky".

All in all: A brilliant addition to the "Finding Sky"-series for both new and old fans alike!!

By the way: If you want to find out something about "Finding Sky" - I already wrote a review about it.

 

 

To all the boys I loved before

To all the boys I've loved before

Jenny Han

Description:What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control. Now she is torn between the boys, not sure, who she really likes, not sure, if they like her or not and confused by her feelings and the situation. This book follows the first person narration of Lara Jean, the middle child of three daughters. Her older sister, Margot, is about to go to college in Scotland for her freshman year. Her younger sister, Kitty, is nine years old, and needs her older sisters. Their mother is dead, and their father is a single parent, raising three daughters.

My opinion:  "To all the boys I loved before" is  awonderful and dreamy novel, full of romantic scences and great boys. I really did like the book a lot, but what made me love the book were the characters. Lara Jean,  Peter Kavinsky and Josh Sanderson are all funny, sweet or great I would love to be friends with them. Because the two boys are lovely and hot, it is totally understandable how Lara Jean reacts to them. Jenny Han managed it to tell everything from Lara Jeans point of view and still shows the developments and the "hidden" feelings of Peter and Josh. While I wanted Lara Jean to be with Josh at the beginning, I later changed my mind to Peter. And then I wasn't sure at all. They both semed to be amazing and boyfriend-material. At the end I made a decision which of them I liekd more.
Another part I liked a lot was the fact, that Jenny Han tells a lot about the family life of Lara Jean. Margot, Kitty and their dad are very likeable. I loved the scence happening in their home and it was nice to see someone acting very normal. It was easy to think of the story as real, even if it was fictional. Seeing Lara Jean interact with other people than the two boys makes her more interesting, more 3-D and more complex. The young girls live normal and have the same problems than other teenagers, It's fun to read and nice to understand.
"Lara Jean’s personality—goofy, awkward, prone to strong emotions, and entirely naïve when it comes to boys—give this touching story an individuality and charm all its own. Han creates a realistically flawed cast, especially half-Korean Lara Jean and her sisters, who work hard to be good to one another after their mother’s death (even when they’re at one another’s throats)." (Publishers Weekly, starred review on To All the Boys I've Loved Before)

All in all: A wonderful novel to read - full of dreams and boys. Great for teenagers, especially for young girls. Read it, and fall in love with Josh and Peter and probably even more with Lara Jean.

The Sleepwalkers

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914

Christopher Clark

Description: The clash of european Great Powers in the First World War killed millions of human lifes and changed the political map essentially. What happend, that lead to this four years long, world wide catastrophe? Christopher Clark, Bestselling author of Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947, describes in his new novel the preliminary events leading to the war in a new and diffrent way: as a not wanted, posibily avoidable event in a thick series of events and decisions in a world with complicating and complex relationships and conflicts. And he puts into question what was consenus for historians: that Germany was wearing the primary debt for the break-out of the First World War. 

My opinion: "The Sleepwalkers" is a very interesting book. It is not a made-up story, but facts that are explained. It is kind of hard to read sometimes, because you have to concentrate and there are many information in a small part of the text. Still, it is fascinating, because there are a lot of things, you don't know before and it gives a look into a whole diffrent world. 
Written in a way, that's great to understand and objectiv, it is simple to understand and not only for scientist. Instead it is possible for many people to read and like it. Focusing not only on the vents happening in 1914 and the following years, but going back in history - when necessary to the years 1800 following -  the author makes sure, you have all the information needed.
Really nice is the fact that Christopher Clark is kind of objectiv. He doesn't says it is the fault of this country or this person or that person, but shows their lives and reasons to act and says probably that wasn't the best, but if that had been the only mistake, we probably wouldn't have had this big war.  
You can not only learn a lot about the begining of the 20th century, the first world war and culture and history of many countries, but also a lot about acting in a moral right way, conflict behaviour and management and social interactions. The novel makes you think again about a topic, that seeemed to be obvious for a long time - the primary debt of Germany. 

All in all: It is a novel worth reading and a must-read for everyone interested in the history of the 20th century or in world history. But also for others, who just like to learn something or are opne for new things and willing to try somethign out, it is a great novel.