And to part 1 of the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy by Sarah J Maas: A Court of Thorns and Roses (in German Das Reich der sieben Höfe – Dornen und Rosen). Originally published 2015, I read it in English where it contained 412 pages. Girls 18+

Feyre is anything but an ordinary girl – high born, uneducated, and bound to her family by a deathbed promise she’d do anything to keep them alive: Even spend her life with a ruthless, cruel, sadistic enemy to face the consequences of killing a Fae. But her captor isn’t what Feyre expected. Tamlin’s lonely, just like her. Just as desperate, just as driven by responsibility. But he’s also… kind. And tries to fulfill her every dream, no payback required. But trusting a Fae is never a good idea, spending time with the High Lords of them even worse – and letting her heart soften will lead to death.

Well well well. This was rather different.

Okay, let’s start with the style. Except for the fact that there’s much “said,” “breathed,” “asked” and so on, it’s entrancing. Tense as hell, with interesting descriptions that go directly to the heart. I love the way Feyre perceives colors, how she sees the world: So artistic, which fits her (because, well, she’s an artist). I particularly adore how her desperation and later on her hope (and bitterness again) color the descriptions, how she sees the world in snippets without ever losing the big picture. Really, really well done. I also like how step by step, her desperation is replaced by love, fear, pride, hope and guilty pleasure. How she’d do literally anything to achieve rather selfless goals, but feels absolutely terrible about it. Because she knows that her ruthlessness makes her to a monster.

 To understand Feyre Archeron, you have to understand her family. Feyre’s the youngest of three girls, with parents who never particularly cared about either of them. Her mother forgot her birthday parties frequently and never cared for anything but parties, her father lost his fortune due to unnecessary risks and living a life he couldn’t afford. She died, he mentally shattered. And suddenly, three girls had to grow up really fast, while thrown into a poverty they couldn’t have imagined before. The oldest sister is Nesta – seemingly cold-hearted, competitive and fixed, jealous and blasé. But she sees and feels a lot more injustice than most, and it affects her in a way she learned to hide away. Nesta’s simply exceptionally proud and can’t bear the fact that Feyre is so useful while she’s so useless. And I think she hates herself for the fact that she can’t shake her upbringing and lower herself to do what’s necessary to keep her family alive while her father mentally wastes away. But once Nesta sees the need to do something, once she’s committed, and shows her iron and fire. She’s amazingly courageous and does literally everything to achieve her goals – even go into a forest full of the Fae she fears and hates – for the first time – to follow a monster that has her sister. And, of course, she’d die for Elain without ever missing a beat.

Elain. She seems to be the exact opposite of Nesta and Feyre, instead of coldly calculating and fiercely protective, she’s the girl that loves flowers. The gentle heart everybody loves – and the good soul that never ever lets herself be broken by hardships and sadness. In a way, this makes her even stronger than her sisters. 

Well. Feyre grew up in a world of monsters, first sheltered and neglected – pretty much supposed to take care of her upbringing – and learned to deal with isolation pretty quickly. But she also learned to value promises like nothing else. Feeling out of place for most of her life, she learned to take responsibility and fend for her own. She never really knew how it was to be taken care of, she only knew that if you truly want something, you have to bleed – you. Because no one’s ever going to give you anything.

After her mother’s death, Feyre had her sisters to care for as well, and after her father’s downfall, she was the only provider the family ever had. She learned to dream small and do whatever she could to keep her promise, even if it meant living a life she hated. Being used and shunned even more than before. All Feyre ever wanted was to give her responsibility away and have enough time to… well. To paint. To once do something that had nothing to do with survival or others.

And then came Tamlin. He was the first person to ever say to her “it’s okay. You can let go now. I’m going to take care of you”. He took her responsibility away in the only way possible, while still making sure her family was fended for. And then he gave her a home, time and materials to make her dream come true… and get to know herself, get to find out what she really wanted. He protected her.

Of course, she fell for him. And of course, she’d die, kill and whore herself out for him. Because as ruthless and consequent as Feyre is, how much steel that girl has – she has a kind heart, loves true and deep, is loyal to a fault and her altruism knows little limits. She’d do anything to protect the people she loves, and her moral compass is good enough that she knows it when she does wrong – that she wants to do right and suffers when she doesn’t. That she can challenge herself and her own beliefs. She’s honest enough to admit to herself (and others) how much she hurts and how much she hates the people she loves for using her like this – and how guilty she feels for being so hateful.

All in all: Feyre’s amazingly inspiring.

However. There’s stuff in her background that doesn’t make sense.

Age of 8: Her mother died and was so delirious she didn’t know whom she was asking the promise of. So far, so good. But two years later, her father loses his fortune, is beaten up and looted by the people he owes money, which makes him break. But the money he has left is enough for the four to survive for three years – even if Elain and Nesta did have some kind of self-discipline with money, this is just… insane.

Age 14-19: While her older sisters do nothing (even though they are at least old enough to get themselves married and get the family additional providers) Feyre goes into the woods to hunt and save her family’s life. Only when she’s 19, and her older sisters somewhere in their mid-twenties, does one of them get a marriage offer.

Let’s take aside that a) this should have been happening in… let’s say roundabout six years instead of eleven to make this realistic, b) that the sisters’ should be younger in general and c) Feyre at least the middle child – with maybe only Elain as the oldest, which would explain why Feyre has to do all the work.

There’s still Nesta.

Spoiler:

The iron woman, who refuses to lets herself be glamored, hates viciously, fights to death and then some and turns into a demon to defend Elain, who has enough discipline to buy a merchant and go through the woods of her nightmares to a people she hates and fears, to find out what really happened to Feyre. The same girl let her little sister go out to kill every single day of her life since she’s 14 – even though Feyre is the youngest, should be protected. And, to top that off, Nesta barely raises a finger to help and instead spends all the money Feyre earns.

This does not fit. Seriously, it just doesn’t fit. She should have at least tried to arrange a suitable or at least financially smart marriage for herself. Especially when they still had some sort of decent dowry.

Well. That’s not the only thing in the background that doesn’t make sense. Let’s talk about Prythian.

Spoiler:

Hey, one of the most sadistic, bloodthirsty women in the war, ally of the other genocide-award nominated politician is back in town. Let’s insult her, drink what was offered without checking for poisons and walk into her trap. But oops, now she has cursed me: I have to send all my loyal warrior friends in danger and hope that they will be slaughtered by a hateful, human girl out of no reason. Then I have to make that girl fall in love with me and admit it. I can’t tell her anything about the curse, can’t take my mask off and have a time limit. Sure, let’s try that – instead of finding another way, any other way out of this shit. But I make this up again: 3 days before the time runs out, when she’s finally ready to say the words – or at least doesn’t need too long – I send her back where she came from and doom not only myself, but also the entire Fae and human world. Cool, right? – Tamlin.

Seriously, where was Darwin? Where the heck was Darwin?! And why would his people want to help him with that? Who sends his own friends to death at all, not to mention when their deaths are with a 99,9 % for nothing? Amarantha is so damn powerful, she had to be fuelled by a talisman or book or something like that. There had to be some way to counter her. And Rhys managed to keep her in check quite well, for the circumstances. Why didn’t Tamlin look for him as ally – or ancient magic, a Deal with a Devil for goodness sake? Anything is better than spending lives on this – and, to think on a political level, spend people on this whose absolute loyalty you have, and who are strong enough to make a difference in a way? And then, after so many people died for that, why didn’t he wait a day or two? Why didn’t he ask her if she loved him?

Seriously, Tamlin’s an idiot. Especially at the trials.

I mean, come on, Feyre basically went and put herself on the altar for slaughtering. She knew she wouldn’t get out of this alive, but she did it to give him and his people a chance. He didn’t believe in her, because she was human – Rhys did. He didn’t help her in any way – Lucien did. And after she managed to win the first round through sheer awe-inspiring cunning, did he help her? Did he send a trusted servant to tend to her wounds, help her with her chores? Rhys came, and Lucien’s mother.

What kind of a guy does that? How self-centred, arrogant, stupid, cowardly and uncreative do you have to be to act like this? Granted, he couldn’t help her in and immediately after the second trial. But he had the opportunity to get her away before the third trial. Instead, he used the time to bring her in a compromising situation that nearly got both of them killed.

I don’t think that Tamlin is a de-facto bad person. He tried everything in his power to give her whatever she needed, tried to fulfil her every dream, he understands her loneliness. They have very, very similar lives and personalities, a sense of duty. But as soon as he has to face someone’s disapproval – and potential revenge – he bails out. He doesn’t fight his captor, not even for Feyre and his people. He’s… weak.

Take a look at when he bows to Rhys: Tam knows that this won’t do a thing to help. But does he try to find another way? No! He has enough reason to keep close tabs on Rhysand in case that he needs leverage to bargain with him. But in more than half a century, he never bothered. Plus, he wove one net of lies after another instead of finding a way around the “don’t tell her” part of the bargain. He could have made her learn to read and “accidentally” let a diary lie around open. Or let her read history books. Anything.

Rhys is his exact opposite. Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, doesn’t only have a bad-ass cool name but is also a fascinating character. He’s trapped in a nightmare, in a freaking, waking nightmare.

Spoiler:

He seems like a villain at first, but who gives the Queen Feyre’s false name? (Poor Clare, by the way) Who bets on her to win the first round? Who makes sure she survives this round and the chores, that the chores end? Who makes sure she wins the second round who fights for her survival, knowing he’ll loose? Who makes sure that Feyre stayed sane? Even if this meant everyone – she included – thinks he’s using her? Who makes sure she doesn’t remember her humiliation, who keeps her from shattering apart? Who cleans up after Tamlin? Heck, who saves this one Fae’s people? And who lets himself being imprisoned and abused by the person he hates most, just to make sure his people are safe? Who risks being executed by both the Queen and Tamlin through his reckless cause of action with Feyre, just because this might be an end to this bloody reign?

Take an educated guess.

Rhys is incredibly deep. I hope that Feyre realizes and tells him that, one day. He’s… he has certainly his mistakes, and he is a born politician. But he isn’t a bad person. Not entirely. Like Feyre, he’d go over corpses. But he’d sacrifice himself in all ways possible before hurting someone else, and he has amazingly noble goals. Well.

My second-favorite Fae is Lucien. He’s… interesting. To say the least. He’s so loyal, you could say he can’t think without permission, if it wasn’t for the Suriel incident. And he’s straightforward, as honest as he can be. He’s a good guy, one I hope we’ll read a lot more of.

In brief:

Full stars for the interesting ideas, characters, the world and Rhys’ politics. The colorful, artist’s descriptions interwoven with Feyre’s feelings are so lifelike that they more than counter the overuse of “say”, so I’ll still give a star for style. But I have to delete one for the background.

Sequel:

A Court of Mist and Fury

And part 2/3: A Court of Mist and Fury (not translated) Originally published 2016, I read it in English where it contained 623 pages.

Everything should be perfect. It should. It really should. Feyre is alive, High Fae, and Tamlin’s bride. But the Queen broke her. And she can’t heal, what she did was too terrible. When her love’s protectiveness drives him to lock her up for her safety, her deal with the devil becomes her only refuge. And Feyre realizes that her true home is not the Spring Court… and that Amarantha wasn’t the biggest threat to the world, after all. To end what she started, Feyre has to face the void inside her and lots of life-changing questions… and a whole bunch of new powers she doesn’t understand.

Can someone please hit Feyre with a mountain? Hard?

Spoiler:

Seriously, this girl leaves the severely wounded Rhys lying on the ground to go off hide somewhere to sulk. Bad enough. But then, she realises so many good and important things, but instead of going back to him at the earliest opportunity, she sits in that damned cottage. For days. She doesn’t even ask Mor to bring her back after she shows up. And when Feyre does see Rhys: Does she tell him she realised what he actually did for her, what she herself felt for him this entire time? How she even lied about her motives, how she feels sorry and guilty? How she snapped in part because she wished she’d known, so she wouldn’t blame herself for feeling what she did? No! Because that would make this to a beautiful, functioning relationship! And we don’t want that, do we? The most important thing is that the woman’s happy, right?

No! Why do many love stories circle around the heroine’s happiness, instead of equally spreading the feeling? Gah!

This relationship only consists of Rhys’ fighting for her – with all he has, except for the stuff he knows would manipulate her. He uses the precious time he has with her to make her mend herself, even though he has his hands full preventing another genocide. Of course, he tries to be as effective as can be and use what’s best for her for his other agenda. Politics were what kept him from suicide for fifty years in hell. It worked pretty well for him, and he knows how strong and determined Feyre is – and he saw in her mind how important it was for her to fight for the world! Of course, he’d use the help-me-in-this-and-help-yourself strategy. That doesn’t mean she isn’t his top priority.

The writing lessons, for instance. It’s not that important Feyre learns how to write, he could have simply made her memorize the sound of a spell and have her say it out loud. This would have been far less time consuming than making her learn how to read and write. Or he could have hired a teacher. But no, he did it himself. And tried to make her laugh (which worked) while doing it. He spends time with her, even when it breaks his heart – because she’s unfair, or simply because she’s suffering so much. Which, in turn, hurts him. Because she’s given up.

Rhysand was ready to give up his only shot at love and happiness. For Feyre. Because he was convinced she’d be happy with the guy he hated more than anything else. After all he went through, after all rules he broke, he didn’t think he could ever face himself again if he took her love away from her. So he didn’t try to use the bargain or the bond against her. He was ready to let her tie herself to Tamlin for eternity, the only reason why he didn’t was that she freaking called for help. That’s one of the most selfless things you can do for someone you love. And the exact opposite of precious High Lord of Stupidity.

Okay, I might be a little unfair in the assumption that Rhys is doing everything in the relationship. Feyre begins to try after a while. The nightmares, for instance. And before that… how she gradually begins to see the good in him, through his flirts. How she shows him – thoroughly – that he can’t even scare her off when he’s at his worst. And her insights on the relationship are wonderful. But damn it, why couldn’t she tell him? Why couldn’t she heal him?

Rhys is a fascinating character. I’ve hinted not very subtly that there’s more to him than meets the eye. But to actually understand a lot of what happened why in Court of Thorns and Roses? I must admit that, even though I got almost everything after their deal, I couldn’t explain any of what had happened before. He did act like an ass from time to time. But he sure as hell had his reasons. And I didn’t truly understand his complicated play for power in Amarantha’s court. Which was as impressive as… perverse. But the latter wasn’t his choice.

It’s a miracle he hasn’t broken as well.

Which leads me back to Feyre.

I am so impressed by how all of this has been realized. As you should know, Feyre has had to make some tough decisions. And it literally broke her, haunts her. Something she can never set right again. And this was so bloody well done, her gradual decrease, what triggers what, how it builds up, her defense mechanisms – how she begins to simply not care and direct her entire life inwards, how everything becomes so much of a struggle. And how it, fortunately, lessens and lessens until she’s somewhat healthy again. It’s so damn realistic.

I thought that Bella’s issues in New Moon (Bis(s) zur Mittagsstunde) were well done. But compared to Feyre she’s colorless – and, no matter what happened, no one could say that Feyre’s a weak girl dependent on the love of some man. She broke. Shattered. But she got out. She needed a bit help, but she pulled herself out of it and managed to do so in a healthy, honest way. She’s not only strong in spite of her problems but because of it. She’s amazingly inspiring.

But the other side of what happened is well done, too.

I know that Tam is public enemy N. 1, and I pretty much wanted to run him over with a truck, but it makes sense. In a weird, almost perverse kind of logic, it’s perfectly logical.

Spoiler:

Tamlin was always told that his powers make him almost almighty. And after he lost it, he told himself that he could keep anyone safe, if he only got rid of the curse. That he could have prevented everything that happened if he’d only had his powers back. The core of Rhys’ scheme was exactly that: Tam is so damn powerful, he was literally the only thing that could actually kill Amarantha.

Sure, the “I could have prevented everything and kept her safe” line is bullshit. He had a lot more power in the first part than he thought, a lot more possibilities than he realised (he could have tried to smuggle her out the day before her last trial). But he’s sure as hell not almighty. Even if he was – Tamlin’s way too afraid of confrontation to ever make a real difference. He can’t bear the thought to appear dangerous or “other” enough to be challenged – thus the Tithe. Or letting Feyre be abducted on his own wedding. Tamlin goes the easy way – it’s simpler to say “she was the reason I failed. I didn’t have any chance, so why try? Now that she’s gone, I can undo all of this” than to actually look reality in the face and say “I screwed up and now I have to at least try to make this right by her again”.

I think a huge part of him knows that he did, in fact, screw up. That Feyre died because he was too uncreative to save her. And that his protectiveness comes from the helplessness, that he focusses on the only thing he believes could have prevented Under the Mountain – his power and keeping her close. He feels guiolty and knows he can’t go through this again, so he treats her like a jewel: shackle it in metal, wear it around your neck and put it in a box when you’re done. No exposure to extreme temperatures, humidity or anything else that might be unpleasant. Make it yours, lock it up, don’t give anyone even the idea of taking it away from you to shatter it. But Feyre isn’t a jewel, but a person. She doesn’t belong to anybody, she’s her own master and protector. And every time she acts the part, it reminds him that he wasn’t enough. That she bled and died for him, and that he couldn’t save her. And that’s why he looses it. I think that Tam can’t consciously admit his weakness to himself, tough. He has to constantly push the reality from his mind – and this is what really prohibits him from helping her and himself.

Honesty was never exactly Tamlin’s strong suit, but I think that it’s particularly hard for him to be honest with himself because of the reality he doesn’t want to face – and with Feyre, because it was never necessary. Look at it that way: Tamlin first didn’t have the opportunity to be entirely honest with her due to his lack of creativity with twisting wordings of curses. But it worked out just fine. Okay, she died – but she did it for him and came back, so… why should he be honest with her, now? Wouldn’t it be better if she didn’t know a thing? She’ll find out what she needs to know… and he can tell himself what a good protector he is to keep such troubling thoughts from her mind. Besides, a thing like the Queen’s trials would never ever repeat itself, now that Tam has his powers back.

Ianthe does her best to fuel this.

All in all, Tamlin’s reaction, his way of thinking and behavior towards Feyre makes (on a psychological point of view) so much sense that I can’t even find it in me to be angry. He’s a broken, broken, amazingly realistic character, who absolutely screwed up in every way possible. He hurts Feyre. Isn’t good for her, which is why I’m glad for her decision. But on a stylistic level, he’s one of the most realistic characters I ever read about.

Well. To continue with the Spring Court: Even Lucien’s course of action makes sense: He, too, wants to think that now, that Tam’s powers are back, everything will be alright again. And when his friend says: “Okay, it’s not perfect (far from it), but it will be, if you all stand united behind me and do exactly as I say. Then and only then, we will mend our country, our souls and prevent history from repeating itself.” How could he not be blinded by his wishful thinking? Besides, trusting Tam’s judgment has brought him far already. As inexcusable and wrong as it is, he tries to do what’s best.

Fortunately, Feyre mends herself through Rhys. And an incredible set of new friends.

This girl truly develops, doesn’t she? Look at the Court of Nightmares. What happened there? Daaaaamn. You need a hell of a confidence to pull this off, any part of this. From the dress to the show to the sitting-on-the-lap-and-letting-yourself-enjoy-it part. Imagine her being forced to do this at the beginning of ACOTAR. Now, a High Fae actually throws some of the worst shit he’s got around, using her while doing it. And the girl, who refused to wear dresses, is like… gimme more! But their entrance was a hell of a show, wasn’t it?

As for the mysterious set of friends I mentioned. Let me introduce you.

Mor, a Dreamer born in the Court of Nightmares. A powerful, beautiful, fragile and good person, who has been hurt again and again, has been discarded like trash. Whom people have tried to break. But she never lost her inner beauty, her inner light. Never stopped laughing. Instead, she got a healthy dose of “go to hell” for anyone who tries to chain her to his/her rules. And she has the strength and courage to go back to the Court of Nightmares and challenge the people who were supposed to protect her.

Respect for that… respect indeed.

Az is the grounded, down-to-earth and even shy shadow-whisperer and spy-master, who knows the darkest parts of the (human) soul intimately – and might have a few issues with self-value. He has been hurt as well, and is in love with a woman he thinks he doesn’t deserve. But as calm as he is, he has a lot to say. Still waters I deep – but I really wish he’d open his mouth and tell Mor the truth. A bit of honesty would be good here.

As for Amren, the second in command… absolutely terrifying, especially concerning her jewels. Right. Never mock her, or interrupt her. Well… okay, she has a hell of a lot of power, but she’s not that intimidating. And she gave up her precious jewels for a mind-trick on Feyre. And the plot with that man? Kind of adorable, if you ask me.

Cassian just makes you laugh. He and Nesta in a room… Tehe. I don’t know if I’d want to witness that or if I ran away from this. The former would be entertaining, the latter healthy.

By the way, I like Elain’s and Nesta’s roles in the queen business, even though the ending sucked for them. It’s nice they aren’t discarded and forgotten. I like both of them with each encounter more, especially after these b**** came by. Nesta is a force to be reckoned with, but she’s also pretty clever and… well, her heart is in the right place. And Elain’s… Elain. Which is short for: Beautiful.

Spoiler:

The plot with the villains, the cauldron and the book is a bit strange to me – mainly because I have a question. If the cauldron is THE cauldron, which he had to be, who’s the Mother? And Jurian? Why did the High King resurrect him, of all people? Besides, how is it possible, that the High King didn’t realise he wasn’t breaking the mating bond but the deal? And what was this bond of the deal, that the loss of it hurt Feyre and Rhys this much? I’d love to have learned more about the nature of the mating bond and the deal. Because… it was always suggested there wasn’t any difference.

But Feyre must have known, right? And she must have known at least a little about how magic affects this. Otherwise, she couldn’t have made the gamble. She wouldn’t have actually risked that the High King saw not only the deal, but the mating bond as well… and blew up her charade after he’d weakened her and Rhys through destroying the actual mating bond. She has too much natural instinct for politics for that. And she’s too much of a careful tactician to try that.

Which leads me, again, to the politics.

Couldn’t they have said the truth to Summer? He’s a good guy, he might have helped them. And the risk of the queens was a lot higher than the one with him.The queens may rot in hell, by the way.

Okay, anything else?

The different societies are gorgeous. They are absolutely gorgeous! And did I mention that I love the little group of friends around Rhys – and him, of course?

Yes, one more thing. What’s exactly up with Mor, Az, and the High King? That one scene… I have lots of fan theories I hope will prove right in Court of Wings and Ruins… can’t wait for it.

In brief:

Stars for style, ideas, societies, and characters. With a special star for Tamlin, and another one for how Feyre broke. Then, half a star for each the dynamics of the Night Court, minus half a star for content (or rather, Feyre being idiotic and veeery few things that don’t make sense). Which still means SoA. Well done indeed.

Prequel:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A very famous play... A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (in German Ein Mittsommernachtstraum, in French Le song d'une nuit d'été). I read it in English where it contained 90 pages. Girls and Boys (Age????).

There's going to be quite the traffic in the forest on a midsummer night. While Oberon and Titania prepare the dirty tricks they want to play on each other, Lysander and Hermia plan to use this route to flee their families to be together… followed by Demetrius, who wants to be with Hermia, and Helena, who's in love with Demetrius. When a group of actors plans a rehearsal at the very same place, the chaos is complete. Because the magic of fairies changes everything...

Very nicely done! I actually pity Helena. She's too altruistic towards Demetrius, but apart from that, she isn't responsible for her pain. Seriously, that poor girl. She's to be pitied much more than Hermia. All the time, she wanted Demetrius and, as I imagine, it's not explicitly said, hated Hermia out of jealousy. Then, suddenly, Demetrius and Lysander, who fought over Hermia now fight over her... I would have felt played as well.

Demetrius himself is interesting as well: okay, he fell in love with the wrong girl and he fights even though everything's already lost. But that also shows how determined he is – something he actually shares with Helena. They're both absolutely great at hanging on to an already lost love. They're staying together forever.

Lysander and Hermia are pretty flat characters in comparison. They're simply two lovers – well, after fairy magic, Hermia's also screwed. But there isn't much more about them.

As for Titania and Oberon and how they try to mock each other? They're like children! It's actually funny Titania ended up with that skunk for a time.

The skunk and his group of actors are ridiculous! I love the woman's reaction to them and their play. They really deserved it and it's funny.

The play as such is funny, but also tense and full of original ideas. It's just not always very easy to get what happens when, since the stage directions are missing. I wonder how Shakespeare has performed it...

In brief:

I give stars for characters, content, ideas, style, and humor.

Now to: Andorra, by Max Frisch (in German: Andorra, in French: Andorra). I read it in German where it contained 116 pages. Age 14+

Andri's life isn't exactly easy. Of course, he's bound to be grateful to have been rescued by the teacher, and that he has a home and everything. But he was born a Jew and he stays that in everyone's eyes. It doesn't matter whether he's better at something, he's a Jew – he doesn't get work. Plain and simple. The only good thing in his life is Barblin, the teacher's daughter. Growing up and falling in love, they have vowed to marry one day. But marriage to a Jew would be difficult… and Barblin's beauty attracts other suitors who like to hurt Andri… When a stranger comes to town, old secrets resurface – but not fast enough to prevent the catastrophe...

This book's pretty cool. I don't like Andri, but I pity Barblin and her mother...

The mother, because she tried everything to keep her children alive. And Barblin, because she really loved Andri. She's a good person. Kind, thoughtful, principled, loyal, brave. She deserved none of this. Least of all how Andri treats her. Even though I kind of understand why he does it… at least after the soldier scene. But before, when he can't focus on anything else than his self-pity? Poor Barblin. The only thing I don't understand is why Barblin never told Andri what really happened with the soldier. She loves Andri and he was in pain because of her. No matter what relationship they have now, how could she leave him in such an agony?

And this thing with the shoes... it broke my heart.

As for the father: He sucks. Seriously. He should have told Andri and Barblin the moment he knew they fell with each other if he didn't have guts to tell his wife. Seriously, if he didn't lie, the story would have a very different ending.

As for his mistress: She really has a short scene, doesn't she? I wonder what kind of person she is. She seems interesting enough.

The other characters are kind of flat. All they do is hate Jews, it seems. Except for that soldier – he loves sex as well.

But apart from that, some of the metaphorical elements in this book are nicely done – there aren't too much, fortunately. Otherwise, you simply can't keep track of them – like in Hiob.

I like the pictures of the color and how Barblin begins and ends with trying to fix the facade of everything – which is exactly her role in this play. She tries to fix things, but can't really see to the core of the problem. So she just works and works and works on the surface, without reaching anything.

The pole and the guilt it implies is nicely done, as well.

But what I found most interesting is the means with which they looked for Jews. Especially the thing with the shoes. God, talk about historical meanings.

“Here are his shoes.” The scene broke my heart even before I realized the historical component.

In brief:

I give this book a star for content, a star for ideas and half a star for metaphors and stage directions.

Imagine you have hallucinations of the end of the world and the life afterward... And imagine, what you see, comes true. Poison Princess ( in German Poison Princess, in French Princesse Véneuse) by Kresley Cole! I heard it as an audiobook (unabridged). Age 16 to bloody death (girls). Originally published 2012.

Evie Greene is desperate – if her mother finds out, how bad off she really is, she’ll send her back to Child’s Last Chance in a heartbeat – the nuthouse just spent her summer in. Because the popular, fashion-loving cheerleader hallucinates of an apocalypse and controls everything that roots and blooms… but when her vision of the bagman and the black sun in the sky comes true, when nearly everything alive just… dies, Evie’s world truly breaks apart. Why is all of that happening? Why is she stalked by two people called “Death” and “Devil”, why does she see this crazed kid and hears these calls in her head? Can she trust the Cajun Jack, who promises to bring her to her grandmother in exchange for plants? And, most importantly, does Evie really have to kill them all?

This book is absolutely great! It's thrilling to read and gives you goosebumps, the characters are vividly layered, the story's innovative and tense. The basic concept alone is fascinating! A tarot deck come to life, and the players have to kill each other until only one survives – who then is immortal until the next catastrophe occurs and the next round begins? You really have to have a colorful imagination to dream up that! And it's very well executed.

But the characters are the most fascinating.

Evie is actually a typical teenager – if you just look at her personality. She thinks that appearances and popularity are very important and does nearly everything to make sure that she sticks to the status quo. She has a boyfriend she doesn't love but looks good with and a past she buries. But she's not a self-centered antagonist. She's caring, loving and loyal to her friends, like Mel. The two of them don't quite fit together because Evie's far more harmonic and Mel's not at all diplomatic. But Evie loves her nevertheless, no matter what Mel does.

What's most fascinating is that Evie thinks of herself as insane. She was in a nuthouse and doesn't take herself seriously. She's constantly afraid someone finds out… and, well, this is far more vivid than the “I'm crazy” attitude of Em in Hourglass. This is far… darker, more potent. More frightening, in a way.

No wonder, if you look at her nightmares of the Red Witch and her drawings… I love how these ideas were executed – what stuff you can do with plants! If you hear that someone can control plants, you might think that it's a lame superpower. But look around you. The trees outside your window, the grass, the bushes, the flowers, maybe even the plotted plants on your desk. Then, ask yourself where poison comes from. And now imagine that a single person has all the powers that can be liked to plants. Evie's immune to poison and drugs, and when she's in Empress mode, she has nails like thorns with which she can induce these poisons and drugs into anyone she touches. She… well, she has other quite cool attributes, but that's enough for now.

And all the parallels between Evie and the Red Witch… two opposites of the same coin.

Let's move on to Jackson Devoe, the human of the adventure group. At least I think so.

He's interesting. His life is very, very different from Evie's, and he actually insults her most of the time. Nevertheless, the two can't get away from each other. And he also has another side to him. He's hardened by his past and buries his feelings inside him, but he still helps others and does good things for them. He's intelligent and a survivalist, he keeps his promises and, well, he has a bunch of other good qualities which Evie has problems to see. It's ironic that the two of them are so drawn to each other because they have nothing in common – except for the fact that they have their own pasts to run from. They aren't good at talking to each other, so their “friendship” is actually a very shaky alliance based on fascination, necessity and hurt feelings. Well. Their relation to each other is quite interesting – and a little explosive.

Spoiler:

I so get why Evie left him, in the end. She's a good person and only tries to protect everyone, even though he can't see that

Okay. To the next character: Matthew – The Fool. He. Is. Gorgeous! And creepy. Actually more creepy than gorgeous. He acts like a boy, but he's psychic.  He sees and knows everything that has happened and will happen – I do not envy him for this. He's like a little brother to Evie, but quite frustrating because he refuses to explain the things. I like him. He's got something.

The Moon is the literal bringer of doubt. I like how Evie nearly explodes every time she even thinks about her.

I can't make anything of the magician yet, but he seems something else as well.

But the Alchemist… Ooooookay, that guy's creepy. He's a psychopath! Which leads me to another aspect: The style of the book.

The first chapter is not from Evie's PoV, but from someone who encounters her. She tells him her story, but every once in a while, there's a chapter from his PoV again. These chapters certainly make sure that the HORROR tonus of this book is written with capital letters… but it also makes everything really tense.

In brief:

I give stars for style, for content, for ideas, for characters, and for the Arcana-idea.

Sequel:

Endless Knight

World

And part 2 of 5: Endless Knight (Chevalier éternel, Der Herr der Finsternis). I read it in English where it contained 320 pages, originally published 2013.

Back again with the Bringer of Doubt, the Master of Illusions, the Fool and her wanna-be boyfriend can be pretty hard… if you’re a) an Arcana card as well and have b) given in to the dark side of your powers and gone all Carrie on someone with your plants. But regaining Jack’s trust and cementing the alliance to end the game isn’t Evie’s main problem: It’s Death. Because she simply can’t outrun the Endless Knight, and he is keen on paying her back for everything she ever did to him – but what did actually happen? And why is she drawn to the man with the touch of death?

I LOVED that book!

Okay, first of all a confession. In the middle of a chapter, I stopped, closed the book, sat down and made a table with all the information I had on the cards – appearance, Arcana calls, powers. And then I read on.

Yeah, I know I’m a freak.

But seriously, this world, this book is so damn complex, gorgeous and fascinating!

I love the magician, he’s something for sure – and I like Lark as well, she’s far more than you’d think. I like how the two of them meet, this “Infinity” thing… And I like Lark’s familiars, especially the one that follows Evie around like a lapdog.

Apropos Evie.

That girl really made herself. I love how she struggles with her past incarnations, her powers, and, most of all, Jack. He’s right, the two of them are better off when they don’t talk. But what kind of relationship works that way? Hey, whenever I open my mouth I hurt you and vice versa. Let’s have sex!

Right. Totally what I’d love to have.

But Jack’s fascinating as well.

I don’t think he’s human any longer. First of all, there are all these hints about how good he is at determining what the people around him think (except for Evie). Second, he’s a damn good survivalist. What if he’s a card? The Emperor, for example? Or the Hanged Man? That’d be kinda cool. I love the bathtub scene, by the way, how Evie doesn’t let herself be bullied and where he’s open, for once. Even though she’s right: Every time he wants something from her, he takes it without asking. Not nice.

To the rest of the cards.

I like how Selena turns out and I’m kinda sorry for her. She’s into Jack, but he ignores her. And now Finn doesn’t care, either!

The Hierophant is creepy as hell, I was glad when he was finally gone.

Tess is fascinating, with her powers. “The world wasn’t built in one day” – that’s such a sweet scene!

But I don’t trust Matthew anymore. Really. He’s… I think that he plays with the “Little brother” image, I think he’s far more intelligent and capable of living than he lets on. And He keeps far too many secrets…

As for Ogen. He’s something as well, as are Jules and Gabriel – I’m especially sorry for Jules, how he lost Callie… well.

Now to the most fascinating characters of this entire series:

Aric.

He’s so damn awesome.

Sure, he tortured Evie in nearly every possible way. That’s not exactly nice. But This character is so layered, so damn fascinating! First of all, I’m sorry for him, for his past.

Spoiler:

Living over 2000 years and the only person you can touch is the Empress? And every time he trusts her, and she pays him back with an attempt to kill him on their wedding night. Seriously?! I’d be pissed, too, and after their last encounter, I wouldn’t trust Evie as well. No wonder he’s more than careful, no wonder he’s cruel. He saw how ruthless she was, a seductress and an actress, playing at feelings and surrender, at pain: Only to come back to torture him in every way possible. That doesn’t mean it’s okay what he did. But in this game, after this history? I get it.

What I don’t get is their… well, what he demanded of her in the end. I was so disappointed in him, that he’d do that! That’s terrible!

I was in the unfortunate situation that I was taken with two characters at the same time and couldn’t decide who was better for the girl.

Aric has tortured her and tried to own her.

Jack has kept really important stuff from her, lied to her, and tried to own her himself – only in another way.

But I think I like Aric better, Evie can at least talk to him. And his opinions and reactions are fascinating – as is the way Evie tries to get to him. Yes, she did wet-t-shirt him. So awesome, this scene!

And I love how she begins to see the good in him, how she begins to see his intelligence and all of that. At least she can see the good in him – she had her problems doing that with Jack.

Now. I could go on and on about this book, at least for an additional two pages. But I cut it short.

The ideas were original and fascinating and you basically can’t sleep until you finish it. And after, because there are still horror elements in it. The characters were awesome-sauce with extra awesome, and I have lots of hypotheses about how this will go on and what really happened.

In brief:

I give stars for character, ideas, content, style and last but not least the Jack-Aric problem and the background, because OMG!

Prequel:

Poison Princess

Sequel:

Dead of Winter

And part 3: Dead of Winter (In den Fängern der Nacht) Originally published 2015, I read it in English with 303 pages.

Evie has to defeat the Lovers, once and for all. But going with both Aric and Jack makes the matter far more difficult: each boy tries to win her over again, both in their own manner… and both are furious with her for some reason or other. On top of that, Evie has to learn what it really means to be the Empress and sew the fruit of her past lives’ cruelty. And Matthew has disappeared without a trace…

The most important thing at first.

I’m all team Aric. Seriously, that guy has invented the word honest! At least he stands up and says what he did and why… unlike Jack. And I like how Aric shows her that he really takes her seriously. His teaching manners are a bit… cough. But hey, she has to learn fast.

I love that Evie hasn’t actually given in in Endless Knight – I’ve feared as much – and I love how she took care of him, and how he reacts to this. Their reunion is such a beautiful scene! And “I’d take a bullet for that”. Okay, that’s really sweet.

At least Aric’s honest about what he feels!

As for Jack, I’m almost positive that he’s the Emperor – if it wasn’t for the ending. He’s a natural leader and the way he gets the hierarchy and, well, the leading stuff is… well, it has to be an Arcana power, right? Fort Arcana is… interesting.

Okay, to the ending.

Spoiler:

This entire book, Aric has been built up as the person Evie will choose, but she chose Jack. For the life he can offer her. It makes sense, in a way. But he just left her, before she made the decision? What the hell?! He just gave up on her! You don’t just give up on the people you love, not in a situation like this, and not in the way he did. Aric would be so much better for her!

But I’m sorry for Selena. She’s been through so much…

The new cards are interesting, the High Priestess – kind of fascinating. And the Lovers? Good God, they are so creepy! Really, that’s horror poor.

But I love how Evie fought in the end. She seriously has powers.

Anything else?

The ideas were original, the story fascinating, makes sense and stays mind-blowing… yep, that was it.

In brief:

Stars for characters, style, ideas and content.

Prequel:

Endless Knight

Sequel:

Arcana Rising

Part 4: Arcana Rising – originally published 2016, I read it in English where it contained 259 pages.

Evie has to go and go fast. Find Tess. Reverse time. Now. But sometimes, not even the world can help… Torn apart, Evie has to run from Luck itself and find her knight, if he hasn’t died as well? She has to make sense of her grandmother, who wasn’t at all what she thought… And the game is about to take a few new turns no one anticipated…

Okay, my theory:

Spoiler:

The Arcana game has not been made because the gods were bored, but to keep Death and Life apart. But if they get a child and really choose one another, the game ends. That would make sense, right? Because some power tries to bring them together – and somehow manipulated Paul – while another one tries everything to keep them apart. I’m sooo so excited for The Dark Calling! And it’s coming in spring!

Well. To Aric and Evie.

As I said before, the ending of Dead of Winter makes sense. I don’t like it, but it does make sense.

But this should have been solved differently.

Evie should have chosen Aric, then gone to Jack, to tell him. He was gone and she panicked, went looking for him (with Aric) and Richter happened. Evie feels immensely guilty for Jack’s death and still loves him, plus she thinks Aric is dead, and she flips. But through this solution, the relationship between her and Aric later on makes far more sense. As does Jack’s decision.

This way, I’m kinda sorry for Aric. He seems a bit pathetic to me. But I love their relationship, how she moves in and stuff like that – I love how they take care of each other, how she uses the married-card at any time she can and how she tries to get him in the armor when they’re not in bed.

A bit protective, isn’t she?

I love it!

I also like the alliance between all the cards. The High Priestess is absolutely fascinating, but look at Sol!

He’s awesome! You never know who he is and what he’ll do next – and he thinks he’s a god. It’s gorgeous.

The alliance, the relationship between Lark and Finn… and the Matthew plot-line (I knew it)… This part of the book was really nice.

But the first was hard to read. Evie’s flipping out was well done, but… it was so dark. It was hard to read. Besides, as I said, the other solution would have made far more sense. And I miss Tess...

I’d love to know how this will turn out…

In brief:

Characters deserve a star, ideas and style. Minus one for the plot. Sorry, this hurts, but the solution just… didn’t really make sense to me.

Prequel:

Dead of Winter

This question haunted me since I read City of Fallen Angels. What really happened in Peru by Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan (Was geschah tatsächlich in Peru, Ce qui c'est VRAIEMENT passé en Pérou), the story contained 54 pages. I read it in German in the equivalent to the Bane Chronicles Volume. Age 13-Death (boys & girls)

This story is about the extra-ordinary adventures of Magnus Bane in Peru – with alcohol, holy playes, boys girls, a music instrument and diverse laps in memory… which is probably better, if you ask Catarina Loss and Ragnor Fell.

Well. The good part was, that these stories fit to Magnus. To his work, to his character, to... well, him. His lust for adventures. But at a certain point, it was just unbelievable, way too overdone.

A few nice and scandalous stories, okay. It’s fun, I guess. But it just seems so… try-hard here. Too many things went wrong. It's not realistic.

A few stories should have been cut out completely, like the one in which he stole the treasure of the temple, or the pirate ship or one of his drinking escapades. I think the part with Kitty was nicely done, she seems funny. And the guy-story and its consequences could have stayed as well, I even liked the man. And felt sorry for him. Even though the consequences of both Magnus’ music and him being drunk were just a teeny tiny bit overdone. But it was okay.

The rest however was simply unnecessary.

I’d love to have found out more about Catarina, Ragnor and Magnus – their backgrounds and all of this. But this was’t the focus here

And the style wasn't that well, either. Maybe it's the translation, but I personally didn't like it that much. 

In brief:

I give the story a star for characters and humour.

Sequel:

The Runaway Queen

To the world

The Runaway Queen – part 2! By Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson and (In German Die Flucht der Königin, La reine en fuit). I read it in German, where it was 53 pages long.  

Paris is Magnus' favourite city. Full of décadence, la mode and nice young men and women. Paradise! Especially just before the French revolution… and one particular person caught his eye, Axel von Fersen. Magnus just can’t resist his blue eyes when he asks him to help save Marie Antoinette. But the vampires of Paris come in the way – and the plan for the rescue-mission isn't entirely thought through...

Overdone. Unrealistic. And not even funny. Seriously.

Okay, let's start with the historic mistake: There isn't one document that actually makes it clear Marie Antoinette was the one who said “Then they should eat cake”. It's quite possible they simply put these words in her mouth.

Second: Axel. Axel is obviously in love with his queen – and she with him. But nevertheless he kisses Magnus at a point where she can see it. Which would hurt her – and there isn’t even one reason why this was necessary. Axel neither has to make her jealous nor manipulate Magnus into doing something. All at a time when it's strategically inconvenient to waste any minutes AND in an age when homosexuality wasn't seen as something normal, more as something evil. So, even if he really did love Magnus after two conversations and this favour, which is highly unlikely (since he is in love already), Axel would not have risked Marie Antoinette / Magnus, his status and the mission like this. He's far too sensible for that. This is absolutely out of the character.

The vampires were nicely done though, but not extra-ordinary.

In brief:

One star for style, minus one for characters.

Prequel:

What really happened in Peru

Sequel:

Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale