Finally, I'm going to talk about Golden Son by Pierce Brown and A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir. Both are sequels and I'm really excited to get to them soon since Red Rising and An Ember In The Ashes are two remarkable books that belong to my favourite books of all time 💗

Golden Son is the sequel to Red Rising which I finished in the beginning of January. It was so good. I can't wait to see what happens next! However, I'm slightly nervous about this because I already know there will be a lot of character deaths and the ending of Golden Son got other readers really upset 😨 ... Still, I'm pretty sure it's phenomenal and I'll be posting a book review on Red Rising soon so watch out 😌

A Torch Against The Night is the sequel to An Ember In The Ashes and I seriously can't believe that I haven't read it yet. It came out last year and it was one of the books I was most excited for in 2016, BUT for whatever reason I only bought it this week 🙍 *shame* I finished An Ember In The Ashes last summer and it was phenomenal, it was brilliant, it was everything I had been looking for ever since I finished the Harry Potter series so ... you get the point! It's one of my favourite books of all time and I can't wait to see whether Elias and Laia manage to succeed or not ... Hopefully, this one will even be better than An Ember In The Ashes and I'll most certainly review this series on this blog 😍

So much for my first book haul. I hope you liked it. If you have any further recommendations or in case you've read any of the books I talked about in this book haul, let me know what you thought in the comments down below - no spoilers, please 😇 I wish you all a wonderful day and I'll be back with a new post on Sunday ❤ 

For all the German people staying on Gran Canary over Christmas or everybody else who's interested in one of our most beloved holiday traditions, there is a German Christmas market in Hotel Maritim Playa in Playa del Ingles. It's only open on the week-ends throughout December and - as far as I know - it's the only Christmas market on the island. Very nicely done though 👍🎅🎄

Puerto de Mogán is a lovely little town that is very easy to get to if you're staying in Maspalomas or Playa del Ingles. Even though there are quite a few hotels, Puerto de Mogán is not overly populated by tourists. There are also some natives living there and Puerto de Mogán's sailboat marina is absolutely beautiful. Behind the marina, there are mostly apartment houses that create the impression of a quiet village. In between those houses, there are narrow alleys filled with shops and restaurants and if you want you can always go to the beach that is only a five minute walk from the marina. However, pay attention that Puerto de Mogán is situated in a small bay on the southern coast of Gran Canary which is why it gets very hot in the summer. Once, we stayed there in August and I'd wholeheartedly discourage you from doing that. 😣 It's perfectly fine to visit for a day, but I'd rather stay there outside the busy season 😉

Recently, I've seen some of my favourite youtubers using this mascara for their Get Ready With Me Christmas Party Look and since I've been using this product for a while now, I thought why not do a review on it. I'm quite picky when it comes to mascara because I already have quite dark and long lashes. So when I'm using mascara I usually look for a product that will give my lashes terrific volume and a nice shape. Accordingly, this mascara is meant to multiply your lashes and give them a look that is sensational 💪 However, I have to say that this rather refers to length than shape which is why this was a good, but not a great purchase for me.

After applying this product, you can see a remarkable effect on your lashes, but I need to use an eyelash curler in advance to make my lashes stand out like they are supposed to do. If I don't, I have quite dark and long lashes, but no shape and I prefer a product that gives my lashes shape as well. However, it is true that Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara multiplies your lashes because its brush reaches even the tiniest lashes on your lash line. This creates an overall dense look that I like a lot.

Overall, I'd say this mascara is a great choice for anyone who has very thin lashes and seeks a lengthening effect. Still, I'd highly recommend to get your lashes into shape before using this mascara since I find it doesn't have a shaping effects on mine. Furthermore, I don't like that it's not so easy to remove which is why I probably won't buy it again. Have you tried Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments down below and I'll be back with a new post on Sunday. Have a great day!

The Grisha Trilogy

Shadow & Bone (2012)     Siege & Storm (2013)     Ruin & Rising (2014)

written by Leigh Bardugo          read by Lauren Fortgang

What is it about?

Let's hear what the author says ...

This series is very close to my heart. I came across Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows on BookTube by the beginning of last year and I absolutely adored it! While waiting for the sequel Crooked Kingdom I thought, why not give her previous trilogy a shot? I had heard it wasn't as good as Six of Crows but I knew it was high fantasy, I knew this woman was a fantastic storyteller, so there wasn't really anything that might go wrong. However, I have to admit that my love for the Grisha Trilogy wasn't love at first sight, but let's go through this step by step.

Why should you listen to the audio books?

As you can see from the title of this blog post, I chose to listen to the Grisha Trilogy on audio book. I made this decision, because I had listened to Six of Crows on audio book as well and that audio book was freaking amazing! The whole Grisha Trilogy is read by Lauren Fortgang who was also involved in the Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom audio book production and she is absolutely brilliant! Having finished listening to Shadow & Bone, Siege & Storm and Ruin & Rising, I'd say her vivid interpretation of the Grisha Universe and its characters sparked off my enthusiasm about it. Her voice in beautiful and crystal clear and her interpretation of Leigh Bardugo's characters is marvelous. When she reads the story, its world and characters come to life and I can see the story happening right in front of my inner eye. Listening to these audio books was an experience I overall thoroughly enjoyed!

Shadow & Bone - a not so lucky start ...

Since I downloaded the audio book of Shadow & Bone shortly after I had finished Six of Crows, I found it a little bit hard to get into a completely different story within the Grisha Universe. Shadow & Bone takes place in Ravka which is - as Leigh Bardugo explains above - inspired by Czarist Russia. The world is carefully built, but took a while to get into since it is completely different from anything I've ever read about before. Looking back, I can safely say that the Grisha Universe is one of the most spectacular worlds I've ever encountered in YA fantasy literature. It is completely thought through, every place is given an authentic name and the magic system is great, but I'm getting carried away ...

When I was listening to Shadow & Bone it was pretty obvious to me quite early that this was going to be a story of the chosen one - quite a stereotype. After listening to Six of Crows which is an entirely different story concept, Shadow & Bone didn't really catch my interest as much as I had hoped it would. However, I have to admit that I became quite intrigued with the Darkling who's still one of my favourite characters. Overall, Shadow & Bone is a decent book that is meant to introduce you to the Grisha Universe and it does this masterfully. The unlucky part is that this purpose overshadows the actual story line a little bit and the root conflict of the entire story is only revealed towards the end of book one. Furthermore, it's consequences only become obvious if you continue with the series and you HAVE TO continue with the series! Let me explain why ...

Siege & Storm - Holy cow! Did this just happen? ...

Although the beginning is a little bit slow, in Siege & Storm things go crazy. Of course, it's difficult to talk about a second book in a series without spoilers, but Mal and Alina are getting into serious some trouble. Then, they meet another one of my favourite characters in the Grisha Trilogy - Sturmhund 💗 He is so awesome, I wish he was real ... At that point, he is the most recognizable character that has been introduced to the reader (or listener) and, thankfully, all the other characters begin to get a little more shape as well. In fact, I found the side characters even more intriguing than the protagonists. Alina is a rather simple character. She is predictable and her major purpose is that of an observer - like it is so often the case with the chosen one. Mal really annoyed me in this book, but Sturmhund, Tolya, Tamar, the King, the Darkling, Baghra, Genya and Zoya ... their character development in Siege & Storm is only the beginning of how phenomenal they'll turn out to be Ruin & Rising.

In a nutshell, Siege & Storm didn't fall into that typical second book slump. On the contrary! It's a lot better than Shadow & Bone and finishes off with a much more spectacular ending. Overall, Siege & Storm is a book for Sturmhund. He's at the heart of this book and he supports Alina who's trying to position herself as a worthy opponent to the Darkling. Even though the world building in Shadow & Bone was great, I found it much easier to imagine Ravka and Os Alta while listening to the second book on audio book. You approach it from a different point of view and I loved that. And the ending ? Well, ... it took me only a day to download Ruin & Rising and then I was hooked!

Ruin & Rising - Yes! Yes! Yes!

I can safely say that I loved everything about this book and it's characters, characters, characters ... !!! There's fantastic character development in Ruin & Rising. Zoya Nazyalensky! How I love her! She's loyal AND badass and I loved that we got to know the other side characters so much better as well. Harshaw - hilarious 😂 Leigh Bardugo did an amazing job on this book - seriously 💗 Neither of the first two books is so full of plot twists, character depth and heartbreaking moments as this one. Of course it's the finale, but I find Ruin & Rising to be strong from the start. We find Alina in an enclosed space that she will only escape by the help from a bunch of people that form a strong alliance throughout the book. If you weren't in love with Leigh Bardugo's world and her characters after finishing Siege & Storm, you'll definitely be after reading the final installment in this fantastic series that is one of my favorites of all time.

Overall ...

While I found it difficult to get into Shadow & Bone, this series grew on me with each book and I am convinced that a great deal of this goes to Lauren Fortgang and her excellent interpretation of the Grisha trilogy on audio book. Furthermore, the writing got better and better throughout the series and even though Leigh Bardugo could have been a little bit braver at the end she brought Alina's storyline to an overall satisfying conclusion. And - no spoilers! - I love how the relationship between Alina and the Darkling comes to a close. In a nutshell, if you haven't read or listened to the Grisha Trilogy already, you certainly deprived yourself of a wonderful journey and a highly enjoyable experience. I recommend this series to anyone who loves good storytelling, fantasy and historical fiction.

Moreover, I have to say that although the Grisha Trilogy is high fantasy, I personally think that people who usually don't read fantasy will like it as well since the (fantastic!) world building and magic system are quite rational and everything makes sense. So, if you like a good story about a girl who turns out to be the chosen one, evil soldiers and recognizable characters, these will be the books for you 💚 I hope you liked my little review of this series. Have you read the Grisha trilogy yet? If so, let me know in the comments down below and we can chat about it 😉

Love, Sarah

Welcome to the second part of my Crete travel report! This time I'm taking you to the area east of Iraklio that I visited last year. While we stayed in Chersonissos, I sadly wouldn't recommend that place to anyone since it's full of tourists, but, thankfully, we rented a car so that I can show you some more of my favourite places on this wonderful island - I hope you enjoy 💙

On our first day we went on a trip to Spinalonga which is a former lepra colony. In order to get there you have to take a ferry from either Elounda or Plaka. Both are lovely fishermen's villages which is why I recommend to stop in Elounda first and then take the ferry from Plaka. That's what we did and it was certainly worth it 💖 The ferry is 8 € (return ticket) and departs every 10 to 15 minutes from the harbor.

Visiting Spinalonga was very interesting and we were lucky with the weather since it was sunny but not too hot. I'd recommend sturdy shoes though since you have to climb a bit to get the most spectacular view from the island 😍

When you go and visit Spinalonga you may also stop in Agios Nikolaos which is a lovely little town about 10 to 20 kilometres from Elounda. Once you're there you can go for a walk on the harbour that reminded me a little bit of Venice and have a cool drink in one of many cafes next to the water 🌊

One of my personal highlights on this trip was Chrysi Island. Chrysi is a beautiful, uninhabited island located a couple of miles south of the southern Cretan shoreline. It has been blessed with astonishingly beautiful nature and wonderful beaches that are equal to Balos beach lagoon and Elafonisi nature reserve. In order to get there, you can take a ferry from Ierapetra. The cruise lasts about one hour and a return ticket is between 25 and 30 €. If you get there early, you can stay the whole day since the last ferry departs from Chrysi around six o'clock in the afternoon.

Finally, while exploring the most wonderful beaches you shouldn't leave the mountains unattended and when it comes to mountains Crete has plenty to offer. In comparison to my trip in 2015 I have to say that the mountain range east of Iraklio is very different from those fantastic mountains behind Rethymno. They are higher and feature some of the most majestic peaks behind which you'll get another glimpse of Cretan culture at its best.

We began our trip in Kritsa which is quite near Agios Nikolaos. It's a mountain village which is typically Greek but still a little bit too touristy for my taste. However, from there you can set out to explore the Lathisi Plateau that was also one of my highlights on this trip. The mountains on Crete are majestic, extremely high and so beautiful. I absolutely loved this part of the island.

Last but not least, we visited a Greek monastery in the mountains. Entrance was 2 € and absolutely worth it 💕

So much for the second part of my travel report on Crete. I hope to go back in the future so that I can post more pictures of this lovely island but until then I'd love to hear whether you've been to Crete yet and if you have, do you have any recommendations of where to go next? 😊 Let me know in the comments down blow. Until next time and Happy New Year!

Love, Sarah