The books I read during the holidays

The holidays feel like a lifetime ago, so much happened: I went back to Munich, uni started again and I MOVED INTO MY OWN APPARTMENT – what?!

January was super intense, happy because I love living alone and I’m not lonely (my fear) and also sad because the holidays were such a magical time with my family. I spent two weeks just NOT DOING ANY WORK, reading, watching movies, going on walks and spending quality time with my family. I reread (nostalgic, you know) a few books and thought I’d share them if anyone is in need of awesome books!

The Silver Trilogy by Kerstin Gier

The Silver Trilogy by Kerstin Gier is a German series, but was translated into English! This trilogy holds a very special place in my heart, I reread it every year (sometimes more than once, whenever I need to escape). It makes me feel connected to my home and truly makes me happy everytime I read it.

I can’t stress enough the awesomeness of this series: the plot is truly amazing – a teenager moving to London to find out her mom is moving in with her boyfriend, the boyfriend having a son and daughter. Liv, the protagonist, joins the son’s group in a very peculiar game of ressurecting a demon all the while being able to walk into other people’s dreams. The characters are beautifully written, small details and obviously a great love story.

How I felt while reading this: like rereading Harry Potter in a small coffee shop in Edingbourgh or with candles in your bed. Like cookies and hot chocolate on a snowy day. Like the holidays with my family.

The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier

This holiday season was all about Kerstin Gier, because after rereading Silver I obviously had to know if I would still love The Ruby Red Trilogy.

I last read this Trilogy when I was 13 or 14 years old and I was absolutely blown away at that time. But you know, sometimes the magic is just gone after so many years of praising a book and then finally rereading it, noticing it just doesn’t live up to your imaginary standards – not with this one. I absolutely loved it again, the plot, characters and romance. There are German movies that are one of my favorites and I also watch them from time to time and it was so refreshing to see that they are nothing like the books when looking at it closely. This series reminded me so much of my childhood and I was transported back to when I read this: my first YA fantasy series, whaaat?!

How I felt while reading this: growing up all over again, like diving into the Shadowhunters universe for the first time again (like reading Lady Midnight, the first book by Cassie I read, oblivious to the fact I would dive into one of the most beautiful universes in the world)

That’s it – a pretty nostalgic holiday for me, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I was finally able to distance myself from uni work and just enjoy my time in my home town with my old best friends and family.