Waiting on Wednesday: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pick is: 

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #5

To be published on September 6, 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Children

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

Why I'm waiting:

• Well, I feel like 99.9% of the YA readers out there are waiting for this title, is definitely one of the most anticipated of the year, as it always is with a new release of this series (or just Sarah J. Maas really), so it's no surprise that I'm counting the days for this one to be published, me and this series had a bit of a rough patch because since Heir of Fire it took some directions that I wasn't expecting and honestly didn't enjoyed all that much, but Queen of Fire was better and now I can't wait to see where this is going. 

Are you waiting for this book? Have you read it yet? Let me know!

Top Ten Books I Think Should Be Required Reading In School

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Quiltbag

1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: I'll never spot praising this book, it has a gay main character with an amazing set of friends and family that supports him when he decides to come out and it is important to show healthy relationships to kids/teenagers and show that they can and will be accepted when they decide to be who they are, it also has a super cute romance to help.

2. George by Alex Gino: this middle grade won my heart when I read it last month, I think, it tells the story of a transexual girl, her discovering who she really is and finding the courage and support to be who she wants, it does have some not so happy moments but the tone overall is of acceptance and hope.

3. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin: this is the only one I wouldn't recommend to all ages, since there is one heavy scene and the bullying a bigger part of the story than in the other two, but still this let us understand more about people that are gender fluid and has a beautiful message.

Anxiety

4. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella: this book is probably my favorite one in the take of anxiety, it deals with it in a light way but that don't undermine its message, it also shows how necessary therapy and medication is and I'll always support and be glad when books do that. Also super cute romance. 

5. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness: the main character on this one deals with TOC and it's dealt with in an amazing way, there are some quotes are just so on point that you just head nod while reading it.

6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: this is a great take on how it's to be shy and introvert and having to find your space in a new place dealing with that, it's realistic and so, so relatable.

Body Image

7. Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz: this book has a main character that is black, bisexual, anorexic but not sick enough to look like it, and too big for the bale profile, it deals with so many things that teenagers face that it should be required to read by everyone, and THE VOICE. 

8. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy: amazing body positive message about accepting yourself and let the rest of the world dealt with it if it bothers them. Also cute romance.

Depression

9. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini: this is definitely the best book about depression and suicide I ever read in my life, the descriptions about the feelings, the anxiety, the train of thoughts that leads to a vicious circle... Everything is so accurate. Also, I slow clapped when Craig called himself in the psychiatrist ward, it's so hard to see a positive light on this situation but this story show that sometimes that is the only and necessary way to get better.

Grief

10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness: another Patrick Ness is this list because he knows his stuff, this one is my favorite by him (of the two that I read so far HA) and it deals with grief in an amazing and fantastical way, it's middle grade I think but it fits all ages.

That's it for me, let me know what are your required readings!

Onyx - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #2
Published on August 14, 2012 by Entangled Teen

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies...

When I read Obsidian I was really happy because it was such a fun and brain candy kind of read, so I few days after finishing it I jumped right into Onyx but that didn't go so well, it took me almost a year (YES, A YEAR) to finish this one, most of it was because this drama was so filled with unnecessary drama that each time I would pick up to try to read I would be trow out of the story.

So, we start with Katy and Daemon trying to figure out what the hell happened with her at the end of last book and what are the consequences for her body. One of those consequences seems to be a connection between her and Daemon and god, this part annoyed me, they still have their great chemistry and Daemon is ready to admit that he wants to be with Katy BUT she keeps thinking that he only wants that because of their weird alien connection, even thought they already had some pretty hot make out scenes before that like seriously girl. So yeah, a lot of the fun romantic scenes that we get from Katy and Daemon are gone in this installment.

Another reason for the romance between them to go cold is a freaking love triangle, this Blake guy comes out of nowhere and suddenly is super interested in Katy, of course she thinks it's a great idea to start something with him even thought she is clearly in love with Daemon.This made Daemon act like a total stalker a few too many times, for a lot of their interactions being just fighting over Blake and to have a lot of useless scenes between Katy and Blake that I think are supposed to be romantic, but I mean, we all know how this is gonna play out in the end so why bother with this.

Though I did liked the part of Blake on the story on the last half on the story, when Katy grows up and is ready to admit that she doesn't have feelings for him because of Daemon, and they only stay... Friends, let's call them that for the time being. He was definitely a creeper and there was so many hints for Katy to RUN AWAY FROM THIS FREAKING GUY, but for the sake of the plot we have to deal with him and boy, things get really interesting with some twists towards the end.

Another drama that bothered me is between Katy and Dee, for some reason Katy thinks it's best for her to stop talking with Dee to protect her and of course she doesn't tell her why she stops altogether talking and hanging out with her, so drama ensues. I really didn't see the reasoning for this, I mean Dee lives in the same house as Daemon and Katy talks with him everyday, he goes to her house, they are seem together in public places, so Dee is already a target because everyone knows she is Daemon's sister, which will make Daemon and Katy care about her, friendship or not, and not talking with her, keeping her out of the loop of what is happening can only result in shit happening.

The plot, as in the first book, isn't very clear right from the start and it only starts taking shape towards the middle/end of the story, I have to say that from them on the story is much better and it gets to the fun way that I remembered of this series but it took so many pages, patience and time to get there that I really don't know how I managed to finish reading this one.

Overall I was pretty disappointed with this installment on the series, I continued reading because of that ending which was "WHOA" but I seriously hope the other books have a more clear plot and much less drama. Only recommended to fans of the first book, because honestly if you're not already, at least a bit, invested in this story it will probably be hard to keep going.

Popcorn Corner: Bones - Season 1

Bones - Season 1 (2005-2006)
Created by Hart Hanson
Episodes: 22
Runtime: 43 min.
Rating: US TV-14
Genre: Crime Drama

Forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, and cocky FBI special agent Seeley Booth build a team to investigate murders - and quite often, there isn't more to examine than rotten flesh or mere bones.

It's been a while that I want to review some series on the Popcorn Corner here in the blog, since I watch much more TV shows than movies so since I've been binge watching Bones since July I thought it was a good series to start with. I started watching Bones after I finished the 8 seasons of Castle, the number of seasons and episodes of this series did scare me at first but well, screw that.

I didn't know what to expect of this series, despite being super popular I had never looked into it before and I really enjoyed finding some things. For one, this has neurodiversity for the win, Temperance/Bones, one of the main characters is a forensic anthropologist who is a super genius on her field, with a intellect above the average she manages to find stuff from a piece of bone that helps solve murders but with that mind comes also a social inability, she isn't very sensitive and also can't connect with people that easily but that doesn't mean she doesn't have friends and lovers, because she does. I loved the little family that everybody at the Jeffersonian Institute forms + Booth.

Now Booth, our other main character, is a bit more difficult for me to like, he is a FBI agent that works with "Bones" and they definitely complement each other, him being a more sensitive part of their time and following his gut on the cases but I'm not totally okay with, well his personality. He does a lot of "jokes" about the "nerds" of the laboratory, Temperance showed at the first episodes that she didn't wanted for him to call her "Bones" but he still kept doing it, also Zack, Temperance assistant and also a sort of genius in this field, tries to talk to him and be his friend and he just ignores him and tell is some sort of bro code - I guess this is supposed to pass as funny, but I'm like ??? this is just mean really.

Having finished the first season I'm still not completely sold on this series, it's interesting with some very different cases and the characters are pretty unique, but some more deeper connection is still missing, I'll still continue to watch this series but idk, also I'm very much not on board with the ship yet, which is bad, because I really wanted to (but Booth doesn't help).

Verdict: 6.66 out 10 stars

Obsidian - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #1
Published on May 8, 2012 by Entangled Teen

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

When it was first released, back in 2012 this one got all the rave reviews about how it was new take in Twilight, but done better. Well, at that time I probably didn't even knew what a book blog was so it took me quite a few years to catch up and last year I finally read this, I have to say that it was overall enjoyable despite the problems that I had with it although I still think it would have worked so much better if I had discovered this one in 2012.

The Twilight reference is pretty on point, at least for the first half or so of this story we have a lot of parallels with it - Katy is the new girl in school, that is drawn by this group of people that is super hot and stays apart from the rest of the school, Dee is basically Alice and Daemon is Edward being all emo and weird, giving all these signs that Katy should stay away from them, there is also a scene were Katy is close to finding out they are aliens that is practically exactly the car scene of Twilight, were Edward saves Bella.

But what sets this book apart, and makes it better, is Katy's voice, the book is narrated in first person from her POV and it was refreshing to have a voice so full of sarcasm and funny remarks in a paranormal romance story. Katy is also a book blogger which definitely makes me relate to her even more, it was nice reading about her new books, planning on blogging things and writing/filming posts, it also creates a life for her outside of this whole paranormal stuff which is somewhat disregarded in most of these stories.

Expect from Katy, the other characters weren't really that developed and I never cared much about them. Her mother is almost always absent because of her job as a nurse, which conveniently gives Katy a lot of time without any parent supervision; Dee is a ball of energy, always happy and if I had to describe her personality in one word it would be jump-y, but she and Katy pretty much instafriendshiped (I don't think this is a thing, but I'm making it a thing), I know that she doesn't get to hang out with much people because of her secrets and overprotective brother but still, I didn't really get a sense of their friendship as something genuine.

Daemon is a bit better developed I think, he starts of as the hot neighbor, that doesn't ever much shirts and that seems to hate Katy right from his first sight of her, but as we get to know him we see that behind his faced there is a overprotective alien that just really cares about his family. The romance between him and Katy is hot, not in the meaning that there is steaming scenes but that they are always in each others throats, having fights of snarky comebacks, and their chemistry is over the roof, they both are still in a denial phase at this point of the series but we know where this is going. 

What makes this book only average really is its plot, it's pretty weak and only becomes more clear towards the end of it since a good part is devoted to discovering the aliens, what they are, why they are where, all that stuff but still it doesn't give enough story for this book, it was around 300+ pages and I was pretty bored around the middle, without a sense of where the hell this was going. There was some parts of this alien power and stuff that I didn't understood too, because the descriptions of the scenes were confusing (like that ending), so the fun of the narrative didn't save the book from it.

This isn't the a very long review because I read this book almost a year ago, so it's actually quite remarkable how much I do remember about it. I don't regret reading and am continuing with the series, mostly because I like paranormal stories and since Twilight I'm in a search to find good ones, this one has a voice that is sassy, a romance full of chemistry but the plot weighted it down. Recommended to other reads like me, that still enjoy paranormal romance and don't mind a few cliches in exchange to a fun read. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pick is: 

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

To be published on August 30, 2016 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

The bestselling author of the Shatter Me series takes readers beyond the limits of their imagination in this captivating new middle grade adventure where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

Why I'm waiting:

• New Tahereh Mafi book!!!!! I'm a big fan of the Shatter Me series, and I know this isn't YA but middle grade so it probably won't have amazing kissing scenes still, is pretty exciting, I can't wait to read something new from her and this sounds like something completely different from Shatter Me, bring it on!

Are you waiting for this book? Have you read it yet? Let me know!

Top Ten Books That Have Been on My Shelf (or TBR) From Before I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven't Read It Yet

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Well, this isn't a very pleasant topic, only on my physical TBR I probably could find more than 10 so on my overall TBR, yeah... Okay, it's true that I didn't started blogging until 2013 so it isn't that much time and my TBR did grow much more after it than before, anyways, let's get to it.

1. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: I started reading Tolkien with The Hobbit around 2009 I think, and to this day still haven't managed to finish the LOTR trilogy, probably because I keep meaning to re-read them all because I don't remember a thing and I know this will take forever, someday...

2. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey: this one was right before I started blogging I think, I saw it all over booktube and it was must have it now, I pre-ordered (something I never ever do) and when I did got it, started reading and them kind of forgot about it (weirdly this is something I do a lot), never got around to finish it, now I'm not so sure I want to actually read this series anymore since the other two aren't that well rated.

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: I already read the first one of this series of 5 back in 2013 or 2012, but I didn't enjoyed all that much, mostly because I don't think I got it, everyone has this series in such a high praise that it was a bummer, but I still own all of them and plan on re-reading the first to see if with those years apart I manage to enjoy it more.

4. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: the movie adaptation of this one is one of my favorites from when I was a child, every time it was up on the tv I would watch it, but them I read another Gaiman novel (The ocean at the end of the lane) and didn't enjoyed it all that much so now I'm scared and have been putting it off reading this one, please be good.

5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: I know the horror! I haven't read P&P yet, it's a big negligence on my reader experience, I even bought a pretty edition a few years ago, after watching The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, but never got around to reading it, soon.  

6. The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith: I started reading TVD because of the tv show, back in 2012 I think, but there is so much books in this series, after a while I just stopped buying them, as of right now, from the ones I own I need to read still 5 books of this series. 

7. Inferno by Dan Brown: went down the rabbit hole that is Brown's book and read all of them in like a month or so, but until Inferno was released the high had passed and I never got around to it, still don't know if will get to it.

8. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: after reading his Uglies series (still not over Specials) I wanted to read more from this author and this was his most know series, and it's so pretty with illustrations, one day... one day...

9. Gemma Doyle by Libba Bray: every book/series published by this author comes with high praise but I still need to read something by her, the Gemma Doyle trilogy got on my radar even before I entered blogging, soon I'll get to you.

10. Secret Society Girls by Diana Peterfreund: this is from my days of Gossip Girl, this series was sold as similar to it, don't know if that is true but it definitely put it on my TBR. 

That's all for me, let me know if you have read any of those titles above!

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit - Jaye Robin Brown

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
Published on August 30, 2016 by HarperTeen
[This book was given to me by the Publisher, this has in no way affected my opinion.]

Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees.

Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?

This book you guys, it was so so good, fluffy and everything I want from a contemporary read. I read, and loved, Brown's debut so it was a non-brainier that I would read her sophomore novel, it was a bonus when I found out it was going to have a lesbian main character AND a cute f/f romance, I was so in for this.

Jo starts the story seeming to have everything figured out, at least for a teenage girl, she has her group of friends, where she is out and accepted but when her fathers marries again she has to promise to her dad that she will pretend to not be gay and open on her senior year of a very small, southern city. Jo having to change her exterior to pretend something really trows her into a discovery journey and she finds a lot about herself while at it, it seems a bit weird right, but while pretending she needs to let go a lot of her comfort zones and try to do different things than what she is used to, letting herself find out more about herself.

A good part of this self discovery journey of Jo involve her new group of friends, B.T.B. and a few girls from her church and high school. I first want to say how much I enjoyed Jo and B.T.B friendship, he is introduced to her as she comes to school, to show her around and they instantly bound exchanging facts about elephants, B.T.B. biggest passion - he's part of a class for special kids on their school and most of the kids from church and school talk to him, the way that he fits into this community is show in a very positive and supportive light, I really appreciated that.

 Her new group of girlfriends is very different from the ones she was used, first of all they are straight (or at least that is what seems) and think Jo is too, so that leads to some funny/awkward conversations, but the more Jo gets to know them more she realizes that having girlfriends to do pajama and dance parties, friends that share her belief on religion are actually a good thing. Not to say that her friends from Atlanta aren't important, her best friend Dana is a present figure of the story and I was a bit wary at first, because she seems to be bad news, but they work together, have each others back and have fun, which is basically what you need on your friends.

But back to her friends of Rome, her new town, there is a special friend in that group that is Mary Carlson, she is B,T.B. sister and Jo has an instant crush on her, which only turns harder to contain when they become friends. At the start of their interactions I was giggling a lot because Jo keeps re-passing their conversations and their touches, and it was just like with any other friend? Was it not? And if it's not what the hell does that mean? It was all very feelsy and it give each of their interactions  and little touches much more meaning, I can't say much more about the romance without spoiling it but I do warm you, that it does contain drama, not over the top but there is teenager angst, but it was still fluffy and fun and my favorite part of the story probably.

My second favorite part was the family dynamics. At the start things are kind of strained between Jo and her father and stepmother because their marriage made Jo move and hide who she was, there was a few moments where I got teary because I can't imagine how hard it must be to hard it must be to the entire LGBTQ+ community that has to face this sort of prejudice every day. I liked that through the book we get to know Three/Elizabeth and actually see her not just a stepmother, but as a possibly friend and even maternal figure that Jo didn't had for a very long time on her life. It was good to see this small, new family coming together and really trying to work things out to become a family, things don't start out great, but the three of them care about each other (or at learn to care about each other) and in the end of the day the best you can do is try to make things better for those you love.

Last, but definitely not least, the religious aspect of this novel was really good, I'm not part of any formal religion or religious community but it was great to read about Jo's faith, how her father being a reverend affected her and to see how it can be a amazing place to find yourself support - of course, there is the ugly too, not everyone is accepting and loving of a (or multiples) lesbian girls, but the biggest message is that you can find faith and be yourself at the same time. I specially liked Jo's idea for a youth radio program, on her fathers church, it's a great idea to propagate messages that will be directed to young people so that they can find support and acceptance while maintaining their faith.

Phew, I don't know if I ever wrote such a long review, at first I didn't even knew if I would be able to say much about this book but it seems the opposite actually. I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to everyone, especially readers that are looking for a positive light on sexuality and religion working together and those who loved Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (so basically everyone, as I said before).

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Published on May 3, 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Children

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Last year I read and absolutely hated ACOTAR, but this being a series by Maas I knew that once ACOMAF was published there would be major fangirl screams of how this is THE ! BEST ! BOOK ! EVER ! and that I wouldn't resist because well, it IS a Sarah J. Maas book. Anyway, I waited for a few reviewers that also hated ACOTAR to confirm that this was an improvement and decided to finally try it, I'm so glad I did because I loved this one.

So, for those who are Tamlin fans and shipped Feyre and him pretty hardcore this book will probably be shit, specially the start will be hard to digest because the narrative seems set on making you hate him and their relationship and show how wrong these two are about each other, and it's really SHOUTING AT YOUR FACE this, it's plain obvious what is doing, not subtle at all and yeah, it can bother a lot of fans but I never particularly enjoyed Tamlin and his relationship with Feyre was super abusive since day 1 for me. I heard a lot of people saying that Tamlin changed a lot from the first book, only to suit the love triangle, I honestly can't say if that is true, I cared very little (to nothing) about him in ACOTAR and I basically erased that book from my memory, but if it wasn't explicit on book 1 that Tamlin is a controlling asshole than on this one it will be.

The other side of the love triangle (idk if I would call it a love triangle really, but anyway) is Rhysand and the reason I picked up this book in the first place - he was the only one that seemed to have an actual personality before and I was interested in seeing what was behind all those layers. At first, I wasn't all that sold on him as a love interest because well, he can be an asshole too, a sarcastic one sure but still asshole, but of course *things* happen that force Feyre to get to know him and I was totally won over by him. Now, I'm the first to admit that the romance on this one is basically wish-fulfillment (all of this book could be called), towards the end there was some sap as fuck shit but I didn't care one bit, I was 100% wanting this since the first book so it was like this was my wish-fulfillment dream come true.  Also, Feyre and Rhysand have banter and sarcastic come-backs like there was no yesterday and I'm all over this shit. I'm also really scared since Maas seems to not like to stick with a couple for very long (her record in the ToG series so far has been two books, that series has had 4 love interests for Celaena in 4 books + 1 prequel, seriously) and now ACOTAR is not a trilogy anymore but a 8 books series and this is only the second !!!!! I don't want to pass through another Celaena/Chaol heartbreak, one of those was enough, please spare me this time Sarah and keep Rhysand and Feyre save.

Now, the actual plot of the book (yes, this series does have more than the battle between ships, I know it seems so hard to believe) it was an improvement than the first one in my opinion, since ACOTAR was basically a romance, in this one we have a clear plot and the characters working to achieve that towards the entire story. There was some major LOL moments on the plot still, because things they needed would totally surge out of nowhere and everything would be fine but I didn't care, honestly I was so invested on the story that I enjoyed this monster of 600+ pages from start to finish. There is much more world building too, with the courts rebuilding themselves we get a glimpse at the Summer Court and a lot of the Night Court for obvious reasons, which was my favorite parts because of well, obvious reasons.

I do liked that Feyre has a lot of character arc through this one, I didn't care much for her on ACOTAR and she starts this one pretty fucked up after what happened to her, what she did to survive Under the Mountain, with some serious PTSD and plus her shitty relationship with Tamlin, she wasn't at her best at the start of the story, but along it she grows, in physical strength as well as emotional and I really like her now. It was really a story of finding herself now that she is a Fae, what she wants and needs, and I enjoyed the fact that this time around she didn't waited for anybody to get it from her.

One last thing, a lot of people seemed surprised by the graphic sex scenes on this one, but I think we had some on ACOTAR too so I don't know if people just forgot or idk, anyway I thought this was market as NA and not YA - at least for me, it fits that category better, since Feyre is 19 turning 20 (from what I remember), so she wouldn't "fit" the YA age for main character and the other faeries have like, 500 years so yeah.

In the end of the day I'm glad I give this series another shot and listened to the fangirls, I was super happy to turn myself into one of the shouting fangirls. I can see why a lot of people won't enjoy this one and I guess it's a matter of whether of how much you care about the ships and/or if you can let go of analyzing things too close and too through - this is the definition of a brain candy read for me, despite its size it was easy to read it and that ending left me wanting for the third book like crazy (I may or may not have started re-reading this one right after I finished it).

Waiting on Wednesday: Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pick is: 

Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter

Series: Jackaby #3

To be published on August 23, 2016 by Algonquin Young Readers

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Why I'm waiting:

• The books in this series are always fun and quick to read, so I'm pretty sure that I'll enjoy this one as well.
• In the last book I thought there was some clues to a bigger plot arc for the series, and not just separate cases, so I can't wait to see if I was right (or not).
• I don't know if this is a trilogy or not, so probably gonna find out this time around.

Are you waiting for this book? Have you read it yet? Let me know!

Top Ten Books Set In Europe

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Today's TTT is for books set on whenever place you would like, I chose Europe, is a pretty large continent and it has so many wanderlust settings that I would like to visit someday, so let's get to it.

1. Wanderlost by Jen Malone: Fun, quickly read, filled with wanderlust settings that made me wish so hard that I could pack and go to Europe right this second, plus for cute romance.

2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: this graphic novel (and later movie) is set part on Iran and part on France, is one of my favorites GN because shows us a different POV on the religious and political conflicts of her country (Iran).

3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I mean duh, this one has England plus magical setting. 

4. The Falconer by Elizabeth May: Historical Edinburgh with steampunk inventions and fairies, gimme!

5. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott: this book is a must to lovers of history and art, it has amazing descriptions of Florence at that time period, if only I had a TARDIS... Also, will forever ignore the cover change.

6. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge: this one starts of in a magical version of Rocamadour, France, and after that I don't really know where it goes but let's pretend is all a fantasy version of France that I would most definitely wish existed for me to visit (except for the forest).

7. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins: from NYC to Paris to Barcelona this book is a must for those who love to get that wanderlust feeling from their stories, it all comes together with a cute romance and a coming of age story.

8. Geek Girl by Holly Smale: this series is so much fun! And the second one is also set in  Japan so yay, it may be a little juvenile at times but is a sure garante of a good laugh and a quick read. 

9. Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging by Louise Rennison: if you still haven't read Georgia Nicholson, please remedy that soon, this series is so much fun and will definitely make you feel like a England teenage girl.

10. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan: if you still aren't reading this series please change that, pretty please, this is one of my favorite series and is set on Sorry-in-the-Vale, in the Cotswolds, countryside of England, it makes you wish to make a trip to these little towns and find out all about their folclore.

That is all for me, let me know which books set on Europe do you recommend me!

Girl Against the Universe - Paula Stokes

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes 
Published on May 17, 2016 by HarperTeen

Maguire is bad luck.

No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the roller coaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.

It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away. But it turns out staying away may be harder than she thought.

I read The Art of Lainey last year and it was a pretty meh read for me overall, not bad but the characters didn't connected with me so the story wasn't all that memorable but when I heard that the next contemporary by Stokes was going to tackle mental health I knew I had to check it out and am so glad for it, this is an amazing contemporary and it was automatic to my favorites shelf.

Maguire, our main character, thinks she is cursed because of a string of bad things that happened on her life, hurting everyone around her except for her so she closed herself from the world, keeping her family away, not having friends and avoiding any situation that could potentially harm anyone, this obviously isn't healthy but with the help of her therapist, new friends and family she finds the strength to start to rebuild her life. I have to praise the writing on this one, the voice of Maguire jumped out of the page and all her fears and emotions got to me, I honestly starting feeling like something bad were really going to happen whenever she engaged on an activity, it was so easy to get into those vicious thoughts and fell her guilt, I cried in so many passages of this story because I've already felt like this and knew how hard it was to Maguire to have to life with these thoughts, how hard it's to get out of your comfort zone (that in this case it isn't really comforting) and do something to change that, the fear, the guilty, the anxiety that it comes from it, it all touched me so much.

Through the story Maguire faces her fears and I loved her character arc, it is showed in a realistic way and as with any mental disorder it's a work in progress that doesn't end with the end of this book. I also have to say that I admired her so much, there was a lot of times where she would have to do something that had her uncomfortable because it triggered memories or that could hurt others because of her curse (or so she believed) and yet she went ahead and face it, I was like wow, because I don't think I would have the guts most of the times, it was such an inspiring book in this way, it made me wish to take a few more risks and face more things on my therapy. 

Talking about therapy, this was my favorite aspect of this story by far, it was so so so amazing, I can't praise it enough, in this story we read the sections between Maguire and her therapist and I think this is something so unique and necessary - a lot of people don't search help because they are afraid of what is gonna be like, the tabu revolving around it, and having a book that is target for teens to show it, I'm sure this is gonna serve of help to someone out there. I loved the author's note too and I suggest everyone to read it, it talks a bit about places that you can search for help, the different methods of therapy and telling that it's okay to ask for help.

What helped Maguire on her journey, besides the therapy, was the great supportive system that she found on her family and friends. Her family had a few touching moments with her mother and step-siblings, but what really touched me were her talks with her step-father and how he understood her and was glad to help her to do her challenges for therapy, there were tears involved (yes, I know, we already established that this book made me a crying mess). Making new friends was a big step for Maguire and I was so happy with it, she found two girlfriends on the tennis team that just made my heart so happy with all the support they gave and how they never judge her, only trying to understand and make things better. 

Another thing that obviously had a big impact on Maguire (and on me, omg they are so cute) was her friend/love interest, Jordy, they meet at therapy and them latter on because of tennis and every interaction between them had me smiling, they had a banter that made me laugh (see this book didn't make me only cry) and I shipped them pretty much since the first words were exchanged. They start interacting because of the therapy challenges and it's pretty easy to do a romance wrong in a book that focus so much on mental health but this is definitely not the case, neither of them saves and/or cures the others problems, but the way both of them support and help each other with their treatments was amazing. It was also nice to see a good foundation to their relationship, it definitely not just physical attraction (it was actually funny, how Maguire at first nearly dismissed him for his appearance and through the book she starts to notice more and more his traits that she liked) and we still get to see them together for a while, not just that kind of only get together at the very end. 

I'm so glad I give Stokes another change because this book won me over, it had an great character arc, family and friends that are supportive and pretty much amazing, a romance that had me smiling and shipping it like there was no yesterday, all of this topped with a positive picture of therapy and there was no way for me to not love this book. Super recommended to everyone, but especially people struggling with a mental disorder and/or lovers of YA contemporary.

Pokémon Go Book Tag

The Pokémon Go Book Tag was created by Aentee @ Read at Midnight, I wasn't tagged but I want to do it so whatever, who needs rules and all that.

This is a hard one because I always was a reader, when I started reading with about 5/6 years and was obsessed with everything Princess/Disney related I would have multiples copies of the same fairy tale only from different publishers, Meg Cabot introduced me to YA when YA wasn't a thing yet and Twilight definitely was a turning point in my reading life.

The only possible answer for this one is Harry Potter (it already counts as a classic, right? It's definitely iconic), I'll always come back to re-read this series no matter how old I get.

Hmm, this is a difficult one because I usually want to read books that are getting hyped... I guess Collen Hoover books in general, they are pretty popular and everyone reads it when there is a new release but her kind of NA doesn't seem my kind of type. 

I'll have to go with everything by Jennifer L. Armentrout, she always uses YA tropes on her stories but they never play out the way you would expect.

I'm not one to read chunky books, they always scare me away so there are a few for this one like A song of Ice and Fire of George R.R. Martin (read the first two, started the third and never got around to finishing it), Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (read the start of the first one years ago and never picked it back up), The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (I honestly tried reading this one more than one time and didn't finish the first chapter), these are the ones that I own, if I went looking into my Goodreads for the ones that I wish I would read...

I usually always lose sleep because of books so this is a hard one, to keep it simple I'll have to go with only the last one that kept me up until 3 AM, it was The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson.

HA this is so funny, if I would list ALL my bookish OTP we would stay here for days so I'll go with just the most memorable ones from this year: Zoe/Digby from Trouble, Shahrzad/Khalid from The Wrath and the Dawn, Feyre/Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses, Magnus/Alec from The Immortal Instruments (re-reads count), Agnieszka/Dragon from Uprooted, Simon/Blue from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (re-reads count x2), Dorian/Jasper from The Girl at Midnight (re-reads count x3).

I only got around to reading All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill this year (I know, I know) and it was definitely fast-paced, I read it in one day and right from the first chapter it was a couldn't put down kind of book.

I know that I lot, like A LOT, of people are tired of all the new Shadowhunters spin-offs but I honestly like them and am always happy to hear about new ones, I can't get enough of this world and will keep reading them. Also, Rick Riordan because I'll never deny a new sight of Percabeth.

I don't really keep track of what is debut or not and never made a conscious effort to read more debuts of said year, but I'm excited for Cherry by Lindsey Rosin that is going to get published this month!

Meg Cabot, J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Stephenie Meyer, Sophie Kinsella, these authors are solid with me and have been in my auto-buy list for years.

I don't know if this series is hyped outside of the blogspere but His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers, I just ordered the third book and it's supposed to get to me this week yet so I'm excited to read it soon. 

Hmm, the sequels that I'm waiting are from books that I read recently and/or already have a date to be released so I know they will be getting to me soon, or the series already have more books released and I only need to catch up. I'll go with The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May that is only going to be released on June 2017 and I read the second one in November 2015 so yeah :((( why so far away 

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima, I was expecting to like this one but I wasn't expecting to love it quite so much thought I still need to finish it.

Everything by Harry Potter. I feel like the movies and books have so much different versions and I want ALL OF THEM, so far I only own my original brazilian editions which are pretty used some with fallen pages and their spines don't stand straight anymore so yeah, I need a prettier version of my favorite series.

That was it for this tag, if you feel like doing it feel tagged by me or if you already did leave the link bellow so I can see your answers!