quarta-feira, 27 de janeiro de 2016

January Favorite Giveaway

Hey guys, today I'm here with a giveaway woo, exciting, wee!



The giveaway will be on the digital format because I want to do a giveaway every month this year and I would not be able to afford it if it was on the physical format. Epub versions are the ones that are compatible with Adobe digital editions so if you never used it before and is unsure if your tablet/whatever digital devise is compatible, check here, but it works on the computer so there is that. Also, I'll try to do every month because I want to share with you guys the best book that I read that past month, so my January pick was...


First & Then by Emma Mills

This is a YA contemporary book that is more on the fluffy side than on the serious side of things, there is a very cute romance and some very good family dynamics, some Jane Austen nerd trow in for good mesure and ta-da you have a perfect fluffy read for a cold friday night in. You can read the summary and find out more about it on its Goodreads page, here.

This giveaway is open to everyone, you only need to fill out the rafflecopter bellow and you're entering for a chance to win it! The result will be posted on the February 27th, were I will also be announcing which giveaway will be occurring on February so stay tuned and good luck everyone!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

quinta-feira, 21 de janeiro de 2016

Disney Princess Book Tag


Hey guys, I don't think I ever did a tag here before but today is a great day to start! I wasn't tagged on this one but oh well, who cares I'll do it anyway because is all about Princess and I love it. This was originally created by Soudha of Of Stacks and Cup.

3 Princess Facts:
1. Belle was, is and always will be my favorite Disney Princess.
2. I collect (or try to) barbie (are they called barbies or just dolls) versions of the Disney Princess, I already own two different Cinderellas and one Ariel.
3. I also have about four different Tinkerbells on my shelves (I know she is a faery not a princess, just shhhh).

Snow White | Favorite Classic: All of the Sherlock novels and short stories, I read them for the first time when I was 15 for school and absolutely loved it, they are stories that from time to time I keep coming back.
Cinderella | Book that kept you reading past bedtime: oh well, there is a LOT of options for this one but I'll have to go with the Harry Potter series, it was definitely the first time that I stayed all night to finish a book (or various books on various nights), I read it for the first time on a vacation and I always ended up going to bed waaaaaaaay past bedtime to keep reading.
Aurora | Favorite classic romance: Now, I don't know if this has to be of a classic book or just a classic romance for me personally, I'll go with the personal because I'm not big into classics. The first ship that I remember is Mia and Michael, from The Princess Diaries series, I actually cried of happiness when they finally ended up together.
Ariel | A book about making sacrifices and fighting for your dreams: Tell the wind and fire by Sarah Rees Brennan basically crushed my soul and destroyed my dreams with that sacrifice so yeah.
Belle | Book with smart, independent main female character: Greta from The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow, she is basically the queen of that group.
Jasmine | Book with character who challenged social conventions of his/her world: I'll go with a book about the real world now, The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson, this book have characters that definitely don't fit the normative of our current society and is incredible showed how they deal with that.
Pocahontas | Book which ending was a roller coaster of emotions: See How They Run by Ally Carter, ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THAT ENDING.
Mulan | Book with kick-ass female character: Aileana of The Falconer series, damn does this girl kick fae asses harder than anyone.
Tiana | Book with hard-working & self-made character: Elli from The Impostor Queen, she has to change her entire life after some events don't go as expected but she never quits, never wavers on front of hard work and at the end of the story is def a whole new person who grew out of her hard work.
Rapunzel | Book that features an artist: Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott, I mean Da Vinci is featured on this one.
Merida | Book that features a mother-daughter relationship: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, def shows some great family dynamics.
Anna & Elsa | Book with a great relationship between siblings: Now this may sound doubtful but I'll go with the relationship of the Heartstrikers clan from The Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron, now of course this doesn't apply to all of them but some of the best scenes of this series is between the brothers and sisters of this dragon clan.

That was it for me, if you want to do the tag please consider yourself tagged and leave the link for it bellow so I can check it out (if you have already done this, leave it too!).

segunda-feira, 18 de janeiro de 2016

All-American Girl - Meg Cabot

All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
Series: All-American Girl #1
Published on July 22, 2003 by Harper Teen


Samantha Madison is an average, cool Washington, D.C., teen: She loves Gwen Stefani (who doesn't?), can draw like nobody's business, and enjoys being opposite to her sister's annoying ultra-social personality. But when she ditches art class one day, she doesn't expect to be jumping on the back of a wannabe presidential assassin.

Soon the young hero is receiving worldwide acclaim for her bravery, having dinner with her family at the White House, and is even being named teen ambassador to the UN. As if this weren't enough, she and David, the president's son, strike up a friendship that everyone wants the dirt on, which starts to give her romantic "frisson" feelings.

Unfortunately, Sam thinks her sister's boyfriend, Jack, is the true love of her life, and she makes a few wrong turns that could screw up what she's developing with David. Will she ever stop following what she knows and start following what she sees?
I've lost count on how many times I read this book, All-American Girl is one of my favorite Cabot's books and when I was younger a yearly re-read was obligatory. As usual with books/movies that are favorites of mine on the past, upon a re-read things change, some things that I remembered remained the same and others not so much.

The thing that most changed for me was the way Samantha voice sounded, she seemed a lot more judgmental and immature on the way she faced things, I noticed this is a trait of Cabot's heroines and when I was younger totally worked for me, but now not so much, of course this has to do with me growing up but also I would have liked to see more growth. Sam does face a sort of coming of age story, she definitely learns to be who she is and own it, fight for her ideas, but her voice and her way of facing things on a rushed way doesn't change.

David remains the same as on my memory, meaning perfect, I really think he is a great counter part for Sam, the way he helps her figure things out with who she wants to be and showing her ways to face things on a more smart way and not all fighting and kicking as Sam would usually choose. I also love how their romance never took the front seat of the novel, they have their cute scenes and stuff but this is ultimately Sam's story and it never read any other way. There is a sort of love triangle, if you can call it that, it's awkward and Sam takes ages to realize her true feelings and you will probably scream of frustration, because damn girl did you took your time but in the end it's all smiles and rainbows.

Other things that I loved where the presence of art, Sam is a painter and this is a major part of her life, I liked how this helped her to know herself better and how it was an essential part of her coming of age story. The relationships between Sam and her family, which contain her house maid, parents and sisters all of those really present on the novel; I specially liked the relationship between the three sisters, they are so different on the surface level but the way they tease each other and are always close together is great.

Super recommend this one for all Meg Cabot's fans, you definitely don't want to miss this one out and if you're looking for a brain candy look no more, this book is pure fun and entertainment, there is no real depth to it and is perfect as a weekend/vacation read. Just be aware that there is a sequel, which I 100% don't recommend, I read it only one time when it was released and it was terrible and I immediately forgot everything about it and don't want to ever revisit it again.

sábado, 16 de janeiro de 2016

Exquisite Captive - Heather Demetrios

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
Series: Dark Caravan Cycle #1 
Published on October 7, 2014 by Balzer + Bray


Forced to obey her master.
Compelled to help her enemy.
Determined to free herself.


Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.
Ever since it was released I've been hearing mixed things about this tittle, some love it and some found it confusing and slow paced, I've to say that both are right and that I fall into these two categories. Reading this book was a roller coast ride but so far we only reached the peak, it started slow and it seemed we only are going straight but them there was some curves and twists and we started gaining velocity and going up and them it ended and I've to wait centuries for book 2 ugh.

So let me try to explain myself. The start is slow, really slow and there is A LOT of information being trow at you about the jinn mythology, their culture, gods, political system and following revolution, how they fit (or don't) on our world, basically Demetrios had a lot to cover to create this world on our heads, so give this book more than a 100 pages to grow on you, but of course if you're not a fan of slow starts maybe this will never really be your thing. For me it worked amazingly well, I read the first 100 pages really slowly in three days and it wasn't a bother for me because I was having tests and stuff so I wanted to read something slow, and them on the forth day I read the other 380 pages in a high and it was awesome.

I really loved the way this world of jinn and human was build, it was created and showed to us in a way that seemed 100% believable, I never asked myself if this could be real or not, if it was unrealistic or saw any plot holes, actually it's one of my favorite fantasy settings like ever. A lot of this is because of Demetrios writing, which is amazing and has a way to waver things like magic and curses together with chaotic Los Angeles setting and make it work, make it seems like that is the only possible place on the world for this to happen.

Now, as always, I can't not speak about the romance on this one and god, this made me feel things. So we have a love triangle, sort of, I mean you know who she is going to end up and it's pretty clear for who she has feelings but there is some other character and they have a dynamic of hatred and attraction, so things get a bit confusing some times. Let's talk about this secondary love interest first, so on my principles I should hate him with all my strength because it's a clear abusive relationship and he's basically a terrible person on all fronts, seriously there is no redeeming him but oh my god if I don't like the scenes between him and Nalia, he is so twisted that is fascinating, seeing his completely wrong ways of searching for love and affection was great and Demetrios wrote each scene in such a compelling way. On the other hand there is the actual love interest, who I'm not totally aboard with yet, I mean I was totally gonna go for that since it was a hate to love kind of thing but them a thing happen and all of sundenlly all the hate is gone and they are super sure they love each other and want to be together forever and ever and even risk things for each other, I was just surprised by this sudden change and it was too much instalove for me.

Overall this was a pretty solid start for a series that left me wanting the sequel, it has a unique and creative world building, strong characters and very twisted and complicated relationships, if you can get past the slow starts I highly recommend trying this one since I've not read anything like it on the YA section.

quarta-feira, 13 de janeiro de 2016

The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Published on January 1, 2015 by David Fickling Books


Two boys. Two secrets.

David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth – David wants to be a girl.

On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan.

When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…
This book is a hard one to review because it made me feel such a range of emotions, it honestly started pretty slow and for the first 100 or so pages I was kind of feeling only okay with it, like it was good but the writing was pretty simplistic and straight forward and I wasn't particularly attached to these characters. But I don't, one day I just picked it up and started to really read it, more than one chapter per time and when I see I was finishing it.

I think this is the first book to actual make me happy cry, there was one scene that I can't tell you about because of spoilers but I was grinning like a lunatic and I started crying because it was so beautiful and amazing and I was feeling all of the happy, fuzzy things. But not all was pretty, actual most of it was painful, we have a lot of scenes of bullying and also family troubles that is so, so hard to read about and I cried on some of those too, actual the bullying things most made me incredible raged with our society since I know there is a shit ton of kids out there that pass through the same time or worse.

The characters ended up gaining my attention with their stories, both Leo and David have their problems that are similar but also completely different, Leo's story touched me specially because of his past and his family situation that is so fragile, I just wanted to go to the pages and hug him and make everything be alright because oh my god you're only like 15 or 16 and already had to pass through all this, poor baby, but he probably would hate that so yeah.

Also can I get an amen that Williamson didn't turned this into a love story between Leo and David, it could easily go that route on some scenes and I loved that she didn't, they both have so many things to work out that it would be a terrible decisions to be involved on more than just friends, tbh their friendship was flawless and I just didn't want that to be tarnished. There is some romance on this one, is very instalove-y and first love kind of thing but it didn't bothered me, it was fitting to their age and it was important I think for the character growth.

If you're interest in knowing more about transexual people and/or want someone to understand more about this topic this is a great book, but since it isn't a book dedicated to teaching about this topic a introduction probably would be fitting. People looking for books that show bullying to younger subjects too, this is a great one and anyone that enjoys a good contemporary really, this is touching, funny, there is some painful scenes but it's an overall hopeful book about finding one self.

segunda-feira, 11 de janeiro de 2016

Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks #1
Published on November 8, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire


ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?
So for those who don't know Hundred Oaks is a serie of contemporary romances/coming of age stories that usually focus on sports and that have Hundred Oaks as the setting, but they don't need to be read on order or anything, they work like companion novels where you get cameos from characters of the other books of the series but each one tells a complete story within itself. My first Hundred Oaks book was Breathe, Annie, Breathe which I loved so I was excited to get to the others unfortunately Catching Jordan didn't lived up to my expectations.

Let's talk about the good first. I really loved to see Jordan on American Football and not just playing but being the captain of all of these boys, just listening (oh, yeah I listened to the audiobook of this one) about her friendship with them and see how much they respected her despite all the tabus around a girl being on a sport that is majorly male was gold, I really which we had more books like this and if we did had I think more girls would want to participate on sports in general.

But despite the good, Jordan's dad showed a lot of the bad that comes from it too. He is really against her playing and his only reasoning is because she is a girl, look I get where his worries are coming from and if I was a parent I probably would worry sick about my kid being hurt but this is no good reason for his actions, the world is already hard enough there is no need for a parent to make it even more difficult for its kid. I was really glad that Jordan at least had her brother to lighten things up on her home situations, they had a few talks on the book that are really heartwarming.

Jordan overall was an okay character, she didn't stand out on anything despite her sport skills but one thing that made her look bad on my eyes his all the girl on girl hate on this book, she has no girlfriends at all and all her remarks about other girls are judging them on the way they acted and dressed, just don't do this girl don't go making assumptions about people you don't even know just because they're different from you, don't go down that road. I was sad that this was never dealt with.

Now on to the most annoying part of this story and the reason this one was such a disappoint for me: the fucking love triangle. Right at the start of the story Jordan has a heavy case of instalove for Ty, one of the team players, so I instantly thought that was the love interest and that their romance would develop slowly, but them it didn't develop slowly things got pretty serious pretty quickly but I thought maybe they will pass through some hard shit and have to move on you know and stuff, on the side way it was clear Jordan's best friend, Henry, had a really huge crush on her but it just NEVER crossed my mind that it would turn into a love triangle because JORDAN NEVER FUCKING THOUGHT OF HENRY THAT WAY EVER. But then, then someone tells Jordan about Henry's crush and suddenly BOOM love triangle on the way. I just ugh, I hated it so much first because wtf how you only realize you like someone because some else told you and two it dragged so freaking much, look if you realize you like some one else that isn't you boyfriend first action should be to broke things off with your boyfriend and think things over. But of course that is not what happens and we have drama, and more drama, and basically all the possible love triangle drama.

So yeah, as you can see the love triangle really annoyed me it was unnecessary and dramatic and juvenile and exactly what I don't want on my books, still there was some positive messages about girls on sports and good friendships between a girl and a group of boys. If you want to read some of the Hundred Oaks books I would recommend passing this one up and getting to Breathe, Annie, Breathe, thought I still want to get to the other books of this series.

sábado, 9 de janeiro de 2016

Popcorn Corner: Mean Girls (2004)

Mean Girls (2004)
Directed by Mark Waters
Written by Tina Fey
Runtime: 1 h. 36 min.
Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, language and some teen partying)
Genre: Comedy


Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) thinks she knows about "survival of the fittest." But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time and falls prey to the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.


You know when you re-watch an old favorite is always a surprise what is gonna be like, if you're gonna love it again or hate it. I'm gladly to report that with Mean Girls my love for it only grew and for completely new reasons too! When I first watched it I was about nine or ten I think and my dream was to be one of The Plastics (not the mean girl part, but the cliche of super popular girls that had the most awesome fashion sense for my ten year old self) but now I loved it for whole new reasons that I didn't even noticed back them.

First of all the humor, I think a lot of the jokes where lost on me when I watched it so young but now I caught myself reading out loud so many fucking times, it wasn't just a smile or anything it was full belly laugh and just thinking back about some scenes it makes me laugh again. Also, so many of the quotes of this movie where like popular knowledge already, at least between me and my friends there is no October 3 that passes without a remark.

This is def a part of pop culture knowledge 
Other thing that got lost on me before but now made me love this movie even more was its message about the way girls treat other girls and how to work on this, I mean how many movies how slut-shamming, girl on girl hate and never ever deals with it, too many to count. I loved how this is a comedy but still has a clear character growth arc through it, not just with Cady but all The Plastics get to the end understanding that the way they used to be was wrong and changed, despite some cliched things about it I love the message it passes, more movies directed to teens should not let this behavior pass as acceptable.



Summing up I absolutely loved this one upon re-watch, it was funny and with a message that I can totally get on board with, yeah the romance was pretty cliche and not swoony at all and the characters could have used a little bit less of stereotypes but I could totally overlook this while watching and enjoy it. Super recommended to like everyone and if you don't watch it: boo, you whore.

 Verdict: 5 out 5 stars 

quinta-feira, 7 de janeiro de 2016

The Impostor Queen - Sarah Fine

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
Series: Untitled #1
Published on January 5, 2015 by Margaret K. McElderry Books 
[This book was given to me by the Publisher, this in no way affected my opinion.]


Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.
First of all let me say that if you didn't read the synopses of this book yet DON'T READ IT! Seriously, the synopses is like 20 to 30% of the start of it and for me that is a pretty big part of the story to have it spoiled to you. If you already read it them, well be aware that the things said in it will take a good part of the book, but don't worry you'll enjoy it nonetheless because this book is awesome.

The start of this book was pretty slow for me, the first 20% or so, we have a lot to understand about this world and its magic and politic (also I may have to blame the fact that The Vanishing Throne came out right when I started reading this one and I mean, after that cliffhanger I needed to get to that one first) but once some spoilery things happen things get more fast paced and oh my god I finished the other 80% in a day. So what I'm trying to say is, if you think this has a slow start stick with it that will be worth ir, trust me.

Elli, our main character, is a strong heroine in a completely new way, she was raised to be a queen and because of that is selfless but that isn't a weakness on her, there is some pretty funny scenes too when she is getting used to live on her own since she was pampered all her life but it was good to see that this didn't turned her useless, she wants to prove herself and her worthy even if not the way she was expecting. The secondary characters were also amazing, I absolutely loved Oskar (btw I kept thinking his name as Oksar when I was reading for some reason unknown) and his family, there was so much touching scenes with them.

And oh my god the shippy feels, like honestly I'm all in with ships and stuff, I'm of the kind that think a kissing book is always better than a no-kissing book but this one took this to a whole new level, there was scenes that I giggled, scenes that I want to push their faces together and make them kiss already because omg I couldn't deal with all the sexual tension, and scenes where I wanted to punch both in the face for being such babies. Also, plus side Elli is a declared bissexual character, yep that's right finally I read a book about a main character that is bissexual and it was a fantasy one and it was amazing, CAN I GET AN AMEN.

 If you still don't think this book is for you I don't know what else to say to convince you, this is an amazing fantasy story that has a slow start but them starts building up and towards the end you don't know what hit you, since it's an explosion of feels both happy and not so much. There is a ship of goodness, a cast of characters that are incredible build that will make you care about them and a unique fantasy take on magic. Please just get reading this one already so we can discuss all the spoilery things.

terça-feira, 5 de janeiro de 2016

December Book Haul

Hey guys, I'm here with a new trying feature on the blog (yep another one, shut up and let me be), this is the well known Book Haul where I show to you guys the books I've bought on the last month. Let's get on with it!


This was my Christmas haul, I got Scan by Sarah Fine (which is on my January TBR already, so excited to get to it), Auggie & Me by R.J. Palacio (which is a companion of short stories to Wonder, one of my favorites books ever, thought I'll need to re-read Wonder first before getting into this one), The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove (YA fantasy about a world whre there is different time periods, hell yeah sign me up, probably gonna be reading this when the third and last one come out), The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson (already read this one and it was amazing, probably a mini review is gonna be coming about it) and Girl Defective by Simmone Howell (this is an aussie YA contemporary that sounds a super amazing coming of age story).


The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (this is a graphic novel and it was pretty good, extremely interesting since I studied a little bit of Iran this year), The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (this was a disappointment, more about it on my review), The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (loved this one, read it on one night on a high of feels and amaziness, should probably do a review about it soon), The Queen of the Tearling by Erica Johasen (I'm excited to get to this one soon, probably when the last one comes out), A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani (I already own the first one on paperback so I was excited when I found this one, I hope on binge read this series this year), The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket (I've been collecting the books of this series on the hope to read them all, soon-ish).

That was all for this edition, I probably won't have that much on the next months because it will not be Christmas so less gifts and auto presentes. So, what did you guys got for Christmas tell me all about it on the commentaries. 

domingo, 3 de janeiro de 2016

January TBR

Hey guys, it's Deyse here and I'm coming back with my monthly TBR's. Now, you may wonder why I'll try to do this again when I failed already so many times, honestly I can't tell you if I just like to fail at things BUT that will not make me stop trying and who knows, this time it maybe go a different way and I follow it and everyone is happy and there is chocolate chip cookies at the end of the road (month) as a reward. Who knows.


So on to the actual TBR, I divided it onto two parts one is the physical one and other that is my digital one which is basically a mix of eARCS and ebooks that I own. Also, I don't actually plan on getting to all of those books this month, my game plan is to do myself a bunch of options from different genders so I can choose and not feel the pressure to read things that I'm not in the mood for. Let's get this party started.

Physical TBR




Seraphina & Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman: Seraphina has been siting on my shelf since 2013, it's more than time for me to get into reading it. I have additional motivation since I'm taking part on the A Series A Month challenge and this would fit perfectly to complete my January goal. 

Scan by Sarah Fine and Walter Jury: I got this one for Christmas after reading The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine and absolutely loving it, I can't wait to dive into this one since it's a YA sci-fi something that there isn't nearly enough out there.

The Raven Boys & The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater: This is one of my favorite series and I've never re-read it! I know, I'm appealed by this fact too, but since The Raven King is finally coming out this year (please no more push backs on the release date) it's the perfect time to refresh my memory of this story and my love of this characters. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to read both of those, but I definitely want to get to the first one at least.

Digital TBR


Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins: I've been holding up on reading this one since it was up on Edelweiss last year but oh god, I can't wait anymore, I'm planning on this being my second read of the year!

Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan: I'm not sure I'm gonna get to this one on time for its release (since it's an egalley) and I've been hearing some mixed reviews about it. BUT YA FANTASY.

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell: Another Peter Pan retelling! I've not heard much about this one but what I did heard was amazing buzz, so I'm pumped. Also despite my love for Peter Pan on my childhood I still need to read a retelling of him, good time to remedy that.

First & Then by Emma Mills: I've been hearing nothing but good things about this one since it's release and I can't wait to dive into the fluffy fest that this one promises. 

Trouble Is A Friend Of Mine by Stephanie Tromly: I've not heard much about this one except that is about a weird anti social genius kind of character and that there is a mystery a la Sherlock. I'm excited.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard: On the quest to catch up with the YA popular series that I missed on the past years this one is here, I'm actually much more excited to read it now than when it first was released. 

Well, that was it for today, tell me in the comments bellow if you've read any of those and which of those should a get to ASAP.

sexta-feira, 1 de janeiro de 2016

2015 End of Year Book Survey

Survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner


Number of books you read: 134 books.
Number of re-reads: 9 re-reads.
Genre you most read from: Probably fantasy, with contemporary as a close second. 




1. Best Book You Read In 2015?
Contemporary: The Start of Me and You, by Emery Lord
Sci-fi: Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Mythology based: Cruel Beauty, by Rosamund Hodge
Retelling: The Wrath and the Dawn, Renee Ahdieh
Fantasy: The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
In a good way Vengeance Road, by Erin Bowman, I was never really a fan of westerns movies or had read any before so I was surprised when this book hocked me up right from the first chapter. On a bad way there were a few two and one stars that I didn't expected, like The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Well, I don't really know the answer to this one, The Girl at the Midnight was my most viewed review this year so probably this one.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015? 
Best series you started in 2015: taking the ones I already talked about on my best books of 2015, I will have to go with the Seven Realms series, by Cinda Williams Chima
Best Sequel of 2015: The Vanishing Throne, by Elizabeth May
Best Series Ender of 2015: Winter, by Marissa Meyer

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
This one is hard, there was so much new authors I discovered this year (as always) but on the note of not mentioning authors/books I already mentioned before I'll go with Becky Albertalli

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
This isn't technically a book, but I'll go with Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, because I only started to read graphic novels this year.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? 
Through the Ever Night, by Veronica Rossi, I remember that when I finished this one I felt like it had read more like a novella than a book because it had passed so fast.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Any book from series that are going to have books published on 2016 really.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015? 
I'll kind of cheat on this one and go with the unpublished cover of Da Vinci's Tiger, by L.M. Elliott, I really, really don't understand publishing things sometimes.

11. Most memorable character of 2015? 
Ruby Oliver from the Ruby Oliver series, by E. Lockhart.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015? 
Making Pretty, by Corey Ann Haydu, this one isn't written on a lyrical beautiful kind of way but I found myself coming back to its words even after I had finished it.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015? 
The Art of Being Normal, by Lisa Williamson

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read? 
The final books on The Mediator series, by Meg Cabot, I started reading this series when I was like 12 and never got around to finishing it until this year.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?
I don't really save quotes, but this one stayed with me and I know it to my heart: "Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn't be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I'm just saying".

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015? 
Shortest: The Holders, by Julianna Scott
Longest: Winter, by Marissa Meyer

17. Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Illuminae hands down, it had more than one twist that left me like "WHAT WHAT WHAT EVEN WTH WHAT IS HAPPENNING" actual this was me the entire time while reading it, so yeah.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar) 
This isn't fair, this is even harder than choosing my favorites books, I have to many ships oh god. Okay, so I'm gonna go with Mia and Michael, from the Princess Diaries series because of all the happy things that happened to them on Royal Wedding.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
This is extremely hard too, I really, really, really love the friendship between Roar and Aria, always good to see two straight people of opposite sex being friends and that's it.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously 
The Fill-In Boyfriend, by Kassie West, she knows show to write contemporaries perfectly for me.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure
I ended up reading The Scorpion Rules, by Erin Bow because of one very positive review from a trusted GR friend, from peer pressure I read Queen of Shadows, by Sarah J. Maas.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015? 
LOL, okay, if you're gonna go with the newest it will have to be Elli from The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?
I'm cheating on this one, my best 2015 debuts are on my faves already so I'm going with a 2014 debut that I read on 2015 which was 17 First Kisses, by Rachael Allen.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
A tie between the Grisha trilogy, by Leigh Bardugo and Dark Caravan Cycle, by Heather Demetrius, both worlds were so unique and fantastical.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Love and Other Foreign Words, by Erin McCahan was full of awkward social moments that gave me good laughs.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
Oh, I'm a crier so there is plenty to chose for this one, I cry at nearly every book like seriously but probably the one that I cried during the longest time while reading it was Not Otherwise Specified, by Hannah Moskowitz.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
I think that The Lies About Truth, by Courtney C. Stevens didn't get as much atention as it should when it was released.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Tell the Wind and Fire, by Sarah Rees Brennan, so I totally could have used this one on the book that made you cry category because oh my god, this book made me ugly sob like so much BUT I think that it was more fitting on this question because it also crushed my soul too, pretty hard.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
The Heartstrikers series, by Rachel Aaron, I definitely had never read anything similar to these books before, it's urban fantasy but it takes magic and dragons on a totally new and unique way.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
The Art of Being Normal, by Lisa Williamson, there were quite a lot of familiar drama and bullying that made me a rage beast while reading it.



1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile and The Daily Prophecy.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015? 
Probably the one about Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
My discussion on the World Suicide Prevention Day.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? 
I didn't really took part on anything this year.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015? 
Idk, probably when I stopped feeling bad about not blogging constantly and accepted that this is my way of doing things.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? 
Keeping a balance between my studies and my hobbies.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? 
My review of The Girl at Midnight, by Melissa Grey.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? 
Again my discussion on the World Suicide Prevention Day.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Idk, probably starting using twitter.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? 
Yes and no, I completed my GR challenge of reading 130 books and my Flights of Fantasy challenge to read 30 fantasy novels (I ended up reading 44), but I didn't complete my re-read challenge of re-reading 12 books (ended up with only 9).



1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016? 
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman, I have this books for ages and a few months ago I finally got its sequel, now I'm planning on this being my first read of 2016.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)? 
All of the sequels of my series, but especially The Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater (I mean, this one is a given already).

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? 
There is quite a few fantasy debuts that are on my TBR list already, one of my most anticipated is probably The Girl from Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016? 
The Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016? 
Just keep blogging fun and as a hobby, I always love to write down a review and put my feelings out there so I hope to keep with this.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine, seriously SO GOOD, you want to read it.