Highly Anticipated: The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens

Hey guys, today is the day for another take on Highly Anticipated. As the name says here I'll talk a little about new tittles that are still months away to being released and were highly anticipated by me - so much that I couldn't help myself and read them way before the released date. Hope you enjoy these "sneak peeks" of some new books!

The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens
To be published on November 3, 2015 by HarperTeen
[This book was given to me by the publisher but this in no way affected my opinion.]

Sadie Kingston, is a girl living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.

As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she's unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him — even if Max is able to look at her scars and not shy away. But when the truth about the accident and subsequent events comes to light, Sadie has to decide if she can embrace the future or if she'll always be trapped in the past.

I absolutely loved this book. It dealt with heavy themes, like grief and changing (physically and emotionally) in a way that was really sad at some parts but it had an overall hopeful tone for me - this isn't a story about a sad girl, but a story about a sad girl trying to change her reality and find some happiness after a traumatic accident.

Sadie has to overcome the trauma of the accident, but also deal with her physical appearance after that - this part of the story was really touching and personal to me, I never passed trough a accident like her but it was easy to connect with her insecurities and a lot of times I cried with and for Sadie.

The relationships here are very complex, the car crash changed the dynamic of their group and no one really knows what to do with themselves and with each other, it was nice to see their working their way back together; the romantic aspect was really sweet, I loved Max and he was basically perfect, but what I really liked was that the book never, ever showed this relationship as the salvation for Sadie, yes it was something that helped her but ultimately her changes were for herself; the parents are very present on the story and I loved Sadie's parents, specially her relationship with her mom, who always seemed to know the right way to comfort her, when get involved and when just be there for her.

This was an amazing read, I think that every lover of contemporary about personal growth and overcoming stories will love this book as much as I did.

Highly Anticipated: Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown

Hey guys, today is the day for another take on Highly Anticipated. As the name says here I'll talk a little about new tittles that are still months away to being released and were highly anticipated by me - so much that I couldn't help myself and read them way before the released date. Hope you enjoy these "sneak peeks" of some new books!

Velver Undercover by Teri Brown
To be published on October 20, 2015 by Balzer + Bray
[This book was given to me by the publisher but this in no way affected my opinion.]

Samantha Donaldson’s family has always done its duty for the British Crown. In the midst of World War I, seventeen-year-old Sam follows in their footsteps, serving her country from the homefront as a Girl Guide and messenger for the intelligence organization MI5. After her father disappears on a diplomatic mission, she continues their studies of languages, high-level mathematics, and complex puzzles and codes, hoping to make him proud.

When Sam is asked to join the famed women’s spy group La Dame Blanche she’s torn—this could be the adventure she’s dreamed of, but how can she abandon her mother, who has already lost a husband to the war? But when her handlers reveal shocking news, Sam realizes there’s no way she can refuse the exciting and dangerous opportunity.

Her acceptance leads her straight into the heart of enemy territory on a mission to extract the most valuable British spy embedded in Germany, known to the members of LDB only as Velvet. Deep undercover within the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Samantha must navigate the labyrinthine palace and its many glamorous—and secretive—residents to complete her assignment. To make matters worse she finds herself forming a forbidden attraction to the enemy-a dangerously handsome German guard. In a place where personal politics are treacherously entangled in wartime policy, can Samantha discover the truth and find Velvet before it’s too late…for them both?

From author Teri Brown comes the thrilling story of one girl’s journey into a deadly world of spycraft and betrayal—with unforgettable consequences.

Full disclosure: I know shit about WWI. So I had 0 clue of what was supposed to be historical accurate or not, these being plot and costumes or clothes or whatever, so I definetely wasn't in this book for the historical aspect but for the spy stuff and I have to say that it didn't disappoint me.

The strongest quality of Velvet Undercover was its pace, we start with a lot of just information about the spy stuff and them things go building, the mystery starts to form and about 70% in is basically a torture to put the book down. I really enjoyed the way the mystery was handled too, at first I was holding my disbelief with Sam being chosen by a highly secretive spy organization during a war time to do such a important mission, but we have a good explanation and everything did made sense by the end.

I liked Sam as a character, she was strong and smart, making the situations a lot more easy to believe in; but none of the secondary characters really had a strong personality and the book lacked a more emotional side for me. There is a romance (kind of) on this, I don't know if I would call it a romance because it never really happens but it's pretty obvious that they like each other, so despite this not being in any way a instalove at the same time it kind of seemed like it was? Ugh, is just the way Sam thinks about him since the first time they met makes it clear he is a love interest. But they were never really romantically involved on the book. So yeah, I don't know what to make of it. What I did do was roll my eyes at some of their interactions.

 If you like detective/spy stories I would say to give this one a shot, for me it was worth it may be to you too.

Highly Anticipated: Da Vinci's Tiger by Laura Malone Elliott

Hey guys, today I'm here with a new feature of the blog called Highly Anticipated. As the name says here I'll talk a little about new tittles that are still months away to being released and were highly anticipated by me - so much that I couldn't help myself and read them way before the released date. Hope you enjoy these "sneak peeks" of some new books!

Da Vinci's Tiger by Laura Malone Elliott
To be published on November 10, 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books
[This book was given to me by the publisher, this in no way affected my opinion.]

Young, beautiful, and witty, Ginevra de’ Benci longs to take part in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence. But as the daughter of a wealthy family in a society dictated by men, she is trapped in an arranged marriage, expected to limit her creativity to domestic duties. Her poetry reveals her deepest feelings, and she aches to share her work, to meet painters and sculptors mentored by the famed Lorenzo de Medici, and to find love.

When the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, arrives in Florence, he introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers—a world of thought and conversation she has yearned for. She is instantly attracted to the handsome newcomer, who admires her mind as well as her beauty. Yet Ginevra remains conflicted about his attentions. Choosing her as his Platonic muse, Bembo commissions a portrait by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them—one Ginevra can only begin to understand. In a rich and enthralling world of exquisite art, elaborate feasts, and exhilarating jousts, she faces many temptations to discover her voice, artistic companionship, and a love that defies categorization. In the end, she and Leonardo are caught up in a dangerous and deadly battle between powerful families.

The strength of this book is its history accuracy, its beautiful descriptions and love for art. It's clear reading it that Elliott is a lover of history (or at least of Italian Renaissance) by her through research of the facts and possible facts, I know this is fiction but there is something magical when reading a historical book and seeing that this stories could actually have happened. The descriptions of Florence were breath taking, everything felt really vivid and oh, how I wish I could go there right now and see all the places that are sited on the book. If you love art this book will be a treat, we have Leonardo da Vinci and Verrocchio as main characters and get to see they creating, as well of a lot of other artists and works being mentioned - I specially loved the fact that Elliott took some of Leonardo lines from his actual diaries so yeah, that was cool.

But where this book felt short for me was on its characters. I never really got attached to Ginevra, I understand her inside fight but she never grew on me as a strong carrier of this book. The other main characters hardly were worth mentioning based on their character growth, it just lacked a more emotional connection to me. The one character that amused me to no end was Leonardo, every scene that he was in was a good one, but unfortunately it had very few of those (for me).

In true this book is a dedication to the Italian Renaissance of the XV century, it's a imaginative version of historical facts and of works of art.