Anticipating Book Releases – May

Posted in Book Releases, Home, Random by Cátia

Hi guys,

So April is coming to an end and May is about to start. This means that in the next month more amazing books are going to bo released. Maybe the continuation of a series comes out or even a stand alone that you want to read. So, these are some of the books that are going to be released May. If you want more information about the book click on its cover. It will take to the Goodreads page.

May 5

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) – Sarah J. Maas

The Heir (The Selection #4) – Kiera Cass

Crimson Bound – Rosamund Hodge

The Fill-In Boyfriend – Kasie West

Saint Anything – Sarah Dessen

Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold (Broken Hearts & Revenge #2) – Katie Finn

May 12

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) – Renee Ahdieh

Love Fortunes and Other Disasters – Kimberly Karalius

Making Pretty – Corey Ann Haydu

May 17

Never Never: Part Two (Never Never #2) – Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

May 26

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2) – Jenny Han

Kissing in America – Margo Rabb

Nowhere but Here (Thunder Road #1) – Katie McGarry

Are excited about any of these books? Which one do you want to read first?

29Apr2015

T5W – Favorite Series Endings

Posted in Home, Random, Tags by Cátia

Hi. It’s that time of the week again when I bring you the Top 5 Wednesdays which was created by gingerreadslainey. If you want to know how T5W works you can go to the Goodreads group by clicking here. This weeks theme is Top 5 Favorite Series Endings . So let’s start it.

5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I didn’t like the final for The Hunger Games that much but for the purpose of this top, and because from the series I’ve finished this is not the worst series endings, I decided to include Mockingjay. I could have put Allegiant in number 5 but I’m still not accepting that ending.

4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

In five positions I would have to put contemporary somewhere. I loved all the books in Anna and the French Kiss and I loved how all the stories were interconnected. Not only that but I was also happy to see how everything ended in Isla and the Happily Ever After.

3. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

I loved the Shatter Me trilogy and for me this was the best book because it culminated in such a well written ending. I really liked it and I liked how Tahereh left the ending opened for our imagination because yes you know what happened but you don’t know what’s about to coming and how relationships are going to evolve after what happened.

2. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

I love Cassandra Clare. Her books are amazing and the endings are always on spot. So yeah, this had to be in my list. There is only one reason why it was not in number one: Clockwork Princess.

1. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

You have to understand, I loved this series and it was a very satisfying final. It ended up pretty well for everyone, right? And that epilogue… I loved it and that’s why this book is my number one series endings. It couldn’t be more perfect.

So this was my top 5 for favorite series endings. Who would you add to this list?

28Apr2015

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – Review

Posted in Home, Reviews by Cátia

Publication Date:

August 2nd 2012

Publisher:

Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Goodreads Synopsis:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her… but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead… quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Review:

I know that this book has a lot of hype around it. Because of that I decided to wait to read it until I was in the right mood. That happened last week. Now I think to myself, what the hell did I had in my head to not start it sooner. This book was amazing. I loved everything in it, the characters, the plot, EVERYTHING. First of all, I normally don’t like assassins, like everyone I think, but Celaena was such a strong character and such a badass that was impossible not to like her. Then we have the guys, Dorian and Chaol, and I also loved them but for now I’m team Chaol, I don’t care. However this can change when I read the next books. It wouldn’t be the first time that it would happen. Regarding the plot, I wasn’t expecting that Sarah J. Maas inserted that magical element in the book. The only thing I knew about this b was that it was about an assassin competing to be the King’s Champion but I was happily surprised and really liked that magic played such a big part in the book.

So yeah, I loved this book and I’m excited to read the remaining books. And if you like young-adult fantasy books please go read Throne of Glass, if you hadn’t already. Don’t wait as long as I did.

Rating:

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it?

27Apr2015

Liebster Award

Posted in Home, Random, Tags by Cátia

Hi guys,

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by CJ from Anime the Review! If you don’t know what this is it’s an online trophy given from one new blogger to another in which we have to complete tasks listed in the award rules. The rules are:

Each nominee must have under 200 followers
Thank and link to the nominated blog
Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees
Nominate 10 blogs and tell them that they have been nominated
Write a post containing the questions
Include these rules in the post

My nominations are:

Warisha from WarishaReads

Panda from Panda’s Books

Saba and Hafsa from BookMates

J.F.Johns from Writersmania

Shawna from Bookish Reviews

Rach from Rach Reads Books

Faith from Faithfully Read

Melanie from One Less Lonely Blog

Rayna from Reader Rayna

The Literalist

If you were nominated by me you have to answer to these questions:

1. Why did you start a blog?

2. What is one thing you must always have with you while on the go?

3. What’s your favourite hobby?

4. Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

5. What is your biggest fear?

6. If you could move to any part of the world right now, where would you go and why?

7. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

8. Do you prefer TV shows or movies?

9. If your house was on fire, what is the possession you’d grab as you ran out of the door?

10. Cats or Dogs?

These are the questions that CJ made me and my answers:

1. What made you pick the topic of your blog?

I love to read and I’m always in book related blogs so when I decided to have a blog I figured out that this was the best topic for me to talk because it’s something that I really like.

2. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take three things with you, what would they be?

My Kobo full of books, probably my laptop and, i don’t know, maybe my phone? (Obviously this island need to have electricity because I need to charge everything)

3. Which famous individual, of any time period, would you like to have dinner with?

Albert Einstein

4. If you could travel in time (past or future), what year/time period would you travel to?

Probably the medieval era

5. Out of all the places you have been in your life, which is your favorite?

I love to walk around Lisbon

6. What is your dream job?

I would love to work in something related to medicine research in a pharmaceutical industry

7. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?

We only have a few fast food restaurants in Portugal and normally I go to McDonalds.

8. What is your favorite type of music?

I normally listen to pop/rock

9. ….Do you know….the Muffin Man?

Nope and I don’t think I want to

10. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be? (For those who don’t like animals, what plant would it be?)

Right now I want a cat but if I could have any animal I would want a panda as my pet.

Thanks CJ for nominating me.. =)

27Apr2015

Book Covers Around the World #1

Posted in Home, Random, Tags by Cátia

Today I bring you a new type of post that it’s called Book Covers Around the World. Basically I every time I do this I will have one book or series and I’m going to show and comment the different book covers around the world. I got this idea from a portuguese booktuber, Joca, who owns the Little House of Books channel I’ve been watching her videos for quite some time and I like when she does this so I decided to do the same. To start this I’ve chosen The Lunar Chronicles covers. So let’s start it.

United States

First we have the original covers and the covers that everyone knows. I love everything in these covers and I think that they are very relatable to the plot. Just look at them not only the books are amazing but also the covers are beautifully done.

Portugal

Next we have the portuguese covers. I’m going to be honest the Cinder cover was not my favourite and I think that it could be better but starting in Scarlet I think that the covers got much better and I’m not saying this because I’m portuguese but I really like this editions. I like that they kept the colour scheme and that the covers are related to the plot. I really hope that they keep doing a good job when they release Fairest and Winter.

France

Obviously I loved the french cover for Cinder because they used the original cover. Regarding the Scarlet cover, I didn’t like it as much as the original and portuguese editions but it was not as bad a the cover for Cress. I don’t like it, not for the book that it is. I think that this would be a great cover if Cress was a graphic novel.

Germany

These covers remind classic books like that amazing Jane Austen book covers but I think that they are not right for the book that it is. I know that they have that repetitive item that is related to each book but that’s it nothing else in these covers make think of The Lunar Chronicles books and the plot.

Bulgaria

Not wanting to be mean the Scarlet cover is a little bit creepy. Yeah they are related to the plot but I don’t like these covers. And it is just me or does the Cress cover is really similar to the Disney Rapunzel? (If you don’t know what I’m talking about you should really watch the movie Tangled… just sayin’)

Thailand

Once again, I don’t like these covers and once again they would be better cover for The Lunar Chronicles graphic novel (Hey, they should graphic novels from these books. They would be pretty cool)

Korea

More covers that were more appropriate for a graphic novel or manga. I don’t like neither these nor the Thailand covers but both are related to the books which is good.

Overall what I think is that the best covers are the original. They are amazing and appropriate for the books that we are talking about. I also liked the portuguese covers but not as much as the originals.

What did you think? Which one is your favourite? And tell me, do you want me to keep doing this for other books? If yes leave your book suggestions on the comments.

24Apr2015

T5W – Books that Feature Traveling

Posted in Home, Random, Tags by Cátia

Today I bring you Top 5 Wednesdays which was created by gingerreadslainey. If you want to know how T5W works you can go to the Goodreads group by clicking here. This weeks theme is Top 5 Books that Feature Travelling . So let’s start it.

5. Paper Towns by John Green

I’ve read all of John Green’s books and I really liked them and if you’ve read Paper Towns you know that it has a road trip. This road trip was one of the best parts of this book and I really liked it

4. Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Willem travels, a lot. He goes everywhere so I thought that it was a good idea to feature this book in this top 5. I can name you a few places: France, Netherlands, Mexico, India and there’s more. And I loved this book so yeah, here it is.

3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I loved Outlander and this book doesn’t only features traveling, because they travel a lot especially in Scotland, but it also features time-traveling so yeah, it had to be in my list

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

You have heard about The Hobbit right? Everyone loves this book and Bilbo and the dwarves travel a lot in Middle-Earth. It would be a crime if I haven’t included this in this top 5

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

What can I say to you about this book. We have a circus that appears during the night and no one knows how. I loved this book and practically in each chapter they were in a different place. So yes, this is my number one book that features travelling. And have I told you, this book is magical and amazing and I really liked it.

So this was my top 5 for books that feature traveling. Who would you add to this list?

22Apr2015

True Calling by Siobhan Davis – Review

Posted in Home, Reviews by Cátia

True Calling Publication Date:

July 28th 2014

Publisher:

Independent

Goodreads Synopsis:

Planet Novo, nestled in space twelve hundred miles above the surface of the Earth, is the new home of 17-year-old Cadet Ariana Skyee. Confused by the government-sanctioned memory erase and distressed at her impending forced marriage and motherhood, Ariana’s plans for the future are thrown into complete disarray.

As the traumatic events within her family life enfold, Ariana grows increasingly alarmed at the authorities apparent pre-occupation with her and feels progressively more isolated and alone.

Her growing feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify as the recently announced pageant, ‘The Calling’, gets underway. Struggling to comprehend the continuous, inexplicable dreams of the mysterious Zane, discovering the past helps shape her future, with devastating personal consequences.

Review:

First of all I would like to thank Siobhan Davis for providing me a digital copy of this book for an honest review.

The book follows Ariana, a 17 year-old girl who was relocated in another planet with her family two years ago. Everything is fine until she starts dreaming about a guy named Zane that she doesn’t recognize. To complicate her life even more the “Calling”, a pageant where everyone under a certain age is going to be placed with the best match to marry and have kids, is announced. I had already heard about this book and I was really interested in reading it but this plot accentuated my interest in reading it even more and didn’t disappoint me. Not only I liked the plot but I also liked the characters even though I never completely trusted Cal (and believe me, I wanted) especially towards the end of the book when he started to be violent towards everyone. Another thing that I liked in this book was the fact that the author included a few chapters in Zane’s POV. This was really interesting because we only knew Zane from Ariana’s dreams so it was cool that we could see what was happening with him and who really was.

Overall I really liked this book and I’m excited to read the remaining of Ariana’s story (I also need to know if I can trust Cal because I really want to but I don’t know if I can). Although this book is similar to other YA books you can see that in some ways it is also unique. So, if you like type of books you should give it a try.

Rating:

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it?

21Apr2015

The Book Worm Tag

Posted in Home, Random, Tags by Cátia

Today I decided to bring you a book tag. I was tagged by Warisha from WarishaReads to do the Book Worm tag so let’s do it. I’m not tagging anyone but if you want to do it you’re welcome.

1. If you could own one fictional person, animal or thing, what would it be?

Hedwig because I want to have an owl and because it’s Hedwig

2. What would be the best fictional world to live in and why?

Probably Hogwarts like almost everyone =)

3. If you could re-write the end of a book, what book would it be?

Right now Confess by Colleen Hoover. This book needs to have an Epilogue

4. What series did you love at first, but hate towards the end?

Divergent. Well, I didn’t hate Allegiant only a few parts of it

5. What is you favorite movie/TV show soundtrack and book to movie or TV show adaptation?

I love The Hunger Games soundtrack. As favourite book to movie adaptation I have to say The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Are you surprised by thhis?? =)

6. What book did you not expect to love as much as you did?

Shatter Me. I loved it so much that I’ve read the three books in less than two weeks

7. If you had to burn one book, what book would it be?

I don’t want to say this because I love Jane Austen but, Emma. I can’t finish it and believe me I tried

8. If you had to kill two evil characters, who would they be?

Umbridge from Harry Potter and Sebastian from The Mortal Instruments

9. If you were stuck in Lotus Casino, from the Percy Jackson series, what two fictional characters would be your tag alongs?

I don’t know. Maybe Anna from Anna and the French Kiss and Juliette from Shatter Me??

10. Say you are going on a long trip…in a submarine! Reading’s going to be your main priority for this trip, so you decide to take a pile of books to keep you occupied. What books do you take?

New-adult contemporary or some YA fantasy books

11. What book has been on your wishlist for a while now?

The Diviners by Libba Bray

12. Who do you tag?

Everyone who wants to do it

So, this is it. If you want to do this tag do it. I’m excited to see all of your answers.

20Apr2015

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover – Review

Posted in Home, Reviews by Cátia

Publication Date:

August 5th 2014

Publisher:

Atria Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

Review:

I’ve read this book a few months ago but it seemed to me that I should do a proper review. This book is about Tate and Miles. They both don’t want a relationship in the near future so they start to have a friends with benefits kind of thing. Of course that, in Colleen Hoover fashion, everything starts to go wrong. This book is presented to us in dual POV: Tate POV is in the present and Miles in the past. Throughout the book we learn about what happened in Miles’s past and why he doesn’t to have relationships but we also see how their friendship starts to develop and almost ruins their arrangement, especially because Tate starts to falling for Miles even thought he said from the beginning that there was no future with him. I really liked the characters and principally Miles POV and learning why he became like he is. Like all of Colleen Hoover’s books this one broke my heart. Actually this was the first one because it was the first Colleen Hoover book that I’ve read and it didn’t disappoint me.

So yeah… I loved this book. I loved the characters, their chemistry, their building relationship and the plot. Obviously this is one of that books that you are going to cry no matter what but doesn’t this happens with all of Colleen Hoover’s books?? If you loved her other books you should definitely check this one. If you didn’t, read it anyway. It’s amazing (but really, if you didn’t what are you waiting for?)

Rating:

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it?