Hello, panda lovers! This is not a training session. Please, don’t’ panic. This is not a scam, this blog hasn’t been hacked. I’m actually writing some reviews after a year and seven days, the legend came back to life! =D
Tag: 3 stars
Mini Reviews: Edgar Allan Poe #1
Hello, dearings! I’m alive yet again =D I have been making some solid progress on my readings, which brings us here today: MORE MINI REVIEWS! This time, our theme is Edgar Allan Poe, as I’m reading this pretty and giant book with his main works =) I’m not done yet, hence the ‘part 1’ deal, haha!
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life; b) regardless of my feelings, were too short for a complete review; c) regardless of my feelings, weren’t unforgettable.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for these Edgar Allan Poe’s books:
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The Pit and the Pendulum
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The Fall of the House of Usher
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The Black Cat
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The Cask of Amontillado
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The Masque of the Red Death
Mini Reviews: MM Romance #4
Hello, world! Despite lack of recent evidence, I’m still alive and breathing! I’m just having a really hard time to go back to my blogging schedule – I don’t have a good excuse. But today I’m back and with reviews! THE MIRACLE.
On another bunch of mini reviews, I’ll talk about more gay romances that I have read over the year and haven’t reviewed yet =)
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life; b) regardless of my feelings, were too short for a complete review; c) regardless of my feelings, weren’t unforgettable.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
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Amanda Young – Crushing
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Harper Logan – Groomed to Perfection (The Neeson Boys #2)
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Harper Logan – Baby Daddies (The Neeson Boys #3)
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Hawke Oakley – Love Me, Hate Me (SERIES #)
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Mia Kerick – Scarred
Mini Reviews: Dystopian books #1
Good afternoon, adored ones! I’m back with another edition of the mini reviews, but this time for Dystopian books! I received all of today’s titles in exchange for honest reviews, so A BIG THANK YOU! I have read them all last year, but a reason or another or several, I never got around to review them. NOT ANYMORE. I’m honestly tired of being so behind in reviews, so I’ll work harder to not get overflowed in read books anymore!
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life; b) regardless of my feelings, were too short for a complete review; c) regardless of my feelings, weren’t unforgettable.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
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Amy McNulty – Fall Far From the Tree
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Amy McNulty – Josie’s Coat
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Holly Sparks – Enrule (The Enrule Series #1)
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Jamie Morris – Melophobia
Mini Reviews: YA books #2
Hello, world! I’m back with another edition of the Mini Reviews and, this time, our theme is Young Adult books! YAAAY!
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) were good, but weren’t unforgettable; b) were too short for a complete review; c) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
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Madeleine Roux – The Scarlets (The Asylum #1.5)
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Madeleine Roux – Catacomb (The Asylum #3)
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Rainbow Rowell – Kindred Spirits
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Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)
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Sara Shepard – The Perfectionists (The Perfectionists #1)
ECHO Campaign, from Taylor Brooke (Isolation #2)
Hello, there! Welcome to my review for the second book in the Isolation series, from Taylor Brooke: ECHO Campaign! I’ve received my copy from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for na honest review. Thank you guys sooo much! The time is now ❤
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Brooklyn Harper’s worst nightmare has become her reality. She has been captured by Isolation…
Trapped in a white-walled labyrinth by Juneau Malloy, Brooklyn is faced with the horrors of Isolation’s finest training yet. The skills she learned as an Omen Operative in Camp Number Eleven are put to the test in the form of brutal assessments of her strength, skills, and fortitude. Confused and disheartened, Brooklyn and the group of renegade Omens prepare for whatever trials Isolation has in store for them.
Juneau has caged her once again, but Brooklyn is far from broken…
When Brooklyn finds out her best friend Gabriel is alive, she goes on a violent rampage in search of her, but instead earns herself a stint in solitary confinement. Juneau attempts to tame Brooklyn through grueling exercises before offering her one radical choice. Brooklyn must hand over her freedom in order to spare her friends. She’ll become a showpiece Juneau will auction off to the highest bidder for her skills in assassination, defense, and combat.
There must be a way out, and the renegade Omens have to find it…
Brooklyn has no intention of becoming Juneau’s latest achievement. During a mind-warping training simulation, Brooklyn uncovers Isolation’s greatest secret and their darkest mistake. Juneau Malloy has created something far more sinister than the Omens, and it’s ready to eat the world alive.
As the battle with Isolation intensifies, Brooklyn is faced with her most dangerous choice yet…
Save her friends—or save humanity.
Me after finishing the book:
The Rakehell’s Seduction, from Lauren Smith (Seduction #2)
Good morning! Am I a productive panda or what? Welcome to, believe it or not, ANOTHER REVIEW! =D #feelthepandaboss
This time, our subject is the second book in the Seduction series, from Lauren Smith: The Rakehell’s Seduction! I have received my copy from Barclay Publicity in exchange for an honest review and here we go! Thank you, guys!
HE’S MADE A DANGEROUS WAGER
Ambrose Worthing is no gentleman. He’s a proud cold-hearted rake who’s determined to stay a bachelor forever. He enjoys bedding a different woman every night without the risk of falling in love. When he hears about a wager over the seduction and ruination of the daughter of his father’s best friend, he knows he must intervene. Committing himself to the bet, he agrees to seduce Lady Alexandra Rockford—for her own good. He never expected the lady in question to be a beautiful, fiery creature who has passions of her own that call to his guarded heart.
SHE’S VOWED NEVER TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN
Alexandra Rockford has sworn off men, her heart still broken from the false promises of a childhood sweetheart who left her to marry an heiress. When she stumbles into Ambrose outside of a country ball, she knows the rake is trouble. His smile, his touch, his forbidden kiss are all too tempting but being with him would ruin her. Determined to enjoy herself without falling in love, Alex can’t help but let her defenses down with the too charming rake. But when she discovers Ambrose is seducing her to win a bet, it will take everything Ambrose has to prove to her that he is worthy to love her.
Me after finishing this book:
Mini Reviews: YA books #1
Hello, dearies! We have here another powerful edition of the mini reviews post =D This time, however, the macro theme will be Young Adult books that I have read recently =)
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that were good, but weren’t unforgettable =)
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
- Elizabeth Rudnick – A Frozen Heart
- Emily Rodda – The Key to Rondo (Rondo #1)
- G. K. DeRosa – Wilder Destiny (The Guardian #2)
- John Connolly – The Book of Lost Things
- Kiera Cass – The Siren
- Laini Taylor – Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)
- Shannon Hale – The Unfairest of Them All (Ever After High: Storybook of Legends #2)
Mini Reviews: M/M books #2
Hii and welcome to another chunk of mini reviews! If you missed the first one, never fear – it’s here!
I was hoping I could deliver you all the reviews I own you, but oh well. The year ended on me. #what #pandalogic Soo, I’ll just make the mini reviews a deal for books I’ve read on my own and weren’t unforgettable =)
This idea is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress ❤
As always, feedback is welcome and needed, but in this section especially, TELL ME WHAT AM I DOING, PLEASE?! I await your instructions on the comments section, haha!
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
- Amber Kell – Attracting Anthony (Moon Pack #1)
- Cardeno C. – Jumping In (ALPHAS #6)
- Liv Rider – Dragon Sun
- Tavia Lark – Werewolf Happy Hour (The Raven Park Wolves #1)
- Tavia Lark – A Game of Cat and Wolf (The Raven Park Wolves #2)
- Tavia Lark – Never Been Bitten (Vampire Delivery Service #1)
- Wolf Specter & Rosa Swann – The Baby Pact (The Baby Pact Trilogy #1)
- Wolf Specter – Omega’s Touch (Anima Sanator #1)
The Dreamer, from E.J. Mellow (Dreamland #1)
(Alternative title: The book that I was dying to read since I entered bookstagram on 2015 and disappointed me more than the new chicken sandwich at McDonald’s)
Hi, there! I knooow, twice in the same week? It must be a miracle! HAHAHA
Anyway, hope you all are doing ok! Today I’ll talk about one of the books that Jess, from the Mud and Stars, and I read on our book club: The Dreamer, first book in the Dreamland series, from E. J. Mellow! Jess posted her review up here and, while I know I won’t do such a good job, I wanted to share my opinions on it as well 🙂
Oh, and I received my copy of the book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I can’t even begin to apologize to them for the delay in reviewing it, but better late than never, right??
Anyway, let’s talk about The Dreamer 🙂
Molly hasn’t slept well since the night of her twenty-fourth birthday. Being struck by lightning might have something to do with it, but then again, her chicken did look a little undercooked at dinner. Whatever the culprit, her life quickly catapults from mundane to insane as, night after night, Molly is transported through her once dreamless sleep to a mysterious land illuminated by shooting stars.
There she meets the captivating but frustrating Dev, and together they discover Molly possesses a power coveted by his people—the ability to conjure almost anything she desires into existence. Seduced by the possibilities of this gift, Molly shifts her attention from waking life toward the man, the magic, and the world found in her dreams.
But Molly must ask herself—does something truly exist if you only see it when you close your eyes?
Faced with the threat of losing everything—her job, best friend, boyfriend, and most importantly, that little thing called her sanity—Molly will learn just how far she’ll go to uncover what is real and what is merely a figment of her imagination.
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
As I mentioned above, I was dying to read this book since the moment I entered bookstagram, in 2015. When I had the opportunity to do so, I actually giggled in joy and high-fived the universe. Everybody said such good things about it! The concept was amazing – I mean, who never wanted to consciously be able to go somewhere else when sleeping? – and the mystery sounded delicious. It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that I was a victim of foul marketing. The reading experience of this book for me was very bad. I only ended up rating it 3 stars because the concept was so amazing and I have to keep recognizing that. I just wished the execution was better. Oh well. Now let’s get even more ranty, shall we?
The narrative was one of the few things that pleased me. The pace was good – not too fast, not too slow – and we are introduced to Molly’s reality and dreams on a sane level. I mean, don’t expect a hundred pages explaining why things are happening and revealing it all right before the end. I liked to be slowly presented to the reality of things 🙂 Also, Mellow’s writing is very good and she has good humor catches. You have to take the hat off to her!
BUT we have a first person narrator – Molly – and if you used to hang around here much before my crisis, you know how I have a… Difficult?… Relationship with first person narrators. I usually love or hate them and the hate usually surpasses the love. And oh God, how I hated Molly. It wasn’t unusual for me to start conversations with Jess by saying “OMG JESS I HATE HER SO MUCH”. I know, poor Jess! Hahaha!
Now, as I’m talking about Molly, let me just skip over to the characters. I didn’t like a single character on this book. I know I am a bore and have really high expectations, but no one in this book has a hobby. Molly and her bff only talk about boys, her life is her work and her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s hobby seems to be hang out with Molly, the people on her dreams only seemed to be around doing nothing, even when they were on their break from their “work”. I can’t relate to this. Even workaholics have a hobby: THEIR JOB! Not Molly’s case, I assure you.
To be honest, I could have overlooked all of this if it wasn’t for this really tiny detail: INSTALOVE.
And not only that. Instalove + amorous triangle + a forceful male + the chosen one. I can’t respect a girl that allows a guy to try to hurt her just to make a point, sorry. This was so not sexy! But again, everything about Dev just made me mad. If you are thinking me a heartless bitch just by reading this review, imagine what Jess had to go through during the month of this reading, haha! Just go there and offer a virtual hug, she deserves it!
Okay, now the plot. As I said, I really like this concept and I think Mellow had a wonderful idea. Another land reachable only through dreams? A girl hit by a lightening? The border between dreams and reality? PERFECTION!
Oh, also! Can we just take a moment to forget all my ranting and just appreciate the MARVELOUS cover of this book? I wish I had a poster of it! SOOO PRETTY *–* I’d totally buy it just for display purposes as I’m sure as hell I won’t be reading it again.
I do apologize to Mellow, as I don’t want to be mean, but I felt like she said “great, I have a million dollar idea. Now let me just add here every cliché that I know of”. My other bff friend, @thepagemistress (if you are on Instagram, you just have to follow her!), taught me to flip a switch in my head every time I read the line: “I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding” and all its adaptations. She really hates it, as she claims it is overused (and she is so right!), so I ended up always noticing when this is used and Mellow uses it SO MUCH! Honestly, it was a deal breaker for me. I don’t have many problems in seeing it being used at some point of the book, but more than once? Come ooooon!
I wanted to wrap it up by saying that, while I won’t keep reading this series, I wanted for you all to understand that if I am laying such heavy critics on something, it was because I cared about what I was reading. When I don’t, I simply say the book wasn’t for me (it has already happened). But I cared about The Dreamer. I think this book was meant for me, but for my 12-year-old self. Sometimes, it sucks to be a journalist and seeing all that could have been instead of what it really is, haha!
Wow, that was a heavy and boring review! What are you guys still doing here? HAHA! Thanks for reaching the bottom of this post and thanks once again to Xpresso Book Tours for my review copy 🙂 I hope you guys aren’t feeling discouraged to read this book – I mean, have you seen the amount of 5 stars reviews it has? I mean, what do I know about life? I’m just a vampire with the 16 face and the 86 mind. I’m sure that, if you like fantasy and Red Queen, you’ll love this one. Actually, I’m glad to see an indie author to gather so much attention, so keep reading E. J. Mellow’s books, guys! And tell me bellow what you thought of them, please, haha! 🙂
Love you all and see you another time,
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 