Best books I’ve read in 2015! – Pt. 1

Hi, there! Good Tuesday to you 😀 Today I’m finally posting my official selection for 2015, so please be prepared for a huge post! I’m so grateful to have read so many good books! I’ll use as a guide a challenged put together by bookstgrammer @annreads to do this, so le’ts go 😀

1) First read of the year

My first reads were this comic book by Donald Duck and this book called Venom, by Kristen Middleton ❤

from my Instagram ❤

2) Shortest book you’ve read

A short manga story called No Toy. It doesn’t even possess a cover and it was 6 pages long, haha!

3) New Favorite Authors

Omg, be prepared for the list:

• Lauren Bird Horowitz
• Linda Oaks
• Mark C. King
• Jacqueline E. Smith
• Steve Spatucci
• Jordan L. Hawk
• James Morris
• Rick Riordan (I had never read Percy Jackson before 2015)
• Madeleine Roux
• Shannon Hale
• Miyuki Abe
• Grace Burrowes
• John Flanagan
• Hinako Takanaga
• Rihito Takarai
• Jax Garren

Those are the awesome author’s that I had the privilege to literary meet in 2015 ❤

4) Biggest Surprise

My early Christmas present from Ava March ❤ She sent me an ARC copy of Convincing the Secretary months before its release and I got tackled down good, haha! To read its review, click here!

5) Books with Beautiful Covers

Those are my read beauties from 2015 ❤

Venom, Kristen Middleton (4 stars)

The Gentleman and the Lamplighter, Summer Devon (4 stars)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Official Movie Guide (5 stars)

Keep Out, Yuka Hichiwa (5 stars)

Sanctum (Asylum #2), Madeleine Roux (5 stars)

All In with the Duke (Gambling on Love #1), Ava March (5 stars)

Chasing Rainbows (The Chasing Series #1), Linda Oaks (5 stars)

The Need, S.L. Hannah (3 stars)

Shattered Blue (The Light #1), Lauren Bird Horowitz (5 stars)

The Heir (The Selection #4), Kiera Cass (3 stars)

Secrets and High Spirits (Secrets #4), Lou Harper (3 stars)

What Lies Within, James Morris (4 stars)

Misunderstood: Secrets of a Teen Queen, Anya Valentino (3 stars)

Convincing the Secretary (London Legal #3), Ava March (5 stars)

After Death (Cemetery Tours #3), by Jacqueline E. Smith

6) Newest Fictional Boyfriends

A whole post about this is coming soon, haha!

7) Best Sequel

• Dangerous Spirits, Jordan L. Hawk [review here!]

• Viscount’s Wager, Ava March [review here!]

• Supernatural: Bobby Singer’s Guide to Hunting, David Reed [review here!]

• Finding Forever, Linda Oaks [review here!]

• Between Worlds, Jacqueline E. Smith [review here!]

• Daughters of Darkness, L.J. Smith [review coming soon!]

• After Death, Jacqueline E. Smith
• Convincing the Secretary, Ava March
• Sanctum, Madeleine Roux

8) New Favorite Female Characters

• Isabel, from Goddess of Legend

• Jane Hayes, from Austenland

• Annie, from Shielded Past

• Rhi, Emma and Winnie from Stripped with the Vampire

• Kate, from Cemetery Tours

• Poppy, Mary-Lynnette and Thea, from Night World series (Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness so far)
• Addison Hayes, from Chasing Rainbows
• Noa, from Shattered Blue
• Kara Thorn, from Finding Forever

9) Books that made you happy

All of them, haha!

10) Best standalones

I just realized that I have read very few standalone books in 2015, haha! But the best are:

• The Gentleman and the Lamplighter, Summer Devon
• The Tutor, Bonnie Dee

And this is the end of part 1, haha! Tomorrow, there is part 2 ;D Thanks for reading!

December Wrap up + Book Haul + January TBR!

Hello, again! I know I am a little late to do this, but better late than never, haha! January is going to be insane for me, as my younger cousin is going to be here until Sunday and next week I may start a course – more info as my life goes, haha!

But I’m blabbering, let’s do this:

December Wrap Up

I’m very proud of my reading month! I’ve read 11 books!! =O I’m still wondering how I did it, so I can repeat the dose this month, haha!

• Shielded Past, from Patti Morelli [review here]

all pictures from my Instagram!

• Stripped with the Vampire, from Jax Garren [review here]

• Convincing the Secretary, from Ava March [review here]

• Cemetery Tours, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• Between Worlds, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• After Death, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, from Anne Rice [review here]

• Braver With You, from A. Hart [review here]

• Roses of the Angel, from Kalee Marshall [review here!]

• Secret Vampire, from L. J. Smith [review here]

• Daughters of Darkness, from L. J. Smith [review here!]

 

December Book Haul

• Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell [review here]

• Peter Pan, Barnes & Noble edition

• A Court of Thorns and Roses, from Sarah J. Maas
• Of Poseidon, from Anna Banks
• Treble Maker (Perfect Harmony, #1), from Annabeth Albert (ebook)

 

Books I have won as gifts

• Leaving Amarillo, from Casey Quinn
• Convincing the Secretary, from Ava March
• The Christmas Pearl, from Dorothea Benton Frank
• After Death, from Jacqueline E. Smith
• 1/2986, from Annelie Wendeberg
• Between Sips, from Andrea Michelle
• Our New Love, from Melissa Foster
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, from Laini Taylor
• The Vanishing Game, from Kate Kae Myers
• Book of Opera, from Arthur Jacobs and Stanley Sadie
• The Other Side of Midnight, from Sidney Sheldon
• The Devil’s Advocate, from Morris West
• Vixen 03, from Clive Cussler
• The Name of the Rose, from Umberto Eco
• Lie Down With Lions, Ken Follett
• An illustrated guide to Dresden
• Amar se Aprende Amando, from Carlos Drummond de Andrade
• Antologia Poética, from Vinicius de Moraes
• Antologia Poética, from Carlos Drummond de Andrade
• Dona Flor e seus Dois Maridos, from Jorge Amado
• Tieta do Agreste, from Jorge Amado
• Tenda dos Milagres, from Jorge Amado
• A Moreninha, from Joaquim Manuel de Macedo

I know, I know. So many books, haha! I can explain 🙂 14 of my won books were at my uncle’s place, waiting for death. Yeah. So I won a cattle with lots of books and selected the ones that seemed promising 🙂 I wish I could have saved all books that were there, but there were some destroyed ones by the time, others that I knew for being a bore and some that weren’t my thing at all… Anyway, at least I could save some of them, haha!

 

Freebies that I got this month

• Anywhere But Here (The Starborn Ascension Book 1), from Jason D. Morrow
• Beyond Secret Worlds: Ten Stories of Paranormal Fantasy and Romance
• The Ducal Gift and The Christmas Carriage, from Grace Burrowes
• Soar (The Empire Chronicles Book 1), from Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Hidden (Dragonlands Book 1), from Megg Jensen
• Aloha Texas (Aloha #1), from Chris Keniston
• Binarius: Episode I (The Binarius Series Book 1), from Kendra McMahan
• Globalização, Mídia e Ética, from Erasmo de Freitas Nuzzi and Clovis de Barros Filho

 

Received books of this month

• Escape to Gettis… and Love, from Gerri Bowen [talked about it here!]
• Home, from Jordan L. Hawk
• Stepping Out of Midnight, from Lee Basilford [talked about it here!]

 

[BONUS: Borrowed books from my younger cousin]

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Cabin fever), from Jeff Kinney
• The Book of Lost Things, from John Connolly
• The Key to Rondo, from Emily Rodda

 

January TBR

I want to play it low as I know my month will be crazy, so I have chosen six books:

• Spellbinder, from L. J. Smith (my current-read)
• Emma, from Jane Austen (NOW I WILL FNISH THIS, I AM SURE OF IT 8D)
• Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, from Rick Riordan (actually a re-read to a goodreads book club)
• Escape to Gettis… And Love, from Gerri Bowen
• Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin, #1), from Jordan L. Hawk
• Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell (I’m reading this with a book club and we shall finish it next week :D)

 

That’s it! Thanks for reading this giant post, haha! Let’s see if I can make it 😀 have you decided what are going to be your first books of 2016??

#12daysofbooksmas2 readathon: RESULTS!

Hello, again! Happy Wednesday for you 🙂

So, the #12daysofbooksmas2 readathon came to an end yesterday and here I am to collect war spoils and bury the dead, haha!

I’d like to start this report saying that this was my first readathon in life, so I didn’t really knew what I was doing, LOL. As I had 10 days, I thought it would be nice to pick a book for each day (spoiler alert: no, it wasn’t). As those 10 days preceded Christmas and my family’s trip, I thought I had the eternity to read the books that I wanted (spoiler alert pt. 2: no, I hadn’t). And as we had to read a total of 1.200 pages, I was insanely worried that I would never be able to read so much in practically two weeks (spoiler alert pt. 3: I was, haha!).

Keeping all of these impressions on mind, add the information that I graduated in Journalism to the mix. You may reach the conclusion that I have no time space notion, that I can’t do math to see that 1.200 pages totalize approximately 5 books of 300 pages each and that I just didn’t know what I was doing. You are totally right, haha!

But let’s go to the actual report:

Read books:

• Cemetery Tours series, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]
• Between Worlds, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]
• After Death, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]
• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, from Anne Rice [review here]
• Braver With You, from A. Hart [review here]
• Roses of the Angel, from Kalee Marshall [review coming soon!]

 

Completed challenges:

Read a book with red or green on the cover: check, Roses of the Angel

Read about book that’s on your end of the year tbr: check, all of the read books were on my TBR of the end of the year

Read a book that takes place during the holiday season: check, Braver With You

Read a sequel: double check, Between Worlds and After Death

Re-read a favorite book: flopped…

Read a book with a movie adaptation (and watch the movie): flop

Read a total of 1,200 pages! Check, as I’ve read 1.595 pages, haha!

It wasn’t great, but it was lots of fun 😀 Can’t wait for the next one, when I’ll be wiser, haha!

That’s it 😀 Thanks for reading and accompanying my progress in my first readathon!

October’s Wrap Up and Book Haul!

Hello, there! Today we are going to navigate among my bought and read books of October! Yay!

I was a very good girl this month and read a total of 12 books; 10 books and 2 comics. I told you in my September’s wrap up that October was my month, haha! I also received some new books in exchange for honest reviews, but all in due time!

In shopping matters, October was practically non-existent – honestly, I didn’t even got out to the bookstore, you know? And I’m not making online shopping lately, as I don’t have the time either, haha! I bought 2 mangas, 5 comic books, 1 coloring book (call me obsessed) and one sticker album, because I’m a child, haha!

Books that I’ve read

• Secrets and High Spirits (Secrets #4), by Lou Harper (review here!)

from my Instagram 🙂

• What Lies Within, by James Morris (review here!)

from my Instagram ❤

• The Bound Series, by Ava March (review here!)

from my Instagram 🙂

Brazilian books meant to be featured on my dissertation

(meaning: I won’t review them, haha!)

• O Calçado e a Moda no Brasil: um Olhar Histórico, by Eduardo Motta

• Passado a limpo, by Eduardo Bueno

• Salões e Damas do Segundo Reinado, by Wanderley Pinho
• História da Vida Privada no Brasil: A Corte e a Modernidade Nacional, by Fernando A. Novais and Laura M. Souza
• História da Vida Privada no Brasil: Da Belle Epoque à Era do Rádio, by Fernando A. Novais
• A Televisão no Brasil: 50 anos de história (1950-2000), by Sérgio Mattos
• A Revista no Brasil do Século XIX: A história da formação das publicações, do leitor e da identidade do brasileiro, by Carlos Costa

Comic books

• Frozen, Uma Aventura Congelante: A Primeira Viagem

• Pocahontas Comic Book Version

I managed to not read a single manga this month, which is impressive for my standards, and I already wrote two of three reviews expected to October. Go, me! ❤ The first Bound Series’ review will be up until Friday, Nov. 6^th, with luck.

As for the books that I’ve received

• Finding Forever, by Linda Oaks (review here!)

from my Instagram ❤

• Melophobia, by James Morris

I already reviewed a book from Linda, Chasing Rainbows (link here), and a book by James, What Lies Within. Thanks so much for the trust, guys! Just wait my vacation, haha!

My currently readings are The Night Clock, by Paul Meloy, which I received through NetGalley (thank you!) and Finding Forever, because its release was on Oct. 29^th. I’m positive that FF review will be up on the blog on Nov. 8^th and The Night Clock, on Nov. 5^th. But let’s see, right? Hahaha!

I also would like to start a countdown here. I deliver my dissertation on Nov. 10^th, which means that this will be seven days from this post. CHEERS FOR FREEDOM!
Ahem, that’s it! Thanks for reading and Happy November!

September Wrap Up and Book Haul!

Hello, there! I know, it’s been a while, but I’m on my last semester at college and my graduation is on DECEMBER. You can imagine that my life is a mess right now, haha!

Anyway, let’s talk about September! It was a more or less book month for me, as I am on the middle of a major slump, thanks to the books that I have to read for my dissertation – I’m two chapters away from being ready! I can’t wait to finish it! – so I read in a good pace in the beginning of September and stopped in the middle of the month, reading only some mangas and a Disney Comic Book

My book haul was much better this month: I bought a total of 8 books: 4 paperbacks, 3 mangas and 1 comic book 😀 Check it out:

• The Heir (The Selection #4) – Kiera Cass (review here!)
• A Mídia nas Constituições do Brasil: Respeito e Desrespeito – Erasmo de Freitas Nuzzi (a Brazilian journalistic book, so I don’t know if I will be reviewing it or not after reading it, haha!)

 

• 2 Coloring books from Frozen 😉

•  volumes 3 and 4 of Wish, by Clamp
• volume 23 of XXX-Holic, by Clamp

(now I have the whole Wish collection! Yay! *–*)

• And my Halloween comic book from Disney ❤

I also like to thank (again for the thousand time) Lauren Bird Horowitz, as she sent me a paperback copy of her new novel, Shattered Blue (review here!), first book in The Light Series! ❤ Thanks forever! This was the first time an author sent me a physical copy of a book, because I life in Brazil, haha! It was so special that I cried…

from my Instagram ❤

Anyway, the books I read this month:

• Sigmund Shaw, by Mark C. King: 5 stars, review here!
• Dangerous Spirits, by Jordan L, Hawk: 5 stars, review here!
• The Heir, by Kiera Cass: 3 stars, review here!
• The Bond Series (Bound by Deception, Bound to Him and Deliberately Unbound), by Ava March: 4 stars, review here!
• manga Eerie Queerie!, volumes 1 to 3. [Update: review here!]

Yup, pretty disappointing. In October, I’m destined to have better numbers because I’m finishing my dissertation and I have to read about 8 books for that, more or less. So, Halloween’s month is going to rock hard!

That’s all, thanks for reading and I hope to be back soon with the reviews that I own… And stick around, because this week we have the monthly book releases list! *–*