Muskov’s Asylum: Tales and Memories [Wish Publishing House]

Hello, darlings! I’m back with a review for a Brazilian Portuguese written book: Muskov’s Asylum: Tales and Memories, an anthology by Wish Publishing House! 🙂 As the blog is originally written in English, I’ll post my English review first and then leave you with a link to the Brazilian Portuguese review. Fasten your seat belts, this review is one of those rides!

Built in 1812, Muskov Asylum brought misfortunes for its patients, doctors, nurses and neighbors for 133 years before its collapse, at World War II. In this anthology set in an especially cold Russia, 28 authors tell us through Muskov Asylum’s memories some of the horrors and injustices that its patients have been through.

The only thing to be sure about Muskov Asylum, from its rise to downfall, is that no human is safe from its insanity.

Me after finishing this book:

Manga author: Matsuri Hino

Hello, everyone! Today I begin another section at the blog: authors from my heart <3. I’m that kind of person that, if I like one book or manga from a writer or mangaka, I will madly look for all the other works from the person, lol. This section will take place four times in a month: two posts for book authors and two for manga authors, or mangakas ❤

So, I officially open this section with one of my all-time ever favorite manga authors: Matsuri Hino-sensei.

sensei ❤

We first met in 2003, when Meru Puri was released in Brazil by Panini. This series changed my life and my conscious preferences on men to this day. If you ask me, her strong point is her art. Her draws are insanely beautiful and a true signature ❤ As for the plots, that’s a weak point. I don’t know what happens, but I feel that she gets lost into her own stories sometimes, haha! Anyway, who cares about plots when you can have a look at her men? LOL

Anyway, Hino-sensei only has six titles to her name, as she is the kind of author that focus on a series at time. I already read them all, so here we go, in the order of my reading:

• Meru Puri

This was my first and beloved one. Soon, I’ll make a decent review of the story, but Alam and his brother Jeile still visit my dreams at night with their perfection ❤

Goodreads blurb:

On the way to school one morning, Aili loses her mirror – one that had been passed down to her through generations – and suddenly finds herself in a bizarre situation. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Alam, a little boy from a magical kingdom, to have emerged from the mirror in the short time it took her to track it down!

 And those are Alam and Jeile, from left to right:

 

• Vampire Knight

I have a funny story with this series. When I was younger, I wasn’t very, er… Watchful(?) of the manga world. I loved it and all, but I only knew about the releases when I saw them selling, haha! At the time Vampire Knight was released around here, it wasn’t long after Meru Puri’s end, so I was feeling very abandoned. When I saw Vampire Knight, I had an attack and bought it thinking that it was the continuation of Meru Puri. I didn’t even bother reading the title, I just took it home with me (#stupid, haha!). My mistake turned out just fine, but I admit that I never finished this series – stopped by volume 8, because of publishing problems at Brazil. One day, I’ll start over and finish it 🙂

Goodreads blurb:

Yuki Cross has no memory of her past prior to the moment she was saved from a vampire attack ten years ago. She was adopted by the headmaster of Cross Academy, and now works alongside Zero to guard the Academy’s secret. Cross Adademy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy’s dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

This is Kaname, one of the main characters in Vampire Knight, and a long lost brother of Alam and Jeile (ok, he is not, but you can understand my confusion now, right? Haha!)

 

• Wanted

This is my second favorite title from her. Too bad it’s an oneshot

Goodreads blurb:

In the Mediterranean at end of the 17th century, former songstress Armeria disguises herself as a boy and boards the ship of the pirate Skulls–the man who kidnapped Luce, her first love. Captain Skulls is arrogant, violent, and a skirt chaser! And unfortunately for Armeria, he discovers she’s a woman…

 

• Captive Hearts

Third favorite o/ The story is very funny overall and the characters are interesting.

Goodreads blurb:

Fate plays an unusual trick on a privileged boy in this adorable shojo!

Being carried around everywhere and having handsome Megumi act like a slave may seem ideal, but Suzuka just wishes he would stop. Can anything be done about Megumi’s captive state? Or is Megumi doomed to see Suzuka as his master…forever?

Carefree Megumi Kuroishi was living a life of luxury until the day a girl named Suzuka Kogami walked into his life. All of a sudden, Megumi finds himself kneeling at Suzuka’s feet and prostrating himself like a servant! What Megumi doesn’t know (until that very moment anyway) is that his family is cursed to follow the orders of the Kogami family.

 

• Watashi To Fukigen na Panya-san

This is a short story without a proper cover, sweet and sad. I particularly didn’t like it very much, but it’s cute in its own way.

Goodreads blurb:

A touching story of a young woman on the verge of adulthood who reminisces about a certain bakery she visited many times during her youth as she is on her way to visit it once more.

• Shuriken to Pleats

This is Hino-sensei’s current project. I read what was already available at my Manga Rock app and I hated it. And me hating it broke my heart, because I know it will take a while now to a new release, as she works into one manga each time…

Goodreads blurb:

The story revolves around Mikage, a schoolgirl who is the descendent of ninjas. She lives in modern-day Kyushu, and she serves a certain man.

That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading 😀 For now, I can promise reviews to Meru Puri and Wanted, but I can gladly review all of them if you are interested 🙂 Do we have other lovers of Matsuri Hino-sensei’s works around??

 

*I do not own any of the images used on this post, they were all found at Google researchs and used here to illustrative ends only.

November’s new books!

Hello, there! We are officially on November, one month away from vacation, Christmas Time and, for me in Brazil, BEACH TIME! (Over here, we are on Spring and going strong for Summer, as if we ever have got out of Summer). Anyway, I’m babbling, I’m sorry 🙂 So, I sorted out some cool releases from November, in my humble opinion, and made a list. I have to say that this is the third month in a roll that I do this and I’m very pleased with myself, haha! (I’ve been saying that a lot lately, sorry! It’s just that it is very rewarding to be able to keep the blog alive and running during my last semester at college, haha! If you on a similar situation, congratulations: we are heroes!)

But let’s go to the chosen ones! By the way, you can check out a Goodreads list with the 200 hottest releases for November here 🙂

Day 3

Daniel’s True Desire (True Gentlemen #2), by Grace Burrowes

So, I’m a real fan of Grace Burrowes. She does something very hard, on my opinion. Grace writes historical romances, but her differencial is that ALL HER CHARACTERS ARE RELATED SOMEHOW. Yeah. She posted on her website a map for her readers, if they really wish to read the books in the chronological order, as they are really all connected. How does she do that? I don’t know, but I’ve read three books from her (Darius and Nicholas, with their review links, and The Bridegroom Wore Plaid, which I never properly reviewed and I apologize for that, but you can have an idea of my opinion here) and she is amazing. So, you will know each time she releases new books, haha! Besides, the cover is awesome.

Forget Tomorrow (Forget Tomorrow Series #1), by Pintip Dunn

What attracted my attention at first was the book cover, but a quickly overview on it’s Goodreads page told me that a lot of people that read it for NetGalley gave 3 stars or more, leaving me curious. Now I want to read it too, haha!

Idol Dreams, Vol. 1, by Arina Tanemura

I LOVE this manga! I was trying to read it online, as it wasn’t published in English yet AND NOW IT IS! This is awesome and I can’t wait to read the next chapters – I always manage to find this title only up to chapter three… This author is the same that wrote Full Moon Wo Sagashite, The Gentlemen’s Alliance, Vampire Rose, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, and ION ❤

It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History, by Jennifer Wright

I have a thing for History books and this one seems brilliant! Break ups are never easy, but can you imagine how bad this can be to be considered one of the worse in History?? I’m curious to my bones!

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, by Stephen King

It’s Stephen King. And, even if I wanted to give a more detailed description of the story, I wouldn’t be able because Goodreads managed to not say a word about the damn book on its blurb. Go ahead and check for yourself, I was so mad at this that I didn’t even researched more. They want mystery? Fine, I’ll give them mystery –‘’

The Irresistible Rogue (Playful Brides #4), by Valerie Bowman

This is a historical romance. I love those, sorry. You will find a lot of this on the blog and on my to-read lists, haha!

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, by Jennifer Kincheloe

This book sounds amazing. This girl, Anna Blanc, has a huge secret to keep from everybody and if her boss, her family or her fiancé find out, she is screwed. I love historical books that shows how women fought on their own way to have power 😀

White Collar Girl, by Renee Rosen

This book is very close to home for me, as the main character is a woman and journalist. I need to know if she succeeded, haha!

Day 5

Assassin’s Creed: Underworld (Assassin’s Creed #8), by Oliver Bowden

I’m a big BIG big fan of Assassin’s Creed. I suck at playing it, because as much as I love videogames, they always beat my ass up, haha! But with books is different: I’m missing only two books on my collection by Oliver Bowden and have read the first two. Now only 6 more to go, haha!

House of Shadows, by Nicola Cornick

I’ve met Nicola through her historical romances, which I’ve read two: Miss Verey’s Proposal, which I just discovered that belong in a series and I never knew (it is one of those series books that could be standalones, you know?) and The Blanchland Secret. The first was rated 4 stars, it was very creative and funny, and the second, 3 stars, as it was only good enough to pass time, but nothing memorable. I apologize for not having reviews for those too, but I read like crazy since always and made the blog only 5 months ago 😦 Anyway, this one sounds interesting and let’s see what Nicola is doing!

The Night Clock, by Paul Meloy

I was sent this book through NetGalley, it sounds cool! I’ll update this post when I have the review link 😀

Day 9

How to Lose a Bachelor, by Anna Banks

I’ve read the first book in The Syrena Legacy series, also from Anna, and I fell in love with her writing and how she tells stories. This book sounds like tons of fun and I can’t wait to read it ❤

Day 10

A Gentleman for All Seasons, by Shana Galen, Vanessa Kelly, Kate Noble, Theresa Romain

This is a book with several historical romances tied together by the same place, from several authors, so it shall be cool 😀

Da Vinci’s Tiger, by L.M. Elliott

This is a historical romance based on Da Vinci’s muse, the famous Mona Lisa. I love the Renaissance, so it makes sense for me to read this ❤

When I Was Yours, by Samantha Towle

I loved this cover and I felt sorry for the dumped guy, so I need to know what happened, haha!

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4), by Marissa Meyer

I want to start, eventually, this series. Besides, this cover is awesome, haha! I have to say that I never paid much attention to this series because I didn’t thought it interesting *getting ready for the stones*, but after talking to several blog and instagram friends, I decided I have to give it a shot, along with The Mortal Instruments and The Hunger Games 🙂

Day 17

Once Upon a Marquess (The Worth Saga #1), by Courtney Milan

Another historical romance and I regret nothing! But I do admit that this cover is amateur business.

The Golden Braid (Medieval Fairy Tale Romance #2), by Melanie Dickerson

I saw this book being promoted on Instagram and instantly knew I needed to read the whole series: fairy tales gone wrong? COUNT ME IN! This one is about Rapunzel and Robin Hood together 😉

Day 19

Fire Falling  (Air Awakens #2), by Elise Kova

One of my best friends (hi, Lindsey!) recommended the first book in this series to me and I’m dying to read it now, because she knows me too well, haha! Also, there’s a giveaway for the second volume of the series going on Goodreads 🙂

Day 24

Sweetest Scoundrel (Maiden Lane #9), by Elizabeth Hoyt

Yet another historical romance…

The Match of the Century (Marrying the Duke #1), by Cathy Maxwell

Followed by another one! I still regret nothing, HAHA!

That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading! Which books are you looking forward on November? 😀

PS: here you can see my hottest releases for September and October of 2015 😀

Liebster Award: double nomination! =O

Hello, everyone! Some days ago, I was nominated for the Liebster Award twice! I’d like to thank so so sooo much to my lovely friend Ellen, from Eveningreads, and to sweet Shannon, from For The Love of Words, for the nomination! You are amazing!!

And here’s the rules for the award:

Thanks again, girls! Let’s go to the answers:

Eveningreads’ questions:

1. Do you have a favorite Harry Potter book? If yes, which and why?

Yes! I love The Goblet of Fire. All of it. The year, the quests, Voldemort’s trial to kill Harry… Really, this is my favorite book of the series all time, haha!

2. What is your current read and how is it?

I’m currently reading a book called Shattered Blue, from Laura Bird Horowitz, that I received through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I just start reading chapter 1, I think it’s not fair to say anything good or bad yet, haha!

3. Your top 5 TBR?

• Sigmund Shaw: A Steampunk Adventure, by Mark C. King
• Vexed by a Viscount, by Erin Knightley
• What Lies Within, by James Morris
• Secrets and High Spirits, by Lou Harper
• Cemetery Tours, by Jacqueline E. Smith

4. Top 5 favorite characters of all time?

• Damon Salvatore, from The Vampire Diaries
• Sherlock Holmes
• Addie Hayes, from Chasing Rainbows
• Mr. Darcy, from Pride & Prejudice
• Snape, from Harry Potter

5. Can you read and listen to music or are you the silent reader?

I really like to read while listening to music, but I read well in silence too – I prefer to have some kind of background noise, especially during afternoons, because I usually get sleepy, no matter what I’m reading, haha!

6.Which standalone/series do you wish had just one more book?

Omg, there’s so many! But I will go with The Tutor, from Bonnie Dee (review here!). It’s a standalone book and I really wished to see how the characters went with their lives after so many things, haha!

7. What is your go-to book?

Right now, it’s Chasing Rainbows (review here!), by Linda Oaks. It was a life-changing book and I will re-read it many times, I’m sure!

8. Who is your most owned author?

Just physical copies, I would say Emily Rodda (18 books). However, counting ebooks + paperbacks, I’d say Ava March, with 22 books.

9. What is your favorite read of 2015 so far?

I CAN’T CHOOSE! This year, I’ve read some exceptional books, like the complete series of Percy Jackson and the Asylum series books, besides Austenland from Shannon Hale (review here!), Viscount’s Wager by Ava March (review here!), The Tutor from Bonnie Dee and Chasing Rainbows by Linda Oaks. I can’t choose one, sorry, haha!

10. If you could visit one fictional place, where would it be and why?

The Middle Earth, from Lord of The Rings. I spent so many hours of my childhood pretending I was there that it would feel wrong to choose any other amazing place, haha!

11. What’s the book you had to put down before you could go on with it?

The Host, by Stephanie Meyer. I really hated it, haha!

Now, For the Love of Words’ questions:

1. Are you a morning person, or a night person?
   I’m definitely a night person, I do everything after dusk, haha!
2. What’s your favorite color of food?
   Yellow or red/brown, because I love massa and meat, haha!
3. Most read and reviewed genre?
   Romance, of all kinds: YA, Historical, Contemporary, Supernatural… Romance ❤
4. Favorite pastime (besides reading)?
   Eating, what is very sad, haha! Third thing on my list is sleeping. I’m basically a cat that learned to read.
5. What’s your dream city?
   A place in Brazil called Curitiba. I would give anything to live there 🙂
6. Favorite Olympic sport to watch?
   I like masculine water sports and volley. I love Brazil’s volley team, both masculine and feminine, and love to see all those worked up guys on bath suits, haha! *blushes*
7. Do you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert?
   I’m very extrovert, I talk to pretty much anyone and everything, like the walls.
8. What’s your favorite television show?
   Hard one! I watch too many things and never finish one. I would say Vampire Diaries and Suits, as everything seems to be getting cancelled nowadays…
9. What’s your dream job?
   Being paid to review books, because that’s pretty much what I do best 🙂
10. Who’s your favorite artist? (can be either musical or fine arts)
    I love miss Britney Spears and a band named Epica. If I had to spend the rest of my days listening to only two musical figures, they would be my choice ❤
11. How long have you had your blog, and what keeps you writing?
    My blog is a baby! I started it on Blogger in April and moved to WordPress on June, so this blog has only three months! I’m very selfish with my blog: what keeps me writing is my desire to do so. I always read a lot and I love talking about the books I read, but my offline friends couldn’t keep up with my passion, so I unleash it all here and on my bookstagram 🙂

Now, I’ll tell 22 random facts about me because I was nominated twice, it’s only fair 🙂

1. My favorite flowers are gardenias and hydrangeas – the bluish purple ones especially
2. I love sweets, especially my mom’s chocolate cake
3. I mentally date at least one boy from every book I read ;D
4. My Hogwarts house is Slytherin, according to Pottermore
5. I love notebooks and I have to control myself to not buy every cute one that crosses my way, haha!
6. I used to play with my books as a child, pretending they were dolls (and I had so many Barbies…)
7. My favorite heroine is Wonder Woman ❤
8. I like to collect movies and tv show seasons in DVD even with Netflix times
9. I’m really small, Hobbit sized (1,54m = 5’05”)
10. I have an issue with shoes. I own about 60 pairs and regret nothing, haha!
11. I wanted to be an Italian opera singer when I was a child
12. My favorite color is black ❤
13. I’m too expressive; every time I feel something, you can see it in my face
14. I’m often mistaken by a high school girl (and I’m 21 lol)
15. I love to try new kinds of food, specially if it is junk food
16. I own about 700 books and 800 mangas xD
17. I can’t eat salad to save my life
18. I graduate in Journalism school within 5 months and I’m freaking out, haha!
19. My favorite male actors are Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer and Misha Collins ❤
20. I love porcelain dolls and my favorite one plays The Swan Lake song (my friends always scream in terror when I touch it and the song plays for a bit, ugh *rolls eyes*)
21. I have a big magnet collection of places around the world
22. I love Disney and fairy tales ❤

Now my nominations! Sorry I didn’t got to 11, but I’m super new here 😦

The Ultimate Fangirl

The Amazing Life of a Bookworm

And, of course, the girls who nominated me! Shannon and Ellen, thanks! If you girls don’t want to do this again, as you already were nominated, you can pass, haha!

Here’s my questions for the nominated ones!

1. How did you start to like reading?
2. Do you prefer reading paperbacks/hardcovers or ebooks?
3. If you were send to a desert island and could only bring a small non-Hermione bag, what would you put in it?
4. Do you rate the books you read? If you do, what’s your criterion?
5. What’s your most loved gender for books? And most hated?
6. What’s you zodiac sign?
7. Do you like to eat while reading? If you do, what’s your favorite food to go with a book?
8. Do you like to read comics/mangas?
9. If you could move to another country, which would you choose?
10. Do you have any pets?
11. In which Hogwarts house are you?

That’s it! Thanks again for the award, girls! Thank you for reading this long post and I hope you guys could get to know me better 😀

June Book Haul!

Hello, everyone! I had to do a post here about my June book haul, as I went a little crazy this month… I bought 15 books, OMG! Hahaha!

Anyway, those are the new kids in town:

. Paris Secrets, from Zoé de las Cases

A beautiful coloring book that stole my heart ❤ I already did some of the coloring, check it out:

. The Little Prince, from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This edition has a beautiful hard cover and features an illustrated biography of the author, it’s awesome ❤

. Deu no New York Times – Larry Rohter

This is a Brazilian journalistic book, gift from my bff @jenny.miers. It’s an analysis of how Brazil is viewed by outsiders, very cool. Thanks again for the gift, by the way 😀

. The Burning Bridge (Ranger’s Apprentice #2) – John Flanagan

I just finished reading The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger’s Apprentice #1, review here!) and I fell madly in love with it. I had to get myself the next one, haha!

. The Heir (The Selection series #4) – Kiera Cass

my baby ❤

As a good fan of The Selection, I couldn’t resist to this beautiful hard cover Brazilian edition (even though my whole collection is in English and that I want to read The Heir in English as well xD)

. The Scarlets (The Asylum series #1.5) – Madeleine Roux

I went mad reading Asylum and Sanctum earlier this year and Catacomb, the third book in the series, won’t be out until September, so I have to hold my fire for now with the spin offs, haha!

. Austenland – Shannon Hale

my baby with one of my favorite necklaces ❤

This book has a funny story. I bought the second volume of the collection by accident (from the series saw the cover and bought it), but I didn’t have read the first and I’m very methodic. So, as soon as I could, I purchased this and started reading it (it was before my book jar-box thing xD). You can see my full review here!

Ps: here’s the next book, that started all of this:

. Pokémon Official Guide to Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby

I’m still trying to be the greatest Pokémon Master since the 150 first ones, so I felt I needed this to keep going on my mission, haha!

. Grey – E. L. James

This one I have to admit that I’m VERY curious to read. I’ve read Fifty Shades of Gray to do a book report for my college and I hated the main character. I always caught myself wondering what Christian would be thinking to fall for someone so obnoxious. Now, I will find out, haha!

. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty – Anne Rice

I’m a great fan of Anne Rice’s works, but I only learned about this book recently (like two or three years ago, when the whole fairy tale gone bad thing exploded). I LOVE fairy tale gone bad books and I think Rice’s will be a blast, once she is the master of the supernatural world ❤ You can check here more reasons to read it, haha!

. Great Women Writers Box

Another funny story, haha! I love to sign up for newsletters and, while checking one of them, from a local bookstore, I saw this beautiful box set with four books inside for an awesome price. Bought it in the act, haha! We have Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights 😀

. Emma – Jane Austen

I am full of funny book stories this month, haha! My book jar-box told me that I would be reading Emma after I finished Ranger’s Apprentice #1. The thing was I only had it on a beautiful large and not at all logistic edition of the complete works of Jane Austen. My dad, seeing my distress in the first day reading the book, took me to the bookstore and told me to look for an edition of Emma that I could read, LOL. I love my dad ❤

Ps: this was the other edition:

That’s it, guys! This was my June book haul, thanks for reading! Which books did you buy this month? 😀

Manga of the Week: Angel Sanctuary,by Kaori Yuki

Today’s choice for Manga of the week is a very dear title from Kaori Yuki: Angel Sanctuary.

Goodreads’ description:

The angel Alexiel loved God, but she rebelled against Heaven when she saw how disgracefully the other angels were behaving. She was finally captured, and as punishment sent to Earth to live an endless series of tragic lives. She now inhabits the body of Setsuna Mudo, a troubled teen in love with his sister Sara. Setsuna’s misery mirrors the chaos among the angels, and their combined passions threaten to destroy both Heaven and Earth.

Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he’ll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as “incestuous.” Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Santuary.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading: this is a funny story, actually. In Brazil, Panini published it in 2005. The manga is rated 16+ and I started reading it as soon as it was released because Kaori Yuki’s draws are just perfection. Nothing wrong, right? Wrong. In 2005, I was only 10, LOL. I read the series again with 15 and it was a life changer; there was so many things that I understood without understanding at 10 (did I make sense?).

Anyway, the plot is amazing, the art is perfect and the characters are so passionately, so human… I’m lost on this one, lol. It’s drama, action, romance and religious conflicts all tangled up together, with touches of laughter and adventure. They’re 20 volumes, but in Brazil, Panini split the volumes in half, so we have 40 volumes. I prefer it this way; we have more covers. But I think 20 would be easier to keep – I’m that kind of person who has the entire collection of the manga and also wants the same manga in other languagues, like Japanese and English, as mine are all in Portuguese.

That’s it! Thanks for reading! Have you read Angel Sanctuary or heard about Kaori Yuki? 😀

Avulse books or box sets: an existential doubt

If you follow me on my Instagram profile (follow me! :D) or read any of the posts in the blog, you may notice that I collect books besides reading and loving them, LOL. This collecting thing is a bit tiresome sometimes, I admit. This post is full of book lovers problems, be prepared.

my The Selection box X my Tales from the Kingdoms books

I’m mostly unlucky with book boxes. I love them, I find them very beautiful and practical, but I usually already have all or most of the books inside of it to make it worth buying it. It’s so dammed frustrating! They take so long to release those that I already got the separate books instead.

I brought here three examples in my collection: The Selection series, Tales from the Kingdoms series and Percy Jackson main series.

The first series that I started among those three was TFTK, in my book reader. I loved it and needed it, but, short in money that I was, several months had passed before I was able to buy the printed copies as well. I bought Charm on a liquidation, then Venom at a used bookstore and then Beauty, on another liquidation. Some weeks ago, I saw a beautiful box with the three books inside at a bookstore and wanted to be dead. It was the economical edition. Dammit, guys 😦

my babies ❤

The second series was The Selection. I also started it in my book reader after nudges from a friend and read them all in a matter of one week. A few months later, Christmas arrived and I was able to buy them all, in a beautiful box set. Points for me /o/

my other babies ❤

The third series, Percy Jackson, was very similar to The Selection, but I didn’t buy the box, as I didn’t find any; I just bought the five books at once and, again, navigating through an online bookstore, yesterday I found the box edition.

While admiting that buying a book at time has lots of advantages, I like the boxes way better. They usually have something more inside and, even when they haven’t, like my The Selection box didn’t, they still are pretty and good for organization in the book shelf.
Unfortuantelly, here in Brazil, they take too long to publish those and I don’t usually have that patience. The only ocasions that I can manage to buy boxes is when I don’t have money for a long time, like months, and them I go and buy the box set later. Oh, and we never know when a saga/author is going to turn into a box set too ://

There’s also the issue of costs. Even when publishers do release boxes, I usuallyt don’t have the money to buy them, as they have a greater cost at once than buying books separatelly 😦

I’ll remaing in my suffer, as not years of theraphy healed my anxiety with certain topics, but I can say that I’m happy to be buying more and more boxes, even in a slow rythm: today I just ordered online a box set from Collector’s Edition with two Austen romances, one Brontë and Little Women ❤

Resuming: I will keep ranting about how boxes are great and expansive, but I still prefer them and I’m still wanting the TFTK box set, LOL.

Mass market Historical Romances: an addicting guilty pleasure

Hello, guys! Today I’ll talk about a huge guilty pleasure of mine: mass market historical romances. I have lots of these and have read a ton more ❤
This is a very interesting romance area in Brazil, because the books are very cheap in comparison to the paperback and hard cover books and the authors are just the best international ones. I met Nora Roberts in those romances that are financially cheap, but very rich in details and plots.

some of the babies ❤

I selected my Top 5 titles that touched my heart among all the ones I’ve read to review and recommend:

5. The Naked Duke – Sally MacKenzie

This is the first book of the Naked Nobility series. Sorry for the lack of a personal picture, but I only have it at my Lev and it’s the bundle edition, so you can barely see its cover D:

From the Goodreads’ description:

The Surprise Of Her Life

Sophisticated. Scandalous. In fact, Miss Sarah Hamilton, a proper Philadelphian, finds London society altogether shocking. How can it be that she has awakened from her innocent slumber to find herself in bed next to a handsome–and exceedingly naked–man? The laughing onlookers standing in the doorway are no help whatsoever and surely this amorous lunatic cannot be a duke, as he claims. She is compromised–though she most certainly will not marry him!

The Sweetest Moment Of His

James, the Duke of Alford, is enchanted by his unexpected bedmate–and not at all afraid of her pink-cheeked fury. True, the circumstances and place of their meeting are most unusual, but the spirited American who’s pummeling him with a pillow is an incomparable beauty. If Sarah will only listen to his perfectly reasonable explanation, James is sure that he can capture her heart… Forever.

What I thought: Sarah is a unique character. She has strength, personality and manages to be charming even when the situation is totally disfavoring her. James was an okay hero, not really that much different from thousands of gentlemen that came before him in my readings. My favorite scene is when James tries to explain to Sarah his titles and names. Her answer is ingenious ❤

4. The Bridegroom Wore Plaid – Grace Burrowes

ebook courtesy of iTunes Store

This is the first book of the MacGregors series and I got mine at Apple Store. Honestly, I want to stop buying digital editions, but I also have to eat, LOL. From the Goodreads’ description:

Ian MacGregor is wooing a woman who’s wrong for him in every way. As the new Earl of Balfour, though, he must marry an English heiress to repair the family fortunes.

But in his intended’s penniless chaperone, Augusta, Ian is finding everything he’s ever wanted in a wife.

What I thought: I liked Grace’s writing very much. The way she describes the scenes and the characters makes you feel like you are inside the book with them, it’s very cool. And Ian was a dream. I love this name, I love how he looks like in my mind and his personality is dashing. Augusta was a surprise too, even being more like the status quo kind of historical romances’ heroin. The plot was also very good and intriguing. It’s a very worth reading!

3. Betrayed – Judith McWilliams

This book is one of my oldest from the genre, as you may notice by the poor state of the cover. From the Goodreads’ description:

Forced to play the pauper in an England racked by war, American Eleanor Wallace vowed to help her country in any way she could. Yet the intrigue was becoming difficult, for she had somehow lost her heart to the formidable Duke of Ryland, a man who would never forgive her for what she’d done.

James Wolf, Duke of Ryland, sought a life of honesty over artifice — a quality hard to find in London’s pretentious ton, until the arrival of peerless Eleanor Wallace. But though the woman intrigued him, he had yet to unveil her secrets. Secrets that she guarded as carefully as she did her heart.

What I thought: this book surprised me. The plot is amazing! Lady Eleanor is so smart and funny. It’s only natural that James fell for her. I devoured it crazily and my attention was locked until the very last page. It’s been a long while since I’ve read it, I have to read it again soon!

2. Cut From The Same Cloth – Kathleen Baldwin

This is the third book from Regency Trilogy. In Brazilian, the title was translated to “The Light In Your Eyes”. Bizarre, honestly. From the Goodreads’ description:

All is not as it seams…

Why does the powerfully built, golden-haired, Lord St. Cleve dress like an overdone Dandy? His outlandish wardrobe belies the hard unyielding lines of his face. Whoever he is, he’s ruining Elizabeth Hampton’s desperate scheme to secure a rich husband. Terribly vexing, to arrive at the most fashionable Breakfast Party of the Season wearing a perfectly stunning Chinese silk gown, only to discover Lord St. Cleve is clad in unmentionables cut from identical cloth.

Lord St. Cleve despises pretension of any kind. He cannot abide the self-important airs put on by some members of the Ton and takes pleasure in making a mockery of Brummell’s fashion strictures. Conceited frauds! Hadn’t his grandfather’s snobbery made his mother’s life a misery? Maddening to discover the one woman who captures his interest is the biggest pretender of all! He vows to teach Miss Elizabeth Hampton a lesson she won’t soon forget.

What I thought: This is the kind of romance that makes you laugh hard while reading. I got several stares while reading it outdoors, because Elizabeth and Valen are both very clever in their arguments and he makes her loose her ground, something Elizabeth has never lost before. Something I always notice in books is the dialogical construction and Kathleen was brilliant at it.

1. The Truth About Cassandra – Laurie Brown

From the Goodreads’ description:

When a woman with a secret, scandalous career as a novelist saves a notorious rake’s life, she only gives him her pen name…and leaves him searching for the woman who’s stolen his heart.

What I thought: This book changed my life. Seriously. Since I was a small girl, I wanted to be a writer and a Lady from the 19^th century. When I saw a character that had a mind very much like my own in my favorite historical period, with my dream profession, doing something I’ve always wanted to try for fun (crossdressing) and that had my name (Anne), I went nuts. Moreover, decided that it was a sign to get into Journalism and not Law School. Now I’ll be a poor happy girl forever, LOL (I’m kidding, I love my profession and my job <3). In reality, it’s not any different from any of the other books that I reviewed on this post or from the one I’m currently reading (Darius, from Grace Burrowes), but it was very dearly special to me ❤

That’s it! I always say that, with this genre, the thing isn’t about knowing the end of the story, but how the couple gets there 😉 Do you like this kind of historical romance too? 😀