Top 10 Tuesday: Books that made me cry

Hi, there! Good AFTERNOON! I DID IT, IT IS ON TIME AND EARLIER! I DESERVE A BIG HIGH FIVE!

Ahem.

It’s Tuesday, so it’s Top 10 Tuesday day! This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and my theme today is Books that Made me Cry because I can’t seem to follow everyone else and do the right theme of the week lol

So, I’d like to start this post by saying that I usually don’t cry reading. No, I haven’t got an heart of ice or anything like that. I just purposefully avoid reading books that I’m sure that will leave me utterly miserable and struggling to keep breathing between my sobs.

You see, when I was 14, I had a severe case of depression due family problems. One of the things that helped me going back on track and learning how to cope with my mind was reading – a pastime that has accompanied me since my birth, may I add. Ever since, I started to avoid obviously sad books like The Fault on Our Stars and such. It’s nothing personal, it is just one of the things I had to do to keep myself sane at the time and it is a habit that stuck up. I can deal with some depressing parts in a book, sad moments and deaths. But downward tragedy all the time hits too close to home, so no, thanks 🙂

All that being said, I still cry in books, a lot! And not only tears of sorrow, so I divided by ten books by type of crying – because I’m that much of an organizer freak 🙂

Sad tears

 1) The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

This was the only purposeful sad book that I read knowing that it may end badly and I don’t regret it. I read it on 2007, when I was 12 or 13, and it was a recommendation of a sales’ guy from one of my favorite bookstores at the time, so I loved it. I don’t see myself re-reading it, though.

 2) The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson #5)

You know, the series was ending, one of the most awesome characters died and I was feeling too overwhelmed by all the twists and awesomeness. And I still didn’t know that The Lost Hero was a kind of sequel to Percy Jackson series lol

 3) Daughter of Darkness, by L. J. Smith (Nightworld #2) [REVIEW HERE!]

Again, the fault is on the twist in the end. There isn’t anything downward sad about this book, but I thought the choice of the protagonists so tragic, brave and beautiful that it got me tearing up a bit for their destiny. Again, no deaths, no tragedy. I JUST FELT LIKE CRYING, I’M A REBEL!

Agony tears

Since I watched Into The Woods, I was DYING to use this gif, haha!

4) All In With The Duke, by Ava March (Gambling On Love #1) [REVIEW HERE!]

Yes, you have read it correctly. My diva, my muse, made me cry. I just couldn’t see a happy ending for Max and Tristan in the first time that I read this book and I WAS DYING. Sometimes, I still cry near the end, haha!

5) Cambridge Fellows series, by Charlie Cochrane

Honestly? I don’t even know why I kept reading this series for so long. Despite being an historical gay romance series, the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, the characters were pretty shallow and the drama got heavier and heavier. I lost count of how many times I was reading this as I was on my way to college and I started to weep in pure agony for the main couple. I just wanted to grab Charlie by her shoulders and shake her until she came back to her senses and stopped that madness, haha!

Frustration tears

Fun fact about me: when I’m very sad, I grow quiet and simply won’t speak or do anything. I become numb. When I’m angry or frustrated to hell, I cry like there is no tomorrow. Therefore, these next books got more tears than the sad books did, haha!

 6) What Lies Within, by James Morrison [REVIEW HERE!]

I really liked this book, but I was so overwhelmed when I got to the end and there were some mysterious lose ends that I broke. I started crying and screaming and swearing, haha! After a calming shower, I couldn’t stop saying to whoever wanted to hear how good and awesome and badass this book is, haha! Strong emotions lol

7) The Heir, by Kiera Cass (The Selection #4) [REVIEW HERE!]

I almost began crying in frustration in the middle of chapter one, when I realized how Eadlyn and I wouldn’t get along. AT. ALL. And yet, Kiera Cass was forcing me to put up with the brat using my love for The Selection and for America as an excuse. Eadlyn drove me so mad that there were a lot of scenes that I read while tearing up in pure and simple frustration. I can’t wait for the nightmare to be over in The Crown…

Beauty tears

8) Chasing Rainbows, by Linda Oaks (The Chasing Series #1) [REVIEW HERE!]

This book was Linda’s debut and my first from her. I was so surprised to see her beautiful writing style, so impressed to see how much Linda seemed to understand me and how much I connected with Addie, the main character, that I found myself emotional in like 60% of my reading time. I took notes of quotes and felt tears down my cheeks. Super cheesy and super true. Just read this book – or any of Linda’s works, really – and you will understand.

9) After Death, by Jacqueline E. Smith (Cemetery Tours #3) [REVIEW HERE!]

Jacqueline’s writing is a piece of art by itself, but there was a scene near the end of this book that was my undoing. It was so emotional, beautiful and meaningful that I started crying and wouldn’t stop, haha! I just wanted to hug my iPad and never let go 🙂

Last, but not least…

PERFECTION TEARS

I searched my brain aka my goodreads read shelf for another case of perfection tears, but I think it only happened once so far.

And the Oscar goes to…

10) CARRY ON, by Rainbow Rowell! [REVIEW HERE!]

This was the first and only time that I cried because of over perfection. And I’ve read my fair of books for someone of only 21. I scared my best friend, her maid and her mom with my crying crisis and book hangover after Carry On was over. I simply couldn’t, I needed more, that was too perfect to end. AND I SWEAR THAT THE END IS SWEET AND HAPPY AND CUTE! I’m the weird one that cries over… Perfection, as it seems.

I know, I know. That’s why I’ll just thank you for reading and stop writing now, haha!

Do you also categorize your types of crying over books? 🙂

Book author: L. J. Smith

Hi, there! Welcome to my now monthly Authors of my Heart ❤ section! As last week we had a manga author, today we will have a book author 🙂 Who? L. J. Smith!

I haven’t read as many books from her as I’d like, but this is the brilliant mind behind the creation of Damon Salvatore. It was necessary to bring her to this section asap!

I’ve met L. J. Smith on 2009, when The Vampire Diaries was brought to Brazil and the tv show was beginning. I’ve devoured all volumes like crazy, already madly in love with Damon, and then I started to watch the show and I was struck for life.

I’ve bought the first volume of the Night World series compilation on the same year, but as I have a problem with physically big books, I postponed reading it until last December. Oh boy, I didn’t know what I was missing. Then, I decided that Smith was an auto-buy author, as I’m in love with her writing style ❤

Here you can see both series:

• The Vampire Diaries

from my Instagram 🙂

The Vampire Diaries series has captured the hearts and imaginations of hundreds of thousands of fans-and the new CW show that it inspired promises to introduce millions more to the chills, thrills and star-crossed love that has captivated so many readers. In The Awakening, the first volume of this bestselling series, Elena Gilbert is a golden girl used to getting anything that she wants, particularly when it comes to attracting guys. That is until she meets handsome, haunted Stefan, who struggles to resist her because of his dark secret: Stefan is a vampire. Stefan is torn by guilt from his past and living with the threat of his dark, dangerous vampire brother, Damon s return. Soon Elena finds herself in a love triangle between two vampire brothers and it could turn deadly.

• Night World series, vol. 1

Includes:

Book 1 – Secret Vampire

Book 2 – Daughters of Darkness

Book 3 – Spellbinder

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters — they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy’s only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It’s a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.

All three books on this volume are already reviewed. Just click on the links bellow to go there 😀

Secret Vampire

Daughters of Darkness

Spellbinder

I know this post is uncommonly short for this section, but I had to include Smith asap, haha! Thanks for reading 🙂 Are you a fan of L. J. Smith’s books??

 

The Characters Book Tag!

Hi, there! Good afternoon, hope you’re having a great Saturday 🙂 Saturday is book tag day here on the blog and my adorable friend Kim, from The Spines Breaker, tagged me on The Characters Book Tag! 😀 Thank you, Kim! I love all the tags you do, haha! Don’t forget to check out her blog, is amazing!! ❤

You can check the reviews for most books mentioned on this post by clicking on their respective titles. Except for The Crown, in which the link leads you to a nightmarish book cover.

Who is the best kick-ass character?

All time? DAMON SALVATORE. ALWAYS. FOREVER. In case you live in another dimension and don’t know who I’m talking about, he is from The Vampire Diaries series 🙂

I can’t even with this man.

Which character do you most dislike?

Hmm… That’s a tough one. I think I’ll have to go with Bella Swan, from Twilight. I just hate her so much, haha!

If you could date any fictional character, who would it be and why?

I hate to sound repetitive, but it will always be Damon.

If you could change a character in any way, what would it be?

I would change Clara’s denseness on Shearwater, Part One, from Derek Murphy (a.k.a. D. S. Murphy). Honestly, that girl drove me nuts until she found out she was a freaking mermaid, haha!

What character made all the wrong choices and didn’t add anything to the book?

Eadlyn. I apologize to all the fans of The Heir, but I hated Eadlyn too much, haha!

Besides, the cover for The Crown is giving me nightmares.

Which character was the best villain whom you love to hate?

Ash, from Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness. This guy is trash, but oh-so-beautiful trash… I swear he is Damon’s lost cousin, haha!

Favorite sidekick character with the most heart?

Cash, from Stripped with the Vampire ❤ That guy just ruled sidekicking, haha!

What is your favorite fictional romantic relationship?

I also hate to sound repetitive here, but my favorite couple ever will always be Max and Tristan, from All In With The Duke ❤ Or they shall be until Ava March outdoes herself again, haha!

What character did you think was the strongest?

From my recent reads, I’d say Whyborne, from Widdershins. He faced many fears in the book and resisted many temptations. He is a true hero ❤

Best protagonist?

I didn’t finish the book yet, but I already have a new chosen one: Integrity, from Gifted Thief. HONESTLY, THIS GIRL.

I am in love. Review to come real soon, as I’m almost finished, haha! [UPDATE: review here!]

Who do you tag?

Oh, boy. I’m lazy, haha! But I tag…

Jess, from Mud & Stars

Victoria, from Addlepates and Book Nerds

Mandy, from The Reading Diaries

Abby, from To Infinity and The Bookshop

 

That’s it, thanks for reading! Everyone is free to do or not to do this tag 😀 If you want to do it, feel free to say that I have tagged you ❤

Daughters of Darkness, from L. J. Smith (Night World #2)

Hi, there! Ooh, it’s so late, but I don’t care, I delayed this review for too much time now 😦 Hope you had an amazing Sunday!

Today I’ll review the second book from the Night World series, Daughters of Darkness, from L. J. Smith ❤ Spoiler alert: it’s a big five stars book!

from my Instagram! 😀

The Story

Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade know that they are taking a path of no return when they flee their home. The three sisters are well aware of all the risks and sacrifices involved, but anything in the human world is better than to live in an eternal bubble without any real living.

What they didn’t expect was to have a nosy neighbor.

Mary-Lynnette is a loner, a creature of the night. The stars are her best friends, along with her brother Mark. Or so she thought, until meeting her three new and inhumanly beautiful neighbors. The girls seem to be nice enough despite all oddities surrounding their family, but can Mary-Lynnette handle with their older brother…?

Ash knew he was doomed in the moment he laid eyes on Mary-Lynnette. Once, he had heard from a cousin how he would fall hard for his soul mate, but never believed in such crap. He was a man in a mission and Mary-Lynnette couldn’t be related to his difficulties in taking his sisters back home.

Or could she?

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

OMG, WHY DID I TAKE SO DAMN LONG TO READ THIS SERIES?! IT’S EVEN BETTER THAN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES! (Just don’t tell this to television guys, they will screw this up, haha!). I loved everything aspect of this book and can’t wait to finish Spellbinder, the next book 🙂 Ash was perfection since Secret Vampire, but in this one is where I fell hard for him… *sighs in pure love* I’ll try to do a good job here, but it is so damn difficult when all I feel like doing is fangirling non-stop about Ash, haha!

Ahem.

The narrative was my favorite one: third person with alternating points of view. I wish there were more parts under Ash’s POV, but I understand that not knowing much about him it’s part of his charm. Putting more parts under his view would have bared him too much for the reader and all, haha! But one can dream, right? 😉

The plot wasn’t overly complicated and quite predictable, but there is a little twist in the end that caught me off guard and this was awesome ❤ I don’t really mind simple plots as long as they are well executed and hold my attention while I read. I can even know how it all will end, but I always get curious to see how the outcome shall arrive, haha! My point? There is no lost trip for me, haha!

The characters are the high point in this book. Rowan, Kestrel and Jade are unique and each represent a type of person: Rowan is gentle and naïve despite being the oldest; Kestrel is ruthless and savage; and Jade is dreamy and brave. They complement each other in such a perfect way! Mark was also a pleasant enough character and I really liked Jeremy despite everything. And, of course, there is their older brother Ash, but never fear, I’ll get to him. I really liked Mary-Lynnette. She was such a strong heroine for a Young Adult book but without losing her teenager spirit. I could have never made her final decision on the end of the book and I will admire her for this till the world ends.

Sorry, I had to insert this here, haha!

Now, let’s go to Ash. Oh, Ash. He is the lost cousin of Damon Salvatore, I assure you. The difference between them is that Damon is actually a pretty nice guy trying to fool people into believing that he is a demon and Ash is actually a demon trying to fool people into believing that he is a pretty nice guy, haha! 😉 Mary-Lynnette described him as a royal cat with ever-changing eye colors and this is the most accurate description ever. Ash has his own pace for everything (cof except when it comes to Mary-Lynnette cof) and never has a permanent eye color – not even in his full vampire form. The strange thing about him is that he is both intelligent and not stubborn at all. He sees something that he is doing wrong and he promptly fixes it instead of insisting that he is right. Not many males have this blessed ability, haha!

I really think that L. J. Smith rocked in the Night World series so far and dare to say that those books are a must-read if you love Y&A, romance, Vampires, Witches, Werewolves and really cool humans, haha!

That’s it! Thanks for reading this review and I hope to finish Spellbinder soon, haha! Have you read the Night World series?

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??

Match Made in Mondays: changing the personality of a character!

Good morning, nice first Monday of the year to you! By the time this post goes live, I’ll be with my younger cousin sightseeing my city, so I can’t wait to show him all the hot spots and good food ❤

Geez, I’ve been awfully personal lately, sorry lol

Anyway, the year is new, but my participation at my sweet friend Audrey’s meme Match Made in Mondays is not 😀 She’s from the Forwards and Bookwords, go check her out if you like funny book reviews ❤

Today’s theme is:

New year, new me! THIS CHARACTER + a better personality (What character had a personality that made you cringe and wish that they were different? What character was it, and how would you change them?)

I’m back to I don’t know, haha! I have never thought about it… But I think I’ll go with Jeremy Lovett, from the Night World series, by L. J. Smith. He appears on the second book, Daughters of Night 🙂

I can’t say why I would change his personality without reveling huge spoilers, but trust me. He needs a change of heart. Simple like that!

If I got you interested in the Night World series, you can check my review for book one (Secret Vampire) and the review for Daughters of Darkness is coming soon! [I’ll update this post when available <3]

That’s it, haha! Thank you for reading and sorry I couldn’t elaborate more on Jeremy’s, oops!

Secret Vampire, from L. J. Smith (Night World #1)

Good night and hello again! I’m sorry for the weird timing of my posts lately, it’s just that I’m at my uncle’s place and I don’t have my own computer, haha! I had left some programed posts, but apparently, not enough, oops! Now I’m depending of the good will of my relatives to have a computer – so far, my older cousin and my dad, for that matter. This post is being written from my dad’s laptop, thanks, dad!

Anyway, I’m here to talk about Secret Vampire, the first book in the Night World series, by L. J. Smith! Let’s go 😀

from my Instagram ❤

The Story

Poppy was a regular sixteen-year-old girl that found out about a pancreas cancer on her first day of vacation from high school. As the disease was in a terminal instance, there was nothing that the medicals or anybody could do for Poppy.

Anybody human, that is.

James, Poppy’s childhood best friend, is a vampire. He can save her and make all the pain go away. But can Poppy accept him for who he truly is and leave the world that she has always known behind?

Can Poppy survive the Night World?

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I had the mass-market paperback edition with the three first books in one for a while now, but only this year I brought myself to read it. And you know what? THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME! I’ve read it on Christmas, literally. I began it on the morning of December 25^th and finished it at night, haha! But I don’t know why I was hesitant to read it, as I love The Vampire Diaries books and Night World follows a very similar style of writing and interpersonal relationships between characters. Mysteries of life, right? Haha! Five stars with pride!

As I’ve read The Vampire Diaries in high school (a re-read is in order in 2016), and on a translated version into my native language, I didn’t remember how fluid and nice was Smith’s narrative. It was a good surprise, as my Night World collection is in English. Smith did the narrative in my favorite way: third person with alternating points of view between Poppy, James and Phil, Poppy’s twin brother. AWESOME. BRILLIANT. I LOVED IT.

Ahem. Ok, I’m under control again.

The plot wasn’t simple, but not that complex either. There were some mysteries, some uncertainties and twists, it was cool. The end was predictable, but in a good way, in my opinion. I hate books with unhappy endings, judge me, haha! This childhood friendship that grows into something more plus the supernatural element worked very well for me and if you like those two elements combined in a romance, just read Secret Vampire ❤

The characters were a blast. But who is surprised, as this is the same mind that brought us this:

(if you are new here, just to clarify: I obssess over three general things in life: books, Ava March and Damon Salvatore, LOL)

But back to character’s analysis. I loved Poppy! I usually hate female heroines from young adult books, but she surprised me due to the reality of her situation: a) she dealt in a very realistic way with her cancer discovery even before she learned about James condition; b) she didn’t suffer of instantaneous love, James grew up with her, so their connection made sense and it was very cute; c) she was a strong woman with the worries of a teenager, so she had her moments of bravery and then broke down because of silly things. I could see my 16 year old self in Poppy and that was very nice, haha!

Now, the boys. OH, THE BOYS. I love Smith’s boys, haha! I fell in love with James and his je ne se qua air in scene one and he only made me love him more in the end, haha! He and Poppy had the best dialogues ever, I laughed hard in several parts. They just had this connection, I guess. I also liked Phil, Poppy’s brother. He could be a little dense at times, but sounded so cool and beautiful, haha! I wouldn’t mind dating him at all. And there is Ash. I wanted to hit him with a hard rock while I kissed him. Does this even makes sense? Hahaha!

Ash’s personality reminded me a lot of Damon’s, only that he fools people into believing that he is actually nice, while Damon takes the other way around. I can’t wait to see more of Ash and his schemes on Daughters of Darkness, the second book in the Night World series and my current read. Well, one of my current reads, haha!

Bonus point: besides the boys, that are hotness all over in the book, I thought that Smith’s way of portraying cancer was awesome. Even with the supernatural element on it, the theme is not spoken of lightly, as a mere excuse for the vampire romance. I loved it 🙂

That’s it, thanks for reading! I loved reading and reviewing this book, haha! Have you already read Night World?