Oi, pessoal! Estou de volta com uma resenha para um livro nacional: O Hospício de Muskov: Antologia de Contos de Memórias, organizado por Tyanne Maia e Valquíria Vlad! 🙂 Como o blog aqui é originalmente escrito em Inglês, publiquei primeiro a resenha em inglês e agora vamos de português!
Construído em 1812, o Hospício de Muskov trouxe sofrimento para seus pacientes, médicos, enfermeiros e vizinhos por 133 anos antes de seu colapso, durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Nesta antologia ambientada em uma Rússia especialmente fria, 28 autores nos contam, através das memórias do Hospício de Muskov, alguns dos horrores e injustiças que seus pacientes viveram.
A única certeza sobre o Hospício de Muskov, desde a inauguração até seu declínio, é que nenhum humano está à salvo de sua insanidade.
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.
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)
(Alternative title: OH MY STARS, THIS BOOK WAS TOO PERFECT FOR MY LITTLE PANDA HEART!)
Hello, romance fans! We’re about to start a really sweet review [haha, I’m so funny] for Sugared Season, from Spencer Spears! I have received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review – again, thanks so much, Spencer! – and the moment is here! Btw, before we start, Happy Book Birthday to Sugar Season ❤ ❤
Graham lost his husband Joey five years ago and never quite recovered from the experience. He knew he should be grateful for having at least a handful of years next to the man of his life, but the memories had been too much for Graham. How was he supposed to move on when he didn’t have the courage to take his ring off? When he had to drive to Joey’s parents once a year for a depressing and heart shattering ritual?
More importantly: why won’t people allow Graham to suffer alone? The only man he wants is Joey – no one else will do.
Ryan lost his elder perfect brother five years ago and never quite recovered from the experience. After a lifetime of resentment towards Joey, wishing every day for the guy to vanish within air and put an end to their mother’s comparisons, Ryan suddenly saw his wishes coming true in an awful and heart breaking way. Despite knowing that he hadn’t caused the war Joey had been fighting in when he died, Ryan feels responsible for his death. To help matters, Ryan just lost all his money to a con man in New York and was forced to move back in with his parents, enduring twice more the comparisons from his mother.
All Ryan wants is some perspective in life and a minute without listening to any kind of critic to his looks or his choices.
Graham and Ryan worlds’ collide when both men decide to stray from their regular modus operandi and make out in the parking lot of a highway bar. It wasn’t supposed to mean anything… Until they discover just how related they are.
Hello, panda shippers! Hope everyone is on the beautiful path for the new year and having a good time =) Today I’d like to talk about those 83479303203902 late reviews I own you all.
I know, it’s bad, but thanks to Cait, from The Paper Fury, I FINALLY found a perfect solution to speed things up with my reviews, especially regarding books that were good, but not remarkable: MINI REVIEWS!
I know what you’re thinking. But Annelise, the whole internet and the galaxies know about your George R. R. Martin syndrome, so how are you planning to write mini reviews?!
Thankfully, I have another awesome friend that helped me solving this problem: Lindsey, from @thepagemistress ❤ A looong time ago, she asked how I organized my ideas for a review and we chatted about this for hours until she finally came up with her own method for Goodreads reviews and I’m graciously using them as well for the Mini Reviews posts =)
As this is the first one, I apologize for it being so long, but explanation is necessary! I’ll try to stick to a theme when doing mini reviews, so you know what you’ll find here =) Feedback is always welcome and needed, but in this section especially, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO IN THE COMMENTS LATER, PLEASE?!
Now, let’s do this, haha!
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
Andrew Grey – Eyes Only For Me
Aria Grace – More Than Friends (More Than Friends #1)
Hello, everyone! Nice Tuesday for you =D Can you all feel the winds of my blog reborn? I can! /o/
Today it’s my pleasure to celebrate the book birthday of one of my babies from my December wishlist: Alterations, by Stephanie Scott! Happy Book Birthday to Stephanie YA Bound Book Tours and it’s my pleasure to be a part of it =D
Good night, lovely people! I was going to bother you all only tomorrow morning, but as Beth, from Betwixt The Pages, so kindly reminded me three times, she tagged me on the This is My Genre, Tell Me Yours! #booktag =D If you don’t know Beth yet, you totally need to #justsaying, so go check her own post and blog here, please! She rocks all the right books and jams ❤ Beth, once again, thank you for the tag!
Credit Drew @ TheTattooedBookGeek as the creator of the tag, either use the created tag name graphic or create your own and link back to the blog;
Answer the questions;
Tag as many people as you want!
QUESTIONS
What’s your favourite genre?
I’d say romance, but that’s a lie. I could say historical romance, but that is also not right. The truth is I’m picky with both, so I’ll just stick with the universal truth: gay romance. If we’re talking about a good and sugared gay romance, then I’m in heaven.
Who’s your favourite author from the genre?
I hate when I have to choose among my children, but if for some monstrous reason I got stuck reading the same author forever and ever, it would be Ava March. She’s my goddess on earth and she knows it. Or at least she should, as I’ve been bothering her by messages on Goodreads and e-mails since I was 17 – I’m 22 today, so the math proves how much patience Ava has with me, haha! Seriously, ALL HER BOOKS ROCK. I should know, as I have read them all. #psychotic #Ilovetoohard #sorrynotsorry
What is it about the genre that keeps pulling you back?
This question actually needs to be answered in three parts, if you all don’t mind lol Dear Annelise, of course we mind! Do you think we don’t have anything better to do than to read your babbles?
Sorry, I’m still answering it on three parts, please bear with me ❤
Part I: Historical Romance
Since I was a child, I’m a sucker for historical romances, especially the ones set in London, 19th century. At first, I only knew the heterosexual romance world – which I love dealy to this day – and what keeps pulling me back to it is to be able to see how you can find ways to rebel even when society is against you. To see how people behaved and how difficult everything was back then – can you imagine being hungry and not knowing how to turn on your own stove to bake yourself something? I honestly can’t and that’s why I keep coming back to this genre. I love to see how people were able to live and be happy with way less. How much simpler things were. If they had good toilets and tampons, I’d totally go back in time!
Part II: Gay Romance
I have such a fondness for LGBT love in general because I feel this is the last true social barrier for a relationship to actually work. If I’m reading contemporary romances and it is all about the couple getting together with some insecurity drama to it, I just don’t feel like reading it. I don’t see a valid problem, you know? But a LGBT couple has yet to deal with a lot of shit from society – many times, from their own homes. This sense of forbidden love makes me pin harder for them, in hopes that, one day, those labels won’t matter anyone and love can be truly free.
Part III: Historical Gay Romances
After Greeks and Romans turned into History [haha], pretty much all relationships posed challenges. The taboo levels varied according to the times, but no couple was safe – I hope you are seeing a pattern here, haha! On the 19th century, people loved to think they were oh-so-civilized and modern, but relationships were still very complicated. Nobles and servants together? Nope. Peasants and nobles? Nope. Royalty and beggars? NOPE. Birth itself was a barrier and there were serious punishment for marrying off your social position. Now, imagine the taboo levels for two men in love with each other when they can barely choose the women to hold their hearts? I FAINTED.
What’s the book that started your love for your favourite genre?
I’ve been a book lover from the crib, with no particular trigger to my adoration. However, what truly awakened the gay romance lover in me wasn’t a book, but a manga series called Gravitation, by Maki Murakami. To be honest, it isn’t even that good, but I didn’t know it was a gay romance when I first bought it and started to read it. I was 13, I think, and totally ignored the big +18 on manga covers since I was 8, so you can imagine my face-fall as I reached volume 2 and the male protagonists had sex. I wish I could have a gif of that moment, it was priceless, haha! I already had a soft spot for beautiful bffs males, so the thing just naturally evolved and officially got out of control as I entered college and met J. L. Langley’s books. Life as I knew back then was over, hahaha!
5. If you had to recommend at least one book from your favourite genre to a non-reader/someone looking to start reading that genre, what book would you choose and why?
Actually, I have already been there with Jess, from the Mud and Stars! If you want to immerse yourselves on the wonders of historical gay romance, I must recommend you All In With The Duke, from the goddess Ava March! It’s simply the best historical romance of my life. I hope this is reasoning enough, but in case it isn’t… Here’s my review for it!
I miss my pretty Instagram pictures #justsaying
Why do you read?
Why do I breathe? Why do I eat? Why do I sleep? All those questions have the same answer: despite being highly enjoyable, I NEED TO DO IT, LMAO. Books are my safe heaven, the hobby I hop on when I’m tired, bored, happy, sad, excited, hopeful, in need of a hug… Books are my life. I actually own more books than clothes and shoes put together, haha! (Just to clarify: I’m only talking about physical books. Don’t even get me started on the digital shelves, haha!)
George R. R. Martin definitely rubbed on me, I can’t even make a tag post something short… Sorry, guys! For this one, I’ll tag…
Because I’m really sure they are ok with tags, but anyone is welcome to do it! You can even say I tagged you on your post =D Jess and Amanda, please don’t feel obligated to do this if you don’t feel like it ❤
I guess that’s it, people! Hope you found this post where I just talk about my royal panda self all the time interesting ❤ What is your favorite genre?
Hello, lovelies! I’m back with another really late review from happier days, before my break down and all the emo music I’ve been listening to. One would think teenage angst couldn’t be a deal after our twenties, but oh well.
Despite the teen phase, I’m here today to talk about a middle grade book, which proves that I’m never going to truly grow up – middle grade books can be the sweetest thing ever ❤ I present you the third volume in The Maisy Files series, from Elizabeth Woodrum: Maisy and the Mystery Manor! I’ve won my copy from Lola’s Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review, so here we are! Thanks, guys ❤
As miracles do happen, we have reviews for all the books in the series so far! If you want to take a look at them before reading this one, please, be my guest!
Super sleuths will be thrilled to know that everyone’s favorite fourth-grade detective is back with a double dose of mystery adventure! As Maisy participates in a mystery weekend event for junior detectives, she uncovers a real case. Could a ghost be haunting Mystery Manor? Find out in the exciting third installment of The Maisy Files!
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
I was so sad to know this was the last book in the series and even sadder to not know if there will be more volumes to it! =( Especially given that Maisy and The Mystery Manor is the best volume – full standalone, so you don’t need to read books one and two to meet Maisy and understand why she is on the Mystery Manor – and also the cleverest of them all! ❤ I finished it with an I-want-more taste on my mouth and it was a five stars read from beginning to end!
The narrative follows the style from the previous books: third person from Maisy’s view. It’s amazing to see how skilled Maisy becomes through the books, using her logic better and better with each mystery solved. Woodrum also had the care of always making the next mystery slightly more challenging than the last, so that’s also amazing. I confess I got lost trying to solve the main mystery, so more points to the author! ❤ Annelise, dear, don’t talk like your mental age was above 12.
Mea culpa, as I have the sinking feeling that it’s not just my face that is stuck in time since I became a vampire, at the age of 14. Seriously, a high-schooler hit on me on the mall the other day and I not-so-kindly told him I had the age to be his mother, as I’m 22 and already finished college. Kids those days! Still, it’s amazing to see how Woodrum built a good mystery without resorting to anything too complicated. I can’t even tell you how refreshing this was!
…And I already talked about the plot, haha! I don’t want to say much more, because a good mystery doesn’t ask for spoilers 😉
The interesting thing to see about the characters is their evolution. Maisy may be the leading character, but her best friend Veronica also got much better at being a detective and both girls grow up a little, but never losing their childish shine ❤
I truly only have good things to say about this book and this series, so I’m afraid this review will be shorter than my usual ones.
Please, do try to disguise your relief a little bit, yes? Thank you! Hahahaha!
As I say my goodbyes for this delightful series (for now! I still have hopes for a new The Maisy Files book and re-reads are always a thing), I’d like to share the biggest lesson I took from Maisy:
“Never mess with a girl’s lollipops” – SAWYER, Maisy.
Thank you for reading yet another review and many thanks again to Lola’s Blog Tours for my review copy! =) See you around and love you, guys!
[alternative title: OMG THIS DYSTOPIAN IS ACTUALLY SO CLEVER OMG!]
Hello, guys! How’s everyone doing on this beautiful Sunday? I had a good amount of free time on Saturday, so I managed to prepare some reviews for this week in advance – go, me! Hahaha! In resume, the next posts will probably be scheduled, but I’m here all the time to talk, so please free to comment your heart away and I shall answer as soon as the time zones allow me to! ❤
But enough jibber jabber, I have important business with this post: dear readers, please meet Nobody’s Goddess, first book from the Never Veil series, by Amy McNulty!
I had read this book earlier this same year, but it was so mind blowing I couldn’t find the words to write a review – also, Amy told me the third book would be out in October, so I allowed my brain to be stunned for months and only made a re-read to accompany the last book in the series. Best decision ever ❤ Oh, I got this particular copy from Chapter by Chapter when I participated in their blog tour for Nobody’s Lady =) Thanks again, guys!
They say there is a man out there for every woman – in this case, quite literally.
Noll lives on a good sized village with a rather peculiar trait: men’s lives are dedicated to serve women. Or, more specifically, their respective goddess. Until they have their love returned for the women of their dreams, the men have to walk around in masks.
This is only the tip of the iceberg: women can choose to reject their men, but they will have to live alone and knowing no other men will ever love her. Also, if a woman without direct blood ties sees a man that has yet to have his love returned without a mask, the man will vanish within air.
Things have been like this forever, but Noll is sure it’s some kind of curse. She never quite fit in with the village girls, preferring to run wildly with the small boys, playing at wrestling and wars. One by one, the curse claimed her friends. As they found their goddesses, they abandoned Noll and everyone else. All her friends, except Jurij. Her beloved Jurij. Her sister’s man.
As things get out of control in Noll’s life with the approach of Jurij’s marriage, Noll accidentally falls into the waters of her favorite cavern… And finds herself at her own village, thousands of years ago. She finally has the chance to change her destiny, but at what cost?
Just remembering those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
Can I just start by saying OMG? Because I think that’s an exact definition for Nobody’s Goddess from beginning to end, seriously. This book stole my breath away twice in all the right moments and the cliff hanger on the last chapter would have killed me both times if I didn’t have the next book on me as well, haha! I’m not a huge dystopian fan, but this book has brilliant dystopian touches mixed with a lot of fantasy and OMG Amy McNulty is just totally ingenious writing anything she wants to! I promise I’ll gather my shit together and start my analysis, but this was a high-five stars book! ;D did you see what I did there?
Ahem, now that I’m more controlled, let’s talk about narrative: first person from Noll’s perspective. I can sense some jaws dropping from people that follow me for a while, as I just gave five stars to a book in first person and be prepared to feel your jaws dropping lower: I fought with Noll almost all the time. Our love/hate relationship was epic and extreme, but still I loved the book. The story was just too good, even with all the rage in Noll’s head, haha! The pace of the story is also really good and very fluid.
The plot was brilliant. McNulty plays with her reader, dividing her twists in two categories: the ones you see coming and the ones that take advantage of your self-satisfaction at being right about the sequence of happenings in the story and push you to your knees in the ground until your face is touching the earth too. She understood so well my double personality about being able to guess and being unable to guess things, I just want to hug her. Tight. And never let go.
The fantasy/dystopian aspect of the story was marvelously developed and McNulty created an unique world, discussing at the whole time the genres wars. Are women better than men? Are men better than women? No, for both things. Each time one genre has too much control over Noll’s village, things go terribly wrong and I loved it. This whole series is a lesson in human equality of all kinds, but I’ll develop this argument better on my review for the third book, haha!
Now, characters. I hate Noll like, with a force. The teen angst present in this book was, in my opinion, her best moment, as it was allied with ignorance and made her bold besides stubborn. I also didn’t care for her family or Jurij – in fact, I hate Jurij too, more than Noll. The only characters I loved in this book were the lord, whose name will be kept in secret due spoilers, and Alvilda ❤
I’m a difficult soul to bound, you see.
Also, I wanted to comment on the change of covers of the series right before the release of Nobody’s Pawn, the last volume:
I particularly already loved the first cover, but the new version is so much more passionate! I loved the model and the art ❤ In fact, I won’t shut up about it on Amy’s inbox, haha! She must have already blocked me at this point or started screaming just to see the word “cover” on texts, haha!
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that McNulty brought me something new when I got to read Nobody’s Goddess. It wasn’t about Noll’s teen angst, it wasn’t about the love, it wasn’t even about the gender equality. It all came down to what we decide to do with the choices we are given. No one ever thought they had a choice to fight the system, but Noll chose exactly that. No women had ever dared to confess their loves for other man that weren’t their own and Noll chose to do exactly that. No one ever questioned the way things were before and things only got to change when Noll set them into motion. Don’t get me wrong, she’s one of the most selfish people I have ever seen, but she is brave, she is daring and she changed her fate.
I honestly think that, in a time of so many uncertainties for the whole world, it’s important to remember we are still free to choose, even when everything points you to a “choiceless” path. If we think hard enough, we can always find the perfect solution for our sufferings – we just have to accept the consequences of our actions later. It’s easier to say you won’t take action because there isn’t anything you can do to make things better, but trust me when I say the only thing we can’t fix is death. Most of the time we are indeed powerless in our environments and it sucks on galaxies levels, but Noll shows us that, if we keep ourselves centered and keep trying to do the right thing, we will eventually have what we want. Not because life rewards us, but because we conquered it.
Wow, am I not incredibly deep those last few days? Haha! Sorry, I’ll end up making you guys wish I wasn’t back at all, haha! Maybe I just need to go back to therapy or to write a self-help book and win shitloads of money. Whichever comes first, haha!
I chose some quotes from the book to woo you into reading it, so let’s finish with them =)
“It wasn’t much, but I controlled what the wood would be. And no one told me I didn’t really get to choose.” – Noll
~*~
“A few well-placed stabs from Elgar The Blade to his abdomen might ‘improve my temper’.” – Noll
~*~
“I was cursed by the gift of choice.” – Noll
~*~
“I could live without love. I’d accepted that by now. I wasn’t sure I could live without freedom.” – Noll
~*~
“I feel compelled to do anything I so much as think you want done. It is a battle within me not to slit my own throat at this very moment.” – The lord
~*~
And this winning lines between Noll and the lord of the castle:
The Lord: You were born to torment me.
Noll: I think the same of you.
Overall, if you like YA, Fantasy, Dystopian and heart gripping plots, you have to add Nobody’s Goddess to your bookshelves right now! ❤
Thanks for bearing with the philosopher me once again and for reading yet another overly long review! George R. R. Martin rubbed off a little in me since the challenge, ugh. See you around and love you, guys!
(Alternative title: the day in which I fell in love with a dystopian book)
It’s a bird, it’s a plane – no, it’s a review! =D Hello, hello! Nice Friday to you all. Mine was really exhausting, but at least I got to relax now during the night. Hope you all are relaxing ❤ But enough with the babbling, right? Right. Let’s talk about today’s book: The Dream Protocol: Descent, from Adara Quick! I had added my name to the Xpresso Book Tours Blog Tour before my break down and I can’t tell how happy I am for being able to read, finish and review the book on time ❤ Okay, almost, as this post was supposed to go live this morning.
ANYWAY, I received the book in exchange for an honest review and I thank you Xpresso Book Tours forever for this ❤ Thanks, guys! Let’s talk about this dystopian adventure that stole my heart =D
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GET OLD.
In fiery young Deirdre Callaghan’s home of Skellig City, no one has dreamt their own dream in over a thousand years. Dreams are produced by the Dream Makers and sold by the Ministry, the tyrannical rulers of the city. In Skellig City, years of life are awarded equally and the ruined are cast away beneath the city on their 35th birthday.
Unbeknownst to the Ministry, Deirdre’s handsome friend Flynn Brennan is afflicted with a terrible disease – a disease that accelerates the aging process. Knowing his fate if the Ministry should ever discover his illness, Flynn has lived his whole life hiding from their watchful eyes. When Flynn’s secret is finally discovered, Deirdre is determined to free him from the Ministry’s grasp. But to save him, she will have to reveal herself to a shadowy enemy…one that none of them even knew existed.
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
I need to start by making a confession: dystopian is not my thing. I tried a lot, but I never encountered that one book that made me stop the eye rolls at the genre. Well, until The Dream Protocol, that is. This book surprised me in every aspect and made me ache to keep reading it, to know what came next. It was a fast and fluid read, just what I needed to fall in love with the genre. It has some small problems that bothered me nevertheless, so four stars 🙂
The narrative was third person with that kind of narrator that floats from character to character, the traditional guide of the story. Despite third person being my favorite type, this time, I admit that I got really confused in several parts during the beginning. There was nothing indicating that the point of view had changed, so I didn’t know who was thinking what. Eventually, this problem was one of the things that made this book lose a star. What I really like is how Quick’s writing makes us fly through the pages, how she slowly introduces us to this alternative reality sometime in the future. She never dumps tons of information at her reader and then move on. There is always a new details here and there, something that you sense more than learn. Honestly, this woman is a genius.
The plot also was awesome. So many twists without the obvious outcomes! =O Every time I thought I had catch how Quick worked [haha], she metaphorically winked at me and called me loser, HAHAHA! The Dream Protocol was one of the few books in which every prediction that I made was wrong and it drove me nuts, hahaha! Annelise, darling, you get upset when you can guess things and when you can’t? Get a grip and make a decision, please!
I know, I’m weird. I can’t explain, but I always feel ridiculously happy and disappointed at the same time when books hit my theories with a shovel and laugh at my face. You know, metaphorically. I never heard of anyone getting a shovel in the face from a book. Oh, well, I’m babbling, sorry. Back to business!
In case you didn’t guess, Quick’s society is built on dreams, quite literally, and that’s what drove me to this book. I was a bit taken aback at first thanks to my previous experience with The Dreamer (review here – not dystopian, but fantasy with dreams), but it is a pleasure to inform that Quick delivers everything a reader could ask for in matters of world building and scenery. Besides, a big plus is that the story is on Ireland ❤
Now, characters. This is the other place in which the book failed me a little. I didn’t understand where does Deirdre’s rebellion comes from. She has a good social position on her society, she has loving parents, a sister to fight with and friends. She is rebel simply to be and I found this shallow. She doesn’t have solid reasons to be against the society. I know her parents produce the dreams and that’s how she knows that the things that she dreams about are real, but she doesn’t have a strong case to be so hostile. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Deirdre because she isn’t your standard YA female heroine, but she has a weak construction. Funny enough, all the other people around her seem to have strong motives to be as they are, haha! Oh, well.
To wrap things up, I must warn that this book ends on a MAJOR cliff hanger and I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK OMG! *–* If you like YA, dystopian and almost unpredictable books, just stop wasting time on my babbling and GO READ THE DREAM PROTOCOL!! ❤
Thanks for choosing to spend your Friday night here with me, I do appreciate the company, and hope you liked this review! Once again, thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for my review copy 🙂 If you guys want to learn more info on the author, the book or see where you can purchase it, visit this link.
I’ve been a book lover from the crib, with no particular trigger to my adoration. However, what truly awakened the gay romance lover in me wasn’t a book, but a manga series called 
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 