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?
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!]
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!
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
Hi, there! Good morning and happy Saturday! As I already mentioned, Saturday is mainly book tag day, so here we go!
I was tagged FOREVER AGO by sweet Rosema, from A Reading Writer, and wanted to also apologize, as she tagged me on August and I only saw it months later and am only doing the tag today 😦 Sorry, I promise it won’t happen ever again ❤ But let’s go to the actual thing!*
A Book That Kept You Up All Night Reading
Stripped with The Vampire [review here!] and I regret nothing ❤
A Book That Made You Scared To Sleep
Shielded Past [review here!]. Really, the psychological catch on this book melted my mind. I shivered without realizing while reading…
A Book That Made You Go To Sleep
The End, last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Seriously, I dreaded it 😦
A Book That Left You Tossing and Turning All Night in Anticipation of its Release
Viscount’s Wager [review here!], from Ava March ❤ [I bet you thought I was going to mention her in the first question, mwahaha mwahaha! Unfortunately, I’ve read Convincing the Secretary during my day light hours…]
A Book That Has Your Dream Boyfriend
The Vampire Diaries series, in which resides Damon Salvatore 🙂
A Book That Would Be Your Worst Nightmare to Live In
Percy Jackson’s. Judge me all you want, I wouldn’t bear to live as a demigod without being able to read my precious books (and don’t you go Annabeth on me, everyone knows she’s Hermione from Percy Jackson series, haha!)
A Book That Reminds You of Night Time
The Tutor [review here!], from Bonnie Dee. The atmosphere of that house made me feel like it was always night 😦
A Book That Had a Nightmarish Cliffhanger
Sanctum, from Madeleine Roux. Honestly, I didn’t want to believe my eyes when my book was over, haha!
A Book That You Actually Dreamed About
Wow, I don’t know… I mean, I often dream with Damon, but it’s not about the book or the show, so I really don’t know, haha!
A Book Monster that You Would Not Want to Find Under Your Bed
Any of the monsters featured on the Deltora Quest series. OMG, I always had the chills while reading those books D:
just look at this friendly fellow.
That’s it! Thanks for reading ❤ Thanks for the tag and sorry again, Rosema! 😀 I had lots of fun doing this! If you are reading this post and likes tags… TAG, you’re it! Hahaha!
*I preferred to use my last read book for each of those experiences 🙂
Hello, there! A wonderful Thursday to everyone! I’m particularly happy, as I get to stay home for the first time in the week, haha! And it’s review time here on the blog! Stripped with the Vampire, from Jax Garren, it’s the first book in the Austin Immortals series and our book of the day, received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publisher!
Vince Pagano loves his job. Despite all bad things people usually say when you reveal that you are a stripper, Vince regrets nothing, as he wins a good deal at his club, has time for his hobby (blacksmithing, in the case) and hot dates. The only shadow in his mind is his ex, Charlie.
Five years ago, Charlie broke up with Vince after discovering Vince’s real job and, as much as he would like, Vince knows he’s not over Charlie yet. And being forced to seek shelter with the man after running from were-rats in the middle of the night is not helping matters in the slightest. How can Vince get over his ex if the man is just the same as he was back then, for good and bad?
Charlie, in the other hand, regrets how things turned up for them despite being the one that broke things up. Being a vampire, Charlie felt how empty his life used to be before Vince entered it and missed the young man. But could he give them a second change knowing that it would never be forever, even if Vince wanted so?
More important: can Vince and Charlie solve out the differences in their relationship in the middle of the vampire apocalypse?
The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
THIS BOOK OMG THIS BOOK OMG!
I was hooked since I’ve read the blurb available at NetGalley, but unfortunately took me some months to get to actually reading it and OH MY GOD, this was one of the best vampire books that I read! Jax Garren is brilliant in her writing, characters building, scenarios description, connecting loose ends… BEST. BOOK. EVER. I read it in two days and a half because life insisted in getting into the way, but it’s a book that you can finish in a sitting, just because YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO DROP IT! Vince and Charlie are definitely one of my favorite couples in the world and I can’t wait to read more books by Jax! FIVE STARS, PEOPLE!
Okay, let’s get serious and professional now.
The narrative was in third person with alternating points of view between Vince and Charlie. This is my favorite type and Garren did a wonderful job building Austin Immortals’ world in both perspectives. The reader knows the difference between Vince and Charlie’s thoughts: where Vince has a goofy sense of humor and is very optimistic and easy-going, Charlie has a sophisticated sense of humor, is very pessimist and shy. All those characteristics are subtly present on the way Garren writes their points of view.
The plot was good. It’s not complicated or have any big twists, but the reader can’t be sure of any pairings, including the main one and takes a while for us to be sure of who is the real villain. That’s pretty amusing and I liked who it was – I won’t say due to spoilers, but they are a great team, haha!
I was impressed with the personal growth that Garren makes her characters go though. I honestly didn’t have a bit of faith in Charlie and he is the person that grows the most through the book. What is really nice to see is that he becomes someone better for the sake of Vince, because Vince gives him strength to defy his fears. Besides being overly cute, this is awesome. Cash also grows up through his friends, for their sake, but he is badass since the beginning, so I think he, like Christina Aguilera, just keeps getting’ better, haha!
“Some days I’m a super bitch, up to my old tricks, but it won’t last forever / Next day I’m your super girl, out to save the world, and it keeps geetin’ better”
Ahem.
Rhi, Vince’s best friend, also evolves so much from the beginning. She faces indescribable horrors in the book and she manages to keep it light as much as she cans, Rhi is just wow. But I have to admit that my favorite female character was Winnie. She doesn’t show around much, but she is badass in a quiet style, like “I’m just going to take your head off now, excuse me” kind of way. And she has the best reactions in a strip club, along with Modron and Emma, haha! BEST. SCENE. EVER. I have to share a small piece this with you guys:
The pants came off, ripped from the Velcro at the sides, and the crowd went nuts. Now it was bad. The red crap of underwear barely contained him [Vince]. No, it wasn’t bad – it was obscene. And everyone loved it. Charlie licked his lips as the need to cover his ex up made him clutch the table in fear he’d go do something about it.
Emma leaned over, laughing as she cheered. “Please tell me that ain’t a sock.”
“No comment.”
“Shi-i-it.” She leaned over to Winnie. “Charlie says his ex, unlike yours, is not faking that rocket.”
“Good…lord.”
“I said, ‘No comment.’” Charlie gritted out.
“Your tone is telling.”
(Stripped with the Vampire, p. 159)
The vampires of this book were also highly interesting, as they led a completely regular life without being able to walk in the sun and Charlie hid many things from Vince while they were in a relationship, so we get to discover everything along Vince. Other thing that I liked is how Garren illustrates her vampires’ dealings with eternity, how they see their own immortality. It was different without too many revolutions. I liked it, haha!
Bonus point: the sex scenes. I liked all the sex scenes in this book because none gone to waist. All the times they appeared, they were meaningful, both characters wanted badly to be together and it was anything but vulgar. Just the way I like them to be ❤
Bonus point pt. 2: this cover. Let’s take a moment just to appreciate all the hotness here witnessed.
also from my Instagram 😉
Overall, I’d highly recommend this book if you, like me, is into vampires, gay romances, light books and really hot guys. Definitely one of the best books that I’ve read this year!
That’s it! Thanks for reading and thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this my way! ❤
Four very busy weeks indeed, haha! And I also would like to say that my Review Policy is finally up!! It took me a while, but it’s beautiful ❤ I hope I can get more reading done this month 🙂
That’s it, guys! That’s my August report, haha! Thanks for reading! What have you been up to this last month?
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 