February New Books!

Hello, there! Good afternoon to you and sorry for the tardiness of this post today. It took me so much longer to write it than I had expected, ugh!

Anyway, today is that time of the month when I pick my favorite releases according to Goodreads lists and my own researches, haha!

Without further ado, I present you with my February Hot Releases! Dad, if you chose today to catch up with my blog, take some notes ❤

 

Day 2

• Assassin’s Heart (Assassin’s Heart #1), by Sarah Ahiers

Love and hate and assassins? Count me in 😀 #wishlist

• The Asylum Novellas: The Scarlets, The Bone Artists, & The Warden (Asylum #1.5, 2.5, 3.5 ), by Madeleine Roux

I’m madly passionate about The Asylum series since page one of book one. Unfortunately, I haven’t encountered book three to buy and read yet, but I shall not give up! I can’t wait to read the extra stories, they sound awesome! #wishlist

• The Hunter (Victorian Rebels #2), by Kerrigan Byrne

And you thought I would drop the historical romances deal, right? Eh, wrong. I may not add then to my to-read list on Goodreads, but I’ll still fuss over them, haha!

• In Another Life, by Julie Christine Johnson

This book sounds mind blowing! I wish I could put my hands on it.

• Kingfisher, by Patricia A. McKillip

I love YA books with male main characters! We need more men in YA, haha! Goodreads’ blurb for this one got me hard, so I need to read this now! #wishlist

• The Queen of the Night, by Alexander Chee

Another mind blowing one, but with an extra help: historical book! I love historical adventures ❤

• Remembrance (The Mediator #7), by Meg Cabot

I started to love ghost stories thanks to The Mediator series and even if it lost its position as the best one of its genre to Cemetery Tours series [link], I still need more!! #wishlist

Why almost all Meg Cabot’s covers are so crappy? For crying out loud, that is ugly.

• Starflight (Starflight #1), by Melissa Landers

My friend Mandy, from The Reading Diaries, introduced me to this book quite accidentally and it does sound cool! Now I want to read it as well ❤ #wishlist

• Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles 0.5, 0.6, 1.5, 3.1, 3.6), by Marissa Meyer

I couldn’t leave this book out of my selection. Recently, my friend Jess, from Mud and Stars, made my mind for real on this series and I will try to buy the first book this month to start it 🙂 Thank you, Jess! Besides, I needed to show case this, as the cover is gorgeous.

• Unhooked, by Lisa Maxwell

I saw this book today at my friend Nicole’s blog, Away in Neverland. She was so excited about it that I had to check the book. And guess what? I fell for it too, haha! Now this needs to hit my local bookstores asap!! #wishlist

• The Warden (Asylum #3.5), by Madeleine Roux

Besides releasing all the novellas in just one book, they also released a new story for the Asylum series today, that’s why this title is also here ❤ #wishlist

• Will’s True Wish (True Gentlemen #3), by Grace Burrowes

Yes, another historical romance. I love Grace Burrowes, so I would never leave her releases out of my lists ❤

 

 

Day 8

• The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us #1), by Emily Skrutskie

This book is lucky that I loved its premise, because both the cover and the way that they have written the synopsis just suck. #wishlist

 

 

Day 9

• Convincing Leopold (London Legal #2), by Ava March

And you guys though you were free of my obsession over queen Ava March. Poor you. She’ll be re-releasing Convincing Leopold with a brand new hot cover this month and TWO REVIEWS for her books are coming. Brace yourselves, haha!

• Glass Sword (Red Queen #2), by Victoria Aveyard

I’m really excited to read Red Queen, so it would be stupid to leave this book out of my list 😀 #wishlist

• I’ll See You in Paris, by Michelle Gable

This book sounds so amazing and mysterious! And it has a catchy title and beautiful cover and that’s why it is featured on this list.

• Reign of Shadows (Reign of Shadows #1), by Sophie Jordan

This month, we seem to have a lot of mind-blowing books. This sounds like a Rapunzel retelling for me and I can’t wait to see if it’s true 😀

• A Spy’s Devotion (The Regency Spies of London #1), by Melanie Dickerson

Hello, my name is wanton for historical romances. Add spying and beautiful distrustful males to the mix and you win my heart. #wishlist

• These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1), by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

This book sounds the perfect marriage between paranormal and sugared romance. I love both, so naturally I’m pinning for this one. Besides, have you seen this awesomely beautiful cover? #wishlist

• The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia, by C.W. Gortner

I love almost non-fictional books, specially this kind. Also, the Borgias fascinate me, haha!

 

 

Day 11

• Behind Closed Doors, by B.A. Paris

This book had me hooked on the synopsis. Honestly, I good goose bumps reading it, I need more! #wishlist

• Earth’s End (Air Awakens #3), by Elise Kova

I really want to read the first book in this series, as my friend Lindsey thinks I’d love it and she knows me very well, haha! I just had to announce this volume 🙂

 

 

Day 15

• The Lie, by Karina Halle

I usually am not a just romance kind of reader, but I loved the mystery behind this couple ❤ #wishlist

 

 

Day 16

• Asleep, by Krystal Wade

Mind Blowing alert! I love books that have asylums as their theme as you may have realize from my early comments on this list, so I was on my toes to know what the hell is happening on this book! ❤ #wishlist

• Dancer of Death (SPECTR 2 #2), by Jordan L. Hawk

I can assure you that I have loved every book that I have ever read from Jordan. So what that they are only three? I already downloaded the first one in the SPECTR series and it is on my TBR shelf just waiting for it’s turn, so it was nice to know it has a brother, haha!

• An Evening In Baker Street (Holmes and Watson), by David Ruffle

I love everything based on Sherlock Holmes. Just give it to me. Even if this story passes right before their retirement and may lead me to fangirl tears.

• The Immortals (Olympus Bound #1), by Jordanna Max Brodsky

This book got my full attention on the first lines of the synopsis. Please, just grab me a copy of this jewel, thanks. #wishlist

• Ruler of Beasts (Dorothy Must Die 0.6), by Danielle Paige

As I’m pinning to start this series for a while (no such luck in finding it at my local bookstores, though), I’m really interested in any new releases for it 😀

• The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1), by C.J. Redwine

Fairy tale retelling alert!! It’s a new adaptation of Snow White and has love born from hate! *–* I need this NOW! #wishlist

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens Junior Novel, by Walt Disney Company

I loved this movie deeply and I love Disney novelizations, haha! #wishlist

 

 

Day 18

• 13 Minutes, by Sarah Pinborough

I love Sarah Pinborough, but only have read Tales from the Kingdoms series from her so far. As this book sounds really badass, I’ll try to change that by grabbing this one 😀 #wishlist

 

 

Day 23

After the Woods, by Kim Savage

Another mind blowing book! I love books that plays with the mind, haha!

• Firstlife (Everlife #1), by Gena Showalter

I usually am not really a dystopian reader, but this book hugged me when I saw it on Goodreads. Now I need to hug it back. At my place. #wishlist

• The Forbidden Wish, by Jessica Khoury

I had never seen a supernatural book with jinnies as main creatures/characters. This retelling of Aladdin made my head spin in excitement, haha! #wishlist

• The Groom Wore Plaid (Highland Weddings #2), by Gayle Callen

What did I say about the historical romance deal? lol

• ”I Do”…Take Two!, by Merline Lovelace

Yes, two in a roll.

 

 

Day 29

• Honour Bound (Highland Magic #2), by Helen Harper

As Ava March’s book is a re-release, I had to chose another book to call favorite of the upcoming of this month’s lot. And I chose you, Honour Bound! I’ve read Gifted Thief [review here!] this past week and I’m too deeply in love. OMG, FEBRUARY 29^TH WON’T BE HERE SOON ENOUGH!!!!!! #wishlist

 

So, I tried to be a grown up on this list and epic failed. Go me, haha! All the books marked with #wishlist are on my radar in case a miracle occurs on my local bookstores and I happen to find those releases there 😀 Or if I’m simply planning to buy it sometime in my life, haha! Dad, did you get the message? Over.

Thanks for reading and I’d love to know which releases you’re pinning for this month 😀

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 ❤

The Book Courtship Tag

Hi, there! It’s Saturday and I couldn’t be happier! Besides eating my uncle’s famous barbecue today, this means that I’m going home tomorrow! Yay ❤

Today’s tag I saw at my friend Kim’s blog, The Spines Breaker. She didn’t tag me, but I liked this tag a lot and decided to do anyway 😀

Phase 1 – Initial Attraction: A book that you bought because of the cover?

The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2), by Kelley Armstrong. The hardcover volume was 7 dollars when I found it and I couldn’t resist, haha! Only later at home, I saw it was the second volume of the series and had to buy the ebook for the first one, haha!

Phase 2 – First Impressions: A book that you got because of the summary?

Angel Time (The Songs of the Seraphim #1), by Anne Rice. I found it highly interesting 😀 Let’s see if it will meet my expectations, as my last book from Anne Rice was a huge fiasco.

Phase 3 – Sweet Talk: A book with great writing?

The Night World series, from L. J. Smith. Seriously, I love this woman’s writing style! You can check my reviews for books one, two and three 😀

Phase 4 – First Date: A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

Cemetery Tours, from Jacqueline E. Smith! It was so good and the end had such a cliffhanger that I almost cried in relief because I already had all three published books with me, haha!

Phase 5 – Late Night Phone Calls: A book that kept you up all night?

My last one was Shearwater, from dear Derek Murphy ❤ Such a wonderful book!

Phase 6 – Always on my mind: A book you could not stop thinking about?

Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell. Even now, it still fills my head, as I’m dying to read Carry On!

Phase 7 – Getting Physical: A book which you love the way it feels?

Widdershins, from Jordan L. Hawk. All the feels, all over the place, haha!

Phase 8 – Meeting the parents: A book which you would recommend to your family and friends?

Pride and Prejudice, from marvelous Jane Austen. So far, I convinced 4 people including my mom to read it, haha!

Phase 9 – Thinking about the future: A book or series you know you will re read many times in the future?

All In With The Duke, from my loved Ava March. I can’t breath without this book in my life, seriously.

 

That’s it! Thanks for reading 😀 If you find this tag as fun as I did, don’t hesitate on doing it! You can say that I tagged you 😉

Widdershins, from Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin #1)

Hello, there! Despite the awful beginning of the day with the news about Alan Rickman’s death (Rest In Peace, dear Alan!), life must continue and I’m happy to say that I took refuge in a wonderful book to sooth my sorrow. My dearest chosen was the first book in the Whyborne & Griffin series from the awesome Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins.

from my Instagram 🙂

The Story

Percival Endicott Whyborne wanted nothing more of life in general. A quiet and awkward academic, his work at the Ladysmith Museum and his studies of several dead languages (13 spoken, but he could read more) were enough to occupy his thoughts and his empty existence.

That is, until nosy and charming detective Griffin Flaherty invaded his life and dragged him into a very obscure and dangerous mystery. Now both men have to work aside each other to prevent humanity of collapsing in the hands of a very old secret society with a very lively founder.

The thing is that both Whyborne and Griffin will have to decide whether their heated relationship have more to meet the eye or will be over as soon as they finish up the case.

The Analysis

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

I have already read two books from Jordan, both in the Spirits series: Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits (review here!). So, I was prepared for a wonderful writing style and awesomely built characters.

But nothing prepared me for Whyborne and Griffin.

It all started with the narrative style: first person thought the eyes of Whyborne. If you follow the blog for a while, you know that this is not my preferred narrative style. I often find it to be lacking in the story and limiting. Not the case at all! The fact that we could only live the drama through Whyborne’s eyes made it all more interesting. We second-guessed Griffin’s amour intentions, saw the double face of the truth and watched as Whyborne had to develop to solve the case. But I’ll get there, haha!

The plot was amazing. It was simply brilliant and completely connected. I didn’t find any loose ends on the mystery os even the characters, for that matter. And this is a freaking book series, where any loose ends were forgivable! =O

Seriously, this book!

Ahem.

So, the characters. As I had stated previously on this post, I was sure I would love Whyborne and Griffin simply because I can’t imagine a world where I would not like a character built by Hawk. At first, I thought Whyborne too shy, to neurotic and afraid of breathing; don’t get me wrong, it’s an accurate description. I could never imagine his blossoming through the story, how his love for Griffin made him braver and confident. And the same goes to Griffin: he may have been at ease and chatty, but has his own ghosts, some of them far worse than Whyborne’s. He also faced many fears in behalf of his lover and, on this point, their kind of romance reminded me the ones that my goddess Ava March writes. The couple was lacking something before they found true love and their love makes them better people. Needless to say that, besides adding two more bookish boyfriends to that legendary list of mine, I also gave my heart to this series ❤

I also thought that I would prefer Griffin over Whyborne and I’m astonished that Whyborne managed to steal Griffin’s spotlight with me, haha! Oh, and I also can’t go through this review without mentioning Whyborne’s bff, Christine! She is a blast ❤ I identified with her in so many levels, I wish she’d appeared more… For you guys to get her essence, I’ll leave the explaining task to Ariana Grande:

This is Christine all over, haha!

And there is the ultimate villain. Jeez, I need to catch my breath, haha! How awesome is that his only flaws are being in a need of a fingernail cut and to want world domination? Honestly, I would have loved to see a sex scene between him and Whyborne, omg. Don’t get me wrong, I love Whyborne with Griffin and regret nothing that happened in this book, but a girl can dream, haha! I love sex scenes where desire and hate are mixed into pleasure (not rape, just the sheer need of having the body of a fellow that you could fire in the head to kill). I shan’t reveal the villain’s name for the sake of spoilers, but he is hot.

And, as I already hinted in the last paragraph, let’s now analyze sex scenes! The last books I had been reading lacked those, so I rather missed them, oops! Also, it has been a while since my last gay book, so I was double happy with Hawk’s work 😉 One thing I adored was that Whyborne and Griffin took it slow in bed. Whyborne was a virgin and remained that way even after their first sexual plays. It was lovely ❤ Griffin was the top in this book, but hinted that he’s the type that likes both ends of sex making, haha!

Ahem. I seem to be a little carried away today, I apologize.

Overall, this is a very good mystery book. Yes, there is romance, but it’s not its solemnly focus. I’d say this is a story about friendship in the first place and how relationships change over time. Not just in a romantic way 🙂

Well, that’s it! Thanks for reading ❤ Have you read Jordan L. Hawk’s books?

 

 

PS: Rest in Peace, dear Alan Rickman.

Always.

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??

Paper dolls and other goodies from Whyborne & Griffinm series! =O

Hi, there! So, there was I in the other day cleaning up my e-mail box (I love subscribing to newsletters and I always forget to delete them after reading, so it is a total mess), when I stumbled on PURE GOLD!

I’m a subscriber of dear author Jordan L. Hawk’s newsletter and as I was cleaning my e-mail box, I found this one e-mail from her unread and got to see it: her main series, Whyborne & Griffinm, now had… PAPER DOLLS.

OMG.

SERIOUSLY, I FREAKED OUT! I love paper dolls and still have a lot of them stuck away in a box, haha! When I learned that Jordan got her book characters PAPER DOLLS, I knew she definitely was that awesome.

I recently got the first book in this series, Widdershins, for free at Amazon and hopefully I’ll get to read it during my two-month vacation, that starts tonight ❤

OMG, by the time this post goes live, I’ll already have presented my dissertation and be graduated! OH. MY. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Ahem.

I already read two books from Jordan, both in the Spirits series: Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits (review here!). It’s only natural for me to love the Whyborne & Griffinm series as well!

from my Instagram 🙂

Oh, and if you want to know more about Jordan, her works and her omg-paper-dolls, you can check it all here, on her website: http://jordanlhawk.com. If you got madly curious and need to see the paper dolls and the other goodies from this series on her website, just click here 😉

That’s all, folks! Thanks for reading and I hope I got you interested in Jordan’s work because she ROCKS!

November’s Wrap Up, Book Haul and December TBR!

Hi, there! Omg, December is really here! I am sooo happy! ❤

November was a slow reading month for me, as I finished my dissertation and had my finals, but I got to read something 🙂 December will be a better month, as I’ll be on vacation after December 04^th, haha!

WRAP UP

I’ve read 8 books, 4 mangas and 1 comic book in November.

BOOKS

• A Arte de Editar Revistas, by Fatima Ali (Brazilian Portuguese book meant for my dissertation, so I won’t review it)
• The Complete Essays, by Michel de Montaigne (college reading, also won’t be reviewed even that it was very good)
• Em busca dos contos perdidos: O significado das funções femininas nos contos de Perrault (Searching for the lost tales: the meaning of the female functions in Perrault’s fairy tales), by Mariza B. T. Mendes (review here!)

• Finding Forever (The Chasing Series #2), by Linda Oaks (review here!)

• Introduction to Sociology, by Theodor W. Adorno (college reading, won’t be reviewed)

• Misunderstood: Secrets of a Teen Queen, by Anya Valentino (review here!)

• The Night Clock, by Paul Meloy (review here!)

• Renoir (Os Impressionistas), by Aldo Pereira (review coming soon!)

MANGAS

• Castle Mango, by Muku Ogura & Narise Konohara (review here!)

• Eerie Queerie!, by Shuri Shiozu (review here!)

• Ten Count, by Rihito Takarai (review here!)

COMIC BOOK

• My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, by Ted Andersen and Katie Cook (review here!)

BOOK HAUL

My haul for this month was almost non-existent again. My family has been going through difficult times, so I’m trying not to be a burden, haha! I got some freebies from Amazon and won a giveaway, so this is my haul:

• Devil’s Breath, by Jon P. Wells
• The Legend of the Blue Eyes (The Blue Eyes Trilogy #1), by B. Kristin McMichael
• Sachael Dreams (The Mine #1), by Melody Winter
• Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin #1), by Jordan L. Hawk
• Daughters of Darkness – The Anthology (4 Paranormal Romance Novels), by Chrissy Peebles, Kristen Middleton, W.J. May and C.J. Pinard
• Red August, from H. L. Brooks (the book I won and already talked about here)

DECEMBER TBR

I’m still working on my December TBR, but I can tell you that I WILL FINISH EMMA, mwahaha mwahaha! ❤ What I’m sure for now:

• Shielded Past, from Patti Morelli (currently-reading) [UPDATE: review here]

• Emma, from Jane Austen (currently-reading)

• Night World, vol. 1, from L. J. Smith [reviews: book 1, book 2 and book 3]
• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, from Anne Rice (By the way, I already talked about this book here) [review here]
• Cemetery Tours series, from Jacqueline E. Smith [reviews: book 1, book 2 and book 3]
• Braver With You, from A. Hart [review here!]
• The Carnelian Legacy, from Cheryl Koevoet
• Roses of The Angel, from Kalee Marshall [review here!]
• Alice’s Adventures in Underland: The Queen of Stilled Hearts, from DeAnna Knippling

I always end up reading unplanned books in the middle of my selected TBR, so I’ll start the month with those and let’s see how it goes, haha!

That’s it! Thanks for reading! What is your first read for Christmas month??

December’s new books!

Hi, there! Am I the only one that already is head over heels for Christmas?!! ❤ It’s my favorite time of the year, as I got to be with my family (we live very far from each other, unfortunately), the food is awesome, the weather is great (we are in the middle of summer in my country, haha!) and I’m on vacation ❤ Best time ever!

Anyway, the releases for December are truly hot, we readers will have to sell some organs to have them all this month, haha! (just kidding. Or maybe not ;D) I apologize in advance, as there are MANY mass-market historical romances in my list this month, but I regret nothing, haha!

Those are my highlights:

Day 1

The Captain’s Christmas Bride, by Annie Burrows

A fast and funny read Christmas themed. Perfect for the month!

Death’s Leash (Hellhounds #1), by J.D. Stroube

Heavily-photoshoped-cover aside, I found this book very interesting. Since I’ve read Meg Cabot series Abandon (if you haven’t, PLEASE READ, IT IS AWESOME!), I got more interested in this genre that explores Death’s servants and all. The cover could be better, but the book itself promises a lot!

Forgetting August (Lost & Found #1), by J.L. Berg

I usually wouldn’t pick up this kind of contemporary romance, it’s not my favorite genre. But I don’t know, something in this book just calls my name, haha! Have to read it!

The Holiday Courtship (Texas Grooms #7), by Winnie Griggs

Another Christmas themed mass-market romance that got me curious. I mean, the female character won’t accept a marriage proposal even loving the man? I need to find out why!

How to Seduce a Scot (Broadswords and Ballrooms #1), by Christy English

If there is ever a Monthly Hot Releases list in my blog without a mass-market historical romance, call the police because I’m dead and someone replaced me, haha! This one had me with its ever so funny blurb, haha! I already love the idea of Alexander and Catherine together!

In Search of Scandal (London Explorers #1), by Susanne Lord

I got highly interested on the personality of the main female character, Charlotte. It feels like she will run Will over, haha!

A Lady’s Guide to Ruin (Birch Hall Romance #1), by Kathleen Kimmel

This historical romance seems slightly deeper than the others of this category that are present on this list, as the main female character is a runaway from a mental institution. All eyes on this one!

Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois, by Sophie Perinot

Historical romance + Paris + The Médicis + Intrigue and Death = I need to read this!

One Rogue at a Time (Rakes and Rogues #2), by Jade Lee

I liked that both main characters in this romance aren’t from London’s high society. I would love to see what they are going to do to go up on those stairs, haha!

The Painter’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen

I love historical romances and this one, although having a dramatic tone, seems awesome!

The Rosemary Spell, by Virginia Zimmerman

I saw that my dear friend Jacqueline E. Smith wanted to read this novel and I got curious, haha! The synopsis could be better, but left me wondering anyway.

Time of Departure: A Novel, by Douglas Schofield

This sounds like a mystery thriller and I love those! I have to read this genre more in the future ❤

Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, by Dita Von Teese and Rose Apodaca

I LOVE DITA VON TEESE! She’s one of my personal idols and I’m totally partial to her: I think she is beautiful, talented, funny, stylish, an example. I need to read this book!

 

Day 8

Ashley Bell (Ashley Bell #1), by Dean Koontz

I don’t know this writer or this series or anyone that has already heard of this. So, what got my attention? The fact that this cover uses the same picture as one of the Brazilian editions of Twilight, last book of the Mediator series, by Meg Cabot:

I like this picture, so I had to know what this book was about and sounds nice! If you already heard anything of it, please tell me ❤

Inherit the Stars (Inherit the Stars #1), by Tessa Elwood

This is a sci-fi dystopian book that I found on Goodreads and sounds different, haha! I’m not really a dystopian person (please don’t kill me) and I read less sci-fi than I wished, but this book, the first in a series, sounds like a good bet!

Lord Dashwood Missed Out (Spindle Cove #4.5), by Tessa Dare

I’m sure this book will rock! A woman that writes an open letter to all women about the boy next door that has never even looked at her way? AWESOME! I need to read it ❤

Planetary Submissives series, by Amber Kell

This series was previously released in 2012 and it has passed through re-editing, that’s why I added it to my list 🙂 I know Amber Kell from ads on the end of other m/m books that I already read, but never read anything by her. This series got me curious, so here I go! Nothing like a bit of dystopian BDSM to relax a person, haha!

Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise, by Lucinda Hawksley

I love to know more about royal families, I find them highly interesting. I didn’t knew of Princess Louise existence until I find this book and the synopsis had me in a cliff already, haha! It will be awesome to know more about her!

The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America’s Youngest Serial Killer, by Roseanne Montillo

This is a non-fiction book that I stumbled on internet a while ago and knew that would be awesome, haha!

 

Day 11

Maelstrom (Whyborne & Griffin #7), by Jordan L. Hawk

I’ve become a big hardcore fan of Jordan L. Hawk since her Restless series (you can see my review for book number #2 here), and I’m dying to start Whyborne & Griffin, I even bought the first book and it will be on my January TBR, so I’m celebrating ahead that there are seven books in the series, haha! (I don’t think I made much sense here, oops!)

 

Day 15

Changeling (The Faewyld #1), by Leigh Teale

Since I’ve read Shattered Blue, from Lauren Bird Horowitz (review here!), I’ve got totally interested in the Fae’s world. When I found this book, I knew it would be perfect!

A Seditious Affair (Society of Gentlemen #2), by K.J. Charles

I met K. J. Charles through Twitter and I just knew I had to read her work asap! I’m going to buy the first book in this series as a self xmas present and highly recommend this series for anyone that likes gay historical romances, like I do ❤

The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi, by Alyssa Palombo

Hm, I guess it is pretty obvious by now that I really love historical romances, even when they are based on true stories, right? Haha! I love Vivaldi’s music and will love to dive deeper on his world ❤

Untamed (Splintered #3.5), by A.G. Howard

So, I’m dying to start this series too (such beautiful covers!) and I couldn’t leave this book out, right? Haha!

 

Day 18

Scoundrel of Dunborough (The Knights’ Prizes #3), by Margaret Moore

My history with Margaret Moore is old and special, haha! The first mass-market historical romance of my life was written by her (The Welshman’s Bride). Not my best read, but it was the one that made me read one after another and find my favorites (I did a post about that a while ago with my top 5 favorite ones). I don’t know this series that she is currently writing, but the theme is the same of the two books that I read from her and I can tell you this: Margaret is AWESOME at Medieval romances, okay? If that’s your genre, give her a go ❤

 

Day 20

Royal Savage, by Victoria Ashley

At first, I was drawn by this amazing cover, but the synopsis did little to hold my interest. And then, I got curious: how a book with a kind of lame synopsis is rated on 4.94 stars* so far?! I have to see what those people loved about this story! #thespiritofajournalist

 

Day 29

Dukes Prefer Blondes (The Dressmakers #4), by Loretta Chase

Another one of my historical romances set in 19^th century London and I regret nothing! ❤

 

Feeew, that’s it! Thanks for reading! So many books, so little money, haha! Do you already know which books are you buying for Christmas??

 

*data consulted on Nov. 29^th

September Wrap Up and Book Haul!

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

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

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

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

 

• 2 Coloring books from Frozen 😉

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

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

• And my Halloween comic book from Disney ❤

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

from my Instagram ❤

Anyway, the books I read this month:

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

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

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

Dangerous Spirits, from Jordan L. Hawk (Spirits #2)

Hello! This week the blog is full of reviews because a great will power made me finish three books in a week (with college and dissertation to do). Now I’m trying to catch up with myself to review all those marvelous books, haha! Today I’ll talk about Dangerous Spirits, second volume of the Spirits series, by Jordan L. Hawk ❤ I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review and the book is out today! I’ll leave some links in the end of the review, where you can check out Dangerous Spirits 😀 I’ve read the first one earlier this year, before start blogging (I started on May, it’s been 5 months already?! =O), so I apologize for the lack of review. I’ll try to re-read the book in December, after my graduation, and then I’ll have a review, haha! Anyway, I had loved Restless Spirits and you can imagine my happiness when I learned that the book would have a sequel and when Jordan sent it to me ❤ Thank you from the bottom of my bookish heart! But let’s go to the story 😀

from my Instagram 🙂

Story

 

Recently moved from New York to Baltimore, Vincent Night couldn’t be happier with his life beside his lover, Henry Strauss. After all the adventures on Reyhome Castle, the medium and the scientist united themselves on business as well and opened a little shop specialized on extinguishing ghosts and spirits, using both Vincent’s powers as a medium and Henry’s inventions as a scientist. Lizzie, an old friend and business partner of Vincent, also entered the partnership and helped them with her own gift and the three of them counted too with the inventions of Henry’s cousin, Jo. As in any business start, things were slowly and the money was scarce, but all four were very optimistic that a presentation that Henry would do at the Psychic Society would change things and bring in more clients.

Henry was the most anxious one in the party, as Vincent never hid how little he thought of the society and, besides making everyone’s lives more comfortable, Henry would be able to prove his lover wrong. Unfortunately, even after relating their findings and experiences at Reyhome Castle, the society discredits Henry’s work and bans him from their meetings. When Henry was going to deliver the bad news for Vincent, in an impulse, he lies and says that the presentation was a huge success, and knowing all the efforts that his lover and Lizzie had to move in to Baltimore, he loses courage to tell the truth and misses his opportunity.

Meanwhile, Vincent and Lizzie’s old master best friend, Sylvester Ortensi, summons them to help him in a complex case with a powerful ghost that is scaring a whole little town called Devil’s Walk (haha). Henry insists in accompanying them, together with his cousin Jo, but doesn’t feel confident anymore to use his inventions along with Vincent and Lizzie’s gifts to catch the said ghost; after all, if not even the Psych Society believed him, why would Vincent and Lizzie?

Between several twists and misunderstandings, Henry and Vincent will have to make a choice: will they allow white lies to drive them apart? Will their love be stronger than social intrigues and an angry ghost?

Dangerous Spirits picks up Henry and Vincent’s life after we last saw them on Restless Spirtis, so I highly recommend that you read the first book before giving this one a go 🙂

Analysis

 

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

 

I don’t even try to mask how much I love LGBT books, especially if it’s a male/male couple in the 19^th century ❤ I’m not familiar with Hawk’s other works, but I love Spirits and I can’t promise an impartial review, haha! Sorry.

I loved this book. It’s a very short one (my pdf file had 171 pages) and you can read it on one day easily – more precisely, in 4 hours while doing your house work #truestory 😉 From beginning to end, I was stuck, needing to know what in hell was happening on that town, without knowing it I could trust Sylvester of it my sixth female sense was right, fangirling over Henry and Vincent… This book was a roller coaster for me because it left me breathless and with my heart on my mouth in every. Single. Page. That’s why 5 stars ❤

The narrative was third person, but always following either Henry or Vincent’s perspective. At the same time that this technique gave an air of mystery and covered most of what was happening at the Devil’s Walk, it left some holes in the plot and simplified it in a bad way. I wish there was another book coming on the series (please, Jordan, please!) to fix these holes. I also think that it could have been super cool to have a prologue or epilogue showing a little how the life of the person that became the ghost was before her death, to bind things up and leave an air of romantic decadency.

But this is a particular of me, as since I was little, I always thought that the past was fascinating, especially if I could feel it on a place or object. ~pausing the review for major meditation~ I don’t know why, but I always felt attracted, mesmerized by the past. Imagining how people’s life used to be, how it went with their intimacy, their histories, their pains, their joys… There’s an unexplainable beauty on what used to be, in the old, in the decadent, in the forgotten. Of course I like to know more about famous incidents and people, but to find the history of a common person in their time it’s priceless for me. The majority of the best days of my life is related to this series of serendipity. I can remember to this day how much I enjoyed to go down on my grandma’s basement (in an early 20^th century house with eight bedrooms) and go through her governess’ stuff, hear their stories, see the black and white pictures… Another very warm memory dates from my late childhood, when my mom took me to a resting house for elderly people that our church helps to maintain. Several women went and I tagged along for some reason. I stood hours there listening to old people telling their histories, about their own childhood and life In general, how they ended up there. I liked that place so much that I actually whined when my mom said it was time to go – and I was 10 or 12 already, lol. Abandoned places also drive me crazy and I love being able to walk inside them. I admit that my experiences are very restrict, but I enter them always that I can. I become fearless of rats, insects, dirty, everything. For that little stolen moment, I wish I was a part of that place, that I could blend in with its walls and unveil its mysteries, its magic. To find out about the background story of the woman that turned into ghost awoke this macabre side of me, haha! I wanted to understand better how her life was, who was she, why things happened in the way they did. I guess this little side story awoke the journalist in me as well and left her disappointed, haha!

Anyway, that’s a very personal point. I didn’t take any stars on my rating for this, but I missed this element on both narrative and plot. The describing was fantastic and I need to highlight Hawk’s sex scenes. Henry and Vincent are madly in love with each other and this is reflected on the small things, even in the bedroom. The sweetness of each touch, the longing in their stares, everything is filled with love. Really, is beautiful ❤

Talking about the plot itself, as I commented, there were some holes thanks to the narrative style, but nothing serious that interfered on the reading or on the end of the main problem. I liked the plot; it was decent enough and highly interesting for me as a fan of the series. The interesting thing about Hawk is that she presents us to very modern problems even with the scenario being a supernatural historical romance. Henry and Vincent need to be honest with each other to work things up in their relationship, Vincent and Lizzie have a bound with Sylvester forged in gratitude, that leads them to a crucial conscious conflict, especially with Henry and Vincent’s forbidden love.

We are introduced to most of the main characters in the previous book in the series, for obvious reasons. I have a special place in my heart for Henry and Vincent; it’s amazing how they complete each other as a couple. Despite his tastes, Henry is very conventional, tidy and even too common in his own opinion, whereas Vincent is a highly stylish medium and descent of the North American Indians – which means awkward social situations thanks to North Americans’ prejudice in the 19^th century. Lizzie is actually a man dressed in woman’s clothes, as she never felt a man, with a golden attitude. Despite her problems with Henry, as she thinks he is a bit silly, I love her! Jo, Henry’s cousin, is another complicated character. Jo is a black girl and, when her parents died, Henry was the only one in the family that took her in with open arms and didn’t treat her like a slave (and he was shut off from the family for that). Sylvester is a new character and I hated him since the beginning – not because of any technical details, I just didn’t like his attitude, haha! And I loved Rosanna, it was an automatic empathy and I still want to know more about her.

Some of the strongest points in the book are the mystery and the romance around the supernatural. Jordan always created verisimilar situations even when her characters are face to face with a ghost and that’s super cool 🙂

Overall, I loved Dangerous Spirits and highly recommend it if you like a good historical LBGT romance (this is a very underrated genre, so let’s keep trying to take them out of their dark corner at book stores!), mystery, ghosts and some steampunk elements – thanks to Henry’s inventions to catch ghosts 😉

That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading and sorry for another mega reflection, haha! Keep your eyes open to the blog, the review for The Heir, by Kiera Cass, shall be out before Friday!

And, as promised, here’s the list of places where you can find Dangerous Spirits! Both Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits are only available in digital formats, for US$4,99.

iBooks

Smashwords

All Romance

Amazon

Nook