Good day to you! Our day starts with Top 10 Tuesday 😀 This meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and as if I wasn’t a rebel before, now I reached a whole new level, haha! Besides choosing to show you guys my 10 favorite covers within my 2015 reads, I also made it 18 covers because it was IMPOSSIBLE to narrow this down, haha!
Lest’s go:
Venom, from Kristin Middleton
The Gentleman and The Lamplighter, from Summer Devon
Hi, there! Good Monday to you 🙂 First thing in my blog week is to participate in my sweet friend Audrey’s weekly meme, Match Made in Mondays! To see what we have been about for a while now, head to Forwards and Bookwords, her awesome blog 😀
Today’s theme is:
THIS BOOK’S PREMISE + a do over (What book had a fantastic premise that wasn’t executed well?)
Another rare case where I am not going to start my response with “I don’t know”! 😀
I think that my last plot disappointment was with Secrets and High Spirits, from Lou Harper.
It had every element in the right place for it to work, but I felt it was so rushed D: The couple was great, the sidekicks were great, the mystery and everything… Oh, dear. It pains my heart to complain like this 😦
And, to be clear, I liked it and gave it 3 stars, but it is a shame to see its wasted potential, haha! I was devastated when I reached the end of my arc copy and saw that Teag and Bruce were done and that the next book would already feature another couple…
Oh, the pains of a book lover.
Anyway, still a good read. For more details, please read my full review here 😀
That’s it! Thanks for reading and I hope everyone’s starting this week well!
Hello, there! Today we are going to navigate among my bought and read books of October! Yay!
I was a very good girl this month and read a total of 12 books; 10 books and 2 comics. I told you in my September’s wrap up that October was my month, haha! I also received some new books in exchange for honest reviews, but all in due time!
In shopping matters, October was practically non-existent – honestly, I didn’t even got out to the bookstore, you know? And I’m not making online shopping lately, as I don’t have the time either, haha! I bought 2 mangas, 5 comic books, 1 coloring book (call me obsessed) and one sticker album, because I’m a child, haha!
I managed to not read a single manga this month, which is impressive for my standards, and I already wrote two of three reviews expected to October. Go, me! ❤ The first Bound Series’ review will be up until Friday, Nov. 6th, with luck.
I already reviewed a book from Linda, Chasing Rainbows (link here), and a book by James, What Lies Within. Thanks so much for the trust, guys! Just wait my vacation, haha!
My currently readings are The Night Clock, by Paul Meloy, which I received through NetGalley (thank you!) and Finding Forever, because its release was on Oct. 29th. I’m positive that FF review will be up on the blog on Nov. 8th and The Night Clock, on Nov. 5th. But let’s see, right? Hahaha!
I also would like to start a countdown here. I deliver my dissertation on Nov. 10th, which means that this will be seven days from this post. CHEERS FOR FREEDOM!
Ahem, that’s it! Thanks for reading and Happy November!
Hello, there! Can you believe this?! I just started to do my dear friend Audrey’s Monday memes, called Match Made in Mondays! I’m so excited! I hope I can do this often, haha!
Audrey is from the Forwards and Bookwords and the theme this week is: THIS CHARACTER from THIS BOOK + THIS CHARACTER from a DIFFERENT BOOK shipped (Despite potentially being from completely different worlds, what two characters do you just know would make an awesome couple?).
I confess that I usually don’t mix characters from books on a loving fashion. I think: “oh, this boy and this girl would rock ass being on the same school/work team” or “oh my, those two would be awesome buddies”, but never with love in the middle. Now I have to, haha!
I guess I would love to see Eadlyn, from The Heir, by Kiera Cass, struggling with Teag, from Secrets and High Spirits, from Lou Harper, because I think Eadlyn needs some lessons.
I know what you’re thinking: but wasn’t Teag gay and all? Oh, yes, without any doubts and Bruce can tell you better than me, but the thing is that Teag is a control freak just like Eadlyn. It would be good for her ego to be put in her place more often than not by Teag. Or maybe both would kill each other’s to no ends and Bruce would have to attend to 35 boys. Either way, the outcome seems happy to me, hahaha! Besides, love born from hate is always hotter, haha!
But if Audrey asked me the same question on movie matters, my answer would pop out in two seconds: Jack Frost, from Rise of Guardians, and Elsa, from Frozen. Is she older? Yes. Is he immature? Yes. Are both totally cool without love? Yes. BUT THEY WOULD BE AMAZING FOR ME, SO I DON’T CARE!
this could be so real for me ❤
See? The artwork is from Deviantart, but proves well my point ❤ Dreamworks, Disney, PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN! Hahaha!
That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading and, next Monday, new topic!
Hello, there! Yes, this is a book review, it is not a Halloween prank! =O (I’m very pleased with myself for managing to read and review this book at such a time of the year and without delays to its release date ~aka. TODAY, yay!~). My dissertation is overall ready and I’m two weeks early, so I can give myself the pleasure of writing some late reviews, haha!
So, today’s book is Secrets and High Spirits, the fourth book on Lou Harper’s Spirits’ series, but they are kind of standalones, as I only read this one and understood it all without any problems. I have kindly received this through NetGalley and I am very thankful ❤
from my Instagram 🙂
The Story
Teag and Bruce saw each other only once in their lives, but the experience was a mess: Bruce was irritated and was an ass with Teag and his friend. Since the episode, Teag hates Bruce and all his “type” of gay men: overly gym worked, all tattooed and cocky. Bruce, in the other hand, doesn’t understand why can’t Teag just accept an apology, so he is a bit indisposed with him too.
All was well, as they thought they would never see each other again… Until they meet again, evaluating the same place to buy and build a bar – a shared dream they later discover to possess. Bruce soon sees a good opportunity on the rise: Teag was a hell of a showman and Bruce was better off administrating bureaucratic stuff. They were the perfect match to build a bar together, if only Teag could let go of their first encounter… And maybe accept the maddening and undeniable sex tension between them.
Soon enough, both men discover that the place they were planning to build their bar on had a bizarre history and that even weirder things started to happen when no one was around. Was it just a big joke on top of the supposed haunted place’s reputation or, despite their personal problems, could Teag and Bruce be dealing with a real ghost…?
The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
I make no secret that I really love gay romances, a lot. Specially a men x men one, like this one. I requested it on NetGalley because the blurb put my head (and other parts *coffs*) on fire with curiosity. I have even mentioned before how I love when the characters passions are born out of hate: man, it gets darn strong and hot, omg. Anyway, I guess I expected too much from the book. The plot had so much potential that I didn’t even noticed how short the ebook was (my edition was 137 pages long). It was a good book, amusing and all, but I got disappointed at its wasted potential. Harper had such a brilliant idea on her hands and I felt it all was so rushed, you know? And there were another small things that bothered me, but all in due time. It is not a bad book, but as a whole work, it received three stars.
The narrative had a very good pace – not overly fast, but it didn’t dwelled on needless points of the plot. It was made on third person, alternating Teag and Bruce’s point of view. This is my favorite kind of narrative, overall, because it usually avoids loose ends. Of course that, sometimes, it happens and it has happened here as well, but as this book is part of a series, I didn’t take off stars because of that. Maybe Harper is planning on writing another volume, maybe some of the missing info I would get reading the series since book one, like I should have (oops!), I don’t know, so Harper is safe here, haha! One thing that really bothered me on the narrative was the narrator’s use of idiomatic expressions. I mean, it is okay for me if the character, on his speech or thought, say things like “helluva”, but is not ok when it is the third person narrator doing so. It made the book vulgar on my conception. The beginning is worse; as Harper dives into the story, she slowly eases the use of this kind of word and similar expressions – for which I was very grateful. I also would like to make it clear that I’m ok with swearing and low class words, for say, but not from the third person narrator. I think Harper tried to make the text more palatable, but I don’t think it was a good way to try that 😦
The plot was my biggest disappointment. It had SO MUCH FREAKING POTENTIAL. Harper had an awesome idea for a contemporary gay romance, she brought to light so many things that need to be discussed in society, like the prejudice – Teag is a gay man that is made purely of prejudices against everything and everybody, for example – but it went too fast. It seemed like she was so worried about finishing the book that she forgot to savor the act of writing it. I like her descriptions, but they were a bit bipolar: I spent half of the book without knowing how Teag looked like, but I could draw Bruce, as he was described in details all the time (and I’m a terrible artist, haha!). This is applicable also on scenario descriptions. I understand that this is the fourth book in a series, but it is always good to give a brief explanation of things on each new book, as we never know which nut piece can catch the train when it is already running (like I did, haha!). Another point is the paranormal element of the book: if you ask me, there is none. I mean, there is a ghost, but it being and not being there is the same thing thanks to the plot development and that’s a shame. It gets obvious too soon that the ghost has nothing to do with the mystery going on at the bar and the characters say so many times during the story. A pity.
Now, I really liked how Harper can build a character. They all have such a real presence that you don’t forget not even the secondary ones. It was amazing, really. Bruce, for example, became another bookish boyfriend for me (I will need to create a boyish alter ego for myself one of these days, as I have so many gay bookish boyfriends, omg), even with his flaws. Sometimes, I could even picture Teag’s lectures, it was so funny, haha! And his sister, Helen, is a genius. There is this scene on the book that she admits messing up Teag’s toys when they were kids just to see how big would be his scandal, haha! Priceless ❤
I also feel the need of commenting the sex scenes on the book. Bruce and Teag’s attraction is strong, palpable, real, so I expected a book filled with hot sex scenes. Eh, no. I can’t complain about the actual scenes, but they were so few that my heart sank. Teag and Bruce had so much chemistry on the bed, it was a shame not exploring this further – and Harper can do a sex scene, all right! *breathless*
So, some of the strong points on the book are the character constructions and the fact that it is a part of a series, so I can now meet the other couples that are mentioned on this volume, haha! Oh, and the sex scenes, when they are there ❤
Overall, I can’t complain about this book, as it was a pleasant pastime on the two days that took me to finish it – I’m still focusing on the damn dissertation, so I’m not fully back on pleasure reading yet, but life is slowly going back to normal, THANK GOD.
That’s it, guys! Please, don’t cry, another reviews are coming, haha! Thanks for reading and stay strong ❤
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?
Hello, everyone! Some days ago, I was nominated for the Liebster Award twice! I’d like to thank so so sooo much to my lovely friend Ellen, from Eveningreads, and to sweet Shannon, from For The Love of Words, for the nomination! You are amazing!!
And here’s the rules for the award:
Thanks again, girls! Let’s go to the answers:
Eveningreads’ questions:
Do you have a favorite Harry Potter book? If yes, which and why?
Yes! I love The Goblet of Fire. All of it. The year, the quests, Voldemort’s trial to kill Harry… Really, this is my favorite book of the series all time, haha!
What is your current read and how is it?
I’m currently reading a book called Shattered Blue, from Laura Bird Horowitz, that I received through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I just start reading chapter 1, I think it’s not fair to say anything good or bad yet, haha!
Your top 5 TBR?
Sigmund Shaw: A Steampunk Adventure, by Mark C. King
Vexed by a Viscount, by Erin Knightley
What Lies Within, by James Morris
Secrets and High Spirits, by Lou Harper
Cemetery Tours, by Jacqueline E. Smith
Top 5 favorite characters of all time?
Damon Salvatore, from The Vampire Diaries
Sherlock Holmes
Addie Hayes, from Chasing Rainbows
Mr. Darcy, from Pride & Prejudice
Snape, from Harry Potter
Can you read and listen to music or are you the silent reader?
I really like to read while listening to music, but I read well in silence too – I prefer to have some kind of background noise, especially during afternoons, because I usually get sleepy, no matter what I’m reading, haha!
6.Which standalone/series do you wish had just one more book?
Omg, there’s so many! But I will go with The Tutor, from Bonnie Dee (review here!). It’s a standalone book and I really wished to see how the characters went with their lives after so many things, haha!
What is your go-to book?
Right now, it’s Chasing Rainbows (review here!), by Linda Oaks. It was a life-changing book and I will re-read it many times, I’m sure!
Who is your most owned author?
Just physical copies, I would say Emily Rodda (18 books). However, counting ebooks + paperbacks, I’d say Ava March, with 22 books.
What is your favorite read of 2015 so far?
I CAN’T CHOOSE! This year, I’ve read some exceptional books, like the complete series of Percy Jackson and the Asylum series books, besides Austenland from Shannon Hale (review here!), Viscount’s Wager by Ava March (review here!), The Tutor from Bonnie Dee and Chasing Rainbows by Linda Oaks. I can’t choose one, sorry, haha!
If you could visit one fictional place, where would it be and why?
The Middle Earth, from Lord of The Rings. I spent so many hours of my childhood pretending I was there that it would feel wrong to choose any other amazing place, haha!
What’s the book you had to put down before you could go on with it?
The Host, by Stephanie Meyer. I really hated it, haha!
Now, For the Love of Words’ questions:
Are you a morning person, or a night person? I’m definitely a night person, I do everything after dusk, haha!
What’s your favorite color of food? Yellow or red/brown, because I love massa and meat, haha!
Most read and reviewed genre? Romance, of all kinds: YA, Historical, Contemporary, Supernatural… Romance ❤
Favorite pastime (besides reading)? Eating, what is very sad, haha! Third thing on my list is sleeping. I’m basically a cat that learned to read.
What’s your dream city? A place in Brazil called Curitiba. I would give anything to live there 🙂
Favorite Olympic sport to watch? I like masculine water sports and volley. I love Brazil’s volley team, both masculine and feminine, and love to see all those worked up guys on bath suits, haha! *blushes*
Do you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert? I’m very extrovert, I talk to pretty much anyone and everything, like the walls.
What’s your favorite television show? Hard one! I watch too many things and never finish one. I would say Vampire Diaries and Suits, as everything seems to be getting cancelled nowadays…
What’s your dream job? Being paid to review books, because that’s pretty much what I do best 🙂
Who’s your favorite artist? (can be either musical or fine arts) I love miss Britney Spears and a band named Epica. If I had to spend the rest of my days listening to only two musical figures, they would be my choice ❤
How long have you had your blog, and what keeps you writing? My blog is a baby! I started it on Blogger in April and moved to WordPress on June, so this blog has only three months! I’m very selfish with my blog: what keeps me writing is my desire to do so. I always read a lot and I love talking about the books I read, but my offline friends couldn’t keep up with my passion, so I unleash it all here and on my bookstagram 🙂
Now, I’ll tell 22 random facts about me because I was nominated twice, it’s only fair 🙂
My favorite flowers are gardenias and hydrangeas – the bluish purple ones especially
I love sweets, especially my mom’s chocolate cake
I mentally date at least one boy from every book I read ;D
My Hogwarts house is Slytherin, according to Pottermore
I love notebooks and I have to control myself to not buy every cute one that crosses my way, haha!
I used to play with my books as a child, pretending they were dolls (and I had so many Barbies…)
My favorite heroine is Wonder Woman ❤
I like to collect movies and tv show seasons in DVD even with Netflix times
I’m really small, Hobbit sized (1,54m = 5’05”)
I have an issue with shoes. I own about 60 pairs and regret nothing, haha!
I wanted to be an Italian opera singer when I was a child
My favorite color is black ❤
I’m too expressive; every time I feel something, you can see it in my face
I’m often mistaken by a high school girl (and I’m 21 lol)
I love to try new kinds of food, specially if it is junk food
I own about 700 books and 800 mangas xD
I can’t eat salad to save my life
I graduate in Journalism school within 5 months and I’m freaking out, haha!
My favorite male actors are Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer and Misha Collins ❤
I love porcelain dolls and my favorite one plays The Swan Lake song (my friends always scream in terror when I touch it and the song plays for a bit, ugh *rolls eyes*)
I have a big magnet collection of places around the world
I love Disney and fairy tales ❤
Now my nominations! Sorry I didn’t got to 11, but I’m super new here 😦
And, of course, the girls who nominated me! Shannon and Ellen, thanks! If you girls don’t want to do this again, as you already were nominated, you can pass, haha!
Here’s my questions for the nominated ones!
How did you start to like reading?
Do you prefer reading paperbacks/hardcovers or ebooks?
If you were send to a desert island and could only bring a small non-Hermione bag, what would you put in it?
Do you rate the books you read? If you do, what’s your criterion?
What’s your most loved gender for books? And most hated?
What’s you zodiac sign?
Do you like to eat while reading? If you do, what’s your favorite food to go with a book?
Do you like to read comics/mangas?
If you could move to another country, which would you choose?
Do you have any pets?
In which Hogwarts house are you?
That’s it! Thanks again for the award, girls! Thank you for reading this long post and I hope you guys could get to know me better 😀
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The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 