Showcase Sunday #5!

Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (phyisical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

Purchased (via Kindle app)

 Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Biting Bad by Chloe Neill

What did you guys get this week?

Thankful Thursday: A place to find peace: the cottage!

Hello everyone!

Today I'm gonna be away from the laptop, a proper internet connection, work and the heat by the time you get to read this entry. And I thought that it was just fitting that I'd be making this week's Thankful Thursday about a place that's my safe place and has been since I can remember!

My parents bought a plot of land on the outs of this tiny village (when I say tiny, I mean it, it has like 3 families living all year round) about 60 something kilometres from where we live and they built a house there (and I mean they did the actual building, my mum, dad and my bro! I came into the family with all the work done!). It's a wonderful place, so quiet, much cooler during the summers, with a lot of nature around and with the most amazing sky at night you can imagine! Let's not forget the doggies my dad has, and you can imagine why going there is the perfect recipe to relax, recharge and renew yourself! I'm so thankful I have such an amazing place so close by where I can just feel better as soon as I step out of the car!

What are you thankful for today?

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Vitamina Eu!!

Being the handmade lover that I am, as well as the bookworm, I'm gonna continue mixing both books and handmade items entries in the blog, so Wearing Handmade Wednesday entries will continue to pop up now and then, and this one it's even book related!

You guys might remember an Etsy shop called Vitamina Eu where I got an awesome mug from my twin friend Deb. I fell in love with the "bookworm mug" as I called it, so when she had a 10% discount code for Xmas in July, I decided to indulge myself and get it!

When it arrived home it didn't come alone, Eu ,the super sweet lady behind the shop, had also painted the same design in a bookmark! Aren't they the cutest thing ever?



Also, in case you're wondering, the book used as a prop to show off the mug & bookworm is my ARC copy of Alienated by Melissa Landers!

Waiting on Wednesday #2

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get books we're so eagerly awaiting!

My choice this week is The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson, the final book in the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy!

Goodreads summary:

"The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most."


Why am I biting my nails waiting for The Bitter Kingdom?

Well, are you kidding me? If you've read the previous two books you'd know this is a great fantasy series, with a very unique setting and that Crown of Embers ended in the kind of cliffhanger that makes you want to grab a TARDIS and go to the future! August 27th can't get here fast enough!

What are you impatiently waiting to read?

Mark This Book Monday: A Darkness Strange And Lovely by Susan Dennard!

For my next Mark This Book Monday entry, I'm reviewing the second book of the Something Strange & Deadly series, and even if I've tried to keep things as spoiler free as possible, there might be some unintentional spoilers for both this book and book 1 in the series.


A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved the first book of this series, with its unique take on the 19th century and the undead. I loved Eleanor with her parasol swinging and her take-no-shit-from-anyone attitude. So I was quite excited to read what was next for her and the Spirit Hunters.

The sequel starts with Eleanor in Philadelphia trying to deal with all the consequences from the battle that took part on the ending of book 1, and trying to deal with her feelings for Daniel. Her mother is at an assylum and she's selling all her posessions to be able to care for her. She's trying to deal with the rejection of her previous social circle, her own mother, the guilt of what happened on the showdown and the fear of having Marcus come out of hiding and attack her at a moments notice. When her fears get confirmed after finding out that Marcus visited her mother using her brother's body, she decides to follow the Spirit Hunters to Paris, the City of Light.

During her boat trip to Paris she meets two interesting characters, a French lady called Laure and a mysterious guy called Oliver. I felt that despite Eleanor misgivings with Oliver, she just ends up doing whatever he says even when she doesn't trust him, only cause of her brother's memory.

Eleanor was more annoying and exasperating for me in this book, and I loved her in the first book. Not only I was shaking my head at her on many occasions but I kept on feeling like shaking her whenever she kept on making the wrong choices, trusting the wrong people and lying to her friends left, right and centre. The way she dealt with her powers was irresponsible and the way she interacted with Joseph, Jin and Daniel was unlike the Eleanor of the first book. Truth be told, she does have a point for hiding her powers given the reaction of the Spirit Hunters when they find about it, but I'm sure the fact that she kept on lying to them must have had something to do with it.

I liked how guessing who the real villain behind the Undead of Paris had enough twists and false hints throught the book, and I like how by the end Eleanor faces her friends and tries to explain and work with them.

The romance with Daniel is sort of present but not taking front stage, and despite some showdowns between the two of them, still there's too much unsaid between them. I like how Daniel thinks he's improving himself to make him more worthy and less of a scallywag but he seems to forget that Eleanor loved him for what he was, as infuriating as he were on occasion.

This was a good second book plot wise, upping the stakes and moving the story forward, adding some chances and preparing the final showdown, but I was not very pleased on how my dear Eleanor conduced herself throughout most of the book, so that's the reason I'm giving this book 3 and a half stars. I'm tempted to round up to 4 stars cause of the fantastic descriptions of Paris and all the mentions of fantastic French food!

Despite my complains, I'm really looking forward to reading book 3 and hoping Eleanor will kick arse in it!



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Mark This Book Monday: Fifth Grave Past The Light by Darynda Jones!

For yet another Mark This Book Monday I'm gonna be talking about the latest book in what is one of my fave adult series right now, the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones! And here is book 5!


Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've been in love with this series from book 1, with Charley, with Reyes, with Cookie and with the fantastic humour that Darynda Jones seems to effortlessly imbue in every page!

That said, I think this one has to be my fave yet! I love how the story keeps on progressing and how despite poor Charley always getting such crap thrown at her, she's beginning to be more proactive and a lil less just reactive. She's finally believing that she's a proper kick arse grim reaper and that leads to her starting to use her powers more and finding that she can do more than expected.

About Reyes... what can I say about Reyes? I just love that he's more than just the very hot son of Satan, and that he's getting through a lot of growth himself, and I keep on finding how he and Charley interact more and more funny and adorable! The steamy scenes are well, steamy!

Some of the ongoing plots and questions are getting answers and some closure in this book, but some new are opening and leaving some even bigger questions, but it does have a feel of "starting to wrap up things" if only slightly.

But no matter what about the plot and some issues getting solved and some issues getting even bigger, this book completely hooked me, as all previous books have, with the characters and their interactions. Charley and Cookie are best friends more than just working together, Charley and Reyes are made for each other... There's that humour that gets you through the tough parts and that humour that simply makes you laugh out laud while reading.

I'm not sure if book 6 will be the last one, what I'm hoping is if the series continues, it will manage to keep me hooked this way, and won't end up falling flat like other series that have been stretched past their time. For now, this book didn't disappoint and I'm really looking forward to book 6!



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Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Over The Rainbow by Brian Rowe!

I have a few reviews for this week's Mark This Book(s) Monday and hopefully I'll manage to work all of them in!

For starters, I'm gonna start with a book that comes out tomorrow, and I think you need to give it a try!


Over the Rainbow by Brian  Rowe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was intrigued by this books blurb and requested and ARC via NetGalley, and I have to say I'm very glad I did. This book has such a quirky, fun and positive story, despite the very tough subjects it touches, that made me smile and root for Zippy from page 1!

The play on the Wizard of Oz story starts with the title, and continues in many small ways, from the finding 3 companions and a dog (named Judy, which I think it's a reference to Judy Garland that played the original Dorothy in the movie) to making their way to the Emerald City, in this case referring to Seattle (apparently is the official nickname for the city) where each one of the travellers expect to find something... The journey is full of strange & wondrous things, and not exempt of danger.

Our Dorothy in this book is Zippy, a sweet & quirky girl from Kansas, full of spirit and about to be sent away to an anti-gay camp by her zealot homophobe of her father. She manages to run away from him at the airport in the most improbable and hilarious way and unconventionally boards a plane to Seattle, so she can finally meet Mira, the girl she's been in love (and talking online) for two years.

Then the first twist happens, with the plane crashing when the pilots and most of the passengers simply dissapear, and Zippy finds her first companion, Frankie. The story progresses with them trying to figure what has happened, how the world is suddenly changing and trying to get to Seattle by land. They encounter the rest of the troupe and quite a few adventures along the way. I will only say one word: DINOSAURS!

We also have a few bits of the narrative from Zippy's father POV, which are quite disturbing, since I could never find myself understanding such anger, such determination to not be able to love his daughter as she is, and such clinging on hate to those who are different.

The end of the journey is one full of hope and a lesson on how we can be the ones to make our world a better place, with our own choices. This book has a very important message, one of positivity, and also is adds more diversity to the YA narrative, with a LGBT main character and secondary characters.

I'd really recommend this book to everyone who wants to enjoy a good book and love quirky & funny bits with dinosaurs in them! Very well deserved 4 stars!



View all my reviews

Showcase Sunday #4!

 Showcase Sunday is a feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (phyisical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

Purchased (via Kindle app)

 The King's Guard by Rae Carson

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill 

Won in a Twitter Giveaway!

Thanks a lot to Ashley Eshton for the Twitter giveaway and the chance to win my first paper ARC and sending some of her bookmarks along with the book!

Alienated by Melissa Landers

For Review (via the author)

Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey

What books did you get all get this week??