30 November, 2016

29 November, 2016

REVIEW: RISE OF EMPIRE by Michael J. Sullivan

Title: Rise of Empire
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Revelations #3-4
Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Library physical book
Pages: 786


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BLURB:
A PUPPET IS CROWNED. THE TRUE HEIR REMAINS HIDDEN. A ROGUE'S SECRET COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

War has come to Melengar and once more Royce and Hadrian are hired to make a desperate gamble and form an alliance with the Nationalists whom are fighting the Imperialists in the south. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own grab for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past--what he discovers may end their friendship and break Riyria in two.

28 November, 2016

MONDAY POEM: THE MOON by Jorge Luis Borges



Happy Monday dear readers, today we are moving from Chile to Argentina, where we shall meet one of the greatest modern poets every to walk this earth and write!

Today we are reading:

THE MOON BY JORGE LUIS BORGES




27 November, 2016

26 November, 2016

REVIEW: THE EDGE OF BRILLIANCE by Susan Traugh

Title: The Edge of Brilliance
Author: Susan Traugh
Series: -
Genres: YA
Publisher: Finch Books
Source: Ebook
Pages: 193

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SYNOPSIS: Volatile and unstable, Amy stands at the precipice. Will she fall into the chaos and despair of insanity or ascend into brilliance and redemption?

Amy Miles is fifteen and crazy. Or, at least that’s her greatest fear. Her severe bipolar disorder, with its roller coaster manic and depressive episodes, is ruining her life. Yet in Amy’s mind it is accepting the pills and therapy—not the disease—that will brand her as ’crazy’.

When Amy lands in a residential psychiatric program, she befriends take-charge Mallory and the two create family and try to salvage the shards of their broken minds. There, Amy discovers that her illicit drug use has robbed her of her ability to dance and she is forced to weigh how hard she is willing to work to reclaim her lost talent and potential. But, despite a promising beginning, when Amy falls back into denial, the tragic consequences cannot be undone.

Amy is left to decide whether to give up altogether or accept her diagnosis and the tools she needs to battle her disease, to learn to dance again and forge a new and improved version of herself. Will she step up to the edge of her brilliance and shine?

Reader Advisory: This book contains strong language and also includes scenes involving drug use, rape, violence. This book also includes a frank exploration of mental illness and loss of autonomy.

25 November, 2016

REVIEW: THE DEMON IN THE WOOD by Leigh Bardugo

Title: The Demon in the Wood
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha #0.1
Genres: Short story
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 67

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SYNOPSIS: Before he ruled Ravka, before he was the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy with an extraordinary gift. In this prequel story to the New York Times-bestselling Grisha Trilogy, Leigh Bardugo takes us into Ravka's mysterious past, when Grisha lived as fugitives and the Darkling took his first steps on the path to power. Discover new territory in the Grishaverse, as well as two chapters from the soon-to-be-released Six of Crows.

24 November, 2016

REVIEW: STRANGE ANGELS by Lili St. Crow

Title: Strange Angels
Author: Lili St. Crow
Series: Strange Angels
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Zombies
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 292

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BLURB: In Strange Angels, Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

23 November, 2016

22 November, 2016

REVIEW: THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig

Title: The Girl From Everywhere
Author: Heidi Heilig
Series: The Girl From Everywhere #1
Genres: YA, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 469

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SYNOPSIS: It was the kind of August day that hinted at monsoons, and the year was 1774, though not for very much longer.

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question . . .

Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever.

21 November, 2016

MONDAY POEM: SONNET XVII: LOVE by Pablo Neruda


Happy Monday friends, today we continue to visit Chile once again, so make yourself a nice cup of tea or something stronger and let's let this wonderful poet put his spells on us!

Today we are reading:

SONNET XVII: LOVE BY PABLO NERUDA



20 November, 2016

REVIEW: IN THE WOODS by Tana French

Title: In the Woods
Author: Tana French
Series: Dublin Murder Squad #1
Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Publisher: Viking
Source: Audiobook

Pages: 429

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BLURB: A gripping thriller and New York Times bestseller from the acclaimed author of Broken Harbor and The Secret Place

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.
Richly atmospheric and stunning in its complexity, In the Woods is utterly convincing and surprising to the end.

Look for French's new mystery, The Trespasser, for more of the Dublin Murder Squad.

19 November, 2016

REVIEW: NAMING THE STARS by Susan Koefod

Title: Naming the Stars
Author: Fred Holmes
Series: -
Genres: Middle Grade
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Source: Ebook
Pages: 170

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SYNOPSIS: 16-year-old Mary-Louise comes home from swimming lessons one day to find she is absent from family photographs, her bedroom has turned into a linen closet, and all of her possessions have disappeared. More troubling, her family goes on as if she never existed. The only person in town who can actually see her is a boy she calls Fish, a YMCA swimming instructor, but Fish is hiding from a troubled past and the person he sees is entirely different from who she thought she was.
The girl he sees is entirely different from the insecure, unattractive girl Mary-Louise thinks of herself. The teens discover the photo of a spirited, beautiful young woman photographed many years before—Pearl—who exactly resembles the girl Fish sees. The truth about Pearl’s identity is the key to discovering why Mary-Louise has disappeared and why Fish left home, but his fears of being discovered are preventing him from helping Mary-Louise, after all, no one can see or hear her.
This coming-of-age story explores the important and often fragile connection between the roles we play in others’ lives—as siblings, children, friends, and partners—and the unique identity we must find in ourselves.

18 November, 2016

REVIEW: JUST JULIET by Charlotte Reagan

Title: Just Juliet
Author: Charlotte Reagan
Series: - 
Genres: Contemporary, YA, LGBT, Romance
Publisher: Inkitt
Source: Paperback
Pages: 219


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BLURB:
Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it?
Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian.

Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested.

17 November, 2016

REVIEW: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Series: -
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Source: Paperback
Pages: 335


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BLURB:

Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.By morning, he's landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he's in love.In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensable. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all... 

16 November, 2016

15 November, 2016

REVIEW: GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens

Title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Series:  -
Genres: Classics, Romance, Adventure
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Source: Physical Copy

Pages: 505

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BLURB: Great Expectations, Dickens' funny, frightening and tender portrayal of the orphan Pip's journey of self-discovery, is one of his best-loved works. Showing how a young man's life is transformed by a mysterious series of events - an encounter with an escaped prisoner; a visit to a black-hearted old woman and a beautiful girl; a fortune from a secret donor - Dickens' late novel is a masterpiece of psychological and moral truth, and Pip among his greatest creations.

14 November, 2016

MONDAY POEM: AND NOW YOU'RE MINE by Pablo Neruda



Happy Monday my dear blog and book readers, today we will leave the great mind of romanticism and dive into the 20th century poetry. As it is betting colder and colder outside, today please travel with me to the always warm and always sunny South America and enjoy a beautiful love poem.
Today we are reading

AND NOW YOU'RE MINE BY PABLO NERUDA



13 November, 2016

REVIEW: WITCHES OF EAST END by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Witches of East End
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Series: The Beauchamp Family #1
Genres: Paranormal, Witches, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Disney - Hyperion
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 271

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SYNOPSIS: From the author of the highly addictive and bestselling Blue Bloods series, with almost 3 million copies sold, comes a new novel, Melissa de la Cruz's first for adults, featuring a family of formidable and beguiling witches.

The three Beauchamp women--Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid--live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

12 November, 2016

REVIEW: THE RAVEN KING by Maggie Stiefvater

SPOILERS OF PREVIOUS BOOKS

Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #4
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 448

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SYNOPSIS: The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: "Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close."

11 November, 2016

Martyna's Autumn Book Haul

 
Happy Friday fellow readers!
Today I ask you to join me in discussing books I received this Autumn. I say Autumn, but honestly, I think I got all these books during October.

Nevertheless, I am really exited about all these books, I am happy to have them, read them and discussing them with all of you! So without any further ado, let's see what bookish adventures awaits!



10 November, 2016

09 November, 2016

08 November, 2016

REVIEW: THE UGLY TEAPOT by Fred Holmes

Title: The Ugly Teapot
Author: Fred Holmes
Series: -
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: -
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 205

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SYNOPSIS: Fourteen-year-old Hannah Bradbury loved her father so much that she worried about him constantly. After all, he was a photographer who traveled to the most dangerous places in the world.

To allay her fears, each time he came home he brought her silly gifts, each one with supposed magical powers: the Seal of Solomon, the Ring of Gyges, even Aladdin’s Lamp. It was that lamp Hannah found the most unbelievable, for it looked like an ugly teapot. Nevertheless, her father assured her it was real, and made her promise to save her three wishes for something very special.

Then . . . six months later . . . the unthinkable happened. Her father was killed while on assignment to Baghdad. And so on the day of his funeral Hannah did something she never thought she would ever do.

She took out that teapot and gave it a rub . . .

The Ugly Teapot by Fred Holmes is a timeless tale, filled with magic and adventure. More importantly, it will make you believe in the overwhelming power of love.

07 November, 2016

MONDAY POEM: WHEN I HAVE FEARS by John Keats


Happy Monday dear readers, today we fall back into the typical normal Mondays and shall continue to search the poetry world for beautiful and simple poems.

Today we are reading

WHEN I HAVE FEARS BY JOHN KEATS



06 November, 2016

05 November, 2016

REVIEW: NOCTE by Cole Courtney

Title: Nocte
Author: Cole Courtney
Series: The Nocte Trilogy #1
Genres: NA, Romance, Thriller
Publisher: Lakehouse Press, Inc
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 322

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SYNOPSIS: My name is Calla Price. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm one half of a whole. My other half—my twin brother, my Finn—is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I'm terrified he'll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I'm doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I'm drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. Dare DuBray. He's my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I'm afraid, where I belong, where I'm lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. Maybe that's ok. Because I can't seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. Why? Because of a secret. A secret I'm so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. You won't either.

04 November, 2016

REVIEW: BLOOD BANK by Tanya Huff

Title: Blood Bank
Author: Tanya Huff
Series: Vicki Nelson #6
Genres: Fantasy, Crime, Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 336

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SYNOPSIS: It began with a ghost in his bedroom. A tormented soul hungry for vengeance, The sort of nocturnal visitation that even a five-hundred-year-old vampire like Henry Fitzroy found tiresome. It would lead Vicki Nelson, PI, into her most deadly investigation yet.

The wraith is determined that Henry and Vicki track down its killer - and is prepared to use a little persuasion by way of the innocent inhabitants of Toronto to ensure their support. Forced to investigate, Vicki discovers a host of souls in desperate torment and evidence to suggest that trailing the killer will only lead to further deaths - starting with her own.

03 November, 2016

02 November, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon!

From the author of Everything, Everything we have a new contemporary book! Hardback is expected on Nov. 1st while paperback will be on Nov. 3rd. 


Publication date: November 3rd, 2016
Publisher: Corgi Childrens

01 November, 2016

REVIEW: KINGS RISING by C. S. Pacat

Title: Kings Rising
Author: C. S. Pacat
Series: Captive Prince #3
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Free Online Fiction
Source: Ebook
Pages: 368

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SYNOPSIS: The epic conclusion to the internationally acclaimed Captive Prince trilogy.

Damianos of Akielos has returned.

His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.

On the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor’s forces are massing. In the north, the Regent’s armies are mobilising for war. Damen’s only hope of reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their usurpers.

Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen’s identity – can it stand against the Regent’s final, deadly play for the throne?