REVIEW: CHRISTMAS DAYS by Jeanette Winterson

Title: Christmas Days
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Series: -
Genres: Short Stories, Christmas
Publisher: Grove Press
Release: 2016
Source: Hardback
Pages: 293

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? comes an enchanting collection of stories for the holiday season.

For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales. For the Twelve Days of Christmas—a time of celebration, sharing, and giving—she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. From jovial spirits to a donkey with a golden nose, a haunted house to a SnowMama, Winterson’s innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Perfect for reading by the fire with loved ones, or while traveling home for the holidays. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.

MONDAY TRAVELS: FOLK SONG THE HOUSE OF RISING SUN

Happy Monday friends! I hope you packed light and got some party clothes, cause this Monday we are in the most mysterious and diverse place on this planet, that has all sorts of music, food and scary scary scary tales to tell!

So today we are in a city called New Orleans (US) and we will explore:

FOLK SONG 'THE HOUSE OF RISING SUN'

REVIEW: HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Halfway to the Grave
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Huntress #1
Genres: Paranormal, Vampires, NA
Publisher: Avon
Release: 2007
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 358

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Flirting with the Grave...Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father - the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.
In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner - are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Saturday Tag

Hello my dear readers, welcome to Saturday Tag! I hope you are enjoying these little fun and adventurous tags we are doing here at the blog and enjoy getting to know us a little bit better! Thus, just like the Saturday before, I invite you to join us today and have some fun with us :)

Today I am joined by Laura and together we will complete this fun tag:

MY FICTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

REVIEW: THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE by Katherine Howe

Title: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Author: Katherine Howe
Series: -
Genres: Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Witches
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release: 2009
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 371

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history--the Salem witch trials. Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest--to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge. As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.

Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation. 

REVIEW: THE NIGHT IN LISBON by Erich Maria Remarque

Title: The Night in Lisbon
Author: Erich Maria Remarque
Series: -
Genres: Historical Fiction, War, Classics
Publisher: Random House
Release: 1998
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 272

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
History and fate collide as the Nazis rise to power in The Night in Lisbon, a classic tale of survival from the renowned author of All Quiet on the Western Front.

With the world slowly sliding into war, it is crucial that enemies of the Reich flee Europe at once. But so many routes are closed, and so much money is needed. Then one night in Lisbon, as a poor young refugee gazes hungrily at a boat bound for America, a stranger approaches him with two tickets and a story to tell.

It is a harrowing tale of bravery and butchery, daring and death, in which the price of love is beyond measure and the legacy of evil is infinite. As the refugee listens spellbound to the desperate teller, in a matter of hours the two form a unique and unshakable bond—one that will last all their lives.

“The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure.”—The New York Times Book Review   

Waiting on Wednesday: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Caraval by Stephanie Garber!

A very much awaited release and a book everybody (lucky enough to get an ARC) talks about!

Publication date: January 31st, 2017

Publisher: Flatiron Books

REVIEW: CROSSED by Ally Condie

Title: Crossed

Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched #2
Genres: YA, Dystopian, Romance
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 367

// Add to GoodReads //

BLURB: The Society chooses everything.

The books you read.
The music you listen to.
The person you love.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems...

A rebellion is rising.

And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

MONDAY TRAVELS: HAVING A COKE WITH YOU by Frank O'Hara

Happy Monday friends! I hope all your had a great time in Canada, but this Monday we are moving  further and exploring new countries and new beautiful creation that talented authors wrote!

So today we are in United States of America and we will explore:

HAVING A COKE WITH YOU BY FRANK O'HARA

REVIEW: THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M. R. Carey

Title: The Girl With All The Gifts
Author: M.R. Carey
Series: -
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Zombies
Publisher: Orbit
Release: 2014
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 460

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman. 

Saturday Tag

Hello fellow blog readers, Happy weekend to you! It's yet another Saturday and we are meeting for yet another fun and cool Saturday tag!

Today I am once again joined by HannahCassie and together we will complete this cute tag:

MY BOOKISH IDENTITY

REVIEW: RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA by Kimberley McCreight

Title: Reconstructing Amelia
Author: Kimberley McCreight
Series: -
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, YA
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 382

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
A stunning debut novel in which a single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter's life, sifting through her emails, texts, and social media to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life.

Litigation lawyer and harried single mother Kate Baron is stunned when her daughter's exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, calls with disturbing news: her intelligent, high-achieving fifteen-year-old daughter, Amelia, has been caught cheating.

Kate can't believe that Amelia, an ambitious, levelheaded girl who's never been in trouble would do something like that. But by the time she arrives at Grace Hall, Kate's faced with far more devastating news. Amelia is dead.

Seemingly unable to cope with what she'd done, a despondent Amelia has jumped from the school's roof in an act of "spontaneous" suicide. At least that's the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. And overwhelmed as she is by her own guilt and shattered by grief, it is the story that Kate believes until she gets the anonymous text:

She didn't jump.

Sifting through Amelia's emails, text messages, social media postings, and cell phone logs, Kate is determined to learn the heartbreaking truth about why Amelia was on Grace Hall's roof that day-and why she died.

Told in alternating voices, Reconstructing Amelia is a story of secrets and lies, of love and betrayal, of trusted friends and vicious bullies. It's about how well a parent ever really knows a child and how far one mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she could not save.

January Wrap Up 1/2

Waiting on Wednesday: IDA by Alison Evans

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for IDA by Alison Evans!

New paranormal release for WoW this week!

Publication date: January 30th, 2017

Publisher: Echo Publishing

REVIEW: FALLEN by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen 
Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen #1 
Genres: YA, Supernatural, Angels, Paranormal
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release: December 8th 2009
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 452

// Goodreads //

BLURB:
What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.

Get ready to fall . . .

MONDAY TRAVELS: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by L.M.MONTGOMERY

Happy Monday friends! This Monday we are still visiting Canada and since last Monday we looked at rather dark themes of Canadian literature, today we will explore another side of this country and dive into a beautiful story filled with adventures and laughter!

So today we are still in Canada and we will explore:

ANNE OF GREEN GABLE BY L.M.MONTGOMERY

REVIEW: THE YOUNG ELITES by Marie Lu

Title: The Young Elites
Author: Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.
Release: 2014
Source: Paperback
Pages: 355

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

SYNOPSIS: I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. 

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. 

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Saturday Tag

Happy Monday friends! It's yet another Saturday and we are meeting for yet another fun and cool Saturday tag!

Today I am joined by HannahCassie and together we will complete this fun tag:

MY LIFE IN BOOKS

REVIEW: TALKING AS FAST AS I CAN by Lauren Graham

Title: Talking as fast as I can
Author: Lauren Graham
Series: -
Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release: 2016
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 224

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again.

In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”).

In “What It Was Like, Part One,” Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay “What It Was Like, Part Two” reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her.

Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she’s aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls (“If you’re meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you’ve already set the bar too high”), and she’s a card-carrying REI shopper (“My bungee cords now earn points!”).

Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.

REVIEW: EVOLUTION: PROTECTORS OF EARTH by Shadow Chaen

Title: Evolution:The Protectors of Earth
Author: Shadow Cheah
Series: The Protectors of Earth #1 
Genres: YA, Dystonian, Supernatural
Publisher: Wattpad
Release: September 24th, 2016

Source: Paparback
Pages: 203

// Goodreads // Amazon //

BLURB:
Have you ever tried to keep a secret for 11 years?

I have.

But apparently, the United Government of Earth has one-upped me by keeping an even bigger secret for s experienced changes not only in its environment, but in its inhabitants.

The radiation and viral attack had changed animals and humans, giving them disabilities and death, but also powers. Now human are confined in walled Citybases which safe guard them from these mutated beasts we call Legres, and the government hide the existence of the genetically affected humans with powers beyond imagination. And even though I don’t know it yet, I am onthree century.

My name is Abigail Beckett, and this is 2415; the human race is no longer the only intellectual species on this planet. After 9 bio-nuclear bombs that destroyed half the globe in 2092, the world have of them.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden!

New release! Fresh from the printers!

Publication date: January 10th, 2017

Publisher: Del Rey

MONDAY TRAVELS: Death by Landscape by Margaret Atwood

Happy Monday friends! If you remember last Monday, I mentioned that we are expanding our Monday meetings a little and instead of simply reading poems, from now on every Monday we will be traveling to a new country and exploring both poetry and prose of that country!

So today we are in Canada and we will explore:

DEATH BY LANDSCAPE BY MARGARET ATWOOD

REVIEW: HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer

Saturday Tag

Hello my fellow readers and blog followers, today is a very special day here at P.S.I Love That Book blog, because today we are launching a new tag - Saturday Tag !!!

Every Saturday we will do a fun tag and list or categorize books and we'll get to know each other a little better!

So Laura and I are starting this Saturday's Tag with an amazingly fun tag:

MY HOGWARTS HOUSE BOOK HAUL

REVIEW: ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Finishing School #1
Genres: YA, Steampunk, Adventure
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 307

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

SERIES I READ IN 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: Windwitch by Susan Dennard

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Windwitch by Susan Dennard!

Second book of the Witchlands! Focusing on Merrik this time.

Publication date: January 10th, 2017

Publisher: Tor Teen

DECEMBER WRAP UP PART 2

MONDAY POEM: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN by Robert Frost

Happy Monday readers! We at P.S. I Love That Book blog, want to wish you all the happiness and good fortune this new 2017 year :) Stay safe, be happy and discover more books :) 

I want to announce that starting next Monday, our little segment Monday Poems, will be changing a little, and I can only hope you will love it as much I will love making it :) So stay tuned for next Monday. So today, we'll go back to Mr. Robert Frost and one of his most known poems, because this particular poems goes with the topic of new beginnings!

Today we are reading

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN by ROBERT FROST

January TBR