REVIEW: BLOOD CANTICLE by Anne Rice

Title: Blood Canticle
Author: Anne Rice
Series: Vampire Chronicles #10
Genres: Paranormal, Classics, Gothic
Publisher: Mass Market Paperback
Release: 2004
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 400

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Lestat is back with a vengeance and in thrall to Rowan Mayfair. Both demon and angel, he is drawn to kill but tempted by goodness as he moves among the pantheon of Anne Rice's unforgettable characters. Julien Mayfair, his tormentor; Rowan, witch and neurosurgeon, who attracts spirits to herself, casts spells on others and finds herself dangerously drawn to Lestat; Patsy, country and western singer, who was killed by Quinn Blackwood and dumped in a swamp; Ash Templeton, a 5,000 year old Taltos whose genes live on in the Mayfairs. Now, Lestat fights to save Patsy's ghost from the dark realms of the Earthbound, to uncover the mystery of the Taltos and to decide the fate of Rowan Mayfair. Both of Anne Rice's irresistible realms - the worlds of Blackwood Farm and the Mayfair Witches - collide as Lestat struggles between his lust for blood and the quest for life, between gratification and redemption.

REVIEW: JULIET TAKES A BREATH by Gabby Rivera

REVIEW: LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott

Title: Little Women

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Series: Little Women #1

Genres: Historical fiction, romance

Publisher: Signet Classics

Release: April 6th 2004

Source: Paperback

Pages: 449

// Goodreads // 

BLURB:
Following the lives of four sisters on a journey out of adolescence, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women explores the difficulties associated with gender roles in a Post-Civil War America.

Waiting on Wednesday: Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine!

We continue on with the thrillers, this time by the hand of Mrs Caine.

Publication date: July 1st, 2017

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

REVIEW: BLACKWOOD FARM by Anne Rice

Title: Blackwood Farm
Author: Anne Rice
Series: Vampire Chronicles #9
Genres: Paranormal, Classics, Gothic
Publisher: Mass Market Paperback
Release: 2003
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 774

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Lestat is back, saviour and demon, presiding over a gothic story of family greed and hatred through generations, a terrifying drama of blood lust and betrayal, possession and matricide. Blackwood Farm with its grand Southern mansion, set among dark cypress swamps in Louisiana, harbours terrible blood-stained secrets and family ghosts. Heir to them all is Quinn Blackwood, young, rash and beautiful, himself a 'bloodhunter' whom Lestat takes under his wing. But Quinn is in thrall not only to the past and his own appetites but, even more dangerously, to a companion spirit, a 'goblin' succubus who could destroy him and others. Only the unearthly power of Lestat combined with the earthly powers of the Mayfair clan could hope to save Quinn from himself and his ghosts, or to rescue the doomed girl Quinn loves from her own mortality. Shocking, savage and richly erotic, this novel with the deceptively gentle title bring us Anne Rice at her most powerfully disturbing. Here are vampires and witches, men and women, demons and a doppelganger, caught up in a maelstrom of death and destruction, blood and fire, cruelty and fate.

MONDAY TRAVELS: SONNET LXXIII MAYBE YOU'LL REMEMBER by Pablo Neruda

Happy Monday friends! I hope you packed light and got some party clothes, cause we're leaving rainy Lithuania for a couple of Monday's!

So today we are in Chile and we will explore:

SONNET LXXIII MAYBE YOU'LL REMEMBER

Library Book Haul

REVIEW: BLOOD AND GOLD by Anne Rice

Title: Blood and Gold
Author: Anne Rice
Series: Vampire Chronicles #8
Genres: Paranormal, Classics, Gothic
Publisher: Mass Market Paperback
Release: 2002
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 752

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Here is the gorgeous and sinister story of Marius, patrician by birth, scholar by choice, one of the oldest vampires of them all, which sweeps from his genesis in ancient Rome, in the time of the Emperor Augustus, to his meeting in the present day with a creature of snow and ice. Thorne is a Northern vampire in search of Maharet, his 'maker', the ancient Egyptian vampire queen who holds him and others in thrall with chains made of her red hair, 'bound with steel and with her blood and gold'. When the Visigoths sack his city, Marius is there; with the resurgence of the glory that was Rome, he is there, still searching for his lost love Pandora, but bewitched in turn by Botticelli, the Renaissance beauty Bianca, with her sordid secrets, and the boy he calls Amadeo (otherwise known as the Vampire Armand). Criss-crossing through the stories of other vampires from Rice's glorious Pantheon of the undead, haunted by Pandora and by his alter ego Mael, tracked by the Talamasca, the tale of Marius, the self-styled guardian of 'those who must be kept' is the most wondrous and mind-blowing of them all.

Saturday Tag

Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!

Today I will complete this fun tag:

THE OUTLANDER BOOK TAG

REVIEW: EVERNIGHT by Claudia Gray

Title: Evernight
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: Evernight #1
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: 2009
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 327

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

REVIEW: THE LAST VAMPIRE BY CHRISTOPHER PIKE

Title: The Last Vampire

Author: Christopher Pike

Series: -

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural

Publisher: Hodder Chrildren‘s Books

Release: Ocbother 6th, 1994

Th, Source:  Paperback

Pages: 193

// Goodreads // 

BLURB:
Alisa Perne is the last vampire. Beautiful and brilliant, she hunts alone, living among humans, living off humans. But someone is stalking her. Someone wants her dead. And Alisa has a choice to make - to keep a long held promise or protect the mortal she seems to be falling for.

Waiting on Wednesday: Final Girls by Riley Sager

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Final Girls by Riley Sager!

A bit of a change... we're going for a thriller/mystery this time!

Publication date: July 11th, 2017

Publisher: Dutton

REVIEW: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank

Title: The Diary of a Young Girl
Author:  Anne Frank
Series: -
Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Holocaust
Publisher: Bantam
Release: 1993
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 283

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.

In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.

In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short. 

MONDAY TRAVELS: THE WHITE SHROUD by Antanas Škėma

Happy Monday fellow readers! Get your notebooks out, today you will meet one of the greatest Lithuanian writers!

So today we are in  Lithuania and we will explore:

THE WHITE SHROUD

REVIEW: TALON by Julie Kagawa

Title: Talon
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Talon #1
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release: 2014
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 449

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. 

BLOGGING 101: Should you follow trends and hypes?

I think all book bloggers at some point had a discussion with themselves whether they should follow current trends and hypes of book community. I am no exception. To be completely honest I am not as much involved in community as I used to be so I only catch the biggest things right now. But that is mainly because before I have seen horrible things happening in this generally lovely community and that kinda makes me want to distance yourself a little bit. Whether it is a good idea or not is a discussion for another time, but today I want to talk if you should follow current trends and hypes as a blogger. 

REVIEW: GONE by Michael Grant

Title: Gone
Author: Michael Grant
Series: Gone #1
Genres: YA, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: 2008
Source: Audiobook/Physical copy
Pages: 560

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.

There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your 15th birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

REVIEW: SLATED by Teri Terry

Title: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Series: Slated #1
Genres: YA, Dystopia, Science Fiction
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release: 2012
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 439

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

REVIEW: A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas

Waiting on Wednesday: Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine!

3rd book of The Great Library series!

Publication date: July 11th, 2017

Publisher: Berkley

READING DIVERSE: Biracial families and culture

What I learned about biracial families, depression and culture differences.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

I must make a confession, when people started to ask for more diversity I kinda thought they don't look around first. I had for some reason an impression that we already had many diverse books. That, however, turned out to be not true. The more I look for diversity in books the more shocked I get. We can find any kind of book with white straight characters. But what if I want to read a fantasy story with a non-white trans character? Even if I look for non-white gay character, it is as difficult to find as a needle in a haystack. When it comes to diversity, there is a lack of it, and it's not just that we have only few, some genres have almost none whatsoever diverse stories. 

And yes I am white straight female and as for representation there is a huge amount of books with characters like me but I do not care for white straight females. I want to learn from books, I want my view and understanding to broader and I want to correct my mistakes. And for that I need diversity!

Everything I Never Told You is a book written by a wonderful author Celeste Ng and was a huge influence on how I see diversity and so I am eager to share my experience with you!

REVIEW: WE ARE THE ANTS by Shaun David Hutchinson

MONDAY TRAVELS: LITHUANIAN FAIRY TALE EGLE THE SERPET QUEEN

Happy Monday friends!We are still visiting my home country, and I hope you will enjoy all the wonderful stories and books and folklore I'll share with you!

So today we are in Lithuania and we will explore:

EGLE THE QUEEN OF SERPENTS

REVIEW: GRACELING by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm #1
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Harcourt
Release: 2008
Source: Physical copy/Audiobook
Pages: 471

// Goodreads // BookDepository //

SYNOPSIS: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

BLOGGING 101: How to read more

Often complain I head whenever people are asked why they don't read is I have no time. However, as a book bloggers we all have to find that time for our lovely books no matter our schedule. You all know I have full time job in the lab as a researcher as well as part time job in different lab but despite this 60-80 hours of work per week I still manage to go to gym/dance practice, film videos and most importantly read. How? That is exactly what I am going to talk about today!

REVIEW: THE FIXER by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: The Fixer
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Fixer #1
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Mystery
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release: 2015
Source: eBook
Pages: 372

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
This thriller YA is Scandal meets Veronica Mars.

Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.

And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

SUMMER RELEASES II 2017

Martyna's Book Haul!

Hi guys! It's been such a long time since I did a book haul, so today, let's dive in one and see what books I received and got and cannot wait to read!!!

BOOK HAUL

Waiting on Wednesday: The Possible by Tara Altebrando

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Possible by Tara Altebrando!

Brand new YA novel, just published yesterday so there's no actual waiting.

Publication date: June 6th, 2017

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

REVIEW: THE BRONZE HORSEMAN by Paullina Simons

Title: The Bronze Horseman
Author: Paullina Simons
Series: The Bronze Horseman #1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, War
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release: 2009
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 810

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.

MONDAY TRAVEL: OUR FRIENDSHIP WAS TENDER by Paulius Širvys

Happy Monday friends! I hope you are feeling like traveling, cause today, finally we are diving into my native countries poems, literature and my favorite folk stories! I will introduce you to some of my favorite authors, my favorite songs, books, poems and stories!

So today we are in  Lithuania and we will explore:

OUR FRIENDSHIP WAS TENDER

PRIDE CHALLENGE

REVIEW: CARRIE by Stephen King

Title: Carrie

Author: Stephen King

Series: -

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Supernatural

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Release: 2007

Source: Paperback

Pages: 242

// Goodreads // 

BLURB:
Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed... But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction...

MAY WRAP UP

BLOGGING 101: What makes me want to skip your blog

I have been asked multiple times for that magic trick as to how to get people to visit your blog and stay. Well unfortunately there is no magic trick. It all comes down to personal taste buuuut there are a few COMMON MISTAKES THAT MAKE ME personally WANT TO SKIP BLOGS and that is what I will discuss today. 

REVIEW: WINDS OF SALEM by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Winds of Salem
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Series: The Beauchamp Family #3
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Witches
Publisher: Hyperion
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 288

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Freya Beauchamp is trapped in 1692, in Salem of all places, with no recollection of her past. A powerful enemy spell has sent her spiraling away so that she is separated by centuries from her mother, Joanna, and sister, Ingrid. This is not good news for a twenty-first-century witch. Not to mention the immediate threat she faces from the wealthy and influential Putnam family. When little Annie Putnam is one of the first to make accusations of witchcraft, her landowner father jumps at the opportunity to consolidate his power and expand his holdings in Puritan Salem Town. If Freya is caught using magic, she will be forced to relive the witch trials, and this time, her immortality will be in question. Meanwhile, twenty-first-century North Hampton has its own snares. Joanna and Norm consult the Oracle for advice, and Freddie and his pixie allies search for a missing totem that could reopen the passages of time and help bring his sister home. When Ingrid bumps into an old flame, she finds that her new love for Detective Matt Noble is in doubt. Moving between past and present, with dizzying plot twists and page-turning suspense, Winds of Salem is sure to bewitch fans old and new.

REVIEW: SERPENT'S KISS by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Serpent's Kiss
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Series: The Beauchamp Family #2
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Witches
Publisher: Sphere 
Release: 2012
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 384

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
Just as things have settled down in the off-the-map Long Island town of North Hampton for the magical Beauchamp family, everything gets turned upside down once more when Freya's twin brother Fryr, or "Freddie" as he's called now, returns from Limbo with shocking news - that it was none other than Freya's fiancé, Killian Gardiner, who set up his downfall.
He begs Freya to keep his presence a secret, even from their own family, but somehow the irascible Freddie is still able to conduct many affairs with the town's young lovelies from his self-imposed exile. Until he falls for the wrong girl.

While Freya tries to keep her brother from exacting revenge on the man she loves, Ingrid has her own problems. Her human boyfriend, Matt Noble, becomes entangled in a complicated investigation, and when the magical creatures at the center of it come to Ingrid for help, she has a difficult choice to make.

To top it off, a dead spirit is trying to make contact with Joanna - but does it mean to harm or warn the witches? All hell breaks loose at the family reunion over Thanksgiving, and much mayhem ensues, but when the culprit behind Freddie's imprisonment is finally revealed, it may already be too late to staunch the poison that's been released by the serpent's kiss.