Month: March 2016

My Perfect Mistake (Kelly Siskind)

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myperfectmistake

What happens in Aspen is definitely not staying in Aspen. . .

A girls’ trip to Aspen was exactly what Shay needed to forget about her toxic ex-boyfriend. She’s got her girls, pristine slopes for skiing, and hot guys everywhere. Of course, her epic self-rediscovery goes completely to hell when a wild (and deliciously hot) skier knocks Shay on her ass . . . and war is declared.  

Kolton doesn’t know what it is about Shay that makes him lose it. Not just his cool—although she does have an unholy gift for that — but his restraint. When anger gives way to explosive chemistry, they’re both shaken with the intensity of it. But somewhere between lust and hate, Kolton and Shay realize they could have something real . . . if they don’t kill each other first.

Back in January I read Chasing Crazy by Kelly Siskind and I absolutely loved it. So, when Kelly’s second book hit Netgalley, my cursor was on the request button faster than lightning. And then the publisher refused me the book!!! I mean, dudes, WTF????!!!! I got what the problem was: I wasn’t in the countries they were searching for. But I really wanted to read this book, like really really, so I did the smart thing, and wrote to them directly requesting this one and one other (a sequel to another book I had already read and liked), explaining why I NEEDED BOTH BOOKS! They were awesome, and in 2 hours I had the links to both books :D. Smartest decision ever, because both books got 4.5 stars from me 😀 . Now, on to the review…

This book blew me away! As I said, this wasn’t my first book by Kelly Siskind, so I was expecting fun and romantic, but this… wow… just wow… I was laughing so much right from the start that I had to stop having lunch. People, I was snorting, my food was coming out, it was not pretty, and I was in public! Another solution would have been stop reading, but stop eating was more practical at that precise moment. I will read ANYTHING Siskind writes! It’s such an easy, hilarious, fun and heartfelt read. Seriously guys, this book rocks!

I absolutely loved the characters, all of them, ALL, 7% in and I was already wondering when we were going to get a book about Nico, because seriously, a huge cop who moves in with his best friend to take care of a baby? I want to know more, Kelly tell us more!

Shay was amazing! I was smitten by this girl from the moment she started narrating the story. It was amazing to see her recognize what was wrong with everything about her previous relationship and take life by its horns. And Terminator Shay was AMAZEBALLS! And then we have Kolton, and oh boy, I never thought much about guys with long hair… until this dude showed up on this book. Kolton was great, I can’t even, I mean, I’m a sucker for stories about single dads, but Kolton’s relationship with his son and his friends, and his job, and everything around him blew me away.

The relationship was funny as well from the get-go. Their initial hatred for each other was so much fun, and when that turns into something else… oh well… the BATHROOM… I’m still not over the bathroom incident. I really loved the progression of the story, it’s no insta-love. Sure, they’re are instantly attracted to one another, but the feelings develop with time and conversations and actions, and a lot of woo. I loved how supportive they were of each other, whether it was career wise, or the simple things such as supporting Jackson the best way they could. I also LOVED JACKSON and his involvement in their story. The kid is adorable and I wanted more of him.

When things get tricky, I did understand both stands, and my heart was breaking because I did understand both sides and I wanted both of them to just let go… with that said, I loved the last scene, and the only reason this book didn’t get 5 full stars from me it’s that it ended too abruptly. I needed one more chapter, just one, with a sauna, or a pillow forte, or some kind of normal thing like that…

Now, important question… when does the next book come out? I need to know more about Lily, at least I want to know if her story will be with who I think it is, because I so need that to happen! Also, I need some Raven and Nico, I’m so curious about what went down in Aspen between those two. Honestly, I just need more! 😀

So, guys, read this book! It’s fun, beautiful and AMAZINGLY HOT!!!!  

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Favorite Classic

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Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling 168709Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “All of us have read Classics at some point of our life. Choose your favorite Classic“. I’m changing the game a bit this week… see, I haven’t read THAT MANY classics, and I already used my favorite, Pride and Prejudice, a while back (here). So, I’m going for a book whose story I know and love, and that I want to read soon, mainly because I own 2 copies of the book and it’s starting to get embarrassing: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

Original COver:

As a true classic, the original cover wasn’t nothing like today’s books. 🙂

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

                   

I really like this portuguese cover, it has a classic feel, but the illustration is nice. The other two covers are for spanish editions, a normal and an illustrated one. I couldn’t find the catalan cover for some reason… so, the first spanish cover is not really my thing, but the illustrated edition’s cover is gorgeous.

Favorite COVER(s):

                   

The first 2 editions should come as no surprise as my favorites. If you’ve been following my blog for some time now, you might know that these are the 2 editions I do own. I bought the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition in Brazil, of all places, and it’s the most gorgeous book I own. But then I arrived back in Barcelona, a few weeks after and found the Puffin Books edition and just couldn’t resist. I also love the last cover, from Random House UK.

little women

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(s):

                        

This being a classic and all, it has a million different covers (not a million, but way too many). So this are my least favorite covers from a quick Amazon search.

Blog Tour: Never Stop Falling (Ashley Drew)

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neverstopfalling

She didn’t expect to fall for her best friend.
He was always waiting to catch her. 

Corinne Bennett lives in the moment. Whether she’s skydiving out of an airplane, or setting off on the road to anywhere, she’s ready to dive into the next adventure. That is, if best friend and always-by-the-book Nicholas Kelley doesn’t put his foot down on her wild stunts first.

When Corinne gives in to her growing feelings for Nicholas the summer before their freshman year of college, she takes the ultimate risk, making this one adventure he has longed to explore with her. 

But the moment they take that irrevocable leap, a shocking revelation blindsides Corinne, exposing her vulnerabilities, baring her fears, and shattering her beliefs about love. With their future — and more importantly, their friendship — now clouded in doubt, she must decide if love is really worth the risk.

Because when it comes to love, you never stop falling.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Talk about an emotional ride! Seriously, this book took me a little by surprise. I wasn’t quite expecting the avalanche of feelings that would come with it.

I really liked the writing and dual POV, and this was a book that NEEDED the dual POV. I also really liked the format, the book starts in the “present day”, then goes back 6 years, to when Cori and Nick were only 18 and the night that everything between them changes, and then it skims through a whole year, then it’s 5 years later, just before the “now”. Through all of this we can see how much they both mean to each other, as well as how they grew apart, while still being the same.

Corinne was hard to love, I’ll tell you that. I really liked her at first, and I really appreciated her relationship with her best friend, and her willingness to go “there” with him – something that he was afraid to do. But then this huge thing happens and she decides to go away, leave everything behind, without so much as an explanation, and she drives everyone in her life away, Nick included, and that was so unfair. Also, the thing with her dad bugged me. It didn’t make sense to me that she wasn’t willing to at least try to understand what was happening, especially because they had such a great relationship.

Nick I loved from the get go. He did nothing wrong and poor guy, my heart broke for him at times.

The secondary characters were complex and great to read about. I could read more about Nick’s sister and their group of friends :). I had a problem with Cori’s mom for a moment there… it really got on my nerve how the acted that night – if you read the book, you know what I mean.

The plot was a bit predictable at times – until it totally wasn’t and I had tears in my eyes!!!! Seriously people, I did not see THAT coming! Moving on… like I said, the plot was a bit predictable at some points, but still very enjoyable. It hurt like hell to see both Nick and Cori moving on with their lives without each other, and even though what happened was wrong in many ways, it felt totally right.

I would highly recommend this book. It was sweet and strong at the same time, and totally worth it.

(DISCLAIMER/SPOILER: this book has an element of cheating, in case you’re not ok with the subject. It is light though, and understandable. And I was glad that no troupes were used in it.)

Ashley_About the Author:

A San Francisco Bay Area native, Ashley Drew currently lives in Los Angeles. When she’s not going cross-eyed after writing for five hours straight, or burying her nose in a book, you’ll find her sprawled on her couch watching General Hospital, having alien conspiracy discussions with her husband over a bottle of bubbly, and dancing to Taylor Swift’s 1989 album with her daughter.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

 Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)

A signed copy of Never Stop Falling

$50 Amazon Gift Card

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Blog Tour:

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March Book Haul

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marchbookhaul

Hey! I got a ton of books this month, 32 to be exact, but mostly eBooks or review copies. Let me show you what I hauled.

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At the first week of the month I went into Barcelona, to my beloved bookstore, and saw a single copy of The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker, I picked it up immediately and marched to the register. We were still almost a week from Lady Midnight release date, but I decided to ask if they were going to receive the book right away, because if not, I was ordering it online. The lady was super nice, and she informed me that they had received 2 copies of the book that morning, one was already sold, but the other was available, and if I wanted it… did I ever?! Of course! So, I bought Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare before it came out and I love it!

Last, but certainly not least, Kat @Life and Other Disasters had a small problem with her order of Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell, and ended up receiving 50 copies of the book instead of one. And because she’s the best, she sent me one. To be honest, I still haven’t opened it, since it is in Portugal and I am not, but I just couldn’t not mention it. Also, she just achieved 500 WordPress followers on her blog, and she’s hosting a giveaway that you can check out here.

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This month I took advantage of a lot of kindle deals, and bought some books that I just needed to read…

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I requested a lot of ARCs from Netgalley this month, and got a few books from the authors as well. Even though these are a lot of review copies, I already read 8 of them during this month, and I’m on my way to finishing the 9th, so all is good.

 

Scandal: The Complete Series (Alison Foster)

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scandal

An unlikely assignment throws recent graduate Ella Wade directly into the frenzy of a deadly scandal and the burn-your-fingers-hot male model at its heart, Jaxson Cole. 

*This collection includes all three books in the romantic suspense series SCANDAL and it is the complete story of Ella Wade and Jaxson Cole.* 

Ella Wade knew working at a website called The Daily Scandal might lead to an interesting summer job after graduating college. She did not know that one big mistake would pull her into the heart of a sleazy world of publicity where truths are worse than lies and a murderer is on the loose. 

When Ella gives into temptation and sleeps with her stepsister Madison’s ex, her world flips upside down. It doesn’t matter that Madison is dead or that Jaxson Cole wasn’t, in fact, her boyfriend but a publicist’s stunt to link two of the hottest catwalk models romantically in order to feed tabloid curiosity. The damage is done and with deadly consequences. 

Even worse, Jax definitely knows things he won’t say. Falling for his epic hotness could mean one good screw will screw Ella for a lifetime.

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but definitly it wasn’t what I got. EHEH! After reading this I came to a conclusion: Romantic Suspense is not my genre.

With that said, this book was definitly entertaining and fun, and I was laughing throughout most of it. I did have a very hard time suspending my disbelief, and only when I started with my “f*** it, let’s just roll with it“, did I really enjoy it.

The writing was definitly fun and engaging. I found myself laughing with the main characters, because they were hilarious.

My problem was really the plot and the direction of the story. I couldn’t help but feel completely mislead by the blurb… This book is divided in 3 parts, which were first published separately, and from first to the second part, the story does a complete 180º. I should have payed more attention to the fact that this was a romantic suspense book, because maybe then I would have been ready for the weapons, and the crime families, and everyone trying to kill everyone or teach each other lessons… Still, if you like this kind of plot, I will say that this one was kind of good, it had everything! Loads of action, gunfights, strip clubs, a lot of sexy times, and even a tiny little hint of an orgy.

About the characters… I kind of liked them, lol. Ella was determined and passionate, and Jax was a man in love and with a mission. I definitly thought that they had lots of chemistry, even if the romance was far too fast paced. I did enjoy their moments together, in fact, those were my favorite moments of this book. The secondary characters were all very one dimensional to me, and even the 2 mains characters could have used some development as well…

In the end, if you like the romantic suspense genre, and want to read a very steamy book, I would recommend this one to you ;-).

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent 5 Star Reads

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top 10 tuesday

Hello, welcome back to another Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is:

Ten Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads (Or Ten Of The Best Books I’ve Read Recently if you don’t 5 star stuff…or you could do 5 of my latest five star reads & five of my most disappointing or 1 star reads)

Well, I do 5 Star books… a lot. I don’t give away full 5 stars easily, but I do rate a lot of books between 4.5 and 5 stars. That’s what I’m showing today: my last ten favorite reads, a.k.a., books I have 4.5 to 5 stars.

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Musical Mondays: Adam’s Song by Blink 182

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musicalmondays

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite bands growing up, Adam’s Song by Blink 182. I was seriously obsessed with Blink 182, actually, I think it was the ONLY band I was ever truly obsessed with… go figure.

I never thought I’d die alone
I laughed the loudest who’d have known?
I traced the cord back to the wall
No wonder it was never plugged in at all
I took my time, I hurried up
The choice was mine I didn’t think enough
I’m too depressed to go on
You’ll be sorry when I’m gone

I never conquered, rarely came
16 just held such better days
Days when I still felt alive
We couldn’t wait to get outside
The world was wide, too late to try
The tour was over we’d survived
I couldn’t wait till I got home
To pass the time in my room alone

I never thought I’d die alone
Another six months I’ll be unknown
Give all my things to all my friends
You’ll never step foot in my room again
You’ll close it off, board it up
Remember the time that I spilled the cup
Of apple juice in the hall
Please tell mom this is not her fault

I never conquered, rarely came
16 just held such better days
Days when I still felt alive
We couldn’t wait to get outside
The world was wide, too late to try
The tour was over we’d survived
I couldn’t wait till I got home
To pass the time in my room alone 

I never conquered, rarely came
Tomorrow holds such better days
Days when I can still feel alive
When I can’t wait to get outside
The world is wide, the time goes by
The tour is over, I’ve survived
I can’t wait till I get home
To pass the time in my room alone

Lines We Forget (J.E. Warren)

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linesweforget

Love never comes easy, especially to those who aren’t prepared for it…

Twenty-four-year-old musician Charlie Stone has always played the classics. It’s just another day of playing the same old songs until he notices her — Anna Garrett, a beauty with cold-bitten, rosy cheeks and a coffee cup clutched in her hands.  

Five songs later, and she’s still standing there. He vows to steal her heart the only way he knows how. 

In the heart of London, chance encounters are few and far between, but a warm melody can bring people together…  

New day, same old disappointments. Anna Garrett believes her luck at finding love has stalled before it’s even started when she’s stood up for a second date with a friend of her housemate.
But when she sees a handsome musician playing his heart out, everything changes. Memories come flooding back. As she listens to the music, Anna realises she must take matters of love and luck into her own hands.  

When opposites attract, sparks fly…  

After a series of wonderful, unconventional dates, feisty Anna and hopeless romantic Charlie declare their love for each other. But their newfound bond is rocked to its core by a New Year’s Eve party gone awry that threatens to throw them off course. 

Finally, a bright future appears to be within their grasp. But when Anna’s world fractures and distance comes between them, the real work begins.  

Will their love go on in perfect harmony, or become another old song full of Lines We Forget?

When the author asked me if I would like to review this book, I was super happy. New adult is right up my alley, and the premise sounded good, and it was in London? Sign me up! So as you can imagine, I really really wanted to love this book… I didn’t though.

The writing was the main reason I couldn’t quite enjoy this book. The book is told on the 3rd person, present tense, and so far so good, my problem was that it was a very complentative and introspective writing, with very little dialogue and very deep and emotional thoughts. Which is fine, actually, it was kind of beautiful at times, but I also found it slow, sometimes boring and unnecessary. To be honest it’s just not what I’m looking for while reading a contemporary romance.

Now, the story itself is interesting, it’s the story of a relationship, its ups and mostly downs, during 2 years. Charlie and Anna meet, they date, they fall in love, and they have to face real, day to day obstacles in their relationship. Is there’s one thing that this relationship is, is REAL. This also means that there are a lot of small things and conflicts, and not major ones, which made the first 60% of the book really slow.

I liked Charlie, he was a romantic and shy guy, a little lost and he was relatable. I couldn’t find any connection to Anna, however, I actually finished the book still uncertain about her and how I felt about her. And while their relationship was sweet at times, I was never 100% sold on it.

In the end, I had a lot of problems with this book, I found it slow and somewhat boring. I do think it is a real portrayal of a relationship, with small issues taking their toll on the day to day, such as lack of money, distance, or even the weather, but ultimately is not what I look forward to read in a contemporary romance. I do think it’s definitly a “me” problem and not a book problem, because I can totally see how this book might appeal to a lot of you. So, my suggestion is read it, maybe you’ll fall in love with it. 🙂

Wandering About: London (2013)

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wandering about

Back in 2013 I want to London for a week. In a stroke of luck, I was able to string a conference and the Doctor Who 50th anniversary in a single week. It was pretty cool how that worked out. For my first 2 days in London I attended a conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of my field of research, and I loved it, because being that kind of celebration, we had really big wigs in there :D.

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If you were following me back in 2013 – a.k.a, the first year of my blog – you might know that I actually posted everyday about the trip. You can check it out here:

So today, I’m just posting my favorite pictures of this trip :), but check out the links above for a blow by blow of the trip.

St James park

If you don’t know by now, London is my favorite place on Earth. Yeah, it’s cold and wet and grey and I love it. I never feel more at home as I do when I’m wandering through London. I’ve been there a few times since I was 11 yo, and it’s always amazing and I always miss it.

Hyde Park

I also went for the first time to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and I loved it. I’ve been there since, but the place is totally worth it, it’s truly magical.

Butterbeer!!! Incredible good
Amazing and so sad… Magic is Might

And finally I went to the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, and that was totally bonkers. I never went to a con or anything like that, so this was different. I watched the 50th Anniversary Special Episode there, and wow, that was definitly something!

TARDIS

 

Burn, Rewrite or Reread Book Tag

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Hello people! Today I’m doing the Burn, Rewrite or Reread Book Tag and I was tagged by Deanna @A Novel Glimpse and Analee @Book Snacks. Thank you ladies! And check out their blogs today :D.

The Rules:

  • Randomly choose 3 books.(Like Analee I’ve used the ‘Random’ option on my Goodreads read shelf.)
  • For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.
  • Repeat until you completed three rounds (I’m doing 5).

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Burn: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews – There’s no hesitation whatsoever about my least favorite book of these 3… it’s this one, so I wouldn’t think twice about this choice.

Rewrite: Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover – I loved this novella, but I wouldn’t mind rewriting it into a full length novel.

Reread: Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy – I haven’t had a chance to write my review for this book yet, but know this, Us is one of my favorite books EVER. I love it so so much. I plan to reread it many many times in the future, and to be totally honest, since finishing it earlier this week, I’ve reread a few chapter already. 😀

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Burn: The Baller: A Down and Dirty Football Novel by Vi Keeland – I enjoyed this book, but less than the other two, so burn it is.

Rewrite: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I enjoyed Red Queen, though it was not my favorite book ever, I still really liked the twists, but I do think it has room for improvement.

Reread: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari – I absolutely loved this book! I wouldn’t change a thing and I intent to reread it :D.

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Burn: Always Second Best by Elodie Nowodazkij – This was one of the hardest rounds, because I loved the 3 books here. But from the 3, Always Second Best was my least favorite, so I guess it has to be burned.

Rewrite: World After by Susan Ee – I love this trilogy so so much, I don’t think I could change a thing… but if I had to rewrite it, I guess I would make Raffe appear a little earlier because I missed him throughout the whole book.

Reread: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi – I love Mafi’s writing, so I plan to reread this trilogy many many times in the future.

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Burn: The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde – Ok, this is the hardest round, I’m sure, because I wouldn’t mind burning or rewriting all of the 3 books… still, this one is probably the easiest because it’s not really my favorite genre. I read this book when I was still trying to find my groove, lol.

Rewrite: Deal Breakers by Laura Lee – This one could use some rewriting, because the story had potential, despite my huge problem with one of the elements of the plot. Still, I think that if we had more development in the main characters’ friendship throughout college, it would be easier to see their connection.

Reread: Without a Doubt by Lindsay Paige – To be honest, I don’t see myself ever rereading this book 😦 .

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Burn: Innuendos by V. Kelly – Oh my, I don’t want to burn this book, I really enjoyed it… but hey, it does have an awful cover, so maybe I could just burn that?!

Rewrite: The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick – I really liked this one, I’m not sure how I could improve it with a rewrite o_O. Maybe add some more scenes that weren’t in the vlogs?!

Reread: Winter by Marissa Meyer – I loved it. I don’t think I need to say more…

Oh wow, this was harder than I thought it would be, and I might just try to do it again some time!

Have you done this tag? Do you want to? Consider yourself TAGGED!