February 29, 2016

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Date.
Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading
The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy (4.25/5 stars)
The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows(3.5/5 stars)

Currently reading

What I´m going to read next?

What are you reading today?
Leave me your links!

February 27, 2016

Review: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews


Title: Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6)
Author: Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Ace
Release date: July 30th 2013
Reading level: Ages 18 and up

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
Mercenary Kate Daniels narrates a surprising trip with her bite-me humor. The pack of her mate Curran, werelion Beast Lord, need rare medicine from Europe to save children who die from stuck shapeshifting. Europe offers them barrels of the drug if they guard a spoiled princess. Knowing the invite is a trap, of course they sail right in.

Magic Rises is the sixth book in the series, so if you have not read the series this review may contain some spoilers.

Kate Daniels is the consort of Curran, the Beast Lord, a title that bothers her but she has come to accept it as part of the package it means to be with the man she loves and she accepts everything that includes with being his consort, such as follow all the rules involved being the female alpha of Curran´s pack, but for now she is happy and would not want to be anywhere else.

But being Curran´s consort  is not rosy, as there are always problems both inside and outside of the pack, but now Kate sees firsthand someone close to her, a teenage friend of Julie (her pupil), that is in danger of going loup, something that is a death sentence, and this is a problem that shifters had faced since forever, but there is a cure, a drug that only packs of Europe have and they zealously guard, so when they offer Curran with barrels of this medicine in exchange for his services as a bodyguard for the daughter of a European alpha, everything seems perfect and of course it sounds like a trap, but Curran can not deny the possibility to get this medicine, so he, Kate, and some other shifters, undertake a difficult journey by ship across the ocean, where they may encounter mythical creatures and face other type of dangers.

But that's not all, in addition to all the dangers and external obstacles, Curran and Kate must also face problems as a couple, so besides trying to survive these tests, they will have to consider at the end if it's worth staying together.

I must say...that more than once Curran was my least favorite person, just because of  what was happening between them, because he started acting very different from the Curran I know and love.

Magic Rises was a difficult book (for me), not because of the dangers, fights and all enemies they faced, but because of the relationship problems between Kate and Curran. Part of the book kill me!! It has too many unexpected twists. I love this series!!

If you still haven´t read the series, I recommend you to read Magic Bites!! It is the first book in this amazing urban fantasy series for adults.

February 24, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: The Glittering Court

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is

The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court #1) by Richelle Mead
Release date: April 5th 2016
A dazzling new fantasy series set in a mix of Elizabethan and frontier worlds that’s dripping with romance from Richelle Mead, #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy.

Big and sweeping, spanning the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court.

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together, they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first, as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . . 

Why I'm Waiting?
Because I loved Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series and can´t wait to read her new series.

What book are you waiting this week?
Leave your WOW links

February 22, 2016

Review: The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig


Title: The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere #1)
Author: Heidi Heilig
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: February 16th 2016
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC

Rating: 4/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
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. 
The Girl from Everywhere is the second book I´ve read this year about time travel and I really enjoyed it, and it also includes fantastic elements that gave a good twist to the story.

Nix is ​​a 16 year old girl, whom was born in Honolulu 1868 but has already traveled to New York 2016, Calcutta 1774 and other places, both real and fantastic places, provided that there is a map that covers certain characteristics Nix´s father can navigate his ship Temptation and transported through time all the crew, the only detail is that he can only use that map once. That´s why Nix´s father has desperately searched for the past 16 years, a map of Honolulu 1868 in order to return to the date on which the love of his life and mother of Nix died and somehow save her, and Nix is ​​willing to help him even though neither of them knows what can happen to Nix past and how it might change her future.

In this story there are introduced two possible romantic interests: Kashmir a young Persian, who has been with them for a few years as a crew member of the ship, he´s a skilled thief and a very good friend of Nix. Kash is a charming, intelligent and funny character who is always helping and protecting her. The other romantic interest is Blake whom is someone Nix meets in one of their travel and he´s interested in her at first sight. So be prepared for a love triangle.

Something that caught my attention was that is not explain how or why Captain Slate (Nix´s father) can travel through time and not only that, but that he can also travel to fantastic and mythical places, provided there is a map that meets the requirements; but ultimately I did not care about so much.

I really liked the idea of how the traveling in time is in this story, I thought it was unique (at least I have not read any book about this type of traveling), in addition to adventure, exotic locations and some intrigue, it was an entertaining book.

If you like books about time travel, pirates, mythical places and with diverse character you may enjoyed reading The Girl from Everywhere.

Book trailer

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Date.
Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading
The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Williams Chima (4.5/5 stars)

Currently reading
The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

What I´m going to read next?

What are you reading today?
Leave me your links!

February 16, 2016

Review: Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan


Title: Reign of Shadows (Reign of Shadows #1)
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release date: Harper Teen
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC

Rating: 3.5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

With lush writing and a star–crossed romance, Reign of Shadows is Sophie Jordan at her best.

Reign of Shadows is an interesting YA fantasy book with romance, it tells the story of Luna, a 17-year-old girl that has lived her entire life in a tower in a forest that is said to be cursed and with the only human contact of her caregivers Perla and Sivo, whom had been dedicated to protecting her from the murderer of her parents and the outside world. For the last 17 years the kingdom had lived almost in eternal darkness due to an eclipse, with only one hour a day of light, so that the world around it has changed and is not safe, because there creatures called "dwellers", which are a zombie like that eat humans, also due to the lack of sunlight is difficult to grow plants, so food is scarce. And despite all this Luna wants to explore the world.

So when she stumbles and saves the life of Fowler, a young man whose main goal is to survive in the strange world in which he had to live and what he least want is a fellow traveler, due to some unexpected circumstances he reluctantly accept Luna to tag along in his search of a safe place. So most of the plot is about their journey and the obstacles they encountered along the way, besides the romance that develops between them.

The book is told from the point of view of Luna and Fowler, so we get to know both of them and we learn a little about Fowler´s background and this give us some understanding of why he´s so harsh with Luna and so disconnected from his humanity.

Because Reign of Shadows is a book of fiction, I read it with understanding that everything is possible, so I did not stop to analyze what is feasible and what´s not, and that due to the total eclipse for almost 17 years (there is only one hour of mid light), it is difficult to grow food and some animals have mutated, besides some of Luna´s skills may not be believable (in a normal world), but I decided to accept them as they come. The story feels more post-apocalyptic than fantasy sometimes, but it is very entertaining and I really enjoyed it, And it has an cliffhanger ending that hook me to read the next book in the series.

February 15, 2016

Review: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima


Title: The Demon King (Seven Realms #1)
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release date: September 7th 2010

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards. 

I finally read The Demon King! For years I´ve heard about this series and the first time I saw it ¿was on an In My Mailbox where they talked wonders of it, I do not remember if they were talking about The Gray Wolf Throne (third book in the series) or The Exiled Queen (second book in the series), but I remember that it caught my attention and I added in my wishlist, and soon after I began to see it in booktube and other blogs which also said that it was an amazing book series, so I decided to buy them...... and I own the four books that make up the series, but as always there are more books to read, and I left them on my bookshelf for years, but this 2016, Flamecaster is going to be published, the first of the Shattered Realms series consisting of four books, that take place 20 years after the events in the Seven Realms series, so I need to catch up on my reading.

Han Alister is a 16 years old boy, he used to lead a gang of thieves, but at the beginning of the story he had already retired from that life and is trying to make a living in another way for the sake of his younger sister and mother, so he sells medicinal herbs and transports liquor for other, in order to get money for his family. In the streets he´s known as cuffs - for the silver bracelets he wears on his wrists that had been there since forever and although he had tried, he had never been able to remove them - in the clan of his best friend he´s called Hunts Alone and the rest of the people know him as Han Alister.

The problems of Han Alister begin when he takes a magic amulet from Micah Bayar, the son of the High Wizard and the queen´s adviser and since this amulet is a powerful and forbidden Micah wants it back, because it belonged to the Demon King, a dark wizard who tried centuries destroy the world.

The story is told from two points of view, Han Alister and the Crown Princess Raisa ana'Marianna who recently returned home after spending a few years training in her father's clan, but now she must return to her responsibilities as a crown princess and apparently that include to find a good alliance through marriage and so one day she can lead her queendom. But Raisa's dreams are bigger, as it aims to be a great queen as it was Hanalea, the warrior queen who fought and defeated the Demon King, and Raisa wants to somehow achieve something great and not just be a pawn of her family.

The Demon King is an introductory story to the Seven Realms series and the main characters Han Alister and Raisa ana'Marianna and what I liked more that we get to know them  in their own environment, with their families and friends, there is no romance (among them at least, as normally is expected in YA fantasy novels). The lives of the main characters do come across in this story, but everyone has their own separate plot (which I liked). I really really enjoyed it! the book is very well written and the story flows swiftly, so no boring moments and is quickly read. I can not wait to read its sequel.

Book trailer

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Date.
Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading
The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine (3.5/5 stars)
Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James (4/5 stars)

Currently reading
The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Williams Chima

What I´m going to read next?
The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

What are you reading today?
Leave me your links!

February 10, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Untitled #1) by Rosamund Hodge 
Release date: September 27th 2016
When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .

Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Bright Smoke, Cold Fire is a darkly romantic and atmospheric fantasy from acclaimed author Rosamund Hodge. 

Why I'm Waiting?
I really enjoyed Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound and so far I really like Rosamund retellings. And I also read on her website that this book is the first in a duology and it takes place in the last city after a zombie apocalypse.

What book are you waiting this week?
Leave your WOW links 

February 8, 2016

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Date.
Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (4.25/5 stars)
Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) by Ilona Andrews (4.5/5 stars)

Currently reading

The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

What I´m going to read next?

What are you reading today?
Leave me your links!

February 6, 2016

Stacking the Shelves (53): January

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga´s Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail. 

These are the books I got in the month of January.

FOR REVIEW
Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARCs.

BOUGHT
Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness #4) by Tamora Pierce
The Lovely and the Lost (The Dispossessed #2) by Page Morgan

What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Split by Swati Avasthi

Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs
Seventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson #7) by Darynda Jones
Eighth Grave After Dark (Charley Davidson #8) by Darynda Jones
Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

FOR MY KINDLE
Graduation Day (The Testing #3) by Joelle Charbonneau

A Mad Zombie Party (White Rabbit Chronicles #4) by Gena Showalter
The Restorer (Graveyard Queen #1) by Amanda Stevens
The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen #2) by Amanda Stevens

Biggest Flirts (Superlatives #1) by Jennifer Echols
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn
Los gritos del pasado (Fjällbacka #2) by Camilla Läckberg
Dispara, yo ya estoy muerto by Julia Navarro

Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

 Sweet (Contours of the Heart #3) by Tammara Webber
Iced (Fever Series #6) by Karen Marie Moning
The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2) by Karina Halle
Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3) by Karina Halle
Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs

What books did you get?
Leave me your link in the comments.