Wizardry Student Box _ February 2018

Unboxing WSB February 2018

Hi guys, today i bring another unboxing but this time it is a totally new subscription box named Wizardry Student Box (WSB) and i will give all the details before i start the review of this month. 

So this is a bimonthly box, it is only released every two months and this one is related with year four of Harry Potter. 

Every box will contain 4 to 7 items Harry Potter related: 
- 1 or 2 handmade items 
- 1 or 2 House related items 
- 1 exclusive item 
- 1 or 2 items related with each school year

 When you subscribe you have to tell your t shirt size and which Hogwarts house you belong to. The box cost me 30 € (about 27,76£) already with shipment and this is only for a month box, you could also chose other payment options: 4 boxes for 115 € (about 106,45£) or 7 boxes for 190 € (about 175,89£).

This box is sponsored by the online shop called "Loja da Magia" and i will leave the sites bellow for you to take a look. 

http://www.lojadamagia.pt/

http://wizardry.nloja.com/

So without further ado let's start this unboxing =D 

When you open the box this is what you are going to see....

The items this month are all related somehow with the Goblet Of Fire book and i love the idea that each box is about a school year at Hogwarts. Personally this is my favorite book so i was very excited to receive this box. 

The first item we get is a shirt with a very unique design that i just love. It is dark gray with a silhouette of the triwizard cup  painted on it in shades of blue and white, it so simple and yet so complex and i just love the fact that it was hand painted, the quality is amazing and i was so glad to have something that represents the tournament. 

This box also has a replica of the goblet of fire with a little parchment inside (OMG i don't recall what it say..... but i think is something related with you being the Hogwarts champion) and again i really like this item. As i say, goblet of fire is my favorite book and so to have a little replica of the goblet is so so cool, i just wish it was bigger. 

Everyone knows that in the second task Harry eats Gillyweed so to receive a replica of this "disgusting" green herb in a nice touch in this box. It shows that the boxes are thinking to appraise the fans and that they have so much attention to details. We received the usual poster about the year of this box and this one is the one i like the most of all the boxes we have already received.

Finally there is also a notepad with sentences and little designs featuring scenes from the book and a feather pen (i think everyone received green but i would love a blue one) that are now i my collection.

I gave this box 3.7 out of 5*, it is not my favorite so far but it has great items, my two favorites ones are the shirt and the goblet and my less favorite i think was the Gillyweed. In the next box i'm expecting something related with the order of the phoenix and i would love something about the Black family. As for items i would like something different from a shirt since this box is so unusual in that aspect (the fact we don't receive always a shirt is one of the best things about this boxes) i would love different items like a bookmark, a tote bag or a pin for example.

I recommend this box to every Harry Potter Lover out there!!!!

Book Review: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1) by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black 

"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself."

This was the book from January Fairyloot box and i was so glad when i see it because i just love the cover and the blurb, so i have ended up buying it anyway. 

I really like fantasy books, and those of you that read this genre know that there is a lot of species we can read about. For me it is not usual to read about Faeries, so i was super excited about this world and it was a great surprise when i discover how it was created. Really like the fact that the human world was placed in the actual times and not in a medieval kind of way and that in the Faerie world there are so many different species of creatures. The fact that the humans are saw was inferior beings is a little difficult for me at the beginning but them i get why it is that way and i really like the plot line. 

As for the character's i will say that i like both Jude and Cardan and i dislike them also, let me explain, the character's personality was well built and i can understand why they are the way they are, but come on..... some of their attitudes (especially Jude's) i cannot understand. Why she did the things she did was beyond me and i think some of the choices are not realistic. 

I gave it 4.2 out of 5*, it was one of the most difficult books to rate so far because i did not understand some of the directions the plot line takes but at the same time i could not put the book down and when i finish it i only want the next one to devour it. I cannot talk more about this book without making spoiler so i will only say that this is a book everyone should read and i'm sure you will get so many emotions during the read that it will conquer you either way. 

Book Review: Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn & Grim #1) by Juliet Marillier

Dreamer's Pool

by Juliet Marillier

" In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help. 

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic."

This is the first book from a new series by Juliet Marillier and so i had to get my hands on it. I just love all her books and although this is not one of my favorites it was a good start for a series and i will definitely continue to read it. 

Here we get to know Blackthorn and Grim two characters with an enormous baggage from their past who meet each other in the most precarious situation. Their relationship evolves naturally to a friendship and i love to see it happens, i'm super curious to know more about Grim's past and when i read about Blackthorn's one i cry like a baby. 
One of the things you could expect while reading this author's books is that you will get emotional for sure, she has a way of creating worlds and characters with whom you can relate and this is the first step for you to care so much that you "live" the plot story like if it was yours. 

Another main character in the first book from this series is Oran, the prince from Dalriada and the owner of the land's where Blackthorn and Grim end up creating their home. Again i like this character and he was not what i was expecting from a Prince. I did not know if we are going to see Oran in future books but i hope so, because i would like to see what happens to him after the final of Dreamer's Pool. 

If you have already read her previous books you could guess where the plot line is going but i have to say that i did not see a little twist that happens at the end. In general it is a good book and i recommend it to every reader you likes fantasy that takes place in a magical world. 

I end up giving this book 3.4 out of 5* just because i think it a little slow paced at first. I understand that this is the beginning of a series and i hope the next one get's better in the cadence of the story. 

Book Review: Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland

Everless

by Sara Holland

"Time is a prison. She is the key. Packed with danger, temptation and desire - a perfect read for fans of The Red Queen. 

In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything - even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.

Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family.

There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever ... and possibly the future of time itself. "

I have seen this book for quite a time now in the bookstagram community and i fall in love with the theme and the cover, so when i discover that my first box ever from fairyloot would bring this i was beyond myself with excitement. 

I liked the plot a lot, what was not to like? The world created by the author is terrific and the ideas that are present in this book are so imaginative. I really like to read fantasy, however if you read so many books as i do you end up comparing them all and see little things that you recognize from something you have already read before. In this one i do not get that sense, the plot line is so unique and different that i have to devour it asap to know more and more. 

For me the only downside of this book was the romantic part, i really like to see a good romance in fantasy books and in this book we do not get that. I'm expecting it to grown up in the next book and i'm pretty sure that i know who will it be with. As for the final, OMG i was not expecting it! Let me say there are twists and turns but nothing comparing to this final.... i was left speechless. 

I end up giving this one 4.3 out of 5 * for all the things i describe before, i would love to give it more but the romance.... well i just hope that i will give 5 * to the second book. I definitely recommend it to every fantasy lover out there and let me say that so far it was in my top 3 of this year. 

Book Review: The Sinner (Rizzoli & Isles, #3 by Tess Gerritsen

The Sinner 
by Tess Gerritsen

"Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can match the bone-chilling scene of carnage discovered at the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Light. Within the cloistered convent lie two nuns–one dead, one critically injured–victims of an unspeakably savage attacker. 

The brutal crime appears to be without motive, but medical examiner Maura Isles’s autopsy of the dead woman yields a shocking surprise: Twenty-year-old Sister Camille gave birth before she was murdered. Then another body is found, mutilated beyond recognition.

Together, Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an ancient horror that connects these terrible slaughters. As long-buried secrets come to light, Maura Isles finds herself drawn inexorably toward the heart of an investigation that strikes close to home–and toward a dawning revelation about the killer’s identity too shattering to consider. "

This is the 3º book from Rizzoli and Isles series and i was so surprised when i start it and discover that this one is written mostly in Maura Isles POV. I liked a lot the opportunity to see more of her thoughts and to get to know her better and of course the few chapters about Rizzoli are also very interesting. Tess can create characters that you can relate to and that you want to help in any way during the hard parts of the plot, this is one of the best things in her books. 

About the crime itself it was imaginative but not very surprising, i discover the who and why of it before the disclosure of the book, but there are some twists that i did not see coming. I can't read this series without imagining the actors from the TV series and while this is not a problem it abhors me because in a book i like the free rein to imagine and create my own images and ideas. 

I gave this book 4,1 out of 5*, it is a series i will continue to read and it surprise me how easy of a read it was because this genre normally is a heavy read and this one was the opposite. 
I recommend it to everyone how like the TV series and also to any mystery reader love. 

Fairyloot_ Unboxing January 2018

If you don't guess already i will tell you that i love books! 

I have always wanted to receive a subscription box based on books but i have the problem with the shipping costs (usually they are more expensive than the boxes itself) so when i found Fairyloot i was so so so happy. 

For those of you that do not know about this company, Fairyloot is a UK’s popular book subscription service that gives to you monthly a box filled with bookish goodies and a recent release book. They have a montlhy theme and you could expect a young adult book related to that theme. 
If you want to know more about it here go the Fairyloot Site. 
For me the box cost 29,34 € (26.00£) and the shipping is 8,35 € (7.13£). 

Without further ado let's get right to the unboxing. 

The January theme was " Talk Faerie to Me"

Let's start with the book of the month, it was The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and i was so happy since this book was in my wish list and i will end up buying it at some point. 
One thing i have to refer is that the book in these boxes comes always in a booksleeve with the fairy design you could see on the box itself, i just love this detail because it shows how much they care for the books and how much effort the put in the details and making sure the costumer received good items. 
Joining the book we have every  month a letter from the author and a signed bookplate, i just love these little touches and they make me sure i will continue to subscribe this for a very long time. 

Also every month we received a bookmark with the theme of the month, i have a collection of bookmarks and omg these designs from the themes are just gorgeous, so i'm so happy they make this a recurrent thing in the boxes. Especially this month we get a set of magnetic bookmarks from ACOTAR that presents Rhys and Feyre in their Illyrian fighting clothes, i was absolutely in love with those and i'm now considering to buy more and start also a magnetic bookmark collection. 

The biggest thing we get this month is a pillowcase from ACOTAR with the sentence "Only you can decide what breaks you". the design was magnificent, i love the colors and the sentence and this will be living in my bed for sure. 

One of the things i like most (besides books) are candles, so when i receive bookish candles i just went mad =D this box brings a candle featuring a character from the book we received (the cruel prince) and it just smells amazing.  Also related to the book we get a lip balm, you could have received two different kinds (Seelie or Unseelie) and i got the Seelie one, i'm not sure it i will use it or if it will sit in my bookshelf. 

Another thing you could expect, if not every month almost every month, are book prints. As the bookmark we received one from the month theme with the same design, and these month we get more 3 book print. One from the same character that the candle feature, and two from ToG series featuring Rowan and Aelin. The backside of these prints have sentence related so you could use it the way you like best. 

Last we get a coloring book with fairy themes, i like very much to color when i'm listening to audiobooks but i do not know if i will use this one because the designs are so beautiful in black and with. 

I gave this box 4.5 out of 5* i just love it. My favorite item (i will not consider the book) was the magnetic bookmark and the less favorite one was the lip balm. 

The next month theme is "Twisted Tales" and i was so anxious and excited to receive it. I just have a guess what the book will going to be, and let's hope i'm right.  
Do you receive this box? if so tell me what did you think of these month. 

January Book Haul

Every reader knows that buying books when you have a TBR (to be read) pile the size of a little country is something essential.  So let's dive right into my January book Haul! 

I buy 16 books in January with a total amount of 99,54 € (88.15 £) (so much for self control) and this month i discover amazing places to buy very cheap books, that i will link down below for you guy's to check out. Remember that i'm Portuguese so some of the sites and books i buy are in this language and some are in English. 

Here is my book haul list: 
. Julieta by Anne Fartier (5€) buy in a little book fair at a train station in Lisbon
. Shadow and Bone book box trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (25,49€) buy at Bookdepository
. Crown of Midnight by Sara J. Maas (8,94€) buy at Bookdepository
. A court of Wings and Ruin by Sara J. Maas (8,67€) buy at Bookdepository
. Fireblood by Elly Blake (10,72) buy at Bookdepository
. Mãos Desaparecidas by Robert Wilson (3,50€) buy at Bookmaniacs
. Morte de Lord Edgware by Agatha Christie (3,50€) buy at Bookmaniacs
. Belladona by Anne Bishop (6,50€) buy at Bookmaniacs
. The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon (2,94€) buy at Awesomebooks
. Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (2,94€) buy at Awesomebooks
. Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon (2,94€) buy at Awesomebooks
. Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (2,94€) buy at Awesomebooks
. Dark Deeds at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole (3,05€) buy at Awesomebooks

I'm really happy with this list and i can't wait to read all of them!
Here are the sites where i buy my books this month: 
Bookdepository
Bookmaniac
Awesomebooks

Tell me in the comments what books you buy this past month and based on my buys if you have something you recommend me. Have a great reading month =D