Book Review: Vampire University (Vampire University #1) by V.J. Erickson

Vampire University 

by V.J. Erickson

Constantly moving as she grew up, Taylor had learned the hard way how to blend in wherever she went. But when she moves to VanCamp University for her freshman year of college, she immediately finds herself at the center of attention of nearly everyone she encounters. From the charismatic and mysterious Evans twins, to her quirky, clingy roommate Hannah, it seems that the people in Taylor's new college life have no intention of letting her be the wallflower.

It's not just blending in that Taylor has to worry about, though. At VanCamp University, there is more to the staff and students than meets the eye. While trying to adjust to her new life on campus, she finds herself in a world where fairy tales and reality collide, where gargoyles and leprechauns mingle with humans and vampires, and where nothing is as it first appears.

And as she discovers the truth of her own unusual heritage, Taylor learns that fairy tales are just the beginning.

My Review: 

I obtain this book free of charges from Amazon and i have it for quite some time in my TBR list. It is a new to me author and i think i have already heard about this series but i'm not sure where or when. 

So i decided to read it this month but i have to say i regret this decision.... The book has a easy to read language and a very simple writing that you can read without thinking to much about it, yet i think this is a very confusing book. Let me explain it a little bit better, in the first book of a new series i always expect some introduction to the world the author has created as well as the different creatures that inhabit it, in this book i do not get any explanation. 

The plot is very fast paced and the situations happens out of thin air, which is very confusing for the reader. I fell like there is no background for the plot and i do not like it at all. 
I have a small amount of curiosity about what will happen to the characters in future books but i do not think it is enough to read them. 

I gave this book 1 out of 5*, it was really disappointing...

Geekgear box_ World of Wizardry September 2017

Unboxing WoW September 2017

Hi guys, i'm back for another unboxing, this one is the geek gear box for September 2017. I know this is rater late this month, but i only received my book the previous week. 

For those of you who do not know this box, it is a monthly subscription one with a price of 19.99 £ (about 22.68 €) and a shipping cost outside UK of 5.99£ (about 6.69 €). It always brings a t shirt and more 5 or 6 items all related to the wizarding world of Harry Potter.  

Every month we received clues about what the box will going to contain, and the clues for September were: 

1- Niffler

2- Newt Scamander

3- Hogwarts Express

So without further ado let's start with this month goodies =D 

This month box brings a pair of socks with your hogwarts house colors and since i'm a Ranvenclaw mine are blue and bronze. 

I have to admite i really like that geek gear do stuff in Ravenclaw real colors, it is one thing that gets me really pissed out when Ravenclaw merchandise are in colors from the movie.

The next item we have this month is a rubber key-chain, mine is the dark mark symbol however i know that there are 4 different designs. (Snitch, Deathly Hallows, Dark Mark and Hogwarts crest). I'm not found of the dark arts but i tend to like the dark mark design, so i'm happy i received this one.

This box also include a collective figure of Harry Potter himself and i was curious to see if this is a isolated item or if there will be others like the collectible pins. 
I like the material and the design of the figure, i have to be honest i would prefer a funko pop but this one is also good, it is more serious if you know what i mean. 

This moth shirt is a vibrant blue one with a niffler in it. There are a lot of stuff like coins and diamonds all around and the sentence " Every Day i'm Nifflin". 
This is my favourite fantastic beast so i'm quite happy with this design and i will definitly be using it a lot. 
This shirt are the answer to one of the clues and i was not expecting it to be on the shirt, i think i expected it to be a niffler pin or a niffler figure. 

After we have a wand =D and OMG i was so happy with this! For those of you that do not know i'm doing a wand collection so i really love when i received wands.
This one is also related to a clue and of course it's Newts wand, it is the first one i have from Fantastic beasts but i do not mind a little and i really like it. 

The last thing in this month box is a print of the hogwarts express. Again it is related to the last clue we got and again i was not expecting it to be the print. 

It is fine but i do not love it and in my opinion we have received better pints that this one. 

If i have to rate this box i will give it 3 out of 5*, there are items i love but in general they are not great. 

The thing i like most is of course the wand and the one i could dismiss more easly is the print. 

I will not received the October box but i hope i will be back in November with the Christmas one =D 

Book Review: Hunted (Olman County #2) by T.L. Haddix (Goodreads Author), Alex Collins

Hunted

by T.L. Haddix (Goodreads Author), Alex Collins

Life in a small town can be dangerous indeed, a chilling reality newspaper reporter Beth Hudson is experiencing firsthand. Following the leads on two seemingly unrelated stories, she’s surprised to find herself entangled in the midst of a deadly web.  When local farmers are plagued by a rash of midnight visitors and police make the discovery of ritualistic altars in their fields, rumors of devil worshipping and animal sacrifice swirl. What Beth discovers is more chilling and more deadly than she ever could have imagined.

As Beth is drawn deeper into the mystery, it becomes clear that she’s in the crosshairs of a dangerous stalker. Even as her contentious relationship with Detective Ethan Moore takes an unexpected turn, her investigation leads her straight into the clutches of a killer. Before she and Ethan realize the risk, everything is on the line, and it might not be possible to keep Beth from becoming a victim.

Hunted is the second book in the Olman County series, Romantic Suspense novels set in small-town Indiana. It was previously published as Under the Moon’s Shadow by T. L. Haddix.  

My Review: 

This book was given to me as a ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) but the opinions in here are all my one and unsolicited. This said i want to thanks the author, Streetlight Graphics Publishing and Netgalley for this copy.

This is a new to me author so i was a little bit surprised when i see that this book was originaly published as another title and that Alex Collins is really a pseudonime for T.L. Haddix. This said i see also that this is the second book of Olman County series and that let me a little bit apreensive, what if i need the first book to understand parts of this one?

Luckly my fears are not justified this time, though this is a book series, it stands alone quite well and i do not need anything from the previous book to understand this one. 

When i request this copy i was expecting it to be a heavy mysterie book, again i was surprised to see this really is a romantic suspense and i like that genre a lot.

For those of you that are familiar with the Nora Roberts books and movies i have to say that this book reminds me a lot of that style and i think it will give a pretty decent movie itself. The writing is simple enough yet you get so immersed in the plot you almost forget the world around you, as for the main characters i love that they are not the perfect specimens that sometimes we get to see in books, all the faults and the small details just makes them more real to me and i really enjoy seeing their story. 

The book was divided in two parts. 

First we get all the mysterie and i was expecting it will last until the end, so i was a little bit surprised when more or less at 60% of the book all that was solved. The idea of the plot is not a mind bloing one since i discover pretty easy who was to blame and the motivations behind the crimes. However at the very end of the book we get to see some twists and there are a question left open for the future which makes me want to read the next book of this series. 

The second part of the book i can call it the more romantic part are about how the characters react to what happens in the crime and how they fight all the demons within. Personaly i like this glimpse into their lifes but i fell this section of the book to be a little slow paced. 

I gave this book 4.25 out of 5*, i intend to catch up with the first book and later read the third to see what will happen to the character's. I recomend this book to someone you like some suspense but also like to have romance and real life struggles in the misture.

 

Book Review: The Three (The Three #1) by Sarah Lotz

The Three

by Sarah Lotz

Black Thursday. The day that will never be forgotten. The day that four passenger planes crash, at almost exactly the same moment, at four different points around the globe.

There are only four survivors. Three are children, who emerge from the wreckage seemingly unhurt. But they are not unchanged.

And the fourth is Pamela May Donald, who lives just long enough to record a voice message on her phone.

A message that will change the world.
The message is a warning.

My Review: 

I recived this book free of charges from the site Saída de Emergencia because of the promotion 2=3. This is a promotion that allows you to received a free book if you buy 2 that are more than 20€ and i absolutely love this idea. 

When i read the blurb for this book i love it and so i start to read it as soon as i can, however i have to tell you that it was a little bit disappointing. 

The writing sytle is not what i was expecting, it is write almost like a documentary there are no chapters and instead we see interviews, stories from the POV of various people that witness something related to the accidents, recordings phone calls etc...

I have to admit that it is so well written that sometimes i though the book was based on a real situation and i googled it, of course i found nothing about 4 plane crashed that happen in the same day in 2012 so i guess it was all fictional. This book makes us think about themes that are very actual and at the same time worrisome like the fact that humans tend to believe anything they are told and are completely influenced by the opinions of others, or the fact that is human nature to love disasters and be attracted to them. 

The only glimpse we have in all the book that this is fiction is presented at the end of the book when the supposed writer of the book start to question what happen to the three. I see there is another book from this series and again i love the blurb but i do not know if i will read it because of the writing style, it is a matter to study!

I gave this book a rate of 2.75 out of 5*, it is not my type of book, i read it until the end and i like it but i do not love this book, for me the plot had so much potential but the way the story was told do not convince me. 

What Book should i read in November?

What should i read?

It's this time of the month again where i need your help to choose one of my reads for November. 

This time the options are the follows: 

1_ A Ilha dos Espíritos (Fjällbacka #7) by Camilla Läckberg

2_ Sétima Campa... Estava Vazia (Charley Davidson #7) by Darynda Jones 

3_ Morte Branca (NUMA Files #4) by Clive Cussler

4_A Senhora de Shalador (The Black Jewels #8) by Anne Bishop

So now it's time to decide, leave your vote in the comments bellow and thanks a lot for the help =D 

Book Tag : "7 Reader Facts"

7 Reader Facts 

This is actually a #Instagram Tag that was given to me by @Booklepuff and i love it so much that i need to write a post about it. 

So let's start with the snooping facts.... 

1. Book that gave me a hangover?

There are many books that gave me hangovers, and I mean this in a good way. I will mention the 2017 book reads that I could not put down and after I finished them I have to wait to start a new one because I could not stop thinking about them. 
The darkest torment by Gena Showalter
The one by Kierra Cass 
The apprentice by Tess Gerritsen

2. Book you're too lazy to read?

I really want to start reading classic books but I have to admite that until this point I'm being to lazy to read them. I hope to change it soon...

3. Book you always recommend?

There are many books I recommend by I will tell the most recent one. Just a few weeks ago I recommend the LOTU's series by Gena Showalter to a friend of mine. She already read the first book and she loves it. 

4. Book you will always reread?

Usually I do not like to re read books, because I know that there is many good books out there that I still have to read so why do bother reading something that I already know? 

The exception however I the harry potter series, I reread it once per year. 

5. Book that made you swoon?

I'm so emotional that almost every book make me feel something, I will admite that many books have make me cry already, but few have make swoon. The one I remember the best is the Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix when sirius died.

6. Favourite male author?

I realize doing this tag that I do not have favourite male authors but I will say the one's I read more.
James Rollins
Clive Cussler
Rick Yancey

7. Favourite female author?

Opposite to the male author's I have many female one's that I really love. 
J. K. Rowling
Gena Showalter
Anne Bishop
Larissa Ione
Donna Grant
Camilla Lackberg 

I really enjoy answering this tag and I hope you will also like it. Fell free to comment your answers and also leave me another tags to do. 

Book Review: Liga-me by Sarah Mlynowski

Liga-me

by Sarah Mlynowski

"A new life is just a phone call away!

Devi's life isn't turning out at all like she wanted. She wasted the past three years going out with Bryan—cute, adorable, break-your-heart Bryan. Devi let her friendships fade, blew off studying, didn't join any clubs . . . and now that Bryan has broken up with her, she has nothing left.

Not even her stupid cell phone—she dropped it in the mall fountain. Now it only calls one number . . . hers. At age fourteen, three years ago!

Once Devi gets over the shock—and convinces her younger self that she isn't some wacko—she realizes that she's been given an awesome gift. She can tell herself all the right things to do . . . because she's already done all the wrong ones! Who better to take advice from than your future self?

Except . . .what if getting what you think you want changes everything?"

My Review:

I found this book by accident and i'm so glad it happens! I love some books by Saida de Emergencia   (an online book shop) and since i want to buy a book from there i went to their site and see this amazing promotion they always have 2=3. 

Let me explain to you a little bit about it, if you buy 2 books that adds up to 20€ or more you can choose a 3 book completely free from a list they give. 

So i went there to buy a book that cost me 15,98€ and i do not want to spend much more than 20€ so i went in a search for a cheap book and i found this one. It only cost me 5€ which was perfect for my bargain since this way i buy 3 books for 20,98 € =D 

Now for the book itself, i was desperate for a light and easy read so i decided to start this one and let me tell you, it was so much fun to read this book. The writing style is so simple and the book is very easy to read because of the pace of the plot, the chapter's are very small and they are divided between the two versions of the main character (present and past one) which allow the reader to know more about her personality and about what happens in the book. 

About the plot i have to tell that it reminds me of the typical Sunday movie that you see to have a good time, like 13 Going on 30. It was very unrealistic of course but a person cannot avoid thinking "if it was me...."? I think i would have a very hard time believing that a future me was calling, and after i believe it i do not know what i want to talk about. 

At the same time it reminds me a little of the butterfly effect, a theory that states "small causes can have larger effects", because we can see in the book what happens when Devi decide to change a variety of small things in her past and how it affects and changes the future. 

The end of the book was a little disappointing to me, i tend to like books that have a very definite ending and not one where you can be open to interpretations, and this does not happen in this book. However i can understand why the author choose to end this way and i also get the meaning that the author want to give to this plot " the future is not written in stone and your choices can influence it"!

I gave this books 3,75 out of 5*, because of the easy read and also because of the meaning behind the plot story. This is a book that you could read without thinking to much and enjoy yourself but at the same time it has a very profound message if you decided to think of it this way. A definitive good read and at a very appealing price. 

Book Review: Midwinter Sacrifice (Malin Fors #1) by Mons Kallentoft

Midwinter Sacrifice 

by Mons Kallentoft

"An investigation consists of a mass of voices, the sort you can hear, and the sort you can't. You have to listen to the soundless voices, Malin. That's where the truth is hidden.'

The snow covered all the tracks, as the killer knew it would. But it couldn't hide the victim, the man who now hung naked from a lonely tree on a frozen plain.

Malin Fors is first on the scene. A thirty-one-year-old single mother, Malin is the most talented and ambitious detective on the Linkoping police force, but also the most unpredictable. She must lead the investigation while keeping her fractured life on the rails.

No one knows the identity of the dead man. Or perhaps no one ever wanted to know. When all the voices of the investigation have fallen silent, Malin can rely only on herself and her own instincts. And as she follows in the frigid wake of the killer, Malin begins to discover just how far the people in this small town are willing to go to keep their secrets buried. "

My Review:

I see this book for the first time in Lisbon Book Fair 2017 and i fell in love with the cover and the general idea of the plot. I really like Camilla Lackberg books and when i see this one it reminds me of them, so i decided that i would give this author a chance. 

My first impressions are a little bit confusing, the writing style in this book is not one i'm accustomed with  and it's so different that only at 2/3 of the book i get to ignore it and focus only on the plot. At the same time i really like the mystery and i always was super curious to know more about it.

There are some things i do not understand in the book like the POV from the victim after death, i think it add nothing to the story whatsoever and it's a little morbid. However there are things that i like a lot especially the dimension of the chapters. Let me explain, i do hate when i'm reading a book and have to stop in the middle of a chapter and since i read at the public transportation it unfortunately happens sometimes. In this book it does not happen because the chapters are very small, also i think it helps to balance the difficulty of the writing style. 

The characters in this series are very complex and sometimes disturbing but i do like the main ones, i feel some empathy and want to know more about them in future books. About the killer i will only say that i do not guess who it was 100% but it was one of my main suspects. I understand why the author chose this killer and the motifs are so well made that it could not be other person. There is a question that is not answered in the final of the book and it get me so frustrated! I really hope that it get's solved in the next book but i do not believe it and i think that for the plot it was so important.

I gave this book a rate of 3.5 out of 5*, it could not be more because of the style but i really like this mystery and i will definitively read the next books of this series.