Liebster Award

I want to thank Meredith at "Loving My Lit" for nominating me for this award! I'm so happy and flattered you tought of me!
So... Here it goes!

The Rules:
1) Acknowledge the blog who nominated you and display the award.
2) Answer the 11 questions the blogger gave you.
3) Give 11 random facts about yourself.
4) Nominate 11 blogs you think are deserving of the award.
5) Let the bloggers know you have nominated them.
6) Give them 11 questions to answer.

Here are 11 random facts about myself:

  1. I'm a scout!
  2. I absolutely love salads.
  3. I want to take Biology in University!
  4. I'm a pro procrastinator... yeahhh
  5. I love to study (but don't tell anyone because they'll think I'm a nerd *wink*).
  6. I like so many styles of music that even I can't keep up.. yeah I can be hearing Beethoven and the next minute I'm listening to Puddle of Mudd.
  7. I can read and speak three languages: Portuguese (my mother tongue), Spanish and English.
  8. I'm an absolute patriot and hate when people don't recognize my country's greatness ( and think Portugal is a part of Spain) for information on what I'm talking about click here ! We were pioneers and people need to start recognizing that!
  9. I'm a proud descendent of the portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real (thanks to my history obsessed gradmother).
  10. I absolutely love to travel and I've been to several countries and I've been to almost all historic sites in my country (wich are a lot).
  11. I tried to learn how to play the guitar and failed... I'm currently still trying to learn...


Here are the 11 questions by "Loving My Lit":

1. Which one do you use more: the library or Amazon/bookstores?
I usually go to bookstores since my local library is really small and seriously outdated, I wish it was better!

2. How many books do you own?
I don't know the exact amount of books I own but it's close to 250 in physical copies and nearly 100 in ebooks. I'm working on getting physical copies of my ebooks but in my country paperbacks cost nearly 20 euros so...

3. How do you organize your bookshelves: rainbow or alphabetically? If you have a Kindle/iPad, do you categorize your ebooks?I organize my books by genre, then author and then series in my bookshelf I have to admit that I have a little bookshelf OCD. In my kindle I have a folder called "Review" for all the books I have to review and then another called "Reviewed" for all the books I already reviewed and the rest of the books are just hanging there all mixed up.

4. Are you on Goodreads? What’s your user name?
Of course I'm on Goodreads! My username is anabeatrizesteves, here's a link to my profile, feel free to add me!

5. What’s your relationship with John Green?
The only John Green book I've read is "The Fault in Our Stars" and even if I think it has some details in the story that I don't like I think his writing is amazing!

6. Are you religious?
I'm very religious! I'm Roman Catholic and I still attend sunday school (for me it's on Fridays) and I'm to be confirmed in the near future.

7.What’s your favorite kind of cover: simplistic, hand-drawn, or photographed?
I love combinations of phtographs and hand-drawn elements, I know it might seem weird but covers that are just photographed weird me out, ate least give a speacial touch in the title!

8. Do you follow book ‘trends’?I don't really follow book trends since I just read what I like and don't care if other people don't like it.

9. Do you have a local bookstore?
I don't have a bookstore in my town but we have a special shop that we call "papelaria" that sells school supplies and overpriced books so...

10. Do you read comics? Do you consider them ‘books’?
I don't really read comics since there aren't a lot of stores that sell them in my area and they're really expensive on the internet.

11. Have you ever bought a book for its cover alone? Which one?
Yes I have, I present you A Game of Thrones (part I.) by George R. R. Martin, the Portuguese edition.
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Here are the 11 questions for you:

  1. What is your favorite book?
  2. What are your reading essentials?
  3. What do you do on your free time?
  4. Where do you buy the majority of your books?
  5. Which author is on your auto-buy list?
  6. What kind of blog post you love the most?
  7. What is your favorite book?
  8. What do you think about Meg Cabot's books?
  9. What are your bookish pet peeves?
  10. How did you start blogging?
  11. How do you organize your books in your bookshelfs?



My Nominees:

  1. A Night's Dream of Books
  2. Addicted Readers
  3. Adventures of a Book Junkie
  4. Banosaur
  5. Bedazzled by Books
  6. Bewiched Bookworms
  7. Biblio Belles
  8. Book Choose
  9. The Bookavid
  10. Miss Book Eater
  11. The Candid Cover
I Hope you like it! Love you all!

Review: The Reaper's Daughter (The Reaper's Daughter Series #1) by KM Randall | Blog Tour | Giveaway



Author: KM Randall
23249950
Publisher: Booktrope
Publication Date: 9th May 2015
Source: ebook (provided by Bewitching Book Tours)
Genre:  Paranormal/Dark Fantasy
Rate: 



Summary:
I've always felt like an average girl ... except for my strange relationship with death. You could say I like to court it. Whether I'm soaring through the air as a flyer for Specter University's cheer squad, or speeding down the steepest mountain with only grace and balance keeping me from an icy end, I've always needed to feel a rush. But now Death is courting me―in more ways than one. First, there's Rishi, a rogue death deity who has a penchant for annoying me nearly to my grave and whose intense gaze has the power to see right through me. Then there's Hades, who I'd rather had stayed just a myth. Now that he knows I exist, he's not going to leave me alone until I meet the same end as my mother.
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention her? I spent my whole life thinking she had died when I was a baby, but now I've found out she's much more than dead. Fifty years ago, Hades banished my mother from the underworld and took away her ability to cross over souls―souls that have wandered lost through the world ever since. Now she wants me to clean up the mess.
You may have heard of her before...
They call her the Grim Reaper.

The Network Series Tour | Antebellum Awakening by Katy Cross (Review) | Giveaway


MISS MABEL’S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS: (To see my review click here)

25321022Never Underestimate the Power of a Determined Witch.
Letum Wood is a forest of fog and deadfall, home to the quietly famous Miss Mabel’s School for Girls, a place where young witches learn the art of magic.
Sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe has inherited a deadly curse. Determined to break free before it kills her, she enrolls in the respected school to confront the cunning witch who cast the curse: Miss Mabel. Bianca finds herself faced with dark magic she didn’t expect, with lessons more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Will Bianca have the courage to save herself from the curse, or will Miss Mabel’s sinister plan be too powerful?
Miss Mabel’s School for Girls is the first novel in The Network Series, an exciting new fantasy collection. A gripping tale about the struggle to survive, it will take you to a new place and time, one you’ll never want to leave.

ANTEBELLUM AWAKENING
22882069
Never underestimate the power of a volatile witch.
Still reeling in the wake of her mother’s death, sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe is forced to move to Chatham Castle. Not even the sudden appearance of ancient dragons in haunted Letum Wood nor her two best friends can distract her from the strength of her deep, dark rage.  Her grief puts her magical powers into chaos, endangering any witch around her. She has six months left to destroy the curse that will kill her and fulfill her contract with the most cunning enemy of all: her former teacher Miss Mabel.  Bianca must make a choice: learn to control her restless powers, or let the powers control her.
Antebellum Awakening is the second book in the thrilling new fantasy collection The Network Series. It’s a haunting tale about tragedy, loss, and the power of moving on.
Rating:




Review:
Bianca Monroe's quest isn't over! She had to move to Chatham Castle to live with her father in a more safe and controled environment.
Her grief sets her magic powers into a frantic state and the High Priestess has her having training lessons with a young guard while she waits for her senventeenth birthday and the day that she has to fight Miss Mabel or die!
The story evolves gracefully from the first book to this one and you can feel a true connection to the characthers and the plot and you can close yout eyes and visualize all the chracthers, all the locations and all the events and be marvelled by them!
All the characthers are well built and developed and you can feel them as they were real and they were with you as you read the book.
In this book you see Bianca grow as a person and suffer and changing you see her evolve and you also see her while she starts getting interested in a boy!
I loved the romantic touch that didn't consume the whole story and I really loved Bianca in this book!
If you love a badass female characther who stands strong and fights evil witches in a magical world then go and pick this book up!

ISADORA INTERVIEWS:
25317147
Isadora is a quiet, old witch living alone in the fog-strewn forest of Letum Wood. Her magical power is great, but her foresight is even greater.As a Watcher, Isadora has the ability to see into the heart of every witch she meets, a talent that makes her the perfect guardian of the prestigious Miss Mabel’s School for Girls.Any witch that wants to enter the school must first pass an interview with Isadora. No secret insecurity or sinister motivation can be hidden from a Watcher, as four teenage girls will soon find out.Join Leda, Camille, Michelle, and Priscilla, as they each encounter Isadora in their quest to join Miss Mabel’s School for Girls. It’s a collection of short stories that fans of Miss Mabel’s School for Girls can’t afford to miss.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Cross grew up in the mountains of Idaho, where she still loves to play when she gets the chance.If she’s not writing, you can find her traveling, working as a pediatric nurse, trail running with her husband and two dogs, or curled up with a book and a cup of chai.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @kcrosswriting

GIVEAWAY

$30 Visa Gift Card
INT
Ends Aug. 12th



The Reader Diaries #1


Hello readers and welcome to my new weekly post : " The Reader Diaries"
I created this post because I think it would be wonderful to post more than reviews and expand my content! This post will allow me to share my daily struggles with reading and being a book lover and I hope that you share yours with me too!
I'm still thinking on ideas on how to spice up this weekly post so if you have any and don't mind sharing please comment down below.
So let's get down to business!

This week I'm reading:
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This week I finished:
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I haven't been reading a lot lately and that makes me sad and frustrated! Have you ever felt like you don't have time for anything and that everyhing you do is just not enough? That's how I feel.
Me and my scouts group are making a raft for a competition in the beginning of September and because of that I've been working like crazy!
Here's a little sneak peek to our handiwork! I know it might seem crazy but we are going to the river with this thing and we are going to be there for a whole weekend!
Don't worry I won't die!

Now, jumping to the reading part (since that's the whole purpose of this post)!
I've been having some trouble with finishing "Heir of Fire" and it has been that way for awhile now. The two previous books knocked me out of my little world and brought me to my knees but this one is not doing that, yet!
The parts about the wiches are not very interesting for me but that might be dued to my obsession with Celaena Sardothien and her actions and my extreme dislike for Dorian and Chaol in this book! I dream about Dorian and Celaena being together but is not happening!
I don't have a formed opinion on the other book I'm currently reading "The Dream Engine" since I just started reading it this week!

I finished four books this week and I'm really proud of myself but now I have to keep reading and put my reviews on this lovely blog and on Netgalley since I'm tired of getting notifications about the fact that I've given 25%  feedback! I'm not a machine!
I'm bummed because no one has ever invented a waterproof book! How could no one remember that! I'm going to the river the whole weekend and I can't read!
Please tell me you can relate to this!
But this week I have been able to pass many glorious nights reading while I drink my cocoa in my bed, wich is the best feeling ever! It's like when you're in the winter and you sit in your room with only your reading light swiched on and you read while hearing the rain... So good!
I really hope that you enjoyed this first weekly post and I promise I'll come up with some ideas to discuss every week and not just talk about my personal life!
You can submit ideas in the comments if you want to!
I leave you with a beautiful quote from "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas.




The Secret Keeper by Angela Carling (Blog Tour)

Banner - The Secret Keeper by Angela Carling25475247Author: Angela Carling
Publisher: AZ Publishing
Publication Date: 9th May 2015
Source: ebook (given by the author)
Rate:



Summary:
When Seventeen year old Winter Merrill was compelled to make a bargain with the mysterious Secret Keeper, she knew there were rules. The most important one, the next time you have a secret, you will not be able to tell it….even if you try.
What she didn’t know is that her next secret if not told, would destroy her life and the life of Liam, the only boy she ever loved. Can Winter find a way out of the dark bargain that binds her tongue or will her deal with the Secret Keeper bring devastating consequences unimaginable even to her?
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Review:
Have you ever done something you wanted to undo? Meet Winter Merrilla a teenager who is forced to make a deal with the Secret Keeper, a woman that can make an action disappear, in order to make her mistake vanish.
But her deal with this woman ends up in total disaster and changes her life as she knew it and even puts Liam, her boyfriend, in danger,
I'm going to start this review by telling you that you need to overlook the sinopsys, it really doesn't give the whole feel of this book and I admit that that's impossible to do.
I kept my little "book summary" short in order not to spoil anything since the little details are all that matter in the end!
The characthers in this book are so well developed that you feel dragged into the story, as you were living it. When someone screams you'll want to scream, when someone laughs you'll want to laugh and everything from true happiness to shear horror, that's the feelings span of this book and you'll love it.
This will change your way of seeing your life and the way that you live because it will make you question yourself on how life would be if you could change reality in order to erase your mistakes and maybe even teach you a lesson about telling the truth and owning up to your mistakes.
Overall this is a very complete book since it takes care of so many situations in real life (with a little speacial touch) and will show how to deal with some aspects of your own life while your reading a really good book and we all know that's amazing to learn while reading a good book because it's fun!
If you like paranormal, love stories, a little science fiction and even suspense this book is for you!

P.S: I'm so excited for the second book! Please come out fast!!!

About the Author:
angelaI was born and raised in Palm Springs, California and after living in several different states ended up back in yet another desert in Arizona, where I reside with my husband, three kids and five cats.  We’ve now lived here for ten years and haven’t melted yet, although we have fried eggs on the sidewalk. We love to escape to our cabin in the mountains or to my favorite place, the beach. I have several obsessions, including my passion for all kinds of music and my inability to stop buying cheap jewelry. I am often caught singing in public bathrooms, just for the acoustics, or rollerblading through my neighborhood while singing loudly to whatever is playing on my iPod. I love to have lots of flowers in my garden and shiny things in my house.  My favorite holiday of all (going along with the shiny things theme) is Christmas. All in all, I consider myself the luckiest, most blessed person alive and am so happy to have this opportunity to write and also to share my writing with other people!
Links:
Website http://www.angelacarling.com/
Blog http://www.angelacarling.blogspot.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/angelacarling
Facebook https://twitter.com/angelacarling
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5331346.Angela_Carling
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePajamWriter/videos?view=0
To purchase The Secret Keeper
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Carling/e/B006P15NOG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/angela-carling
Smashwords  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/541474
Kobo  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-secret-keeper-7
Itunes   bookstore http://www.ibookstore.com/products.php?i=1936037920
Itunes  http://www.ibookstore.com/products.php?i=B00X0FZWHS
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/my_videos_annotatev=_vWrp5rwqsE&video_referrer=watch

 

Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James

13570639Author: Jenni James
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink
Publication Date: 4th June 2012
Source: ebook (purchased)
Rate:




Summary:
Beauty and the Beast is the first in a new series of fairy tales for young adult readers. Fans of Disney, fairy tales, and fantasy will love the Faerie Tale Collection by Jenni James. A prince by day and a wolf by night...
Prince Alexander has been turned into a werewolf and has one year to find someone to love the beast and break the spell, or he will be a wolf forever. He has nearly given up achieving the impossible, knowing no girl would ever fall in love with such a monster.
Just when he is about to abdicate the throne to his cousin, he meets Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe, while a wolf, and begins to hope for the first time in months. Can he balance both worlds as a human and beast, gaining the love and trust of a girl who has every reason to despise him?
Cecelia detests the prince. She only knows Alexander as the arrogant monarch—the tyrant who has made her life miserable—though perhaps he's changed right before her eyes. He's not as full of himself as he once was. The prince is gentle now... but then again, so is the beast. 
Review:
The young, handsome and cruel Prince Alexander has been turned into a werewolf and he has one year to find someone who can love him as a beast and break the spell or remain a wolf for eternity, a mission that he finds impossible.
Miss Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe thinks she has it all but it isn't until her heart is broken into pieces that she notices that she has nothing at all.
One day Cecelia meets the beast while she's crying in her special place and he starts to hope that maybe she can break the spell. The prince tries to balance both worlds to gain Cecelia's trust and, hopefully, her love...
My first tought about this book is: "I'm amazed!". I state this because it's not easy to pick up a fairy tale and from that write a beautiful and complex novel that works really well for young and old.
At first you may think that the story is too used and that you can't understand why the Prince is turned into a werewolf... that what happened to me. But then you'll start reading and you'll get so into the story that you'll forget all about the classic tale and learn to love this take on it.
The characthers are really complex and I really liked the way the author made Cecelia a little different from Belle and Alexander also a bit different than the "Beast" and that what really draws a line between the stories, unlike Belle, Cecelia isn't perfect and I love it!
If you find yourself in need for a cozy and beautiful read this book is for you! All of you fairy tale lovers it's mandatory to pick it up and please tell me your toughts on it, I would really like for you to share them!

Quote:
“He had to do so, because he learned through the lesson of petals and thorns and a pretty girl that you are only worth how good your soul truly is.”
― Jenni James, Beauty and the Beast
(Taken from Tumblr)

The Last of the Firedrakes (The Avalonia Chronicles, #1) by Farah Oomerbhoy

25781691Author: Farah Oomerbhoy
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Publication Date: 15th August 2015
Source: Galley (from Netgalley)
Rate:




Summary: 
16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.
Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.
With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever. (via Goodreads)
Review:
Aurora thinks she's just another normal orphan living with her hateful family and bullied at school until one day she's knidnapped and taken through a  magical portal into a fairy tail word and finding out it's even worse than her old life.
She soon discovers she's in Avalonia, a magical land where those who possess magic reign and whose queen is a vile human being that will take down everything that stands between her and her goals and thirst for power.
Aurora soon finds that the key to her past lies deep in Avalonia and she will need the help of the friends she made along the way to find out who she is and to take her place in the world again.
While reading this book you'll notice two things: one is that Avalonia is like if you grabbed all your fairy tale "land" ideas and had smashed them all into only one and the other thing is that you'll never want to put this book down!
The storyline and the characthers in this book are so well developed that you'll really feel transported to Avalonia and you'll fell that you're Aurora and that you're doing the things she's doing and that, my friends, is one of the greatest things an author can do, in my humble opinion.
Everything in this story is well thought and beautifully acomplished! There are details that you'll find in one part of the story that will only be used a little ahead and you're only given a little bit of information at a time so when the main characther wonders what is it that the others are hiding you feel exactly what she feels!
I loved the way that the author used references from Arthurian Legends, fairy legends and even, I think, of real life and putted it all in one concise story, that way you feel a little familiar with the story but even then the story is completely different from what you'll expect.
If you love  everything that has to do with Disney or love history, adventure, magic, love honor and friendship you should really read this book since it will satisfy your thirst for good stories.
I'm really anticipating the next book!

You'll know why I put this here when you read the book.( Photo credit: Tumblr)

The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human by Joe Duck

25709160Author: Joe Duck
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: 11th July 2015
Source: ebook
Rate:




Summary:   
When an ancient book capable of summoning a demon is stolen from heaven, Narius, a young and not so bright angel of knowledge, is cast down and ordered to destroy it.
If he fails, he can never return to his blissful life as a lazy library guard.
Fortunately, to aid him in his quest, Narius is accompanied by the Codex, a theoretically holy book, who sprouts terrible courtship advice like a cheap fortune cookie.
Upon arrival to the world below his, Narius is tricked into helping Emily, a greedy sorceress in a bit of a pickle, trying to deal with a hungry dragon.
Together, the human and the angel must overcome enchanted apples, evil elves and the impoverished dragon or risk watching their world burn.
Review:
When Narius, an angel,is sent from heaven to find and destroy an evil book, capable of summoning a demon, he meets a human girl called Emily and is stunned by her beauty and together they go on an epic adventure that will change their lives as they know them.
This book haws a very interesting plot and very amazing characthers, there's a mix of wizardry, angels and common life being and it all blends together just right.
In the beggining it's a slow read and everything takes a lot of time until you get to the climax and that may make you put down the book for a little while but don't do it, it's worth it! This book will get better as you get more into the story itself.
The hilarious interventions from the Codex, a holy book that is supposed to advise Narius, and the way the angel is so innocent that he believes everything it says to him will  make you laugh until your stomach hurts.
This book is perfect for supernatural lovers that appreciate a few dirty jokes along the way.
Since magic and love to adventure and pit fights this  book has it all, so go pick it up and tell me what you tought!

Book Links:

Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

23215471Author: Mega Cabot
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 1st June 2015
Source: ebook
Rate:



Summary:    

For Princess Mia, the past five years since college graduation have been a whirlwind of activity, what with living in New York City, running her new teen community center, being madly in love, and attending royal engagements. And speaking of engagements. Mia's gorgeous longtime boyfriend Michael managed to clear both their schedules just long enough for an exotic (and very private) Caribbean island interlude where he popped the question! Of course Mia didn't need to consult her diary to know that her answer was a royal oui.
But now Mia has a scandal of majestic proportions to contend with: Her grandmother's leaked "fake" wedding plans to the press that could cause even normally calm Michael to become a runaway groom. Worse, a scheming politico is trying to force Mia's father from the throne, all because of a royal secret that could leave Genovia without a monarch. Can Mia prove to everyone—especially herself—that she's not only ready to wed, but ready to rule as well? (via Goodreads)

Review:
When Mia's life starts crumbling all over her she doesn't know what to do. Her father was arrested, the press thinks she's pregnant with prince Harry's twins, the Genovians are mad because of genetic modified fruit and the love of her life, Mr. Michel Moscovitz, is distant...
In a breathtaking continuation (in adult style) to The Princess Diaries series, Meg Cabot welcomes you welcomes you to the world of "grown up" Mia.
Almost all the characters from the previous books are back and Mia's silliness and clumsiness is here to entertain you once more.
As you dive in in our favourite princess's world we get to know her even better and we also get to know what's been happening in her life lately.
If you already read and loved the previous books you'll certainly love this one too and if you haven't read them you can pick this one up without any problem, since every mention to previous facts is explained, and still love it!
I have to congratulate the author for satisfying her fans hunger for more Mia (and Michael) and I really hope there'll be more of Mia in the following years.
This book is filled with romance, glamour and has an amazing plot, you will fall in love with Mia, Michael and their friends and family and dive right in a real life princess fairy-tale.
If you love romance, international scandals that need to be solved and dysfunctional families you will love this book and should pick it up now!!! You're missing out!

Favourite Quotes:

 
"I’m completely demanding an autopsy on my grandmother’s brain when she’s dead so I can see what I’m in for as I age."


“Why doesn’t the CIA hire your grandmother to interrogate terror suspects? She does a much better job than they do of getting classified information.”