Week #118 of Reading Like A Maniac

Good evening?

I really don’t know when this might be online so just in case, good early morning (?), anyways, this week was a frightening passover cuz I was taking my Midterms and was kinda 50/50 on it cuz I study for my exams yet anything could happen so let’s just keep our fingers crossed. In other news, as Mythical Month came to an end I decided to make a Witch Month even though is not October yet bu who cares? I’m doing it no matter what, to read some pretty urban magic stuff mixed with Salem trials or any other thing that reminds me of how good Charmed was and how bad the remake is going ot be, as how well thought a “The Craft” remake would be cux there’s no wrong way of making that movie a hit again. So in order to keep waiting for the #SaveShadowhunters hashtag to work out and for Netflix to give us a Sabrina trailer once and for all, here they are the lovely books I read this week.

First was Witches: Lazos de Magia (Magic Ties) by Argetinian author Tiffany Calligaris, book one in the Witches series.

Madison Ashford was ready to start a new year in university moving to an appartment with her sweet bestfriend Lucy and right in front of her Graphic Design classmate “womanizer/party-animal” Marcus, with a charming boyfriend and everything looking so bright. Until she encountered new boy Michael in the middle of the hallways, it literally took them a look for the light bulbs to finally explode. Soon Mads will discover that not only her love life is shifting but the weird events that soon will take over Van Tassel University in Boston.

I REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW TO FEEL ABOUT IT.

So where do I start? The plot and creativity of the concept itself is pretty good, the funny one liners and the characters are so quick witted and I ended up enjoying it however I still had some issues with certain aspects of this. First I just need to mention the sexism, the one I wouldn’t have noticed teen years ago and would have just gone with it laughing or just saying awwww it a slow cute fashion, but now I’m twenty one and I know sexism when I read it in the fact that Michael is extremely controlling for what’s supposed to be an immature star crossed love interest, then is the fact everyone slut shames Lynn because of her “provocative ” outfits and her many many relationships, I particularly didn’t like the girl when she totally made out with Derek just to annoy Mads but this kept happening and even when she was awfully mistreated by that guy Samuel near the end Madison laughed! A girl laughed! WTF, I mean till now the only semi decent people around here seems to be Maisy and Marcus (yeah, even him!). Overall, I enjoyed it though I remain upset about those aspects that I wished showed some female empowerment, equality and some lack of judgy statements.

The next book I read was the sequel to the previous, named Witches: El Club de Grim (The Club of Grim).

After the events that left Madison broken and with a new sight of the world we live in, she’s trying to enjoy what’s left of her holidays until she’s forced to return to university and give an aswer to Michael about if she’ll take him or let him go for good. She’s still having nightmares when a surprising someone starts manipulating her choices as secrets start to unfold, and her new found magic seems to not be enough for her to triumph and succeed at a normal love life.

AS RUELLE ONCE SAID: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 🎶🎧

I still don’t know what to say, it’s mindblowing yet not enough. When it came to the plot and the whole magic supernatural stuff it succeeded, I mean I enjoyed the creativity of the scenes specially the last two (trying to save Kat, and getting to know the bitches who are part of the Grim Club) where my heart was in my throat from gasping excitedly, so afraid I couldn’t take it anymore. Besides that, the plot line itself was interesting and then it came to choices and beliefs, where everything went to he’ll for me. During some scenes I was like: “am I in the right century? How come is this right to be thought by our main heroine? Or worst, why are you still clinging over the same sexist annoying and oppressing guy? WTF is going on in her mind and concept of life itself? WTF?!” Then it came to the not so rational yet snobbish nature of Michael’s mother and father, I was so calling them out on their ways of dealing with Ana by the end of the book, I couldn’t take it: the nerve to blame everything on Ana despite the issue didn’t start when he married her but when he was still living under their roof, so come the f*** on and calm down people. In consequence, I’m totally confused about how can validate so much a book when I just don’t understand the rationality and sense of its characters, I seriously don’t know.

The third book I read was the begining of The Beauchamp Family trilogy by the utterly famous Melissa de la Cruz, named Witches of East End.

There’s something otherworldly in the Beauchamp women, they seem so perfect, delicate and refreshing in the godforsaken town of North Hampton. Starting with its matriarch the never aging Joanna, a woman dedicated to the renovation of her household as a tragical feeling of dispair doesn’t abandon her; then there’s her older daughter Ingrid, the lovely but severe looking library mistress with more books than friends holding more dust than any ancient map; and the last one goes to the youngest girl in the clan the wild child: Freya, people say she hasn’t changed her promiscuous ways even after she became engaged to a wealthy young man. In the end, everyone concludes that this family is different but not in the typical American way.

SO SHOCKED THIS AUTHOR WROTE DISNEY’S DESCENDANTS.

wow, talk about versatility as a writer, I mean if you can write a precious work of adult fiction as many Disney villains’ children you surely deserve a fucking award! I must admit I was a little wary about the characters and their personalities at first, I wasn’t feeling related to them and I totally didn’t like them, however I got attached and I dare to say this is one of the few books that I’ve loved reading this year, the creativity and the ability of turning unlikable people into iconic main witches. I mean who would have thought of that pot twist during the last five chapters? I never saw it coming, but then I wondered how come I didn’t even get a little suspicious? And that’s exactly what I love in a book, cuz nowadays I don’t get many surprises so when I get one out of nowhere I appreciate and validate it.

The last one I read was its direct sequel, named Serpent’s Kiss.

The Beauchamp women have changed a little bit, with a wide list of clients waiting for them to perform their spells of good white magic in the shape of drinks or ties. The mother, Joanna looks mischivious as a man approaches her looking for a date, the formerly timid Ingrid is loosing her mind over her first love that happens to be a human, and Freya is finally living the love story she was promised many centuries ago with the brother of her former bethroted. The three godess think nothing could go wrong, but the arrival of their patriarch and the long lost brother will tear apart the last shed of peace they hold so dear.

IT WAS CHARMING.

Don’t get me wrong with the 4 stars, it’s just the final reveal wasn’t as intense as the one from the first book, I was surprised but not incredibly shocked. The story was pretty good though, it made me more self-conscious about the Salem trials as the whole ICE deal with immigrants (elves, in this specific case) rocked my view of reality. In other news, Freya and Ingrid are still my favorite characters and I love Killian, btw I loathe Joanna and Matt, their priorities are all over the place but not where they should be. No f#*%ing joke!

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Week #117 of Reading Like A Maniac

Good morning, fellow readers!

So I just had a regular week, however my choice in books became a little complex, more complex than I found myself able to handle. Anyways, as a nice farewell to the Mythical Gods month I was able to read three books and another three companion short stories to complement the knowledge I gain about the matter, I got to understand the Celtic rebellions against the treacherous Roman empire, the Egyptian ancient adoration for kohl as a bit of the Old Norse deal with flesh eating giants; so yeah maybe I took more than I was humanly capable of reading but I succeeded… sleeping at 2am but still I DID IT.

BTW, I’m definetely starting watching Vikings on Netflix, I mean I’ve totally been in the middle of episode 2 for three weeks in a row but I promise I’ll finish first season by the end of June, probs. Anyways, I had time to watch Gods of Egypt and well… it was an entertaining movie with on point special effects, however I could not forget the innacuracies after reading the Kane Chronicles and doing my own research, yeah the White Washed cast was not the only thing the production got wrong, but that’s a story for another day.

First book I read was the final one in the Kane Chronicles trilogy, named The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan.

Everything is coming to an end. Carter’s days of being an embarrasing mess, Sadie’s time with both her love interests, Zia‘s sanity and… oh peace on Earth as well since Apophis is about to destroy it all unless our heroes decide to follow the lead of an ancient cheating magician who could afterall have the key to keeping the huge chaos snake down like a caged beast while the House of Life is facing civil war against its new appointed leader, as Ra might be ready to stop being senile and take over his creation. Will the Kane siblings have the bravery to do WHATEVER it takes to save the world, even if it means giving away their own lives?

I JUST FINISHED IT ON TIME.

The book had it all, its cheesy teen love issues but also many badass moments that got me reading in a fast forward fashion to be able of imagine the magnificent scenarios as I listened to the Mummie BSO on Spotify to be in the mood. The story showed me more about Egyptian mythology than Hollywood and encyclopedias ever did with my short term memory during my childhood and adolescence, and I’m so bloody thankful. Anyways, I was intrigued by Set’s way of thinking as Isis, and let’s not forget about the Ra being a happy old man talking nonsense 24/7 until he resurrected like it always was meant to be. BTW, I need to mention my ultimate favorite part of the book which obviously had to be the awesome right scene between the Chaos sand made humongous serpent vs the other gods and the Kane siblings, I mean just try picturing that in your mind and dare telling me is not mind blowing! 🐍☀👏 I literally can’t wait to read the mash up short stories with Percy Jackson on them, I still wonder how come this trilogy doesn’t have more followers not even on the mainstream booktube demographic, when it’s so glorious in a compact yet original package of three.

Second book I read was part of the trilogy of short stories between our demigods and the magicians, this one is named The Son of Sobek by the same author.

After certain cheating dead magician scaped the hands of the Kane siblings, we knew it would bring trouble. Specially now that Carter has received sightings of a humongous crocodile scaring the crap of a NY friendly neighbourhood as he encounters certain violent yet charismatic demigod trying to get rid of it as well.

 

PRETTY DECENT.

Even though I was kind of expecting to laugh my ass off with the inclusion of Percy on this, I was not satisfied. But don’t get me wrong, I was entertained wondering who could have set all this up for these godly teens to meet in this insane adventure with the huge crocodile, besides the fight was pretty rough however it lacked the Jackson’s representative hilariousness.

The third one I read was its direct sequel named The Staff of Serapis.

Annabeth Chase thought she would only had to worry about visiting her boyfriend in his NY home while taking the train, however she never expected to see a half wolf half lion hybrid in a CatDog fashion trying to kill everything on its way. Neither did Sadie Kane, however these two will find out that this beast represents more than just the dementia of an ambitious god with power over the greek and egyptian offspring of myths.

SO MUCH BETTER.

I got the fun and insta friendship I was pining for, it was so good! The chemistry between these two was fantastic, and the presence of Sadie made my day (I was giggling too much), besides it was so cute seeing Annabeth reacting to Sadie’s hugging nature, she’s never been that kind of girl who has friends and is lovable towards others, 😍😊. In the end, girl power was enough and creativity kept me going with that wolf-lion-dog hybrid creature, it was hard picturing it on my mind however it was still so cool.

Then I read the final of these short stories named The Crown of Ptolemy.

Setne is finally showing his true ambitious cheating plans: his desire to become a god himself with more power than anyone our heroes have ever witnessed nor dared to defy. It will come to Percy, Carter, Annabeth and Sadie to destroy him in Governor’s Island to stop this insanity from become a reality; soon they’ll discover that just like with Serapis this will take a strong amount of combined power to succeed.

FINALLY I GOT WHAT I WANTED.

This is the Percy I grew to love and cherish, the goofy risk-taker with hilarious one liners being friends and admiring to a certain level how like him Sadie Kane is, and how much he wants his (future/eventual) daughter with Annabeth to be like. I also found it ironic how miss Chase is the female counterpart of Carter, over planning stuff and using their over thinking blessed brains. BTW, I’m so happy about the way Setnet ended up, in a bloody snowball as some accessory for Carter’s future researchs. 😂

After that there was the long ass historical fiction stand-alone named The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge.

A tale of three raging generations. A tale of injustice and the fight for freedome. A tale of the Celts just when the Romans plan to takeover. A tale sorrounding the ancient battles and heroes this people had during their rebellion in the shape of two of the most passionate leaders Britannia ever knew: Caradoc and Boudicca, beginning with their naive youth as they enter the brutal beatings given for trusting their mutual enemy, to finally hit back and become legends against one of the most merciless empires that history ever knew disguised as a civilized society.

AFTER DAYS AND DAYS OF INJUSTICE AND DISCOMFORT I’M FREED.

What can I say? I got know more about the Celtics community and their inner sentiment which was that their own ego led them to a reality worst than extinction, they believed in their power and the inability of the Romans so badly that they accepted the enemy getting closer and closer until it was too late with a feeling of caging that as a reader I got to experiment like such a mishaped loneliness, of being a slave with no home almost no hope for the future and no other drive than death. Besides that I found the characters extremely intriguing and so out of this world, which leads me to the character I wanted to read the most about the moment I read her first apparition in this book which was the hated Aricia, I don’t there some otherworldly vibe in her of heart break and lost of innocence, specially when one kind of gets why she is like that, since almost every men that laid eyes on her wanted one thing only and it wasn’t her companion or her love; but somehow feeling like she was just given away by people she once thought were her family despite their desires so easily drove her to a breaking point; I will not try to justify the shit she did but I learn she was just broken unable to be repaired. Then was the ongoing issues I had with few little details I kinda disliked about the book which more than anything was the fact Caradoc never knew about the one night stand his wife had with his best friend; and the fact there was a feeling of romance in Gladys storyline I found appealing but totally confusing cuz when we see what happened to Boudicca, Gladys seemed to be living a dream love instead of the real hurt the tribes went through under Rome’s domination. But overall, the books was huge and unbelievably precious to this avid reader.

Finally I read the last book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy,  named The Ship of the Dead by our talented Rick Riordan.

Loki was set free and is now in a boat commanding his loyal zombie warriors to start the Ragnarok once and for all. All is at stake and pending in the shoulders of a young dead kids who goes under the name Magnus Chase and his peculiar group of friends as their search for a secure way to put Loki back into his tortuous state takes them to a quite weird answer: an insult battle, will Magnus have what it takes to reduce the god of chaos to nothing before his plans unravel in destruction? Specially if that means facing nine giants, the husband of an angry goddess, trolls and an angry giant ex stepgrandmother? And there’s the fact Samirah and Alex could be killed anytime because everyone hates their crazy dad/mom. So, yeah, no pressure, right?

PRETTY LOVELY WAY OF ENDING THE BOOK.

I ultimately have no complains, it might not have been my favorite series in the Rick Riordan universe however I will not deny this one was pretty funny, entertaining and that it fulfill my OTP desires so yeah, I am pretty pleased with how things turned out. BTW, I loved the way TJ’s background was introduced and how he’s still such a genuinely great guy despite the shit he was given by the Confederates, also there was Mallory and her mom deal which had me intrigued about her relationship with her *violent* father as her instant revolt against her mother the moment she met her cuz she’s fiery taking no shit from nobody. Finally, I had what I wanted from the beginning, I found my MALEC in Magnus and Alex (idk, but is it Malex in here?), their interactions we’re meant to be from the moment they set eyes on each other and the fact our Blondie actually lived for Alex no matter when he/she is a she/he. 😍😍😍😘😘😘 I mean… that second kiss in his room! 🎉

Week #116 of Reading Like A Maniac

Happy Mother’s Day;

sort of… it’s not such a happy day for my mother’s side of the family since my grandfather has fallen ill with hipertension blocking his ability to move his own legs so it’s a groom mother’s day. Anyways, during this past week I had my last midterm exam (Audiovisual Translation I, sounds fancy?) and many of us students were checking our grades out to see if the our choices are still worthy of our money and regular level of intelligence. It turns out I’m on the race yet so YAY for me, right? For now, I’m on a medium stage of stress therefore I guess I’m ok, however I was able to only read two books  this week. Yeah, you read that right: TWO F****** BOOKS! I’m so dissapointed at myself. Hope you like them though.

The first one I read was the begining of something called the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan, titled The Red Pyramid.

Sadie (12) and Carter (14) are siblings that know nothing of each other since their mother’s death many years ago. They go out with their father as a family once a year so that should be enought of a bonding time, but one day they see that their father’s obsession with Egyptian mythology might be getting a little extreme as what seems like a creature just buried him magically like Egyptians used to entombed their mummies. Next thing they know, they just became a target to evil forces since they father forgot to mention they descent from a line of ancient sorcerers and legendary Pharaohs, oh and also that all Egyptian Gods are real as well. What a great way to start their teenage years, right?

OMG I LOVED IT. (*says in such a girly adolescent voice*)

After having been through some reading slumps while reading the Apollo’s and Magnus’ stories, (don’t try asking me I don’t know why till now) I finally got over it and enjoyed some quality time with this, I had no hopes and just wanted to read it to pull it out of my TBR list until I read the first three chapters and I just knew I was on board with the whole Egyptian Gods stuff, I was appealed by the unknown mythology as an ignorant in the matter myself besides, I felt insanely drawn to the main characters in such different levels that when they doubted I did it too (the Amos issue) and when they were emotional I was too (the truth scene), I connected with them and that was such a relief. I found myself falling as hard as anyone did for Bast 😻. Anyways, I literally can’t wait how they journey goes in the next book, like I literally want to go literal on this trilogy, no more doubt.

The second and last book I just finished a night ago was its sequel The Throne of Fire.

Sadie just turned 13 and has already many things to worry about: being a powerful sorceress, saving her brother’s ass every once in a while, having fallen in love with two impossible guys (one just like her, the other a literal god) and the fact the terrible representation of chaos “Apophis” is about to destroy the world we live in. On the other hand, there’s brokenhearted Carter dealing with the voices of Horus still tempting him to become the pharaoh of the modern world, Zia been missing and that he’s now a teacher to many apprentices whose lives depend on his teenage hands. The clock is ticking and the destiny of the world might end before they bring back their only hope: the king of gods, Ra.

THE BOOK WAS SICK, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.

I felt engaged and entertained with the plot line, so I just wished I could have had more time to read since I believed with the fast pace I was reading in I could have finished it yesterday as I intended. Anyways, the Kane siblings keep intriguing me s they grow in front of my bare eyes, learning that they might not be destined to be rivals outshining the other but helping each other in times of need where trust is the most valuable issue. Besides, I got to learn a bit more about Egyptian mythology with characters like Bes who (for me, at least) was the most including God ever with his naughty trousers and teary eyed feelings overcoming his inner fears. Overall this book was fantastic and a pretty decent sequel.
PS: I totally pictured bettlejuice when they said Apophis was inside the Russian guy.

Week #115 of Reading Like A Maniac

Good evening! Good night! I’m not really sure at what time you’re reading this but Hi!

So, this past week was a bit hellish since I had to plan many many things like a field trip the same day I had to take my special pills to cure my illness, that brought me a lot of stress, also there was this paper I had to write for my Constitution and Human Rights’ class, the trick was that I did it in a group of three and be the bossy responsible one trying to finish it all in one day so I could rest and save my weekends for reading purposes. As you might have guessed, things weren’t turning out the way I originally planned them and somehow the books I chose took me forever to finish, I don’t know if it was the pace or if maybe I was too exhausted and lazy to not close my eyes before reading 100 pages. IDK, but I only read 3 books this week, can you believe that?! I hadn’t read such a tiny amount of books since I was a beginner on this bussiness, I feel betrayed by my need of rational sleeping hours. This represents the start of my Mythical Gods month, I’ll have some Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Celts, etc. Anyways, here I got them for you: the THREE books I managed to read.

First was the last one in the Titan series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, named The Prophecy.

Josie and Seth are out to get some peace but with the Titans getting slayed everytime they screw things up with her, the turn out of event might get critical for humanity; somehow that’s just one of their issues with their baby on the way they’ll have to find answers about what can they expect of the offspring of a god and a demigoddess. As they start realising that all the hate coming from pures and halfbloods might be related to an old enemy, will Seth be strong enough to not keep putting Earth on a burden or he’ll give up to his instincs as a former god slayer to hunt the last Titans to the gates of Tartarus.

IT WAS SUFFICIENT BUT NOT PERFECT.

I got a feeling this could have been so much better, I mean I was so prepared for an epic ending filled with battles and ruinous death scenes that had me gasping the entire time like in the original series, instead I got its emotional counterpart where I felt sucked in despair and sorrow of the unfair justice of fate in Greek mythology. I was like waiting for a blow that when it came it just felt weak, I mean Colin’s involvement in the fury inside the university was so called for and then he just died when I was suspecting him. Then was the fact that the crew didn’t actually participated in the final battle but were spectators eating popcorn and laughing their asses of the Titans’ downfall, even though I must admit that the scene where the giants just emerged from the ground was fucking brilliant as the moment Zeus showed Seth the aftermath of his murderous actions. Anyways, technically the book was great cuz the writing Jennifer L. Armentrout gives is just so full of action and realistic feelings besides her snarky comebacks, then I saw creativity just that it wasn’t too good for like the end of this spin-off, I feel awful by saying it because I love everything she writes it’s just that perhaps it was an approach of the finale that I’m not that used to: it was more emotional epicness rather than final battle kind of epic.

The next on was the second installment in the Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan, named The Dark Prophecy (yeah, another prophecy).

Apollo has to find Meg, not only because she’s his master but because in the little time they spent together, despite the treason, he managed to call her a friend. Now he’s commited to rescue this kickass little demigoddess from her maquiavelic adoptive father: Emperor Nero. With the help of Leo and Calipso, he’ll venture in the land of women: some agressive not Apollo entusiatic warrior women who serve his beloved twin sister to not only get his twelve year old back but also to remove the wicked new Indianapolis emperor from power before it’s too late.

WAS IT BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS? YES, INDEED IT WAS.

Here Apollo showed humanity in most of its shapes, he understood his past mistakes and dealt with them, in regret and sorrow besides he saw how unfair life can be if one’s not a god and how little demigods are cared for despite their sacrifices and bravery in the battlefield. We saw he not only grew to appreciate his feisty master but also a new family of friends that became primary in his heart, I mean such character development! Anyways, when they mentioned the third emperor and his horse, also the fact he’s related to Nero: my mind went immediately to Caligula which has me aching and all excited to see if my theory is a reality I would be mindblowing by the odds.

The final book I read was another sequel, this time it belonged to the Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard series by the same author, named The Hammer of Thor.

There are two surprises for Magnus this time, one could be expected as Thor lost his hammer one more time, but the other is quite outstanding when Sam brings back a shapeshifter to live as a warrior in Hotel Valhalla and it turns out it’s the extremely unique half sibling of Sam: Alex. Having two children of Loki in the same place is rare, so when he informs the crew of his plan to get the hammer back from the giants hands everybody is suspicious doubting he’s doing this out of his good heart, and how could they not? After all, it involves Sam getting married to said giant, giving the god a powerful sword and many murder threats, you know as usual.

BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE? DEFINITELY.

Everything but the last fifty pages was lit, I don’t know I just felt it was too effing long when it could have ended so swiftly good, I don’t know it was handled in a slow burning way when I just needed it to conclude. Anyways, overall it was amazing, I got to understand the characters and root for them (hi Alex😙😘) in ways that reminded me of my liking for the Greek and Roman gods kind of way. I felt a heartache when they were hurt, also when the gods actually appeared they were hilariously inhuman as their cracked up mythical creatures. As the drama increased, I noticed some connections between characters involving the LGBT community besides Alex so yeah, we got more than Norse mythology, we also go to see more inclusion, their strengths and weaknesses. So I’m way more open about reading the next ones, more than I was with the first one.

Week #114 of Reading Like A Maniac

Greetings, fellow readers.

I just started a new year at university and I’m already stressing out but somehow I know I’ll had to grow a wide set of ovaries and pass this cycle with generally good grades, specially on my last French term since rules have change and if I don’t burn my lashes studying I won’t get out graciously nor alive so yeah… Anyways, I managed to read a decent amount of books related to Criminal Mysteries, or just Criminality as a whole which got my truly enchanted from the day I read those synopses on Goodreads.

First book I read was the number one book in the House of Furies series by Madeleine Roux, that goes along the name of the series itself.

Right in a past century, Louisa is a girl who has learnt to survive on her own by clever lies and clean scapades until she’s given some gold by a strange old lady and the town she’s nesting in starts blaming her of being a thief. To make it our alive. she’ll have to live in an old great house where she will discover that every wrong doing has its payment and that the devil himself is gathering that discharge right in the attic of the same house. Because everything she sees is true, the monsters, the murder, the blood, and the pain; and if there’s one way of getting justice is by entering that house.

I STILL DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT FINAL CHAPTER AND THE EPILOGUE.

I have three words to describe this book: frightening, creative and confusing? The nerve that took to create those creatures and to humanize them at the same time turning them into some sort of family living in that rotten mansion with that creppy yet handsome ring leader, trying to explain Louisa what is really going on and why killing evil people is not so morally incorrect, what is lurking in the shadows and what has been taking over her from the moment she was born. It’s a lovely story filled with terrifying monsters and the worst of humanity’s basic instics which goes from manipulation to cannibalism. It showed us two kind of monsters, those that look pure and are ready to bite us at any time and those who look ready to end us but turn out being truly caring about our welfare. Yet again Madeleine Roux manages to scare us and shock us with her marvelous writing style in the Gothic kind of thriller.

Then I read the first book in the Pretty Little Dolls series by Ker Dukey and K. Webster, named Pretty Stolen Dolls.

“Benny was a friendly stranger who defended them from a scary fat man. Benny wanted to take them to their parents to give them a doll. Benny gave them a drink inside his ban to make them sleep. Benny gathered them as His dolls. Benny was a monster.” That’s all Jade knows, when she scaped her tormentor leaving her little sister behind only to get her memories taken from her by a car hitting her head. Now she’s a cop tying a new mysterious crime to Him making her loose her mind hoping she could get to see her sister again as she’s forced to remember once again the years she spent as Benny’s Dirty Doll.

SO MEAN YET SO GOOD.

The topic itself was pretty harsh, twisted and dramatic putting yourself inside the raw memories of a former kidnapped rape victim with guilt issues and an acknowledged romantic attachment problem. The intense torture Jade had to endure and the nightmares sprinkled with the little flashbacks of those painful and shameful years, manifests through her wish to find her kidnapper and rescue her missing sister without imagining what could come to her for digging too deep. Pretty Stolen Dolls narrates a tale of unshakable selfish violence, with a dry and shameless writing style that shows the broken soul of a rape victim. No doubt I was drawn to this story because of the twisted concept, though I was able to learn that rape is not only the physical pain of a non consented sexual act but the emotional sorrow of having your will taken away from you, feeling like you’re guilty for the involuntary reactions your body had; the act was still not consensual and depraved. It showed me a different side of the feeling of been violated.

The third book was the emotionally and mentally challenging stand-alone The Good Girl by Mary Kubica.

He had lured her to go to his apartment after a flirty night at the bar. He had put a gun at her forehead after she had kissed him. He had tied her up and forced her to go inside his car. He had to give her up to those men, they had hired him for that mere purpose. But Colin didn’t do it, now he’s on the run form a criminal organization and the cops with Mia Dennett by his side crying scared and giving all of herself to get away from him. But things are not as easy as they look, specially when the only voice they get to hear is each others’ isolated in the middle of nowhere with no future and no hope.

CRYING WAS REQUIRED.

I totally spent the last five chapters crying my ass off, no joke. I thought that maybe there was hope for a new beginning and then I was reminded that this was realistic therefore no way this was gonna end well. Anyways, the writing style was quick and pretty defined, not confusing at all with some amazing turns of events and such humane characters with their terrible flaws but painful redeeming qualities. I must give props for creativity because even though this was not a regular mystery where you’re not so desperate to find out who’s after the crimes, it managed to get my attention through the thrilling feels and such intense moments.

Next was the first book in the Charlotte Proxy series by Jonathan Harrow, named Dolls.

Charlotte Hayes was only haunted by the paparazzi trying to get her comments on what happened to her that night when she killed the old bastard who had kidnapped her, shamed her and gathered girls to tear them apart. That’s why she had run from LA to live with her estranged father, but a night she receives a peculiar call from one of the girls He had hurt telling her they were never alone since she had survived unharmed. Now her sanity is going to hell as she starts seeing and feeling things that come out of horror films, physically hurting her and all those who dare to help her.

THAT WAS DEFINITELY SOMETHING.

Try Drag Me to Hell meets The Evil Dead remake, and you’ll find a horrifying aesthetic, the one I pictured while all the violent, gruesome and supernatural stuff was happening. I mean the whole love story was in fourth place when it came to the plot and the direction the story was taking; I must admit that I wasn’t convinced at the beginning with such insane first six chapters that got me scared to death, I was like “WTF is going on I was promised some teenagery little high school fright, not some quality horror😵”. Then I got drawn to the plot and I just needed to understand what the hell was taking place and why, by the way also Why, until I loved it and I could literally picture all that was going on which I thought was also a small rendition to that 90’s anime they mentioned which I found was equally disturbing with bloodthirsty villains with no humanity left which got me enchanted, props for such gore-ish scenes and the fact I’ll never see adult nerds the same fucking way. Good job, Jonathan.

The fifth was a tiny little embarrasing short story named the Vampire King’s Nanny by T. S. Ryder.

Thomas rules a world of darknesss, barely helping his peers from the harmful demons around them, and wants some pure light to guide his daughters path before wickedness takes over her young life so he finds her a human nanny in the most unorthodox way. What he doesn’t know is that this brave and untamed human female comes with her own bagage and emotional turmoils on her own.

OK, I GUESS.

I wasn’t expecting a master piece of fantasy writing, I knew it was a short story made for entertainment purposes only yet I still wanted the story to feel fuller than what I was given. The arcs and personalities were not truly developed and I considered the characters had so much potential, I specially like Clarissa a lot with her supernatural way of being, she was a winner for me. So to anyone looking for something with a reliable love story, this is a big no no but if you just want something to get in between big badass emotionally charged stories then this is a strong suggestion.

The following book was a haunting stand-alone known as Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin.

Tessa Cartwright was once a normal and happy sixteen-year-old until she waskidnapped and later woke up below the soil next to a recently dead corpse and two skeletons with beautiful black-eyed susans growing above them. She forgot her time with her kidnapper and the names of the girls, even the way he looked but in the end a man was named guilty for the crimes against her. Now, over a decade later, she finds herself unable to be certain she helped sent the right person to jail as that man’s dying hour is near according to Texas laws, she must recall her former therapy sessions as unknown details of what happened in the trial that day because her real kidnapper could be still out there planting black-eyed Susans on her yard again.

I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD END THIS THE SAME DAY I STARTED IT.

Wow, just fucking wow. A book hadn’t shocked me since Paula Hawkins’ one, or Dangerous Girls I mean WOW. First of all, don’t let the premise of the traumatized bored single mother being haunted by ghosts of her past discourage you in any way, trust me it is worthy, and so so right on the spot when it comes to the mystery element and the inevitable plot twists. I mean just when you think you got it all figured out, you’re slapped with some ice cold reality that tears your bones apart. The was the writing style which was impecable and in an adult responsible way, a little ethereal yet not depressing which is the first thing that pops in your mind when you see some postraumatic stress disorder in a kidnapped sixteen year old, but the way things are in Her mind are pretty minimalistic looking for answers and a way out of being constantly looking behind her back with a gun. In the end, you’re left not with a happy ending but with so many thoughts not questions, but options for what truly happened in the minds of the leading characters of this shocking tale.

The seventh book was another thrilling and mysterious stand-alone, now by the talented Paula Hawkins, named Into the Water.

Julia never wanted to go back to the town that haunted her since she was thirteen years old, specially not for her sister. The cruel sister who never loved her nor took care of her when they were younger, but Nell threw herself of the Drawning Pool in a dramatic fashion and now Julia has to take care of her estranged fifteen-year-old niece. She thought she could just bury her memories and her sister, to then make a new life outside that town but things get complicated when she realises Nell was not the first woman to allegedly have commited suicide in there, that perhaps the horror stories Nell told her about those troublesome women getting too near the water only to drown later could be true.

PAULA HAWKINS DID IT AGAIN.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, but I left it to be read in my most recent Criminal Week and I wasn’t disappointed, I had some high hopes and now I know Hawkins will forever be my thrilling mysterious place to land. However, when I started reading I had a hard time trying to get accustomed to the amount of POVs I was getting and got extremely confused during the first 75 pages since I got no physical descriptions till there and my brain doesn’t cope well without a picture in my mind, I totally confused Erin and Nickie a million times because of this. Anyways, these characters were precious, so emotionally fucked up that they all need some therapy sessions and perhaps medication cuz all of them have some fucked up issues, which I think made them more real, despite this the plot was enchanting once I got into the mystery I needed to solve it and I had it kind of figured out the moment the drowning of the feline came up until Paula Hawkins threw an F-bomb right at my face with that last POV and as I said before: these folks need a psychiatrist.

Finally there was the book I just finished an hour ago, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series 16th book by J. R. Ward named The Thief.

Assail promised himself he would leave her alone to have a human life with her grandmother, but his cousins never made that promise. As his sudden death comes near, they waste no time taking Sola to see him with the hope that maybe seeing his female could bring him back to life out of the darkness his brain has turned into. While Vishous and Doc Jane are having their own marital issues and when their separation becomes inevitable, will the new poisonous threat against the vampire world be enough to reunite them?

PAULA HAWKINS DID IT AGAIN.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, but I left it to be read in my most recent Criminal Week and I wasn’t disappointed, I had some high hopes and now I know Hawkins will forever be my thrilling mysterious place to land. However, when I started reading I had a hard time trying to get accustomed to the amount of POVs I was getting and got extremely confused during the first 75 pages since I got no physical descriptions till there and my brain doesn’t cope well without a picture in my mind, I totally confused Erin and Nickie a million times because of this. Anyways, these characters were precious, so emotionally fucked up that they all need some therapy sessions and perhaps medication cuz all of them have some fucked up issues, which I think made them more real, despite this the plot was enchanting once I got into the mystery I needed to solve it and I had it kind of figured out the moment the drowning of the feline came up until Paula Hawkins threw an F-bomb right at my face with that last POV and as I said before these folks need a psychiatrist.

Week #113 of Reading Like A Maniac

Good evening, fellow readers

So this was a surprising week, I got to finally move on on my medical treatment and I also managed to read far more books than I did last week, I mean a couple were like super little in comparisson to others but still I handled what could have been a messy situation and accomplished to read that many novels. And next week I start university again, (6th cycle) so I will literally will have like two to three days a week to read which means I will probably be posting on Sundays from now till the end of July with fewer books to review. I hope I can juggle all my duties with my studies, health and my reading passion, wish me luck.

First book I read was the compelling and mysterious Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver.

Nick and Dara have always been different from each other, even though they are sisters. Nick has always given up on everything Dara wanted, and Dara has always taken everything Nick cherished; but when a car accident crashes them, Dara is left with permanent scars through her beautiful face and a secluded aptitude while Nick gathers no clear memories of why she crashed their car, all she knows is that things are never going to be like they once were between both sisters.

SO I SAW IT COMING.

I blame the editor of the official synopsis for saying it was like WWL by Lockhart so the moment Nick said Dara hadn’t written to her in her absence I just fucking knew it. I wish I had remained oblivious and ignorant till show time but anyways, the story was well built, the characters were easy to imagine and how things progressed was like an spectacle worthy of seeing, all with the compelling writing skills given by Lauren Oliver made up an entertaining mystery stand-alone that I would definetly recommend to anyone but without the synopsis.

Next book was the first in a trilogy that goes with the same name, “Trust Me, I’m Lying” by Mary Elizabeth Summer.

Julep Dupree lives a constant lie, as a con artist living with an equally criminal of a father she has learnt the family bussiness quite well and has started involving her rich classmates to pay her prep school in New York and save some money so she could stop telling lies, going to collegue and get the true life she wants for herself. But things get complicated when her father dissapears leaving nothing more than a destroyed apartment and clues for her to discover what happened and who could want her head.

ENTERTAINMENT GOALS ACHIEVED.

I enjoy the story even though some of the first chapters seemed a little too dense for a YA book, it was like swimming in an oil tank where you want to move faster but can’t; anyways the plot itself and the whole crime thing was a plus cuz its consistency and level of keeping me reading waiting to see what happened next as for the romance factor I wasn’t much of a fan since both the romantic partners as their reactions were not believable enough, almost too cheesy to take them seriously with an insta love where the girl is oblivious I mean that’s such an over used cliché. However the shocking plot twist was there and my heart felt it, so I can properly say it was a good book, not perfect but nice for beginners looking to follow some clues.

Third book was the realistic and emotional stand-alone known as Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter.

Torment and abuse, that’s all Ashley Watson has known since she entered high school with no peace and extra hate; the innocent decisions of her childhood defined the hatred of her peers and now her only scape is the secret love she feels for her only friend who doesn’t seem to notice the pain in her eyes and art, that could give her a ticket out of town for good. But lately she hasn’t been so alone, depite her mother’s lack of love for her or the fact she can barely scape her tormentors, she has found a way out inside a mirror that shows her what her life could be in the years to come.

ONE COULD FEEL THE PAIN.

Overall the book was raw and hurtful but true to reality, cuz not everything ends with a happily ever after nor with a poetic death, in the end one must live with those emotions wounds hopeful that a day will come when life will be easier and we’ll look at the person we were and the one we are right now thanks to all those obstacles and failures to prove we want to live and write a new story. This extremely touched me since it narrated how one can be scarred for a long time thanks to bullying that we start believing we aren’t worthy and how we found no safe place for our hearts, it showed the voices saying “you’re not good enough” in such a physical way and that as long as we value ourselves we’ll achieve what others well never get: our dreams, perhaps not in the perfect way we wished for since nothing remains flawless and ideals are not real life.

Following was another stand-alone I ended up enjoying named Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross.

Annie Lucas never expected to fall in love, after moving to another state for her father’s new job but that’s what makes him happy so she’ll have to suck up her feelings for new big league baseball player Brody, who’s not only the youngest to ever play this profesionally but has gotten a piece of her father’s heart on the way and a big portion of hers. Will they give into their feelings or their situation could unravel some disastrous outcomes?

NOT EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECTED.

I went on reading this with no expectations whatsoever, it didn’t seem like such a great read jut a little YA contemporary to enjoy a little but it had substance, it was quite a fun and relatable set of characters around the lives of Brody and Annie. It was like real life but sweeter and so much more hilarious that normal perks. And even though it was short and a little too fast paced towards the end, I felt like a made a connection and it wasn’t a futile read so Julie Cross achieved the regular goals with her YA+NA stand-alone.

Fifth book was yet another contemporary romance stand-alone named Shelter You by Alice Montalvo-Tribue.

Mia is about to turn eighteen years old and she’s scaping the life her parents chose for her to avoid shame and dispair, she was willing to go along and do what they told her until she held Her. Her newborn baby is all that matters to her now, and she’ll do what she needs to getaway from harm and danger to protect who has become her heart. Until she finds shelter with a kind cop who wants nothing more than to help her, but her underage status is not her only secret and when things come to light they could get ugly.

THIS IS THE KIND OF SWEET BOOK I LOVE DEVOURING.

It narrated realistic issues with unrealistic turn out of events, however I loved it because it was predictable yet lovely I mean everyone needs that beautiful rainbow to finish a rainy day and this one was so meant to be for that purpose. Besides there’s the whole deal of it being so easy to get into, the characters’ maturity level and its own realism in the most unfair situations. Such a happily ever after but it wasn’t cheesy nor idiotic, it had the right amount of drama and seriousness it needed to make a book believable and fulfilling for a YA/NA advanced or beginner reader; I swear I shed a tear.

Next one is part of an Spanish contemporary trilogy that goes along by a similar title, its name is “Algo tan sencillo como tuitear te quiero” (Something as simple as tweeting I love you) by Blue Jeans.

Seven guys are starting university in their new residence and are about to discover that their plans can easily go to hell and their past is here to haunt them, that life is not as safe and simple as they expected and that the adult world can be less exciting and more terrifying than their lives at home. Elena is a preppy girl focused in her studies and nothing else, David wishes to get away from his guilt to have the “perfect” girl for him, Manu knows no boundaries and wants to have fun, Julen hides a personal secret, Iria thinks her long-distance relationship will work out, Ainhoa will realise that her parents’ divorce truly affected her, and Nicole will see another side of what she thought would be a ride of a lifetime.

I KNOW IT’S UNIVERSITY BUT IT FELT LIKE HIGH SCHOOL.

It was like a 98% perfect, I mean I was so pleased by the entirety of the book however I wasn’t like super fangirl kind of happy since everything was left with a cliffhanger and I don’t know how that happened (Elena’s epilogue). It felt real though, no matter how unreal the perception of love these young adults seem to have because there’s no love after a godamn week but OK I was gonna let that one go since it’s Spain and the culture is so different but still. There characters I enjoyed reading and others I was annoyed by, like Manu and his unstoppable peacock aptitude that was fun once but then God I so wanted to punch him in the face (I’m not a violent -person but this has no logic) and absent minded Toni trusting that much in that twitter chick, like no dude one does not simply trust in people who refuse to see you on cam it’s too dangerous but whatever. Anyway, the handwriting was excellent as always and I loved how Buejeans captured the adolescent spark of Madrid and its own dangerous alerts, so well played.

Then was its sequel titled “Algo tan sencillo como darte un beso” (Something as simple as kissing you).

After a ouija game gone wrong, David sees how his past is coming for him to hurt him not only emotionally but physically to make him pay the mistakes he commited when he was younger. Elena and Toni start suspecting more about him and the strange name of a dead girl that appeared that night on the board, as Iria and Julen discover their feelings for people they never though they could find and Ainhoa is loosing it over her eating disorder and the fact that Óscar only played with her feelings.

I WASN’T AS ANNOYED AS IN THE FIRST ONE.

Again, Mr Blue jeans is fantastic building his plot line and enriching many of his characters, I’m attached to everything in this new trilogy and this book gave me so many different feels. I got excited, I got annoyed, I got depressed, I got hopeful, I was so fucking afraid and seriously angry. I mean (here I’ll talk about characters) I’ve never read about such annoying and unlikable people like when I wondered through Elena’s sister (I can’t recall her name) or Oscar’s back again cheating girlfriend (I can’t recall her name either), dude I literally was in need to punch some sense into their immature and ridiculous tiny brains. I screamed at my book, refusing to believe there could actually be people like that in real life, so much emotion you guys. Anyways, this one was better than the previous and we got some character development coming from Iria and Elena (yay for friendship!).

The following was the final book on the trilogy named “Algo tan sencillo como estar contigo” (Something as simple as being with you).

After discovering Manu’s alliance with Gonzalo, he dissapeared into thin air but when a corpse is found with no finger prints and a shattered face in Edinburg, the exact place they were supposed to be hidin, David knows a disaster took place there. Iria refuses to acknoledge what Manu could have done as Julen discovers some part of his boyfriend’s past he wishes he could just erase. Ainhoa keeps fighting her urges to love Óscar and vomiting to loose weight, as her desperation to get Nicole back finally affects her deeply. Finally, Elena and David will have to figure out their status as a new girl comes to water their ‘meant-to-be’ flame.

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING BUT SIMPLE.

I felt that much of the character development that was achieved during the second book was killed here, great character with so much potential for greatness feel under the spell of their penis controlling their minds and the fact that love means shit for these young adults. Immaturity and lack of attachments is what’s in everybody’s mind and heart, and I know it’s a cultural thing but still I wasn’t pleased with it. It was embarrassing and ridiculous mistake after another awful mistake that only a 13 year old teenager should be committing and not 18 year old going to university with regular senses. Anyways, apart from the irregular plot line the writing was amazing as always and if I was pleased with anything from this book it would definitely be the reveal of Silvia’s intentions.

The ninth book I read was another contemporary stand-alone named Chasing Spring by R. S. Grey.

Lilah Calloway is back into the town of her nightmares, the last thing she wanted was to go back to the place that reminded her fate was to be just like her estranged mother and the last thing she expected was for Chase Matthews to be her room neighbour just accross the hall In Her House. The last time they saw each other, they were too broken and suffering for her mother’s mistakes so she knew she had to leave. Now she claims she doesn’t care about him, not talking to him and remining lonely with the bad side of Blackwater, Texas. But Chase will not let her sink into what the town predicts, after all once they used to be best friends.

I WASN’T EXPECTING FOR THIS BOOK TO HAVE A SOUL.

I remember the first time I tried reading this I wasn’t in the best emotional state dealing with a first degree depression (no joke) and I gave it up for a more fast paced little short story, and I was right since that just wasn’t the right time for this one. “Chasing Spring” is a book that truly needs dedication and a spot of devotion, otherwise you won’t give it a shot since it’s a slow starting stand-alone and you need like to be seven or eight chapters in to understand what the story is telling us, and to unveil is dramatic mysteries; there’s when I got attached and found myself crying over the amount of feels. Thinking about the plot, the story of the two bffs path through life and death is remarkably told in a way that even when the darkest time was coming I just couldn’t stop imagining those two little girls being friends and helping each other deal with lost. So yeah, read this lovely (*sobs*) and raw story, it’s totally fucking worthy and it gives a different meaning to the ethereal art of gardening.

After this I read yet another contemporary stand-alone (I know, it’s too much but I became addicted to these easy going misfits) named Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes.

Maguire lives on bad luck. Her dad, uncle and big brother died in a car accident were she was left unharmed, she was the only survivor in an failed amusement park’s ride, and she just knows that whenever she’s close to others they end up hurt but after her psychologist tells her to start defy herself she finds a key to all her problems in tennis golden boy Jordy. He’ll teach her that life is not about being afraid but smile through it no matter what it throws at you.

I’M CURRENTLY INTO PAULA STOKES’ WRITING ABILITIES.

This was another of the books I gave up early in January because of my damn depression/reading slump that now I kick myself over for not finishing it right there and waiting afraid that I wouldn’t like, because I effing loved it with its realistic point of view against the odds and unfortunate events life has prepared for us that we cannot control and the cute romantic story line …of course. Though I felt it missed a tiny bit of a spark of sassyness, it was enough and so right to face reality and one’s fears to tell the universe to fuck off and take back what it took from you, such a powerful message, since those are things you can actually achieve if you push yourself through it. I might end up reading Liars INC now I know Paula Stokes writes such amazing tales.

The eleventh one I read was an ebook novella belonging to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward titled Dearest Ivie.

Ivie is a middle class female who just screwed a job interview as a nurse for a dying male, she’s no-nonsense and when Silas approaches her she is resilient to let his glymera ass into her life. But the attraction between them two is unstoppable, he lets her know that he is not here to stay and in anytime must go back to the Old Country so she’ll risk her heart in a love that could only lead to madness to those who yearn it.

IT WAS A LOVELY “RITE OF PASSAGE” KIND OF STORY.

I knew it was gonna be an almost inexplicable insta-love since it was a short story however it still confused me quite a lot, I wasn’t seeing what got their attention to each other, what they liked about the other. I had no idea but still I kept reading until I was hooked and when the emotions hit me, ohh those little bitches hit me hard: I found myself crying like I had not done it in a long time and I guess this is how a relative feels when they know a loved one is dying and there’s no hope so I felt touch, cuz I don’t remember reading about lost in such an honest yet mourning way before I don’t know what made this love story so real for me from the perspective of a nurse who passed from trying to comfort the relatives to be the one loosing her recently gained love. It felt real.

The next book was the first in the Charlotte Holmes series by Brittany Cavallaro, titled A Study in Charlotte.

Jamie Watson (yeah that Watson) never wanted to move closer to his father’s home in America but when a rugby scholarship in a privileged boarding school he wastes no time. All until he meets outstanding Charlotte Holmes (yeah that Holmes), which leads to a violent dispute between him and a bragging idiot; eveything would have turned out cool if not for the unfortunate murder of said idiot. Now everyone thinks Holmes and/or Sherlock are guilty so they’ll have to find out who’s the true killer and who’s trying to frame them when more deadly accidents occur.

IT STARTED OFF A LITTLE SLOW.

I had a hard time getting to understand the concept and the writing style but once the mystery appeared I knew I was on board, like I literally needed to know what was going on and who was the one to blame in this murder case. Talking about characters, I felt they were very authentic and with a believable character progression (specially Charlotte 😢), dealing with strong subjects like drug addiction and rape. Besides there was the whole Sherlock and Watson theme which I didn’t quite understand at first but then I loved, I was into the references and how fucked up the guilty ones were. So good, so refreshing.

The thirteenth book I read was ANOTHER stand-alone, this time a new-adult one titled Calico by Callie Hart.

Callan and Coralie had a starcrossed love many years ago, now they are back into the town that shattered their innocence to bury the corpse of the monster who handled their separation. Coralie hides a secret that has been killing her since she scaped, Callan wants to get his girl back and they both will have to grow up fastly again to bury their broken teenage souls and give a shot at life once again. Will it be enough to make it last or to tear them apart once more?

I HADN’T FELT SO ATTACHED TO A BOOK IN A LONG TIME.

There were infinite clichés in here but I didn’t give a fuck because I felt the pain was real and the main characters were my babies, besides I’m gonna start reading some other stories by Callie Hart since this one was priceless. BTW, can you imagine I was avoiding this cuz I thought it was a lame title and I was kind of misleaded because of the cover art but once I got the synopsis I just knew this would be my kind of stand-alone. And even though I only shed a little tear when Coralie narrated that traumatic basement event, I felt more connected to the aftermath perspective where they both felt so lost and broken and that’s when I cried like here was no tomorrow, I screwed up my new glasses. Anyways, I felt so into the story line and the heartache it caused Coralie, because for some sadistic reason I enjoy reading about the lost of babies only for the sight of a hurt in e early motherhood, one could literally feel the hole she was in when her world was shattered and I was pleased with how it was portrayed because in many books it’s addressed as just a piece of humanity one wasn’t really attached to so one can easily get over it. With Calico, we felt the trauma and that was refreshing in the most respectful way towards young mothers.

Then there was another stand-alone, this time a mystery/supernatural one titled The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma.

Violet, Orianna and Amber are three girls than one day happened to meet and now play a main role in each other’s existence. One was framed by a treacherous friend, one was secluded for taking justice in her own hands, and the other is waiting for her punishment to finally hit her in the head. But is everything as simple as it seems, or will there be more layers to the innocuous choices that put them into their current fate?

I’LL JUST PRETEND THE ENDING HAS NO INTERPRETATION WHATSOEVER MORE THAN MAGIC.

Wow, this book was something else. I remember that when I picked it up I couldn’t remember why I got it, I didn’t recall the cover neither the synopsis so I had to look up what was it about like a newbie. I wasn’t quite convinced since everything was not unexpected and so depressing, so confusing with tangled povs and periods of time, idk but I kept reading until I just knew I was hooked without scape so I had to see if my theories were right and they were, what shocked me was the calmness and sobriety in the words of Amber that defined a serious solitude describing Orianna in comparison to the so alive abd kicking Vee defying nature and humanity; what transported me to their hearts was the fact that the meant to be bad girls (confessed criminals) had such experiences and a some real living with sisterhood and some sort of redemption thanks to their recognition of good in the middle of a puddle of evil, all that against the so called ‘victim’ of the story bragging about her deserved luck but still wishing what she was never meant to own, living dead inside since the first time she felt envy over the honest kindness another showed her. In other words, the book was an unexpected win for my taste and I cried like a baby at scenes filled with injustice, I celebrated the ending and refuse to believe it should be interpreted in any heavenly nor “moved on” kind of way. 😅

The fifteenth was the third one in the Filthy Beautiful Lies NA series by Kendall Ryan, titled Filthy Beautifu Lust.

This one tells the story of the youngest Drake brother, Pace who’s an intrepid womanizer ready to settle down whenever he sees his brother’s assistant even though she’s a single mother who definetely does not want a simple affair after her last relationship turned into a horrible realisation. Kylie never intented to be even a little interested in Pace, her son is the only boy in her heart but once she notices he’s more than he looks she could change her mind.

SWEET AND REAL, HOWEVER SO HARD TO FIND LIKE A WONKA CHOCOLATE BAR NOWADAYS.

I was kind of afraid going to read this since it wasn’t a follow-up and I hardly remembered the characters that were the protagonists here so I had some issues but once I did my research I was on board, is the typical controversial love story with not so much drama but much realness like Her never ending devotion for her son and the fear/excitement of finding a man who wasn’t in love with her only but behaved like such a good dad to her kid. It was the realization that sometimes what’s best for our pre-started family is not the orthodox family portrait but what our heart says and what our brain sees with our bare eyes. Sweet, and exquisite unconditional love.

The last one I read was the little anticlimatic end of this series, titled Filthy Beautiful Forever.

Collins is walking safely through life, barely living, not in love with his three year supermodel girlfriend in a big lonely house, until his first love knocks his door to remind him of the promise they made twenty years ago and that he has to make a reality. Mia has lost her job and reputation, with no place to go she turns to the only one who always saw the best in her and who ows her a marriage proposal since they were ten years old. Will they give in or continue living their monotonous existences?

IT LACKED FEMINISM.

It was a good ending, it was somehow decent as a conclusion for the series of the Drake brothers however it had its bad times, wrong little details that just couldn’t scape my sight like the fact Mia wouldn’t care more for her own self and would do anything for Collins when it clearly broke her every time she had a slight piece of hope in their romantic future. Tough I loved her naivety and childish (I say this so respectfully, in the best way possible) hopes and dreams, Collins was still a shitty boyfriend and a shitty love interest that felt like a gossip girl character that I won’t name (*golden boy*) until the last chapter before the epilogue. These details felt like little stones stopping me from having a great ride during this story so, yeah. It was OK but not to make a fuss about it.

At the movies… I Am Not a Serial Killer

Greetings from my Netflix account,

I was so happy when I found out about the film adaptation for I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, and the moment I was about fifty pages in Mr. Monster I knew I had to at least watch a trailer. I was compelled by the simplicity of it been an indie film so I watched it on Netflix.

(this contains several spoilers)

No need to say I fell in love with the project, the performances were great and the adapted script itself was so respectful towards the original concept ( props to Christopher Hyde and Billy O’Brien). One could feel the insane desire in Max Records’ eyes portraying John when he was near a corpse in the mortuary, or Christopher Lloyd’s lack of empathy when murdering as Mr. Crowley. It was quite an experience, because non of the latest film adaptations I’ve seen since 2014 have been enough for my taste but this 2016 indie movie was one of the best (there were lines taken straight from the original material). And even though there were some differences when it came to Brooke’s hair and the way the ending was handled (don’t worry, the bad guy still dies), it was all worthy because of how entertaining it made the story. There’s no need to embelish the truth, I LOVED IT.

PS: the music by composer Adrian Johnson, was so on point. I was terrified by those effects alone.

Week #112 of Reading Like A Maniac

Good morning, everyone.

This past week has been filled with tons of books (literally), season finales (RPDR), granola cookies and a very decent movie adaptation. But before saying how many books I read I would like to warn that next week I won’t be able to read as much as I could since I have two doctors’ appointments that cannot be reschedule so I guess I’ll read a regular (3-4) amount of novels. Without further ado, here they are: the twelve books I read.

The first one was the otherworldly stand-alone by Erin Morgenstern named The Night Circus.

Right in the late 1800’s, a pair of special kids are dragged by their neglecting parental figures to a world of magic, mystery and forbidden love in the shape of an unfathomable circus full of unexplicable acts and charismatic characters that will embellish the fated life of Celia and Marco as an unstoppable carrousel from where they’ll find themselves unable to hide nor runaway.

I’M STILL SOMEHOW CONFUSED.

I seriously don’t know what to think was real, was the circus part of a lovely idea of a family from the beginning? or they were all just unfortunately involved in the fantastic tents? I still need those answers but overall the book remained consistent and incredibly surreal, because one could literally feel like another newcomer attending for the first time to a place so out of this world but so enchanting at the same time and there was also the feeling we knew and GRE with this circus people crying cuz of their unfair situations or been wondered by their fantasy filled lives. However, if there was something I was not looking for were some boring and too slow parts like Herr or Friederich’s povs (I wasn’t thrilled, and run through those pages).

Second was the first book in the First Kisses series by Rachel Hawthorne, named Trust Me.

All Jessica Kane wanted was to become a camp counselor before getting to High School with her best friend and obtain some boy info, but things might become horrendous when she discovers that the torment in the shape of a boy is no longer a camper but also wants to become a counselor. Will Sean Ryder be able to ruin this summer? Is he more than the trouble maker she remembers?

SWEET AS COTTON CANDY.

I wasn’t expecting such innocence neither the tenderness of the age before entering high school, without malice or perversion, just a kind and swift desire of understand the other, creating bonds without realising. It was obviously a fast, easy and cute read to go through in between big as novels as a little peanut butter sandwich or some lemonade. Besides the writing style wasn’t making me hate the teenage aspect of the characters so that’s a plus, Jess was real yet not annoying (shocking!).

Third book I read is the first in the supernatural trilogy Ethical Vampires by Susan Hubbard, named The Society of S.

13 year old Ariella Montero has lived secluded to her father’s mansion since she was born, home schooled with no friends nor happiness. Only when she gets a glimpse of the life a teen her own age should have, she understands her father has been keeping more secrets than the unexplicable dissapearance of her estranged mother, that he could not be sick afterall but be a completly dangerous creature with the same supernatural blood that runs through her veins.

NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD FINISH THIS IN A DAY.

I mean I’d read many negative reviews saying awful things, how unreal this was or the issues they had getting to know the characters and the story itself; so you can see how surprised I am that this was such an easy and entertaining read, I was looking for the next chapter because it actually felt so realistic (pretty weird considering this is a vampire novel) and like anyone could relate to Ari in so many levels, I rooted for her yet I wanted to protect her from any emotional and physical harm but my girl needed to explore the world like never before to find her truth seeing the filthy and the kind side of the world. In the end this was more than a vampire story but a tale of finding out that there’s more to the story of a broken family portrait.

The next one is the final installment in The 100 series by Kass Morgan, named Rebellion. (I just love the Spanish cover, and there was no way I was going to put that awful tv show US cover here)

Peace is held captive. Bellamy is dealing with the aftermath of almost been killed, Clarke tries to adjust to have parents again, Wells suffers the death of his love and Glass doesn’t seem to feel helpful. The colony is about to have a peaceful celebration as they get over the former civil war when their tranquility is shattered by an earthling terrorist attack that leaves their recently built town without half its people, some of them dead and other kidnapped for twisted motives. Our main characters will have to discover if they’ll choose the right side between the ¨corteous¨ earthlings or the unknown danger that has become their colony.

NICE TALE.

It was definitely not perfect, it had some too cheesy moments for my Bellarke and it felt like it lacked such an epic feeling for it to be a suitable conclusion for this series but anyways, I appreciate the changes in the personalities of our characters (some of them were needed, some were just annoying as f*ck, I see you Clarke!) since it showed their true hearts no matter how innocent and selfish it might look at first sight; Glass saw her potential and Clarke saw how fucking stupid a bright sided person can see a potential nutcase. The book gave us that perspective, that perhaps humanity is about revenge, about not letting injustice take over and about the feeling of a family you’re willing to fight for. (Sweet message 😍)

The fifth book was the contemporary stand-alone named The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder.

Hannah and Zoe are used to their mediocre lives in a small town with no happy families neither a hopeful future ahead, they have learnt not to trust kindness easily so when Zoe sees her world finally crumbling to an inevitable and painful end, she decides to take off with Hannah to discover what makes life worthy and fulfill her destiny while her bff tries to protect her running away from the law.

SOMETHING WENT AWFULLY WRONG.

I had totally read the negative reviews but I was willing to give it a shot and to like it since the cover and synopsis seemed so ethereal/flourishing, little did I know the book was gonna be confusing as fuck in the writing and plot scenario. I mean the last 45% of it was not nice, neither understandable like it was written by another author (one who just wanted to get this over with in a rush); the book could have been more developed with a gracious process when it came to maturity but once momenth we were amazed by the strength of a tornado and the other we’re some crazy sex bunnies forgetting about the important issues (like our bipolar friend on the loose). However, despite all the mentioned flaws I still appreciate this complicated mental illness was addressed with it’s symptoms and the way people deal with it, how it seems like a no way out of the tricks of your mind. Pretty decently mentioned. 👮💁

The following book was another contemporary stand-alone, named Adorkable by Cookie O’Gorman.

Sally is tired of her full-time matchmakers her bff Hooker and her own mother, she’s sick of going out on awful blind dates with guys that seem more interested in her best friend besides she truly doesn’t want a boyfriend. So this nerdy teenager will gather the help of her other longtime friend, popular jock Becks to pretend being her new stable boyfriend. But will faking it be enough to keep her heart safe from her feelings for him?

NICE WAY OF SURVIVING WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A BORING WEEKEND.

It had its inevitable cheesy (so unreal) moments and a love that came from self doubt but still it managed to remain sweet and such a cliché in the entertainment department of contemporary novels. I mean, my inner feminist was saying No girl, value yourself some more! 🗽😠 but my inner teenage wannabe was like This is so fucking cute,just stay with the cute boy!! 😍 Somehow, it was so relatable and I rooted for these two and geir angsty path to discover how ridiculous it is to not be together because of lack of communication between bffs.

Then was the first in the popular John Cleaver series by Dan Wells, named I Am Not A Serial Killer.

John Wayne Cleaver knows he’s not obssesively interested in serial killer profiles because his parents named him after one, but because he’s what psychiatrist call a basic sociopath so he’s got some rules to follow around potential victims to avoid, you know… killing them or hurting them in anyway. But his intereset in these profiles become insane when a serial killer starts taking body parts of his victims and John decides to solve this bloody mystery.

WOW.

Is it ok if I feel attracted and freaked out at the same time? I mean I found myself in a situation I believed I could have never been part of: defending an unstable teenage socipath on the loose. In a heavenly yet mysterious fashion, John managed to get my vote. So props to Dan Wells, man you did your research in all anatomy, and psychos minds, one could feel the unattachment from human emotions and what’s known as natural irrational reactions inside his wicked mind all until a tear made the difference (i cried there too). Anyways, I’m interested on what’s next.

After this was the sequel named Mr. Monster.

John is still getting over the fact he killed a demon that was his serial killer neighbour, his mom refuses to talk about the issue and he feels he’s finally lost all control over his monster alter ego when his desire to hurt Brooke is taking over him. Then’s when another serial killer takes over his small town, these one takes, tortures and murders innocent young women in ways the appeal the twisted mind of John.

SO NOW JOHN HAS A PURPOSE.

OK, let me get this straight, the moment he hit and killed the cat it was I who stopped seeing him as a person; as a cat lover I found myself deeply offended therefore I wasn’t as saddened by the fact Brooke would never give him a shot ever again as I thought I would be in the beginning. Anyways, the book gave me the chills to see a true insane yet strangely emotional serial killer (btw, I kinda saw it coming) and it showed more layers of some sadistic tendencies inside of John’s murderous wet dreams (so fucking twisted), and this is exactly what I liked about this cuz it gives the humane truth despite how rotten and repulsive it is, it doesn’t sugarcoat it. I felt as inhumane as He is.

The ninth book was its third part named I Don’t Want to Kill You.

He lost his mind and was about to hurt Brooke, she finally saw Mr. Monster and wants nothing to do with John after that. Now he’s got himself a new companion who seems to not be afraid of his obsessive mannerisms and wants to help him discover the truth behind the new serial killer in town that has been cutting the tongues and hands of its victims. All while one by one, teenage girls go through a suspicious suicide rampage.

WOW.

Such a roller coaster of emotions, which sounds weird coming from a book narrating the adventures of a teenage sociopath but hell it was such a ride with John experimenting the regular things a teen should live like having a girlfriend and why not enjoy a bit about life without that icky desire to kill, such a hopeful yet dramatically depressing third book in an emotionless series because no matter how much he lost that’s exactly what brought a bit of humanity on him. In other news, I was kind of super down cuz all the time I was making some theories about Marci’s mom been the killer and the demon and I was getting so creative but anyways the surprise and world building of the truth (the actual killer and demon) was insanely interesting and it glued well with the story.

Book ten was the first one in the Beaumont series by Heidi McLaughling, named Forever My Girl.

Ten years ago, Liam left his small town and his long time girlfriend to become a rockstar, he achieved his goals but never got over how things were left with her. So when he finds out his high school best friend has died in an accident, he decides go back one last time and see her. What he never anticipated was for her to have some company, she’s not only engaged but with a nine year old son. Could Josie forgive him? Could them have a chance of been a family like they had panned years ago? Or is all lost for good?

SUCH AN EASY READ.

Many kids think of this as another wattpad or fanfiction little cliché story, you could tell by seeing some comments on YouTube however I had my special faith this would be entertaining and sweet as cotton candy and I wasn’t wrong (😍). OK, yeah it was cheesy and so expected but still I liked it cuz it was healthy and it was so fast paced I read it in a short amount of time (I would have done it in a night but I had to get my sleeping hours 😢) that I spent pretty much gasping and saying “awwww” like a sixteen year old cuz that love was unbreakable and so right, easy and fucking on time for anyone who needs a fresh start after reading too much fantasy or emotional content coming from a series. My only complain (and I use this term loosely) is that I wish there had been a little more drama, everything was so easily resolved so I wanted to actually fear they not getting back together I know it sounds weird but I wanted the rush and the Happily Ever After to feel meant to be.

The next one belongs to The Field Party series by Abbi Glines, named After the Game.

Nobody believed Riley when she said she was raped by golden boy Rhett, she was bullied till she left town with her parents and now she’s back to take care of her senile grandmother… with a golden haired baby girl. When she gets rescued from the rain by goody two shoes Brady Higgens, she unknowgingly starts changing his mind and makes him see that not everything is as immaculate and clear as it seems in Lawton, Alabama.

I WAS SO ABOUT TO CRY.

The story and characters touched my heart, my soft spot because I shared a bit of His family dramatic issues so I understood the pain of looking down on a person you believed was perfect (the dissapointment 😣). However, I think the romance was a tiny bit rushed for such a realistic turn out, like if you were distracted you could easily pass down the fact He admired Her first, that’s all.

Then was another contemporary stand-alone (quite distinctive) by Siobhan Vivian, named The List.

High School is known for been hard on teens, but extra hard on teenage girls. Except that in this school it has become worst when years ago a secretive tradition was established known as the List to reduce girls to nothing more than Prettiest or Ugliest of their class. No student nor teacher tries to discover the creator of it, until 8 new different girls are chosen and the new principal decides to do her best to finish this cruel thing off for good.

WTF SIOBHAN.

OK, so this is going to contain tons of spoilers, like seriously. I totally enjoyed the book, I mean as a message for teen girls and teens in general it was fantastic cuz it hits the superficial and shallow surface of the jiggly jelly that is high school and how everything that you think matters at that age is nothing more than Plastic (not quoting mean girls) that will be eventually forgotten as unimportant and even as an embarrassing secret your adult self will try to hide forever. That ugly is all the filthy in one’s inside but that a list does not define how you change to feel better with yourself and not to please anyone cuz that’s just pain idiotic. That was good and classy but the wtf part was the fact that Siobhan Vivian didn’t give a fair conclusion to characters like Margo, Jennifer nor Lauren neither Bridget, I was like Noooo!!! I thought this would have a sequel or a tiny epilogue to give me closure but hell no 😰😭. I’m still trying to get over that. 😖

Finally there was another contemporary stand-alone filled with mysterious motives by Karen M. McManus, named One of Us is Lying.

Simon was never kind neither popular, nor smart enough to fit in so he created a gossip app to ruin others’ lives for his own pleasure, so when he’s killed everyone had a reason but the police decides to focus in the last four students that saw him before he died: Good straight A student Bronwyn, pretty trophy popular girl Addy, troublemaker Nate, and golden jock Cooper. They all had ugly secrets he could have unveiled and he was about to when he was murdered. It will be up to them to let this mystery ruin them or save them from jail time.

SOMETHING TO BE RECOMMENDED.

I went reading this book thinking it was another PLL or Dangerous Girls where I could trust no main character but I ended up finding a set of relatable characters with more flaws and sad day teenage stuff than I expected, personalities I accepted and got to understand fully, lived in a sick mystery filled with a labyrinth of clues and lies that for me suspecting of everyone who ever said or did something odd but I never expected to be That person I mean I was expecting the other “team mate” but not that psycho. Anyways, I was at the edge of my seat and was not done reading until I could find out who the fuck did it and why. The truth was twisted and gratifying, and by the end I was thinking Karen was going through the Siobhan road (*inner joke about authors*😨) but thank God for that epilogue.

At the movies… “El Club de los Incomprendidos”

I guess we’re during the evening,

Good afternoon.

Once I got Netflix I knew I had to put this on my list so last week I was able to watch this movie I was dying to review and make comparissons of because of the master mind Blue Jeans is. So for two days during lunchtime I watched this lovely Spanish film adapted from the first book on the trilogy that carries the same name of the movie (the misfit club): “¡Buenos Días, princesa!” (Good morning, princess) and enjoyed for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The moment it began I knew it was something special because it kept that young soundtrack based vibe with its characters and their drive force, with Valeria being the exact same as in the books caring for some self respect and very well founded morals when it comes to friendship (except for tha Eli deal), the same happened with Raul, Estér, Élisabeth, Meri and Bruno. But what happened with César, I don’t remember him as such a not caring irresponsible idiot, he was great when the movie began but by his last scene I wanted to punch him and IDK how to feel about that.

Other thing I wish would have been handled differently was the moment Eli found out about Raul and Valeria, it was epic in the book in the most raw and just heartless way that until this day I can so hear the windows breaking in Valeria’s mom’s bar and then not knowing what came about her. The end truly felt like a conclusion when there are two (alleged) movies left to come out; it felt a little too Lifetime for my taste.

With Meri… well, that change is understandable because more voiceover would have been required and that would have ruined many moments to show her true self, however that turned out pretty cool as a shocking device with Estér. Well played.

At the movies… Fifty Shades Freed

Hi again,

So I was too sick to actually go to the movies the moment this hit theaters, but I finally found time to watch it last night and I managed to gather some thoughts that could be a sort of review for a story I really liked when I turned 18 and got into NA reads and Twilight fanfiction of course so I will not lie saying I expected this to be a piece of art but it totally got me thinking of my read back then and how much my taste has evolved (in some cases, obvs).

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I started having these thoughts not when I left the cinema but when the prologue credits began rolling, it all started with the wedding scene which was pretty well filmed like I felt I was in a perfume ad or something, so beautifully shot with the right amount of white and lace on it besides the soundtrack blessing my ears with is loveliness, like one could actually see that the budget went on for the wedding and honeymoon right off the bat (it literally looked like art). The moment that ended, I knew things were going wrong since the characters started acting just like in the books, and one could feel the fanfiction roots, the cliché misfortune and the near death experiences. I mean seriously, Jack hit Anna however the baby was hell okay, how effing come?! Other than that I was kinda mad that Ethan never appeared to make the perfect trio of couples with Mia, it would have been cool to see Mia in a not so one personality momentum.

I mean, it was not entirely bad if you read it when you were a technical adult with the mindset of a teen still, however it was not a great adaptation neither. Except for that post credits scene showing them with little Teddy, that was cute and seeing Ana with her baby bump.