Literary Desserts

Werewolves

Second week: Supernatural creatures

How to hang a witch -Adriana Mat her

First week: Favorite Halloween reads!

*4.5 racer cakes*

“She is, after all, the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

As you may have seen in my social networks such as instagram or twitter, I had been fussing about the release of one of one book that I have been waiting forever, even before the author said she was going to write a book about him: Racer by Katy Evans.

You see, I’m a big fan of the author and the last book I read about her set the score for me in the romance genre: Ladies’ Man. (You can read the review here). So I was really excited to start this one when I gor my ARC, and oh boy what a ride.

First, let me tell you, it took me a while to get into the book. Why? As I said before, Tahoe set the example in romance for me, and without meaning to I went into this book waiting to find him, which was kind of a mistake because this is Racer Tate we are talking about. But once I managed to get Tahoe out of my head (it was hard, he is just too perfect) the rest of the book ran out smoothly. Racer captivated me just as Remy did at his moment, and I couldn’t help but be more excited every time he and Brooke appeared, and Iris? Dear lord, I was so happy to see them all.

What managed to get my attention was… well, were two things. First one: F1. Seriously. I have been fan of F1 for my whole life; I used to eat breakfast every weekend seeing the races next to my brother and father. I had my favorite team, favorite racer, favorite everything.

And second, the fact that Racer was truly scared about being accepted, even when he had a father that had the same condition as him and even when his family showed him all their support. It felt real to me, that fear. I had seen Remy go through this struggle and to see Racer do the same was glorious.

Lana was such a character I could relate on, because she is basically not living her own dream, she sacrifices everything for her family and that struck so close home. I could relate what she was going through, and I kind of get what her brothers were going through, too.

I LOVED how Katy treated the meds part. In most books with MI, authors tend to dismiss the great help that are the meds with the “they make me feel like a zombie/dead”, and specifically in romance books they tend to add the “my love is the only med I need”. Here on the other hand, if it’s true that Racer starts the book believing that, he then recognizes how good his meds are for him and how good they make him feel. That’s HUGE. That is a destigmatization of the use of meds for MI.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was the sibling relationships. Look, I’m a sucker for sibling relationships, when I saw Iris and Racer together I expected… different. I wished for more, and I know that is not Iris story and that she is a secondary character and all, but I seriously think that she should have had appeared more, that their relationship should have been more developed.

The writing style was good as always, the good stuff you expect from Katy, and the book had the same pace as Ladies’ Man, which I very much liked. It didn’t feel rushed at all, and the plot was not overly dramatic, Katy kept it simple and real and that made the book much more enjoyable. Zero weird drama.

Hi, sweeties! This is my Waiting on Wednesday of the week. 

“For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.”

Hello, my lovely readers. As you well know, this is a new book blog/tumblr, so I don’t have many followers yet and I need to post all my GR reviews here, thing that may take me some time (I’m that lazy, sorry), so I have decided to start with the other sections first and post the reviews slowly. The first section that I’m planning to use is the Discussion Mondays (if you have a better name, please help me!), where I would talk about something and then ask your opinion about it. What do you think about that? Good?

So, I’ll start with something simple: Favorite Genres. What is your favorite genre and why? You can leave your comments here on the post or use the "message" section to send me your answers.

Now let’s get into business, shall we?

Before stating my favorite genre I need to clarify that my tastes in books change every few years, do you experience the same? Several years ago, my answer would have been romance, and a few years ago, my answer would have been paranormal. What I want to say with this is that there is no just one answer, and it’s perfectly normal that your favorites change over time.

Right now my favorite genre is fantasy. I just can’t have enough of it and it has had me for a long time now (around… 4 or 5 years) which doesn’t mean that I don’t read other genres like paranormal or contemporary. The reasons why I love this genre so much are, in the first place, epic battles.

There is nothing better for me that a good, huge battle with armors and swords and horses and a lot of blood. Seriously, I LOVE THEM! I enjoy to read about warriors and mages getting ready to fight their heart out for the safety of the kingdom.

Second, the clothes.

Such creativity there, let me tell you. I love reading and learning new thinks and fantasy books have (usually) a dressing style that is either medieval or complete different from the nowadays style that it catch my attention right away.

And third, the world-building.

Magic systems, cities, languages, countries, societies… Fantasy (and paranormal too) books have the most unique world-building, and that helps me to get involved in the story more easily. This is great to catch my attention, and take a big part in the rating of the book because is directly involved with the plot.

And there is it, my favorite genre and the reasons why I love it! I hope you are having a wonderful day, even when is Monday, and I really hope to see your comment and answers here!

Hello, lovelies!

Today is Tuesday, the twin brother of Monday, aaaaaand… there is nothing good about that, so I’ll not try to pretend it’s a good day nor fill you up with joyful things because, nope.

This discussion is brought to you by the gorgeous Broody McHottiepants! He’s a very lovely and swoon-worthy character, so preorder his book here! You are not going to regret it, his opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs are perfect for those long, eye-to-eye conversation where you spill your soul.

The topic today is: Books that deserve a sequel! I have chosen five books because I can’t get a hold on myself, I just need to share this beautiful list of books definitely need a sequel, a WHOLE SAGA. These beauties have wonderful plots and magnificent characters and they break my heart with their standalone condition.

Also, and please be really aware of this, THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS AHEAD, alright? So if you see the title of a book that you want to read and have not had the chance too, please look away.

Without more preambles (because it’s Monday, and I don’t like Mondays at all so I’m grumpy) here are the books!

Los ojos del perro siberiano (The eyes of the Siberian dog) by Antonio Santa Ana.

Unfortunately, this book is not in English, and that is a shame for you guys, this book is everything! It relates the story of two brothers and their reconciliation, one of them has AIDS, and it heartbreaking.

I want to know what happen to the younger brother (which name never appears in the book) after Ezequiel’s death.

Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman.

Ok, first things first, doing the research for this post I realized that the author said this year that she would start writing the sequel, and I’M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT IT!

This book tells the story of Dante, a teenager that has his life planned out carefully until an old girlfriend shows up at his house with a baby girl, ask him to take care of her while she goes shopping and doesn’t come back. Ever. As the plot advance we can see how he and his father and brother try to adapt to their new life, Dante especially. The end is beautiful and I want to see more of Dante and Emma!

In the sequel, apparently Emma’s mom comes back two years later and tries to her away from Dante. Don’t. You. Dare!

“Sometimes the things you're convinced you don't want turn out to be the thing you need the most in this world.” 

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West.

This one was really a surprise for me since I’m not a big fan of the contemporary genre. If a book does not have magic in it, I’d probably not read it (sorry folks!). However, I found out this book delighted me, even when is the cliché of the clichés. The typical “poor girl rich boy”, except he does not know that she is poor, so there is that. Even when one of the other books by the author gives us a glimpse of what happened after the end, it’s not the same.

GIVE ME MORE CAYMEN AND XANDER.

Also, this sounds just like Broody! “His eyes are so intense I want to look away . . . or never look away, I can’t decide.” 

Prom Nights from Hell by several authors.

Yes, this is an anthology and it shouldn’t count and even when one of these short stories actually developed into a whole full saga, the other should have too! I want each of these short stories to get their own full book.

And finally…

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler.

Seriously, guys. This is a problem for me. I. NEED. CLOSURE. I want to know what would happen when Ed opens that box, I want to see him cry! I loved the format of this book and the way it described their relationship from the stuff she had collected of their time together.

CLOSURE, PEOPLE. GIVE ME CLOSURE!

Hello, my dear followers (assuming I have one lol). Today is Thursday and even when it’s pretty late here, I wanted to discuss something with you. So, I’ll proceed to talk about this particular topic brought to me by Broody himself and I’ll be taken comments the rest of the week (if there’s any. Agh, the struggles of a new blogger).

So, as a member of #BroodyBFF, the topic of this week was ROMANCE TROPES!

Yeah, yeah. I know. I, besides everything, love to read romance. A LOT. Recently and since fantasy genre has not taken its claws from me, I like to read romance as a subplot immersed in this bigger –and magic related– plot, and enjoy it pretty much when the author manages to keep a great balance between those two. Even though, I do have favorite tropes in the subject.

Choosing one it was really hard for me, but then I thought: “Why don’t I provide them with a pair so special that reunites all my favorite romance tropes in one?” I have a pretty good example that would illustrate my guilty pleasure in the romance area and what kind of books I can’t put down not matter what. And I hope that’s not cheating or something.

So, let’s get into the tropes, shall we?

And the example is…

FALLING KINGDOMS saga by Morgan Rodhes. More precisely, MAGNEO.

For those of you who does not know the saga, this beauty has a large cast of characters, but there are two who were the responsible for making me fall in love with it: Magnus Damora and Cleo Bellos.

This couple has all the romance tropes I love, so it’s not a mystery that my first read of the books was jumping through their scenes, and because of that most of the times I’d have to go back 200 pages and actually read the book since I’d have been reading just Magnus or Cleo’s chapters.

So, the first trope you can find here is arranged marriages. Yes, I’m a sucker for those, especially in fantasy. Who does not want to read about a princess and a prince that are meant to marry because of their parents/tutors wishes so? And that they barely know each other? Then seeing how they turn to friends, and then something more?

That trope plus this one makes everything better: enemies to lovers. For real, this one always gets me. If I see a book with this in the blurb I’m already buying it. It’s in my blood, I can’t refuse to it. I enjoy the battering, the hating, the snarky comments and that delicious moment when the characters realized they are in love with each other and try to deny it at all costs.

And this relationship has one more romance trope that, as you would see, is older as time itself: forbidden love. This is sometimes used in a wrong way, A VERY WRONG WAY. I have had my ugly encounters with this trope over the years and that has made me wary about books with this romantic subject. However, and even when I start these books with wariness, I can’t deny its effect on me.

So, tell me about your favorite romance tropes here!

I got an ARC, babies!! ____________________________ Reciving an Arc didn't affect my review of this book.

*4.5 stars*

"I thought I was just gonna be your rebound. I didn’t expect it to turn into something else.”

First of all, I’m kind of loving hockey lately, it sounds fun. Just like this book.

I would not lie; this is the first book of this series that I read. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much, I don’t know. I’m still a little upset about Here Be Sexist Vampires and all the bullying against a slim girl, so this book was refreshing for me in soooo many ways… Except the ways it didn’t. Does that make sense?

I did struggle with a few things through the whole book, like another comment about "bee sting" boobs, aaaaand female characters that, in some points, didn’t make sense at all for me. Like Sunny.

Bee sting boobs

And hers aren't bee stings or anything. She's definitely a woman; they stand up on their own. We're talking a solid B cup...

Seriously? I'm A cup (barely) so... am I a man?

But I got over it, I guess. He defended her (and her boobs) well enough in the rest of the book.

So, basically, I loved Lily and hated every other female around, LOL. In the male characters department, I love them all! Alex most of all, and even Miller, who was cute in his very own way.

Lily

She felt so real for me. Like, what I felt and continue to feel right now, and more than just physically, but emotionally and in every aspect of her life. At some point, I got to the conclusion that this book was meant to be for me at this particular time. I mean, I have never connected with a character so much (And maybe I just feel it that way ‘cause I read this after HBSV).

Randy

Ok, maybe I loved him 'cause of the model. After all, he’s from my country. But in the book I got a real male character, one that was mature and insecure at the same time. One that made me smile and even got me angry a couple of times. Cliché? Maybe. Falling in love with him? Absolutely.

I even want to see this in the future...

Plot and similiar things.

The plot is really basic and that’s not a bad thing at all. We can see characters from previous books and their life after their HEA. Since this was my first in this series, I didn’t know much about the secondary characters, but I disliked many of them, most of all the females. I felt that Lily was the only one who was doing something for herself by herself, not living from her partner. I’m scared of reading the other books and find that Lily has been turned in a Sunny, the character I disliked the most. But it’s a simple plot, with no unnecessary drama in my opinion and that’s something that I appreciate in romance books, because I just don’t like telenovelas.

Also it had a lot of funny moments, and comedy was an important factor on the score because it kept me reading constantly, confortable with the light pace. I always appreciate a book that makes me laugh.

So it’s was a good book that got almost 5 stars for keeping it simple and funny. Let me know what you think of this book here.

Well, it’s a new year and as you know, I decided to open my own book blog, try to get my reviews right and other bunch of stuff almost ending 2016, but it's only now that I'll start to work on this project (I hope), please don't judge me for not having the theme ready, nor the Spanish blog, just give me some time. I was tagged by KliScruggs; you can see her reading resolutions here. So, let do this.

Read more diverse books.

I have come to realize this year that I don't read enough diverse books, and that I avoid books with Latin characters as if they were the plague. I suppose I'm scared of reading a book that pictures my culture horribly wrong, but doing that I'm denying an opportunity to a big group of authors who are doing their best to share the beauty of our culture. This year I'll do my best to read books with Latin characters and diverse books in general. You can leave some suggestions here!

Finish this baby.

When I chose Tumblr over other platforms was because I could choose some awesome theme. I loved this theme (and still do) but I just come to realize it's hard. I'm a very lazy and disperse person, I must confess, so thinking I have some categories I need to be changing almost daily is something I'm not happy about, but it looks pretty, so...

Try to get out of the fantasy zone.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fantasy books, for real. But for most part of 2016 I just couldn’t read any book from another genre, I couldn't finish it or I didn't like it, it’s something that has happened to me before with a certain topic (mafia, aliens, etc.) but not for this amount of time. Right now I have tons of books I want to read but my very soul is asking for more fantasy, and I honestly want to read something out of that genre this year.

Being able to complete my Goodreads challenge without rushing.

This year I set the score on 50 books, again. Unfortunately, last year I didn't have that much time to read and barely make it to the 65 books I needed it, and the year before it was a struggle to get to the 75 books I chose in January, so I’m going back to 50 and see what happens this year.

And I think that's it. Not a lot of resolutions, I know, but as I said before, I'm a lazy person. Also while writing this I realize I have a few tag lines, being "so" the one I use the most. I'll try to get rid of it, I promise!

Hello everyone, you can call me Sam (yeah, I know, no shock there) and I want to welcome you to my blog, Sam's bookshelf (creativity is my second name lol).

I created this space to share my love for books with you. And because it looks pretty. Ok no. The real reason is that I realized none of my friends, no one knew the books I read, even when the book is pretty popular in US/UK. So I want to promote those books, especially in my area, and what is better to promote than a blog? Goodreads is not popular in my area neither.

So, let's get to the introduction part, shall we?

So I'm 20 years old right now almost 21 unfortunately. I'm a Law student and I work part-time to pay the value of useful and important things like tacos and ice cream. My love for books started when I was... 6 or 7 years old, I think. I was used to read short stories for children, but when I saw the beautiful cover for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire I just couldn't handle myself. Funny thing, it was my aunt's book, so when I asked her if I could read it she said: "Sure, but you need to read the whole series to understand it." And that's how she borrowed me the first four books of the saga.

I admire my aunt for that (Mostly because even when I treated the books with care they just fell apart at the end, wich sadden and embarrassed me). Looking back at that time, I realized how much that gesture helped me along my life, not only making me a book lover but shaping me as a person.

I'm a big fan of Fantasy, and I have a love-hate relationship with YA. Paranormal is another genre that I love, so most of the books I'm going to post here will be of those genres, but not all of them, once in a while I need a bit of good old Contemporary Romance.

So, what else? My favorite color is purple, as you can see. I'm from Latin America and my mother tongue is Spanish, so I'm sorry if there are typos in this post and the next ones, sometimes they slip. The photos in the header are not mine. And my birthday is on April 15th.