September Wrap up

I know I am a bit late with this post but I have been travelling over the weekend and recently it takes me a lot of time to come home from work. But even if it is a bit late, I decided to do it.

So what I have read in September:

1. A discover of witches (Book 1 in ‘All Souls’ Trilogy) – Deborah Harkness

2.Shadow of night (Book 2 in ‘All Souls’ Trilogy) – Deborah Harkness

3. The book of life (Book 3 in ‘All Souls’ Trilogy) – Deborah Harkness

4. Warcross – Marie Lu

I’ve read ‘A discovery of witches’ and ‘Shadow of night’ long time ago but I have totally forgotten what’s happening and I have purchased ‘The book of life’ long time ago (be it 2 years?). So I have decided to read it again and I remembered how much I love it. The book series is awesome and fandom is great as well. Every year they have annual Read together where everyone re-reads the books chapter by chapter each day. Sadly, this year I couldn’t participate because when they started with book 1, I was reading through book 3.

Warcross was on my to-buy list ever since I heard about it and then I just decided to purchase it one night. I have already wrote a review for it so I here it is.

Books read: 4
Pages read: 2338

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Warcross by Marie Lu >> Review

Title: Warcross
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: YA
Pages: 353

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.

I’m back with another review, the only one for this month. But better one than none!

I’ve heard so many people talking about Warcross and it is a big thing over on Booktube. But I like books with nerdy theme. I bought it and decided to dive into it after finishing the trilogy I was reading. I was seriously amazed by the book. I’ve never read anything by Marie Lu before but yet, it was great. Her writing style is so good and I like the way she describes things.

I specially like nerdy books with main female character like Emika. Emika could be any of us, seriously. We could all end up struggling to pay the rent one day and then, we won’t really choose how to get money, specially if we live in a city like New York where she does. Emika’s way is to be a bounty hunter and a hacker. (Seriously, I want to learn how to hack *maybe I shouldn’t say this online*) When she hacks the Warcross game at the start of the Championship, she becomes a star over night. She is scared to end up in a jail because why wouldn’t she?! But when she gets the offer to go to the Tokyo, with all her debts payed away and her rent safe, she doesn’t think too much.

The book is fast paced and I could barely put it down (because I need to work). It is also addictive in a way. I would say – addictive just like the Warcross game itself is. Every one of us would probably enjoy living in the Warcross; you can be who you want to, have awesome friendships, dream job, dream house, perfect life. What I liked about the book is it’s futuristic part. Specially in Tokyo and the bigger cities where free Wi-Fi everywhere is a normal and common thing. The technology is going forward every day and maybe in few years, we will have something like Warcross.

There is romance happening in this book, yes, but that’s not the main theme which is nice. Sometimes YA books can be all about romance. Which would be a disappointment about this book. The main theme is Emika and her life and how she deals with balancing work, championship and a blooming relationship.

The characters are very diverse and everyone has a reason to be in the book. Our main character Emika is rainbow haired and tattooed, independent girl which I think is great. Not only it is showing girls that they can be different and independent, it also shows them that they could be something in technology field. We all know that the technology field is still mainly guys’ perspective.

I would recommend this book to everyone who is into Sci-Fi, strong girls, nerdy books and YA.

Rating: 4,5* out of 5

Review: The Job Blower by Melinda de Ross

Title: The Job Blower
Author: Melinda de Ross
Genre: Romance, chicklit
Pages: 166
Camilla Jackson is an ordinary young woman with an extraordinary knack for attracting disaster. When she is fired from her job as a secretary at a law firm, she realizes she has no idea what she wants to do next. Every job she does land ends up tragi-comically.
But when she meets the drop-dead-gorgeous journalist, Carter Evans, her life seems to brighten. Until she discovers that he hides some very deep and painful scars.
It remains to be seen if she will be able to help him heal and, in the process, find her own path in life. That is, if she manages to overcome her accident prone nature, which gets her into serious trouble…
THE JOB BLOWER is a lighthearted, laugh-out-loud Romantic Comedy, the kind of book that you will keep in your bookshelf and reread to brighten your days and spice up your nights.

Review:
I am back with yet another review of Melinda’s books. I just couldn’t miss the opportunity to be the first one to actually get e-book version of this book because it sounded so funny. And trust me, when you give me funny, romance and chick lit book, I’m all about it. Knowing Melinda’s writing style, I knew I won’t regret it.
The book starts off with Camilla getting fired for something she did yet again. Oh well, being in your 20s, living on your own and losing a job is never a good combo. So she tried to find any job possible (and I mean any). Even if she has some success, she blows every job.
On the other hand, she meets Carter. Oh yes, that sexy Carter (hey, at least he looks sexy in my eyes/mind). They meet by accident but them falling in love is not accident. He helps her to deal with herself a lot as much as she helps him fall in love again and open up himself. I would love to tell you more about how they got close but I don’t think I could do it without spoiling a book and that’s something I wouldn’t like to do.
As much as this is a chick lit book to me it wasn’t like the usual ones. I don’t know, Melinda has some kind of effect on me that her books always keep me turning the pages (hell, I’ve read this book in like 2 and half hours and on my E-reader app it had around 280 pages). Her characters are well written and well detailed and you just meet them through the book. It is not like she gives you everything you will find out about the character all at once. You get hooked with the characters and their life and just the way they are. You get the know the characters slowly as if you are meeting an actual person. Which is what I really like. I like to get to know the character slowly, it feels like I’m meeting a friend. At least, that’s what I like about the books. What I also like about the way she is writing her characters is, you are not able to predict their moves and what they are going to do next. When I’m able to predict things, it just ruins everything for me.
Now, don’t think that there is huge action happening on the each freaking page as in; oh my god, they are travelling somewhere, they are having sex or something else. No, there is something else that keeps your eyes and mind on the book. I think that it is how Melinda is making characters so real life. Yes, there are some typical bookish elements but somehow and sometimes you are able to feel like it can happen to any person out there. It just keeps you going.
My last thoughts are that Melinda should have a lot more readers than she already has. She deserves it, trust me. So if you are looking for the new summer read or you like chicklit and romance genre in general, try out with this book. I don’t think you will regret it.

Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)

Best regards,
toyangi aka Ana

Book review: Captive Prince & Prince’s Gambit by C.S. Pascat

Title: Captive Prince (Captive Prince #1)
Author: C. S. Pascat
Genre: Fantasy, Romance (M&M)
Pages: 270
Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.
Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.
For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…

Title: Prince’s Gambit (Captive Prince #2)
Author: C. S. Pascat
Genre: Fantasy, Romance (M&M)
Pages: 404
The second novel in the critically acclaimed trilogy from global phenomenon C. S. Pacat—with an all-new chapter exclusive to the print edition.
With their countries on the brink of war, Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent, must exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the battlefield as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot.
Forced to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to deal them the crowning death blow…

Review:
I’ve heard about Captive Prince series on internet. I’m not sure was it Goodreads, Youtube or Instagram. I saw that many people are raving about it and saying how good it is. I wasn’t sure what to expect because usually when a lot of people are raving about book and praising it, I’m on the other side of the spectrum aka that one person that doesn’t like the book(s). But I still wanted to give it a try because plot sounded interesting. Plus, LGBT relationship is involved. So I bought first book.
Once I’ve started reading it, I couldn’t stop. The plot was so interesting that it was hard to put the book down. Damen is the guy that is brought to Prince Laurent of Vere as a sex slave. But Damen has his own secret that he is not allowed to say or he will most likely die. Because Laurent hates him because of the secret he is having.
This book series is not for you if you can’t stand rape, pedophilia and strong language. Or if you are homophobic, then please, go away from this book. But this book series has something brilliant behind it. Characters are amazing, specially Laurent. His mind is one of the kind so to say. The way his brain is working is really something that keeps you going. You never know what is in his mind. Even Damen is sometimes confused.
The person I kept hating through the first two books is Laurent’s uncle. That man is really doing everything he can to ruin Laurent. But Laurent has Damen by his side, Damen who can lead his army into so many wins and who can fight to save Laurent. Damen is often surprised by his owner (Laurent).
The first book kept me going so I bought second book aka Prince’s Gambit. And this book got me emotional. I tweeted to poor C.S.Pascat having my emotional breakdowns and while hating on Jord (the old leader of Laurent’s army). Why I hated on a poor guy?! HE BROKE FIRST KISS BETWEEN LAMEN (Laurent x Damen). I was really in the state to throw book across the room but I needed to continue to read it. My God, I couldn’t stop reading it until 1:30am and bothering my friends all over the chats that I’m emotionally dying. Okay, I bothered C.S.Pascat on Twitter a bit more. But for real, the second book was way better than the first one and if the third one is even better I believe I won’t survive that easily. I did a major mistake by not buying the third book when I was buying the second one.
In the second book we find out more about Laurent and Damen and we see their relationship growing. Their friendship, respect for each other and they start falling in love with each other. As much as they don’t see it, reader can realize it somehow. No, C.S. didn’t wrote it down as “What Damen didn’t know is that he has already fallen for Laurent.”. But small details make bigger picture.
To get what you want, you have to know exactly how much you are willing to give up.
One of the best quotes in the book. Because it is true. It is true even in the real life. And how much are Lamen willing to give up for each other? I bet I will find out more in the last book.
Writing is amazing, so many details shared, so many war and army strategies. There were times when I was wondering how many hours, days, weeks, months has C.S. spent researching it all. This series topped some of the books I liked for years, I gotta admit. And I know that this series will be in top books of 2016. I can’t remember last time I was this addicted about some book(s) that I went to read fanfictions after. Let me admit this; I’ve spend last two days reading Lamen fanfictions. After having mental breakdowns to all my friends about books. And telling them all to go read them.

Rating: ***** (5 out of 5) for both of the books.

 

Until next time,
Ana aka Toyangi

Book review: Unabridged by Melinda De Ross

Tittle: Unabridged
Author: Melinda De Ross
Genre: Chicklit
Pages: 219

Ironically, it all starts with a popular book about BDSM. When Angelina Jameson steps into her boss’s office armed with an acid article about ‘Billionaires, BDSM and Blah-blah-blah’, she thinks her career will take off. But her career aspirations drop into second place when she finds herself face to face with her nemesis.
Blade Spencer is the new editor-in-chief of Unabridged—the literary magazine where his ex-lover Angelina works. For three years, since she fled small town Jamestown without a word of explanation, they haven’t heard from one another. Now, when they meet again, the past and all the feelings they once had between them come rushing back, making them realize their love has never died. But can they reconcile their new circumstances and the changes that have occurred during the three years they were apart? Neither is the person the other used to know.
Then there is the faceless shadow who hunts them from the dark, driven by obsession and greed…
*This book contains strong language and explicit descriptions of sex.

Review:
Hello, it’s me! From the other side… No, wait, no.. I meant, with another review. Sorry!
This time, I’m reviewing “Unabridged”, another chick-lit book. I’m a sucker for a chick-lit and romance, I gotta admit that. And this book just reminded me how much I love chick-lit.
Let me start with the cover. It is gorgeous! Look at that pretty blue. I mean, there is even cat (*coughs*Rat*coughs*). My two favorite things on the cover. Apparently, Melinda also likes blue. Aaaaand, she did this cover herself. One talented author, I must admit.
The book was pleasurable to read. Yeah, it really starts with a popular book about BDSM and throughout the whole book I was thinking, which book it is. I mean, I think I know the answer but maybe I should ask Melinda. Angelina is great character and she is also a feminist. I am feminist myself and I loved her article. Let me give you a snip of it:
“Can you imagine a powerful woman, a woman in control who knows she is smart, strong and capable enjoying BDSM? Can you imagine Cleopatra – one of the most representative female figures in history – with her ass in the air in front of Caesar, getting a whipping or wearing a leash? If there has been any whipping going on in that royal tangle, I bet she was the one to do it. A woman like that would never dream of being anybody’s submissive.”
There is more to that article and seriously I was clapping after I read it. Because the whole article made sense to me. The thoughts that never left my head after reading this book were “Is Melinda also feminist and what she thinks about them?”.
Blade, oh Blade.. In my mind that guy looks so sexy and hot. Strong and powerful but still with a soft spot for Angelina. A huge soft spot. *chuckles* I loved how Melinda wrote out his character. He wasn’t boring or being super like cheesy. He was just right.
The story is also great, it kept my total attention the whole time. I didn’t want to put book down but sadly, it should’ve happen because life happens as well. Yes, it has strong language and descriptions of sex but I don’t think it is that bad as you can find today. I think there books with stronger language and detailed descriptions. I am almost 24 years old so it is not a problem for me to read this book and I’m not really that sensitive about this topic. The book ending was hilarious. The last chapter made me crack with laugh non stop. I loved it so much!
For the last part of my review there is only one question left: Who is Zorro Kalashnikov?

Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

Until the next time,
Ana aka Toyangi

Top books of 2015

I might first explain where have I been. I have no excuse than me being lazy and also being under stress. But one of my goals for 2016 is to work better on this blog. So here I am. Making my list for my top books of 2015. All in all, I’ve read 39 books. This year, I have a goal of reading 50 books. Hope to be able to do it. The list goes like this:

1. Gilded series (Gilded, Silvern and Brazen) by Christina Farley
2. Carry on by Rainbow Rowell
3. Did I ever wake up? by MOD SUN
4. The art of being normal by Lisa Williamson
5. Yoga girl by Rachel Brathen
6. This book is gay by James Dawson
7. Love letters by Katie Fforde
8. The truth about forever by Sarah Dessen
9. This song will save your life by Leila Sales
10. The love detective by Alexandra Potter

Gilded series deserved first place, the whole series took my heart away. I loved the character building, the world building and how Christina’s inspiration was Korean mythology. What can you do?! I’m a sucker for mythology and specially Korean.

Carry on was the book I was waiting for and when I saw it on the bookshelf, I needed to buy it. Read it like a crazy. I laughed and cried and got really nervous at some moment. One great book that a lot of people already talked about.

Did I ever wake up? was the book I found through Meghan Hughes aka YouTube star. She is one of my favorite Youtubers and she’s not even having book channel. But her inspirational videos are awesome. She talked a lot about this book. It is very short but powerful book

The art of being normal is my first ever transgender book and OH MY GOD was it good. It was great and Ms Williamson explained all so nicely. Just, this book gave me chills and made me cry.

Yoga girl was the book I picked up when I started with my kundalini yoga. Heard great things about this book and Rachel so decided to pick it up. I loved it! I loved how she described her life and how she came to learn about yoga.

This book is gay was recommended to me by my girlfriend so I decided to read it. It is book full of tips and other things for people in LGBT community. I still don’t have courage to come out to my family bur one day I will.

Love Letters was my first but for sure not the last book by Katie Fforde. I just loved setting and the plot. Ireland is one of the countries I for sure wanna visit and this book made me love it even more.

The truth about forever was also first book I’ve ever read by Sarah Dessen. I read it on my flight home for holidays I think. That’s how good it was.

This song will save your life was amazing! I loved how the main character was brave to start DJing even if everyone were telling her not to do it. It was book that had message “don’t ever give up on what you love”.

The love detective was finished also on flight home. Oh gosh, was it good! India! Yoga! Everything was wonderful and great summer read. I laughed so hard and was cheering on the guy.

 

So this is my full list. I will be back soon, I promise.

Thank you for reading,

Ana

Book review: Brazen by Christina Farley

Today we’re celebrating the release of BRAZEN by Christina Farley! BRAZEN is the third and final book in the Gilded series about a sixteen-year old girl who must use her martial art skills and wits to save her family, friends, and country from an evil Korean god. 

To learn more about this series, visit the Gilded Series website. Watch GILDED’s book trailer here!

Be sure to pick up the letter for this stop at the end of this post to earn extra points in the Kindle Fire or $50 Amazon gift card giveaway! Collect all the letters during the blog tour to spell out the secret message to earn more points.

 

About the Book:

Find it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads | Indie

My Review:

The last book in a series, „Brazen“, is the best one in the series as well.  I need to admit it, no matter what. This whole book has been an emotional train for me. I was scared, I wanted to cry, I wanted to yell at JaeHwa or at Marc. At some point, I found myself biting my lip in anticipation of what will happen next.

With Christina, you are never sure what will next page bring. It was hard to put the book down and take a break in reading because of life situations such as work or food. It was a huge roller coaster, bigger than with Brazen.

The first tears happened when Jae was burrying Michelle’s ashes because they both died together. More likely, only Michelle died, Jae survived. It was such a hard page to read because of how many emotions were running through Jae while she was doing it. Oh gosh.. And her hope when Bari told her those few words. Her hope died pretty soon sadly.

Love!! Love is important through the whole book. Jae’s love for her family, for Marc, for her friends, for her country. Love is her biggest motivation to finish Kud and all his plans. A lot of people won’t trust her on her way but that doesn’t stop her.

The fight scenes in this book are awesomly written. You can feel the energy. Jae is giving her all in those battles no matter what. She doesn’t really care will she made it out and what will happen. The one that stayed in my mind is fight Jae vs Kwan and Sangmin. Oh man, this fight and how she kicked their asses is something worth reading. Glad that Kud sent her to do the mission. But those two  assholes went with her. Woops, spoiler..

There are a lot of books that don’t progress in series as good as Gilded series did. I had some experiences in that field. The first book is amazing, the second is ok, the third is like “What did I just read?”. But I’m glad something like that didn’t happen with this series. I was falling more and more for the characters in this book. It is hard not to. Christina developed them so good. I love the way she did it. Specially with Jae. If you read review for the first book then you know that I wasn’t that huge fan of Jae. In this book that totally changed.

I really recommend this series to you guys. If you like mythology and main female characters, this series is for you. I’m glad that I watched the video from benjaminoftomes on Youtube where he introduced this book. I’ve never heard about Gilded series or Christina whatsoever. But I checked Goodreads and thought this could be something I will like. So I bought 1st book, then I bought 2nd. My story with Christina starts when I tweeted her because of mistake in translation of word “oppa” in the book. She was so nice and lovely. I forgot that mistake so soon. She is so supportive person, trust me. I couldn’t believe she answered me. 🙂 Maybe I meet her one day somewhere. That would be great.

Also, I’ve got my copy of Brazen and little gifts. I will insert photos now.

Signed poster, sticker, book, bookmark, note and her business card.

Signed book by Christina and her awesome message.

I gave this book 5 stars on goodreads.

Rating: ***** (out of 5)

Until the next time,
Ana

 About the Author:

 

CHRISTINA FARLEY is the author of the Gilded series, a YA contemporary fantasy series set in Korea. GILDED was nominated for Korea’s 2014 Morning Calm, Ohio’s 2015 Buckeye award, and the Tome’s It List. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. Christina’s adventures sparked her to write stories, infusing the real world with fantasy. Currently she writes from home in Clermont, FL with her husband and two sons—that is until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown.

 

Find Christina Here:

Website

Twitter

YouTube

Facebook

Tumblr

Goodreads

Instagram

The Giveaway:

Rafflecopter link

To celebrate the release of BRAZEN, Christina is giving away a Kindle Fire (US only) and a $50 Amazon gift card (international). The letter for this stop is _O_. Collect all the letters from the blog tour to earn more points!