BOOK REVIEW: Behind the Bars by Brittainy C. Cherry

Behind the Bars by Brittainy C. Cherry

Published date: 7 December, 2017

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult

Pages: 373

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5*

Synopsis: 

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen.

The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness.

Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.

Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find.

And in a flash, she was gone.

Years later, she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.

She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.

Caged.

Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.

Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

When we met again, I became her darkest storm.

REVIEW:

You should not judge a book by it’s cover or in this case you should not judge people for their looks or gossip. Get to know them and you might get surprised with what you’ll find in the end. That’s an easy way to sum up this book but there’s so much more to it.

Behind the Bars shows us the pain and struggles Elliot and Jasmine had to go through in their lives. What made them suffer, build up walls, made them be cold or cry. Life is full of pain, but we can find magic in some little corners and both of our lead characters taught us that.

Brittainy C. Cherry never ceases to amaze me with her books. She’s capable of making me feels the emotions the characters are going through or else she just makes me cry my eyeballs out which is a compliment. 

It's been three days since I finished the book and I still can't collect the right amount of words to describe how good this was written, how beautiful this story was. If I could, I would've given this book a thousand stars instead of only five. I'm sure that there are a thousand other readers/bloggers saying the same things as I but trust me... I LOVED IT so freaking much. I flew through the book and when it was coming to an end and I wanted more and more pages of it. More Elliot and Jasmine, more beautiful words, just more. 

I don't want to be repetitive or give you guys spoilers, I just want to plant a little curiosity bug inside you all so you go grab this book and consume it as if it was your last breath. Actually... Read this one and then read every single other book by Brittainy, you'll thank me in the end.

''She was my music, my life, my everything.''

BOOK RELEASE: Behind the Bars by Brittainy C. Cherry

Behind the Bars, the first beautiful and emotional standalone in the all-new Music Street Series from Brittainy C. Cherry is LIVE!

Behind the Bars by Brittainy C. Cherry

Release Date: December 7th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen.

The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness.

Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.

Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find.

And in a flash, she was gone.

Years later, she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.

She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.

Caged.

Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.

Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

When we met again, she was the darkest storm.

Read Today or download FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2jIi9Cn

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2AmCB5I

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2ArrgiO

Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2APVi2W

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2vZ2rYx

About the Author:

Hi! I'm Brittainy! Join me as we travel through my mind as a Romance Author. This includes such things as my random thoughts, tricks, tips, things I'm learning, things I'm re-learning, things I'm forgetting, and my weird ways of crafting stories.

Connect with Brittainy:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrittainyCherryAuthor/

Twitter: @BrittainyCherry

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BOOK REVIEW: Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung

Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung

Expected Publication: November 7th, 2017

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Genres: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction

Pages: 184

Format: Kindle Edition

Rating: 5*

Synopsis:

Sweet, funny, and quietly poignant, Debbie Tung’s comics reveal the ups and downs of coming of age as an introvert.

This illustrated gift book of short comics illuminates author Debbie Tung's experience as an introvert in an extrovert’s world. Presented in a loose narrative style that can be read front to back or dipped into at one’s leisure, the book spans three years of Debbie's life, from the end of college to the present day. In these early years of adulthood, Debbie slowly but finally discovers there is a name for her lifelong need to be alone: she’s an introvert.

The first half of the book traces Debbie’s final year in college: socializing with peers, dating, falling in love (with an extrovert!), moving in, getting married, meeting new people, and simply trying to fit in. The second half looks at her life after graduation: finding a job, learning to live with her new husband, trying to understand social obligations when it comes to the in-laws, and navigating office life. Ultimately, Quiet Girl sends a positive, pro-introvert message: our heroine learns to embrace her introversion and finds ways to thrive in the world while fulfilling her need for quiet.

REVIEW:

This book shows us the world of Debbie Tung through several small comic illustrations. Debbie shows us several things that make her uncomfortable or social awkward moments she has gone through. Most of these moments we can quite relate, and by we I mean us introvert people.

I found myself nodding and saying heck yeah several times during this book as if I was talking to someone (my mom thought I was going crazy).

I don't consider myself completely introvert. I like having my own space and being left a alone most of the times but I love to socialize (no crazy parties and such) and talk for hours but one day I'm a mood for that but like in the next five minutes I just want to be cuddled up in my bed with a book a cup of hot cocoa. 

I loved going through every single drawing in this book because there's a mixture of the things that make Debbie feeling awkward or even unhappy but there's also drawings that show us what she loves to do and the things that make her the most happy.

There's always the ups and the downs and we must live through both but we should always grab the happy memories and no the other way around.

What made me feel so connected with this book was the fact that she was such a book nerd as I am and I could completely relate to her in that topic. As well as when she says that she has nothing scheduled to do and that makes her happy, I am sooooo like that as well. I like having nothing to and just lay around in bed enjoying being lazy.

I think you should all pick up this book because it's an easy read since it's a graphic novel, you can enjoy Debbie's artwork and a part of her life is here. You'll feel like somehow your own life is portrayed here and that will make you reading time more enjoyable.

READ-A-THON: Xmas-a-thon

So, last year I tried to participate in one of these Christmas Read-a-thons and I failed completely. I shall try once again this year and I hope I do way better than last year.

This read-a-thon is hosted by the page Tuga-a-thon which is a portuguese page for portugueses readers. It will start on November 15th and will end on December 31th.
I'll try to complete as many challenges as possible and I really hope I don't fail again.

Here are the challenges:

1. Read a book in which action is in a country with cold weather: The Hollow People by Brian Keaney
2. Read a book about a family: Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
3. Read a book with more than 400 pages: Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
4. Read a Christmas Carol: The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
5. Read a book and friend or family member has picked for you: Sword Art Online Progressive 01 by Reki Kawahara
6. Read a book that resembles de images you saw in this video: Written in Red by Anne Bishop
7. Create your own challenge: ‘’Read a book that you have on your TBR pile for more than 2 years’’: The Cracked Mirror by Brian Keaney
8. Read a book with the opposite genre of the book you’re currently reading: CR: Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout; Opposite Genre Book: One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. MacManus
9. Take a picture with your family where you can see your Christmas tree, gifts, lights and books so you can have de chance of winning a book.

I'll be leaving updates on my instagram page and at the beginning of December I'll leave one here.

BOOK REVIEW: Ironic Sacrifice (Brides of Prophecy #2) by Brooklyn Ann

Ironic Sacrifice by Brooklyn Ann

Published date: 9 June, 2014

Published by: Broken Angels

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 252

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5*

Synopsis:

Jayden Leigh wants to commit suicide. Her clairvoyant powers have become so intense that she lost her job and home. Death is the only way to make them stop. Opportunity presents itself when she comes across a sinfully handsome vampire ready to make a kill. Jayden begs for him to take her instead. A blissful death in his arms, or the visions ravaging her mind? She'd gladly take the vampire. 

Razvan Nicolae is captivated and amused by the beautiful seeress who sacrifices herself for a stranger. Killing such a pleasing asset doesn’t interest him. If he could get her powers under control, she just might be the key to finding his missing twin. 

Controlling her visions and working for a seductive vampire? Razvan’s offer is like a dream come true. But her dream turns into a nightmare when a mad vampire cult leader seeks to exploit Jayden’s powers to stop an ancient prophecy. 

As Jayden finds herself at the center of a vampire war, she realizes that the biggest threat isn’t losing her life, it’s losing her heart.

REVIEW:

Ironic Sacrifice is the second book in the Brides of Prophecy book series.
In this book we meet Jayden who hasn’t had an easy life after she gained psychic abilities that were slowly driving her mad. She cannot touch anyone or else she’s bombarded by a huge wave of memories and thoughts. All of that inside her head becomes too much for Jayden and leads her to think of suicide and then it’s when we get to meet our sexy vampire Razvan.
He’s our typical (yet cinnamon roll) cocky guy who knows he has a perfect body and no women can resist him. Although Razvan has all those traits that we can find in several other cocky characters, he’s quite different from all of the other and not just because he’s a vampire.

Since I don't want to spoil you guys I won't say any more specific details about the characters but let's talk about what I thought of the book,

I've been kinda in a reading slump so for me to get out of it isn't that easy and this book actually made me want eat books again. I actually ate this book in less than 24 hours so I think by now you already know what my thoughts on this book are.

I completely loved it and the more I read the more pages I wanted this book to have. I was totally immersed in this world of vampires, seeress, mad women, family feud, missing brothers and so on. 

This is not just another vampire book even if it has a hot and manly one. This book is full of drama, action, romance, emotions and a great story not only for the two main characters but all the other characters come with a background as intriguing as Jayden and Razvan.

Give this book a shot and I promise you that you won't regret picking this book up. 

BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION: Fifty Shades Freed [Trailer]

For those who are fans of the Fifty Shades book trilogy (and those who've just watched the movies) the trailer for the last movie has been released. I must say that I am totally excited for the movie and I have read the books (no shame at all). 

Just by watching the trailer I have to admit that I think this will be the best movie in the trilogy which is what I thought about the books. For me, Fifty Shades Freed is way better than Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker. 

Also, we have another poster for the movie and I love it!

Here goes some info, the poster and the trailer.

Release Date: 9 February, 2018 (USA)

Directed by: James Foley
Writers: E.L. James (novel), Niall Leonard (screenplay)

Starring: Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey); Dakota Johnson (Anastasia Steele); Arielle Kebbel (Gia Matteo); Kim Basinger (Elena Linclon); Eric Johnson (Jack Hyde); Eloise Mumford (Kate Kavangh)

Production Company: Universal Pictures

Country: United States

Language: English

Genres: Drama

Synopsis:

Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.

You can watch the trailers from the previous movies here:

Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades Darker

So, what did you guys think? For those who are curious about the books... You're never late do read them. Give them a try! And now we shall wait for the movie premiere.

BOOKS I WANT TO READ BEFORE 2018

A couple more days and October comes to an end. (NOOOOO, I WANT THIS HALLOWEEN FEEL TO LAST FOREVER). This also brings us closer to 2017's ending and thus a small list of the books that I want (must) read before 2018 comes upon us.

I'm already reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo but having a bit of difficulty in continuing. It may be due to being in a reading slump so I'll try going into Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas or Without Merit by Colleen Hoover. 

Also, Scorched is the only book I still haven't read by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Brave doesn't count because it will only be released in December. 

Last but not least, Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. I've been delaying reading this book because I know it will shatter my heart just like Lady Midnight did and I'm not ready to suffer. 

But who am I kidding? I'll suffer with both Jennifer L. Armentrout's books I mentioned, with Colleen's because every single book of her makes me suffer and let's not forget Sarah J. Maas who loves making her readers cry oceans.

So, in summary, I really want to read theses books before the year finishes and let's hope my reading slump doesn't stop me from accomplishing this small challenge. 

BOOK REVIEW: Through the Woods by Emily Carrol

Through the Woods by Emily Carrol
Published date: 15 July, 2014
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Fantasy, Short Stories
Pages: 208
Format: Kindle Edition
Rating: 5*
Synopsis:
'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

REVIEW:

This book scared the sh*t out of me.

I must confess that I read the book during my work shift and it was day time and still I was scared like hell.

Every single story left me intrigued to read the next one and see what kind of monsters Emily thought of. Besides being scary, creepy, whatever you want to call it, I thought this book was amazing and mystical. I never thought I could love so much reading about horror short stories as much as I loved this graphic novel book. I must say that I want to read more Emily Carrol works. 

     

Let's talk about the art.

Minimalistic yet beautifully drawn, gory and scare-the-hell-out-of-you creepy. If someone described me the drawings or even showed me one of the scarier ones I probably wouldn't read this because I'm not a fan of scary stories but I confess that I was intrigued so I gave it a try and fell completely in love with the art and every single tale.

I've definitely been reading more graphic novels and I've been falling in love with most of them but I'm sure this one will stick to me because of the creepiness level it has but also because we all have fears and these tales reminded me of my childhood fears such as darkness, monsters under my bed, noises I heard during the night and the woods (of course).

If you're a scary cat like myself don't read this at night. I read during the day and I still did get scared.

BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION: Love, Simon [Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens]

Hi guys! 

So, by this post's title you already know what all of this will be about. The book Simon vs the Homo Sapiens by Becky Albertalli was made into a movie!!  The name was changed into Love, Simon and the poster for the movie has already been released. Here goes the book and movie info.

Curiosity:

Although the movie is titled 'Love, Simon' it is actually an adaptation of the book 'Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda'. The movie originally had the same name as the book, but it was too long to say, hence the name change.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens by Becky Albertalli

Published date: April, 2015

Published by: Balzer + Bray

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Synopsis: 

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Release Date: 16 March, 2018 (USA)

Directed by: Greb Berlanti

Starring: Nick Robinson (Simon Spier); Keiynan Lonsdale (Bram Greenfeld); Katherine Langford (Leah Burke); Miles Heizer (Cal)

Production Company: Fox 2000 Pictures; Temple Hill Productions

Country: United States

Language: English

Genres: Drama

Synopsis:When Simon Spier's emails to his secret pen pal, Blue, fall into the wrong hands, he is forced to play wingman to his blackmailer.
Everyone deserves a great love story. But for Simon it's complicated: no-one knows he's gay and he doesn't know who the anonymous classmate is that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, scary and life-changing.

Who's excited for the movie? I sure am since I've already read the book and adored it with all my heart! But first we need the movie trailer and then the movie shall be released. Until then we wait.

BOOK REVIEW: History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Published date: 17 January, 2017

Published by: Soho Teen

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

Pages: 294

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5*

Synopsis: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past.

When Griffin's first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he's been imagining for himself has gone far off course. 

To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin's downward spiral continues. He's losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he's been keeping are tearing him apart. 

If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

REVIEW:

The best way for you guys to understand how much this book was good is to say that every single chapter, page, word touched my heart.

“I'm sorry, but please don't be mad at me for reliving all of it. History is all you left me.” 

When I started this book I already had some clues about Adam Silvera's writing. I knew that his books were for you to cry your eyes out and that is exactly what happened to me.

I have to admit that the first 2 or 3 pages didn't grab me much but once I kept going, I wanted to know more. At the same time I couldn't read this book for huge period of times. Why you ask? Well, the chapters here go from History, Today, History, Today and so on. You would think that only the History ones or the Today ones would make me sad or something like that, but no. Both were so heart breaking and beautiful, touching and inspiring, sad and emotional in huge levels.

This wasn't an easy book to read because it touched the theme of losing a loved one, death if you want me to me more specific. Going through the past and present was a complete emotional roller coaster. At the beginning I only wanted History chapters because they left me with a smile and the Today ones left so damn sad or made me cry a ton. But the more I read the more the History chapters started to leave sad as well so it was hard to read several chapters in a row because my eyes love to leak water. Let me correct it... leak oceans. 

This is the first Adam Silvera book I read but I loved it. I loved his writing, the complexity of the characters, the things this book made me think of.

“History is nothing. It can be recycled or thrown away completely. It isn’t this sacred treasure chest I mistook it to be. We were something, but history isn’t enough to keep something alive forever.” 

We have the ups and downs in the this book. The downs being the moments when Griffin felt at his lowest, when he felt that his world was coming undone and wanted to just give up and say ''screw the world. And then there's the ups when he starts to see that it's normal to need help from others, that live isn't always perfect but we can search for the good moments instead of being stuck in negativity.

“There’s nothing wrong with someone saving my life, I’ve realized, especially when I can’t trust myself to get the job done right. People need people. That’s that.“  

Besides all of these quotes the one that will remain in my head for a long time for sure will be this one: 

“History remains with the people who will appreciate it most.“

 Even if you're not a fan of ugly cry books, give this one a try. This books was outstanding and I will cherish it so much.

SERIES REVIEW: Suits (Season 1 & 2) [NO SPOILERS]

Release Date: 23 June 2011 (USA)

Main Cast: Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter); Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross); Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt); Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane); Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen); Gina Torres (Jéssica Pearson)

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Creator: Aaron Korsh

Original Network: USA Network

Running Time: 42 Minutes

Rating (personal classification on both seasons): 10/10

Review:

At first I was quite skeptical to watch this series because my boyfriend had been telling me to watch it for a couple of years but after finishing up binge watching all 7 seasons of Game of Thrones I had to watch somethings else so I decided to pick this series and let me tell you... I regret nothing.

• Season 1: The first 5 or 6 episodes I liked them but wasn't hooked on the story but the more I forced myself to watch the more I noticed myself quite enjoying this series and all the characters. Each episode isn't just a new case, isn't just another client. The plot thickens and so do the characters personalities. One of our main characters, Mike Ross, has a genius mind although he's still a newbie in the company but the way he thinks and tries to learn from Harvey Specter (while still trying to not be exactly like him) just makes me admire and love him so much. Harvey and Mike's work relationship and friendship is just terrific, I just find myself wanting every single minute to be focused on those two. The more you watch, the more you want to watch. 

• Season 2: Now it's drama time. We get to meet even more characters who try to ruin Harvey's work and reputation while trying to ruin the company, Pearson Hardman, as well. It took me less than 24 hours to consume this 16 episode season and I must confess that it was damn awesome. I wasn't able to finish an episode and to not start the next one, I kept going from episode to episode until I reached the 16th episode which once it finished I started season 3 immediately. This season was brutally way more emotional than season 1. I cried. Yes, I cried with a couple of episodes because they were heartbreaking and it was impossible to not feel what the characters emotions, what they were trying to shows us.