BOOK REVIEW: Crave (Bonds #1) by Sierra Cartwright

Crave by Sierra Cartwright

Published date: 30 May, 2014
Published by: Totally Bound

Genres: Romance, BDSM, Erotica, Contemporary

Pages: 197

Format: Ebook

Rating: 4*

Synopsis:

She still craved him… The sight of a collar in her boyfriend’s drawer had stunned Sarah. Panicking, she had fled. But no other man has ever been his equal.

Two years ago, the woman he’d hoped to collar and marry disappeared. So Reece McRae is stunned to find his former girlfriend on her knees, behaving as the submissive he’d always wanted.

Is it too late? He should refuse her, but an undeniable sexual attraction consumes him.

Sarah had been under Reece’s spell from the moment she met him. When she found a steel collar in his drawer, she panicked. The idea of a lifetime of his relentless demands, sensual and otherwise, suffocated her.

In the years they’ve been apart, she hasn’t met his equal. Now, convinced one last night will vanquish his memory, she sets out to seduce him.

The Reece she returns to is even more determined to have his way. Is she now strong enough, brave enough, to surrender to his love?

Review:

This is the first Sierra Cartwright book I read and I must say I was quite impressed and became a fan of her with just reading one work of her.

Crave is the story of Sarah and Reece. How both loved, suffered and got together once again. How both made mistakes and where blinded by their fears. 

People always say: Don't judge one person without hearing their side of the story. Well, it suits this book completely.

You shouldn't condemn Sarah nor Reece but instead listen to both of them. I must admit that in the beginning I did judge Sarah for her actions and how she broke Reece's heart two years prior but once I kept reading the book and understanding Sarah's mind, I knew why she did what she did.

The main word (or problem, you could say) here is: miscommunication. Sarah needed to grow up a bit more so she could really be prepared for the BDSM world that Reece introduced her into. He was always gentle, calm and understanding towards her but she wasn't ready, she needed more time and after finding that specific object (no spoilers, go read the book) it was normal for her to panic. Yes, she shouldn't have run away, she should've talked to Reece but Reece also should've talked to her instead of assuming she was prepared for something she obviously wasn't. 

In the end... I think that both decisions weren't mistakes at all. Why? Well, it made both Sarah and Reece grow and learn. Made them both learn more about themselves and each other and that's why when they eventually restart their relationship it actually works out and evolves into something more.   

They both love each other and that much is quite obvious from page one but one broke the other's heart so there's some work to be done so they can reconnect once again. The love, the desire, the connection never left nor did the spark died between them. 

I enjoyed every single thing in this book because it wasn't just a stupid thing that was the catalyst of the story. Every thing happened for an understandable reason and in the end both characters understood that.

BOOK REVIEW: Brave (A Wicked Trilogy #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Brave by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published date: 11 December, 2017

Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 362

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5*

Synopsis:

Ivy Morgan hasn't been feeling like herself lately. Not like anyone can blame her. After all, being held captive by a psychotic fae prince hell-bent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld is bound to leave some mental scars.

It’s more than that, though. Something dark and insidious is spreading throughout Ivy, more powerful than she could ever imagine... and it’s coming between her and the man she’s fallen deeply in love with, elite Order member Ren Owens.

Ren would do anything to keep Ivy safe. Anything. But when he makes a life altering choice for her, the fallout of his act has far reaching consequences that threaten to tear their lives apart. If Ivy is going to have any hope of surviving this, she must put aside the hurt and betrayal she feels, and work with not only those she loves, but with an enemy she would rather kill than ever trust. War is coming, and it soon becomes clear that what Ivy and Ren thought they knew about the Order, themselves, and even their enemies, has been nothing but a cluster of dangerous, deadly lies. Ivy knows she must be more than just brave to save those she loves--and, ultimately, to save herself.

Because behind ever evil fae Prince, there’s a Queen…

REVIEW:

So... the ending of this trilogy comes upon us. Wicked, Torn and finally Brave. It took me a couple of days to write this review because, even right now, I'm not sure how to describe this book.
I went through so many feelings, just like a freaking huge roller coaster.

Jennifer L. Armentrout always, but freaking always leaves me amazed with her work. She's that good. I'm all caught up on her books, read them all, from her first to her latest published one and I don't know how she's able to do it but she just gets better and better from book to book. From each fictional world to another. 

I recommend you all to first read Wicked and Torn and then you can read this review because I don't want you getting any hints of what happens here without having read the two other previous books.

Now let's get to the juicy stuff.
Brave.

One word. It's a guy. He's perfect and everyone loves him.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
If you said Ren you're one hundred percent right. There's not one thing that Ren could do wrongly. He's just the sweetest person and the way he truly loves Ivy just melts my heart.

Everyone loves Ren, duh, but everyone loves Tink. Who doesn't? He's just the epitome os sarcasm combined with adorableness and witty answers. Tink just makes his entire trilogy so much better and every time something comes out of is mouth it's almost impossible not to laugh.
I loved the fact that Jennifer gave Tink a new plaything and but that I mean so man meat, some hubby for him to have fun between the sheets. Tink freaking deserves an entire book dedicated to him!

I wanted to point out some of the things I loved in this book but if I don't point every single thing I'll just feel like I'm leaving you guys without the entire juicy stuff. Freaking read the whole trilogy and fall in love with every single character. Hate some of those you loved and start loving some of the ones you hated.
This book will surprise the hell out of you just as it did with me. 

I found myself saying holy lord so many times that the Lord himself must be tired of hearing me call him every time I read.

Just trust me when I say that Jennifer is a freaking genius and you should read every single book of hers. Oh! And Brave is pure perfection, Tink is best friend material, Ivy is a f*cking badass and Ren should marry me. 

Every single character has so much more to give us so let's just wait for the next work Jennifer gives us and it will surely be as awesome and good as Brave was.

BEST BOOKS OF 2017

As some of you may know, this wasn't my best reading year. My goodreads challenge was 150 and I only managed 100 books. Also, I challenged myself to read a couple of book before 2017 ended and I failed just like I failed the Xmas-a-thon challenge. But I still want to bring you guys my favorite books os 2017 because those are the one that made the year good even if I failed in every challenge.

Have you read any of these books? If yes, which were you favorite?
Let's see if can manage reading all the books I want plus some review requests that I already have piling up.

Let 2018 be a better reading year.

BOOK REVIEW: Mistress of the Vampire by Elena Darkmoon

Mistress of the Vampire by Elena Darkmoon

Published date: 21 December, 2017

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 259

Format: Ebook

Rating: 3.5*

Synopsis:

He had a hungry look in his eyes. He had been searching, seeking, until he found me. I was burning under his gaze, I wanted to rip my clothes off, I wanted to run away. Who was this beautiful man and what did he want from me? 

Magnus Redman became my boss and my lover. I was young, innocent and inexperienced, the opposite of him, and he knew just how to penetrate the soft core of my mind until all I could think about was him. Our passion was intense, crazy, sexy, white hot and dangerous, just like him. I craved him like a drug, his hands, his body, his teeth…… 

But then hidden secrets and painful revelations from the past threatened to tear us apart. And we found ourselves battling a powerful force hell-bent on revenge and destruction. How much would we be willing to sacrifice to save the ones that we love? 

REVIEW:

First thing I must say is that this story has so much potential and I want more and more of our characters.

Our two main characters, Lena Stone and Magnus Redman, have a deep connection and even though one's a vampire and the other a human (or more) and they shouldn't be together, they can't. It's as if their souls are intertwined and nothing will be able to tear them apart. No obstacle is capable of breaking them.

Magnus is a mysterious man while Lena doesn't know the mystery behind her family's true story, true past, their origin. Both love each other fiercely but Magnus always puts Lena's safety in first making it difficult for them to have a relationship. For him, knowing that Lena was okay and that no one would harm her, even him, was his priority and that made me love him so deeply. 

At the beginning I thought that Lena was just another helpless character that needed her lover to save. I was oh so damn wrong. Once Lena started to workout and to learn how to defend herself, to know her body and how much strength she could exert in an opponent, she was so darn badass. 

Even at when Magnus had just met Lena he thought of her as his equal but from page to page we get so a better and improved Lena and in Magnus' eyes she was the synonym of perfection, of a strong and independent woman. 

There were a couple of things I didn't like and that's why I didn't rate this book 4 or 5 stars. 

Some things were a bit confusing such as the chapters on another character that was connected to Magnus. In the end I understood it was done like that on purpose but I still got confused during my reading journey so I think those chapters could have been inserted in the book in a different way. Even so in the end the book was Wow. A lot of things were mind blowing because I wasn't expecting them.

I'll surely be waiting for more books from this author.

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

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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.

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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.