In January I read four books. I read Ignite Me and Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi, Rebel to the Sands and Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton.
You can find my opinion of Shatter Me and Destroy Me in my November Wrap Up and Unravel Me and Fracture Me in my December Wrap Up.

Ignite Me (Shatter Me - Book 3) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Restore Me (Shatter Me - Book 4) ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.


Ignite Me, unlike Unravel Me, does not have as much action.
With each book I am always surprised by the evolution of Juliette, not only mentally but also physically. Kenji continues to be my favorite character.
I was a fan of Warner and in this book I no longer found the relationship between him and Juliette unhealthy.
What I liked the most was in how the author at the end of the book did not dramatize and prolonged the scene.
I liked that the author continued with the story because Ignite Me ends with an open end.
Restore Me have two points of views, from Juliette and Warner.
This book does not have much action in terms of fighting, but it's not as "slow" as Ignite Me because the characters had a lot of work due to what happens at the end of the third book.
As I mentioned in Ignite Me, Juliette has grown a lot since the first book, but at the same time she has doubts about herself which made her more "real".
Reading from Warner's perspective, it made me like him more. I loved seeing him with Kenji. I also enjoyed seeing him with Adam and liked to have seen Adam more.
In this book we meet new characters and was not expecting that scene with Nazeera and Juliette.
The revelations she made shocked me, and when I thought I was not going to be more shocked when I finished reading the book, I realized that, like John Snow, I know nothing.


"But finally, finally, I have learned to break free."
- Ignite Me


Rebel of the Sands ⭐⭐⭐
Traitor to the Throne ⭐⭐⭐


Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three.  She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse - or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.




Rebel of the Sands is a Persian fantasy. The book is written in the first person and, unlike Shatter Me, I did not find it a bad choice of the author.
The book follows Amani's point of view and she is funny, adventurous, fearless, smart and also brave, and made me like her even though sometimes she did not make "morally right" decisions in the first part of the book, but then changes in the rest of the book.
As for Jin, I've enjoyed him since the beginning of the story. He, like Amani, is adventurous, fun, clever. I liked and ship the relationship between the two (#Jamani).
We know other characters, more to the end, and my favorite is Shazad. She is smart and a very good fighter and I would loved reading from her point of view.
One of the things I liked the most was the mythology. The author has created a world full of stories and very interesting to read.
One of the revelations made in the final part did not leave me very surprised because I was already waiting for this to be revealed.
I did not find the book slow because of the size of the book, which was clever on the part of the author. The author's writing is simple which made the reading be faster.

Traitor to the Throne is the second book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy. Unlike the first book, I did not like that the book had only one point of view.
In this continuation we continue to have a funny, smart and fearless Amani. I still like Jin, but I wish he had him more in the story and still ship Jamani. Shazad continues to be my favorite character. The characters we know in this story the ones I liked the most were Sam and Rahim.
I'm still fascinated by mythology and its stories. One thing I found very interesting was the fact that names have power and throughout the book I thought I had seen it somewhere but I do not know where.
In this book we had more political intrigue and I also enjoyed very much.
With the synopsis of the book and throughout reading I was afraid of what the author was going to do about this character, but what I feared did not happen.
I want to read the third book, Hero at the Fall, but it will not be for now.


"Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."
- Rebel of the Sands

What did you read in January?

You can find the books on Wook (Portugal only) and Book Depository!


Kisses,

-A

discovered Top 5 Wednesday in the blog Shades of Paper. It is a Goodreads group now currently run by Samantha and Lainey, where each week they give you a topic and you talk about 5 books that fit that category.
Since January has an extra Wednesday, we can choose any topic. I choose to talk about my favorite booktubers.
Their names are linked to their youtube page!
This list is not in any particular order.


Sasha Alsberg - abookutopia


Photo from twitter

Sasha was the first booktuber that I discover and her channel is AMAZING! She likes fantasy, historical fiction and sci-fi. She is a big Outlander fan.
She is also an author. She wrote Zenith with Lindsay Cummings.


Hailey LeBlanc - Hailey in Bookland


Photo from twitter

Hailey likes fantasy, historical fiction and contemporary. She is a big Alice in Wonderland fan.
I love her videos and some of my favorites are the reading vlogs and bookmarked with Hannah and Zoe.


Photo from twitter

Hannah likes fantasy, contemporary and historical fiction. She is a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Night Circus and V. E. Schwab. I lover her videos and some of my favorites are her book recommendations and bookmarked with Hailey and Zoe.

Regan - PeruseProject

Photo from twitter

Regan likes fantasy, historical fiction and sci-fi. She is a big fan of Brandon Sanderson. I love her videos and some of my favorites are her reading vlogs and book recommendations.

Emma Giordano - emmmabooks

Photo from twitter

Emma likes fantasy, psychological thrillers and contemporary. She is a big fan of Cassandra Clare. I love her videos and one of them is her collabs with booktubers.


Do you watch booktube? Who are your favorite booktubers?

Kisses,


-A
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This year will be published several books that I am interested in reading. Today I'm going to share my top five most anticipated books of 2019.
The books are linked to their goodreads page!
The books are organized by date of publication in the United States.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto - February 12


I had a sister, once…

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders - legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire - until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

I promised her the throne would not come between us.

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders - even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.

But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.

Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.

Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.


Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller - February 26


How do you kill a god?

As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.


Shadow Me (Shatter Me - Book 4.5) by Tahereh Mafi - March 5


Shatter Me (Shatter Me - Book 1)

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.


The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare - April 2


All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation - a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke.

Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their romantic getaway has been sidetracked, demons are now dogging their every step, and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will have to trust each other more than ever - even if it means revealing the secrets they’ve both been keeping.


Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare - November 19 March 3rd 2020


Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London... and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero... and falling in love.

What are your most anticipated books of 2019?

You can find the books on Wook (Portugal only) and Book Depository!

Kisses,

-A

In 2018 I read 19 books and today I will choose my top 5 favorite books that I read last year.
The books are linked to their goodreads page!
The list is not in any particular order.

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles - Book 3) by Mary E. Pearson


Unravel Me (Shatter Me - Book 2) by Tahereh Mafi


Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass - Book 4) by Sarah J. Maas


Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass - Book 7) by Sarah J. Maas


Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artificies - Book 2) by Cassandra Clare



What are your favorite books that you read in 2018?

You can find the books on Wook (Portugal only) and Book Depository!

Kisses,

-A

In December I read two books. Unravel Me and Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi and I started Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi.
You can find my opinion of Shatter Me and Destroy Me in my November Wrap Up.

Unravel Me (Shatter Me - Book 2) and Fracture Me (Shatter Me - Book 2.5) 
by Tahereh Mafi


Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.


Unravel Me is my favorite book in the series so far. One of the things I liked the most was that unlike Shatter Me, Unravel Me have more action and the author's writing is amazing.
In the first few chapters I was a bit confused because of the way Juliette in Shatter Me ended and how it started in Unravel Me, but as I read it I began to realize why she felt and behave in that way.
As for the characters, in this book we have a stronger Juliette and I loved seeing the evolution of the characters. I continue to adore Adam. As for Warner, I found it very intriguing and there were parts where I thought I was Team Warner but I do not know if I am Team Adam or Team Warner because I can not find the relationship between Warner and Juliette healthy. My favorite character is Kenji, he's very funny, clever and I've seen that Shadow Me is going to be from his point of view.


There was a revelation that I was not expecting and I do not remember if I ever considered this hypothesis.
What I didn't like was the fact that the author wrote in first person and that there was a chapter (chapter 62) that I thought was too big.
As for the ending, I was not expecting what happened and I really want to start Ignite Me.
In Fracture Me, narrated by Adam, we saw that he loves Juliette. What I liked the most was seeing him and his brother, James. After reading the book, I think we're going to have a new couple.

"In the darkest days you have to look for a point of brilliance, on the coldest days you have to look for a place of warmth, on the darkest days you have to keep your eyes straight and in the saddest days you have to leave them open to leave them, to cry them. Then let them cry. To give them a chance to wash the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again. "
- Unravel Me

What did you read in December?

You can find the books on Wook (Portugal only) and Book Depository!

Kisses,

-A

One of my favorite booktubers, PeruseProject, every month she makes a video about her favorite fashion, movies, tv shows and music.
Every month I'm going to share my favorite movies, tv shows and music with you.

In December, my favorite movies were The Greatest Showman and Coco. The Greatest Showman has become one of my favorite movies. The story is magical, the songs and the actors are fantastic. The song I liked the most was "This is Me", I love the lyrics.

Coco is a funny movie, but also emocional. The story is fantastic and very beautiful, I loved knowing the meaning of the day of the dead. My favorite song was "Remember Me".

As for tv shows, I only watch one in December which was The Handmaid's Tale. It has become one of my favorite tv shows but sometimes frustrating by the things the characters go through.

My favorite songs were Next to Me by Imagine Dragons, High Hopes of the Panic! At The Disco, Thank You, Next and God is a Woman by Ariana Grande, Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, Meant to Be by Bebe Rexha, Girls like You by Maroon 5 (my favorite song of the year).

What were your favorite movies, tv shows and music of December?

Kisses,

-A