Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“I knew it was insane to be happy, to feel this desperate exultation at his words. But I felt like I had been waiting all my life to hear them. I had been waiting, all my life, for someone undeceived to love me.”

 I don't know why I let so much time pass between reading this book and writing a review, it doesn't make any sense. Anyway, this is it, I completely loved this book, I feel like it captured almost everything I love about retellings, from the incorporation of new elements and the flawed heroine to the satisfying romance.

 Nyx's destiny is to marry the demon that cursed the island in which she lives and murdered her mother, only so she can win his trust and destroy him in the process. She is not happy with this but there's nothing she can do about it. However when the fateful day comes and Nyx moves to her husband's castle he is nothing like she imagined and the plans her vengeful father had carefully created are useless against him.

“If you’d ever asked, I would have crawled to help you. But you never wanted my help. You only wanted me to be your sweet and smiling sister. So I smiled and smiled, until I thought I would break.”

 I have to admit, I thought that the dialogue in this book was brilliant, it is after all a romance driven novel and a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but compared to other similar stories this seemed so unique to me; it has a lot of Greek Mythology elements that paint a very interesting background, and the evolution of Nyx and Ignifex's relationship was better developed than in most YA books.

 But what really captured my attention was the protagonist's characterization, she strikes as little bitter in the beggining, but really who wouldn't be? When you're forced to marry a monster for your father to finally obtain his revenge on said man? She resents her family for forcing that fate on her, and yet she still wants to do good for them and the other people in the island. But then Ignifex is not exactly the kind of monster she believed and he might be a tiny bit thoughtful too... At least when he's not mad.

 When I finished it, I thought it was one of the best retellings I've read this year and I still feel that way, so if you love Beauty and the Beast give it a try, I was pleasantly surprised.

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It's that time of the year again, the time watch Hocus Pocus and eat candy and of course, read spooky books. This year I've decided to participate on Lauren's Halloween Read-A-Thon which will be running from October 10th to 31st and hopefully, enjoy some scary reads.


The Prince of Mist / Carlos Ruiz Zafón
 This is actually a re-read for me, I first came across a Spanish edition of this book a very long time ago (like in my preteens) and I remember finding it's cover so creepy, it was calling to me from the shelf. Unfortunately back then I got scared  pretty easily and couldn't finish it until years later. Still, this guy is such a good writer so he's going on my list.



The Dead House / Dawn Kurtagich
 This one I discovered while browsing though Goodreads and other people's Halloween TBR piles. The cover is creepy enough and the premise sound very interesting so if I have a little mor time I'll pick this up too.






The Walls Around Us / Nova Ren Suma
 This book I love. I picked it up when I first got my Kindle, like two years ago and I adored it. It's a ghost story about three girls, two of which are dead; in a way I think it reminded me of Gone Girl, if only for the dark human factor on it. I'm looking forward to read it again.





Gone Girl / Gillian Flynn
 And speaking of which, I think it's time that I re-read this one too, it's been too long.







 I always read before going to sleep when I'm already in bed, at first I used to do it to make myself sleepy, nowadays good books keep me awake at night. Anyway, it has become a habit, so I count this one as done already.


 To be honest I'm ahead of this one. And I know it's just the beginning of the month but scary movies are my guilty pleasure and so I have already watched The Ring, ParaNorman (not scary but for the aesthetic) and Silent Hill.


The Lightning Thief / Rick Riodan
 This one is easy, I recently finished The Infernal Devices so I need something simple and funny and warm to get me out of the angst, because those books were terrible... and wonderful and so sad my little turtle heart can't handle it.






 And finally, I don't know if I'll make it but I'll try!

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“She was a dangerous, dangerous girl. A plague. A Mountain of Adamant who tore the iron from ships, sinking them to their watery graves without a second thought. With a mere smile and a wrinkle of her nose.”

 I must warn you that these last weeks I've had the worst reading slump and so it's possible that my opinion on this book was affected by it, still I believe that even if I hadn't had such experience my opinion on it wouldn't have been very different. That said, I just thought that The Warth and the Dawn wasn't all that great.

“Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.”

 This book, as you might already know, is a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights. As far as retelling go I've always thought the most interesting thing about them is how the author manages to entwine parts from the original story with clever twists of his or her own invention. And it seemed to me, that The Wrath and the Dawn had very little of that as the story is basically the same. There is a king that marries a different girl every day, and each dawn the new queen dies by his command, however when the newest queen begins to tell him stories night after night, the king, entralled by her storytelling allows her to live in order for her to finish her tales.

 The only differences I could find were the Kalid's motives behind the death of his wives and Shahrzad own reason to marry the boy. Other than that there are no new additions, it's basically the same story but devoid of the richness of the original book. The characters seemed a bit watered-down and the description of the enviroment a bit plain, I'm not saying that it didn't have it's moments because it did, for example there were parts of the dialogue between Kalid and Shahrzad that were frankly brilliant but besides that I don't think I would ever choose this book over the source material, maybe it just wasn't for me. I know it has fairly good reviews and some people like it very much but I think that compared to other brilliant retellings out there it's just not that good.

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice.”

 I finished this book weeks ago, and yet my little bookish heart is still confused about it. On one hand, I wanted to love this, I mean it's Leigh Bardugo, I swear by Six of Crows. Then there's the whole Russian inspired setting that always (and I mean it) catches my attention. But I think that in the end, I liked the concept behind the book more than the actual material.

“This was the truth behind the handsome face and the miraculous powers, the truth that was the dead and empty space between the stars, a wasteland peopled by frightened monsters.”

 Alina Starkov is an orphan, she has known Mal (her best friend and crush) her entire life, and he is without a doubt the most important person in her life. When an accident occurs it is revealed that she has a very special skill which she had been unknowingly repressing since she was a child. Because of this she is sent to the Little Palace, a place where Grisha (people with abilities such as hers) train as soldiers under the command of a man known as The Darkling. Things happen and then she's running for her life.

 As I mentioned before I love Leigh Bardugo's writing, and though I was aware that this, beign the first book she wrote might not have the same quality as her newest work, I was still drawn to it. However though while I was reading it I was very invested in the story, after I finished the book I must admit it felt kind of hollow. Alina's characterization seemed a little flat and while I wanted (I really did) to love Mal, I ended up rooting for The Darkling. No surprise though, the bad guy always gets me (see Holland from A Darker Shade of Magic for example). I wouldn't say it was a disappointement because it wasn't but I'm still debating on reading the next one or not. I guess we'll see.

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The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“But were they truly victims? If they made a deal, knowing fully what they were trading for a wish--but then again, could a person ever truly know the consequences of giving away their heart?”

 This was a bit of an out-of-the-reading-slump book for me, I had read a painfully bad book before so this was a pleasant and quiet change in comparison. The Hearts We Sold is an Urban Fantasy book with quite an interesting premise, it caught my eye while I was browsing through Book Depository and suddenly I had to have it, turns out my bookish sixth sense was right for once.

 Dee Moreno has become pretty good at taking care of herself, but when money to pay for her education runs out she's forced to sell her heart to a demon and do as he pleases for two years until she can get it back again in exchange for enough money to support herself. Meanwhile she hangs out with the other heartless kids and fights some other-world beigns that threaten to destroy reality. I thought the plot was amazing, it was a very unique storyline that balanced enough drama and quiet moments to maintain my attention and keep me turning the pages.

“It was like pulling a curtain back, peering behind a mask made of smiles and quips. This was the real James, this young, bright, desperate thing. There was a burning intensity to his eyes, and she saw for the first time a boy who would sell his heart--not for some hobby, but because he thought it was the only way to life the life he wanted. They had that in common.”

 However it was the characters that I actually loved, I thought each one of them added a new edge to the story that made it real in my mind as well as relatable. And the romance, it was just wonderful; I feel like so many times YA books place all their bets on the brooding, misterious bad boy that I am kind of tired of it. This book steps aside from that kind of trope and presents this kind, thoughtful boy that feels damn real in the middle of all the changes going on, I love him.

 Lastly I'd like to mention that on top of all the awesomeness above, this book also includes wonderful representation and a good handling of themes like depression and parental abuse, which on the later's case is really hard to come by on the genre. Of course it's not completely perfect, there are a few things I didn't like too much like (view spoiler)[the "we're actually aliens" explanation near the end (hide spoiler)] but mostly this book was awesome and a very fast read for me.

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The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

How could a woman who looked so old still place so much importance on being attractive? (...) she saw now that there was something far worse than being ugly: being ugly and thinking you were beautiful.

 Honestly, at times I wondered if I was reading the same book as everyone else, pretty much because I couldn't find a single element in common between this book and all the glowing reviews on Goodreads. And to make it worse, this particular book was labeled after two other works I actually really like, which are The Hunger Games and A Song of Ice and Fire, both known for their great collection of strong female characters whose kind is notably absent in The Queen of the Tearling.

 So let's see, the story opens with Kelsea, a girl who is the only heir to her country's (The Tearling) crown. She has been raised outside the capital in an attempt to keep her from beign murdered before she becomes of age to be Queen, and also been kept from any human interaction besides the one involving her tutors. On her nineteenth birthday a troop of very good looking (yet pretty much useless) men appear on her doorstep and prepare to escort her back to the palace so she can be crowned. From that moment on the book takes almost two hundred pages (give or take) to describe her journey to the capital, it becomes terribly boring and painfully slow as Kelsea keeps whining and giving detailed descriptions of trivial things no one cares about; allow me to illustrate:

“Red hair was a recessive gene, and in the three centuries since the Crossing, it had bred slowly and steadily out of the population. Carlin had told Kelsea that some women, and even some men, liked to dye their hair red, since the rare commodity was always valuable.”

 The protagonist's trail of thoughts never seemed to vary much from the making of terrible decisions, with which she hopes to get into her people's good graces, and the constant, bitter reminder that she is very ugly. Overall this book held none of my interest, the writing style was nothing especial and it was in desperate need of some serious world-building. The first chapter lead you to believe it's some kind of medieval fantasy but it turns out that this story is actually happening in the future (why would people in the future decide to live without the improvements of modern life? Like penicillin for example?). There are a lot of inconsistencies and lack of common sense, that combined with the highly unlikable heroin are a definitive no for me.

 On a last note, I really hope Emma Watson backs out of this project, she's above this kind of mess.

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Daddy once told me there's a rage passed down to every black man from his ancestors, born the moment they couldn't stop the slave masters from hurting their families. Daddy also said there's nothing more dangerous than when that rage is activated.”

 All my life I've lived in a relatively safe neighbourhood, my parents have always made sure my brother and I didn't need anything, there's always been food in our table, and I've never been in a position where I feared the authorities, even if I don't always agree with them. This book proposes an entirely different story, one at least I have never experienced.

 Starr is a black girl who attends a fancy school and yet lives in a poor (and dangerous) neightbourhood, her parents struggle so she and her brothers can attend there. One night Starr becomes the only witness when a white cop shoots her unarmed friend Khalil, and this sends her carefully balanced world spiralling. The Hate U Give is a beautiful, heartbreaking story about what life looks like when you are in the wronged part of society, the part which lives in fear of beign pulled by a cop and constantly has to deal with the stereotypes everyone else places above their heads.

“That's the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?”

 This book made me consider my life again and the struggle so many people have to deal with just because they were born in the non privileged side of society, how easy is to overlook the way they're pushed around as if their lives didn't matter. But most importantly, how desperately we need to change the society we live in, to never be quiet in the face of discrimination, because it is outrageous we let this kind of things happen these days. Whether is letting a cop walk away with murdering an unarmed young man or staying silent when a friend makes a cruel joke about someone because of the color of their skin.

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 Toda mi vida he vivido en un barrio relativamente seguro, mis padres se han preocupado de que a mi hermano y a mí no nos falte nada, siempre ha habido comida en nuestra mesa, y nunca he estado en una posición en la que sienta miedo de las autoridades, aunque no siempre esté de acuerdo con ellas. Éste libro propone una historia completamente diferente, una que al menos yo nunca he experimentado.

 Starr es una chica de color que atiende a una escuela muy cara y vive en un barrio pobre (y peligroso), sus padres se esfuerzan para enviarla y a sus hermanos a dicha escuela. Una noche Starr se convierte en la única testigo cuando un policía blanco le dispara a su desarmado amigo Khalil, y esto envía su cuidadosamente balanceado mundo en un espiral. The Hate U Give es una bella y desgarradora historia sobre cómo se ve la vida cuando te encuentras en el lado perjudicado de la sociedad, el lado que vive con miedo de las autoridades y que constantemente debe lidiar con los estereotipos que el resto pone sore sus cabezas.

 Éste libro me hizo reconsiderar mi estilo de vida y el esfuerzo que muchos deben hacer simplemente porque nacieron en la parte no privilegiada de la sociedad, lo fácil que es ignorar que son tratados como si sus vidas no importaran. Pero más importantemente, que tan desesperadamente necesitamos cambiar la sociedad en la que vivimos, nunca estar callados en la cara de la discriminación, porque es indignante que dejemos que éste tipo de cosas ocurran hoy en día. Tanto como dejar que un policía asesine a un jóven desarmado o quedarse cayado cuando un amigo hace una broma cruel sobre alguien sólo por el color de su piel.

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A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“The great joy and honour of my life has been to know you. To call you my family. And I am grateful - more than I can possibly say - that I was given this time with you all”

 I waited a little bit after I finished this book to write a review because I feel like if I had written something the moment I finished it it would have, without a doubt, been compromised. Mainly because I loved it's predecesor and was in such a rush to find out what happened in the end that I devoured this book (spending the twelve hours of my night time flight reading, even when my eyes felt terribly dry, which is really not a healthy habit). I have to admit that though I loved it at first I can now see some flaws I overlooked in my obsession.

“I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have... the wait was worth it.”

 As always, I love Rhysand, he's the light of my life and I especially enjoyed how his and Feyre's relationship became so solid as the story progressed. The secondary characters are awesome as well, the only exception I can think of is maybe Nesta, I guess I like her better alone than with Cassian, he's so sweet and brave and to me she just feels so hateful, she's the girl who wished her family would starve because she was mad at her father and then was incredibly mean to her little sister for years just because Feyre decided she wasn't going to let her family perish. I don't now, I just don't like them together very much.

 On the other side I thought the final battle was really good, even though I feared the worst at some point (so not cool Sarah J Maas) but at the same time parts of the ending struck me as elaborate deus ex machina devices where the author tried to fix all plot holes while including all characters, which really wasn't necessary.

 In conclusion I think my opinions on this one are a little mixed to say the least, but oh well I still liked it for the most part, the Inner Circle was brilliant and the dinamics between characters is always my favourite part. I'm also very glad for the happy ending, it was perfect.

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 Decidí esperar un poco luego de leer este libro porque sentí que cualquier cosa que escribiera inmediatamente iba a estar comprometida, mayoritariamente porque amé el predecesor y tenía tanta prisa por saber que ocurriría al final que éste me lo devoré (leyendo durante todo mi vuelo de doce horas, aún cuando me ardieron los ojos). Sin embargo debo admitir que aunque en un principio amé este libro, ahora hay varias cosas que no me gustan.

 Como siempre, amo a Rhysand, es la luz de mi existencia y disfruto especialmente de lo sólida que se ha vuelto su relación con Feyre a medida que progresa la historia. Los personajes segundarios son buenísimos también, la única excepción que se me ocurre es Nesta, supongo que me gusta más sola que con Cassian que es tan valiente y dulce, mientras que ella parece estar llena de odio; es la chica que deseaba que su familia muriera de hambre y que constantemente se burlaba de su hermana pequeña porque la última decidió que no iba a dejar que su familia pereciera. No sé la verdad, no me gustan mucho ellos dos juntos.

 Por otro lado me encantó la batalla final, sin embargo al mismo tiempo hubieron partes del final que me parecieron como un elaborado deus ex machina dónde la autora trató de cerrar la trama e incluir a todos los personajes en ella, lo que realmente no era necesario.

 En conclusión creo que mis opiniones de este libro están un poco divididas; pero bueno, me gustó de todas maneras, la dinámica entre los personajes es siempre mi parte favorita. Además estoy muy contenta de que haya habido un final feliz, fue perfecto.

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“He thinks he'll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.”

 I read A Court of Thorn and Roses so long ago I barely remembered what happened at the middle of the book (because let's face it, the real story starts Under the Mountain) so I was a little reticent at the start of this one because when I finished said previous book I just thought it was alright, it didn't feel particularly compelling and the romantic interest, honestly, just wasn't for me. In fact I didn't even realize it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling until later because there is no beast in it.

 However I still decided to give A Court of Mist and Fury a try, I mean who knows? And I had also read some shining reviews in the meanwhile so why not? And let me tell you, I was completely, utterly blown away; putting things in perspective right now the first book almost feels like a prologue. I loved how the relationships were handled, Feyre's change of heart and the inclusion of abusive relationships and depression are a welcome adition in a genre that often neglects such topics.

 And then there's Rhysand, bad boy Rhys who under all the abuse he has endured still has a gentle heart. He's probably one of the best YA romantic interests I've had the pleasure to read about, he's caring and thoughtful and such a refreshing change from seemingly perfect Tamlin. His and Feyre's relationship is populated by shameless flirting, teasing and an the understanding between two people who have been through similar, if painful experiences. I loved the entire thing. So if you've liked the first book I cannot begin to emphasize how much you should read the next one.

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 Leí A Court of Thorns and Roses hace tanto tiempo que ya casi no recordaba lo que ocurrió en la mitad del libro, así que me sentía un poquito reticente al principio del segundo ya que cuando terminé dicho primer libro pensé que estaba bien, pero no sentí que fuera particularmente bueno y el interés romantico en realidad no era para mi gusto. De hecho, ni siquiera me dí cuenta de que era un retelling de La Bella y La Bestia hasta mucho después, porque de verdad no hay ninguna bestia en él.

 De todas maneras decidí darle una oportunidad a A Court of Mist and Fury, porque quién sabe? Además había leído varias reseñas brillantes, así que por qué no? Y dejenme decirles que fué maravilloso; poniendo las cosas en perspectiva ahora, el primer libro casi parece un prólogo. Me encantó como fueron manejadas las relaciones, el cambio de corazón de Feyre y la inclusión de temas como relaciones abusivas y depresión que muchas veces son ignorados en el género.

 Y después está Rhysand, que siendo el chico malo de la historia y aún con todo el abuso que ha tenido que soportar tiene un corazon de oro. Él es probablemente uno de los mejores intereses románticos en YA de los que he tenido el placer de leer, es bueno y amable y un cambio tan refrescante comparado con Tamlin. Su relación con Feyre está plagada de coqueteo y bromas y el entendimiento que exíste entre dos personas que han pasado por las misma experiencias. Amé todo. Así que si han leído el primer libro y les gustó no puedo comenzar a enfatizar lo mucho que deberían leer el segundo.

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A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Love and loss,” he said, “are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.”

 There are some books which are good, and then there are the truly remarkable ones, the Shades of Magic series lives in the realm of the latter; it's impressively well constructed, the character's development is splendid and the world is stunning. It might be one of the best series I've read this year.

 Everything, from beginning to conclusion had me turning pages at the speed of light. I specially enjoyed A Conjuring of Light above the two previous instalments because at that point all the characters were together which made the dinamics much more interesting, (besides the fact that I totally have a crush on Holland and he is present for almost the entirety of the book) Kell and Lila's exchanges and conversations were always my favourite part since book one. But I guess what I like the best about these books besides the writing style is how the author manages to include all characters into the storyline, every single one of them adds something to the plot that is unique and vital to the story, making the whole so much better than the sum of it's parts.

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 Existen buenos libros, y después están los realmente remarcables, la serie Shades of Magic vive en el reino de éstos últimos; está impresionantemente bien construida, el desarrollo de los personajes es espléndido y el ambiente es maravilloso. Es probablemente una de las mejores series que he leído este año.

 Todo, desde el inicio hasta el final me tuvo dando vuelta las páginas a la velocidad de la luz. Especialmente disfruté A Conjuring of Light por sobre los otros dos libros previos ya que en ese punto todos los personajes ya se encontraban juntos por lo que la dimámica se vuelve mucho más interesante, (además de que me encanta Holland y él está presente durante casi todo el libro) los intercambios y conversaciones en Kell y Lila fueron siempre mi parte favorita desde el primer libro. Pero supongo que lo que me gusta más de éstos a parte del estilo de escritura es como la autora logra incluir a todos los personajes en la historia, cada uno de ellos añade a la trama algo único y vital, logrando que el todo sea mucho mejor que la suma de sus partes.



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My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“My Lady, please! I am indecent.' 'You are,' Jane agreed. 'Not to mention the fact that you are also unclothed.”

“I’m glad we will not be forced to live by your quill, because I am rather used to having food on the table. But, I appreciate the effort behind those words.”

 I think my expectations were way too high. This book is funny in a silly, ridiculous, concealed snort, Princess Bride sort of way; however, after reading quite a few brilliant, five-star reviews I think I was expecting so much more. Don't take me wrong, I liked it, but I was expecting it to be hilarious and it's just funny.

 Still I think it works really well, the characters are wonderful, the story is nice and fast paced, it reads really quickly. And for someone like me who really adores The Tudors it also brings out more than a few smiles, if only for it's ridiculousness. For anyone who doesn't know who Lady Jane Grey (the protagonist) was in real life here's the thing, she was the Queen of England for a week or something after her cousin Edward died, following said week Mary Tudor (the original Bloody Mary) strolled into London, took the palace and had her beheaded.

 The book follows Jane as she becomes queen and is forcefully married to a very... let's say strange fellow. Her life turns into a entirely different thing but it doesn't stop there, there's also magic and foolishness and back-stabing enemies as the authors write her otherwise common story into quite a ride. My Lady Jane is a really nice book, not my favourite perhaps but a good one still.

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 Creo que mis expectativas eran muy altas. Este libro es divertido de una manera un poco tonta, ridícula, un poco como en The Princess Bride; sin embargo, después de haber leído varias reseñas brillantes creo que esperaba mucho más de él. No me malinterpreten, me gustó mucho, pero estaba esperando que fuera hilarante cuando sólo es divertido.

 De todas maneras funciona muy bien, los personajes son encantadores, la historia es agradable y progresa muy rápido. Y para alguien como yo, que adora The Tudors también provoca más que unas pocas sonrisas, aunque sólo sea por lo ridículo. Para quien no sepan quién fue Lady Jane Grey (la protagonísta) en la realidad, ella fue Reina de Inglaterra durante una semana más o menos después de la muerte de su primo Edward, luego de dicha semana Mary Tudor (la Bloody Mary original) marchó hacia Londres, tomó el palacio y la decapitó.

 El libro sigue el ascenso de Jane y su forzado matrimonio con un hombre bastante... especial. Su vida comienza a ir en una dirección completamente distinta pero no se detiene ahí, también hay magia y tonterías mientras que las autoras trasnforman la historia comonmente plana en todo un viaje. My Lady Jane es un muy buen libro, quizá no mi favorito pero muy bueno de todas maneras.

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Heartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 "Once I was a lonely Rook upon a distant shore, and I would murder for my queen so we might win a war. Now mine eyes see the heart that once we did search for, and I fear this heart shall be mended nevermore."

 Honestly, this was so good I don't even have words to express how much I love this book. I've always loved Alice in Wonderland, I read it when I was a child and then again as an adult, there is something so wonderful about that world that is pure nonsense and unleashed creativity, even the aesthetic of it is just that, wonder. On the other hand I also love Meyer's fairy tale retellings and the way she manages to keep the concept and infuse it with autenticity. Heartless is just that, the book has all the magic from the original Wonderland stories mixed up with the thrill of a villain's origin tale.

 "In fact," she continued, scanning the gardens below, "I want all the white roses to be removed before springtime. From now on, the gardeners are to plant only red roses, if they must grow roses at all."

 It combines the whimsical, poetic language of Lewis Carroll and detailed descriptions with Meyer's own style as it follows Catherine, a young noble girl on her path to become the next Queen of Hearts. As we all know, the original character is a villain so you can already guess something terrible must have happened to her; however it is exactly that which makes the book so compelling, Meyer manages to make the transition between heroin and evil queen so subtle you don't even realize when her mind starts to change.

 The ending is dark, yet satisfying and completely perfect. I'll recommend it until the end of my days.

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 Honestamente, esto fue tan bueno que no tengo palabras para expresar cuanto amo este libro. Siempre me ha gustado Alicia en el País de las Maravillas, lo leí cuando era pequeña y de nuevo ahora que soy adulta, hay algo fantástico sobre un mundo que es una mezcla de sin sentido y creatividad pura, incluso la estética de éste es eso, una maravilla. Por otro lado también me encantan la manera en que Meyer logra mantener el concepto de una historia conocida e infundirle autenticidad. Heartless es justo eso, el libro tiene toda la magia de la historia original mezclada con la emoción de la historia de orígenes de un villano.

 El libro combina el lenguaje poético de Lewis Carroll y las descripciones detalladas del estilo de Meyer mientras sigue a Catherine, una chica de origen noble en su camino a convertirse en la nueva Reina de Corazones. Como todos sabemos, el personaje original es una villana así que es fácil adivinar que algo terrible debe haberle ocurrido; sin embargo es eso exactamente lo que hace que el libro sea tan irresistible, Meyer logra hacer la transición de heroína a villana tan sutil que ni siquiera te das cuenta como la protagonista comienza a cambiar.

 El final es oscuro, aunque satisfactorio y completamente perfecto. Voy a recomendar este libro hasta el fin de mis días.


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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 So I read this book a long time ago (which means I don't remember everything exactly) but to honor the hype I've decided to write a review anyway. I love video games, even though I discovered the joy of them when I got older (my mom didn't want my brother and I to grow up with them, bummer I know) they're not only as fun as watching a movie or a series, you get to participate too! So when a friend lent me this book I already knew there was a great chance I would love it.

 The story is simple, there's a boy, Wade, who lives in a terrible version of the future where real life pretty much sucks, so he spends most of his time in a virtual reality named OASIS which makes it bearable. Inside the OASIS there is hidden a prize; when it's creator died he decided he would hide an Easter Egg inside the game and the user who found it would inherit his fortune, so everyone has been searching said prize for a long time. Obviously Wade becomes the first user to discover a real clue about the Egg and on the journey becomes instantly famous, makes some unlikely friendships and meets the girl of his dreams all the while making countless references to pop culture and other vintage marvels.

 I absolutely loved it. There are so many books these days which are written by adults and try to appeal to a teenage audience and fail miserably, this one however triumphs on the easy, knowing way the author explains online gaming and the enviroment; he's been there, playing until late night hours probably, Cline's not faking this or making it up, and I think that is best part of this book by far. Someone who enjoys gaming will understand completely that sense of camaraderie, the bonding and how sometimes the real world pales in comparison with a great adventure, even if it's just inside a screen.

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 Leí este libro hace bastante tiempo ya (lo que significa que no recuerdo exactamente todo lo que ocurre) pero por motivos de popularidad decidí escribir una reseña de todas maneras. Me encantan los videojuegos, aunque mi introducción a ellos fue un poco tardía (mi mamá no quería que sus hijos crecieran frente a la pantalla, lo sé, una lata) jugar no es sólo tan divertido como ver una película, sino que además te permite ser parte de la historia también! Así que cuando un amigo me prestó éste libro ya sabía que había una gran posibilidad de que lo amara.

 La hisoria es simple, hay un chico, Wade, que vive en una versión terrible del futuro donde la vida cotidiana es tan mala que lo obliga a pasar la mayor parte del tiempo en una realidad virtual llamada OASIS. Dentro de OASIS hay escondido un tesoro; cuando su creador falleció decidió que escondería un Huevo de Pascua dentro del juego y el usuario que lo encontrara heredaría su fortuna, así que naturalmente todo el mundo ha estado buscando dicho tesoro por bastante tiempo. Obviamente Wade se convierte en el primer usuario en encontrar una pista real sobre el Huevo y en el camino gana fama instantánea, hace algunas amistades y conoce a la chica de sus sueños, todo el tiempo haciéndo miles de referencias a la cultura pop y otras maravillas vintage.

 Amé este libro por completo. Hay tantos hoy en día que son escritos por adultos y tratan de apelar a una audiencia jóven y fallan miserablemente, éste sin embargo triunfa en la complicidad con la que el autor explica el ambiente y sensación de jugar online; él tiene esa experiencia, ha jugado hasta altas horas de la noche probablemente, Cline no lo está inventando, y creo que esa es la mejor parte de éste libro, la autenticidad. Alguien que ama jugar entenderá completamente esa sensación de camaraderia, la amistad y cómo algunas veces el mundo real palidece en comparación con una aventura, aunque ésta sea dentro de una pantalla.


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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 "They would learn to fear her, and they would know her by her name. The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true."

 I cannot express in words how much I love this book, it is not only one of the best I've read this year, but in the entire time I've been a reader. I have to admit I was a bit scared to get into this at first, it is definitely complex, with six different point of views and quite a plot, but it turned out to be such a rewarding experience.

 The story revolves around a group of six outcasts who land an unbelievable job to infiltrate a prison which if they complete successfully will make them rich beond their dreams. The characters are so beautifully crafted that this book sucks you right in, their intentions and the way they move around each other makes the story compelling, and has you turning pages the the speed of light just to know what happens next. The universe is the same as in The Grisha Triglogy but clearly Bardugo has come a long way as an author, her writing is now much more experienced.

 This book really had everything for me, a heist, complex characters, a fast paced plot, representation, even romace (never obstructing the plot though) and a handful of anti heroes. My favourite one for sure is Inej, a girl who was sold as a slave and who has become the greatest spy in the city, the horrors she has been through and her journey towards freedom and empowerment were, at least for me, the best part of the story.

 I highly recommend this one, it really one of the best YA novels that has reached my hands.

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  No puedo expresar con palabras lo mucho que amo este libro, no es sólo uno de los mejores que he leído este año, pero uno de los mejores que he leído en el tiempo que llevo como lectora. Tengo que admitir que estaba un poco asustada de éste en un principio, es definitivamente complejo, con seis diferentes puntos de vista y una trama muy rápida, pero resultó en una experiencia muy gratificante.

 La historia da vueltas en torno a un grupo de seis "marginados" los cuales adquieren la increíble tarea de infiltrar una prisión, la cual de resultar con éxito los hará ricos más allá de sus sueños. Los personajes está tan bellamnte construídos que el libro te atrapará al instante, sus intenciones y la manera en que se mueven alrededor unos de otros vuelve la historia irresistible, y te mantiene pasando las páginas a la velocidad de la luz sólo para saber que ocurrirá después. El universo es el mismo de The Grisha Trilogy pero obviamente Bardugo ha avanzado como autora, su escritura es mucho más experimentada ahora.

 Este libro lo tuvo todo para mi gusto, un robo, personajes complejos, una trama rápida, representación, incluso romance (aunque nunca obstruyendo la trama) y un puñado de anti heroes. Mi favorita por lejos es Inej, una chica que fué vendida como esclava y se ha convertido en la espía más grande de la ciudad, los horrores por los que ha pasado y su viaje hacia la libertad y el empoderamiento fueron para mí al menos, la mejor parte de la historia.

 Recomiendo éste libro altamente, es de verdad una de las mejores novelas YA que han llegado a mis manos.


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Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I’d heard in class once that our society has become so accustomed to violence that when we actually do witness real gore and brutality, we’re unable to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not."

 I don't read much contemporary, I often don't like the characters and the fact that there is no fantasy or mystery (which is most of the time what I like about reading) does nothing to change my mind. But with this book it was completely the other way around, I think what I loved about this book so much are the characters, I love that the main girl is bitchy and horrible sometimes, it's such a refreshing change from the kind but boring Hazel Grace from The Fault In Our Stars, don't get me wrong being kind is good too, but if I'm going to read about a teenage girl with cancer I want her to be angry and feel rage like any other teenager would at such news.

 I love how this book is not a romanticized story about how cancer can affect your life, but a raw description of what if would feel to know you're dying, because metaphors and Amsterdam trips are alright, but I'm not sure I would see it that way if I was in that place.

 Somehow between irony and cold sentences Julie Murphy manages to make her characters believable and bring them to life in a most human way.

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 No me gusta mucho leer novelas contemporáneas, muchas veces no me gustan los personajes y el hecho de que no hay fantasía o misterio (que es la mayor parte del tiempo lo que me gusta de leer) no ayuda a cambiar esa idea. Pero con éste libro es completamente lo contrario, creo que lo que más amé fueron los personajes, me encantó que la chica principal sea malévola y horrible a veces, es un cambio muy refrescante desde la amable pero aburrida Hazel Grace de The Fault In Our Stars, no me entiendan mal, ser amable está bien, pero si voy a leer un libro sobre una adolescente con cáncer quiero que ella esté enojada y sienta furia como cualquier otro que se encontrara en s lugar.

 Amo como este libro no es una versión romatizada sobre cómo tener cáncer puede afectar tu vida, pero una cruda descripción de lo que se sentiría saber que estás muriendo, porque las metáforas y los viajes a Ámsterdam están bien, pero no estoy segura de que yo lo vería de esa manera si fuera mi caso.

De alguna manera entre ironía y frases agudas Julie Murphy se las arregla para hacer a sus personajes reales y darles vida de la forma más humana posible.

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How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits by Anne Berest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 "Black is the colour of celebration, the colour of nights that never end."

 I think most of the people who has given this book bad reviews didn't quite understand it. This book won't give you lady-like advice, it will not turn you into Femme Fatale or give you a perfect sense of fashion in one night and it will definitely not turn you into a parisian in the blink of an eye. It is not a guide as much as a compilation of thoughts and some advice by four french women; it's all about sass and contradictions and other little details which are part of their identities, so don't expect to find a manifest on french culture inside.

 You can't take a book like this too seriously when all of it's contents are precisely about the opposite. It's okay not to agree with every thing written inside, I don't like everything either (aka the cheating part) but don't go around calling on morals when this is pretty much a french version of glorified Sex And The City. I firmly believe it's a very enjoyable reading for people who don't take themselves too seriously, it's still very chic and funny if you actually give it a chance.

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 Creo que la mayoría de los que le han dado malas reseñas a este libro no lo han comprendido del todo. Este libro no te va a dar consejos elegantes, no te va a convertir en una Femme Fatale o te va a dar un perfecto sentido de la moda en una noche y definitivamente no te va a convertir en una parisina en un cerrar y abrir de ojos. No es tanto una guía como una compilación de penamientos y algunos consejos de cuatro mujeres francesas; es más sobre descaro y contradicciones y otros pequeños detalles que son parte de sus identidades, así no esperen un manifiesto sobre la cultura francesa dentro.

 No puedes tomarte un libro como éste seriamente cuando el contenido principal es precisamente sobre lo contrario. Está bien no estar de acuerdo con todo lo escrito adentro, a mí no me gusta todo tampoco (la parte sobre engañar obviamente) pero para qué ir hablando de moral si esto es más o meno una versión francesa de la glorificada Sex And The City. Creo firmemente que es una lectura bastante agradable para alguien que no se toma a uno mismo muy seriamente, es de todas maneras muy chic y divertido si le dan la oportunidad.


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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 “Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.”

 Highly enjoyable and pretty cute, Rowell captures the awkward essence of social anxiety really well and her characters are truly a treat. I think everyone who has ever looked for solace from everyday life in the realms of fandom will feel more than a little bound to this novel; I would be lying if I didn't say I could relate to Cath not only on her preferences but on the (in a way) dreadful fear of walking the road out of school and into university and leaving the known comforts of home.

 Not much happens in terms of plot though, but the brilliance of this book is not in action but in introspection, I wouldn't say it's one of my all time favourites but that doesn't mean it's not great.

 Go read it, it's brilliant.

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 Tremendamente agradable y muy divertido, Rowell captura la extraña esencia de la ansiedad social muy bien, y sus personajes son realmente un regalo. Creo que todos los que han alguna vez buscado consuelo en los reino del fandom se sentirán algo más que conectados con esta novela; estaría mintiendo si no dijera que pude relacionarme con Cath no sólo en cuanto a sus preferencias,
pero en el (de alguna manera) terrible miedo de tomar el camino desde la escuela a la universidad y dejar atrás el alivio conocido de estar en casa.

 No mucho más ocurre en términos de trama, sin embargo el resplandor de este libro no descansa en la acción pero en la introspección, no diría que es uno de mis favoritos, pero eso no significa que no sea increíble.

 Léanlo, es brillante.


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