Natalina Reis's Blog, page 19
November 19, 2020
Blood & Honey – Review
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
All in all this was a great read. Congrats to Ms. Mahurin for pinning an even better tale than the first in the series. As a writer I know how agonizing it is to write a series especially one that holds pain and darkness for the characters. I loved the addition of Claud and his troupe. The world building continues to be fantastic, familiar enough to anyone interested in history, but different enough to raise many questions.
The underlying social and moral issues are well-developed and well woven together: the dangers of prejudice in all its forms, the thin line between good and evil, love and hate, loyalties and betrayals.
There were a couple things that didn’t sit well with me though, one of which was right at the end. **possible spoiler**
It seemed as totally out of character for Lou to be alone in the room with la Dame Blanche and Nicholina. Even Claud mentions that and he’s a wise creature. I also didn’t buy that Lou, being a powerful as she was would so easily fall in their trap.
Be prepared to get your heart wrenched out of your chest and stumped on. Wonderful story.
November 18, 2020
Heir of Fire – Review
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great installment in this series. Ms. Maas has a gift to write imperfect characters that you grow to love. Like the others–or maybe even more than the others so far– this is a rollercoaster of events, revelations, and emotions. Can’t wait to start the next one.
View all my reviews
September 30, 2020
Chain of Gold Review
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cassandra Clare is back! After my disappointment about her last installment of the Dark Artifices series, I’m over the moon that her wonderful storytelling and great characters are back in force. No more of this confusing and rather forced “everything but the kitchen sink” character cast and plot. This is the writing I fell in love with when I discovered the Mortal Instruments. Cassandra does historical PNR/urban fantasy really well and her characters are again likable (or not) and well-developed. I am totally in love with James and Cordelia and all their friends and relations. Great start for this series.
August 22, 2020
Dark Lover by J.R. WardMy rating: 5 of 5 starsIt took me ...
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It took me forever to read this series even though I heard great things about it. I finally picked up the first book and I was very pleasantly surprised. At first I almost quit reading it. I don’t like Alpha males. Sorry, but the super-muscled, “she’s-my-female”, brawn before brains, leather-covered giant male does nothing for me other than irritate me. I’m glad I persisted though because Ms. Ward did what I find other authors often fail to do; she made these macho guys sound vulnerable and likable. I am now a big fan of the Brothers and their “females”. I will most definitely read the rest of the series. Thank you Ms. Ward for making your characters strong but human (even as vampires, lol), both the males and the females. Loved it!
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It took m...
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It took me forever to read this series even though I heard great things about it. I finally picked up the first book and I was very pleasantly surprised. At first I almost quit reading it. I don’t like Alpha males. Sorry, but the super-muscled, “she’s-my-female”, brawn before brains, leather-covered giant male does nothing for me other than irritate me. I’m glad I persisted though because Ms. Ward did what I find other authors often fail to do; she made these macho guys sound vulnerable and likable. I am now a big fan of the Brothers and their “females”. I will most definitely read the rest of the series. Thank you Ms. Ward for making your characters strong but human (even as vampires, lol), both the males and the females. Loved it!
August 21, 2020
Shadows, Maps, and other Ancient Magic-Review
Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fun as always. I was sad that Kett barely made an appearance in this book but very excited about a new character who looks very promising, the new dragon sentinel. Jade’s friendship with Candy continues to develop and plays a big role in this book as well. My only pep peeve with this series is that I am always craving sugar because of Jade’s own obsession with chocolate and cupcakes. Fun and action-packed. Highly recommend.
August 9, 2020
A Happy Place
The year 2020 will go down in history as a first. Not a good “first” but still something that had never happened before. Not to this scale and definitely not in the modern age. Hard to believe that a microscopic creature could stop the world, but it sure did.
There’s no way of thinking of this pandemic as a good thing for all kinds of obvious reasons. However, the positive has actually emerged in unexpected ways. Some families have reconnected by being forced to come up with ways to entertain themselves rather than relying on friends and outside resources. Some people have seen the resurfacing of old and forgotten hobbies like puzzle-making (I’m one of those), reading, exercising, gardening, baking, etc.
For me, this pandemic brought me a few unexpected benefits, the best one being to provide me with the opportunity to reconnect with my family in Portugal (yes, the country across the ocean). What? How can that be when international travel has been nonexistent for months?
[image error] My sister and I in 2019
Both my sister and my mom (and the rest of my family) live in Portugal. For years we relied on the phone to communicate in between visits, which often were two or more years apart. The advent of technology-assisted video messaging got me excited, but neither my mom or sister were familiar with the tech, so nothing happened for years. And with the time difference and both me and my sister working, it was nearly impossible to find a common meeting time even with messaging and phone calls.
Enter the pandemic. My sister worked at a restaurant which closed briefly after this whole mess started. I’m a teacher, and schools suddenly closed as well. All of a sudden we were both home and available. My sister and I had been chatting on Facebook messenger for a few months but it was just texting. At some point during this crisis, I managed to convince her to try the video chat feature. And bingo! I now get to see my family almost everyday.
I can’t tell you what being able to talk, really talk with facial expressions and contextual surroundings, with my sister, mom and nephews means to me. For the first time in over thirty years of living an ocean apart from them, I feel like we’re close again. I get to share my stuff with my best friend and she gets to share with me. I know it’s not the same as if we were actually in the same room, but it is so much better than a phone call a week or a few text messages here and there.
As a bonus, my cousin (who I always think of as another sister since we grew up together) and uncle, moved to Portugal from Canada right as the Pandemic hit. So now I get to see and talk to her every week as well after such a long time with little or no communication.
[image error]My sister, mom, cousin, and uncle
As strange as it sounds, this pandemic brought me to a very happy place. What about you? Has this crisis brought you any positive things? I would love to hear from you in the comments.
[image error]Me, my cousin, and my sister a lifetime ago
July 26, 2020
Poisoned Primrose- New Release
Poisoned Primrose
Motts Cold Case Mystery Book 1
by Dahlia Donovan
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Autistic, asexual, and almost forty, Pineapple “Motts” Mottley flees London with her cat and turtle to a quaint cottage in Cornwall. She craves the peace of life in a small village. The dead body buried in her garden isn’t quite what she had in mind, though.
Unable to resist her curiosity, she falls directly into a mess of trouble and runs head-first into the attractive detective inspector, Teo Herceg. She tries to balance her business with the investigation, but as the killer focuses on her, staying alive becomes trickier than advanced origami.
Will Motts survive the onslaught of murderously bad luck?
Can she solve the mystery before it all spins out of control and off a cliff?
Add to Goodreads
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Books2Read
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads * Newsletter
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July 9, 2020
Crescent City- Review
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have recently become a fan of Sarah J. Maas’ books and was curious about this more adult-oriented story. I loved it, but let me first touch on what I didn’t like as much. I thought that profanity, however appropriate to the characters and the situations was used in excess. There is no need for that frequency of f-bombs in any story, in fact I think it kind of dilutes the power of the word when used only sporadically. Maas was able to deliver equally powerful and intense scenes in her more YA-targeted books with much less profanity. Her sex scenes (which admittedly are not frequent in this book) are also a bit jarring and crass. But these are all personal preferences.
That said, the story was amazing. I had a little trouble in the beginning because the two main characters are not exactly likable at first. But don’t give up on them. There are many layers to Bryce and her angel and I really enjoyed the development of their relationship from one of extreme hostility to love. The mystery was great and kept the readers on their toes and holy crap! I love when the author can surprise me. And Maas definitely did that. It’s raw, intense, and extremely touching and humane at times. The cast of side characters is fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more about them too. Highly recommend, just don’t listen to it in public, lol.
July 1, 2020
Heart of Dracula – New Release
Immortal Soul: Part One
The Vampire King has come to Victorian Boston…and has his sights on an empath. Caught in a war between the living and the dead, Maxine must choose.
Boston, 1897.
Death comes to the city heralded by a crimson moon and screams in the night. The Vampire King has come to claim the city, unless he can be stopped…
Maxine Parker has lived a solitary life. Not because she wishes to, but because she has no choice. Her empathic ability has rendered it impossible for her to touch anyone without killing them.
But as she is thrust into the middle of a war between the enigmatic and alluring Vampire King and three stalwart hunters, she learns she cannot kill what is already dead.
Buy Links
Available on KU
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About Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Kat has always been a storyteller.
With ten years in script-writing for performances on both the stage and for tourism, she has always been writing in one form or another. When she isn’t penning down fiction, she works as Creative Director for a company that designs and builds large-scale interactive adventure games. There, she is the lead concept designer, handling everything from game and set design, to audio and lighting, to illustration and script writing.
Also on her list of skills are artistic direction, scenic painting and props, special effects, and electronics. A graduate of Boston University with a BFA in Theatre Design, she has a passion for unique, creative, and unconventional experiences. In her spare time, she builds animatronics and takes trapeze classes.
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