The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

Synopsis:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

I can't believe it took me so long to read a Percy Jackson book. I have wanted to for so long... but just had lots of things to do or simply had lots of books to read. But I finally did, even if it was a long time after I saw the movie. That's something I hardly ever do, because I hate having someone in mind when I try to picture the characters in my head. But that's something every bookworm feels, right?
Well, after reading the book, long after watching the movie, I was completely confused. I felt like the book and the movie had the same name and the same main characters, both plots went about demigods and about a missing lightning, but that was when the similarities stopped. The story is not the same!! How can Rick Riordan let this happen? I someone did that to one of my books, my complaint would be huge...

I loved the book. It was awesome, way better than I expected after watching the movie. Easy to read, really well-written. The movie was good, on the other hand, but different. The movie was way more simple, perfect for a younger aundience, while the book was more interesting because the story was more developped and complicated. 

I really like how Riordan develops his characters, how nothing is as simple as it seems, but not with too much fantasy, just the perfect amount of everything. IGreat imagination, I just found really weird that Percy in the book is 12 years old. I feel like that's part of trying to make a series as good and long as Harry Potter, allowing the character to grow up and stuff. But I feel like Percy and his friends don't act like twelve-year-olds. Never. What 12-year-old kid would cross the US while looking for something that they don't know it's there for sure? 

Just so you know, the book is amazing, and I just hope the rest of Rick Riordan's work is as wonderful. The movie was nice, but it was a different story. I'm kind of glad I didn't read the book before the movie came out, because I would've been so, so, so upset... But the book, which is what I'm talking about here, was great. Everyone should read it, no matter how old they are. 

Wings Series, Aprilynne Pike

Synopsis (Wings #1):

"Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful--too beautiful for words. 

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings."

Laurel discovers she is a faerie, sent among humans to protect the gateway to Avalon. Thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to each world. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

 

This amazing fantasy series consists in four books; Wings, Spells, Illusions and Destined. I could've written a post on each one of them, but I read the first one a couple of years ago and instead of writing three posts about the three books I read this month, I can just write one about all of them. 

Let's start by saying that the books are about faeries. I wasn't sure when I first read Wings whether I would like this or not. But then I thought that we've been reading about vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards, about demigods... Why not faeries? Let's give it a try. 

So I did. And loved it. After reading the four books, I decided that these books deserve to be way more well-known and that Aprilynne Pike's writing and imagination deserves more praise. 

I really enjoyed reading the Wings series, and the only bad thing I can say about it is that some things were too predictable, but that's it. 

I specially love the way Aprilynne writes her characters's dialogues, more than descriptions, even if they were necessary. I love the way she tries to make us in love with both David and Tamani, and how she tries to choose. I didn't expect to cry at any moment, because it didn't seem like the kind of books that make me cry, but the epilogue of Destined was too much for me. I guess I wasn't ready to know how many things can change in a couple of pages. 

I mainly enjoyed the books because reading about faeries was something different, unique, and Aprilynne's writing was, in my opinion, young and fresh. Clearly recommended.

Beautiful Disaster, Jamie McGuire

Synopsis:

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

I had heard awesome things about this book. The reviews on the Internet were great, and there were lots of Twitter accounts dreaming of Travis as we usually dream of Jace, Dimitri, Adrian, Edward, Patch, and many more. So I decided to give it a try, even though I had no idea what the book was about. When I finally found it, after looking in many bookstores, I read the synopsis and I thought "Well, this looks like one of those romance novels that you just use to spend a good time".

I wasn't that wrong. I mean, I was quite right. It is a typical love story, bad boy and good girl style. It has action, love, friendship... Quite nice. 

I was really enjoying it while reading, I loved it. It's not something I'll tell people that they must read, but if you have nothing else, you won't be disappointed. 

Except by the ending. Love stories are nice to write and to read. The "falling in love" part is easy, and then, halfway through the book, the main characters have a fight and everything falls apart, and you hope (you know) that they'll end up happily ever after. I hated the ending of this book. Not because of what happened, but mainly because it wasn't necessary to add that many scenes to prove the point. I can't say anything else without spoiling it, but if you want to talk just tweet/ e-mail me or leave a comment or whatever. Not only about this book, but about anything. 

To sum up, the book is really good, a good love story that we should read, but it's not a must-read for anyone. But you should read it to spend a nice day or two, because it doesn't take longer than that. 

Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #3)

Synopsis:

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

I got Clockwork Princess for my birthday (June 11th), because my parents, seeing how much I wanted the book, decided that they wanted to be the ones giving it to me. So I had to wait until then while some of my friends and everyone on Twitter had already read it. And everyone was talking about how the book had made them feel... 

When I read it, I understood. The first half of the book went by pretty quickly, and I spent all that time wondering how it would end, who would Tessa end up with and... yes, who would Tessa end up with. 

I'm not writing spoilers here, but it's just... there are no words to describe it. If you've read it, you'll understand. Let me just say that I had never cried as much as I did with the last 30 pages of Clockwork Princess. Ever. So many things were happening, so many sad things altogether... I admire Cassandra Clare for the way she writes, and I will always admire her, because this ending was devastating. She clearly didn't want to disappoint anyone, not the people who love Will, not the people who love Jem, and she tried to make the best ending that she could. 

The problem with this is that there are only two possibilities concerning that ending; whether you hate it for what it makes you feel, or you love it for what it makes you feel. Same reason, different feelings. But awesome. 

The only way to really talk about this book is by crying while talking to someone who's already read it. So if you haven't read the ending chapter of The Infernal Devices, go do it right now. And if you haven't read The Infernal Devices, or even The Mortal Instruments, I don't know how can you live without knowing about the world of Shadowhunters that Cassandra Clare has made for us. 

Splendor, Anna Godbersen (Luxe #4)

Synopsis:

As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new roles as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.

Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty - but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New York's shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.

In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York's most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city's oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains: Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?

It took me years to find this book!! I read the first three of the series back in 2009, I think, or around that time, and it took me four years to find the last one in Spanish! I bought the first three in Spanish, so I wasn't going to read the last one in English... So I just waited. And waited. And the exact same week when I had  started to look for it in English on the Internet, I found it on a bookstore. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy, so excited, that everyone looked at me like I was crazy. But I didn't mind.
So I just got home and left everything else I was reading at the moment (something that I don't usually do) and read Splendor in two nights. Well, it was two nights till I had a chapter left, the last one on the series, the one that would decide if it was a happy ending or not, so I just decided I didn't want to finish because then I would already know how the series ended and it would be done forever... But I finally read it, cried for a while... 

I'm not going to spoil you the ending in case you want to read iy (which you should must), but Diana had been my favorite character since the very beginning, and I wasn't really sure what to think of her when I finished the book. I feel like everything I say about the book gives an impression about the ending, so I'm just not going to say anything else. 

In general, I absolutely loved the series, and Splendor was just the ending, as flawless as the rest, but an ending. Everyone should read that in their lives! Romance, historical fiction. Awesome. 

I'm back!

Sorry for being away for so long, but back in May and early June I was extremely busy with school and final exams and stuff, and as soon as I finished I left for five weeks, which I spent without computer, so I couldn't really update this. 

The good news are that, as I spent so long without my laptop, I had a lot of time to read, and I have a lot of books to talk about, and some series and movies. Lots of things! I'm going to try to upload soon, maybe more than one or two posts a day, because I really want to update this. 

And, by the way, thank you for whoever is reading this. I really appreciate it. 

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters movie news

We finally know the whole cast of the Vampire Academy movie!! I'm just so excited to write a blog post about it... Really want to see the movie soon!! :)

The movie is going to be out in cinemas on February 14th, 2014. Yes, on Valentine's Day. And it's going to be great!

I like the cast, they're good for the characters they're playing, more or less (quite better than the TMI cast, in my opinion), and the movie can be really good, if they more or less follow the book (please...).

So here you have the list of actors and actresses, in case you haven't seen them yet:

- Zoey Deutch plays Rose Hathaway.

- Danila Kozlovsky is Dimitri Belikov (he's Russian, which means real accent!!).

- Lucy Fry is Lissa Dragomir.

- Dominic Sherwood plays Christian Ozera.

- Sami Gayle is Mia Rinaldi.

- Ashley Charles is Jesse Zeklos.

- Cameron Monaghan plays red-head Mason Ashford. 

- Sarah Hyland (yes, from Modern Family) plays Natalie Dashkov.

- Olga Kurylenko is Headmistress Kirova.

- Claire Foy plays Sonya Karp.

- Gabriel Byrne is Victor Dashkov.

- Joely Richardson plays Queen Tatiana from the Ivashkov family.

So what do you think about the cast? I'm just really excited to see them working together and let's see how the movie looks like! They're filming in Europe, in the UK most of the time, and they're going to include some photography scenes from Montana, where the book really takes place. And I think it's perfect that the actor playing Dimitri is Russian, because we are really going to be able to listen to a beautiful Russian accent while falling in love...

Author Richelle Mead is happy with the cast and with everything movie-related, and she's just as exctited as we all VA fans are. The only thing they've really changed (that we know) is the title. Blood Sisters instead of Vampire Academy. Why? Don't know, really, but if they leave the whole saga as Vampire Academy it's okay for me. 

What do you think? Like the cast members or not?

  

Arcadia Awakens, Kai Meyer (Arkadien #1)

Synopsis:

To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic, and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa wastes no time falling head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both intrigue and unsettle her. But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem.

Ancient myths brought to life in the Sicilian countryside, dangerous beasts roaming the hills, and a long history of familial bloodlust prove to Rosa that she can’t trust anyone—not even her own family. Torn between loyalty to her aunt and love for her family’s mortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicily with her new love . . . or run as far and as fast as she can.

I was recommended this book by a person in Twitter, saying I would totally love it and that it was amazing. The author himself replied to our tweets, and that made me want to read it even more, because he had shown to be a normal person like all of us, accessible to everyone by a social network, which is great. 

Well, anyway, I had decided to read the book when I was told that it was only in German and English, and a few other languages I don't speak, so I had to find the English version, which is not easy here. So in my trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, with my parents, I found it at this small bookshop and bought it without even thinking. I had been waiting quite a long time to find it. 

But it took me a couple of months to have time to start it, even if I had really wanted to earlier. But I did. I started it and loved it since the very first page. I loved the main character, Rosa, because she wasn't obvious like many other main characters in other books are. The shoplifting thing surprised me, and I loved finding out more things about her as the story went through. And Alessandro... omg. I loved him since the very first sentence he said, and it was as clear as water that Rosa, underneath her strong attitude, was going to fall head over heels for him. And I did too. 

The rest of characters were beautifully described, not in a page, but through the whole book. It's great to find a book where you don't get to know the characters in the beginning, not even the main ones. It's nice to get to know them page by page like we would if they were real people. 

When Rosa finds that tiger in the woods I was like ok, I guess what's going to happen. And it does happen. I kind of expected it. But I did not expect the consequences of that situation and everything it happened later. Most of it was unexpected. And I really like that. I was afraid, when I guessed the tiger thing, that the book was going to be plain and expected, but it finally surprised me and erased my doubts. 

So I really loved it and I'm really happy they recommended it to me, and I will recommend it to anyone. Now everything I want to do is find the next two books that complete the trilogy and read them all. Let's see what happens. 

Wattpad

Wattpad? I love that website! It's just so great that there's this place where we can all post our own stories so people can read them, and also read amazing stories or even novels that other people post. 
When I found it for the first time, all I could do was read and read other people's works, and it took me some time to post my first short story. Then I post my second one, and it wasn't until this week, after almost a year, that I uploaded my first one. It would be great if you checked them out, you know, and comment or vote or share or whatever...
What I was saying, this webpage is completely addictive, if you find something good to read, and I've spent hours reading this stories people post. The problem is that, that people post them. So maybe you're reading a great story with many chapters and you reach the end of one and it says "I'll upload soon", so you check when was this published and tell yourself than "soon" is going to be soon. But it's not. Weeks go by and it hasn't been uploaded... And that freaks me out, so what I do is always check if the story is finished. But sometimes you find something so good that it's worth waiting (hadn't happened to me yet). So I really recommend you to go check it out if you haven't already. And, by the way, don't read it in your phone. The app is great, and the font can be made bigger and stuff, but I've ended up with a headache many times, but continued reading just because it was really interesting. 

So I hope you like it. 

By the way, these are the links to my short stories, if you want to check them out (I'd appreciate that...) :)

Erasing memories

Walking through the forest

Sadness 

Sant Jordi

On April 23rd every year, in my country we celebrate Sant Jordi (St George), which is the Book Day here :) That makes it one of my favourite days of the year, because it's my opportunity to get new good stuff to read... Traditionally, women give books to men while men give red roses to women, but I've always wanted to break traditions... Why would I want so many roses? I mean, one is great and nice and beautiful and all that, but then they die... And what I really want on that day is new books! So like a month before the day I start telling everyone how much I would love this and this and that book, and maybe they'll get it for me...

So this year for Sant Jordi, which was last week, I finally got:

- Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion. I was so excited when I got it! The movie has just come out in cinemas here, but I'm not going to see it until I read the book, so that's what I'm currently reading... It looks great for now :)

- The dead of night, by John Marsden. I wasn't really sure I wanted this book, because I didn't buy it when I saw it some months ago... But my sister bought it for me, and now I'm excited about it, because I didn't expect it, but I really liked the first book. John Marsden's idea for the plot is really good. So let's see...

- The Selection, by Kiera Cass. I've been wanting this book for a few months right now, but I never really found it in a bookshop. Someone recommended it to me by Twitter, and I looked at the synopsis and stuff and I really liked how it looked so... But then I went through a few blog posts from different blogs making review about it, and I saw this one which said that buying The Selection was the biggest mistake she ever made, but the rest of reviews were quite good, so I decided to go for it and try, because only my personal opinion will decide what I think about the book. So I'll tell you when I'm done. 

- Splendor, by Anna Godbersen. Ok, this were the 17.95€ best spent in years. I've been looking everywhere for this book for four years, and I had already started to give up... Because I love the The Luxe series, I loved the first three books, and I have them in Spanish. So the right thing to do was wait until the fourth one was published. But it didn't for a long time... I remember looking everywhere on the internet for a publishing date or something about it, but the results were none. I decided to buy it in English, even if my collection will be a bit... different that way, but there was no way I was waiting any longer. So when last week I found in in a bookstore, I think I almost screamed and cried of happiness... I grabbed it and wouldn't leave it for anything till I got home, and my mom was starting at me like I was crazy... Whatever. But I was so happy I had found it!! Now let's hope that it's worth a four-years wait.