Welcome (:

Hello everyone and welcome to my bookblog!

I'm Martina, 22, and I live in the middle of nowhere in Italy. (Yeah, it's so sad! I don't wanna live here!)

I love books and here I will talk about 'em. YA, dystopian, scifi, paranormal, contemporary..... I am a BIBLIOPHILE.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Quickly Review #2

Hi guys, it's been a while since I wrote something. But here I am, with another short review!
-THE IRON QUEEN- by Julie Kagawa
As you already know, I've been marathoning this series this month! Right now, I'm quite half through the Iron Knight, the last book. But let's talk about The Iron Queen.
[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
The book opens up with Meghan and Ash exiled that are trying to come back home, in Louisiana. Through projects and ideas of the future, they notice that they can be in peace, due to the Iron Fey. The false king wants Meghan dead, to regain his powers. Our protagonists can't act like normal guys and soon they require protection from the Exile Queen, Leanansidhe. At the very beginning of this novel, Meghan figures out that her father was stolen by Leanansidhe and kept in the Between. The worst is that Puck is the architect of this abduction, in order to protect Paul from the Summer Queen, he'd made a deal with Leanansidhe. Meghan is feeling betrayed and very angry with her best friend, she doesn't even speak to him, but in the meanwhile she needs him to teach her Summer magic. Every times she tries to use glamour she feels sick and passes out, because of Iron and Summer glamour can't work together.
Mab and Oberon withdraw their exile to seek help from Meghan, because the Iron Kingdom is spreading and the Iron fey are destroying their forces. Meghan is the only one who can defeat the false king and restore the peace between the courts. With some special amulets, Grimalkin, Puck and Ash can follow Meghan into the Iron Kingdom, in order to help her kill the false King. They make the acquaintances of the Iron court's rebel, convincing them to fight for their ideas and creed.
Come back to the battlefield, Meghan and her friends (with the lovely help of thousand and thousand of gremlins (and iron horses)) sneak in the Iron Fortress, where the false king lives. Surprise, surprise! Who's the false king? Ferrum, the first iron king. They fight very tenaciously, however Meghan understands that only she can defeat him blending both Summer and Iron glamour, and give him her power. Hit to death, Meghan releases her power, killing the Iron King.
At this point I was crying hard, because Ash would be alone another time, and you all know how fond I am of him. She doesn't want to be cured, she has to go to the old iron Fortress, the rebel's den. Her last words have the power to force Ash out of the Knight vow, and by his True Name, she makes him leave her to die. (Yeah, as you can probably guess, I cannot read anymore due to my glassy eyes and tears all over my precious book!)
The end is very traumatic and kind of right, because the Iron Kingdom saved her, becoming the Iron Queen. She says her goodbyes to her family because now she cannot leave the Nevernever, she has a lot of responsibility. Although Ash cannot go into the Iron Kingdom, he makes her a promise: HE WILL FIND A WAY TO BE WITH HER.
This book ends with a short epilogue with Ash's POV, and OMG how wonderful it is!!?!?

My general thought are quite good about this book, I really enjoyed the fights and strategies to defeat the false king. And as I said, it made me cry. I am so attached to all of these characters: the cat, ASH, Meghan, Puck, the cat, ASH!!! I totally recommend this book and this series, because if you love fantasy or faery, it's a MUST.
I gave it 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads, check it out -> here (:


See you soon, byeeeeee
xo, M.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Friday Reads | The Iron Queen.

Hi bookworms!
What are you reading? And what are you planning to read on the weekend?
I'm currently reading THE IRON QUEEN BY JULIE KAGAWA. 
As I said before if you're following me, I am in love with Ash. Ah, this guy is so cool and lovable. He makes this book 10 times better. However, I am half through it, and you all must read this series. You know, it's just THAT good, okay? Stop. Buy it. Now.

Quickly Review #1

Welcome to my first "QUICKLY REVIEW". What is about? Well, under the hashtag #quicklyreview I'll post some short review (like, very very short!). For example, little talks about a full series.

First, I just wanna say something about my obsession with Ash: it's irrational and unstoppable. How much I love the Icy Prince is nothing explicable, okay? Okay. So let's start with something more rational.....(I think).
-THE IRON KING-
I am not ashamed of saying I've read it in an heartbeat. This book is the feels! I quite enjoy every characters, but I have some favs. Just let's talk about Ash. Ash is the feary Prince of Winter, he's cold, calculator, stubborn and..... *shimming* so lovely. I kinda fell for him from the beginning.  Yes, I'm THAT predictable. But, you know, even in the book they said EVERYONE fell for him. I didn't want to be left out! The relationship with Meghan, the protagonist and also the Summer Princess, is so full of secrets and mystery and *screams* the feels. Just.. the feels. I love bad guy. I love "I hate you, I want to kill you" kind of guy. It's just so amazingly written, that's stunning. Ash is portrayed as an icy man without feelings, but with Meghan he started to FEEL again. *aaaaah*
(I have to stop fingerling like that.) It's not the only thing. Furthermore, there's Puck. And he's so sweet, and gentle, and smirky! (I don't know if this word exists, but I don't care.. He smirks a lot. So he's smirky!)
Okay, let's talk about the story. Here we have Meghan, half-blood Princess of the Summer Court, who  has to save his little brother Ethan. He was kidnapped by the Iron King. Who is he? He's part of the new fey, made from the dreams of technology, made of iron (you say?!) that want to conquer the Nevernever (ergo Faeryland). [SPOILER FROM HERE....] Meghan, at the end, will defy the Iron King, using a new kind of glamour (the iron glamour). Ash is safe, Puck is still with the dryads trying to survive, she comes home after 5 months with her little brother. But it's not a real happy ending, because the bell's door rings. Who's there? ASH's coming to take Meghan into the Winter Court as promised.

-THE IRON DAUGHTER-
Ah, this book. You know, I thought that "The Iron King" was almost perfect and that the other books in the series would be less amazing. I never was so wrong in my life. This book has all the feels. It opens in the Winter Court, where Meghan is kept prisoned. Here we realize how awful the Unseelie are. (Very very bad people, guys! You don't wanna mess with them). She feels alone and desperate because, you know Ash can't have her, she is a Summer feary and it's against the law (too bad!). 
The first third of the book dwells with Meghan and Ash's escape from Tir Na Nog, due to the Iron Fey's attack. The Scepter of Season is stolen and Mab, Queen of the Unseelie, calls war against the Summer Court, the possible thief.  Cool staff here guys, Ash leaves Meghan with Puck, who is fully recovered from the previous injurie. 
Asimismo, The Princess makes a deal with an iron feary, Ironhorse, in order to return back the Scepter to Mab. This book shows the journey they made to the mortal realm where the rebellious Iron Fey kept the Scepter. Our little group find refuge to the Exile Queen, Leanansihde (please, someone tells me how to pronunce it!), as all the feary she is unpredictable and dangerous, but she helps Meghan and her friends. We can see how Meghan managed to learn she can use Iron Glamour and defeat the iron daughter, Vicious, the real thief of the Scepter of Season. She wants the power to remove the false king of the Iron Kingdom, but she ends up failing her goal (Meghan killed her!).
When they return the Scepter to Mab, they are able to stop the war between the Summer and Winter Court. Least but not last, Ash who was considered a traitor for Mab, confesses his love to Meghan and he gets exiled in the mortal realm. Of course Meghan is in love with him, and she can't lose him again. So, she follows him into the mortal realm, getting exiled by her father.
THE FEELS. THE FEELS. THE FEELS. Ash is just so lovely with Meghan. Everyone should have an Ash as boyfriend.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Bookhaul #1

Hi guys!
It's been a while since I post something, exams suck! (But everything went well!yay!)
Today I'm gonna make some changes on my blog, but first.... Let's talk about my lovely BOOKHAUL!!!! It's tiny, but I'm so excited about every single book!

As you already know, I've been reading the Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa for awhile and now, I have the entire series on my shelf! On my July TBR post, you can see what's about!

Then, I have almost completed (Daimon is the only novella I don't have it yet!) the Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Elixir, Apollyon and Sentinel. On the link here I had a little talk about this books.

But now, let's get to the unknown part.....
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 
All I know about this book is that is part of a trilogy, it's a dystopian YA, it has a wonderful writing and it's very poetic. The book talks about Juliette, who has an incredible gift or curse. Her touches are legal, literally she kills people when she touches them. For this reason, she's been captured and keep isolated by the government.

After some paranormal/dystopian books, I decided I wanted something more "summery" and "easy". I picked Anna and the french kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Yes, as you can notice I'm a bit ashamed that I haven't read anything by Stephanie Perkins. But now, I can. What's better than a cute summer read at the beach? NOTHING. This story follows Anna and her experience in a new school. She had to move to French, due to her father's job. Maybe here, she will fine the love of her life. I WILL DEFINITELY SEE.

And last but not least, *drumm roll* Looking for Alaska by John Green. I really don't know much about it. I know it's awesome, just like every other John's books. So let's read!!!


GOODBYEEEEEEEEE <3

Sunday, July 6, 2014

July TBR

Hi y'all!!!!
This is my July TBR. I have to say that I made myself a promise, "study more, read less" because I have to graduate from university in this fall. I should work hard and this will cost me a lot of my reading time! But with no further ado, let's see my JULY TBR!

The Iron Fey: The Iron King / The Iron Daughter / The Iron Queen / The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I will marathon this series. It look so amazing, and I love this boxed set.

The Iron Fey saga recounts half-human, half-faery Meghan Chase’s battle to claim her magical birthright. To rescue her kidnapped half-brother Ethan, Meghan faces unimagined dangers, unpredictable powers…and forbidden love. Now Ethan is all grown up, hunted by a new breed of fey. On his own journey into the Nevernever, the reluctant warrior encounters powerful kin, unlikely allies—and the vengeful Forgotten.

  
Elixir, Apollyon and Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
It's a shame I have not finished yet!! Forth and fifth book in the Covenant series, with a novella, Elixir. I will not talk about these particular books because, you know, SPOILER! So, this series is about Alex, an half-blood Hematoi. The Hematoi descends from the unions of gods and mortals. Greek mythology, forbidden love, fights, war against the Daimons, the bad Pure-bloods. Pures have godlike powers, halfbloods are trained to be Sentinels to fight daimons and protect the Pures. Perhaps, everyone should read these books because of AIDEN. Goddammit, hot beautiful and forbidden Aiden. These books are phenomenal. People say the Covenant series is similar to Vampire Academy. Well, maybe some parts of the first book, but when you go into it, you will see with your eyes. Totally different stories.


Goodbyeeeeeeee, M.



Friday, July 4, 2014

June Wrap Up

Hello everyone!!!!
Welcome to my June Wrap Up! This month wasn't very productive, I had to do a lot of stuff such as STUDYING FOR FINALS at my university. (Ahw, so boring!) And I'm still studying. This is a endless nightmare.
By the way, let's start.

At the beginning at the month, I finished the Under The Never Sky Saga by Veronica Rossi.
#1 'THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT' & #2 'INTO THE STILL BLUE' BY VERONICA ROSSI
I really enjoyed these sequels, they were very well written. I think that this series goes into my top fav dystopian novel. The first book is more focused on Perry, the male protagonist. It was nothing but amazing. I don't want spoil nothing to anyone, but they are a very fast paced reading and I recommend 'em to everyone. Romance, cool new world, fights, Perry, Roar.... should I go on?
And the end? Well, just perfect. Mmm, maybe I wanted more.. but you know. Everything was right.
I gave both of them 5 of 5 stars.
Love was like the waves in the sea, gentle and good sometimes, rough and terrible at others, but that it was endless and stronger than the sky and earth and everything in between.” ― Veronica Rossi, Through the Ever Night, Perry.

#3 ONE WEEK GIRLFRIEND BY MONICA MURPHY

I gave it 3 of 5 stars. But maybe I was too good. Let's just say that the whole story was kinda unrealistic, but then okay, I went on. Some of the themes were very complicated and I would have liked if they were analyzed and written in a better way. I didn't like either of the characters. I don't think I would recommend this book.


#4 HOPELESS BY COLLEEN HOOVER
I gave it 5 of 5 stars. Colleen Hoover is a GREAT author. Everytime there was a twist, I never knew what was going on, indeed she is very talented. I really enjoyed this book, it wasn't an easy reading, due to the themes on it but it was very fast and wow, very good.
Holder is now officially one of the best BF in the whole world. I liked these characters, they were real and sarcastic and so so so lovable! I recommend this awesome book!



#5 EASY BY TAMMARA WEBBER
I gave it 3 of 5 stars. It was an enjoyable reading, fast paced and there was a mysterious male character. It was enjoyable but some parts were very unrealistic. At the beginning of the book, the female protagonist is almost raped and she doesn't even act like that big of a deal. And I was like "WHAT?!". No, this theme was very BAD written. But after all, it was quite likable.

#6 CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE BY CASSANDRA CLARE
I gave 5 of 5 stars. OH THE FEELS!!!!! I do not have much words to say it. It was perfect. The perfect end. I am so grateful for this book. It was how should have ended. It was so good, it was much better than good. I am so happy about it. It was perfect. And at the same time I am so sad because it's over. I just wanted more. More of Jace and Clary and all of them. I'm missing them already. Thank you, Cassie, for giving this to us. It was just heartwarming. Perfect. I'm speechless, you know, that is how books should end. And I don't wanna spoil to anyone, but please... the most feels were about TID! 

#7 PAPER TOWNS BY JOHN GREEN
I posted a full review in the last post here! I gave it 4.5 of 5 stars.

And that's all for this month (: See you soon with my July TBR.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Paper Towns by John Green | Spoiler Review #1

"PAPER TOWNS"

John Green is one of the best author in earth - and I'm not exaggerating! The way that he writes and makes you feels are such an incredible gifts that I am honor to be given. He doesn't write poetry, HE IS POETRY. Because, just saying, everything he writes is some kind of treasure. As Hazel said to Peter Van Houten "Frankly, I'd read your grocery lists.".
By the way, let's start with the real review.
I really enjoyed this book, and the more I read the more I liked. There were passages in which I was so frustrated because I was totally screaming "what the heck? where is she?", but it was one of the things that made this book so great.
[This review contain spoilers]

Quentin Jacobson is a real teenager, he's scared, he has a bunch of close friends to rely on, he is REAL. He's in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, who - guess what? - doesn't really care too much about him. She is popular, and perfect, and everything that Q wants. Our journey began when Margo appeared on Q's window. As she said "Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs." In this night, everything happened. Margo was going to get revenge on every people she thinks they care about her, instead they betrayed her. It turns out that this night was the best Q has ever lived. Personally, I really LOVE revenge's stories, and we can see that Margo's plans are crazy, fun and just like her.. unpredictable. At the end of this journey Quentin could understand Margo a little better.
Here's what's not beautiful about it: from here, you can't see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You can see how fake it all is. It's not even hard enough to be made out of plastic. It's a paper town. I mean, look at it, Q: look at all those culs-de-sac, those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that were built to fall apart. All those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the future to stay warm. All the paper kids drinking beer some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store. Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper-thin and paper-frail. And all the people, too. I've lived here for eighteen years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters.” - Margo Roth Spiegelman
And then, the day after she disappeared. Quentin tried everything in is power to find her, but even her parents don't give a effe about her. Nobody fully understood her, she was different from everyone, she was not what she seems.
From this point, Q noticed that she gave him some clues to find her, and here began the research.
From her room to her school's closet, from his room to his car, he finally understood some of the clues. Reading a Whitman poem, he found an address to an abandoned minimall. It is a mystery he absolutely wanted to solve, because he thought she gave him the clues to be found (dead or alive). For most of the book, Quentin was terrified, he was afraid the clues would bring him to her corpse.
In the end, all the pieces of the puzzle got together and Quentin and his friends went to a hell of a trip. In 23 hours and 40 minutes they had to get to Agloe, where Margo was hidden. I think this is one of the best and hilarious moments in the entire book. It's a trip book, mentally and physically. When Quentin finally found Margo, he faced what was the real Margo, not the idea of her that he had.
"Maybe, it's more like you said before, all of us being cracked open. Like each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen-these people leave us, or don't love us, or don't get us, or we don't get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open in places. And I mean, yeah, once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable...But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And it's only in that time that we can see each other, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never looking inside. But once the vessel cracks, the like can get in. The like can get out.” - Margo Roth Spiegelman

I gave it 4.5 of 5 stars. It's such an amazing reading, so gripping that keeps you going on reading it. Because as you see through Quentin “Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.”. I loved going through the pages trying to figure out where she was, why she left and the very question in the whole book was "who is the real Margo?". I recommend this book to everyone, it makes you question what's important, what's around us. And you, are you a paper girl living in a paper town?


-M