Best covers of 2019

Hello readers! How are you?

I’m here to show you my personal favourite covers of books that I read in 2019! They are not books published in 2019, as I read mostly backlisted books.

What you prefer to see on a cover? A beautiful dress, a shirtless guy, the ever-present snake? XD

As you can see from my selection, I’m a fan of Steampunk covers. Lady Mechanica is the perfect example.

I also have an obsession for typography/calligraphy, so my eyes are captured by how the title is written, like Limelight.

But the creepy cover of Constable & Toop is a little jewel, the perspective is amazing, it seems to have tridimensionality, right?

These were my ten favourite covers of 2019!

Do you agree with me?

Tell me in the comments what’s your best cover of the last year!

Best Books of 2019

Hello readers!

I’m a little late with all my posts about the best or worst of 2019, but 2020 has begun with some health problems for one of my cat.

Here we are now, with the best books I read in 2019!!

These 10 books are the best of the best of the 121 total books I read in the last year.

Two are non-fiction: “All that remains” and “Il mondo è un teatro” about anatomy and mortality the first; Shakespeare and his era the second.

Four of these are middle grade: “The wingsnatchers” the first in the Carmer and Grit trilogy, I really can’t stop talking about it; “The cat man of Aleppo” is a touching graphic novel, everyone need to read it; “The nowhere emporium”, the best cover I own; “Constable & Toop” is deliciously creepy.

Three are historical fiction: “The Cure for dreaming” from my fave gothic/historical author Cat Winters; “Her Majesty’s necromancer” is even better than the first on in the series; “The yard” a historical crime really well done with spectacular characters.

And the one it took me by surprise, because I thought it was just another YA: “The Belles”, with a lovely cover, an interesting world-building and lots of plot twists.

Have you read some of these books?

Have you read some great books last year?

Tell me in the comments!

November 2018 Wrap Up

And November is gone.

I read a total of 6 books on November, 3 written in English and 3 in Italian.

The Wild robot, by Peter Brown: well, I’m always the black sheep here, but I didn’t love this book. The illustrations are good, but the story is a little meh. 2,5 stars.

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl: a steampunk Middle grade with a lovely cover and a fantastic side kick animal, but oh, so predictable. 3 stars.

The Spyglass and the cherry tree by Matt Beighton: a really good MG/fantasy, you can read my review for the blog tour by clicking on the title. 3 stars.

It seems that November was dedicated to Middle grade books! However, the best book of the month is the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, that I have re-read in Italian!

How was your reading month? Do you plan some Christmas/winter theme reading?

Mid-Year Freak out Book tag

Half year is passed, and still I have a lot of books to read! My challenge on Goodreads is going well: I’m 11 book ahead of schedule!

1.Best Book You’ve Read This Year?

 

 

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2. Best Sequel You’ve Read in 2018?

The italian edition of “No time like show time”.

 

 

 4. Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year?

I didn’t read a lot of new release, but I recently been approved on Netgalley for this book, and I’m happy because Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hide is one of my fave classic.

 

 

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5. Biggest Disappointment?

The alienist was a disappointement for the tv series too. (But I always love Luke Evans)

 

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6. Biggest Surprise?

 

7. Favorite New To You Or Debut Author?

Sara Wolf is definitely in my list of new favourite authors, along with Katherine Applegate and Tone Almhjell.

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9. Newest Favorite Character?

Princess Olive from The Ugly Princess is amazing!

Zera from Bring me their Hearts is also amazing and sarcastic, along with Malachite.

Rufus and Lin from The Twistrose Key and Ivan and Ruby from The One And Only Ivan!

 

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10. Book That Made You Cry?

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11. Book That Made You Happy?

 

 

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14. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year?

 

 

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15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of the Year?

All of them?

Frankly, I need to read at least 100 books this year, or else I need a new home.

 

Review Blog Tour: Bring Me Their Hearts, by Sara Wolf

 

Bring Me Their Hearts
Author:  Sara Wolf
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: June 5th 2018
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5

Add on: Goodreads, Amazon.

Summary:

Zera is a Heartless—the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum: if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy Zera’s heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him—every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him—until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally. 

Review:

“There are two things men will always believe about a woman: that she’s stupid, and that she’s weak. Today, as every day, I am neither of these things.”

This book is amazing, goes directly to my best reading of 2018 and one of the best fantasy/YA I ever read!

We have Zera, an Heartless who wants to take back her heart from the witch who keeps her heart in a jar and use her as a soldier. She can’t died, but she can’t step away from her heart neither. We have a Prince and we have a world full of perils, a world well described with the locations, the story of the past and its religion. A world with “medieval” inspiration but with some touch of magic, horror and fantasy.

Apart the cover, that I love so much because the dress seems like moving, my favourite part of the book is Zera. She’s a great main character: her life was and is currently tormented by her past, her life without a heart is miserable and she’s agonizing for a human touch.

But no one will ever touch her, or walk with her, if they know she’s a Heartless. A monster.

But Zera is also a very sarcastic and intelligent girl. I loved every single dialogue in this book. The best dialogues are, obviously, between her and the Prince. I laughed so hard with the dialogues, and sometimes I was crying because the author has done a great job to make the reader feel what Zera feel.

She’s tormented: she has to do what she wants (take her heart back), or she has to do what is right by take the prince heart and probably prevent a war between witches and humans?

It’s right to let another human suffer what she suffers?

And a special mention to all the other characters: I’m totally in love with Malachite, the bodyguard of the Prince, strong, intelligent and sarcastic, but you have to believe me that every character in this book is interesting and well descripted.

It’s really a page turner, with no dead times, and I always appreciated that, because I get bored very easily.

I’m a little doubtful about the ending: I was expecting a more dramatic or a happier ending, and I was in a little shock for the cliffhanger.

And now, something that I never do: please, I need the second book right now!

Thanks to Ya Bound Book Tours for this opportunity. I received a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

About the Author
Sara Wolf is a twenty-something author who adores baking, screaming at her cats, and screaming at herself while she types hilarious things. When she was a kid, she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later, she picked up a keyboard and started mashing her fists on it and created the monster known as Lovely Vicious. She lives in San Diego with two cats, a crippling-yet-refreshing sense of self-doubt, and not enough fruit tarts ever.

 

Author Links:
Website: http://sarawolfbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sara_Wolf1
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/authorsaraw/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsarawolf/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sara-Wolf-476490705731978/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6862831.Sara_Wolf
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sara-Wolf/e/B00BVOVP08/

 

Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

 

 

8 books I’d rescue if my house was burning down

Hello everyone!

I found this post about a months ago on Expresso Reads and I love the idea. So I pick up my phone, check my bookshelves and decided who win and who die in the game of thrones.

I cheated a little, because the original post was the 7 books to rescue, but I added one.

I’m not doing this post only to show my best books, or to create envy. I’m not an arrogant person, at all, I just want to share with you some of the stories behind my beloved books.

So, for the books:

Extinct monsters by Hutchinson: I found this book in a little bookshop in U.K., and now I tell you a secret. I collect old books, the one who attracts me, maybe with a strange title or beautiful illustrations, so most of the times are cheap and forgotten books, but I really love them. And I love dinosaurs too. This is a copy printed in 1893.

Here’s an illustration:

The other old book is on the right: How the plants grow by Gray, it’s a scholastic book from 1853 (american, I suppose) about botanic and plants. I love the illustrations too.

Most of the other books are signed, so they are really precious to me, or they are my fave books.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, Boo by Neil Smith and Il vangelo secondo Biff (Lamb) by Christopher Moore are 3 of my fave books of all the time. The first and the second had literally break my heart, the third one is a hilarious and dramatic book.

Yesternight by Cat Winters, 2012 la fine del mondo (2012 the end of the world) by Roberto Giacobbo and The Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman are all signed books. I won the first one on a twitter giveaway; I partecipate in a tv show with the author of the second one; and I travelled from Turin, Italy, to Portsmouth, U.k., for the third one. One of the best memories I had.

And that’s all folks!! Have you read this books? What books you will save from your house?

March 2018 Wrap up

Hello everyone! How was your reading month?

I read a total of 10 books in March, but I DNF an italian one. ç__ç

How beautiful are the covers of this month? What’s your favourite?

I love the colours of How to be happy, but my steampunk heart is all for Nefertiti’s Heart.

If you want to read my review, click on the title of the book.

The last days of night by Graham Moore: my biggest disappointment of the month. So boring.

How to be happy by Eva Woods: a book about life and death, about happiness and sadness. I really like it!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: well, I like it but not as much as everyone do. Sorry, I know I’m a weird. But I’m happy to have read it, finally!

Art in the blood by Bonnie MacBird: I love Sherlock Holmes, but I can’t stand boring books, I’m sorry. And this book was sooo boring! But look, a Sherlock GIF in my review!

The chess queen enigma by Colleen Gleason: this is the third book in the Stoker and Holmes series, one of my fave! I love Steampunk so much, and Colleen Gleason has created a beautiful world. Review to come.

Nefertiti’s Heart by A.W. Exley: as I said before, I love steampunk, but I really hate male MC in Christian Grey Style and not required romance/s*x scenes.

There’s a book that catch your attention?

 

Best Books of the Year

Hello and welcome to the first Best Books of the Year of this blog!

Photos made by me. Please attention: some titles are in italian! If you click on the title, you can read the summary on Goodreads.

Lo Hobbit: un viaggio inaspettato, cronache dal set I: I’m a huge fan of the Hobbit movies and book, so I buy 5 of the books that illustrates how the movies were made, with photo and interviews of the cast. Yes, Richard Armitage, you know what I mean.

L’albergo stregato (The Haunted hotel) by Wilkie Collins: I know Collins for The woman in white, that I need to read in 2018, but in 2017 I read The Haunted hotel and it’s amazing! Gothic and spooky and mysterious!

Mano di Ferro (Ironhand) by Charlie Fletcher: The second book in the Stoneheart series, this book has lost a little potential from the first book, but I love the characters. They are intense and realistic and dramatic. I have to buy the third book in english, because they never translate it in italian.

The Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard: I buy this book this summer, in Oxford, and I beagn to read it on the train back home, few days later. It’s darkly funny, like Christopher Moore, and I will read more adventures about Johannes Cabal.

La detective (A spy in the house) by Y.s. Lee: a wonderful YA set in London in 1858, featuring a kick ass girl and a funny romance.

 

The “Vampyr” book is my copy of Dracula by Bram Stoker: I made this dust jacket for the book for a vampire hunter cosplay that I made some years ago, and I re-read Dracula because in summer I went to Whitby.

Un lavoro Sporco (A dirty Job) by Christopher Moore: Moore is one of my favourite authors, and I re-read A dirty Job because sometimes I need to read or re-read something written by Moore.

Buona apocalisse a tutti! (Good Omens) by Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett: Gaiman and Pratchett are my favourite authors, so I read Good Omens and it’s amazing. #TeamCrowley forever! Can’t wait to see the tv adaptation!

Flights and Chimes and mysterious times by Emma Trevayne: OMG this book is amazing!! Steampunk London with fairies and mechanical parts of human body, mysterious fracture in the wall, a poetic and magic middle grade book with a wonderful cover.

Holy Cow by David Duchovny:  I buy this book in Brasov, Romania, the past summer. I was curious about David Duchovny written a book and Holy Cow is a book that made me cry, and laugh and think a lot.

In the shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters: This book is everything for me. I cried a lot after finishing it. Cat Winters is one of my fave authors, thanks to this book.

Percy Jackson racconta gli dei greci (Percy Jackson’s greek god) by Rick Riordan: It’s Percy and it’s written by Riordan, I need to write more?

Not Pictured:

The Last Necromancer by C.J. Archer: with an amazing gothic cover and fantastic characters, the first book in the Ministry of Curiosities series is a 5 star read! Review soon!

And you? What’s the best book you read this year?

Happy New Year to all of you!