Wrap Up: October 2022

Hi readers, here’s my wrap-up for the month of October!

5 stars:

Two amazing middle grade books, Yesterday Crumb is officially one of the best books I’ve read this year. I wasn’t convinced by Spirit hunters initially, but it evolves so well.

4/3 stars:

A lovely cozy mystery by one of my favorite author, Colleen Gleason, Tomes, scones and crones is the first in a new series. Stolen remains is the second volume in The lady of Ashes mystery series, but it’s not as good as the first one. Any old diamonds is a lovely M/M historical fiction. Another first volume in a series is Lady of devices, with a great MC and a steampunk setting.

2/1 stars:

The worst books for me were Doll house and Terre spettrali: both of them full of errors, and some of them keep repeating throughout the book, really annoying. I gave 2 to Cuore d’inchiostro (Inkheart) and Dead mountain only for the respect I have for Brendan Fraser and for the Dyatlov group. L’uomo dei sussurri (The whisper man) was boring, and Silver in the blood has a really interesting setting, but the two female MC are so YA they’re sometimes embarrassing.

How was your month? Have you found a new fave?

Wrap up: July 2022

I know, I’m a little late with the wrap up of July, I’m sorry. You can find the wrap up of August here.

During July I read a total of 11 books, but be prepared, a lot of them were 1 star only.

5 stars:

Granny’s got a gun is a funny cozy mystery featuring a Granny that is also a retired CIA agent. The lost ones is an outstanding gothic historical fiction and you can read the review here on the blog the next week.

3 stars:

First in a historical vampire fiction, As vital as blood is really good, as it’s Spirits of the storm, about a mall haunted by children’s spirits. I can’t say that I enjoyed the short story that gave the collection its name, but there are other stories really good in La banconota da un milione di sterline.

2 stars:

The cat of Amontillado is a “retelling” of the tale written by Allan Poe, but the title is the only thing they have in common. Miss Marple nei Caraibi (a Caribbean mystery) is great for the setting, but it’s also racist.

1 star:

And this was my reading recap for July, I forgot to write the one about September too, shame on me.

Wrap Up: August 2022

Hello readers!

I know I forgot to post the wrap-up for July, I’m sorry, I was already on vacation, I promise I will post it in the next few days!

Here’s what I read during August (click on the cover for the plot):

5 stars:

I wasn’t expecting to love L’imprevedibile viaggio di Harold Fry (The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry) so much, but it’s a heartbreaking story. Same for Lady of ashes, a great historical fiction about a female undertaker in Victorian London.

4 and 3 stars:

My dad visited Iceland this year, and brought me this beautiful book about Aurora Borealis. Do you know that I’m obsessed with Van Gogh right? L’uomo e la terra (The man and the earth) is a wonderful book about the exposition in Milan. I thought that L’isola del tesoro (Treasure island) was more adventurous, but I’m glad I’ve finally read it.

1 or 2 stars/DNF:

The sisters brothers and Devil in the darkness are the books I didn’t finish. Only The power of Poppy Pendle gains 2 stars, the other books are so bad I immediately unhaul them from shelves.

And that was my reading month, hope yours was better than mine!

Wrap up: June 2022

Hello readers, sorry for the delay, I had busy days at work!

In June I’ve read 12 books with 2 DNF, a record even for me.

4 stars:

I can say that Chad Nicholas can write a really good thriller/horror book, having already enjoyed Nightmare written by him. His stories are really dark and twisted, be aware.

3 stars:

If you have a cat, you can easily relate to the poems of I could pee on this. So hilarious.

Are you terrified of dolls like me? Demonic dolls is the book for you!

Philippe Daverio racconta Van Gogh: I was expecting more from Daverio, this book is just a general portrait of the artist.

2 stars:

3 great covers for 3 predictable books: Reign of Shadows is a dystopian/romance retelling of Rapunzel; Knock knock is a ghost story totally ruined by the prologue; The heir of Hawksclaw tried too hard to be gothic/scary, without success.

1 star/DNF:

I wouldn’t talk about each of these books, I know some are very popular, maybe it was just a bad reading month for me. You can check the GR page by clicking on the cover.

And that was my reading month, hope July will be better!

Wrap Up: September 2021

Hello readers! My favorite month of the year is finally arrived, I’m so excited, Halloween is coming!

In September I’ve read 9 books with 1 DNF. I also lowered my Goodreads challenge from 140 to 130 books.

5 stars:

Give me all the historical fiction crime books set in Scotland!! An amazing debut of a series, The Anatomist’s Wife has captured my attention and now I want to read all the installment in this series.

4 stars:

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A Whale in Paris is a lovely historical middle grade about the war and the friendship between a girl and a lonely whale trapped in the Sein.

Under the oak tree is a manhwa so romantic! Yes, sometimes I read a romantic story, I know you are stunned by this fact.

Another great historical middle grade is The Vanishing trick, a dark fairytale similar to Coraline, very well written.

3 stars:

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A lady in the smoke is a historical crime fiction involving a train accident, with a headstrong main character and a hint of romance, but it will gain some points with less pages.

The tutor is M/M historical romance with a gothic setting, two children without a mother and a dark presence in the house.

1 star + DNF:

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Tim Specter has great potential: a detective specialized to treat ghosts has to investigate the ghost of a hanged butler… but the writing was horrible.

A shadow on the lens has a wonderful cover, seriously, I’m in love with this cover, and the story is intriguing, with the beginning of the photography, a murder, a ghost who appears only on photo… but again, the writing was poor, focused only on the description of the landscape, and not on the characters.

The eye of Zeus is the DNF of the month: it’s a copy of Percy Jackson, the same scenes, the same monsters. No thanks, there’s only one Percy.

And that’s all, be prepared for a month of ghostly post!

Wrap Up: August 2020

Hello readers, here’s my wrap up of all the books I’ve read during August. How was your month? I had a little vacation at the beginning of the month, but now I’m back at work.

I managed to read 11 books, only 1 DNF.

5 stars:

Exeunt demon king is a short story featuring Johannes Cabal, our favourite necromancer. It’s hilarious and totally in Cabal style. I suggest you read first the novel Johannes Cabal The Necromancer.

Why I waited so much to begin the Amelia Fang series??! I love her sooo much! Squashy is super cute, I’m planning on making her dress for Halloween!

4 stars:

The world’s most haunted places was very interesting, with photos, historic details and addresses. The author has worked for Ghost Adventures too.

Lady stuff was hilarious!!

I’m totally in love with the illustrations and the covers of the Sophie Mouse series.

3 stars:

Quiet girl in a noisy world was really relatable.

2 stars:

The year of shadows has an interesting plot, the cat is awesome, but oh my, I hated the main character.

Spork begins very well, but I didn’t like some of the illustrations.

1 star + DNF:

Bride of the sea is my DNF this month. I love the cover, but the genre is not for me.

Vincent: I’m super sensitive about Van Gogh, and I didn’t understand this graphic novel that has erase all the worst and the experience of Vincent, but has included s*x scenes.

Doctor Death is really bad: it’s cruel against children, against animals and women, the plot doesn’t make sense, and the main character is subjected by all the male characters.

 

And that’s all for my reading in August, have you read some great books?

Tell me in the comments!

 

 

Wrap Up: July 2020

Hello readers, how are you?

How’s your reading? I’m pretty satisfied with my readings, even in this hot summer days! I will take a brief holiday in the next two weeks, with extra attention to the Coronavirus emergency.

I managed to read 12 books during July (HOW??) and no DNF on the horizon!

5 stars:

Saiyuki reload blast 3: I need to say something?! It’s Saiyuki, you know? My favourite manga and anime ever, we have a new volume every 3 years, more or less.

The apple orchard is a short story I found for free on Amazon. It’s heartbreaking, so be prepared.

S.C.R.E.A.M. The mummy’s revenge is an amazing middle-grade historical fiction with a lot of action, monsters and a main character with a disability! This is my new favourite series!

4 stars:

The second book in the Hunchback Assignments series, The Dark Deeps has a strong steampunk setting and a lot of emotions involved.

3 stars:

Lost London is a non-fiction book really interesting, but sometimes too much fixated on pubs or shops, and less on historical places.

I received an E-ARC of The Candlelit menagerie: the cover is gorgeous, the story is tragic and full fo death, it’s not an easy book to love.

The wish tree is a lovely illustrated book for younger readers.

A horror novella about a blanket…Blanky was a little disappointing to me.

A deadly affection has a beautiful cover and an interesting main character, too modern for the setting of the book.

1 star:

I’ve loved the first series of Kill the granny, a comics about a cat who want revenge for his… against the granny, but this 2.0 volume it’s dull and not funny at all.

Another Italian book: Il diavolo ai giardini Cavour is a crime book set in my city, Turin, but all the characters are so negative and unbearable!

Helltown is definitely the worst volume of the world scariest places series. Sexist and ableist, please pay attention to all the trigger warning of this book.

And that’s all for my reading during July!

Have you read some 5 stars books this month? Tell me in the comments below.

Worst books I’ve read so far (2020)

Hello readers, how are you?

After the post about The Best books I’ve read so far this year, we need to talk about the boring, confusional, you_were_my_favorite_author_but_now_I’m_not_sure books!

Again, a lot of blue on these covers, it’s casual!

Ready player one was boring if you didn’t understand (like me) all the 80’s references, then we have 2 books of authors I liked (Winters and Grecian), but these works weren’t as good as the previous.

The confectioner’s guild is full of YA clichès, plus is fatphobic. Not good at all.

Mountain of the dead is gynophobic like all the other books by Bates.

 

And that’s all for my recap of the best and the worst of the first half of the year.

See you soon with the July wrap up!

Best books I’ve read so far (2020)

Hello readers! I began, a couple of weeks ago, to write the Mid-Year freak out book tag, but then I decided to change it to a simple best/worst books I’ve read so far, mostly because I’m not the tyoe of reader to know every single release of the year, and because I totally forgot nearly all the characters names of the books I’ve read.

So there you can find all the magnificent books I’ve read in the first half of 2020.

A lot of blue in those covers! We have historical fiction, middle grade, non-fiction. I’m gklad to have found new favorite authors (like Carl Ashmore) and to have the possibility to talk about these underrated titles.

And you, have you read great books during these months? Tell me in the comments!

Wrap Up: June 2020

Hello readers!

I’m a little late with wrap up post, I’m sorry, but I’m still in and out of the hospital, so life is a little complicated right now.

I managed to read 10 books in June!

4,5 Stars:

Stitch Head: a lovely gothic story, with a remarkable main character.

The Titanic detective agency: I’m obsessed with the Titanic, and this is a middle grade about a girl of the second class and a boy in the third class.

4 stars:

Big Mushy Happy lump: why it was so relatable? So funny!

3 stars:

Adulthood is a myth: a little less funny (for me) than the second one.

The medium: a historical m/m romance so cute. Attention to the trigger warnings about the supernatural aspect of the story.

2 stars:

The black country: The Yard, the first one in the series, was so good, but this second book not so much. The characters are flat, the mystery is really strange and unsettling.

The laughing cherub guide to past life regression: sooo bored!

Angelfall: the second book ever that I bought in English, many years ago. (The first one was Fangirl). I liked Raffe, but not Penryn.

Confessions of a funeral director: interesting for the first two chapters, then it became so religious and God centred. It’s also confusional when it talks about the family.

Ace, what asexuality reveals about desire, society and the meaning of sex: I received as an ARC via Edelweiss, but I don’t find it ispirational, only confusional or predictable.

 

And that’s was my reading month!

How was your reading month? Have you read some good books?