Category: In Review

The start of a new year means new books. Although I can’t begin reviewing the books I already read in 2022 without closing the chapter of the ones I read last year. And Capsule by Mel Torrefranca is one of the reasons for that. It came out last summer, and I was fortunate to read an eARC of it. So prepare yourself for a deadly phone game! Author: Mel Torrefranca Pages: 255 Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Mystery Publication: July 2021 Synopsis: Two students from Brookwood High School mysteriously go missing on the same night. The first is Peter Moon, a heartless pescatarian who bashes students from Brookwood on his blog, turning everyone against him. The second is the adored Kat Pike, an audacious girl desperate to boost her adrenaline. Three days pass. No leads. Indifferent to the disappearances, sixteen-year-old Jackie Mendoza remains immersed in her virtual world of video games and …

As the name suggests, this book has everything to be a terrifying read during the time we are living in. Although it’s not. Despite the name, Contagion by Teri Terry has little to no similarities to real life – and I’m glad it doesn’t, or the author can predict the future! This piece of light fantasy is highly addictive and has infected me to read the rest of the series – now I see where the name comes from! Author: Teri Terry Pages: 480 Genre: Fantasy, YA, Mystery, Apocalyptic Publication: 2017 Synopsis: Callie is missing. Her brother Kai is losing hope of ever seeing her again. Then he meets Shay, a girl who saw Callie the day she disappeared, and his hope is reignited. Their search leads them to the heart of a terrifying epidemic that is raging through the country. Can Kai and Shay escape death and find Callie? …

Grab a tissue box because You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao will leave you crying like a baby. This YA contemporary story deals with grieving the loss of a loved one. Completely character-driven, the author takes you through a journey of loss, reconnection, friendship, and letting go. Prepare yourself because there won’t be many times to smile. Author: Dustin Thao Pages: 304 Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fantasy Publication: 9th November 2021 Synopsis: How do you move forward when everything you love is on the line? Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone. What would you do if you had a …

Back in 2018, I gave myself for Christmas the Collector’s Edition of the Divergent series. And since then, I’ve been meaning to do a reread of the series. I was also planning another reading log type of post, so I merged both ideas. And I’m glad I did because otherwise, all my thoughts while reading Divergente for the first time since 2016 would be lost. The only thing left was to decide when I was going to read it. And Instagram decided for me. I casually stumbled upon the new 10th Anniversary Editions and… oh my… the artwork is BEAUTIFUL! Now, I want to find a reason to justify spending more money on a series that I already own two copies of (the Movie Tie-in Edition in Portuguese and the Collector’s Edition in English). And maybe, just maybe, rereading the story can give me a reason why I should buy …

I’m sure you have heard of The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. This book took 2018 by storm. Everywhere I looked, there it was staring at me, judging me for not buying it. You should have seen it. The cold glares, the look of despite, it knew I wanted to read it, but I was denying myself that pleasure. Then one day, I opened the first page. Author: A. J. Finn Pages: 429 Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense Publication: 2018 Synopsis: Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbours. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her …

Reading the entire book series that inspired what once was one of my favourite TV shows of all time was something I wanted to do for a long time. Ever since I discovered that The 100 was based on a book series with the same name, I wanted to spend more time in this virgin version of Earth. I’ve talked about what I enjoyed the most and disliked about the TV show, and now, after almost 3 years, I’ve read the entire book series. I wrote a review for the first book in the series – you can find it here. But since all the others would contain big spoilers, I thought it was better to review the series as a whole. If you want to know all my thought on each of the books, you can find them on Goodreads. Author: Kass Morgan Genre: YA, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic Publication: …

Reading Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman on a hot summery day might cause severe dehydration and overheat. Read it at your own risk! But read it. As someone who enjoys post-apocalyptic stories like cotton candy, I knew I had to read this book. And I was not disappointed. So if the premise speaks to you, do yourself a favour and take the risk of making your summer even drier. Author: Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman Pages: 390 Genre: YA, Survival, Dystopian Publication: 2018 Synopsis: When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival. The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take …

For the first time, I’m reviewing a cookbook! This is something I never thought of doing. Although lately, I’ve been lucky with my purchases and found cookbooks that I’ll treasure for life and can always turn to when I want to eat something quick and delicious. From the team at Blend, a Parisien hamburger restaurant – and the place I’ll be eating if I ever find myself visiting France – comes Hamburger Gourmet! My first impressions So far, everything I’ve cooked has been delicious and a problem if I have to eat a burger at any fast-food joint. The burgers are filling, full of flavour, messy, and an experience to repeat. They take more time and dedication than I’m used to giving to a burger, but it pays off. Even the simplest of burgers tastes 100 times better than any burger I’ve ever had. Forget mayo, ketchup, mustard and all …

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee was a book that took me a while to pick up. The size of it is a commitment that I wasn’t sure I wanted to take, so I gave myself a little push and the book caught me without a problem. I was not expecting this book to have such an impact on me. When I read Pachinko, I did a reading blog documenting my week of reading. There you can find more of my thought that I won’t be mentioning here. Find week one and week two. Author: Min Jin Lee Pages: 537 Genre: Historical Fiction, Korean Culture Publication: 2017 Synopsis: In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant — and that her lover …

Well, well, well… Here is a review I was expecting to go differently. Back in 2018, I did a joined review of the Ready Player One book and the movie, but since then, I’ve watched the movie I-don’t-know-how-many-times, and my mind started to get blurry about the book. That had to change. It was time to do a reread of what was my past self favourite book EVER! Fast forward last month, it was time to jump back into the OASIS and fall in love once again. Except cupid was taking a vacation. Part of me still doesn’t want to admit that Ready Player One isn’t as amazing as I remember. Maybe because it was the first book I read about video games or, maybe watching the movie right after influenced my opinion on the book. I don’t know. But one thing is for sure, 2018 me was over the …