Easter Readathon TBR

Kate at Reading Through Infinity is organizing an Easter readathon and since I've got my weekend free (which when the world is normal barely happens), I'll join in the fun.

I'll choose only 2 books as my TBR since I'm a slow and fitful reader (and window cleaning is on the task list this weekend too ugh). Both will match one of the prompts Kate has suggested:

Read a book involving family/friends:

My Family and Other Animals

(Corfu Trilogy #1)

by Gerald Durrell

Synopsis:

When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell's family's experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.

I always long to travel and now that it's not possible, even more so. This book will transport me to Greece at least in mind.

Read a book that's under 250 pages:

The Midwich Cuckoos

by John Wyndham

Synopsis:

In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed - except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.

The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blond, all are golden-eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others. This brings them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realization dawns on the world outside...

A modern classic sci-fi, simply because I haven't read sci-fi for months.

 What are you planning to do on Easter weekend? What are you planning to read?

If you feel like joining Kate's readathon make sure you comment on her blog post to be eligible for participating in her giveaway too.

Books for characters on TV - La Casa de Papel edition

 

I watched season 4 of La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) the other day, and of course I binged it a bit too quickly. 

La Casa de Papel is a Spanish Netflix show that became an international phenomenon in the past 3 years, most deservedly. The series follows a gang of robbers who fight against capitalism and oppression in the most unique way they can think of. Slowly, in the middle of all the chaos they create in the heart of Madrid, they develop complicated bonds with each other that at some points makes their job easier, at others significantly harder.

I love this show so much that whenever a season comes out and I finish it, it stays with me for days/weeks on end. The characters are like friends to me and it's hard to let them go for another year.

For this reason the idea came to me that I'd write a bookish post about La Casa de Papel. Have you ever thought which book(s) you'd gift/recommend to the characters in your favourite show? Imagine it's Christmas, or their birthday or you see they're bored or worried about something that you'd like to take their minds off. What book(s) would you give them then?

Here come my recommendations to the characters from La Casa de Papel. Some of these books I've read, some of them I haven't and decided to match them with the character based on their premise. The character names are from the original version because I watch the show in Spanish.

El Profesor
  The Pillars of the Earth 

by Ken Follett

Despite the fact the Professor doesn't talk much about history, I can't help but think he loves it. Other than that, the professional way with which the author writes about the building process of the cathedral would impress Sergio a lot.

Lisboa

Lovely War
by Julie Berry

A novel about love and war and about why they often go hand in hand. I think it's kinda fitting for Raquel.

Tokio

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)

by Stieg Larsson

We all like when we can identify with protagonists, don't we? I think Lisbeth Salander and Tokio have a lot in common.

Nairobi

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
by Becky Chambers

Other than the Professor I think it's Nairobi who does the most for the unity of the group, therefore I'd give her a book that is about team dynamics and found family.

Río

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Rio is – simply put – the IT guy in the team. I'm sure he's a gamer and most probably a secret nerd too.

Denver

Daredevil: A Man without Fear

by Frank Miller, John Romita Jr.

I can see a small Denver sitting on a bed covered with comics. His dad always got him one whenever he seemed sad about his mum. Call it a headcanon. I bet he liked pretending he was a superhero and showing his dad the pictures that excited him the most.

Estocolmo

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

I think Monica is a murder mystery type of girl. I can picture her sitting on the sofa half covered with a blanket reading Agatha Christie while Cincinnati sleeps.

Moscú
 Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens

Or anything by C.D., really. The Dickensian world would resonate with him I'm sure.

Berlín

The Divine Comedy

by Dante Alighieri

Andrés loves Italy and the guy is classy AF. Dante is the right choice.

Palermo

Maurice

by E. M. Forster 

I always despised Palermo but boy, did that scene got me at the end of season 4... If you've seen it, you know which one I'm talking about. I like to think Maurice would give him hope and belief in life after love.

Helsinki
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller

 I'm such an evil person. He'd cry his eyes out on this book. Then he'd tell everyone in the team they must read it.

Oslo
The Silence of the Lambs
by Thomas Harris

We don't know much about Oslo because he doesn't speak a lot. This is me trying to be funny. Maybe he'd appreciate my humour, maybe not.

Bogotá
All Systems Red
by Martha Wells

 I can totally imagine Bogotá being a sci-fi fan. I can see the team sitting down to watch the Alien films, Terminator or Robocop together just because someone mentions they haven't seen it and Bogotá tells them they must.

Marsella

My Family and other Animals

(Corfu Trilogy #1)

by Gerald Durrell

This book must be a lovely read for an animal lover (I'll tackle it soon myself).

What's your favourite show? What books would you recommend to its characters?

Do you watch La Casa de Papel? Do you agree with my recommendations? 
Would you have further suggestions? Tell me below!

Review - Screamcatcher: Web World by Christy J. Breedlove

  Title: Screamcatcher: Web World

  Author: Christy J. Breedlove

  Synopsis:

  When seventeen-year-old Jory Pike cannot shake the hellish nightmares of her parent’s deaths, she turns to an old family heirloom, a dream catcher. Even though she’s half blood Chippewa, Jory thinks old Indian lore is so yesterday, but she’s willing to give it a try. However, the dream catcher has had its fill of nightmares from an ancient and violent past. After a sleepover party, and during one of Jory’s most horrific dream episodes, the dream catcher implodes, sucking Jory and her three friends into its own world of trapped nightmares. They’re in an alternate universe—locked inside of an insane web world. How can they find the center of the web, where all good things are allowed to pass?

I received a free e-book copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts:

I'd like to thank the author for offering me a copy of Web World because I had a lot of fun reading this mystical gem of a YA. I'm sure Jory, Darcy, Choice and Lander – the four teenagers who get caught in the web of the dreamcatcher – wouldn't call their adventure "fun" but it evoked in me a certain kind of nostalgia with its distant similarity to the movie Jumanji.

Since Jory lost her parents she suffers from nightmares. In the daytime she helps out in her grandfather's novelty shop but her nights are ruined by the recurring bad dream. When her friend, Choice first visits the store, his eyes wonder on the giant old-looking dreamcatcher that hangs from the ceiling and he immediately thinks if nothing else, that will help Jory to rest well – and from then on trouble is guaranteed.

With two mates of theirs, the 16 year-old Darcy and the streetwise Lander they end up inside a world of night terrors from where they can only escape if they work together. I have nightmares sometimes, but nothing like with what these teenagers have to face. What I really liked in this book was that it works with Native American folklore and legends. It's not something that is normally covered in my everyday reading and so it was extremely fascinating for me to read about what creatures were the natives afraid of.

This book has horror elements. Not many, but the few it does give it spice. I don't want to give much away but something happens to one of the members of the group that gave me the creeps. This incident and its consequences kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The novel is quite unputdownable, one action scene follows the other and you wait for the end to know how the band will fare during the last challenge. The team seems very experienced despite the fact that they are teenagers, for example Jory knows a lot about lore, plants, tracking, while the boys help out with the practical side of things. Darcy is a bit of a hindrance but at times I felt sorry for her because the others didn't handle her with much patience.

There's a love story in there somewhere too, but it wasn't overdone, which I was glad to see. To be honest, I don't even know when was the last time I've read a YA book without a love triangle or overemphasized soppy love-drama. This was just perfect, keeping all emotions at bay and very realistic. 

All in all, I definitely recommend this book if you'd like to try something fresh. Web World is a unique tale presented in a very enjoyable way.

Goodreads | Amazon

Next in the series:

Dream Chasers

Review - A Shadowed Fate by Marty Ambrose

  Title: A Shadowed Fate (Claire Clairmont #2)

  Author: Marty Ambrose

  Publication Date: March 03, 2020

  Synopsis:

1873, Florence. Claire Clairmont, the last survivor of the 'haunted summer of 1816' Byron/Shelley circle, is reeling from the series of events triggered by the arrival of Michael Rosetti two weeks before, which culminated in a brutal murder and a shocking revelation from her old friend, Edward Trelawny.

Stunned by her betrayal at the hands of those closest to her, Claire determines to travel to the convent at Bagnacavallo near Ravenna to learn the true fate of Allegra, her daughter by Lord Byron. But the valuable Cades sketch given to her by Rosetti is stolen, and Claire soon finds herself shadowed at every turn and in increasing danger as she embarks on her quest. Is the theft linked to Allegra, and can Claire uncover what really happened in Ravenna so many years ago?

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts:

I've been waiting for A Shadowed Fate for a long time and here it is at last. Marty Ambrose managed to pull me in with her first book in her Claire series so much, that in the past 1.5 years I've been checking and rechecking if there were any news about the second instalment. It hits the shelves shortly, and I received a copy on NetGalley, so here is what I think.

I flew through this novel as well as the first one. They are quite short  which is a shame. In ASF Claire is going on a road trip with her friend Trelawny and her small family in order to find out what happened to her daughter, Allegra, when she lived in the convent of Bagnacavallo. While on the road a dangerous stranger seems to be on their heels, and with Byron and Shelley's valuable letters in her pocket Claire has to look over her shoulder continuously if she wants to keep her loved ones safe.

Like in Claire's Last Secret, here we got glimpses into the past too, this time of Byron's years in Ravenna, when he supported the Carbonari's revolution for a united Italy. Through journal entries the reader gets caught up in a shoot-out at the fringe of a forest, where Byron is the target, and an equally heated situation on the streets of Ravenna, where once again, bullets fly low. It was an interesting addition to the book, because I've never really read much of this part of Byron's life before.

I also enjoyed the child Allegra's journal entries and was glad the author gave her a voice. I'm looking forward to read more of her story later.

Claire and Trelawny's relationship develops quite a lot in this novel and we hear more of the one night they spent together in the past. We are also given reasons why it never really worked out between the two and we are left with a big question mark regarding their future relationship. Another reason for me to want to read the third book.

Diving into Marty Ambrose's prose was easy, as if I had just finished the first book and picked up the second right after. She's got a very clear style and she makes you care and root for her characters. It still surprises me, but with some magic she makes me like Claire, while I've never really cared  much for her before.

Sign me up for the last book in the trilogy, I'm still in! 

Goodreads | Amazon 

Read my review of Claire's Last Secret here.

Review - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 Title: The Secret Garden

 Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

 Synopsis:

  Mary Lennox is sent from an India as an orphan to live at

 Misselthwaite Manor. She arrives as a sour-faced,

 sickly and ill-tempered little madam but becomes friends with

 local lad Dickon and her poorly cousin Colin. In their

 restoration of a secret garden all their lives are changed for the better.

My Thoughts:

When, once finished,  you close a book with the thought: "I'll definitely read this to my children one day", that's a clear testament to the book's merits.

The Secret Garden is pure magic, an ultimate feel-good retreat, a novel that shows the healing power of nature and the world around us. Though generally labelled as a children's book, it is not only for children; it warmed my poor adult heart in ways that are impossible to describe.

"Mother says as th' two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way – or always to have it."

When Mary Lennox arrives to Misselthwaite Manor, she's a haughty, self-centered little girl. While before she was always surrounded with people who served her, at the manor she's left to her own devices to entertain herself throughout the day. Her uncle Craven is hardly ever at home, and Martha the maid has chores around the house therefore she cannot be with her all the time. 

When she ventures outside to the gardens she feels a change in herself that she cannot really grasp, and when Ben the gardener and Martha mention a garden that has been locked up for 10 years, she cannot help but dream about finding the key.

The Secret Garden has a history that has something to do with the soft crying of a child she hears on the corridors of the manor sometimes, and of course Mary has to go and investigate. 

Strong friendships are born in this book that bridge gaps in between classes. Martha's little brother Dickon is like a little Mowgli of the Yorkshire moors, he charms Mary very quickly with his gentle nature and ability to speak with the animals.  

"Where you tend a rose, my lad,

A thistle cannot grow."

Three children find a haven in this novel; a place where they can grow, heal and learn, and as they do, the reader does the same alongside them. Again, I say, it is a magical experience. 

Goodreads | Amazon