Weekend Wrap-up #3

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

I was on the move the whole week, it felt really nice to leave my town for a bit after spending months at home. I was called in for a job interview in Budapest so I travelled there in the middle of the week. That also gave me opportunity to spend a whole day there with my boyfriend after the interview. We went to the cinema, watched Black Panther at last and we even had some time left to wander around together. It was a lovely day.

On Friday we came to Oradea, Romania with my family to spend the Easter weekend here and we are having a good time. It's a beautiful city with wonderful buildings (although a lot of them could do with a little renovation). There is an Easter market in the main square, the sun is shining... all in all I count myself lucky to be here right now.

I hope your Easter weekend is going well too!

Posts this week:

• Goodreads Monday – Circe by Madeline Miller
• WWW Wednesday #9
• Boom Blitz + Giveaway – Dragon Raider by Ava Richardson
• Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #10 – The Shipbuilder by Salina B. Baker 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week. 

Purchased:

Physical book: 

 

Title: Norse Mythology

Author: Neil Gaiman 

Goodreads

I was so glad to find this book in one of the shop windows in Oradea. I bought the last copy, it was waiting just for me. As you know Neil Gaiman is my favourite contemporary writer, I'm collecting his books. Can't wait to start this. I've always wanted to know more about Norse Mythology.

Ebook:

Title: How to Hang a Witch

Author: Adriana Mather

Source: Amazon

Goodreads

I've featured this book in one of my Goodreads Monday posts before. Since I'm watching NBC's Timeless, and the Salem episode is coming up this Sunday I wanted to start a book that matches the theme. Probably I will start this tomorrow and we'll see how I'll like it.

ARCs:

Title: The Shipbuilder

Author: Salina B. Baker

Source: RABT Book Tours 

Goodreads

Paradise Found will be part of The Shipbuilder's book tour and since these days I'm drawn to sea adventures or books that have something to do with ships and the sea I'm excited about this novel. I have started reading it and my book tour post is coming on April 15.

Title: Winter Eternal (The River that Flows Two Ways #1)

Author: E. Thomas Joseph

Source: Prodigy Gold Books

Goodreads

Prodigy Gold Books asked me to read and review this new title of theirs. At the time of the War of Independence soldiers and occultists alike race to acquire a mysterious artifact that can defeat time. It sounds interesting, I like the setting and the cover too (zombie soldier, hahhh).

How was your week? What are you reading at the moment? Please leave your STS and Sunday post links in a comment below!

Weekend Wrap-up #6

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

Hey there, Lovelies, here's what happened to me since my last wrap-up:

My mum's birthday was this week so I got her photos printed for her. She prefers photos on paper, she loves organizing them. Since we haven't had her pictures printed for some time, it was a long procedure to pick out the best ones and place the order for them. In the end we got 352 photos, the ones taken in Rome last year included.

I'm enjoying the sunshine a lot, suddenly it's summer and I can take long walks around the town. The blooming flowers are very pretty.

Reading has gone well too. We're getting closer to the end of the Red Queen read-along and I'm still on track, yay! I've picked up an urban fantasy this week too, The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards. It's pretty entertaining and it's full of strange creatures. 

Recent posts on the blog:

Monday: Goodreads Monday #11 – Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #11

Thursday: Book Blitz - Wings of Flesh and Bones by Cathrina Constantine

Friday: Review - How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

 

My Red Tent Giveaway is still running, you can participate until April 30th! 

Click on the picture to go to the giveaway post!

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

 ARC:

Title: In Azgarth's Shadow

Author: Cassie Sweet

Publication Date: April 23th, 2018

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

It seems like these days I come across many LGBTQ urban fantasies that I find appealing (The one I'm reading right now, The Last Sun, is the same genre). I'm excited for In Azgarth's Sahadow because there are fae in the story and also necromancy... They actually bring the MC back to life, wow!

  

Purchased ebook:

Title: The Women in the Walls  

Author: Amy Lukavics  

Publication Date: September 27th, 2016

Source: Amazon

Goodreads

I may have bad dreams after reading this and I'm sure I'll be afraid in the dark for some time like I was after watching Woman in Black in the theatre... but... it was a dollar and a half on amazon and I couldn't resist buying it. I read mixed reviews and I want to check the creep level out for myself. It's time to make my peace with evil spirits and haunted houses...

How was your week? Don't forget to leave your STS and Sunday post links below! I'm dying to know what's up with you, guys!

Weekend Wrap-up #8

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

I've spent most of this week in Eger (a lovely little Hungarian town and hometown of my boyfriend). We had a good time – we visited his grandma, took long walks and binge-watched tv shows on Netflix (Timeless and Killjoys).

I'm living in constant anxiety these days because NBC hasn't renewed Timeless yet and that show has become soooo important to me I cannot even....... Seriously guys, if you feel like doing me a favour, please watch the two-hour season final this Sunday at 9/8 c live. My heart will surely break if the ratings won't be convincing enough and Timeless won't make it. (If you don't know what Timeless is, you can read my Timeless Showtime post here.)

 

This evening I'm planning to watch Eurovision, which will be fun, I'm sure. The Hungarian contestants seem to be popular this year so we have a good chance to end up close to the top. Fingers crossed.

My reading progress this week is a bit slower than usual and it's bugging me. I've started reading The Stolen Girl by Zia Wesley but I'm considering picking up something else as well and read more books simultaneously like I did last month because then I can do some mood-reading, which may lead to a more steady progress.

Recent posts on the blog:

Monday: Goodreads Monday #13

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #13

Friday: Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #14

I have no incoming books to show you this week. Actually I'm proud of myself for not giving in to the NetGalley pull in the past few days. 

I'd really like to post my Red Queen review tomorrow and my Nothing But Sky review next week, so you have those to look forward to.

Have a nice weekend, Lovelies!

Weekend Wrap-up #10

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

This was my last week of training at the workplace, so from Monday I'm on my own. Hopefully everything will go well.

Yesterday we went to the bath with my best friend. We swam so much, I was extremely tired by the end of the day, but it was so good to take advantage of the summer at last. We didn't expect we'd have nice weather but in the end I looked like a tomato because of the sunburn. I still do, I have to apply a thick layer of creme on my face, shoulders and chest to reduce the pain a bit.

Yesterday I finished reading Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf, my review is coming on June 27th.

I'm currently reading Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca for the Timeless book club, The Lucy Preston Literary Society.

I'm planning to start Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf next week.

I'd really like to put my review of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman up on the blog next week too.

Recent posts on the blog:

Sunday: Review – Clowders by Vanessa Morgan

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #16

Friday: Book Beginning and the Friday 56 #18 – featuring Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week. 

Physical books:

Title: Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline

Goodreads

I know, I'm a little bit late to the game but I'm curious what the hype was about. I'll watch the movie after reading the book and will decide if I want to do a comparison post or will stick with a review. I'm glad I've got to own this book at last and that I have a chance to pick it up soon. 

Title: East of Eden

Author: John Steinbeck

Goodreads

I've been planning to read East of Eden for so long now. It's one of my mother's favourite books. I've read Of Mice and Men from Steinbeck, I know he was an incredibly talented writer and so I can't wait to start this epic family story of his.

Title: Hold Your Own

Author: Kate Tempest 

Goodreads

A poetry collection at last. A sequence of poems about the prophet Teiresias to be exact. The gender change that happens in this work interests me a lot, not to mention I've wanted to familiarize myself with Kate Tempest's poetry for some time know. It will be a wonderful ride I'm sure.

ARC:

Title: The Oddling Prince

Author: Nancy Springer

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

I saw this book on many other blogs and the reviews usually say good things about it. My request on NetGalley got approved in 10 minutes which is a new record, haha. 

Please leave  link to your weekend post below so I can go and visit your blog. Enjoy the weekend!

Weekend Wrap-up #12

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

We received amazing news this week: my boyfriend David got a job!! That means me and him can move in together very soon. We are currently looking for a place to rent and once we find something, we are good to start our life together for real this time.

In the past week I finished reading Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca, see the link to my review below! At the moment I'm reading The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics, I'm hoping to finish this atmospheric horror novel by tomorrow. I'm also in the middle of Uneasy Lies the Head by Jane Plaidy, which is the first instalment in her Tudor Saga.

Recent posts on the blog:

Wednesday: TBB Asks: Summer Vacation Edition

Friday: Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #21 

Saturday: Review – Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

Physical Book: 

 Title: The Underground Railroad

Author: Colson Whitehead

Goodreads

This book has won so many awards it's crazy. This is another title that I found because of the tv show Timeless (I've stopped counting how many awesome books it has introduced me to so far). The Underground Railroad is an actual railroad in this story, that runs beneath the ground. Amazing idea! If the execution is good too, this novel will probably blow my mind.

ARCs:

Title: The Colonel and the Bee

Author: Patrick Canning

Goodreads

Patrick Canning was kind enough to send me a copy of his novel, The Colonel and the Bee. The story is set in Victorian times and it follows an odd pair: an explorer and an acrobat. They go on a journey together in a hot air balloon and all the while they are chasing a criminal who is seeking a precious figurine called The Blue Star Sphinx.

I love books in which the characters go on a great adventure. I'm very curious about this one.

Title: Aaru (The Aaru Cycle Book #1)

Author: David Meredith

Goodreads

Another book that I received straight from its author. It's a dystopian sci-fi novel in which people's mind get uploaded to a computer after they die. It's kind of like a cyber paradise, except there are dark corners in this futuristic Eden. 

I'm sure this novel deals with numerous questions that are extremely relevant in this computerized world we live in...

 

Please leave  link to your weekend post below so I can go and visit your blog. 

Happy Sunday!

Weekend Wrap-up #1

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

This weekend is a long one in Hungary because March 15 (Thursday this year) is a national holiday and everyone got Friday off as well. My cousin came to visit so we had a family get-together where we indulged in board games and home-made doughnuts.

The weather is a bit gloomy, I wouldn't mind to see the sun a bit more but I'm sure we'll get there.

Yesterday I went to the cinema to watch an NTLive screening of Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead. I'm so glad I could catch a screening because I've been planning to watch it for so long. I enjoyed it immensely, I'll write a post with more details about it in a few days. I'm very eager to share my highlights with you, it was a truly awesome experience.

Now onto the books. 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

I acquired two new ebooks this week.

Purchased:

Title: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum

Author: Kirsten Weiss

Source: Amazon

Goodreads 

Synopsis:

When Maddie Kosloski’s career flatlines, she retreats to her wine-country hometown for solace and cheap rent. Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she’s certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But a new ghost may be on the loose. A fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present.

With her high school bully as one of the officers in charge, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she’s certain it won’t be.

Maddie grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home.

ARC 

Title: The Stolen Girl (The Veil and the Crown #1)

Author: Zia Wesley

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

Synopsis:

The legend of Aimée Dubucq de Rivery, has survived on three continents for more than two hundred years. The Stolen Girl tells the first part of her extraordinary story, her adolescence on the Caribbean island of Martinique, and her voyage to Paris where her hopes of finding a husband are shattered. Resigned to live as an old maid at the ripe age of eighteen, she decides to become a nun and sets sail to visit her relatives on Martinique one last time. On the journey, she meets and falls in love with a dashing young Scotsman. But fate had other plans for Aimée, ones that were foretold by an African Obeah woman when she was fourteen years old.

My review of Ain't He Precious (Sex and Sweet Tea #1) by Juliette Poe will be up tomorrow and then boom, another week is over. Seriously, time is flying, guys.

How was your reading week? What are you reading at the moment? 

Please leave your links below!

Have a nice weekend!

Weekend Wrap-up #4

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

This week I tried to pick up the rhythm of everyday life after an eventful week/weekend. 

I got book mail in which The Line of Beauty arrived (read about it below). It made me super happy because I rarely order books these days (I'm broke, ugh) and it's a good feeling to receive the package when I order one now and then.

This week I watched two films on Netflix. That's progress for me because lately I've mostly watched tv shows (the reason for that is that I'm somehow unable to concentrate on one thing for a long time, I find it easier to watch one episode at a time from a series rather than watching a long movie).

The movies I saw were totally out of my comfort zone, too. They were Maid in Manhattan and Crazy, Stupid Love. Romantic comedies are not my type of films so my sudden, fleeting crave for them surprised me. Anyway, both movies were entertaining and in that way they served their purpose.

By the way, am I the only one who now cannot unsee Voldemort when looking at Ralph Fiennes? It's a tragedy because for the longest time I had a crush on that man. And now... Voldy!!??

 

On the TV show front I'm very close to finish Black Sails. The situation in Nassau is very dire at the moment. I'm sad I have to let go of this show after the end of this season but at the same time I'm hoping for a satisfying ending. 'Cause even surly pirates deserve a happy ending sometimes.

Posts on the blog this week:

Monday: March Wrap-Up, April TBR

Wednesday: Blog Tour + Review + Giveaway - Hiding by Jenny Morton Potts

Thursday: My trip to Oradea in pictures

Friday: Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 - Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week. 

Purchased:

Title: The Line of Beauty

Author: Alan Hollinghurst

Synopsis:

It is the summer of 1983, and young Nick Guest, an innocent in matters of politics and money, has moved into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: Gerald, an ambitious new Tory MP, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their children Toby and Catherine. As the boom years of the mid-80s unfold, Nick becomes caught up in the Feddens’ world, while pursuing his own private obsession, with beauty – a prize as compelling to him as power and riches are to his friends. An early affair with a young black council worker gives him his first experience of romance; but it is a later affair, with a beautiful millionaire, that brings into question the larger fantasies of a ruthless decade.

This is a critically acclaimed LGBTQ fiction novel from the year 2004. I have only read one LGBTQ book that was set in the 80s so far, Tell the Wolves I'm Home. I have the feeling the AIDS epidemic that touched the lives of the characters in that book will influence the happenings in The Line of Beauty as well. I'm a bit afraid this book will be a bit heavy on politics, given that the MC goes to live with an MP and his family but at least I'll have the chance to learn more about the Thatcher era. Political history is part of history after all.

How was your week? Please leave a link to your STS and Sunday posts below so I can go and comment on them! Happy reading!

Weekend Wrap-up #13

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

Long time no see, I know, but please forgive me, lovelies, the wedding bells are ringing for me and I've got much to arrange (the date is September 14). I've also been in a huuuuge reading slump that seems to be leaving me these days, fingers crossed. 

Right now I'm determined to finish The Balance of Heaven and Earth by Laurence Westwood, that I put aside for a while because of all the things that have been going on in my life recently, but that I enjoyed a lot when I still had time to read. I've also picked up Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, a classic I've been eyeing for a while now.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

Physical Books:

Title: Cleopatra's Daughter

Author: Michelle Moran

Goodreads

Synopsis:

At the dawn of the Roman Empire, when tyranny ruled, a daughter of Egypt and a son of Rome found each other...

Selene's legendary parents are gone. Her country taken, she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains, with only her twin brother, Alexander, to remind her of home and all she once had.

Living under the watchful eyes of the ruling family, Selene and her brother must quickly learn how to be Roman – and how to be useful to Caesar. She puts her artistry to work, in the hope of staying alive and being allowed to return to Egypt. Before long, however, she is distracted by the young and handsome heir to the empire...

When the elusive ‘Red Eagle' starts calling for the end of slavery, Selene and Alexander are in grave danger. Will this mysterious figure bring their liberation, or their demise?

Title: Lincoln in the Bardo

Author: George Saunders

Goodreads

Snyopsis:

February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy’s body.

From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a thrilling, supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory, where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie's soul.

Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Goodreads

Synopsis:

 In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

 

Please leave  link to your weekend post below so I can go and visit your blog. 

Happy weekend!