Reseña: A SEAL for Christmas (All I want for Christmas is...#2)

+Digital ARC gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

A SEAL for Christmas

by

Leslie North

 144 pages

Published December 11th 2017

ASIN:B07878WDCY

Series: All I want for Christmas is... #2

Language: English

From the BLURB: It’s Christmas in New York, and the lone wolf is about to go AWOL for love…
Navy SEAL Murphy Coen should be celebrating the upcoming holidays with friends and family, but with his sister Aileen missing, there’s not much for Murph to feel thankful for. To find Aileen, he’s fully prepared to use force, until an unexpected encounter has him rethinking his tactics. Shayma, his friend Daveed’s former fiancée, is sexy as hell, and something about her soothes his wayward soul. The brunette bombshell claims she can help, but Murph’s never been known for his patience. The clock is ticking, and he isn’t sure Shayma won’t get in the way of doing what he needs to do.
After ending her engagement to the man chosen by her father, Shayma bint Amr Kahlan has been enjoying the sights of New York City…and her ex’s best friend Murphy. The menacing military man has the dark, brooding thing down, but Shayma is certain his temper will lead to trouble—trouble his friends don’t want him in. When Daveed offers to promote her father if she can keep Murph in check while he and Heath secretly search for Aileen, Shayma sees a chance to help…and get back in her father’s good graces. She’s happy to prevent Murphy from getting out of hand. Besides, sometimes it takes a softer touch to get what you want.
Shayma and Murphy’s chemistry may be undeniable, but as the stakes get higher, can Murphy open himself up to love? Or will he be forced to choose between Shayma and finding his sister?

My rating: 1.5 don't care stars

bookshelves: contemporary-fiction, romance, netgalley, w_military, adult-mature

The plot: Murphy Coen, SEAL was looking for the holidays instead he is looking for his missing sister. His friends want to help, and so Shayma his friend's ex.

There are some single scene in a party and bedroom scenes and oh he can't and she I am in luuuv.

This i my second chance with this author, and I don't want to give her the third one. I had to push myself to finish this. Is so full of tropes that maybe could be better try it as a parody; not even a single sentence is original. Guys, I found more originality in fanfiction even reading over and over the same theme. Okay I'm not talking here in looking for Nobel's material, but come on!

Reseña: The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray

+Digital ARC gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray 

by 

B.A. Williamson

 300 pages

Expected publication: May 15th 2018 by North Star Editions/Jolly Fish Press

ISBN13: 9781631631726

Edition Language: English

BLURB: Gwendolyn Gray faces an overwhelming battle every day: keeping her imagination under control. It’s a struggle for a dreamer like Gwendolyn, in a city of identical gray skyscrapers, clouds that never clear, and grown-ups who never understand.

But when her daydreams come alive and run amok in The City, the struggle to control them becomes as real as the furry creatures infesting her bedroom. Worse yet, she’s drawn the attention of the Faceless Gentlemen, who want to preserve order in The City by erasing Gwendolyn and her troublesome creations.

With the help of two explorers from another world, Gwendolyn escapes and finds herself in a land of clockwork inventions and colorful creations. Now Gwendolyn must harness her powers and, with a gang of airship pirates, stop the Faceless Gentlemen from destroying the new world she loves and the home that never wanted her—before every world becomes gray and dull.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My bookshelves: netgalley, children-protagonist, fantasy, adventure, steam-punk, dystopia, alternate-reality

Gwendolyn Gray is a twelve-year-old girl living in a gray city, under gray skies, with gray clothes and gray buildings. She doesn't want to grow up, after all the adults look all the same and didn't do anything different ... ever. But Gwendolyn has something that they don't - she has imagination.

This is a middle grade fantasy-adventure story. At the start it reminds me a bit of Momo de Ende. But later some characters invoke different imagenery like the scifi-noir-film Dark City. There are chase, and ships, and pirates, and strange and beautiful cities.

Reseña: Saga 48 (issue)

Saga #48 (single issue)

by 

Brian K. Vaughan

Fiona Staples (Art)

31 pages

Published October 25th 2017 by Image

ASIN:B0743YV4DK

Edition Language:English

BLURB: END OF STORY ARC Ghüs and Squire have an adventure.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My bookshelves: space-opera, graphic-novel, ciencia-ficcion

Meh.

Not even the reunion can live up this one.

Nor the sort of cute of squire.

I feel a bit afronted in the implication that you can reeplace a person -specially family- so easily.

View all my reviews

Reseña: Herding Cats (Sarah Scribbles 3)

 +Digital copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Herding Cats 

by 

Sarah Andersen

 112 pages

Expected publication: March 27th 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

ISBN:1449489788 (ISBN13: 9781449489786)

Series:Sarah's Scribbles #3

 BLURB : Sarah valiantly struggles with waking up in the morning, being productive, and dealing with social situations. Sarah's Scribbles is the comic strip that follows her life, finding humor in living as an adulting introvert that is at times weird, awkward, and embarrassing.

My rating: 2.5*

 My bookshelves: comic-strip, netgalley, humor, riete-de-ti-mismo, graphic-novel

As the point of the book is to make me laugh and didn't achieved, lost one star. Anderson is accurare in some strips regarding how introverted people and some kind of nerd people feel in confronted with many situations, and many of us can feel even identify in some aspects, but the spark is absent .

There are love for reading, autumm, pets, being alone, also the procrastinating, periods, and little pains.

Reseña: La Daga de la Ceguera

La Daga de la Ceguera 

by

 Brent Weeks

 912 pages

Published July 4th 2013 by Fantascy (first published 2012)

Original Title:The Blinding Knife

ISBN13;9788415831068

Edition Language:Spanish

 BLURB: Gavin Guile pensaba disponer de cinco años más de existencia como Prisma, y ahora resulta que le queda menos de uno. Con cincuenta mil refugiados a su cargo, por no hablar de un hijo ilegítimo que hay que formar en las artes mágicas y una ex novia que bien podría haber descubierto su más oscuro secreto, le llueven los problemas.

De repente, la magia en todo el mundo está fuera de control, y este caos amenaza con acabar con las Siete Satrapías. Peor aún, los dioses antiguos están a punto de renacer, y sus ejércitos parecen imparables. Tal vez el único camino para la salvación sea arrojar luz sobre la mentira que rige la vida de Gavin desde hace dieciséis años.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Buscaba mis notas para hacer un comentario semi-coherente, cuando recordé porque no las tenia sino unas pocas líneas: Este es el libro que lei en mi tableta en su mayor parte durante cierta cantidad de apagones en un par de meses. No sé porqué , pero esos son los momentos y horas en que avanzaba más en esta lectura. Extraño. Sobre todo con este título y con todo lo que se refiere este libro y la importancia de la luz.

-------------------------------

«La base de la magia es la luz. Quienes practican la magia se denominan trazadores. Un trazador puede transformar la luz de un color determinado en una sustancia física. Todos los colores poseen sus cualidades particulares, pero los usos de esos bloques de construcción son tan ilimitados como lo sean la imaginación y la voluntad del trazador.

En las Siete Satrapías, el funcionamiento de la magia es aproximadamente lo opuesto de una vela encendida. Al consumirse la vela, una sustancia física (la cera) se transforma en luz. Merced a la cromaturgia, la luz se convierte en una sustancia física, la luxina. Todos los colores de la luxina poseen sus propiedades particulares. Si se traza correctamente (dentro de unos límites estrictos), la luxina resultante será estable y durará días o incluso años, dependiendo de su color.»

----------------------------

Reseña:Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade

Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade 

by  

Patrick Dennis

 299 pages

Published September 11th 2001 by Broadway Books (first published 1954)

ISBN:0767908198 (ISBN13: 9780767908191)

Edition Language:English

Series:Auntie Mame #1

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My shelves; en-tono-de-comedia, literary-fiction, satirical, situ-1930s-1940s, vi-primero-la-pelicula

Reto 43: con un familiar en el titulo.

Cuando Patrick Dennis queda huérfano a los 10 años quedando a cargo -excepto financieramente- de la hermana de su padre, la tía Mame en Nueva York pasa de un ambiente conservador a uno muy diferente. Las ocurrencias de su tía y toda la gama de gente con que ella se rodea y la vida de una socialité de los años antes y pos-depresión son relatados desde el punto de vista de Patrick mientras crece.

Reseña: The Essential Thyroid Cookbook: Over 100 Nourishing Recipes for Thriving with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's

The Essential Thyroid Cookbook: Over 100 Nourishing Recipes for Thriving with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's 

by  

Lisa Markley

 Jill Grunewald

 388 pages

Published September 19th 2017 by Blue Wheel Press, LLC

ISBN;0991170504 (ISBN13: 9780991170500)

Edition Language:English

BLURB:  Lisa Markley, MS, RDN and Jill Grunewald, HNC have created a groundbreaking and scientifically supported cookbook for those with Hashimoto’s (autoimmune hypothyroidism). It’s masterfully written and will support you for a lifetime of peak thyroid health no matter where you currently are on your wellness journey. This long-awaited volume is a book within a cookbook – it contains a substantive educational component as well as over 100 original ''food as medicine'' recipes that not only satisfy and delight your taste buds, but also provide you with maximum nourishment for your thyroid and immune system and help you translate simple, thyroid- and immune-supportive nutrition to your plate.

Hashimoto's is the most common autoimmune disease and thyroid problems are among the most prevalent yet overlooked conditions that compromise women's wellbeing. (Additionally, men are being diagnosed in increasing numbers.) With their combined 20 years of nutrition and culinary wisdom, the authors have a mission to help those with Hashimoto’s reclaim their health.

Additionally, the recipes:

- Emphasize nutrient-dense, whole food ingredients full of color and flavor
- Are gluten-free, dairy-free, and free of refined sugars and other highly processed ingredients
- Are targeted to the home cook and easy to prepare; many can be made in 30 minutes or less
- Are thoughtfully created to appeal to all palates
- Contain sensible adaptations, whenever possible, to fit dietary practices commonly used to address thyroid imbalances and autoimmunity, such as Paleo and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)

In this cookbook, you'll also discover well-researched and practical education about:

- Root causes of Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism
- Key nutrients known to boost thyroid and immune function and their food sources
- The connection between digestive health and thyroid imbalances
- Nutrition and lifestyle strategies for taming autoimmunity
- A discussion on ''goitrogenic'' foods, soy, and the dangers of ''low carb'' for those with hypothyroidism
- How to determine if certain foods may be triggering inflammation and autoimmunity
- Much, much more

My rating: 3,5 stars

The book is oriented toward the holistic side, gluten-free, and dairy-free., also Paleo diet. The first part is information about the disease and a lot of quotes about what other experts had to say about it, and about how the income of certain element can affect the balance of the functioning of the body.

Thyroid hormones affect our health systemically and directly act on the brain, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, bone metabolism, red blood cell metabolism, gallbladder and liver function, steroid hormone production, glucose metabolism, protein metabolism, neuromuscular function, digestion, and body temperature regulation.

Reseña: Cloudia and Rex

+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Cloudia and Rex 

by  

Ulises Farinas ,

Erick Freitas, 

Daniel Irizarri (Illustrator)

80 pages

Published November 28th 2017  

Edition Language:English

  

BLURB: A lushly rendered supernatural fantasy that follows two girls and their mother who find themselves in the middle of a vast, supernatural exodus. On their journey Cloudia is bestowed the powers of hundreds of different gods, but even those don't help her come to terms with the death of her father.

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A mother and two daughters are moving after the father death, amidst the odiosities of the older daughter who is about to turn thirteen, when falls over the family, literally from heaven, a pantheon of gods that are fleeing from their own destruction.

First thought: what a mess!

Mix a bunch of all-you-can-think mythological mumbo-jumbo add senseless plot dump over one annoying unbereable adolescent and shake.

Reseña: Unicorn of Many Hats (Heavenly Nostrils #7)

 +Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Unicorn of Many Hats (Heavenly Nostrils #7)

by 

Dana Simpson

 176 pages

Expected publication: March 20th 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

ISBN:1449489664 (ISBN13: 9781449489663)

Edition Language:English

Series:Heavenly Nostrils

BLURB: In this installment, Phoebe decides to start the school year off right by offering a peace treaty to frenemy Dakota, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils becomes the unlikeliest of babysitters, and Phoebe is totally surprised to find out that her Secret Santa isn't Dakota or Max!

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My bookshelves: comic-strip, graphic-novel, fantasia-urbana, for-kids, children-protagonist, unicorn,  netgalley

Another delivery of the adventures of Phoebe and her best friend Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, where the delivery goes back to the system of comic strips instead of one storyline like the previus issue.

The summer, frienship, fangirling, internet, school, and Unicorns!

The grace of these vignettes apart from the drawings -really cute- , are good part of the dialogues. The author dedicates a good part of the stories to the impact of technology nowadays like the internet , something that goes from parents to children. I love that Phoebe's parents are addicted to electronic games and inclined towards art in the case of mom.

Reseña: Minotaur in Stone

Minotaur in Stone 

by 

Marjorie M. Liu

 55 pages

Published February 11th 2015 by Marjorie M. Liu

ASIN:B00TJ1KSYE

Edition Language:English

BLURB: A labyrinth of a library. Watchful eyes in the dark. And a woman with nowhere – and nobody – to call home. In MINOTAUR IN STONE, Marjorie M. Liu transports her heroine into the arms of the tragically cursed Minotaur. After millennia of being trapped by an ancient king, the Minotaur has given up hope of escaping the dark labyrinth that imprisons him. When he feels a connection with the woman he watches every night, however, and she returns his feelings after being summoned to his home, he realizes that she may be the champion he needs, and she realizes that she may be falling in love with the man beneath the monster.

My rating: 3,3 stars

My bookshelves: novelette-short, adult-mature, fantasy-paranormal, myth-and-legends

Adult fantasy. A modern take in the Minotaur myth. A young woman living in the fringe , secluded in a library, is conduced in dreams into a dark labyrinth with a not possible man. Both are lost in dark, lonely and with nothing to lose.

[...] to live as an uninvited guest, quiet as a book—and as a book, a dull creature on the surface, but full of the raging wild dark inside the words of my heart.

The start is better than the ending, as far as the way in which the author interweaves the words.

Creo que buena parte de esta idea del laberinto se ve después en su serie Hunter Kiss - The Iron Hunt, que por cierto la recomiendo.

Reseña: An Apple for the Creature (Antologia)

An Apple for the Creature 

by

Charlaine Harris  (Editor), Toni L.P. Kelner (Editor),

Ilona Andrews, Jonathan Maberry, Donald Harstad, Marjorie M. Liu, Rhys Bowen, Amber Benson, Faith Hunter, Steve Hockensmith, Nancy Holder, Thomas E. Sniegoski, M.R. Carey

  

336 pages

Published 2012 by Ace 

ISBN:0425256804 (ISBN13: 9780425256800)

Edition Language: English

 

BLURB: What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests." For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation. And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My shelves: fantasia-urbana, ghosts, horror, magia, psychic-powers, shapeshifters, short-story, vampiros, werewolf-hombrelobo-lycans, witches-wizards 

Antologia de relatos cortos de lo sobrenatural y la educación en diversas formas que van desde Ilona Andrews a Charlaine Harris y Faith Hunter, pasando por Marjorie M. Liu (cuya historia buscaba al leer esto), la historia excepcional de Mike Carey y varios otros autores desconocidos para mi. Recibe el nombre por la historia corta de Faith Hunter.

Reseña: Bruno Brazil - Integral 1

Bruno Brazil. Integral 1 

by  

Greg  

William Vance

Fabian Rodriguez (Traductor)

216 pages

Published 2013 by Ponent mon

ISBN:1908007478 (ISBN13: 9781908007476)

Edition Language:Spanish

 

BLURB: Bajo la blanca cabellera de Bruno Brazil se esconde un agente del servicio de inteligencia americano. En sus inicios trabaja solo, al igual que James Bond. Pero sus misiones se vuelven cada vez más complejas y peligrosas y termina formando equipo con un elenco de tipos duros, el «Comando Caimán», compuesto por Gaucho Morales, Whip Rafale, Texas Bronco, Billy Brazil, Big Boy y el Nómada. 

Entre 1967 y finales de la década de los 70, Michel Greg, bajo el seudónimo de Louis Albert, y William Vance conciben y dibujan sus trepidantes aventuras con una calidad gráfica excepcional e innovadora. Aquí están reunidas, por primera vez, en un integral en tres volúmenes. Clásicos de la aventura convertidos en obra de culto.

My rating: 5 stars

Bruno Brazil personaje creado allá por 1968, viene inspirado por el James Bond versión Sean Connery, el agente de gobierno que no se inmuta ante nada y lucha contra malvadas organizaciones y conspiraciones, con un estilo que tira a realista. La diferencia es el material nivel PG-13 pues aparte de aparecer mujeres hermosas (que luchan pie a pie contra hombres) no hay signos de blatante intercambio sexual. ¿De dónde viene ese apellido? quisiera que alguien me lo aclarara.

La misiones son las que aparecen en cualquier pelicula de acción donde el jefe apunta un objetivo y el agente se encarga del resto. Sin embargo, a partir de la segunda entrega Brazil reune a una pandilla de singulares personajes en su "Comando Caimán" que parecen como salidos de la entonces famosa película "Los Doce del Patíbulo" con un toque de humor a lo que serían más tarde "Los Magnificos" (The A-Team), pues siempre parecen que actuan solos , algo asi como en las peliculas de Bruce Willis en Die Hard: mucha acción, explosiones , carreras de autos y disparos por montones.

Reseña: New Hand

 +Digital arc gently provided by editors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

New Hand 

by 

L.A. Witt

  

399 pages

Published by Riptide Publishing  December 18th 2017

ISBN13:9781626496941

Edition Language:English

Series:Bluewater Bay #23

Blurb: Months after his husband’s death, Garrett Blaine desperately needs a fresh start. He sells his house in Seattle, leaves his accounting job, and starts bartending in Bluewater Bay. There he meets a man who wakes up his nearly forgotten libido. Jesse Connelly’s friend with benefits bolted after Jesse disclosed his HIV status. Stood up and stinging, Jesse tries to drown his sorrows . . . and finds an unexpected connection with a lonely bartender.

My rating: 3.5

Garrett is a 42 years old grieving widow who lost his husband and decide to change to a new scenario, town and job, faraway from memories. Jesse is a 26 years old HIV-positive who understand that life not always send the best in your direction but better keep hoping for it.

In case you are wondering, it is not an angst-fest. I clarify it, because I characterize myself by fleeing from that. That is not my idea of what to look for in a reading for entertainment. However always have baffled me when in the media people try to calm down others from crying or in despair or after that when they try to tell people how to feel under some dire circunstances. People are not rational under the best of times, so it seems ridiculous to try to put them into nice wrappings when they are at their worst.

On the other hand, there is a lot of reflection about mourning. And, for the ignorant like me, what it is to live today with a disease like AIDS, or rather being seropositive. Which, considering the tremendous increase in AIDS in my country is not without concern.

All this spiced up with a thematic town - which is here compared to Forks - that revolves around books of werewolves and related subjects, and the production of a series based on them; and where our protagonist works in a comic shop, with all that that implies.

Reseña: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats 

by 

T.S. Eliot

 Illustrated Edition, 56 pages

Published August 30th 1982 by Harcourt Brace & Company (first published 1939)

ISBN:0151686564

Edition Language:English

 

 T. S. Eliot's playful cat poems have delighted readers and cat lovers around the world ever since they were first published in 1939. They were originally composed for his godchildren, with Eliot posing as Old Possum himself, and later inspired the legendary musical Cats.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reto 10: Libro con un gato en la portada.

En verso juguetón , irónico, fantasioso, paródico e ingenioso T.S. Eliot traza una descripción de felinos disque domésticos. Dicen que tal vez se referia a ciertos personajes de su tiempo, tal vez a nosotros mismos, y hasta que hacia referencias a las creaciones de Kipling y Conan Doyle. Y , sin duda, que le debe ahora el ser mucho más conocido al musical de Lloyd Weber.

Pero, sea como sea, arranca reconocimiento a cualquier conocedor de gatos -amante o no de estos - y una sonrisa.

Reseña: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie

+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie 

by  

Anthony Del Col 

Werther Dell'edera (Art)

  

162 pages

Published November 28th 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment 

ISBN:1524104175 (ISBN13: 9781524104177)

Edition Language:English

Volume collects issues 1-6

A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery unlike any other you've ever read! When the teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are accused of the murder of their father - a detective in the small resort town of Bayport - they must team up with Nancy Drew to prove their innocence (and find the real guilty party in the process) in a twisting noir tale, complete with double-crosses, deceit, and dames. Writer Anthony Del Col (Assassin's Creed, Kill Shakespeare) and artist Werther Dell'Edera (Batman: Detective Comics, House of Mystery) bring the iconic teen detectives into the modern age, and redefine noir for a new generation of readers!

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

my shelves: mystery-murder, graphic-novel, netgalley, book-to-graphic-novel, siblings, contemporary-fiction

Despite the introduction of this comic as 'noir' and sort of gritty, I fail to see those changes, but how should I know, afterall, I'm not really a what you could call a real fan of the series, because I've never even see a book of the Hardy Brothers (kind of all american boys it seems) or Nancy Drew. Only watched some old movies of Nancy -that would explain why I'm not part of the 'Nancy was so cool' of the old crowd.- , and old episodes of the HB series, and okay I used to have a bit of crush over Sean Cassidy. 

[
Must be the dimples xd (hide spoiler)]

No so much now.

Reseña: Blade Singer

Blade Singer 

 by  

Aaron de Orive

Martha Wells

 202 pages 

Published June 13th 2014 by Cloak & Dagger Studios 

 Manuel "Manny" Boreaux, a troubled adolescent from Texas, is magically transported into the body of a goblin pickpocket in an alternate world inhabited by faerie creatures. Manny must quickly adapt to the danger all around him and try to find a way to get back home, a feat complicated by the pickpocket's association with a notorious gang of thieves. But when Manny uncovers a plot to assassinate a young king, he must enlist the aid of an elf cavalier and a cat burglar to thwart a Sidhe witch's scheme to ignite a civil war between humans and the Fae.

My rating: 3.5 

 bookshelves: teen-protagonist, adventure, fantasy, sword-and-fantasy, fae-or-fey-or-faery, elfos, seelie-unseelie-court, ya-juvenil

Manny Boreaux is a seventh grade student whose parents died in a car accident six months ago. He lives with his aunt, but finds himself in denial and resentment, making bad decisions. His going to a bookstore chasing memories, leads him magically to an adventure where he is in a parallel world full of magic, guards using rapier, fay beings, and where suddenly he is a thief that is becoming a goblin.

I picked this book for curiosity because is co-authored with Martha Wells (Raksura books).

This is like the Musketeers with faery races .

An entertaining page-turned, but feels more like a novella than a novel. Despite being a stand-alone novel, a second installment is clearly pending.

Reseña: The White Lily (Vampire Blood #3)

 +Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

The White Lily (Vampire Blood #3)

by 

Juliette Cross

 326 pages

Published October 23rd 2017 by Entangled Publishing, Amara

ISBN13:9781640631984

Edition Language:English

Series Vampire Blood #3

 

 FROM THE BLURB: To the north of the Varis empire, a mysterious faction spreads propaganda against the vampire monarchy. Friedrich Volya, the Duke of Winter Hill, seeks to discover who they are before his uncle finds them first. King Dominik will punish the traitors with brutal force.

Local schoolteacher, the raven-haired Brennalyn, is on her own mission—to spy on the duke and discover what she can for the Black Lily. She longs to help the commonwealth and bring justice to the many orphans left behind from the ravages of the blood madness, like the children she lovingly keeps in her care. What she doesn’t plan for is the heart-pounding attraction she feels for the duke, enemy to the Black Lily. But when Brennalyn’s secret puts her life and the life of her children in danger, Friedrich steps in as her protector, she finds out there’s more to the duke than she thought.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is some kind of romance fantasy where exist a Vampire Monarchy, you know, with your average oh-so-handsome evil vampires with pleasure bites and 'elixir' to thrall into obedience and pain. Only the Varis royalty vampires can make more vampires from their blood, and of course if you are born from them (?!). Going into the third book of the series, a discension had started between the peasants and some members of the nobility that abjure of the cruelty and bad practices b/c they are not protecting their sheep humans. And yeah the King is really mad with some chick called Black Lily who is the symbol for the rebellion.

But in the North there is also a dissident spreading bad propaganda with pamphlets - the White Lily (roll eyes), and the Duke Friedrich wants to find the fool before the King does it.

Well that's the idea.

Reseña: Finette cendron

Finette Cendron

by

Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy

 20 pages

Published 2015 by Editions la Bibliothèque Digitale (first published 1697)

ASIN:B00YJV1PUK

Edition Language:French

Ce livre numérique présente «Finette cendron», de Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, édité en texte intégral. Une table des matières dynamique permet d'accéder directement aux différentes sections.

Table des matières
- Présentation
- Finette Cendron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Esta es la 'otra' versión de la Cenicienta contada por la Baronesa d'Aulnoy (a diferencia de la más conocida contada por Perrault), donde la pequeña Finette es una princesa abandonada en el bosque por sus padres junto a sus hermanas, tiene una hada madrina golosa a la que no hace mucho caso, termina confiando en las bellotas, unque después su ingenio la libra de un buen lio, si bien no de sus hermanas malvadas.
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Reseña: Spiders from Mars: My Life with Bowie

+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+  

Spider from Mars: My Life with Bowie 

by  

Woody Woodmansey

 320 pages

Published January 3rd 2017 by St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 1250117615 (ISBN13: 9781250117618)

Edition Language: English

 FROM THE BLURB:

Drummer Woody Woodmansey is the last surviving member of Bowie’s band The Spiders from Mars which helped launch his Ziggy Stardust persona and made David Bowie a sensation. In this first memoir to follow Bowie’s passing, Spider from Mars reveals what it was like to be at the white-hot center of a star’s self-creation. With never-before-told stories and never-before-seen photographs, Woodmansey offers details of the album sessions for The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Aladdin Sane: the four albums that made Bowie a cult figure. And, as fame beckoned by eventually consumed Bowie, Woodmansey recalls the wild tours, eccentric characters, and rock ‘n’ roll excess that eventually drove the band apart.
A vivid and unique evocation of a transformative musical era and the enigmatic, visionary musician at the center of it, with a foreword by legendary music producer Tony Visconti and an afterword from Def Leppard's Joe Elliot, Spider from Mars is for everyone who values David Bowie, by one of the people who knew him best.

My ranking:  3.5 rock stars

 If you are looking for a book about Bowie, better find another book. This is about the drummer until 1973.

This are the memoirs of Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey, from childhood to 2016. Is the story about a musician from Yorkshire (Driffield) , who knew and knows all the musical scene of UK - since the 60s and the following times. About his love for R&B, for the rock, and all what happen in those times for a post-war child who wants to rebel and follow the pipe dream.

And , oh yeah, he knew Mick Ronson from their time playing for The Rats (1969), and he recommended him to some fellow named Bowie for his band called The Hype.

Woody did not even like Bowie's music, but he decided to go to London thinking he might regret it after he did not. At the time, Woody took his job with Bowie with a grain of salt, leaving behind a job as a foreman who could leave him insured for life, or thought so at the time, for the possibility of becoming a rock star.

 It might be difficult to imagine now, but in early 1970 Bowie seemed like a one-hit wonder. His single ‘Space Oddity’, which got to Number 5 in the charts, had come and gone, and the follow-up, ‘The Prettiest Star’, had flopped.

 [...] I’d been listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin and Cream over the previous couple of years; Bowie’s influences were obviously completely different. My friends wouldn’t even know who Bowie was if I asked them about him.

Reseña: Helen O'Loy

Helen O'Loy 

by 

Lester del Rey

First published December 1938

Edition Language:English

Literary Awards:Hugo Award Nominee for Best Short Story (Retro 1939)

 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Relato corto publicado en 1938. Dos científicos cumplen su fantasía de implementar una doméstica robotizada a nivel diosa doméstica.

Por supuesto, ella adora al primer hombre que ve al despertar. Después de todo, sus ideas básicas las saca de telenovelas y libros de fantasia adolescente.

Reseña: Cat Pictures Please

Cat Pictures Please 

by Naomi Kritzer 

★ ★

(Hugo Award Best Short Story 2016)

 Una AI que se no se interesa en la dominación mundial, quiere en cambio en interferir en ayuda de las personas por su bien, y a cambio solamente desea fotos de gatos...

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Could've been done better.

Try for funny and turn out ironic.

I'm not impressed.

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Running algorithms for a search engine doesn’t require consciousness. You don’t even need a consciousness to work out what they meant to ask for. You need a consciousness to give them what they actually need. Figuring that out—that’s complicated. That’s interesting.

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An AI trying for 'good' and showing people the better options. Well, pal, don't you ever hear about free will?

I really, really don't get why this ... entity talk about Frankestein's monster and comandments , when obviously it wants to be a god.

Reseña: La novia de Corinto

La novia de Corinto 

by 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 8 pages

Published November 25th 2011

ASIN:B006EABBQM

Edition Language: Spanish

My shelves: classics, gothic-horror, poetry, escrito en el siglo-18.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Historia de amor más allá de la tumba o de deseos que no se apagan desde la tumba-

“¡Ay, cómo sufro de ver tu tormento.
Pero, ay, si tocas mis miembros
sentirás estremecido lo que te escondí:
blanca como la nieve
pero fría como el hielo
es la amante que tu has escogido!”

Reseña: Brimstone and Marmalade

Brimstone and Marmalade 

by 

Aaron Corwin

32 pages

Published October 30th 2013 by Tor Books

ISBN:1466856394 (ISBN13: 9781466856394)

Edition Language:English

URL

http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/10/brimstone-and-marmalade-aaron-corwin

BLURB: All Mathilde wanted for her birthday was a pony. Instead, she got a demon. Sometimes growing up means learning that what you think you want is not always what you need.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mathilde quiere un poni para su cumpleaños, pero sus papis dicen que es un demonio o nada.

“That’s okay,” Mathilde said. “I don’t mind. I’ll just take my revenge when I rule the world. Mwa ha ha.”

For some reason grown-ups always thought that sort of thing was hilariously funny.

Cosas que pasan entre niños y adultos, y demonios pequeños con delirios de grandeza.

Todo el que ha tenido una mascota comprenderá de que va esta historia.

Reseña: Wardance (Chronicles of Warland 5)

Wardance (Chronicles of Warland #5)

by  

Elizabeth Vaughan

400 pages

Published April 25th 2017 by Birch Cove Press (first published April 11th 2017)

ISBN:0998450111 (ISBN13: 9780998450117)

Idioma; Inglés. 

BLURB: Spring returns to the Plains, and with it, the Time of the Challenges, when warrior fights warrior in a contest for rank and status. For Simus of the Hawk, now is the time to raise his challenge banner, to fight for the chance to finally become Warlord. But his deadliest challenge does not come from other warriors, or even the sundered Council of Elders. For on the first night of the Challenges, a mysterious and deadly pillar of white light scorches the night sky-instantly changing everything for the People of the Plains. Now a warrior-priestess, Snowfall, stands before Simus, who dares to speak of peace, of reconciliation. Her knives are sharp, her tattoos alluring, and her cool grey eyes can look through Simus and see...everything. Now Simus and Snowfall must solve the mystery of the pillar of white light, and protect their people from all the destruction and chaos it brings. Snowfall fights for her place beside Simus, despite resistance from friend and foe. The warrior-priests have abused their power for many years. Can Simus face the challenge of trusting Snowfall with his honor? And perhaps...with his heart?

My rating: 3.5*

My bookshelves: action-adventure, fantasia-epica, magia, magical-practitioners, priestess-sacerdotisa, warlords, warriors.

For those who have not read the sagas of this author, namely Epic of Palins and Chronicles of Warlands, I clarify that both are intertwined. This is a book that you come to understand only if you have read the previous books; and especially after the actions on Destiny's Star (to know about the 'Sacrifice').

Simus of the Hawk is Keir's second, and he supports his new ideas for the Plains and wants to help him achieve that. This means that they would leave a way of life that consists in obtaining several goods through the pillage; as well as learning other ways of healing and other ways of thinking. These changes to what is essentially their way of life have a violent opposition of other leaders and warriors, and especially of the warriors-priest led by Hail Storm.

Now it is spring on the Plains, time for the warriors to gather once more at the Heart to elect four Warlords, one for each cardinal point, who will be in charge of guiding their people to gather food and everything necessary for the survival of the people during winter. The choice is basically by combat. The stronger male or female warrior among his peers is the one who will lead them.

Reseña: Saga 47 (comic issues)

 Y en mi comentario al pasar de la entrega de Saga:

Saga #47 by 

Brian K. Vaughan

Fiona Staples (Illustrator)

 

31 pages
Published September 27th 2017 by Image

ASIN:B0735SH7M3
Idioma: Inglés.

 Meet Ianthe, who has very big plans for The Will.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Aaand we got another crazy character totally out of the current arc-





:insert moment when you want to throtle someone to keep getting with the show (coughRobotcough):