Waiting on Wednesday. Fear the Drowning Deep

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week on WoW is Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Gleen Marsh. I first added this book to my wishlist because of its cover (I know it is nothing special, but I loved the colours). Then, I fell for the summary - a mysterious sea, a witch, etc. - and now I can't wait to read this stand-alone. The book will be released on October 4th.

"Witch’s apprentice Bridey Corkill has hated the ocean ever since she watched her granddad dive in and drown with a smile on his face. So when a dead girl rolls in with the tide in the summer of 1913, sixteen-year-old Bridey suspects that whatever compelled her granddad to leap into the sea has made its return to the Isle of Man.

Soon, villagers are vanishing in the night, but no one shares Bridey’s suspicions about the sea. No one but the island’s witch, who isn’t as frightening as she first appears, and the handsome dark-haired lad Bridey rescues from a grim and watery fate. The cause of the deep gashes in Fynn’s stomach and his lost memories are, like the recent disappearances, a mystery well-guarded by the sea. In exchange for saving his life, Fynn teaches Bridey to master her fear of the water — stealing her heart in the process.

Now, Bridey must work with the Isle’s eccentric witch and the boy she isn’t sure she can trust — because if she can’t uncover the truth about the ancient evil in the water, everyone she loves will walk into the sea, never to return. "

From Goodreads

Retelling Challenge 2016. Update [2]

The (Fairytale) Retelling Challenge 2016 is hosted by Mel @The Daily Prophecy.

It's time for a new update! =D Since the last time, I've read nine more retellings and most have been five stars readings. I'm having so much fun finding and reading all of these retellings. However, I'm still far behind from my goal -as you all know, I'm aiming for the Cheshire Cat badge (I'm eleven books away from it). I now have the Evil Queen badge *insert evil laugh*.

Fairytale Retellings:

• A Thousand Nights - A Thousand and One Nights
• Spinning Starlight - The Six Swans
• Lost Lake House - The Twelve Dancing Princesses 
• The Forbidden Wish - Aladdin from A Thousand and One Nights
• Stitching Snow - Snow White 
• The Shadow Queen - Snow White
• Reign of Shadows - Rapunzel 

Mythology & Folklore:

• Riders - The Four Horsemen
• The Scorpio Races - Scottish lore [water horses]
• The Star-Touched Queen - Indian Mythology
• The Girl at Midnight - The Firebird [Russian myth] 
• The Chaos of Stars - Egyptian mythology

Classics Retold:

• A Study in Charlotte - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Prince of Shadows - Romeo and Juliet
• For Darkness Shows the Stars - Persuasion

If would like to read the tale of Snow White (the tale from where the Evil Queen comes from), written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, you can find it here. 

Review 21. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Published: June 12th 2012
Pages: 407 pages

"It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it."

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a dystopian retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, one of my favourite classic novels. With an alluring cover, it follows the story of Elliot North, a Luddite, and Kai, a Post-Reduced, in a post-apocalyptic world.

Characters: I saw Anne in Elliot. Her big and caring heart, her strength in a quiet way, her broken heart by Captain Wentworth. I admired her courage for staying behind, taking care of the Reduced on her estate instead of running away with Kai, the boy she loved. I enjoyed how much she grew through the story - she learned how to stand up to everyone who bullied her. However, at the end, I think Elliot acted out of character, but I can forgive her because I'm a huge sucker for love. 

“Envy hurt exponentially more than heartbreak because your soul was torn in two, half soaring with happiness for another person, half mired in a well of selfpity and pain.”

Kai brought to surface all those feelings I felt when Captain Wentworth was around (those feelings that made me want to smack some sense into him). Nevertheless, I found Kai a bit more vicious than Wentworth, which I guess was because of his upbringing because being treated as a Reduced when he was a Post-Reduced (able to think and protect himself) must  have been very difficult.      

Romance: I'm not fond of abusive relationships (no one in his right mind should be). However, no matter how harsh Kai was to Elliot, I don't see it as an abusive relationship. It resembled a lot the relation between Anne and Wentworth - the Captain felt hurt by the woman he loved (and never was able to forget) and wanted her to feel as hurt as he felt. That said, I enjoy friends-to-lovers-turned-to-foes-due-to-a-misunderstanding relationships and that's the kind of relation between Elliot and Kai. The angsty relationship between them was really heartbreaking. If I hadn't read Persuasion before, I would have been on the edge of my seat to know what was in store for Kai and Elliot. 

Worldbuilding: At the beginning, the worldbuiling was confusing. Luddites, the Reduction, the Children of the Reduction (CORs)... all these terms were used from the first page and I felt confused because they were no explained. But then, the letters exchanged between Elliot and Kai (which were a very nice touched that reminded me of the original novel) slowly unravelled this new world and how things came to be. If at first I was dubious, then I came to enjoy this vicious world for all those who were not Luddites (and, sometimes, for those who were *cough Elliot cough*). For Darkness Shows the Stars's world grew on me and I couldn't wait to know more about this well-woven dystopia. 

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a charming retelling of Jane Austen's Prejudice with a post-apocalyptic and dystopian twist.

Waiting on Wednesday. Crooked Kingdom

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week on WoW is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I don't think I need to explain why I'm impatiently waiting for this book. I loved Six of Crows -I felt really ashamed for not having read anything from Leigh Bardugo before- and that cliffhanger... I must know what happens next! Also, Crooked Kingdom has red stained pages. *.*  The book will be released on September 27th.

"Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world."

From Goodreads

Cover Reveal. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

This cover is simply magical! So freaking pretty! *.* I confess I did not care about the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. However, I'm excited for the release of the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them - as well as I'm excited for the film and for the Funkos Pop Vynil! Can it be November already?          

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: The Original Screenplay is expected to be released on November 19th.

Monthly Recap. August 2016

And August comes to an end and it's time to look back and see how many books I read and how many books I bought. I'm proud to say that I read more books than I bought. Yay! =D However, I didn't writer as many reviews as I wanted to. =( Also, I'm happy to say that it has been a calm month. I'm still hurt, but my love for Iago is growing every day.

Another good reading month for me. :) I've read eight books this month. Sadly, I won't be able to keep up with my reading strike for the next months.

• Love, Lies and Spies, Cindy Anstey
• The Shadow Queen, C.J. Redwine
• The Last Boy and Girl in the World, Siobhan Vivian
• Truthwitch, Susan Dennard
• Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi
• Prince of Shadows, Rachel Caine
• For Darkness Shows the Stars, Diana Peterfreund
• The Chaos of Stars, Kiersten White

My favourite readings this month were Prince of Shadows and For Darkness Shows the Stars, two retellings that I read during Bout of Books 17.  For Darkness Shows the Stars reminded me that I must re-read Persuasion by Jane Austen. The book which disappointed me the most was Truthwitch. I really had high hopes, but the characters...While Iseult was bearable, Safiya was simply annoying (why so many annoying characters? *looking at you Siobhan Vivian and The Last Boy and Girl in the World*). 

This month I didn't go bankrupted. *happy dance* So, which new books arrived to my bookshelf? 

P.S. I Like You came with this month Owlcrate (which will be my last until the next year; I decided to give an opportunity to Nerdy Bookworm Box). I was happy to receive it because it was on my wishlist. I read P.S. I Still Love You last year and I loved it. So, I finally bought a physical copy of it - and it looks so pretty side-by-side with my copy of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. *.* I bought The Hunger Games Trilogy in Book Depostiory's bargain section. I do have these books in Portuguese, but these editions are so pretty and they were so cheap that I just couldn't resist. I had to have them! 

Random & Randomness, as the name indicates, is about random bookish stuff. Inspired by a few blogs, I decided to create this little space where I share some bookish love.

• Two more books for Sabaa Tahir - Yes, I'm still impatiently waiting for my copy of A Torch Against the Night to arrive, but even if I haven't read it yet, I felt super excited when Sabaa Tahir announced that she would write two more books in the An Ember in the Ashes series. Sadly, book number three will only be released in 2018 and I don't know if I'll be able to wait that long.
• My review of Stitching Snow and Love, Lies and Spies.   

Bout of Books 17 Read-a-Thon. Wrap Up

Another Bout of Books comes to an end. And, sadly, the next one will only be in January. Why can't we have more Bout of Books? :´(  As usual, congratulations to the survivors! This week flew by and I tried to fit as much reading as possible - I can't believe I'm going to say this, but on Saturday and Sunday I felt tired of reading. Now, let's see if I met my goals.

My goals for Bout of Books 17 were:

1. To read every day;
2. To participate in two challenges;
3. To write at least one blog post per day.

To read every day? Check. To participate in two challenges? Check. To write at least one blog per day? Check. I fulfilled all of my goals. *happy dance*

About my readings:

• I read two out of the physical four books I propose myself to read at the beginning of the Bout of Books 17. I also read For Darkness Shows the Stars (ebook) and started reading The Chaos of Stars, which I'm halfway through. 
• The day I read more was August 23rd (Tuesday) and the day I read less was August 24th (Wednesday). On Sunday I read 228 pages and on Wednesday I read 150 pages. 
• From August 22th to August 28th I read 1128 pages from four different books (three physical books and one ebook).

Instagram

About the challenges:

• I participated in 5 out of the 6 challenges.
• My favourite challenges were: Book to Movie Adaptation hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale and Book in a Song hosted by Janey Canuck.
• The challenge I found more difficult was: NONE!

Bout of Books 18 will be from January 2nd to January 8th. I'm hoping to participate and I'll try pay attention to the deadlines so that I can host a challenge. Now, it's time to say goodbye and I hope to see you all again in January.

Time for writing reviews! ;)