Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviews.

I'd like to introduce to you the new My Lovely Secret. 🎉 What do you think of it? I thought it was time for another change (I gave my blog a makeover a few months ago). I did like the black/white template, but I felt something was missing - especially after visiting so many beautiful book blogs that made me feel ashamed of mine. I still have to change a few things, but, so far, I'm quite happy how it turned out.

What happened in my life this week:

🌻 As mentioned, new blog template.
🌻 Finally had day light to take a few #bookstagram photos.
🌻 Joined an international bloggers chat community created by Evelina @AvalinhasBooks. If you are from the group and are wondering why I don't interact much it's because I have social anxiety and even online it's awkward to talk to people for me.
🌻 My Black Friday/Cyber Monday orders finally arrived. So many books!!! 💗

2018 Beat The Backlist - Sign up & Goals

Beat the Backlist is a challenge hosted by hosted by Austine @NovelKnight, which focus on knocking off titles that have been on our TBR for a while, or even ones that get pushed aside for new releases. The challenge will run from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 and all books must be released prior to 2018 to count for this challenge. Reading updates can be posted throughout the year on social media platforms with the hashtag #BeatTheBacklist. You can find more information here.

Review 34. Shadow Fall by Audrey Grey

Title: Shadow Fall

Author: Audrey Grey

Publisher: Blaze Publishing [thank you for the review copy]

Published: November 22nd 2016

Pages: 368 pages

"The asteroid hurtling toward the earth will kill billions.

The Emperor and his Gold Court will be safe in their space station, watching from the stars. The Silvers will be protected underground. But the Bronzes must fight it out at the Shadow Trials for the few remaining spots left on the space station.

When an enigmatic benefactor hands Maia Graystone a spot in the Trials, she won’t just get a chance at salvation for her and her baby brother, Max: She gets to confront the mother who abandoned her in prison, the mad Emperor who murdered her father, and the Gold prince who once loved her. But it’s the dark bastard prince she’s partnered with that will make her question everything, including her own heart. With the asteroid racing closer every day, Maia must trust someone to survive.

The question is who?"

Shadow Fall is a dark and violent dystopia that explores the worst humanity has to give when faced with extreme circumstances and the fear of extinction.

 

Plot: After being caught stealing food, Maia Graystone was thrown into the Pit, an underground prison where only the most vicious and murderous survive. With her father dead and abandoned by her mother, her years are spent in the dark with no hope of every leaving it. When Nicolais, an enigmatic benefactor, gives her the opportunity to fight in the Shadow Fall Trials and save her young brother from the end of the world, Maia takes it, even if it means become someone else, Lady Everly March, and kill the ruthless Emperor, who has condemned Earth to death.

Cover Reveal. The Heart Forger

Behold the beautiful cover of The Bone Witch's sequel. 😍 I can't believe the cover has finally been shared. I'm completely in love with this series by Rin Chupeco, whose writing is beautiful. The world building is simply amazing! Everything is perfection! If you haven't read The Bone Witch yet, I recommend you to do it NOW (ignore the Goodreads ratings, I promise you that you won't regret it).  

The Heart Forger is expected to be released on March 20th 2018.

In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she's after revenge... No one knows death like Tea.

A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life...and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva.

With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love. But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea's dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can't kill someone who can never die...

War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.

Waiting on Wednesday. A Conspiracy of Stars

"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 A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole. I don't know if it has already happened to you but: I'm not really fond of the synopsis of this book, however there a few details (as a magical jungle) that just appeal to me, making me think that maybe you shouldn't read a book by it's synopsis. 😋 Does it make sense? Also, the cover! *.* I just love the minimalistic style and colours chosen. The book will be released on January 2nd 2018.

"Octavia has only ever had one goal: to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a prestigious whitecoat, one of the scientists who study the natural wonders of Faloiv. The secrets of the jungle’s exotic plants and animals are protected fiercely in the labs by the Council of N’Terra, so when the rules suddenly change, allowing students inside, Octavia should be overjoyed.

But something isn’t right. The newly elected leader of the Council has some extremist views about the way he believes N’Terra should be run, and he’s influencing others to follow him. When Octavia witnesses one of the Faloii—the indigenous people of Faloiv—attacked in front of her in the dark of night, she knows the Council is hiding something. They are living in separate worlds on a shared planet, and their fragile peace may soon turn into an all-out war.

With the help of Rondo, a quiet boy in class with a skill for hacking, and her inquisitive best friend, Alma, Octavia is set on a collision course to discover the secrets behind the history she’s been taught, the science she’s lived by, and the truth about her family."

From Goodreads

Sunday Post. A Sick Week But With a Silver Lining

Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviews.

Happy Sunday! How's everyone doing? How many books did you read this week? How many did you buy? 😊 This was not a chaotic week, but as you will see below, it wasn't a good week concerning my health. But, at least, I had free time to do many things that I have been putting off.

What happened in my life this week:

🌻 Stomach bug attack! Which means, I stayed at home all week.
🌻 But I finished two books (must write the reviews now 🙈) and started A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis. Silver lining, right?
🌻 Also worked on my dissertation - anyone interested in dystopias and monsters? 🙋
🌻 And, watched four films: The Room of Disappointments (2016), Assassin's Creed (2016), Girl on the Train (2016) & Split (2016).
🌻 Still impatiently waiting for my Black Friday/Cyber Monday orders to arrive.
🌻 Joined the #ReadersCrossing hosted by @Read at Midnight,which starts today.
🌻 Last week, I reached the goal of 50k words on my NaNoWriMo project. So proud of myself!

LAST WEEKS ON THE BLOG...

• Shared two more 2018 releases that I can't wait to get my hands on: Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen and Everless by Sara Holland. I'm just so in love with the premise of these two books. To marry a tyrant to save her people? To extract blood to increase one's blood span? My expectations are really high.

• If you want to know what I've been up to in November, you can take a look at my November's monthly recap.  Regarding readings, it was a bad month, but I hope December can make it up. I need to end 2017 with a bang.

• Bookish pet peeves. Do you have any? I surely do have a lot of them. And, you'll probably think I'm crazy or your best friend after reading this new My Bookish Life post.

• As mentioned above, #ReadersCrossing starts today and this week and this week I shared my sign up post. If you could recommend me books for any square, I would appreciate it. 💕

📚 MINI BOOK HAUL 📚

While I'm still waiting for my Black Friday book orders to arrive, Ignited by A.M. Deese was the only new book I got in these past weeks. And, I didn't spend money on it since I got it from Netgalley. So, YAY! 😄 But now I'm thinking that I should join Evelina's State of the Arc...

READING CHALLENGE. #ReadersCrossing

The #ReadersCrossing is a reading challenge hosted by @Read at Midnight and it will take place between Sunday 10th December to Sunday 31st December, 2017.

The holiday season is almost upon us, and around here that means another reading challenge! In keeping with tradition, this one is themed around my latest obsession: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. You’ll be reading books, completing tasks, making friends, and be surrounded by adorable animals – just like the game itself.

Similar to #TheReadingQuest which I hosted earlier on this year, the challenge is based on a bingo board. You can either follow a specific path which is based on the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp themes of Cute, Cool, Natural, and Sporty. Alternatively, you can do the challenges in whatever order you wish."

For my first path, I decided to choose the Natural. I'm not sure if I will be able to do the other paths, but with the Natural I'll be able to tackle down my ever-growing TBR pile.

"NATURAL – Five Across: Get in touch with nature with  books set in the wilderness, filled with animals, or your favourite classics, with this particular path."

How to Increase ExperiencePoints

For each finished book: +2 EXP
For each finished graphic novel/manga: +1 EXP
#OwnVoices novels: +3 EXP
Tweeting #ReadersCrossing: +1 EXP
Photos #ReadersCrossing: +1 EXP
  Level up: Every +10 EXP.

Books I'm Planning to Read:

A book set in my country:
A book that has a yellow cover: 
A book that is a classic:
A book with an animal on the cover:
A book set in the wilderness:

Extra:
Seasonally inspired:
Insect on the cover:
Fruit in the title:
Free space: A Madness so Discreet
Read a book in 24 hours:
Read a book picked by a friend from your TBR:
Set at seas/beach:
Comment on a post:
Shelfie: