Top 5 Sundays #91 - Characters You'd Love to Have Dinner With!

*Even though I'm STILL having issues with the comment box on blogger, I CAN comment from the Ipad. So i will be doing that from now on =D.

I so love coming up with these lists =D Always a lot of fun!


Hope you'll join me this week =)

  This week’s results:

Characters With Which You'd Love to Have Dinner!

  11 (73%)

Reasons to Give Up on a Favorite Series!

  4 (26%)

The theme for today is:

Characters You'd Love to Have Dinner With!

But first, a little bit about this feature and the rules to join in…

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:

1. Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2. Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3. Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4. After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5. If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)

This week’s theme is Characters You'd Love to Have Dinner With!

*in no particular order

LOVE Barney! I wouldn't like to go on a date with him, but grab a beer? Absolutely!

Charley is HIGHlarious! Would love to spend some time with her =)

LOVE Chandler! One of my fave characters of all time. Dinner with him would be awesome!

In this case, i would like to have dinner with both Kitty and Reader! It would be fabulous and dangerous!

Sherlock AND Watson! Having a proper meal and picking their brains would be a dream come true!

Attention!Please HELP!If you have any theme ideas for the next Top 5 Sundays Posts, please leave them in the comments!NEED IDEAS FOR 2012Your input would be much appreciated!

Now I can’t wait to see who is in YOUR List of Characters You'd Love to Have Dinner With!

 Write you post and leave your link so i can check it out!

Hope you guys have fun with it!

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

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Larissa's Bookish Diary {Chapter TWO} - Highway to Health

I'm back, and much sooner than you expected hehe. This feature started from a need to share personal things and like I mentioned in the previous post, this time I'm going to focus on my constant struggle with losing weight.

When I was a kid I was very athletic. I played so many sports and I even competed in swim meets. However, at the age of eleven, I started feeling a lot of pains in my knees and after visiting a few doctors I found out that I have Poli-Rheumatoid Arthritis Juvenile, which means that I have an inflammation in all the joints of my body.

From that moment on my life was never the same. Even before all that, I was never the popular kid, I tended to fall under the "dorky kid" category and when I didn't even have sports to back me up, I became the chubby dorky kid. You can imagine that my self-esteem took a nosedive and being bullied definitely didn't help.

To help contextualize my childhood, you guys need to understand that I love my mom, but she has always been very controlling and strict. For the longest time, I didn't really have a personality of my own, her demands and punishments were too much for me to take, so much so that for 3 years (from 11 to 13 years old) I was in deep depression. I wasn't happy at home or at school, so I lived for the time I could go to bed and simply sleep.

Well, from that period on, until I was about 16, that was my life. Things started changing in 2001, when I moved with my mom and stepdad (my parents divorced when I was 14) to a different city. There I started asserting my psychological independence and I finally made friends that allowed me to find out who I really was. 

Let's jump to 2006, before I get too sidetracked LOL. That was when I decided to do the Atkins diet for a couple months, resulting in me eating less from then on and consequently losing 70lb. Whilst losing all that weight, was when I started realizing some very interesting things. I have always been outgoing, but when it comes to boys, I suck (not in a good way) and because of that I started actually dating, pretty late in life. When I lost most of the total pounds I ended up losing, I thought things would change automatically, and boy, was I wrong?!

I got really depressed that things didn’t magically become better and while opening up on the subject to a friend, she pointed out that there was no use in changing appearance if there is no attitude adjustment. I woke up to it then and luckily made a new friend that was just who I needed at that moment. She was chubby as well and had a very healthy self-esteem. I learned so much from her and I will be forever grateful.

 Halfway through 2007 another huge change came along, I moved to Israel to live with my dad, who had moved there 2 years before. It was the most amazing experience of my life. Living 3 years in Tel Aviv was an incredible adventure. However, during my last year there, I let go of any discipline I had and started gaining all the weight back, even more than before actually.

So here we are, 2 years after I came back to Brazil in April 2010, leaving Israel 92 lb heavier. The weight is awful for my health and it has come to a moment that I need to buckle up and do what is necessary. So, I decided to start another diet. What I am doing now is similar to weight watchers but it's online. I pay for it monthly and I get help from nutritionists that evaluate my weekly development and give guidance. It is MUCH slower, but I am drastically changing my eating habits and 11 weeks in I have lost 22lb =)

One thing I want to say before finishing up this post. After all that I have been through, I have come to realize that having an "internal" makeover is just as important, if not more so, than the physical one. I have lost and gained many pounds, but the way I feel about myself and my attitude have changed and THAT is something I have much more control over. All that makes me think that if I had the same frame of mind I have right now, back when I was in my late teens, I would have been much happier.

Hope I didn't bore you all with my story. Thank you for all the support and love you have given me in the previous post, you guys rock!

I would love for you share some of yours as well  =) 

Me now =D

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon,

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Sarah's Reviews: Faythe Reclaimed (Hanaford Park Series #3) by Lisa Sanchez

Running through a strange forest with a bloodthirsty demon hot on her heels wasn’t Taylor’s idea of a rockin’ evening. Then again, neither was soaring backward through time and space. Time travel chafed and left a rank, nasty aftertaste. So, when she finds herself floundering amidst a sea of Commandment-loving holy rollers who fling accusations of witchcraft and bedevilment like hotcakes in a diner, finding her way home jumps to the top of her to do list. Too bad she can’t remember who she is or where she came from. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Taylor has to fall for the mysterious Latin warlock living on the edge of Salem Village and who comes to her rescue, Gabriel Castillo.

Battling an identity crisis and lost in a time that’s not her own, Taylor is determined to find her way back to twenty-first century Hanaford Park. But first, she and Gabriel must work together to uncover the dark scourge lurking in Salem's shadows, and in doing so, save their own lives, and the lives of countless innocents from a lethal date with the hangman’s noose.

From Goodreads

• Publisher: Tulipe Noire Press
• Release Date: May 2012
• My Copy: Received From Author.
• Pages: 257
• Genre: Paranormal Romance
• Author's Website
• Buy this Book (click book below)

Sarah's reviews: Eve of Samhain (Hanaford Park Series #1) - Lisa Sanchez 

Sarah's reviews: Pleasures Untold (Hanaford Park Series #2) - Lisa Sanchez

You have seen my previous reviews on the other Hanaford Park books and you'll know I loved them and have been itching to read the next part. Well here it is - Faythe Reclaimed. Possibly my most anticipated book EVER and I couldn't wait to get reading this!

The book starts straight after Pleasures Untold and is told in both Gabriel's and Taylor's points of view. This is a great way to get both sides of this story as Taylor is now back in time with no memory of who she is or where she's from. Gabriel also goes back in time too and they both are in Massachusetts in 1692, the place and time of the Salem witch trials. Gabriel is under some kind of curse that means Taylor becomes impossible to be with. This doesn't stop him from wanting to help her of course... this is love after all! Taylor still unable to work out who she is soon takes on the name of Faythe as the villagers believe that's who she is, then she meets Gabriel and has a connection with him. Soon rumours start flying about them and people become wary of them. The odds really are up against them with demons also after them and now the village is turning too.

I couldn't put this down once I'd finally got the outside world to realise that I needed time to have time to read my book! From the series so far this is the more darker and she really knows how to push the characters through real physical pain. Such descriptive pain that I felt sore reading the words and wanted to protect these two from any more pain. Sanchez lightens this all up with humour, Taylor might not know who she is but she's not lost her ability to say exactly how she feels. Some of these moments are pure laugh out loud moments and then bang you're back feeling sorry for her and the plight that her and Gabriel are now in. Also the steamy scenes are extra steamy this time around, you won't be disappointed! 

Absolutely loved this book and it didn't let me down at all and fully deserves the rating below! Now get reading it and if you haven't yet read the other Hanaford Park stories then get on it. Hurry, you won't be disappointed.

You can find out more about Sarah HERE! 

Thanks for reading, please comment below x x x

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Larissa's Bookish Diary {Chapter ONE} - Some Blog That I Used to Know

I don’t know how many of you are aware of this, but this blog started out back in 2007 as simple personal blog. My idea was to share my misadventures whilst being a brazilian girl, living in Israel. I could never be very constant with posting, especially since I had no audience to write to, so I just wrote a few posts through those first 2 years of this blog’s life, but I am extremely proud of them! If you guys want to take a look at my earlier stuff, check out the “Getting Personal” tab =D There I tell funny and weird stories and even pour my heart out many of times.

I bet right now you are wondering, why the hell am I writing about this and what is this post about, aren’t you?

Well, the thing is that I hate the fact that I have been letting the blog slip. I miss the days when I had 3 or 4 reviews a week, not to mention other posts I had a lot of fun writing. However, as many of us bloggers know, real life sometimes gets in the way and as much as we love reading and blogging, we do have other responsibilities that come first.

When I first started Book blogging, I was simply a student and I had much more control over my free time, so I tended to read as many as TWO books a day when possible and I could make the choice to just blow off classes. As an example of my obsession at the time, my book reading record was 365 books in 2009. Something I am well aware I cannot do again LOL.

Nowadays, I have a very steady and busy job, where I am constantly on demand and many kids and teens depend on me. I LOVE my job, but my reading and blogging time have been cut down so much that it makes me sad at times. One of the things I have missed the most is the exchange of thoughts between me and my readers.

That is why I decided to create this new feature. This will be like a diary for me, a place where I can share thoughts, ideas, stories, books and my journey/battle to lose weight and be healthier. I will also leave questions bellow each post and will try to incorporate your answers in the following post... How does that sound?

I don’t plan to write daily, but it will be more constant than once a week and I hope you guys will enjoy my random thoughts and stories =)

Chapter ONE Questions:

Have you ever struggled against being overweight?

Have you gone on a diet?

How do you feel about dieting?

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

Read more...

Top 5 Sundays #90 - Favorite Book Quotes! {Part II}

*I'm STILL having issues with the comment box on blogger, so I am sorry for not responding on the comments and not commenting on your Top 5 posts. I LOVE your comments and I do read them!  

How crazy! I went to grab the link to the first Top 5 fave Quotes post, I saw that it was posted almost 1 year ago exactly LOL, in May 21st.

So, it is great to revisit the topic and highlight other amazing quotes...

You can also check out the 1st part of my Favorite Top 5 quotes as well!



Btw, I realized I made a mistake with numbering the Top 5 posts... this is number 90! Crazy LOL

  This week’s results:

Authors You'd Invite to Dinner to talk about Books e Top 5 Dream Locations for the Dinner!	6 (35%)
Favorite Book Quotes (Part II)!	11 (64%)

The theme for today is:

Favorite Book Quotes! {Part II}

But first, a little bit about this feature and the rules to join in…

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:

1. Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2. Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3. Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4. After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5. If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
   
   

This week’s theme is  Favorite Book Quotes! {Part II}     

*in no particular order

So significant to one of the most heart wrenching moments I have ever read! Perfect!

LOL gotta love Bones!

No words!

Gotta love Kitty!

Dmitri!!! I miss him!

Attention!

Please HELP!

If you have any theme ideas for the next Top 5 Sundays Posts, please leave them in the comments!

NEED IDEAS FOR 2012

Your input would be much appreciated!

Now I can’t wait to see who is in YOUR List of   Favorite Book Quotes! {Part II}     

 Write you post and leave your link so i can check it out!

Hope you guys have fun with it!

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

Read more...

Series Catch-Up Reviews: Sacrificial Magic {Downside Ghosts #4} by Stacia Kane & Magic Without Mercy {Allie Besckstrom #8} by Devon Monk

***I'm having issues with the comment box on blogger, so I am sorry for not responding in the comments. I do read and appreciate ALL of them!

 

When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess’s boyfriend, Terrible, doesn’t trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess.

Plus there’s the little matter of Chess’s real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead—and if Chess doesn’t watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks. 

As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she’s not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.

From Goodreads.

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Release Date: March 27th, 2012
• Series: Downside Ghosts Series  
• Author's Website

*NO SPOILERS

The Good: Chess and Terrible are back! The action is top notch and it is a great book to read.

The Bad: Chess’s loves to mess up and we get plenty of that in Sacrificial Magic.

The Romance: Terrible 4EVER! That’s all I’m gonna say LOL.

  

Previously On The Downside Ghosts Series:

My Review of Downside Ghosts Books 1-3

Allison Beckstrom’s talent for tracking spells has put her up against some of the darkest elements in the world of magic, but she’s never faced anything like this.

Magic itself has been poisoned, and Allie’s undead father may have left the only cure in the hands of a madman. Hunted by the Authority–the secret council that enforces magic’s laws–wanted by the police, and unable to use magic, she’s got to find the cure before the sickness spreads beyond any power to stop it.

But when a Death magic user seeks to destroy the only antidote, Allie and her fellow renegades must stand and fight to defend the innocent and save all magic…

From Goodreads.

• Publisher: ROC
• Release Date: April 3rd, 2012
• Series: Allie Beckstrom Series  
• Author's Website

*NO SPOILERS

The Good: I love where Devon seems to be taking this series! When i started reading it, I never thought that the world Devon Monk created would become so rich and intricate. The stories just keep getting better and better. amazing characters and enthralling adventures galore.

The Bad: I feel that the books in the Allie Beckstrom series tend to happen in such a short span of time, I wish the book had moved further ahead in time. Other than that i don’t really have any complaints.

The Romance: I LOVE Zavyon and Allie! I do wish we got more romance time, but with everything else going on, it is totally understandable and it didn't take away from enjoying the book at all. We still got some great heart melting goodness =D.

Previously On The Allie Beckstrom Series Series:

My Review of Magic On The Storm

My Review of Allie Beckstrom Books 1-3

   

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Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

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