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May 30, 2017

TV Series Review: GIRLS

TV Series Review: GIRLS


GIRLS is a series about 4 women in their 20's and living in New York. They are trying to figure out what to do with their lives and how to do it.

Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna have very different personalities, but they manage to be friends. I don't think I have a favorite, sometimes I liked one of them and sometimes I hated them for being so dramatic or self destructive. There are lots of sex scene, some drugs, but mostly women being very immature and doing crazy things. I'm not sure if New York is so crazy in real as every series I've seen, but wow.

I'm sure there are lots of women in their 20's trying to figure out their lives, and they can relate to at least one of the characters. But for me it was difficult to connect sometimes. Maybe it's the age, or maybe it's that I couldn't connect because my life was totally different, and some of their problems seemed so simple for me. I read this article a few days ago at The Huffington Post that says "...the criticism that the show Girls makes about middle class New Yorkers is that they take their privilege for granted, are entitled, narrow minded, unaware and have pretensions of being special, talented and liberal..."; and I agree. Is not easy to watch sometimes but that's the idea.

But I'm glad there was space for a series like this in TV. Lena Dunham wrote about realistic women, experimenting and doing things their own way, and it's not something you see every day on television.

Also, I began reading Lena Dunham's book, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned", but I didn't finish it. I didn't connect at all with her voice or her experiences.


May 25, 2017

Aiding the Dragon by Jessie Donovan + Giveaway

Aiding the Dragon by Jessie Donovan

Aiding the Dragon by Jessie Donovan
Aiding the Dragon
Jessie Donovan
(Stonefire Dragons #9)
Publication date: May 25th 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Teagan O’Shea is a rare female dragon-shifter leader. While her Irish clan has a tradition of female leaders, they have always had to hide behind a male face publicly to prevent the other clans from viewing them as weaker and then attacking. When the truth leaks, Teagan is faced with a choice—hand over the leadership to a male or invite the challengers to a leadership trial and earn her place. Out to prove having a penis isn’t required to be a leader, she picks the latter.
Aaron Caruso is sent to Ireland under the guise of repairing relations between two clans on the isle of Ireland. However, upon arrival he learns the truth. Determined to secure Teagan’s place so he can escape her alluring eyes and addicting personality, he busies himself with helping her any way he can. A female used him once and he’s not about to go through that again, no matter how much the Irish female tempts him.
As the pair work together on preparations for the leadership trial, both Aaron and Teagan start to see each other in a new light. Both have their own self-imposed loneliness and yearn for something they can’t have. Can Aaron and Teagan not only change tradition but also open their hearts? Or will they each be doomed to live alone to fight their inner battles?


May 10, 2017

SNOW: Stories of Forbidden Love + Giveaway

SNOW: Stories of Forbidden Love

SNOW: Stories of Forbidden Love
SNOW: Stories of Forbidden Love

Publication date: May 9th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance
One cabin. Sixteen stories of forbidden love.
With an online audience of over ONE MILLION combined followers, and hundreds of millions of reads on their stories, the SNOW ANTHOLOGY showcases talented Wattpad authors from around the globe.
Journey into the woods where you will discover a cabin surrounded by snow, filled with secrets…
The SNOW ANTHOLOGY features sixteen original novellas and novelettes in multiple genres, including Young Adult, New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural and Paranormal.
Brought to you by USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR KELLY ANNE BLOUNT and available for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! Don’t wait for the snow to melt before you uncover these stories of love, loss, and self-discovery.

May 5, 2017

Book Review: A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valérie Zenatti



A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valérie Zenatti
Published April 1st 2008 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
I'm full of fear and full of hope writing to you like this. I've never written to someone I didn't know. It feels strange. I don't know if what I'm doing is good or bad, crazy or just eccentric, useful or pointless.

When Israeli teenager Tal Levine decides to throw a bottle with a letter into the Gaza Sea, she has little idea what to expect. Against all odds, Tal longs to strike up a correspondence with someone on the other side -- to forge something positive out of the turbulent and troubled times in which Israelis and Palestinians live. But what kind of response might a Palestinian give to an Israeli girl? Tal is not expecting "Gazaman," the boy who retrieves her bottle on a Gaza beach: Gazaman, a thorny, sarcastic young man with a reluctance to reveal anything about his true identity; Gazaman, who at first mocks Tal, only to be gradually drawn in by her. A remarkable e-mail exchange begins, which shakes the beliefs of both to the core and confounds all their expectations.
I loved A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by author Valérie Zenatti. It has been one of the best books I've read lately, and I'm surprised I liked it so much. It's the story of Israeli teenager Tal, who wonders if it's only her side that wants peace. So she writes a letter hoping to find a Palestinian girl to email and prove that they can be friends.

It's a short book, half of it are emails written by Tal and 'Gazaman', her Palestinian friend. The author managed to create very realistic characters, and to show us both sides of this war. The pain, the injustices, but also how people still believe and want something better...

Before reading this book, if you asked me what was really the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians I wouldn't have known what to answer. I'm not an expert now, but after reading this book I finally understand the basics.

I was expecting a sad ending, as most of these war books are, but I was surprised with an abrupt, but positive ending. Maybe proving that even in the worst circumstances, you can do great things. It's a young adult story, but the characters and the topic of the story is much more mature, maybe that's why I liked it so much.

Overall, I think it's a book everyone should read. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea totally recommended!


May 3, 2017

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

What a fun movie! I loved the first one, so I was expecting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to be an movie and it was. Baby Groot was super super cute, and it was full of action, jokes and great characters saving the galaxy again.

Baby Groot

As the first movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 isn't really a family movie, it's intended to be a 'super' heroes movie for adults. Not only because of the jokes and anti heroes, but because each character is very deep and have issues trying to solve that most kids wouldn't understand.

I think it was almost perfect. It has a good pace, each character have the right time at the screen and the soundtrack, that's very important for the story, is even better that the first one. The special effects are great too, I watched it on 3D and was a great experience.

The only thing that I thought it could have been better was the villain. It was good, but kind of obvious since the start that he was a bad guy....after all, the name said it all.

Overall, I loved it and super recommend it! If you are a fan of Marvel, you have to stay until the end of the credits because it has 5 'secret' scenes full of easter eggs.





May 1, 2017

TV Series Review: No Tomorrow & Santa Clarita Diet

I totally forgot to write a review about this series I watched a while ago on Netflix. But better late than never! You know, I love series but I found it difficult to find the time to watch them. I'm most of the day at work, and I have a few hours in the morning that I use to cook, walk my dog and blog. So I mostly watch series at night, but I'm so sleepy! I usually can't watch more than an episode, sometimes even less...maybe that's because I'm old? Hehehe...

 Santa Clarita Diet

Santa Clarita Diet
They're ordinary husband and wife realtors until she undergoes a dramatic change that sends them down a road of death and destruction. In a good way.
Weird, but fun. I honestly wasn't expecting to like this series, but I was surprised to watch all the episodes of the first season in just a few nights. Drew Barrymore is so cool! There is a lot of blood, it was disgusting a few times, but it's funny and sometimes absurd to watch this normal family trying to keep up with the bloodthirsty mother.





No Tomorrow

No Tomorrow
Evie, a risk-averse quality-control assessor who falls for free-spirited thrill seeker Xavier only to find out he lives his life that way because he believes the apocalypse is coming.
Light and funny, but with meaning. Definitely makes you wonder if you are an Evie, and if you need to be a little bit more Xavier to really enjoy life. I really liked Evie, how she changed to be more free but still had her feet on earth. It's one of those series you can watch to have a fun and relaxing night. The ending was very shocking, so I definitely want to continue watching if there is another season.

Have you watched any of these series? What series do you recommend me to watch now?