I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

“I just feel like it’s unfair, that my whole life is unfair, like I was born into the wrong place and family. I never feel like I belong anywhere.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Reyes loves to write, and she always dreams of moving out from her parents’ house, go to college and see the world. But that’s not how a ‘Perfect Mexican Daughter’ supposed to be. ‘Perfect Mexican Daughters’ do not go away to college and move out of their parents’ house. They’re never abandon their family, they dedicated their life for their family like Julia’s older sister – Olga. But her sister Olga is dead and Julia’s family has been shattered to pieces. Julia’s mother channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed, and compare her to Olga. No on in her family seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken by this tragedy too. But then Julia found out that Olga hides another life from her family, another personality that she never shows to any of her family member. Julia then determined to find out if there’s more to her sister story while dealing with not being a ‘Perfect Mexican Daughter.’

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R. M. Romero

“No one is ever really lost as long as their story still exists.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Karolina is a living seamstress doll who lives in the Land of Dolls. When the rat army attack the Land of Dolls and overthrown the king and queen, a kind wind spirit carry Karolina to the human world. Karolina then landed at Krakow, Poland. There Karolina met with the Dollmaker with a dark past, who just finds out that he has magic inside him. Karolina who believes that the Dollmaker might hold the key to save Land of Dolls from the rat decided to help the Dollmaker masters his magic and get over his dark past and reconnect with other humans. While she lives with the Dollmaker, Karolina’s nature pushes the Dollmaker to befriends a Jewish violinist who happens to be a single father and his daughter. Karolina noticed that the Dollmaker life slowly turns into a more positive direction, he smiles more often than before. But then the Nazi invades Poland, and threaten the lives of their friends. And as things getting worse, Karolina and the Dollmaker determine to save their friends, no matter what the risks.

Warcross by Marie Lu (Warcross #1)

“I’ve never been good at following instructions. I’m a bounty hunter.

And if my bounty’s still out there somewhere, I need to finish this.”

I received a free digital ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quoted lines have not been corrected and are subject to change.

Ever since her father died, Emika Chen spend her life trying to survive by becoming a bounty hunter. She dropped out of school and take risky jobs of catching criminals by hacking into a virtual reality game called Warcross. People all over the world play this game, and like most of things in the world, there are the dark side of Warcross’ world where some people doing their bad deeds for money. Warcross is created by a 21 years old tech prodigy, Hideo Tanaka when he was only a child.  Desperate to gain money to pay his debt, Emika gambles her life by hacking into an annual Warcross International Tournament to grab some rare items that she can sell to the black market. Unfortunately, her plan is ruin when her identity exposed. Confidence that she will be jailed, Emika is surprised to find that she is being offered to work as Hideo Tanaka’s personal hunter instead. Her job is to go undercover as a contestant to hunt and investigate a hacker who threatens Warcross International Tournament. As her investigation getting deeper, Emika uncovers a sinister plot which could affect more than just Warcross empire, but also the rest of the world.

The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash by Candace Ganger

“There are reasons—many reasons—some particles shouldn’t combine, no matter how curious you are about the outcome. Sometimes things explode; sometimes they dissipate, evaporate, disintegrate. And sometimes they collide and become something so much more than you ever thought they could.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sebastian ‘Bash’ Alvarez was only come to a party at a roller skate rink where he works to make sure that his sort-of-best-friend Wild Kyle didn’t do stupid things when he met Birdie Paxton, the ‘Couch Girl’ who shouldn’t be at that party at all. There’s a bit of traction and friction between the two of them, but they got separated before both of them can act on it. Their two worlds collide again when Wild Kyle’s car hit Birdie’s baby bother. Bash was on the passenger seat, Birdie doesn’t know that. Bash also didn’t know that the kid that Kyle hits is Birdie’s brother. The two getting closer when Birdie begin to work at same roller skate rink as Bash. When they begin to really fall for each other, the truth is slowly unfolding and could change their life in a way that both of them won’t be expecting.

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson (ARC)

“People don’t look for revenge to make them happy.

They do it because they must.”

City of Saints and Thieves tells a story about a girl named Tina, who escaped from Congo with her mom years ago as refuges and begin their new safer life in Sangui City. Unfortunately for them, safe doesn’t last long. Her mother was murdered, shot dead in the middle of the night. Seeking for revenge, Tina spends her life on the street and training as a master thief with local gang, the Goondas. Four years went by, and now her job with the Goondas brings her back to a place where her mother was killed and open a path for Tina to avenged her mother’s death. But revenge is not an easy game to play as the faces from the past starting to haunt her and unravel some dark truths that Tina might not ready to face.

The Elven Tales: The Company of the Rose by Fabi Ghittoni

I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

The Elven Tales: The Company of the Rose tells a story about a 17 years old girl named Prudence Clarke. With her mother died when she was little and never knowing the identity of her father, Prudence lives a seemingly normal life in Cambridge with her best friend’s family. But everything change when a series of kidnapping happened in her city. One day Prudence was brutally attacked, and saved by some strangers who brought her to a world that should not exist. A magical world of elves, faeries, giants and other magical being. Prudence now got tangled into a war where she has to play an important role to save the world. So now, she embarks a journey accompanied by The Company of the Rose, brave warriors that will fight by her side. As a chain of strange events happened on her adventure, Prudence is about to unravel some mysteries that will turn everything she believed about her existence upside down while trying to save the world.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

“Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game and you have to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.”

The Hating game is a debut romance novel by Sally Thorne. Which actually kind of surprised me, because for a debut novel, the writing is really great. Meet Lucy Hutton, our lovable protagonist who is a nice, quirky, office darling and love to wear red lipstick and cheerful clothes. Then meet Joshua Templeman, Lucy's cold, joyless, uptight, arrogant co-worker, who—according to his subordinates—is pretty much the "military commander" in their office. Both of them work as executive assistants to co-CEOs of a recently merged publishing company, Bexley and Gamin. Both of them sit across each other. Both of them hate each other. And both of them have no problem displaying their hatred toward each other in a series of ritualistic petty, childish, and passive agressive games.

Now competing for the same promotion to become a COO, their game has come to a new stage as both of them refuse to back down. But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also elevated into a steamy boiling point. As their game escalated, both of them discover that maybe they don’t hate each other. Or maybe this is just a new dangerous deceptive level of their hating game.

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

“And maybe the only way to find what you’re looking for

is to get lost along the way”

Let’s Get Lost is a YA contemporary novel by Adi Alsaid. This book tells a story about Leila, a girl who went on a road trip to see the Northern Lights. Along the way, Leila will meet four strangers: Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia. The four of them find a friend in Leila, and for better or worse, their lives are forever changed when Leila left them. But it’s not just the four strangers lives that will change, Leila will also discover things that she’s looking for when she get lost and zigzagged her way to see the Northern Lights.

The Mission Song

“A good man knows when to sacrifice himself,

a bad man survives but loses his soul.”

The Mission Song is a spy thriller novel written by John  le Carré. I pick this book to fulfill one of Pop Sugar Reading Challenge prompt: "A book with a protagonist who has your occupation." Well, if you keep reading this review, you will know what my job is, or rather a part of my job.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #1)

“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) is a Young Adult romance fantasy book by Sarah J. Maas. This book is the first installment of a trilogy with the same title. ACOTAR is also a retelling of Beauty and the Beast—not the one made by Disney, but the original fairy tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve—mixed with Tam Lin and East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Since I am a sucker for mythology, fairy tale, and folklore retelling, I was so excited to read this book.

Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

“She crossed over death to call me. I crossed through Hell to find her.”

What’s that? Did I made a pentagram for this book? Nah, it’s just a star, I promise. ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º) Girl of Nightmares is the second and final book of Anna duology by Kendare Blake. The story picks up months after the event in Anna Dressed in Blood. Cas couldn’t move on. He’s seeing Anna everywhere. He see her in his dreams, and sometime he sees him in waking nightmares. But Cas noticed that these aren’t just daydreams. He doesn’t know what happened to Anna, but he knows something is wrong. Now Cas is trying to look for an answer, and he will give everything to returns the favor and make sure that Anna is okay.

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

“But hey, at least we’ll have this strange story to tell, love and death and blood and daddy-issues. And holy crap, I’m a psychiatrist’s wet dream.”

It’s October, and that means it’s Halloween month, and that means I have to read at least one horror book. I just feel like I have to, because I like ghost stories. So when I saw that Retri from @darklingreads and a couple of other bookstagram made a bookclub and chose Anna Dressed in Blood as their October read, I decided to read it too.

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

“You will find that one does not deal with Celaena Sardothien. One survives her.”

This is my non-spoiler review for Empire of Storms, if you want to know a more detailed review about this book you can go here. If you want to go one step further and discuss the theory and prediction for the next book in this series with me, you can go here. If you haven’t read other books from Throne of Glass series, you might want to avoid this post and read the series first. If you need a reason to start reading this series, you can read this post on why you should read Throne of Glass series.

Why You Should Read: Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

First of all, I would like to thanks the amazing author who has finally make me read this book series, Rick Riordan. These books has been on my ebook reader for almost two years (except for the 4th and 5th book,) and I didn’t think it’s going to climbed up my TBR list if it was not for Rick Riordan’s review on Goodreads. So, for that, thank you so much Uncle Rick.

Now, unlike my other review, this won’t be a one book review, this will be a book series review and suggestion. I was originally planned to write a one book review for each books in this series, but then again adulthood sucks and I got no time to really do it. I REALLY REALLY wanted to though, because this series is THAT good and the story is getting more complex in each books. But, I will write a one book review for the latest book in this series, which is Empire of Storms (hopefully will be up next week.) And it will be at least two posts review and discussion (and a long one, because there are so much things to talk about!)

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

“It was an annoying name to have. People tended to spell in Mangus, rhymes with Angus. I always corrected them: No, it’s Magnus, rhymes with swagness.”

Do you feel the sass already? Because I do. God, I can’t even write this without at least chuckling. So, The Sword of Summer is the first installment in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, Rick Riordan’s fourth mythology-based children fantasy book series. After two book series revolve around Greek mythology, and one book series revolves around Egyptian mythology, Uncle Rick finally write something about my second favorite mythology, Norse.

The Armageddon Rag

"What's the use of messing around in things you don't understand?"

The Armageddon Rag is a mystery/fantasy book written by George R. R. Martin, who I’m sure you know by his well-known and most beloved works, A Song of Ice and Fire. This book revolves around Sandy Blair, a journalist turns novelist who investigates the murder of a rock promoter, James Lynch and its weird circumstances around it. This circumstances set off Blair to not only find out who killed Lynch but also launched a suspicion towards Blair’s favorite rock band, The Nazgul, and their connection to Lynch. During his investigation, Blair unfolds many secrets surrounding, Lynch, The Nazgul, and the occult mystery surrounding rock and roll world at that time.

The Night Circus

“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.  You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”

This is gonna sounds so cheesy, but that quote above is exactly how I feel when I finished this book. The Night Circus is a stand alone fantasy book written by Erin Morgenstern. The story revolved between two magicians who set against each other in a magical challenge by their venerable masters with Le Cirque des Rêves as their battle ground. Things get complicated when the two of them start to fall for each other and their thread of fates got tangled with others who live inside the circus.

Setelah Aku Pergi (Ways to Live Forever)

"Kalau kalian selalu sedih saat memikirkan aku, bagaimana kalian bisa mengingat aku?"

Waktu pertama kali lihat cover bukunya di Gramedia, aku sudah tertarik banget sama buku ini, apa lagi pas baca blurb di belakang bukunya. Setelah Aku Pergi bercerita tentang bulan-bulan terakhir dalam kehidupan Sam McQueen, bocah berusia 11 tahun yang divonis mengidap leukimia sejak ia berusia 6 tahun. Sam kini dirawat di rumah dan mengkonsumsi obat-obatan. Semua itu bukan untuk menyembuhkannya, tapi untuk mencoba menambah masa hidupnya. Sam yang mengetahui bahwa umurnya tidak panjang pun memutuskan untuk menulis kisahnya atas dukungan dan saran dari tutornya. Dalam diri Sam, kalian akan menemukan sosok anak lelaki yang kuat dan menyenangkan. Sam tidak pernah mengasihani dirinya hanya karena penyakitnya, ia sangat keras kepala dan selalu mencoba untuk menjalani hidupnya dengan penuh makna.

The Fault in Our Stars

“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”

The Fault in Our Stars is my first John Green book, and boy how head-over-heel was I with this book. The story revolves around Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16 years old girl with lung cancer. Hazel believes that she knows what will happen to her by the end of her life. She believes that she’s chaotic, she’s a burden to her parents, she believes that she’s a grenade, that’s why she keep her distance from other people so they won’t get hurt when she dies. But, one day, the universe sent Augustus ‘Gus’ Waters to her. Gus is an ex-basketball player, osteosarcoma survivor, who has an attractive physique, beautiful blue eyes, unique personality (just like Hazel), and a big believer in metaphors.