July wrap up & haul

You're probably thinking "seriously, it's almost mid-august and she's posting her wrap up NOW?".
Trust me, I'm thinking the same thing haha :D I actually completely forgot about it because the last weekend/beginning of August I was in London! And a horrible blogger that I am, I competently forgot about preparing my posts before hand... I'm extremely sorry for this!

But! Here it finally is! ;) I managed to read 6 books which is definitely less than I originally wanted... Although I read quite some thick books, I wanted to read at least 8... Maybe next month then ;)

Here's what I read in July:

1. Ricochet by Keri Lake: ★★★★

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: ★★★★

3. The Heir by Kiera Cass: ★★★★

4. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas: ★★★★+0.5 (review to come!)

5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling: ★★★

6. White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout: ★★★★ (review to come!)

My haul

Of course, I didn't lack books for my haul of the month.
I have a haul of 14 books, but in my defense I only bought 5 of them :D The ARC's and Left Drowning I received ;)

Here's a little overview:

1-5. The complete LUX series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 

6. Left Drowning 

7-14. ARC's by Sterling Books (read more here)

I hope you had a good reading month too!

What was your favorite book that you read in July?

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by KA Tucker

Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Genre: NA, romance, drama, contemporary
Release date: September 24th 2015
Length: 288 pages

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D. Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair. But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

My rating: ★★+0.5

For some reason, I expected to be blown away with this book. And sadly it didn't happen. It was partly my fault though. I expected way too much from it.

“Just breathe. Ten tiny breaths … Seize them. Feel them. Love them.”

It had a slow start and I couldn't connect with the main character, Kacey. She was so bitchy and full of anger. She was also way younger than I thought! She acted little kid, but acted like she wanted to punch basically everyone. I hated that. Her sister was nicer, but she also didn't acted like she should for age. I seriously thought she was ten or so! After realizing she was closer to 16, I felt kind of weirded out...

Trent was very intriguing in the beginning. But after a while he started to get a little boring. He's nice and all, but just... average. He had nothing special. He also felt a little predicable. Of course he was sexy and all that, but still... like I said, nothing special.

“I don't hate you. I could never hate you. Give me your heart, Kacey. I'll take everything that comes with it.”

The plot was slow and I kept waiting for the big moment. I felt less and less excited about the book and I couldn't wait for it to end. And then - idiot that I am - I read the blurb of the prequella and I just ruined it even more for myself. I knew the biggest spoiler (although I already had my suspicions) so the rest of the book felt boring and I wanted to roll my eyes constantly.
The only parts I really enjoyed were the ones with Storm. Because she's amazing and she's the perfect combination of sassy and badass.

Because I spoiled myself I will never know what I would actually have thought about this book. It's a pity, because now I'm also not motivated at all to continue with this series... I must say, the writing was good! KA Tucker did an amazing job. But yeah... the plot would have needed a bit more attention though...

The book has a gorgeous cover by the way!

Recent Release #42: Secrets Don't Keep & The Invisible: A Novel

Every Wednesday I share a recent release I'm excited to read. If you want to check out the previous releases, click here.

Secrets Don't Keep by Elora Nicole Ramirez

Series: The Grove #1

 Genre: YA

Release Date: August 10th 2015

Publisher: /

Length: 253 pages

My name is Kera Collins, and I would do anything for a golden nod.

At first glance, my life appears perfect: the best friends, the best school, the attention of Dex Albright, the deliciously irresistible grandson to the Headmaster. All I need is the prestige behind La Boheme, an elite secret society formed within the walls of my school, and my life would be complete. Once I’m in, I’ll be the one with all of the secrets.

It’s just…no one told me these secrets could kill.

The Invisible: A Novel by Cecilia Galante

Series: standalone

Genre: adult, fiction

Release Date: August 4th 2015

Publisher: William Morrow

Length: 400 pages

In the vein of Meg Donohue and Jennifer Close, comes Cecilia Galante's adult debut about the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship--a compelling, moving novel that is told in both the present and the past.

Thrown together by chance as teenagers at Turning Winds Home for Girls, Nora, Ozzie, Monica, and Grace quickly bond over their troubled pasts and form their own family which they dub The Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after graduation, Nora is left to deal with the horrifying aftermath alone as the other three girls leave home and don't look back.

Fourteen years later, Nora is living a quiet, single life working in the local library. She is content to focus on her collection of "first lines" (her favorite opening lines from novels) and her dog, Alice Walker, when out-of-the-blue Ozzie calls her on her thirty-second birthday. But after all these years, Ozzie hasn't called her to wish a happy birthday. Instead, she tells Nora that Grace attempted suicide and is pleading for The Invisibles to convene again. Nora is torn: she is thrilled at the thought of being in touch with her friends, and yet she is hesitant at seeing these women after such a long and silent period of time. Bolstered by her friends at the library, Nora joins The Invisibles in Chicago for a reunion that sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will change each of their lives forever.

The Invisibles is an unforgettable novel that asks the questions: How much of our pasts define our present selves? And what does it take to let go of some of our most painful wounds and move on?

A very Harry Potter birthday!

Some of you may know (or not) but my birthday was on the 31st of July. And since it's also the birthday of Harry Potter (and J.K. Rowling). I organized a little trip to London to visit the Warner Bros Studio Tour!

Guys, I had the best day ever!! I had the privilege to be able to open the doors of the Great Hall together with three other birthday-girls and it was the best feeling ever! I was shaking and feeling SO extremely happy! The whole studio is amazing and so much better than I expected (my expectations were extremely high). There's no way I saw every single thing because there's freaking much to see! They told us that the average time of the Tour is 3 hours... but geez, die-hard fans like me don't have enough with three hours! Me and my friend spend at 6 hours in it! Out feet hurt like hell, but you weren't able to knock of the smile off our faces. Every Harry Potter fan should definitely go there some day, because it's so worth it. I was celebrated my 21st birthday, but I was walking around and awing like a 5 year old.

Somewhere in the middle of the tour is a cafeteria. And of course, I drank butterbeer!  I think it's a combination of apple/caramel bubbly drink with on top a buttery/soft ice cream topping? Anyway, it's delicious. I bought the souvenir tank (obviously)!

Oh my god and the shop! I would have loved to buy everything! But I settled with: a Marauders Mug, a t-shirt, a Slytherin notebook, the souvenir book of the tour, postcards and a bag. You can see some items on a picture I posted on my Instagram here :)

Now, believe it or not, but during the whole tour I took 650 pictures. I'm not even kidding. And the blurry or bad ones were immediately deleted. So it's 650 pictures that were actually good! :D To share some of them with you guys I made a little collage with the best ones. I hope you enjoy them and from time to time I still post them on my IG, so make you sure you check them out too ;)

Hope you enjoyed this post! If you have already been to the tour, share me your stories! 

And if you haven't, share what you want to see the most! :) xoxo

*On vacation*

If you're reading this, I'm probably packing everything last minute or trying to catch up with Pretty Little Liars before I'm leaving. You guessed it, I'm going to travel again! This and the next week I'll be in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).

Yep, this is where I'm going... Hmmm...

But don't worry,  I prepared some posts for you! I've been so unorganized lately that I just forced myself to put my shit together and catch up with my reviews :D

Here's the schedule for the next days:

Tuesday August 11th: A very Harry Potter Birthday (about my London trip)

Wednesday August 12th: Recent Release

Thursday August 13th: July wrap up & haul (better late than never right? :D)

Friday August 14th: Friday Finds

Saturday August 15th: Review of "Ten Tiny Breaths" by KA Tucker

Sunday August 16th: Review of "Magonia" by Maria Dahvana Headley

Monday August 17th: Review of "The Assassin's Blade" by Sarah J. Maas

Tuesday August 18th: Review of "White Hot Kiss" by Jennifer L. Armentrout (*)

Wednesday August 19th: Recent Release

Thursday August 20th: Review of "Heir of Fire" by Sarah J. Maas (*)

Friday August 21st: Friday Finds

Saturday August 22nd: Review of "Stone Cold Touch" by Jennifer L. Armentrout (*)

I hope you will like these reviews and make sure to comment your thoughts on them. I'll respond when I'll be back on Saturday 22nd (or Sunday 23th if I'm too tired :D).

In case you're interested: I'll be sharing some vacation pictures on Instagram.
You can follow me at @melissacuratolo (personal account) & @melissa_reads (bookish account)


Hope you're all enjoying your summer so far! See you! <3

(*) Hopefully they will be finished on time! If they're not posted, please bare with me :)

Recent Release #41: Before & After and Travelers

Every Wednesday I share a recent release I'm excited to read. If you want to check out the previous releases, click here.

Before & After by Nazarea Andrews

Series: standalone

 Genre: NA, romance

Release Date: July 30th 2015

Publisher: A&A Literary

Length: /

Rike and Peyton fell in love in college.

A boy from the wrong side of the tracks, covered in ink and crooning in a bar is the last person a straight laced girl with a art major should fall for, but his rough edges made her jagged, alive, shaving away the coddled southern princess and revealing a soul wild and brilliant.
They fell in love, despite her family and his past and all the reasons why it wouldn't work--and with their best friends, they made a life. Everyone was supposed to live happily ever after.
They, more than anyone, knows that life doesn't go according to plan.
Rike and Peyton fell in love in college. A boy with a guitar, and a poet's heart, and a girl with freckles dusted over her nose, a perfect fucking fairy tale.
But what happens when the fairy tale doesn't fall apart--but is forgotten?

Travelers by Meradeth Houston

Series: standalone

 Genre: YA, time traveling, sci-fy

Release Date: August 2nd 2015

Publisher: BookFishBooks

Length: /

Sienna Crenshaw knows the rules: 1) no time traveling beyond your natural lifetime, 2) no screwing with death, and 3) no changing the past. Ever. Sienna doesn’t love being stuck in the present, but she’s not the type to to break the rules. That is, she wasn’t the type until her best friend broke every one of those rules to keep Henry, her twin brother and Sienna’s ex-boyfriend, alive.

Suddenly, Sienna is caught in an unfamiliar reality. The upside? Henry is still alive. The downside? Sienna’s old life, including the people in it, has been erased. Now, Sienna and Henry must untangle the giant knot in time, or her parents and all the rest of the Travelers, will be lost forever. One problem: the only way to be successful is for Henry to die...

Friday Finds #12: Pretty cover alert!

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your TBR list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased). This is hosted by ShouldBeReading!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know, I know, it's been ages since I posted a Friday Finds and to make up for it, I have a mayor post to present to you :D These are all the books I added besides the ARC's I received from Sterling Books (read more here). 

For most of them I was immediately interested because of the covers. I mean, just see for yourself! Those are gorgeous!! I'm so excited for all of them, and I already know my wallet won't be happy haha!

By the way, while you're reading this, I'm currently in London, celebrating my birthday in the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour! Yay for me! :D I'm so excited and I'll definitely post some pictures of my stay in London!