Santa Montefiore, The Secrets of the Lighthouse

Ellen Trawton is running away from it all - quite literally. She is due to get married to a man she doesn't love, her job is dragging her down and her interfering mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she know her mother won't follow her - to her aunt's house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret - and a future she never knew she might have. Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. She died tragically in what the village thinks is suspicious circumstances, and now she is stuck in a limbo, unable to move on. And between the two of them is an old lighthouse - the scene of so much tragedy. Can each woman find the peace she so desperately longs for? And can they find the way to live again?



This was one of the books I read during my summer vacation and I recommend it for everyone that fancy fictional love stories with unexpected twists in every page.
Apart from the story itself, I loved this book because it teaches us several lessons of life, lessons which we should take in consideration for our own life experience.

 
 !Spoilers!

As you will notice, my favourite character is Dylan (biological father of Ellen) which happens to be a character that lost the love of his life and decided to carry on with a little help from alcoholic drinks. Then one day, he meets Ellen and the memories of past times spent with his lover sprint to his mind so he decides to sober up. The week Ellen spends in Ireland helps her to clarify the secrets her mother kept from her about her real family. The desire of wanting to know where she came from and why did Ireland felt so welcoming leads her to get to know Dylan better and create eternal bonds.
In the end, Dylan is not just a broken hearted man that couldn't find the guts to go after the person he loved (Ellen's mother), but he happens to be a loving father with guitar skills that knows how to give very good advice about life in general.

Here's some quotes:



"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Ellen, page 249

"It's strange how the knowledge that he's my father has bonded us suddenly. I mean, it's nothing but a thought. But that thought has changed the way I feel about him." Ellen, page 349

"She sensed the afternoon draining away and was suddenly gripped by the hopeless desire to stop the sand running out of the hourglass." Ellen, page 151

"She now looked with fresh eyes at the man everyone mocked as the local drunk, the local joke. He wasn't mad at all; he was broken." Ellen about Dylan, page 237

"Life can be dreadfully disappointing, can't it?" Ellen asks Dylan
"And then sometimes happens to restore your faith. Just when you think you have lost everything, an unexpected gift is placed on your doorstep to show that all was not lost. Sometimes it takes a lifetime, but you have to be patient and know that even your cloud, however dark, will eventually be lined with silver." Dylan, page 238

"But you're yourself. You're not a carbon copy. You're grand just the way you are." Dylan, page 244

"Nietzsche said, 'give me a why and I can survive any how.'" Dylan, page 303

"You are your life so your life is whenever you are." Dylan, page 146 
"How foolishly we behave when we know no better. Why does it take so much happiness to make us realize there is nothing of any value in our lives but love? That is all there is. It is all we take with us when we die. It is the only thing I will take with me when I move on. It is all that I am. I just never knew it." Caitlin, page 415

"On the earth plane, time is measured in minutes, hours, days and weeks - from where I stand I can see that there is only one eternal present. It matters not that they have known each other little more than a few days, for love is not of the earth, but of the eternal present that cannot be measured. It is timeless. If their love is true, they might as well have known each other forever." Caitlin, page 226

"Life's current takes most of us downstream, but some, like Dylan, are left behind amoung the weeds." Peg, page 151

"Sometimes it's better not to know anything at all and make up one's own mind, knowing can be very cumbersome." Oswald, page 175

Lisbon Mini Maker Faire

http://makerfairelisbon.com/pt/

http://makerfairelisbon.com/pt/

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth - a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It's a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

Truths of my Life

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.

Ways of having fun by myself

Teen Ink: http://www.teenink.com/
It's a magazin where teens write short stories of all categorities: Fiction, Non Fiction, Poetry and Reviews. There's also photos and drawings.

Fiction > Thriller/Mystery> His Omniscient Eyes: http://www.teenink.com/fiction/thriller_mystery/article/574207/His-Omniscient-Eyes/

Fiction > Thriller/Mystery> The Labyrinth: http://www.teenink.com/fiction/thriller_mystery/article/574059/The-Labyrinth/

Fiction > Romance> Love...: http://www.teenink.com/fiction/romance/article/574187/Love/

Fur Affinity - @foxamoore's Gallery: http://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/foxamoore/1/
It's the furry largest online community, focusing on the promotion of art, music and stories.
This link is mainly focused on (original) songs that really ignite the spark of a writer within me.

YouTube - (Movie Theme) Pirates of Caribean - Sungha Jung (Ukulele): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24el6drbsJg
I was trying to find a guitar cover for the tune ("I won't give up" - Jason Mraz) when I happened to stumble on this wonder. I mean just look at all of his guitars!

Fantasy Lover - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Plot:

It might sound like a man's favorite fantasy - to live forever, destined to be the lover of thousands of women. But for Julian of Macedon, it's a nightmare. Once he was a proud Spartan general; now he's a love-slave, his essence magically held captive in a book, cursed to spend all eternity pleasing women. Then, one day, Grace Alexander summons Julian to fulfill her passionate dreams - and sees beyond the fantasy to the man himself.

Long years as a sex therapist, listening to other people's bedroom problems, have taken a lot of the fun out of the physical side of love for Grace. But with or without sex, the rules of the enchantment cannot be changed - Julian is hers for the next month. And, as their time together slips by, Julian and Grace find more to share than sympathy and conversation and they begin to wonder if love might be within their grasp. That leaves only one question. Is love enough to break a 2,000-year-old curse?

My Opinion:

The lesson of this book is about trying to resist to temptation and see with true sight the soul of people (in this situation the soul of a slave of love). After all, we all have a past, we've all done mistakes that we regret, we all have to bear the loss of someone special to us (in this case his children, murdered without any mercy by their mother)...

All we need to do is find happiness during the short gaps of catastrophes and someone worth our while.

Cupid and Psyche

The book I'm reading has countless references to greek mithology, so I was intrigued to know more about it. And I happened to stumble on this sentence that means a lot to me:

"Darwin saw the butterfly as an apt emblem of the soul because it began as an earthbound caterpillar, 'died' into the pupal stage, and was then resurrected as a beautiful winged creature."

Destined, P.C. and Kristin Cast

Plot:

In Destined, the forces of Light and Dark collide as their epic struggle focuses on Tulsa’s House of Night. Zoey is home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side – and preparing to face off against Neferet. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx’s gift of a human form, he and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if Rephaim can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father’s shadow.
But is Zoey really safe? Does she truly know those who are closest to her? And will love win when it is tested by the very soul of Darkness? Find out what’s destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

My Opinion: It has spoilers!

'Destined' is the ninth book of the HoN sequel.
As expected, new characters are born/created while others die.

A good example is Aurox and Dragon.
Aurox is a weapon designed to follow Neferet's command, however due to the fact that Neferet's sacrifice was imperfect (Linda Heffer - Zoey's mom was the sacrifice), Nyx took the advantage and merged the Vessel's body with Heath's soul (Heath's request to reborn).
When Aurox faces with Zoey, he is able to feel!
Zoey is the button of Aurox's self-destruction as a weapon (Aurox takes the form of a bull, when corrupted by Darkness). Nonetheless Aurox is not gifted with Free Will and easily succumbs to the sharp tendrils of Darkness, killing Dragon - The Sword's Master.
Dragon faces a crossroad: 1) Kill Rephaim to vengeance his mate's death (Anastasia - The Rituals & Spells Mistress); 2) Protect Rephaim, as if he's a regular student, like a Sword's Master is expected to do.
Dragon's soul might be filled with anger and sorrow, but those feelings aren't strong enough to surrender to Darkness. Relying on his oath, Dragon saves Rephaim from Aurox in the middle of a ritual. Unfortunately he dies, double-breasted by one of Aurox's horns. Now, good side of things - Dragon is capable of meeting Anastasia in the Otherworld.

The splendid duet of Erin + Shaunee (the half-brained twins, metaphorically) is now told apart. Shaunee understands the harsh relationship some of us might have with parents. So she chooses to help Rephaim with his daddy issues.
To be honest there was no need for the duet to be told apart, if Erin learned to listen and to understand other people's point of view (She is the embodiment of the element Water - My favourite element! So I'm a little disappointed with her).

Erik, the jaw-dropping gorgeous boy with Hollywood expectations, sees himself wronged by Nyx because she made him a Tracker (a vampire that selects the humans who are destined to turn into vampires). When his instinct takes over control, he comes across a blind girl who is his target. Nothing goes according to plan, and Erik ends up turning the poor girl into a Red Vampire - then the Goddess gifts her with True Sight.

Lenobia - the horse's Mistress - is forced to accept the presence of a human in her stables. She falls slowly in love, as well as he does. But Lenobia holds a Vow, that keeps her away from humans in order to smooth the scars of her ancient soul. (I still need to read 'Lenobia's Vow' so I can't say much about her.)

Tenth book (Hidden) here I go!

'Destined' quotes

"I do not think. I do not feel. I am a weapon." Aurox, Chapter One, page 8

"I learned young that evil sometimes likes to be bragged about, even when it would be best if it kept a low profile. It has been my experience that Darkness's true struggle isn't against light and the strength of love and truth and loyalty. I think evil's greatest threat comes from its own pride and arrogance and greed. I've yet to see a bully who doesn't gloat, or a thief who doesn't brag. That's why they get caught. Darkness could get a lot more of its destructive work accomplished if it was more, shall we say, circunspect." Lenobia, Chapter Seven, pages 64/5

" 'No. Not a demon. I am Neferet's to command.' Aurox turned away then, leaving them behind, but he could not leave their words behind. They followed him down the hallway. He's a freak, they whispered. Something not right." Aurox, Chapter Twelve, page 130 

" 'Darkness does not always equate to evil. Light does not always bring good.' Maybe things aren't exactly as they appear." Rephaim, Chapter Sixteen, page 171

"Over more than one hundred years the one consistent thing I have found is that there really is no normal when it comes to women!" Dragon, Chapter Eighteen, page 201

"The dead move like the wind, or at least they do as they manifest to me. They are ethereal, diaphanous. They appear to have no real substance, though they are, indeed, very real." Thanatos, Chapter Twenty-Two, page 234

"It is admirable as well as understandable for you to desire justice. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you - there is a distinct difference between wanting to gain revenge and exact vengeance, and wanting the truth to shine forth so that justice for all is illuminated." Thanatos, Chapter Twenty-Five, page 271

"The question of what we are can only be answered by ourselves. We each decide what we are by the life choices we make. How we were made, who are parents are, where we are from, the color of our skin, who we choose to love, all those things do not define us. Our actions define us, and will keep defining us untill even after death." Thanatos, Chapter Twenty-Five, page 273

"Fear can be beneficial if it is tempered with common sense and courage." Thanatos, Chapter Twenty-Six, page 285

Torment, Lauren Kate

Plot:
Hell on earth.
That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.
What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?
The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

My opinion: It has spoilers!
Torment is the second book of Fallen's sequel writen by Lauren Kate.
It is indeed an interesting story, however (in my point of view) this writer still has a long path to blaze through her writing career.
As odd as it sounds, her writing skills remind me of my own.
I'm really disappointed with the general male's personality - they all seem like little puppies trying to protect the main character.
However just like everything in life, this book has its perks.
Before anything else I would like to highlight a few quotes of Torment (This is me trying to translate quotes):
* "You need to trust that the ones that surround you will be faithful to their natures. Even when it may seems like they are betraying who they are."
* "The feeling of lonelyness in a big group of people is the worse kind of lonelyness, but I can't help it."
* "Luce already trusted in the wrong people. A thoughtless occupation at best. At worse, is a good way of being killed."
* "Daniel had adviced Luce to trust her instincts. But her feelings seemed very unreliable."
* "The fact of being connected to him forever, like a puppet to its puppetman."
What really caught my attention was the huge amoung of concepts between angels and demons.

I read this book in my idiom (shamely) so I'm not sure about its right terms in English.
Anyway, we have God and we have Lucifer. Lucifer is a fallen angel that rebelled against God - creating the free will.
Between the fallen angels, there's the ones that are actually angels (white wings) and there's the demons (golden wings).
The shadows are like 'portable videos'. They're appear to be irregular clouds of darkness that record important historic events. Later we get to know that we're able to travel through space and time by them.
Also, we find the Nephilim - half angel and half human creatures. Genious mortals that have been offered special gifts.
Finally we have creatures that were banished from heaven, as well as from hell. They are blind and their wings are painfully degenerating.

The supernatural world is facing an ancient war, that started with a forbidden love between a fallen angel and a mortal. Both of them were curse to endure a love that will never be.
In this book, Luce (the mortal girl) basically finds out more about her other lifes with Daniel (the fallen angel white winged).

All in all, the lesson is: how many lifes does we have to live to find someone that's worth dying for?

Awakened, P.C and Kristin Cast

Plot:
Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa's House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over her immortal consort Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn't it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same - and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either...
And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart? In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl's heart?

My Opinion: It has spoilers!

Awakened is the eighth book of House of Night's sequel. As amazing as it sounds, the story still surprises me in every turn of pages.
P.C. and Kristin Cast stretched out their horizons and wrote our delight story from other character's point of view. For example we have chapters destined to Jack's (Zoey's gay friend), Neferet's (Hight Priestest that turns her back to the Goddess) and Linda's (Zoey's mother) side of the story.
It's a win-win game, because there's no way that the reader gets bored while reading.

Zoey and Stark (her Warrior, Guardian, Boyfriend) decide to stick around the Isle of Skye for a few days, in order to recover their energies from the exhausting trip into the realm of Nyx.
However reality doesn't take long to succumb over their souls. Soon they start receiving calls from their freinds. They get to know that Jack is preparing a whole welcoming party - he has organized the events, he has made the decoration and he even is planing to sing 'Defying Gravity - Glee'.
I suspect that Jack has an afinity with Spirit (the purple element), but the book doesn't really mention it.
His soul is uncapable of being tainted, due to that fact Neferet kills him using his essence to pay her debts to Darkness. He dies with honour, defying gravity 'till the very end.
Damien (Jack's boyfriend) and Duchess (Jack's dog) break down and surrender to tears. Erik also cries for his dorm's partner death.
Neferet keeps looking for stronger and invincible weapons to start a war with humans. She has recently allied with the embodiment of Darkness - a white bull.
Kalona (a fallen angel that fell for his sin - obsession), after failing his mission to kill Zoey while her soul was shattered in the realm of Nyx, desperatly tries to break his oath with Neferet. When he realizes that his immortal being has never really belonged to her, he reclaimes his own freedom and walks the lonely path of rejection.
Kalona's favourite son - Rephaim - faces two harsh choices, whether to remain by his father's side (like he always has) or pay his life debt to Stevie Rae.
Meanwhile, Heath is given three choices for his future: 1) remain inside Nyx's domain, living a fake hapiness that slowly washes away his human memories; 2) the chance to live again, with a different body/memories/story; 3) incorporate the Vessel (named Aurox) that Neferet is summoning - as her brand new weapon. Excited with the thought of seeing Zoey once again, he choses the latter.
Since the murder of Anastasia, Dragon is in the middle of a crossroad, whether he joins Zoey's team to avoid a war with humans or let his rage take over control, not fulfilling his mate's promise.

All in all, I got to highlight the splendid writing style/ideas that these two american girls have.
I 'heart' P.C. and Kristin Cast!!!