Moving!

After a long deliberation, I finally decided to move my blog to wordpress and get a proper domain for it.
Not that I am perfectly happy with Wordpress either after finally setting everything up, but I see it as a more useful tool than blogger (and one you can actually use without it stopping).
Hopefully I won't feel the need to switch back after a few months on Wordpress. ;)

So, please visit me at my new place and we can set on some more fragrant adventures together! :)

All I am - a redhead

 

 

I can only wish I was moving to a place like this one...

 

Temple Mathews: The New Kid

Honestly, this is getting worrying - I don't seem to read anything much aside from YA. I just wish I would read a blurb that sounded interesting and it didn't belong to a YA novel.
I wonder what does that say about me?

And is it only me who thinks blurbs are a very good way to make you not want to read a certain book?

Ok, on to the novel in question. It is the first in series and I plan on reading on. And I read it without interrupting it with something else. :)

I wasn't terribly pleased with being immersed into Will's life without any background, just having to take it all for granted but it all got explained during the story.
These days I'm reading some strange, new stories in the YA world. Not that I mind, that is probably why I can finish them without interruption.
Anyway, Will fights demons and discovers too late why that wasn't such a great thing to do. The interesting thing though is at one point you are not sure who is doing what for what purpose and I mean that in a good way - there is just no guessing the reasoning behind some of the actions and who might turn out to be a good guy. Or who is truly evil.

So, the whole story is very action-packed, which is also why I wanted some background on the 16-year old who can do all that. And Will is a strange kind of a super-hero and a genius to boot. ;)

One thing I noticed lately, coming up often in the novels I read, is the abrupt change of voices who are telling the story, so you need to pay attention when it switches without any previous warning.

What I was left wondering after reading this book is how come the author made the people of that little town almost all lean to the evil side and choose evil? Does it really seem like such an easy choice to most people?



My ebook came courtesy of Netgalley.

Autumn sale!

I decided it's about time I cleared my perfume collection by letting go of some of the perfumes I keep for sentimental purposes and never wear and also the time to decrease the contents of some of my bottles as by the rate I'm going, I will never use them up and the most probable thing that would happen to those perfumes is they will become unwearable.

So here is the list:

Nikki de Saint-Phalle, edt, 50/59ml - 25$

4711 Tosca, 190/200ml, splash bottle - 60$

Guerlain Mitsouko, 70/75ml, edp, - 50$

Carolina Herrera by Carolina Herrera, 40/50ml - 20$

Thierry Mugler Angel Liqueur de Parfum, 34/35 ml, - 50$

Christian Dior Dolce Vita Deodorant Parfume, 60/100ml - 25$

Clarins Eau Dynamisante 90/100ml, without box,  45$

Dior Diorella  35/50ml, edt, without box - 30$
Bulgari Omnia, 50/65ml, - 40$

MAC, MV1, 17/20ml - 40$

Estee Lauder, Bronze Goddess, edt, 15ml - 10$

Parfum d'Empire, Wazamba, 10/50ml - 10$

Set of 4  decants of 4,5 ml : Santa Maria Novella Melograno, Maria Candida Gentile Exultat Sideris, Cinabre, - 30$

Malak, Rose, edt, 4ml decant, 5$

L'Artisan Parfumeur, Navegar, 10ml decant - 20$

Serge Lutens, Rousse, 10ml decant - 30$

Nez a Nez, Bal Musque, 10ml decant - 20$

Balmain, La Mome, 10 ml decant - 10$

L'Artisan Parfumeur, Cote d'Amour, 10ml decant - 10$

L'Artisan Parfumeur, Piment Brulant, 10ml decant - 20$


The shipping will depend on the size of the package, between 3-15$ for bigger bottles.

A place where summer still lives...

This weekend I went to Split to attend a friend's wedding.

As I went there with my girlfriends, of course I had the best of times. I was also lucky enough to enjoy a couple of days of summer as Split is located on the Adriatic coast, south enough to still enjoy warm days when the temperatures are over 20 degrees Celsius and the sea is as well (around 22).

Of course I took a swim while I was there - I can't believe I could actually enjoy a swim in the middle of October and that the sea and air were warm enough for it to be an enjoyable experience. :) (actually, it was rather hot in the sun)

Here are some of the photos I took:

Split Riva

 

View from Kaštel Stari

 

View from Kaštel Stari

From the beach

I'm back in Zagreb and even if I wasn't aware the summer is long gone here (the cold is a good sign), my morning choices of what perfume to apply would be a good indication - vanillas are somehow on the top of the pile. :)

Kresley Cole: Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles,1)

As you could have noticed by now, I'm a huge Kresley Cole fan and I read most of the Immortals After Dark books more than once. :)
I also enjoy YA novels so after reading the excerpt from the Poison Princess some months ago, I was very much looking forward to the book.

Now, even though I enjoy YA genre, I often find those books a bit lacking.  Not that they are bad and I stop reading them, it's just they aren't as good as they could be - the characters and the story don't always come together seamlessly.

So, I started reading the Poison Princess and getting into the story and characters and I thought I detected some flaws in the storyline which could be explained in only one way. I knew what explanation that would be for me but I admit (and I apologize to Ms. Cole now) I had my doubts whether the story will oan out as I thought it should following the line.
I should have known better than to doubt Kresley Cole's style of writing and forming a story. :) It did end the only way I imagined it could.
OK, now I sound like I predicted the story's end which I didn't. I just thought that most of the story couldn't be explained well enough unless there was a reason for that type of story-telling. And I was right.

I don't want to into details of the story, anyone enjoying Ms. Cole's books won't thank me for it.
I did have some issues with Evie's naivete and ensuing stubborness but she worked through it so I was satisified in the end.
I should add that anyone who liked Hunger Games might like this one as well as there are some touching points to the story.

But basically, it's one of the better YA novels I read in a while (I'm not counting HP here) and Kresley Cole didn't disappoint by trying her hand in this genre.
Luckily, there are more books in the Arcana Chronicles to come. Unluckily, not soon enough.


P.S. I have to add, my boyfriend would agree with everything said about Ducatis in the novel. :)