Aristotle and Dante discovers the secrets of the Universe

This book has been in my to be read list for ages and finally I found the time to read it. I heard a lot of good reviews and it did not disappoint. It is a book that is written for the teenagers and I highly recommend all the teenagers to read it at least once in their lifetime. It is an LGBTIQ+ read and this review is spoiler free and my sincere opinion.

The story explores the friendship between Ari and Dante in the end of the 1980's. Ari is 15 years old and he is completely different from Dante. Ari is a solitary person that had a wish, to start swimming. Dante offers him this opportunity and a very special relationship is born. One could explore the differentiation between Ari's family and Dante's family and in one way or another, one might relate to their story or at least a fragment of it. It is a story that discusses the issues of self identity, friendship and love. It is a story about family struggles but also about care and affection. It is a story that describe the life of these two men from 15 years to 17 years old that wanted to discover the secrets of the Universe.

This is a book that I highly recommend especially to all teenagers. The writing is superb and one could experience the growth of the characters in every single page. I adored Ari and Dante. The chapters are short which makes it easier for the teenager to connect with it. Although there are some themes that I have expected much more insight, I believe that the book has beautiful story that hooked me up until the last page of the book.

It Ends with Us

This is the second book I've read by Colleen Hoover and it is a book that many people were hyped about it. Personally, I think it is a great story. This review is spoiler free and honest. It is important to mention that the book contains triggering subjects such as abuse, domestic violence and rape.

It Ends with Us is a story about Lily, Ryle and Atlas. Lily, a girl that came from a house with domestic violence, helped a homeless guy named Atlas when she was young. With Atlas, a very beautiful relationship was born. When they grew up, Lily and Atlas separated and Lily met Ryle that had a different kind of relationship that led to something very difficult. Lily had to fight the demons of her past while passing through a very difficult situation. She eventually had to make a very important decision whether to love or leave. I don't think it is necessary to write a detailed synopsis since it might contain spoilers. 

This book is not an easy read and although it contains a lot of action, one has to take care of possible triggers. I did enjoy reading the plot of the story and the actions hooked me up. Although I am still thinking that I felt a little bit distant from it. Maybe it was not the best time for me to read this story and I wanted something different or maybe after the disappointment of Ugly Love, I expected something more. I appreciated the fact how some characters handled certain situations and emotions and how the situation regard abuse was tackled. I could feel that they were genuine and raw. I am thinking to re-read this book in the future and gives it a second chance since many people seem to be obsessed with it and I think I was biased when reading it.

Meta tlaqt lil Adam

This book was gifted to me by @elena.cardona.56 It is a book filled with poems. The review is spoiler free and in Maltese.

L-awtriċi Elena Cardona ikkuntatjani fuq il-paġna ta' Facebook tiegħi, Once Upon a Maltese reader, biex tibgħatli dan il-ktieb, naqrah u nagħti opinjoni onesta' fuq dak li hemm miktub. Dan huwa ktieb qasir, b'ġabra ta' poeżiji. Il-poeżiji jattrattaw suġġetti varji imma b'tema waħda rikorenti tul il-ktieb kollhu; is-sbuħija jew ejja ngħidu in-nuqqas tagħha f'ċertu aspett ukoll. 

Nammetti li waħda mill-aktar kitbiet diffiċli li jiena nsib biex naqra hija l-poeżija. Ma nħossx li huwa l-ġeneru tiegħi minħabba li ħafna drabi poeżija tħallik timraħ u tagħtik wisq liberta' interprettativa. Personalment inħossni nintilef. Nammetti wkoll li l-muża biex taqra l-poeżija hija wkoll essenzjali u għalhekk inti li ħa taqrah, nagħtik parir biex tieħu l-ħin tiegħek. Pero' għamilt il-kuraġġ u qrajt dan il-ktieb. 

Ma ddejjaqtx. Qas xejn anzi! Kull kelma miktuba hija meqjusa, f'postha u riflessiva ħafna. Ebda kelma ma hija żejda jew mhux f'posta. Dan huwa ktieb rakkomandat għal persuni li għandhom għal qalbhom il-poeżija. Apprezzajt ħafna l-fatt li Leanne Ellul kitbet ukoll xi notament fil-bidu ta' dawn il-poeżiji. Fl-aħħar l-awtriċi stess kitbet xi notament għal qarrejja. Hawnhekk, għandek xalata ta' ħsibijiet u interprettazzjonijiet jekk titħajjar taqrah.

Mara Turing, the Rise of the Hackers

I was chosen for a campaign that @bookstagrammerscom made to promote the Mara Turing books. The Mara Turing: Rise of the Hackers is the first book of the series and it is the first one being translated to English from the Spanish language. It is a book ideal for teenagers especially those who are interested in computing, programming and technology. This is a spoiler-free and honest review.

The story is situated in New York and it portrays Mara, our protagonist and a teenager that despite being denied using any technological devices in her life by her mum, she enters an adventure. With the help of her two friends, Mara is on a mission to find her uncle Arnold, presumed to be dead. However, anxiously he contacted Mara asking to help him. What happened is while Mara was learning to avoid being programmed by the system in the garage of Alex Marely, little she knew that she was spied by Hermes to brief Falco the villain of the story.

Although now, I can consider myself an adult, I truly enjoyed reading this book. The words used are not difficult and the writing style is highly recommended to teenagers. It is fast-paced, and the description of the story is superb. What was interesting is that technical words are described in the footnotes. Thus, the teenager is expanding the vocabulary and learn new words and ways how programming functions. I learned a lot about technology especially new concepts but what I was amazed with is that little I knew how hacking can be so easily done. The book was reflective as well and I believe that one should read it in order to understand in what world we are living and to be careful and safe on the internet. Can't wait to start reading book 2 to see how the story proceeds.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This is the first book from the Shadow Hunters series. What have intrigued me to read this book is the series from Netflix. I saw the series first and it did not disappoint. This is the story of Clary Fray which discovered the world of the Shadowhunters. Clary went to a party with her mundane friend Simon in the Pandemonium to celebrate her birthday. She saw three young adults with strange tattoos on the skin and something happened that changed Clary’s life.

Through this episode, Clary started to discover what are the Shadow hunters and the world within. I did really enjoy the City of Bones. There are some pages that are long however I can understand why this happened. The first book is the introduction of the Shadow world and so some explaining was necessary. I gave the book 4 stars because I truly enjoyed the story especially the characters. I saw some differences from the series especially how the characters are portrayed. However it did not effect me. If I had to read it when I was younger, I would totally be obsessed with them. Can't wait to start the second book 🥰

The Beast Within (The Villains Tales)

Although this is the second book of the Villains tale, I have decided to read it first. This is the first book of the year that I was totally not impressed with the story. I think it was a little bit flat and practically it was a re-telling of the original story. My expectancy was so high that I was utterly disappointed. Although, I did not hate it. I expected the ending to be a little bit different and I felt that the story was a little bit rushed and short from details. I did not make the connection with the characters. The finale was something that really bothered me.

The story is a quick read and a light read as well. It is from the beast point of view. It is how the Prince was evil and selfish, became cursed, what it was like before he meet Belle, the transformation and that they eventually live happily ever after. Characters like Gaston and Circe was centralised but the story with Belle came sudden without any suspense. As I said before, I did not hate it and I totally recommend it if you are passing from a reading slump or after you have read a heavy book. Also, I could see this book ideal for teenagers and if you are discouraged from heavy, complicated books. I enjoyed the fact that the author made use of another story within this retelling but still I have expected more from it.

Spinola Bay; 10 000 mojitos on the Rock

Faraxa Books contacted me through my Instagram account @onceuponamaltesereader to give an honest review of the book 10 000 mojitos on the Rock: Spinola Bay. This book intrigued me to read it because it is about the Maltese islands. This book is the first one of its genre that made it into my library. It is a very dark psychological thriller. I gave it a solid 4 star. This is my honest review and spoiler-free. 

This book by Sandorr Papp is a story about Ben and his arrival into the Maltese islands exactly in a very small flat in Spinola Bay. His idea was to live in a mundane, solitary life until he became a regular visitor into one of the famous bars in Paceville, Bar Native. This is where his adventure begins. Driven by his loneliness, Ben became involved into several passionate encounters and erotic experiences while sipping continuously mojitos. Several mysterious deaths and fading memories led to an unexpected, very dark circumstances that left me very perplexed.

From the prologue itself, the story hooked me into my chair. It is not a light read and I totally recommend it to an adult audience since it involves a lot of particular topics. This includes the theme of suicide, drugs, murders, detailed sex scenes, alcohol and smoke. If one is interested in psychological thrillers I totally recommend it. It was interesting to experience Malta and Sicily through the eyes of the character. Apart from the fact that the story in itself made me crave for more information to discover what happened to Ben and Nino, one of the characters in the story. This story hooked me from the beginning and left me in suspense until the last sentence. This book is one of the best books I have read so far so thank-you Faraxa and Sandor Papp!