Seducing the enemy's daughter (vingança e sedução [Portuguese])

By Jules Bennett:

Source: Popular Libros S.L. https://www.popularlibros.com/ebook/vinganca-e-seduco_E0002624327. Accessed November 13, 2018.

It's a beautiful love story. However, Harlequin has much better novels. It lacked imagination. It had a very predictable outcome.

La Reine Soleil: l'aimée de Toutânkhamon [French] (The Queen of the Sun: the beloved of Tutankhamun)

By Christian Jacq:

Source: https://www.bertrand.pt/livro/a-rainha-sol-christian-jacq/225893. Published 2018. Accessed November 4, 2018.

It is a beautiful historical novel, which perfectly depicts the time of the reigns of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ay and the beginning of the reign of Horemheb. Akesa, the Queen of the Sun, will have reigned in the years 1347 to 1333 BC, together with Tutankhamun and Ay.

Liderança: a virtude está no meio (Portuguese) (leadership: the virtue is in the middle)

By Arménio Rego and Miguel Pina e Cunha:

Source: Livro Liderança A Virtude Está No Meio Arménio Rego - R$ 147,00. Produtomercadolivrecombr. Available at: https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-891593686-livro-lideranca-a-virtude-esta-no-meio-armenio-rego-_JM. Accessed June 11, 2018.

From Portuguese authors, this book brings hope for the primacy of virtuous actions in the business, political and financial world. Anyone with leadership activities can be inspired by reading these well-written pages, in order to contribute to a decent and dignified work of the community they manage. Relying on big scandals and bankruptcies of real life, we readily conclude that the risks of corrupt or unworthy practices are far greater than those of honest, respectful, humble, humane, just, and therefore healthy work.

Conflitos existenciais (Portuguese) (existential conflicts)

By Divaldo Pereira Franco:

Source: Conflitos Existenciais. Saraiva e Siciliano SA. Available at: https://www.saraiva.com.br/conflitos-existenciais-203905.html. Accessed June 11, 2018.

Divaldo Pereira Franco writes this book by psychographing the Spirit Joanna de Ângelis. Without any dogmatic positions on my part, this book seemed to me very interesting in that it analyzes in depth various psychological disorders. It is very well written, with a careful language, in Brazilian Portuguese. I think it is a good book for understanding many conflicting feelings and disorders of the human being, such as laziness, anger, fear and anxiety, resentment, guilt, jealousy, violence, abuse of drugs and alcohol, stress and existential emptiness. It also addresses noble feelings such as courage and love and ends with the Spiritist conception of death. As you can never know too much, I recommend reading these «existential conflicts» from this fascinating point of view.

Blogs Portugal

Com o Blogs Portugal é só somar (Portuguese) (with Blogs Portugal is just add).

The billionaire's bridal bid (regresso à sedução [Portuguese])

By Emily McKAY:

Source: Available at: https://www.harlequinportugal.com/harlequin/serie/desejo/regresso-a-seducao2017-08-16-10-14-101284394865-detail. Accessed April 4, 2018.

This novel had some errors of translation, by the omission of words. Compared to others of the same genre, it was not special. But it entertained me.

A bordo dos Descobrimentos (Portuguese) (on board the Discoveries)

By Matilde Silva:

Source: A Bordo dos Descobrimentos - Matilde Silva. Chiadoeditorakidscom. 2018. Available at: https://www.chiadoeditorakids.com/livraria/a-bordo-dos-descobrimentos. Accessed March 31, 2018.

This story was written by a 14-year-old girl! It is an adventure fiction aboard the ships that left Portugal under the direction of the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, in the year 1500 after Christ. The trip was destined for India, previously discovered by Vasco da Gama, but perhaps intentionally, deviated enough from the route and eventually discovered Brazil.

«Route taken by Cabral from Portugal to India in 1500 (in red), and the return route (in blue)»:

Source: Pedro Álvares Cabral. Enwikipediaorg. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral#/media/File:Cabral_voyage_1500.svg. Accessed March 31, 2018.

«Romantic depiction of Cabral's first landing on the Island of the True Cross (present-day Brazil). He can be seen on the shore (center) standing in front of an armored soldier, who is carrying a banner of the Order of Christ»:

Source: Pedro Álvares Cabral. Enwikipediaorg. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral#/media/File:Oscar_Pereira_da_Silva_-_Desembarque_de_Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral_em_Porto_Seguro_em_1500.jpg. Accessed March 31, 2018.

It is a book that is recommended to all young people, as it gives a very realistic image of the hard life on board the ships of the Portuguese Discoveries.

«A book (...). It is a meeting between two people through the written word.», by Chiado Editora.

Mansfield Park (O Parque de Mansfield [Portuguese])

By Jane Austen:

Source: O Parque de Mansfield. Goodreadscom. 2018. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3905683-o-parque-de-mansfield. Accessed March 25, 2018.

With this book, I completed the reading of all Jane Austen's novels. It was published in 1814, after «Sense and Sensibility» (1811) and «Pride and Prejudice» (1813). For me, her best novel was «Persuasion» (posthumous work, published in 1818), followed by «Pride and Prejudice». «Mansfield Park« is, in my opinion, as good as «Emma» (1815), being richer in describing virtues and characters, while «Emma» is more cheerful.

At present, making a trip to the beginning of the nineteenth century is very interesting! People socialized more face-to-face/physically, took great walks in the gardens and woods, exchanged letters, performed dances where they introduced young women to society, played the piano or harp to rejoice an afternoon of rain, did embroidery, painted, finally, there was no television, radio, much less internet or mobile phones. How would live in that time? Would we be happier?

This novel had a beautiful plot and Jane Austen criticizes, as only she is capable of doing, the vices, prejudices, and bad characters intrinsic to society, both of that time, as the current, because they are, unfortunately, eternal.

His black sheep bride (a condessa rebelde [Portuguese])

By Anna DePalo:

Source: A condessa rebelde. Goodreadscom. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35733940-a-condessa-rebelde?from_search=true. Accessed March 4, 2018.

Nothing better than a Harlequin novel to enhance a woman's mood on a rainy afternoon! Exciting plot, lots of love, happy ending... It's better, lighter and more romantic than «Fifty shads» by E. L. James, I promise. A story with characters from high society, who share their property between New York and the United Kingdom.

Sonetos (Portuguese) (sonnets)

By Luís de Camões:

Source: Sonetos. Goodreadscom. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23523990-sonetos?ac=1&from_search=true. Accessed February 19, 2018.

The sonnets of Luís de Camões are complex and require concentration. They demand a good knowledge of grammar and style figures. Because of their complexity, they don't give us the delight that, for example, the sonnets of Florbela Espanca provide us. But trying to decipher the messages behind them is challenging.

Mindfulness: an eight-week plan for finding peace in a frantic world (Mindfullness: atenção plena [Portuguese])

By Mark Williams and Danny Penman:

Source: Williams M, Penman D. Mindfulness. Goodreadscom. 2015. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26566092-mindfulness. Accessed February 18, 2018.

After taking a Buddhist meditation course, reading this book became a little boring because I felt it was not adding anything new. In other words, putting meditation into practice is better than reading the book. However, I can not remove the merit of the authors because they have done their best to try to describe in words what only practice genuinely shows.

Bittersweet (agridoce [Portuguese])

By Collen McCullough:

Source: Agridoce, Colleen McCullough - Livro - WOOK. Wookpt. 2014. Available at: https://www.wook.pt/livro/agridoce-colleen-mccullough/15826187. Accessed February 18, 2018.

I have not read such a good book for a long time! Collen McCullough was, in fact, one of the best writers of recent times. From «the thorn birds» to this «bittersweet», rich historical novels with strong characters, well-detailed scenarios and very interesting plots. It was very good, very current. No one wastes time while reading this author.