Pottermore.....

Anyone that knows me well knows I am a huge Harry Potter fan. What's hilarious is that for years I have thought I was a Hufflepuff. And the first version of Pottermore actually sorted me into that house. However, last summer while in California I was sorted into Slytherin (by the sorting hat, while visiting Warner Brothers Studios). Tonight, I decided to log into Pottermore to be sorted into Ilvermony (the American Wizarding school)....however I had to register and decided to be re-sorted and have my wand chosen! Well, I am a Slytherin! Who knew! 

Also..I now rock an Ash Wood Wand!

Ash

The ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. Old superstitions regarding wands rarely bear close examination, but I find that the old rhyme regarding rowan, chestnut, ash and hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. Those witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not, in my experience, lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. However, the brash or over-confident witch or wizard, who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. The ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant.

And Check out the common room!

To fall in love with Night itself....The Bookbabe Reviews: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas has stolen my heart with this book. I usually wait until the next day to write my reflections (review) of most of books; but, I just couldn't with this one. A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMF) has everything we fanasty YA nerds want. Great world buliding, fabulous writing, bad ass characters and maybe just a little bit of a romance. She delivered all that in more with the pages of this book. 

In ACOMF, Maas takes us back to the Spring Court and back into the relationship that has been developing between Tamlin and Feyre. They have just returned to the Spring court after their almost life ending experiences Under the Mountain. One would think with all the hardships, torture, and death they witnessed Under the Mountain that they would have a closer bond. But, they don't and Tamlin is not being the guy we meant in A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTR); he is withdrawn, on edge and seems content to allow Feyre to waste away. He ignores her unhappiness and the changes in her. He is selfish, and only thinks of himself and putting on show of strength and force to his people. 

The only relief Feyre seems to get from him is her trips to The Night Court; which were forced upon her by its High Lord Rhysand. At the Night Court she is free to do what she likes. Rhysand comes off with his usual arrogant bravado but you can sense something deeper there. Especially any time Feyre mentions Tamlin; Rhys just seems to bristle at simple mention of the High Lord. It would take the wedding ceremony and Tamlin locking Feyre in the Spring Court Manor home for Rhys to really step in. 

Once he rescues her, basically frees her, he allows her as much time as she came to become what she was before she went Under The Mountain. Rhys is giving Feyre something Tamlin can't....freedom! It's no surprise that during all this her feelings towards both Tamlin and Rhys shift. 

She begins to see Tamlin as very self serving, uncaring, maybe even a little emotionally abusive and possessive. Rhys is Tamlin's complete opposite - he is kind, patient, caring and attentive. Even though he has it in her head and has been told by others at the Spring Court that he can not be trusted; that he is dangerous. Against her better judgement she makes a decision to cut Tamlin off completely, and stay on in the Nighy Court so that she can learn to use her powers and learn to fight. Something that Tamlin had no interest in letting her do at all. 

Slowly Feyre begins to feel something for Rhys that was never there with Tamlin....Rhys also does not reveal until the book is almost at an end that he and Ferye are mates. And that he has known for sometime. He attempted to separate himself from her but...he could not so he made up ways to see her and to misdirect the attentions of that witch from Under The Mountain away from Ferye. During all of this Ferye and Rhys and his court are trying to stop am invasion of a long hated and very dangerous King. They almost have it under control when several betrayals come to light; and at the worse possible time. It's in these betrayals that the majority of the plot twists happen. The most surprising one of all coming right at the end. 

Maas wrote this book so well, waving in just the right amount of mystery to make you want to speed read to the ending. I think ACOMF has replaced The Girl with all the gifts as my favorite book read so far in 2016. 

I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads.com

Favorite Quotes:

"There are different kinds of darkness, there is a darkness that frightens, the darkness that soothes, the darkness that is restful. There is the darkness of the lovers, the darkness of assassins. It becomes with the bearer wishes it to be, needs it to be. It is not wholly bad or good."

"No one was my master – but I might be the master of everything, if I wished. If I dared."

"He luck to you up because he knew – the bastard knew what a treasure you are. That you were worth more than land or gold or jewels. He knew, and wanted to keep you all to himself. (Rhys)"

"He did - does love me" (Ferye)

"The issue isn't whether he loved you, it's how much. Too much. Love can be a poison." (Rhys)

"To the stars who listen – and the dreams that are answered."

"Truth is deadly. Chances freedom. Truth can break and mend and and bind."

Currently Reading....and Books Read last month!

First up what I am currently reading! 

I am Currently Reading several books; one book is for chumps! I am finishing up Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen), A Court of Mist and Fury (Sarah J. Maas). I have started Welcome to Night Vale by (J. Fink/J.Cranor) and The Vampire Lestat (Anne Rice). 

What I read last month....

Because of really bad seasonal allergies and being sick I did not get through my usual four books last month. But I did get to enjoy Michael Connelly's Fifth Witness and The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. I was excited to have finally gotten to each. I will be posting the review for both really soon. 

Oh...Hermonie's...Black! Yes...and it's amazing!

Look at these beautiful people! The Weasley Family....Ron, Hermonie and Rose!

Did your mom make that sweater Ron!

The Brave, Intelligent, well read, Hermonie! 

Hello there Rose! 

I am so happy to see that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will have a diverse and talented cast. I am most excited to see a Hermonie that looks like me! And I am sure more Black and Brown Potrer fans will feel the same. However, over the past few months (since Hermonie's

Casting was announced) there has been a bit of a back lash about it. Mainly because the character has always been thought of as White. Which, may not be the case. Hermonie at one point in the series is described as being "very brown", with bushy hair and large teeth. Hermonie could easily have been biracial. As a fan of the books I don't care if she is played by a Causasian, Asian, Latino or Black woman - as long as Hermonie is a part of the story I am happy. Hermonie is a heroine for all girls, an example that being witty, bookish and intelligent equals being a bad ass! It's sad that I feel the need to comment on something so trivial. The world has a enough going on that something as small as a characters race in a play should be even be something to fight over. So to all those that are hating on the casting really needs to expand your minds and be happy that there is any new In the Potterhead universe for us to experience! So I raise my wand in support of Noma Dumezweni....our beautiful Hermonie! 

Currently Reading....

Woo hoo! I am currently reading these three lovely books....

1)Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

2)Cleoparta: A life by Stacy Schiff

3)A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J.Maas

Vampires at their best....The Bookbabe reviews: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

                           

     Books from the backlist: My Review of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Interview with the Vampire is probably one of the best known books in most reading circles. and perhaps it is also a book that some may love to hate. Before reading the book I had some serious mixed feelings about it. Especially since I loved the film and I had heard some terrible things from friends about the book. However, I decided to give the book a go after having the soft cover sitting on my shelf for some time. I was immediately surprised by what I found within its pages. All I can say is that one can never judge a book by its movie or by its cover.

Rice introduces us into a world of dark, haunted, deeply flawed characters. We immediately meet Louis, a vampire, as he opens up a young man about his life. Louis, over the course of the night tells the entire story of his vampiric life. Starting with what started him on the dark path that lead him to becoming what he is. Louis is a character that you definitely feel a connection with. Unlike most of the characters that we meet in the novel, he is perhaps the most relatable. The most human. His flaw seem to be that he is to naive (at least in the beginning of his journey) and perhaps to unforgiving (towards the end of the story). Louis spins his tale of love and lost. The most tragic of his loves and his losses is Claudia. The child that he drains and who Lestat gives the "gift" of vampiric life. Claudia was the surprise for me in this novel. After watching the movie, I thought that I knew what to expect from this character. However, she was a bit to much for me. I got the impression that Claudia, no matter who played her, could ever truly be understood as a character unless you read the book.

Claudia, being a child, at first acted and was loved as a child. As a human child would be. However, as the years go on she remains a child. She matures as a person, her mind becoming that of a woman. She begins to resent being treated as a child. She hates that she can never be a fully grown woman. Claudia is perhaps the best written villain of this story; Lestat, while a brat, has nothing on this little she demon. Claudia and Louis are held together by a mutual need of one another; Louis feels that she and her love connects him to his humanity and she needs him as a means of protection. Honestly, it does not feel that she loves him at all. She simply tolerates him because he can protect and provide for her. The manipulation of Louis by both Lestat and Claudia only deepens the readers affection and sympathy for Louis.   

There were several changes from the book to the movie adaptation. All of which is going to make it even harder for me to look at the movie in the same light as I used too. Honestly, I am glad that I have read the book and I am also happy that I did not let the negative reviews from friends deter me from reading the book. On goodreads I gave it  4/5 stars.  

Quotes I Loved:

The Mother of all....My Review of Eve by Wm. Paul Young

                            

Wow. That is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of this beautifully woven tale by Wm. Paul Young. Eve is a story of creation, from Eve's POV (point of view) but it is also a story of redemption and healing. In the story we meet Lilly, a young woman who is physically, mentally and spiritually broken. Lilly is transported to a world that she is unsure of. It a dimension between plains; and while she is there she is meant by a cast of friendly and caring characters. Their only concern is to heal her and to help her on her path as a witness. A witness to creation that is. So as the story unfolds, we meet Eve. The mother of all creation, the wife of Adam. Eve is presented as a caring mother and also a woman in love. She is the mother of all those she interacts with but she takes a quick liking to Lilly. Trying her best to help her heal mentally and spiritually, she does this by insisting that Lilly see herself in a different light. She tells Lilly that she is loved, wanted and cared for. Not only by Eve but also by Adonai (God in hebrew). Throughout the story Adonai is ever present; he is with Adam every time Lilly and Eve visit Eden. In fact, though Lilly and Eve's presence is not felt by Adam, Adonai knows they are there. Eve continuously tells Lilly that Adonai is fond of her, that he choose her to be a witness because of her flaws. However, Lilly, falls to her own doubts. She does not go to Adonai, even though she feels the pull. 

What I found astounding was that Young beautifully writes about how free will factored into the creation story. He teaches us that Adam and Eve both had free will. Adam had decided to turn from God the moment he begun to feel that God could not fulfill him; and Eve turned because she did not want to leave Adam on his own outside of Eden's gates. And Lilly, used her freewill to never turn to Adonai; not until she was ready. The entire time that I read this Adonai continuously tells his children "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut. 31:6"). The moral of the story, in my opinion, is that God is always pursuing his children. No matter what the situation is like, no matter what your life is like, and no matter what your mistakes are God can and will use you. In fact, he seems to love to use those that are the most flawed. God sees the beauty in our messes and imperfections. 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone; and like The Shack (Young's first book) I think this will go on the long list of books that I give as gifts. I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.com

Quotes I loved: