Heart Full of Ink

Hot Chocolate Highlights: July Wrap Up 2016

3:18 PM

The Eighth Story: A Spoiler Free Review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

9:00 AM

Summary of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Review

I am a huge Harry Potter nerd. I read all of the books growing up, and it remains one of my favorite series to this day. When I heard that J. K. Rowling was writing a play which would basically be the eighth story of the series, I'll admit, I had mixed reactions. On the one hand, I love the Harry Potter books so what could be better than even more Harry Potter? On the other hand, what if it doesn't live up to the rest of the series? Well, I can safely say that I loved Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and my only real complaint is that I wanted more!

I went into reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with an open mind, which I think is the main reason why I enjoyed it so much. Unlike the rest of the series, this is a play, not a book. You read a play differently than you read a book. For the most part, you're essentially reading dialogue with stage directions occasionally sprinkled throughout. I've heard J. K. Rowling say that a play was the best format for the story she wanted to tell, and, after reading it, I understand why she wrote it as a play. The play format allows her to give fans a taste of what they want without having to write another seven books (which I totally understand, but at the same time I know myself and countless other people would devour them if she did choose to write them). Rowling does a good job of incorporating different fan theories, and I loved getting to know the next generation characters better. Were there characters left out? Of course there were. It's a play. It would be way too long if she included everyone. Though there were some characters I would've liked to see, I still enjoyed reading the play. After going eight years without any more Harry Potter books, I'll take what I can get.

I did predict a few things before they happened while I was reading, but I still enjoyed reading the script. There are nods to the classic Harry Potter books but some new territory is explored as well. The themes of the power of friendship, what true bravery is, and what it means to be a father permeate throughout the script.

I know there are going to be people who don't like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. They're going to say that they've read better fan fiction written about next generation characters or that it doesn't match with the rest of the books in the series. I, however, am choosing to stand by J. K. Rowling. She wrote this play after other people had years and years to write what they think should happen to the characters after the seventh book. She can't please all of the fans, but I think she did the best she could. The Harry Potter books are far from perfect. There are plot holes, pacing issues, and let's not even get started on whiny Harry in the fifth book. Do these problems keep me from loving the books? Absolutely not. So, I'm not going to let the problems in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child keep me from enjoying it either.

I stayed up past midnight reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and read it in one sitting. If that doesn't show you how much I enjoyed it, maybe my 5 out of 5 stars goodreads rating will.

Woman of Day, Prince of Night

8:06 AM

Summary of Radiance by Grace Draven

THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE

Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

*Summary from goodreads

Review

I placed a hold on Radiance by Grace Dreven several months ago and by the time I was able to check it out, I'd forgotten the premise of the book or why I'd wanted to read it. After reading the first chapter, I was reminded of why I put a hold on the book in the first place. I'd been looking for more stories with arranged marriages in them in which the characters involved grow to love each other. Radiance certainly fits that description, though on the whole I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would.

Radiance shared similarities with two of my favorite books, but I found Radiance lacking. The Kai in this book remind me of the goblins from The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle (though I much prefer The Hollow Kingdom over Radiance). In both books, human women marry a non human man whose appearance is unsettling. I do like that it isn't love at first sight between Brishen and Ildiko (they both tell each other in a humorous way how ugly they find each other). While they don't fall in love with each other's looks right away, they do fall in love with each other's personalities a bit too quickly for my taste. I guess when it comes to reading about arranged marriages where strangers who are forced to marry fall in love with each other, I prefer a slow burn romance. This book also reminds me of Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes because two people from different kingdoms marry to secure an alliance but that alliance is threatened by people trying to kill the couple (though, again, I prefer Hawksong to Radiance).

As far as the story goes, it starts off slowly and the picks up in the second half. The villain of the story, Secmis, starts out as a kind of meh villain, but she later becomes plenty creepy. She doesn't have much of a back story, though. I would've liked to know more about her other than she's just power hungry, likes looking young, and will do anything to remain in power.

Overall, I decided to give Radiance by Grace Dreven a 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads, though it's probably closer to a 2.75.

Fangirl of Fangirl

6:26 AM

Summary of Fangirl

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review

I'll admit it, I put off reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for a long time because of the description of the book. Specifically the lines "Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?" For whatever reason, when I read those lines my reaction was, "I don't want to read a book about a girl who writes fan fiction because she can't handle reality." It wasn't until I was asking someone for suggestions of audiobook readers they liked, that I decided to finally give Fangirl a chance. I am so happy that I did. Not only do Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caulfield do an excellent job of narrating the book (which is high praise considering I am very picky when it comes to audiobook readers. I blame this on the fact that my first audiobook narrator was Jim Dale reading the Harry Potter books, thus spoiling me for all other narrators), but the book is filled with relatable characters and two love stories which made my heart happy while reading them. Why oh why did I put off reading this book??? I am totally going to fangirl about Fangirl for the rest of this review because I loved it.

I absolutely adore all of the characters. For starters, the main character Cath is so gosh darn relatable. Reading her thoughts and reactions to different scenarios felt like I was doing them instead of her because she and I share a lot of the same personality traits. The scene where Cath doesn't know where the cafeteria is on campus and doesn't want to be the annoying freshman asking her older roommate for help so she just eats energy bars in her room is totally something I would do. In fact, Cath actually made me feel a bit better about some of my personality traits that I haven't always liked about myself like how I sometimes lack confidence, worry too much, and go through bouts of not wanting to interact with other people. Thank you, Rainbow Rowell, for creating Cath. It's rare for me to find a character in which I see so much of myself.

All of the supporting cast in the book were well written as well. Levi is so freaking adorable. Can I please request my own person Levi? Seriously, the way Rowell describes his smiles makes me swoon. His labrador retriever, happy to make other people happy personality is such a refreshing change of pace. My only complaint was that he did seem a bit too perfect, but as soon as I thought that, he did make a mistake (which is good because I love his character and would've been disappointed if he was perfect because everyone has flaws). Reagan, Cath's roommate, is confident and tough but caring. Cath's twin sister Ren is a complicated character. Cath's dad not only plays a huge role in the book, unlike most parents in YA, but he is also a complex character—a single father whose manic episodes sometimes interfere with his life—and his storyline is just as fascinating to read as Cath's. I could go on and on about how much I love the characters in this book, but I'll move on to the fan fiction aspect Fangirl.

I've only ever written one piece of fan fiction before and that was for a writing contest on Figment where the prompt was to write about your own Sorting at Hogwarts. After reading, Fangirl, I found myself itching to write some real fan fiction (i.e. Harry Potter Fan Fiction without me as the main character because frankly that's just a little bit weird). The sections of the book that had excerpts from the Simon Snow books and Carry On (Cath's Simon Snow) fan fiction were some of my favorite parts of reading Fangirl. I haven't even read Carry On yet and I'm already shipping Simon and Bas like crazy.

As I'm sure it will come as no surprise, I will be reading Carry On soon. I am glad I can finally jump aboard the Rainbow Rowell hype train, and declare that this girl *points both thumbs at self in a super cheesy way* is a fangirl of Fangirl.

Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

4:34 AM

Summary of Scarlet

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Summary from goodreads

Review

Sequels can be tough to pull off. It's inevitable that readers will compare the second book in a series to the first book, the second book to the third book and so on and so forth. In the case of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, I definitely found myself comparing it with the first book Cinder and found Scarlet to be wanting. Though I still enjoyed reading Scarlet, I didn't connect with the characters Scarlet and Wolf as much as I did Cinder and Kai.

The relationship between Scarlet and Wolf wasn't my cup of tea. It happened way too quickly, and there was a little too much of Wolf being manipulative and controlling for my taste. I also rolled my eyes while reading about his fight with his brother over Scarlet in which Wolf growls, "She's mine." After reading Cinder, in which the relationship between Cinder and Kai progresses slowly and builds over time (in other words, a realistic relationship), I felt let down by the romance between Scarlet and Wolf in Scarlet. I realize that it is a retelling of a fairy tale and that fairy tales often depict people falling in love with each other after knowing one another for one day, but this book is a retelling. Meyer could've slowed down Scarlet and Wolf's relationship, but for whatever reason she chose not to do so.

While I wasn't impressed by Scarlet and Wolf, I did enjoy continuing to read about Cinder, Kai, and Thorne. It was nice to continue with Cinder and Kai's stories because the end of the first book left both of them in a lurch. I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to the character Thorne, a shameless flirt who keeps insisting people call him Captain much like a certain Captain Jack Sparrow. I am excited to read more about Thorne, Cinder, and Kai in the next book.

As with Cinder, the plot of Scarlet was predictable yet still enjoyable to read. I gave Scarlet by Marissa Meyer 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

Summer Comment Challenge-August 2016

8:17 PM

The Comment Challenge

What: A way to connect with other bloggers and challenge yourself to comment on other people's blogs.
Who: This was created by Lonna @FLYLēF and Alicia @A Kernel of Nonsense but anyone is encouraged to sign up and participate!
When: Every month during the summer. August is the last month (and my first time participating) so be sure to sign up soon!
Why: Reading people's comments on my blog and interacting with other bloggers is one of my favorite parts of blogging. Why not spread the joy?
How: Once you sign up, you will be paired with another blogger and be encouraged to comment on each other's blog posts.

The Nuts and Bolts

This is the final month to sign up for this challenge for the summer.

Bloggers will be paired up and are required to comment on each other’s blog posts.

To allow a bit of freedom, you will be able to choose how often you would like to comment on your partner’s blog (options include 5-10 or 11-20 posts).

Social Media Option: If you’d like to give your partner further encouragement through social media, we will do our best to connect you with bloggers who are active on the same platforms.

Giveaway: at the end of August, we will be giving away two bookish prizes. Please note: this giveaway will only be open to participants

Sign Up: Starting today through the 21st, you can sign up for this challenge for August. Just answer a few questions on the Google Doc on one of the hosts' blogs. We will be emailing you a couple of days before August 1st to inform you of your partner.

Create a Sign-up Post: We will be posting a link-up on the 15th for participants to share their posts. What you should include:
Announce your intention to participate and what you’re looking forward to for this challenge
Let us know how often you intend to comment on your partner’s blog
Tell us if you participated in June or July and what your experience was like
Link back to your hosts: Lonna @ FLYLēF and Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense
Include the Comment Challenge banner
Spread the Word: We’d love to see this challenge take off, so let other bloggers know about it. We’ll be using the Twitter hashtag #commentchallenge2016
Comment: When August 1st rolls around, get to commenting on your partner’s blog!

The Moth

6:10 AM

Summary of The Winner's Crime

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Summary from goodreads

Review

If you haven't read the first book in this series, The Winner's Curse, stop reading this review and go read it. I'm going to do my best not to include any spoilers in this review, but if you haven't read the first book, reading this review of the second book will definitely spoil a few things for you. I hate it when I accidentally pick up the second or third book in a series at a bookstore and read the description and unintentionally ruin the first book for myself, so I'd like to save you from the same fate. Seriously, books in a series should have a numbering system on the spine so you know the order and don't screw things up. Okay, now that I've given you fair warning, I'll get on to the review.

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski is the type of book whose characters constantly delight and frustrate you at the same time. Throughout the entire book, I found myself eager for Kestrel to tell Arin the truth about why she agreed to marry the Emperor's son, and I was desperate for Arin to realize that Kestrel cares about him and is doing the best she can to make decisions which will result in minimum loss of life. There were several times while reading that I wanted to shake both Kestrel and Arin and tell them they're being idiots and to just kiss and make up already. At the same time, as a writer, I found myself enjoying the emotional turmoil Rutkoski puts these two characters through. The tension of will they or won't they encourages the reader to keep reading.

The pacing of the book slowed down a little too much in places for my taste, and Arin made some decisions I didn't agree with, but overall, I did enjoy reading the book. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads. I'll be placing a hold on the last book, The Winner's Kiss, and can't wait to see what finally happens with Kestrel and Arin.

Heart Full of Ink

Hot Chocolate Highlights: July Wrap Up 2016

The Eighth Story: A Spoiler Free Review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Summary of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Review

Woman of Day, Prince of Night

Summary of Radiance by Grace Draven

Review

Fangirl of Fangirl

Summary of Fangirl

Review

Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

Summary of Scarlet

Review

Summer Comment Challenge-August 2016

The Comment Challenge

The Nuts and Bolts

The Moth

Summary of The Winner's Crime

Review

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