Reread: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I was very giddy as we approached month three of the Harry Potter Reread Challenge. Why? Because I absolutely adore the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I won't say (yet) that it's my favourite of the seven novels because I want to wait until I've reread all of them but it'll for sure be one or two. For more information about this challenge and the idea behind it, visit Just a Lil' Lost's sign up post. Check out Twitter or Instagram with #HPreread if you want to follow along with us. A reminder: if you haven't read this book, or even finished the whole series, please beware of spoilers. If you don't want parts of the story or series ruined for you, stay away until you finish the books!

I'm not totally sure what it is that makes me love this book so much. I could say that it's because we learn so much more about the wizarding world when Harry gets to ride the Knight Bus (which I love...it's "violently purple"...my favourite!) and ends up spending a great deal of time at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. But, technically, we learn more about the world in every book so that's not much of a reason. Though I do love Diagon Alley and liked being able to spend a bit more time there in this book.

Azkaban is also the last "light" Harry Potter book. I'm not saying the serious issues that come up in the next books aren't important or good (they're great, really), it's just that this is the last book where Harry is really able to keep his innocence. I know he's already faced Voldemort twice but the danger hasn't really been there yet because Voldemort isn't totally back. It's not as dangerous or real like it will be in the next books. And, for us, the reader, this is the last book without major deaths. And anyone who tells you "they're just fictional characters" should be cut out of your life immediately. Or at least ignored until they see sense. We grow to love these characters (even some of the evil ones) and reading about their deaths is like a knife to the heart.

Other little things I enjoy in this book: Hagrid being a teacher, Hogsmeade (Butterbeer! Honeydukes!), Crookshanks (damn clever feline, that one), Ron's new owl, Hermione slapping Malfoy, Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup (couldn't stop smiling), the Marauder's Map, the Time-Turner, and expecto patronum (side note: if I ever get a HP tattoo, that might be it). To really get a feel about what stuck out for me while I reread this, check out my Storify story with all my #HPreread tweets.

But the most likely reason I love this book is because we meet two characters who are extremely important to Harry: Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. The love I have for these characters is even more intense since I know what happens to them in the end. Of course, my heart broke a little during each scene with them, but that's the price you pay for knowing the end of the series, I suppose. Meeting these men, men who were Harry's father's best friends, give Harry more of an insight into his parents' lives. He is so desperate for details of them. It hurts my heart a little that he just doesn't know enough about James and Lily, the people who died in order to protect him. And knowing what I know now, reading this is just...it's hard:

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Profession Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?"
Harry didn't ask how Professor Lupin knew his name.
- page 68

And if the words don't do enough to your poor heart, check out this pin I found not too long ago. I'll give you a moment to collect yourself. Oh, and just to make it even more clear how close these friends are:

Lupin was lowering his wand. Next moment, he had walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.
- page 252

All the feels.

Once again, I was completely uplifted by spending a Saturday reading a Harry Potter novel. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is probably the last book of the series that I will read in one sitting (though I did read Deathly Hallows in about seven hours total when it was first released), which is sort of sad. I like being able to commit an entire day to read the book from start to finish and I just don't think it'll be possible to do that with the next books. Ah well. I'm looking forward to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire even though things take a dark turn. Until then, happy reading!

Guest Post: Faerl Marie

As promised, I have a lovely guest post from author Faerl Marie, author of  The Golden Apple as part of the CLP Blog Tour. My review went up yesterday, in case you missed it. I wanted to know how much importance the setting of this novel had in the story. New York City can sometimes become a character itself in books and movies and I wondered if Faerl had any thoughts on that. Enjoy!

It was important to set the novel in New York City because Poppy needed to move somewhere completely separate from her life with Josh, somewhere with a lot of contrast to the small, southern town she was used to. New York City is big and glamorous and it's a chameleon. It can be anything you need or want it to be and Poppy needed contrast, a place to hide, when she first arrived. Later in the novel she needed more familiarity and comfort and it became that.

The city did become its own character of sorts. It became a friend to Poppy. When she first arrived, New York was an acquaintance, sort of like Austin--a place she had visited a few times but had no real history or intimacy with. She starts out in Vivienne's neighborhood and the city is a friend of a friend. As she moves forward, away from her life with Josh and towards one with Austin she gets to know the city for herself, choosing a neighborhood (one that is close to Austin) and creating familiar feelings and "friendliness" with that part of the city. Once she doesn't need it to be an escape it becomes her home. 

Author Bio:
Faerl Marie is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and minors in English and Social Welfare. She has worked as a style consultant, personal shopper and wardrobe curator, among other things. Faerl Marie spends her days writing, dreaming about new stories and characters, walking her dog and adoring her husband. She lives in the idyllic mountains near Santa Fe, New Mexico. "The Golden Apple" is her first novel.

Connect with Faerl!
Website
Facebook
Twitter

CLP Blog Tour: The Golden Apple

Welcome to my stop on the CLP Blog Tour for The Golden Apple. I was really intrigued by Faerl Marie's novel so I just had to sign up for this tour! Did the book hold up to my expectations? Not quite but it wasn't a bad read by any means.

Here's the synopsis:

MEET POPPY PARKER, a recent widow who knows she must move forward but has no idea which direction to take. To start fresh, Poppy moves from her idyllic home in Georgia to the grimy glamour of New York City to open up her own boutique and find a way to live and love without her husband.
Austin Bandy has been in love with Poppy since the moment he laid eyes on her years ago, right before her wedding. Now she is back, grieving and broken hearted by her nearly-perfect husband’s death—not Austin’s ideal romantic situation. He needs to wait for her to recover but not so long that someone else has the chance to move in and sweep his dream girl off her feet and keep him as a “good friend” forever. 

My biggest issue, I think, was with the way the book was written. It wasn't poorly done but I still felt like there was something off with the flow and the way the story was told. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean but, for some examples, sometimes I felt like there needed to be more background given and sometimes the way the dialogue and story flowed just didn't feel realistic. For example, the money that gets thrown around in this book is insane and even though we find out about Poppy's background, I had a hard time accepting that Austin would spend so much money on her. Speaking of missing background, I feel like Austin was struggling with the fact that Poppy was very well off but it's never really discussed and I think it should have been. I also wish the layout had been better. I think there should have been page breaks in certain places because, for example, all of a sudden the story jumped to a different day and it was just moving from one line to the next. It was a little jarring.

I wasn't completely invested in this novel but, at the same time, I found myself hoping that all the characters would end up in a good place. I wanted Poppy and Austin to get their happily ever after. They were genuinely good people and that made the book better. If I had disliked either of them I probably would have had a hard time actually finishing the book.

At its core, The Golden Apple has a good story. (Note: I really didn't mean to make that pun - core/apple. I'm apparently more clever than I thought.) I liked the idea of reading about a woman who is trying to find her new normal after her husband dies. Being a young widow (or a widow at any age, really) wouldn't be easy and the drama that surrounds that lends itself well to a women's fiction novel. Poppy rediscovering her love of life was the main purpose of the story but I wonder if it could have been told better. There weren't clear milestones on her road to "recovery" (and I know real life probably isn't like that but I expected something different in the book) and the story sort of dragged. I just wish something different had been done so I was more excited about picking up this book after being away from it.

So, I didn't love Faerl Marie's novel The Golden Apple. I'm bummed because I never like it when I don't thoroughly enjoy my reading experience. I wonder if life circumstances prevented me from really loving it as I had finished another similar in tone book the day before and I don't know if I was ready for the story. If that's the case and you want a few more opinions, make sure you check out the CLP Blog Tours page to find the other reviews of this book. And check back tomorrow as I have a fun little guest post going up from Faerl herself!

Happy reading :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Bucket List

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is an interesting one. What would I put on my bookish bucket list? What sorts of book related things do I want to do in my life? Some of these goals are easy ones to accomplish. Others will take some work. Others will just have to wait until I have the time and space and money. What would be on your bookish bucket list?

I've been keeping track of the number of books I read every year since 2012. That year I read 105 books. Last year I read 183 (I was unemployed for the majority of the year so had a ton of reading time). This year I'm on track to read about 110. That's about two books a week and that makes me happy! I know there are some bloggers that read more than that but I'm not a machine. I read because I enjoy it and if I give myself some ridiculous and unattainable goal I'm going to feel pressured to hit a number I cannot hit.

I've written about this before but I actually haven't read all of Austen's novels. My goal for 2014 is to read all of them, one every other month. I love Austen but it can be tough to read her books because the language is so different from what we're used to. That's the main reason I haven't attempted to reread all of her books before. Wish me luck!

I own the whole series and have had since I was a pre-teen. I got as far as Prince Caspian and stopped reading. No idea why. Wait...light bulb moment...it's entirely possible that I finished Prince Caspian the same year that other magical series got popular. You know the one about the boy wizard with the lightning shaped scar? :) That's an interesting revelation. Anyway. I really want to finish this series.

I attempted a couple of internships in the book world last year and that didn't work out too well. I don't know if I'm meant to work with books. I might be confused/unsure because I just don't know where my niche is. But, maybe I don't belong in the world. And I can be ok with that...I might just need to try a few more things. Maybe?

Catherine is one of my all time favourite authors. I've exchanged emails with her over the years but I've never been able to meet her. Sad! Maybe she'll come to a city near me for her next book. Either that or I need to plan a trip to Montreal!

I love Lindsey's books and I love following her on social media. I think I'd have a fab time with her if we could get together for cocktails. But I'd settle for meeting her at a signing!

Jennifer Weiner is one feisty lady and I love it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she comes to Toronto on her next book tour. *sends plea to the universe to send more American and British authors to Toronto*

This has been a goal of mine for awhile. Unfortunately, do to lack of money and another trip being planned during BEA time, I won't be making the 2014 event. Yet again. But. I WILL be there in 2015. I want to celebrate my 28th birthday on the 28th in NYC!

I really like writing (but don't want to write a novel) and since I still have some free time (I really need a full time job...) I'd like to start thinking about who else might want my writing.

Some day I will have a room in my house dedicated to my books. It will have many bookshelves and a comfy place to sit and read. And a fireplace. This must happen.

Pretty home libraries found on various Pinterest boards.

Life as a Bookworm: Not Write Now

No, that's not a typo up there in the title of this post. My (not so) clever play on words has to do with the fact that I do not want to write a novel. At least, not right now. But why am I sharing this? Well, this is something that comes up more often than you'd think in this book blogger's life. I had a job interview a week or so ago (it had nothing to do with books - it was for a retail position because that's where I'm at in life right now...sigh.). During the interview I explained why, after leaving my full time job to pursue a publicity internship at Random House of Canada, I was not working in publishing. The interviewer thought that perhaps I wasn't working in publishing not because I don't want to live in Toronto (I really don't) or because I don't want a publishing job enough (I'm still not sure) but because I'm meant to work with books in another way. By writing them myself. The interview moved on to other, more relevant, topics but that idea stuck with me for the rest of the day.

Why am I not writing a novel?

The simple answer is that I just don't feel like it. And, really, that's the only answer I need.

This topic came up after BookBuzz Toronto last year as I was the token non-author in our group. The women I was with asked me, and rightly so, if I ever thought about writing a book. Writing novels is, after all, what they love to do.

The truth is that I have thought about it. I have a few half-formed ideas floating around in my head but that's all there is and that's all there will be for awhile.

If I'm remembering correctly, one of the women told me that if I don't feel the desire to get a story idea onto paper (or screen, I suppose), then it's not going to go anywhere. I've talked to, and consider myself friends with, enough authors to know that deciding to write a novel is a big deal. It's not a serious decision or a life or death one, but it's one that you shouldn't enter into lightly. You have to dedicate time and energy into creating the best possible story. And if you don't really have that burning desire to get those thoughts and characters out there, then you're just not going to want to dedicate the time to write the thing, let alone decide what to do with it after you're finished.

I love writing. I always have. I was a diary writer and aspiring poet when I was growing up (oh boy, I do not want to reread some of the angsty stuff I must have written when I was a teen). My high school yearbook has "journalist" listed as my dream job next to my grad picture (though now that I'm dating a journalist I realize that is so not the job for me). I have countless notebooks that are just waiting for ideas to fill their pages. Keeping this blog is a way to continue writing in a way that works for me right now. That's why you see posts like this popping up more and more on here.

And, ok, maybe there's a bit of fear in this decision, too. I can review books and critique what I read with the best of them...but can I really do any better than those authors I'm reviewing? I worry that my writing wouldn't be good enough. That my story wouldn't be interesting enough. That I wouldn't be able to find an audience. And those worries are sort of overpowering any other thought at the moment. I'm sure every single author has those same worries but the difference is that they push past those fears and worries and write anyway. Why? Because that's what they're meant to do. I may not have any freaking idea what I'm meant to do at this point (you'd think at almost 27 that I would, but no) but I realize that I'm not meant to write a book. Yet.

I know that, if I ever decide to take the plunge and write a book, I have a great group of women to advise me. I've been lucky to meet some amazing authors through my blog and I know there's more than one who would be happy to give me a hand, should I need it. But, for now, the only writing you'll see is on this blog. Maybe on other sites if someone wants me to write words for them. "Author" isn't a title I'm looking to add to my name yet but feel free to keep asking. Maybe my answer will change one day. You never know.

Review: Don't Even Think About It

I have to thank whoever decided I should be sent a "read now" copy of Don't Even Think About It, Sarah Mlynowski's recently released novel. Without that auto-approval, I never would have picked this book up. And that would have been a sad, sad thing. I blew through this short novel because I couldn't stop reading it. It was so much fun!

Here's the synopsis:

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.
Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

I don't read nearly enough fantastical/magical books. I used to all the time when I was younger but now contemporary books rule my reading list. Don't Even Think About It is a book I would have adored when I was a teen and, happily, I still loved it even almost a decade out of teenagehood (is that a word? It should be.). My favourite thing about the novel was the story itself. People getting ESP because of a flu shot? I can't say that I've read a story like that before. It could have gone another way but Mlynowski made the outcome humorous instead of scary, which I loved (I don't do scary or creepy or bizarre).

The way the book was written was interesting, too. The story is told in sort of an omnipresent voice, which doesn't always work. We learn about everyone's story at the same time and the story is told as a collective we. It sounds weird but it totally makes sense and I liked that Mlynowski deals with that issue early on by having the narrator explain that the story is being told not by one person but by all of them.

I don't often like reading about young teens - it's been a long time since I was in grade ten - but I managed to get over that usual stumbling block when reading this book. Which is odd since I really was reading their every thought. Instead of being totally annoyed at the "ohmygosh, do you think he likes me?" in the beginning (since after the ESP kicks in they know if someone likes them or not), it reminded me of what my friends and I were like in high school. Makes me wonder if I would have appreciated having ESP when I was sixteen...

If you want a quick read that's all about teens and is really fun and quirky, pick up Don't Even Think About It. Sarah Mlynowski has written an awesome YA novel that's a perfect mix of the ordinary and extraordinary and I just loved it.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

K.A. Tucker Announcement!

I've been getting in the New Adult craze because I love the idea of it - stories focusing on twentysomethings who are figuring out who they are outside of high school and their parents' house. I decided to give K.A. Tucker's books a try and I adored Ten Tiny Breaths (my review is here). I especially love that Tucker is a small town Ontario girl like myself! While I haven't read the next books (yet...they're in my big pile o' books), I was super excited to be a part of this announcement. Thanks to Ink Slinger PR for letting me take part!

***

Fans of K.A. Tucker's Ten Tiny Breaths, we have a SUPER exciting announcement: On September 1, 2014, Atria is releasing a PREQUEL NOVELLA to Ten Tiny Breaths that tells the story from Trent's point of view! It's called IN HER WAKE, and we cannot wait one more breath to read it!

About IN HER WAKE: Cole Reynolds had it all. And then one night he makes a bad choice... and loses everything. When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he'd be able to lean on his best friends. The best friends that have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they're gone. Worse, there's the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys. Everyone assures him that they know it wasn't intentional and yet he can't ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. The all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won't so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip of what once was important-college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It's not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness. And there's only one person who can give that to him... Are you as excited about this as we are?? And...this is going to be available at the great price of $.99!!
Buy links:

Amazon * iTunes * Simon & Schuster

And while you're at it, pre-order the gorgeous paperback of FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE, hitting bookstores on 4/1!

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Indiebound * BooksaMillion * Simon & Schuster

About FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE: Owning a strip club isn’t the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine year old Cain is starting to second guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown- eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict “no sleeping with the staff” rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain’s self-control…and it’s been a long time since any woman has done that. Twenty-two-year old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it’s too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl but Charlie tells herself that at least she’s putting her acting anddancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she’s not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn’t really exist—and the girl pretending to be her doesn’t need to complicate her life with romance. Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, that those feelings may not be unrequited—but losing him when he finds out what she’s involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.

ABOUT K.A. TUCKER: Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

LINKS: 
Blog * Website * Author Facebook * Twitter  * Author Goodreads *Atria