Sunday Cover Scramble [177]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Why Hagrid is Amazing

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Ravenclaw. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

Why Hagrid is Amazing:

He has a big heart.

While Hagrid may be a very large guy as a half-giant, I believe his heart is full giant sized. The phrase "big teddy bear" fits him nicely. He was the first person to ever show Harry that he cared and I couldn't imagine a better person to introduce him to the magical world.

He is very loyal.

I wouldn't attempt to kill or even put down someone that Hagrid cares about in his presence. He will fight back with words, threats, and is even willing to lay down his life for those that he is loyal to.

He's not afraid to show his emotions.

This big guy will cry at the first sign of injustice. One thing you learn quickly about Hagrid is that you do NOT mess with his animals. Speaking of animals...

He is such an animal lover.

I couldn't think of a better person to get Hedwig for Harry. McGonagall and Sirius may have gotten him brooms that had him salivating, but Hagrid understood the need for a pet companion and how that bond lasts for a lifetime.

He is a fan of the underdog.

Misfits and underdogs have a champion in Hagrid. He will fight tooth and nail for them. Since he is often judged and misunderstood, he makes the effort to give everyone and everything a chance. His animal friends were on the monster side more often than not, but he still believed they deserved love. Grawp was a testament to all of us that thought this side of him was a little crazy.

He irritated Umbridge.

I think the fact that he was a half-giant got under Umbridge's skin so much that she wanted him gone more than anyone else there. That alone is fantastic. Let's face it too, this probably would've bothered Hagrid a lot more than it did if he wasn't so worried about his giant brother Grawp hanging out in the forest. He had too much going on to really care what Umbridge thought of him. Standing up to Umbridge with all those wands and stunners the wizards were throwing and running off into the woods to do his own thing was an epic moment.

"I should not have said that."

Hagrid is well known to give great company, advice, and on occasion slip some very important secrets. If the trio is having a hard time with something, they would head off to Hagrid's cabin. There he would either offer some very good advice (he too was an orphan and he also knows what it feels like to be misunderstood) or let spill a juicy tidbit that they need to continue on with their shenanigans.

There are so many more reasons that Hagrid is amazing. What are your reasons?

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [110]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

How did Quirrell add to the overall storyline?

1) Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers are not to be trusted.
2) He showed that just because you don't appear to be evil, you may just be a spectacular actor. He also helped show that Snape is more than he appears on the surface. He was saving Potter? What?
3) He was a Ravenclaw and proved that not every bad wizard is a Slytherin.
4) We learned that he was in Albania and picked up Voldemort on his travels. This becomes relevant later in the story.
5) Through his death, we learned the significance and power of Lily's sacrifice.

via GIPHY

What do you think?

Review: Paper Princess (The Royals #1) by Erin Watt

Published: April 3, 2016
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Format: ebook
Source: purchased

Goodreads Summary

“This generation’s Cruel Intentions.” Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

I did immediately click on this one because of the gorgeous cover and the title only to find out that there are no actual Royals in this book, that's a family's last name. So while I did initially want a fantasy kingdom type of read, I couldn't pass up what the blurb says. This generation's Cruel Intentions? Yes, please. I have a guilty pleasure of watching spoiled, rich kids with morality issues. It's weird, I know...but I watched every season of Gossip Girl.

The Good

Paper Princess started out pretty strongly. Ella is living on her own with three jobs while she's still a high school student. One of those jobs is being a stripper. She is whisked away, not happily, by a new 'guardian' that appeared out of nowhere and that she had never met before. See, pretty interesting.

It gets even more interesting when we are introduced to the other characters that play a large role in the story. We have Callum who is her new guardian (honestly not the best parent though he is kind) and his sons...all five of them. They range in personalities from the Douche Canoe leader that everyone follows to the guy that will sleep with anyone with a pulse. Paper Princess does fall on the drama heavy line so it's best to read when you're in the mood to watch a Soap Opera. Who doesn't love watching a good train wreck? I whispered 'ass' under my breath so many times at the shenanigans that the Royal brothers get up to that it started sounding like I was humming a song.

Ella doesn't want anything to do with these guys who quite honestly are rude, obnoxious, and spoiled. However, through the course of the book, different circumstances, and good writing, she becomes a part of this family and deeply cares for every one of them.

The Bad

Although it had a strong beginning, and Ella was built to be an amazing character, I felt that the end was a downhill slope landing in a horrible cut-off ending. See below for 'Questions About the Book' and you'll see that the authors' answer there is indeed a massive cliffhanger. It wasn't just the cliffhanger that is the issue though as I've read plenty of books that end in the way that makes you want to claw your book apart hoping the next one magically appears. It was the way Ella seemed to be shrinking instead of growing as a character by the end. I really hope in the next one that she gets her lady balls back. Also there is a character in a circumstance that I find hard to swallow.

The Romance

Ella makes the mistake of falling for one of the Royal brothers. She fights it hard and for quite a while, but eventually succumbs. He did some truly awful things to her in the early stages of them meeting, but did wind up being a pretty decent guy. Until that ending. There better be a dang good explanation for how things went down.

Conclusion

Paper Princess was very dramatic and entertaining. It was like watching a train wreck. If you are addicted to reality shows or shows like Gossip Girl then you should find it entertaining as well. However, the ending knocks everything back a step. I'll be reading reviews of the next book before continuing with the series based on how this one ended.

Buy Paper Princess at Amazon

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOOK 

Q: Is this really a YA?

We recommend this for young adult readers, age 17 and up. We think it’s a book that will appeal to older teens and those adults who are in touch with their inner teen, like us.

Q: Is there a cliffhanger? I’ve heard there’s an awful cliffhanger! Why’d you write a cliffhanger?

We promise that we didn’t set out to write a cliffhanger, but Paper Princess does end in one. The good news is that the next book is up for pre-sale and it will be released July 25, 2016.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Erin Watt is the brainchild of two bestselling authors linked together through their love of great books and an addiction to writing. They share one creative imagination. Their greatest love (after their families and pets, of course)? Coming up with fun--and sometimes crazy--ideas. Their greatest fear? Breaking up. You can contact them at their shared inbox: authorerinwatt@gmail.com

MORE PRAISE: 

"Intense, haunting & hot—I can't stop thinking about Paper Princess!! The intriguing sexy characters draw you in and don't let go. A true must read!"Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled and Legal Briefs series

“Wickedly clever writing, deliciously provocative characters, & chilling final pages made Paper Princess impossible to put down! Confidently a 2016 Top Read!”—ROCKSTARS OF ROMANCE

“Gritty, angsty, steamy, and rife with scandal and secrecy, Paper Princess is the kind of book you hope EVERY book will be when you open it. The kind you can't put down, can't forget about. This book consumed me and thanks to that crazy ending, I won't be moving on from this book for a good long while.” Jessica from Angie & Jessica’s Dreamy Reads

ARC Review: Immortal's Spring (The Chrysomelia Stories #3) by Molly Ringle

Published: June 1, 2016 by Central Avenue Publishing
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Sent for honest review

Goodreads Summary

[Book 3 of The Chrysomelia Stories, following Persephone's Orchard and Underworld's Daughter...]

Sophie Darrow said yes once to a young man offering a realm of Greek gods and immortality. Now her home has been shattered, and her friends and family pulled along with her as they run from an evil cult and take shelter in the gloomy Underworld. But remembering the life of the original immortals long ago--Persephone, Hades, Hekate, Hermes, and more--may be their key to victory, as well as happiness.

In ancient times too, the murderous cult Thanatos attacked and destroyed nearly all the Greek immortals who sought to bring good to humankind. But those immortals planted seeds in both their realm and ours to ensure their season would someday bloom again. And spring is finally coming.

The Good

Ringle had me invested in these characters from Book 1, Persephone's Orchard. It's clear to me that she does her research well before writing, but she also takes what she's learned and spins and turns it on its head until it fits her story well. I love how she makes these myths part of her own unique story.

In the first half, the characters are adjusting to everything that happened previously. There were some losses that the group experienced and there is a lot of grief in the beginning. The second half of Immortal's Spring really picks up the pace. Once they kidnap a member of the group that's trying to kill them, everything is ramped up and everyone is on edge. I loved the excitement and tension that basically crackled off the page.

While I don't feel like this one is as good as the first, the series is fantastic and takes the reader on quite the journey. In between time spent with these teenagers, we get flashbacks into their Greek counterparts. All the characters and the flashbacks provide a large mix of cultures and sexual orientations.

The Bad

The beginning of this one was so slow. I hadn't read the 2nd one, Underworld's Daughter, in a while and had forgotten all the characters besides Adrian and Sophie and what their Greek counterpart was so I was also very confused. When there were finally enough flashbacks and I knew who was who, the story still took quite a while to get going.

The Romance

I was very happy to see that the tangled love life of Zoe's and Tabitha's had gotten sorted out. They both had two love interests going and it had formed a love square. This one was more focused on who they really wanted to be with and what direction they were going in the future.

Adrian and Sophie on the other hand had a lot to sort through. Sophie is devastated throughout the book by the people that she lost. She's a little revenge bent and Adrian sets off bad responses in her. This took quite a while to work out.

Conclusion

The beginning of this one was on the slow side, and I was a little confused on who everyone was. It picked up about half-way through and had a strong finish. This was a gratifying conclusion to the series. Ringle has created a very unique spin on the Greek myths and created a magical but also realistic world to enjoy. There was quite a lot of action and intrigue as well as characters you want to see succeed. Recommended.

Sunday Cover Scramble [176]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [109]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

You can have lunch with 3 characters from the series, Who are they and why? 

Oh my goodness! There are so many amazing characters that I'd love to spend time with. My favorite characters in the series are Luna Lovegood and the Weasley Twins. They come as a package deal so I'm counting them as 1 character. That's valid reasoning and not cheating at all LOL. In addition to these two, I'd love to have lunch with Dumbledore as well. Can't you picture it now?

Luna making hilarious remarks and bringing up outrageous conspiracy theories.

via GIPHY

Fred and George turning everything into a joke.

via GIPHY

Dumbledore with his amazing wisdom and stories. Plus Dumbledore is quite the oddball himself so I could see him joining in with the others quite well.

via GIPHY

Who would you have lunch with?

My HP Profile

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Ravenclaw. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

So Lee did an awesome post on her Harry Potter profile, and it seemed like so much fun I just had to join in!  I was inspired by her and Faith's expanded profile as well as a couple of topics from Christina's profile. Here is Alex's profile as well.

Name: Jaclyn

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie

Year I Discovered HP: It was 2000 or 2001 because I had already graduated high school but just barely

Last Time I Read the Books: 2015 for Harry Potter month!

Favorite Book: Sorcerer's Stone and Deathly Hallows (it's the circle - the beginning and the close)

Favorite Film: Sorcerer's Stone and Deathly Hallows

Favorite Character: Luna Lovegood, Fred and George Weasley

Character I Most Identify With: I feel like a mix of Hermione and Luna. I'm quite quirky and optimistic but also a staunch rule-follower with an obsession for research. I have been called 'weirdo' (lovingly) and 'know-it-all' (not so lovingly) quite often growing up so not sure which one I'd say wins.

Character I Wish I Were More Like: Ginny Weasley. Fierce is the word often used to describe her. She's brave and funny and not afraid to bend rules occasionally when it's for the greater good.

Spell I’d Use Right This Moment: I think accio would be the most used spell, but I like exercise so...I'm gonna skip a spell and say I'd love to be flying a broom right this moment.

Quidditch Position: Keeper. The only position I've ever played in soft ball was catcher.

Wizarding treat I wish I could eat right now: I'm a sucker for the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans

Wizarding Drink of choice: Butterbeer. I had some at Harry Potter World and fell in love :D It's so yummy like butterscotch cream soda.

Pet I’d have at Hogwarts: can I have a phoenix? I want a phoenix :D OK if not, I will go with owl.

Class I think I’d be best at: Transfiguration - I would want to make McGonagall proud.

Class I think I'd be worst at: Herbology or History of Magic

Favorite Hogwarts Hangout Spot: The Great Hall. There is some amazing food in there ;) The Library or Hagrid's cabin as well.

Prefect or Prankster: I'd be the prefect hanging out with the pranksters.

Kiss, Kill, Marry (Marauders Edition):  I would Kiss Lupin, Kill James, and Marry Sirius.

House Elves: Films vs. Books Part 4

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Ravenclaw. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

If you haven't seen all the movies or read all the books - there are spoilers ahead.
YE BE WARNED.

S.P.E.W.

Ron: "Never heard of it."
Hermione: "Well, of course you haven't. I've only just started it."
Ron: "And how many members do you have?"
Hermione: "Well, if you two join, three."

S.P.E.W. is the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare and was created by Hermione when she saw how Winky was treated at the Quidditch World Cup. From that point on, she became highly motivated to change House Elf rights and bring them justice. Nothing about S.P.E.W. is in the films.

What I loved about this is seeing Hermione champion the little guys. As a muggle born, she wasn't raised with the 'this is just how it is' philosophy that the wizard born were. She couldn't fathom how the wizards could force these magical beings into what was basically slavery and tell them they couldn't have a wand. I have to say that I agree with her as any form of slavery is vile.

So she decided to start a society that Ron and Harry were basically told they were going to join. Very few others joined as well, but those that did were due to Hermione's incessant badgering with her tin box collecting the 2 sickles for membership. Since Hermione wasn't making a lot of progress with getting memberships, she decided to stay up knitting clothes for the House Elves that cleaned the Gryffindor common room to find and be free. The problem was, the House Elves did actually enjoy their job and found Hermione's actions insulting to their race. They all quit cleaning the Gryffindor common room and left the job up to Dobby to do alone. He didn't mind this as it meant he got to be around his favorite people so no one told Hermione because they didn't want to hurt her feelings. Dobby collected all the clothes for himself and Winky since they were both free already.

While we don't see any real conclusion for S.P.E.W. in the books, I'd like to think Hermione continues her work down the road and brings about some change that is acceptable to House Elves.

What we do see though is a change of heart close to home:

Ron Weasley: "Hang on a moment! We've forgotten someone! The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"
Harry Potter: "You mean we ought to get them fighting?"
Ron Weasley: "No, I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbies, do we? We can’t order them to die for us–"

This statement and the profound effect it had on Hermione, causes her to kiss Ron.

The House Elves did join the fight anyway led by Kreacher, but they did so on their own accord.

Sunday Cover Scramble [175]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

House Elves: Films vs. Books Part 3

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Ravenclaw. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

If you haven't seen all the movies or read all the books - there are spoilers ahead.
YE BE WARNED.

Kreacher

Now while Kreacher was a part of the films in Sirius' home, there were certain aspects of his character that was left out. Kreacher is not a house elf we like when we first meet him. He talks bad about Hermione because she's a Mud Blood. He talks bad about the Weasleys because they are Blood Traitors. He talks bad about Harry for thwarting Voldemort. It's very hard to like him. He even had a part to play in Sirius' death though that part wasn't by design. Sirius told him to 'get out' which he took literally and went to Narcissa's house. There he fed them what was useless information, but they turned it into important information that would lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries. He then lied to Harry when he checked by Floo Network to see if Sirius was home safe before heading off to the Department of Mysteries. 

After these events, Harry despises Kreacher. However, Kreacher had become his house elf when Sirius passed. Harry ordered Kreacher to work in the kitchen at Hogwarts where he joined Dobby and Winky. Kreacher helped Dobby tail Draco their 6th year, but mostly he thought Draco would be a much better master than Harry which led to Kreacher fighting with Dobby who disagreed on that. This was such a funny scene! Dobby who adores Harry and Kreacher who loathes him were quite the match.

It's not until Deathly Hallows that Kreacher gets his redemption song. Harry forces Kreacher to tell them about Regulus Black. Kreacher tells them the story of Voldemort using him to test the cave where the locket was stored.

Here is that account according to http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Kreacher:

In 1979, when Lord Voldemort told Regulus Black that he needed a house-elf, Regulus volunteered Kreacher, saying it would be an honor to serve the Dark Lord. Voldemort took Kreacher to the Crystal Cave and forced him to drink the potion in the basin so that Voldemort could place Salazar Slytherin's Locket in the basin. The potion, (the same one Dumbledore drank) caused Kreacher to have nightmarish delusions, intense stomach pains and made him dehydrated. Voldemort then left, leaving Kreacher to drink from the lake (as any water conjured evaporates) and die at the hands of the Inferi. However, Voldemort did not remember (or did not realize or thought that the cave's magic was too strong for anyone or anything to disapparate out of) that house-elves have their own special type of magic and Kreacher was able to Disapparate from the cave as Regulus told him to come home when he finished his task.

Regulus later had Kreacher take him back to the Crystal Cave. Regulus drank the potion himself and ordered Kreacher to switch Slytherin's Locket with a fake locket and then go home and destroy the "real" locket, leaving Regulus to die in the cave. For the last few seconds Kreacher was there, he saw the Inferi's hands pulling Regulus into the water. Regulus also ordered Kreacher to never tell his family what had happened to him. Kreacher left as ordered but was unable to destroy the locket, despite his many attempts. This inability to complete an order of his master may have driven him to insanity, explaining his muttering and devotion to his mistress' painting.

Now after being told this story, the trio made a great effort to be more understanding towards Kreacher. They even let him wear the fake locket so he'd have a token of Regulus. Kreacher then starts being friendly towards them. He begins cooking them nice meals and cleaning himself and the home up more. Harry lets Kreacher catch Mundungus who is the one that stole the locket from the house. On the day that the trio go to the ministry to get the real locket, Kreacher promises them steak-and-kidney pie to come home to. However, Yaxley kept them from being able to return to Grimmauld Place and Hermione felt terrible that Kreacher was just home waiting for their return.

The Battle of Hogwarts saw Kreacher leading the house elves into the fighting. He leads them out of the kitchens saying, "Fight! Fight for my master, the defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"

Harry had gained his loyalty and Kreacher had become a hero.

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [108]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Favorite Ginny Moment

via GIPHY

There are a TON of reasons to love Ginny. As the only girl and youngest of seven children, she had a lot of influencers growing up. Two of those were Fred and George, and Ginny got a rather good sense of humor from them as well as a knack for getting away with things she shouldn't be doing. As a member of Dumbledore's Army (and the one that came up with that name), she was a part of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, and the Battle of Hogwarts. She was a Quidditch player on the team as well so in those last few books, she was around quite a lot. My favorite moment though is none of the grand things she did, of which there is a lot.

My favorite moment has more to do with the type of person she is. She was crushing so hard on Harry in the first few books until she spends the summer with Hermione and gets some good best friend advice. Hermione tells her to live her life and be more herself around Harry as well as date some other people. She does this and we get to know her more though she is still harboring a deep crush. In her third year (fourth for our main characters), she is asked to the Yule Ball by Neville and accepts. When Ron comes up and says Ginny should go with Harry so that he'll have a date, she tells them that she is going with Neville and sticks to that even when she has the chance to go with Harry. So much integrity.

She was also the first one who was friends with Luna.

What is your favorite Ginny moment?

House Elves: Films vs. Books Part 2

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing as part of the Ravenclaw House. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

If you haven't seen all the movies or read all the books - there are spoilers ahead.
YE BE WARNED.

Winky

Some of you may be asking who Winky is. If you've only seen the movies, you missed her entire character arc from the books. We met Winky at the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She was the one who was blamed for setting the Dark Mark into the sky after Barty Crouch and crew threw stunners at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Winky was Barty Crouch's elf, and he set Winky free when she was caught holding Harry's wand which had created the Dark Mark.

Now, one of the reasons I loved Winky so much was that her character was the opposite of Dobby's character. She desperately hated being free. She adored her Master and her family and was revolted that she'd gotten herself fired. She ends up working at Hogwarts with Dobby and he tries to take care of her. She's constantly sobbing and depressed and is quite often to be seen in the kitchens drunk off Butterbeer. This is how Dobby found out about the Room of Requirement - he was looking for a place to stash Winky until she sobered up. This is also what made Hermione want to start S.P.E.W. She was appalled at how Winky was treated and wanted to give more house elfs rights. I'll write more about that later though.

I really don't understand why Winky was left out of the movie. In fact, I remember being so upset watching the movie because Goblet of Fire is the first film that I feel strayed so far from the book. 

Sunday Cover Scramble [174]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

House Elves: Films vs. Books Part 1

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Ravenclaw. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

Go here if you would like to also be a part of Harry Potter Month.
All the details are laid out and it's really easy!

If you haven't seen all the movies or read all the books - there are spoilers ahead.
YE BE WARNED.

Dobby

Ah Dobby! Dobby got his fair share of screen time for which I'm glad since he is of course my favorite house elf in the series! 

"Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf!"

via GIPHY

When we are introduced to him in Chamber of Secrets, they do a wonderful portrayal of all that happened in the 2nd book. Dobby did show up on Privet Drive and Harry found out about him stopping his friend's letters. He warned Harry from returning to school and then hit Vernon's client over the head with Petunia's pudding. He kept them from getting on Platform 9 3/4 and even sent a rogue bludger after Harry. Of course, Harry kept going on anyway despite Dobby's attempts to save his life and Harry ended up freeing Dobby from his loathsome Masters the Malfoys. <- this is the beginning of Dobby the sockoholic.

Now that's not where his story ended. He didn't just show back up in the last book. In between, he began working at Hogwarts for Dumbledore. The trio visited him in the kitchens and left with loads of food when they did. Then two things were given to Neville in the movies that were Dobby's doing. The first was getting Harry the gillyweed in Goblet of Fire. Dobby overheard fake Mad Eye talking about the task and that Harry's 'Wheezy' was taken. Fake Mad Eye suggested gillyweed as a way Harry could overcome the task and Dobby stole it from Snape's storage, handing it over to Harry at the very last minute. Then, in Order of the Phoenix, Dobby is the one that suggests the Room of Requirement for a place for Dumbledore's Army to meet. 

Harry also used Dobby to spy on Draco during their 6th year. He knew Draco was up to no good, but Dobby only could find out that he was disappearing near the Room of Requirement. Later, Dobby is also a part of helping track down Mundungus Fletcher when they are looking for who stole the locket from Grimmauld Place.

Dobby also showed up at Malfoy Manor while Hermione was being tortured by Belatrix and got them all to safety. This part was in the films. I cried so hard during that scene the first time while reading the book. It didn't get any better when I saw the movie and knew it was coming.

"HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF."

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Next, I'll be discussing Winky

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [107]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Would you finish your studies at Hogwarts in your 5th year, or would you go on until the 7th year?

A lot of occupations require N.E.W.T.s but not all of them do. Some will accept O.W.L.s. I'm not sure I would know exactly which occupation I'd want by 5th year. I changed my dream job about 1,000 times up to my high school years - everything from life guard, artist, psychiatrist, etc. I think that I would like to make the moving pictures the most. Maybe have a shop on Diagon Alley for portraits and paintings that moved. So while that job may not require all 7 years, I would still want the freedom to change my mind. I most likely would stay all 7 years, and hopefully my friends would be there right along with me.

What do you think?

Review - The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Lost Girl by Steve LeBel

Published: May 1st 2016 by Argon Press
Genre: Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Young-Adult
Format: ebook
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

This is the prequel to the award-winning fantasy The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty that won 16 awards for excellence.

All of God Town is in an uproar. A child has been lost. The Town mobilizes, and an exhaustive search is carried out, but as the day wears on, the fear grows that little Emily may be lost forever.

Despite growing evidence, the gods continue to resist the idea little Emily has wandered into the woods, a place feared by even the gods themselves.

Yet, a young god named Bernie isn't afraid, and with the help of his friends, Suzie and Lenny, they embark on a rescue so daring no god would ever consider it. They will search the woods, and, if necessary, they will even search the deadly area beyond The Town known as the Unknown Territory.

It's a fascinating tale of a most unusual hero on a courageous quest.

Buy The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Lost Girl by Steve LeBel today at Amazon

In their world, there is no death. The gods live forever. That is unless something tragic happened. The gods are not immortal. They can be hurt — even killed. So, if they want to live forever, they have to be very careful. That meant avoiding any unnecessary risks. And the one thing all gods agreed on was this: the safety of their world ended at the edge of their town, where the woods begin.

The Good

For me I loved being able to see how Bernie,Lenny and Suzie first gelled as a small group of friends. Getting to see how they view each other and treat each other despite their parents views was entertaining. Seeing these all powerful gods cower at the ideal of leaving town was an enjoyable twist. It's interesting to me that with all the technology and animals they bring back to their world they still refuse to bring anything to help them explore their own world.

The Bad

I don't have any real complaints.

The Romance

No real romance with the main character as of yet. This story was mostly young godlings.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty you will enjoy getting to know Bernie and his friends even more and find out how they ended up friends. The perfect little story to lead into the next book in the series. I can't wait to read more about Bernie and friends.

Excerpts

It’s part of my Off-World Technology collection.” “Off-World Technology?” asked Suzie. “It’s stuff from other worlds. Some of it is technology, and some of it is magic,” said Lenny. “Magic?” asked Suzie. “Sure. Magic is just technology we don’t understand yet. I use them both all the time.”



This isn’t the woods anymore. We’re in the Unknown Territory. Bernie felt a chill. For millennia, young gods everywhere were taught to fear this place. Yet the three of them had cast aside the wisdom of the gods. Are we crazy?



So transfixed by the horror of the first beast, the boys would not have noticed the second one. Larger than the first, its deep growls told of its anger. It wouldn’t allow the young gods to come between them and the prey they’d been stalking.

Buy The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Lost Girl by Steve LeBel today at Amazon

Sunday Cover Scramble [173]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

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