Transitive Verve

In short: Fantastic Beasts  is tons of fun in its own way, but don't go in expecting Harry Potter . Let me start by saying that I was super excited because I've never seen an HP movie in the theaters (I didn't read the books until a couple years ago, so all the movies had been long out), but I also wasn't sure what to expect since I actually have a copy of the Fantastic Beasts  book, and upon flipping through it, I wasn't sure what sort of story they could put together from what is essentially a textbook about magical creatures. What I had gathered from the various Pottermore  essays and such in the last year or so was that it would involve Newt Scamander, author of the textbook (so it would take place long before Harry Potter was born), and it would involve wizards in America. (I got sorted as a Thunderbird among Ilvermorny's houses, how about you?) This is what I have! In the movie (and I promise to be spoiler-free), it's 1926, and Newt Scaman...

Disclaimers: while my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. This book was provided to me for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts at a glance: *** (I liked it) Summary:  Troy is an MP in the town of Seaside, dreading the onslaught of Christmas because of a family issue that had happened in the past. Allison is the director of the Seaside Veteran's Center, and is happy to be single - except at Christmastime, when her mother hounds her endlessly about dating and then criticizes any man she brings home. This year, after crossing paths fortuitously two weeks before Christmas, Allison has the perfect idea to bring Troy home as her pretend boyfriend - it'll get her mother off her back, and since it's not a real relationship anyway, she won't care what her mother thinks is Troy's fatal flaw. But as th...

Hey, my first blog tour post! I'm super excited to bring you my review of the latest JD Hawkins novel, Secrets of an Alpha Male . But first, a couple disclaimers: While my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. This book was provided to me for free by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts at a glance: **** (I really liked it) Summary: Connor is an up-and-coming MMA fighter looking to make his mark in the UFC by going for the gold. He's got all the swagger you can expect, but people are wondering whether he's got the moves to back up his trash talk. Frankie is a yoga instructor who knows her stuff - except for the part that involves keeping her yoga studio from going under. So when she gets the chance to hand her business card to Connor, she doesn't pass it up. Two seemingly opposite personalities, t...

Hey! A different sort of post than usual: since September, I have gotten SUPER into bullet journaling , and one of the things I've been trying to do every month is to dedicate a page to a literary quote about that month. Here's what I currently have in my BuJo, having now set up everything for the rest of 2016:

It's that time again! This month's theme was Once Upon a Time, so we got some fairy-tale inspired goodies and a very interesting book. Let's go:

Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) Summary:  This is the part 2 of a duology. It is the sequel to Six of Crows . (Go here to see my review of that one.) This review will contain spoilers for the first book. Kaz and his crew barely made it out of the Ice Court alive with their target, and now they've been double-crossed by Jan Van Eck, the most powerful merchant in Ketterdam. AND he's got Inej. AND his son is stuck with his face altered to look like the boy they broke out of Fjerda. AND Nina is fighting a jurda parem  addiction. Schemes, tricks, and friends old and new come together as Kaz prepares perhaps the biggest con of all, to get the money they are owed, to get revenge on one of the other Barrel bosses, and to take down the corrupt Van Eck. But as they double-down on their bets and enemies old and new show up, they start to realize how much they stand to lose - not just money, reputation, or their own lives, but each other.

Thoughts at a glance: *** (I liked it) Summary:  Books hold stories, knowledge, and magic. In Kelanna, where people have long been illiterate, Sefia is in possession of one, and she knows she shouldn't have it. Having spent her life on the run with her Aunt Nin after the murder of her father, she knows that the book, and her ability to read, is a dangerous secret. But when their pursuers finally track them down and take Nin, Sefia has to finally make sense of the book and rescue her aunt. As she follows the trail leading to the dangerous pirate Serakeen, her quest connects her to other pirates, assassins, and a boy she calls Archer, who has a dangerous history himself. As they get closer and closer to their goal, they realize that maybe the stories in the book aren't just stories after all, and that their fates are more intertwined than they thought.