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

This is a book that needs no introduction in the literary world. As a true Harry Potter fan, I was so excited when I heard the news about the production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the simultaneous publication of its rehearsal script. In my mind, J.K. Rowling was done with Harry Potter but I always knew she would return to the magical wizarding world, somehow. I was surprised she returned not only to the world, but also returned with Harry.

Harry is older now, forty years old to be exact. He has a demanding job at the Ministry of Magic and also as the father of three children. His oldest, James, is the son everyone admires while Albus, his second, feels like an outsider. Albus has never fit in and has always felt like the odd one out. He doesn't really get along with his father and has never really been able to connect with his family members. Everyone is surprised when he's sorted in a house other than Gryffindor, but for Albus, it feels natural. He quickly forms a bond with Scorpius Malfoy and the two become the best of friends.

But as Albus is about to start his fourth year at Hogwarts, something is brewing in the wizarding world. Rumours about dark magic has been spreading and Harry's job as Head of Magical Law Enforcement has him buried in paperwork. To make matters worse, Albus has a plan to go back in time to right some wrongs. Personally, I hate time traveling stories but funny enough, The Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favourite Harry Potter books. We were first introduced to time-turners in this novel but honestly, I'm not a fan of the way time-turners were used in this play. The characters go back years into the past and everything becomes a confusing mess as alternate realities are created because of the small changes Albus and Scorpius force on the past.

Voldemort definitely makes his presence known but a new enemy is introduced in this story. While characters like Harry, Ron and Hermione (and Ginny!) play major roles in this play, I love how we are introduced to a whole new set of heroes. I do wish we could have spent a lot more time in J.K. Rowling's world. This script was made for the theatre, and while I understand plays can only last so long, I think Harry and his progeny deserve more than just a couple of hours to recap the last 19 years.

Give me a novel before a play, any day. I have never been a fan reading plays, whether it was Shakespeare or Molière, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hasn't changed my opinion about plays. On the other hand, I love going to the theatre and seeing a story come to life on stage. I imagine seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on stage would blow me away, because the scene descriptions and the magical special effects look great on paper. I'm definitely curious how they managed transforming the characters into other characters and how time traveling played out on stage. But I can't justify paying for the extravagant tickets that can cost over $1000 (and the costs of travelling to London, of course). Maybe I'll just wait for a movie? 

I'm a little bit disappointed with this book, but it still has a spot at the top of one of my book shelves, solely dedicated to Harry Potter books and paraphernalia. Fans Harry Potter will definitely read this book but I'm sure there will be a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts about the return of the famous wizard.

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by Tynga at Monday, August 15, 2016

 Fantasy amp; Magic, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, Magic, Play, Purchased, Review, Scholastic, Witch, Wizard, young adult  Leave your mark

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Storm Front: The Dresden Files #1 by Jim Butcher

It’s not bad enough that Chicago has gangsters and the winds from the Great Lakes to contend with.  They also have demons, vampires and many other super natural beasties to deal with.  Fortunately for the city, they have the only openly practicing wizard, Harry Dresden.  Wizard Dresden has managed to eke out an existence in spite of vast majority of the city not taking him the least bit seriously.

In this, the first installment, Jim Butcher introduces us, to Harry Dresden, professional wizard.   Through Harry, we are introduced to the magical side of the Windy City.  Readers get a small glimpse into Harry’s history with the magical and mundane world.  We’re also given and introductory course to the magic system of Dresden’s world to include an idea of the origins of his powers and how some devices work.

I like the strait forward approach of Harry Dresden being our host and guide of his story.  It’s not just because detective type stories work well in first person but, it also helps to have the main character there to explain the finer points of his craft.  Jim Butcher shows us that an easy to read style doesn’t have result in a simplistic story.   Pacing in this book was excellent.  Action scenes tended to ramp up as the story went along and were spaced out enough to give both the reader and poor Harry a bit of a break.

It’s easy to like Harry as the main character.  His quick wit and sometimes brutal honesty give him a certain rakish charisma.  As for the other characters in the story, there’s not as much time spent developing them with one exception, Lt. Karrin Murphy.  She’s the hard-as-nails detective that’s Harry’s main contact with the police departments section that handles unusual cases.  To be fair to the rest, we don’t really get to know any of them well enough because there is so much going on.  Besides, this book was probably meant to introduce Harry and a few key characters and that was definitely accomplished here.

Call me a late, late, late bloomer when it comes to The Dresden Files but, I like this series.  When I first became aware of the series my first reaction was “Another wizard named Harry?  Give me a Harry break!”  Honestly, the only reason I tried out the first book was because, one bored Saturday morning, I found the TV show on Amazon streaming and wound up binging on the only available season.   I looked at the reviews to get a clue why it was canceled.  As to be expected, the book fans were out with the long knives.   With that and knowing the book is always better, I decided to check the books out and I’m glad I did.  This is a very PG-13 book due to language and violence.  None of it is really what I would call gratuitous but, I wouldn’t want my child to do a book report on it.  I don’t know if I could convince the teacher that a naked wizard dropping S-bombs is a legitimate plot point for a seventh grader to discuss in class.

So, if you like magic, vampires, demons, talking skulls and sometimes clothing optional spell-casters, I suggest you try out Storm Front by Jim Butcher.   Besides, starting to read an established series like this, you won’t be waiting five years for the next book to come out.

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by Tynga at Wednesday, December 24, 2014

 Demon, Jim butcher, Magic, Purchased, Review, ROC, The Dresden Files, Urban Fantasy, Wizard  7 People left their mark

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Dresden Files: War Cry #1 by Jim Butcher and Carlos Gomez

There’s a war on. The Red Court of Vampires is in conflict against the White Council. Who has the Council chosen to help champion their cause? Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden, professional wizard and Warden for the White Council.  In this issue, Warden Dresden is given a team of young magic users and the simple mission to safeguard a group scholars as they travel.  If you're familiar with Harry Dresden, you know that it won’t be that simple. Things go very bad in a very short amount of time. It’s classic Dresden.

The story itself was pretty good. It had a bit of the ‘Monster of the Week’ feel to it but, since I’m also a Doctor Who fan so, I like that sort of thing. With a little more filling out, it could have been a regular novel. It occurs further along the Dresden Files series than I have read but, there were very few spoilers for me. I’m only up to the sixth book, just in case you need a timeline reference. There are  a few new characters introduced in this story. The Dresden Files has a pretty good stable of regular characters but, in this story, they opted to use a small core of regulars and bring in a few new people. I think that and the change in setting is what helps bring a level of freshness to the series. It can’t be the only place that has monster problems is Chicago. I mean, New York City alone must have enough to require the services of two wizards and don’t even get me started on L.A.

To honest, I am not a big comic book fan or even a graphic novel fan. I was given the chance to read this one before the hardcover release so, I took it. I thought it might be a simplistic story with a lot of things going “Whoosh” or “Bang!”. While there was typical comic book dramatizations it also had a decent story and good characters. It hasn’t sold me on comic books or graphic novels as true literature but, it was entertaining. If you have a Dresden Files fan in on you Christmas list this year, it might be a good stocking stuffer.

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by Tynga at Wednesday, November 05, 2014

 Action amp; Adventure, butcher, Carlos Gomez, comic, dresden, Dynamite Entertainment Publishing, Graphic Novel, Jim butcher, Magic, Netgalley, Review, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, War Cry, Wizard  Leave your mark

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River Road blog tour: Preternatural Noshes, New Orleans Style by Suzanne Johnson + giveaway!

Today we have a special visitor: Suzanne Johnson! I adored ROYAL STREET, the first book in her urban fantasy series, the Sentinel of New Orleans, and so I jumped on the opportunity to be a part of her latest blog tour. She's here today to talk about a holiday gathering with characters from the series, New Orleans style. It's a really fun post that I'm sure you'll enjoy!

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Preternatural Noshes, New Orleans Style
(c) Suzanne Johnson

It’s that time of the year—you know, when everyone gets together around a table of people with whom they might not normally fraternize. In New Orleans, we call it Reveillon. In the 19th century, New Orleans families would gather for a big meal after breaking their post-midnight mass holiday fast. Today, Reveillon lasts for most of December, with restaurants offering special holiday menus so theoretically you could have a Reveillon meal at a different restaurant every night of the holiday season.

In the spirit of Reveillon, and with much trepidation, I rented a banquet room in Jax Brewery on the New Orleans riverfront and invited some of the characters of River Road to join me for a holiday meal. It was with even more trepidation that I asked each one to bring a favorite dish.

The undead pirate Jean Lafitte arrived first, looking sexy as hell in a fine indigo-colored suit that was the height of fashion about 250 years ago. He only had to walk a few blocks from the Hotel Monteleone, where he has been ensconced in the swank Eudora Welty Suite ever since the borders between the modern world and the Beyond came down.

I had thought Jean would bring some brandy or some seafood grilled on a plank (you know…walk the plank?), or maybe sea biscuits, but no. He’d been totally lazy and stopped in Criollo, the hotel’s restaurant, and sauntered over trailed by one of his pirate flunkies from Old Orleans. Said flunky was laden down with what has become in recent years a New Orleans dining tradition—a soup trio. Three demitasse cups are filled with soups…well, except since this was take-out, Jean’s flunky arrived toting three fancy cardboard containers with a rich turtle soup swimming in sherry; a seafood gumbo swimming with crab; and an Andouille and sweet potato bisque.

While Jean busied himself pouring brandy and berating his flunky about how to arrange the soup on the banquet table, merman Rene Delachaise arrived with a boxful of dishes he finally admitted had been made by his stepmother Michelle. “She stays up in da parish, babe,” he told me (which in the local vernacular means she lives in St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans).

Michelle had made a feast of traditional South Louisiana dishes. We had stuffed merliton (a locally grown, mild winter squash, baked and then stuffed with the squash and shrimp and crab); oyster dressing (made with day-old French bread and seasoned with oysters, onions, celery, parsley); and, finally, a platter of gator bites (cut in meaty chunks, battered, and fried).

Being old buddies, Jean and Rene got rid of the flunky (they didn’t kill him but just sent him back to the Beyond clutching a fistful of gator bites), then huddled at the end of the table to talk business. I heard something about slot machines before I was distracted by Alex and Jake Warin, who arrived toting desserts and making bets on the chances of the New Orleans Saints making the playoffs.

When I asked if they’d actually MADE the desserts, they both gave me blank shifter/loup-garou face. “Yeah, we used the same kitchen as the pirate,” Alex said, nodding at Rene and giving Jean a cool, scornful look. Jean grinned at him, and though I heard some muttering about “le petit chien,” I decided to ignore both of them and help Jake unpack the goods.

As soon as I saw the coconut cake, I knew one of the guys had made a trip to Mississippi. Jake’s mom does a mean coconut cake, and Alex’s mom, Norma, had contributed a rich bread pudding heavy with raisins and bourbon.

Alex and Jean spoke at the same time. “There’s DJ” and “There is my lovely Jolie!”

“Well, crap. I didn’t know they were ALL going to be here or I’d have gone to see Lincoln.” DJ’s voice beat her up the stairs from the Napoleon House courtyard a few seconds before she appeared, carrying her contribution to the dinner. I eyed the giant plastic bag from Popeye’s Fried Chicken in one hand and the box of Aunt Sally’s pralines under the other arm, and remembered why I like this snarky little wizard.

A crash from behind us drew our attention. The pan of oyster dressing lay on the floor, minus most of its contents, which now adorned the front of Alex’s sweater.

“Pardon, Monsieur Chien. My hand slipped.” Jean Lafitte tossed a linen napkin at Alex and was too busy smirking to notice Jake until he upended the bread pudding over the pirate’s head.

“I bet that bread pudding was great,” DJ said, stepping back as Rene launched himself at Jake and sent the platter of gator bites flying.

“Yeah.” I eyed the overturned soup dishes regretfully but shifted my gaze to the bag of spicy fried chicken. “Bet we could eat that in the car on the way to the theater. Where’s Lincoln playing?”

“Elmwood.” DJ handed me the Aunt Sally’s box. “They’ll never miss us. Who’s going to pay for the damages?”

A chair collapsed between the combined weight of Alex and Jean with a crack of splintering wood. One was choking the other, but I couldn’t quite tell which was which.
“Whoever has the most cash or gold on them.” I followed DJ down the stairs. “My money’s on the pirate.”

From the cast of River Road, happy Reveillon! What’s your favorite family holiday dish?

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Thanks for visiting us and giving us a peek at your characters over the holidays, Suzanne!

Want more Suzanne? You can find her online at her website or on Facebook, or Twitter.

You can also see the rest of her tour by clicking on the tour button below.

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More about RIVER ROAD:

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

Jenn's thoughts

Read an excerpt

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

You can see what I thought of ROYAL STREET by clicking on the cover:

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One (1) tour-wide winner will get his or her choice of Kindle Paperwhite or Nook Simple Touch (or $100 gift card for Amazon, B&N, or Book Depository)
and five (5) lucky people will win a $10 gift card for Amazon, B&N or Book Depository

To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter!

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by jenn at Monday, December 03, 2012

 giveaway, Guest Post, Macmillan, Magic, Suzanne Johnson, Wizard  36 People left their mark

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River Road by Suzanne Johnson

River Road by Suzanne Johnson

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Trade paperback: 360 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release date: November 13, 2012

Series: Sentinel of New Orleans #2

Source: Review copy from Bewitching Book Tours

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

Three year have passed since the events in ROYAL STREET (which I talked about a little while ago) but some things remain the same. New Orleans hasn't fully recovered from Katrina, though things are better than they were. DJ and Alex are still co-sentinels, policing the prete (as in "preternatural") world. They've developed a good working relationship but their attraction simmers underneath it all, though they haven't acted on it *too much* because of their friendship and work relationship. Jean Lafitte, the dead pirate who likes to visit from the Beyond, is still very interested in DJ and she often finds herself drawn to him despite her better judgment. Jake, Alex's cousin who went loup garou in the last book, is also still around but he and DJ haven't seen each other since the events in ROYAL STREET.

Something that has changed: the scope of the series. Suzanne Johnson really expands DJ's world with RIVER ROAD, as we venture further afield from New Orleans and meet new species of pretes: merpeople and nymphs! It's an exciting development because we're seeing more of the physical world and because we're seeing DJ grow as a person and a sentinel. In ROYAL STREET, she had a lot to adjust to but now, in RIVER ROAD, she's a bit more confident, even when the problem goes from being just a dispute between two families of merpeople to something with a greater scope. DJ and Alex also have to solve the murder of two Green Congress wizards that are discovered early on in their work with the merpeople, so the investigative and problem-solving aspects of the book are on full display.

Of course, DJ also has to grapple with the three men in her life. Jake is no longer human so dating him comes with a new set of rules, Jean Lafitte is interested and has some redeeming qualities, to DJ's dismay, and Alex is, well, Alex. He's attractive and capable and off-limits, which makes some of his behaviour confusing. It just breaks my heart, her being desired by these three interesting characters. ;)

Also in play in RIVER ROAD is DJ's elven heritage. She learned about it in ROYAL STREET and she's still learning how to use her abilities, particularly the wooden staff she's named Charlie. There are some very interesting developments, including a character who enters later in the book that will remain nameless in this post (and of whom I am very suspicious). I hope this is something that Suzanne Johnson will explore in future books in the series because I'm very curious about elves and the Elven Synod.

RIVER ROAD is a strong sequel to ROYAL STREET sure to please existing fans and win new ones. Suzanne Johnson takes us on quite an adventure and has me eagerly anticipating ELYSIAN FIELDS, due out in August.

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by jenn at Monday, December 03, 2012

 Macmillan, Magic, Review, Suzanne Johnson, Wizard  3 People left their mark

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Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson

Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson

Book Stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban fantasy
Mass market paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor
Release date: April 10, 2012

Series: Sentinel of New Orleans #1

Source: Tor (via NetGalley)

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

I was initially drawn to ROYAL STREET because of its unique setting: New Orleans around Hurricane Katrina. It's such a bold choice, particularly since it didn't happen all that long ago, and I was really intrigued. I'm pleased to report that Suzanne Johnson has created a marvellous world with an exciting mythology, a tight plot, and engaging characters, and she portrays New Orleans in a magnificent light.

DJ, our lovely protagonist, lives in a New Orleans filled with trouble, magic, bad weather, and the historical undead. Wizards, led by a Congress of Elders, keep the peace in the magical world, with sentinels stationed across the world. Wizards come in different colours - literally - since they're categorized according to their abilities. Green Congress wizards are the geeks, using potions and rituals, Red Congress wizards wield pure power, and Yellow Congress wizards specialize in mental magic. (I'm sure there are other colours but these are the ones that popped up in ROYAL STREET.) DJ is a junior sentinel and a Green wizard so she's not exactly perceived as a threat; her mentor, Gerry, is a Red wizard and the main sentinel of New Orleans. The Congress also employs enforcers, which is where our hero comes in. After Gerry goes missing during the Katrina aftermath, Alex gets sent to New Orleans to help DJ with her investigation and her regular sentinel duties. He also happens to be smouldering and gorgeous and bossy, which gives DJ some trouble.

Wizards aren't the only non-humans running around town, though. There are "pretes" like vampires, fae, weres, and elves, though they don't all show up in ROYAL STREET. There are also the historical undead, which just may be my favourite part of the world building in this series. They're kind of like ghosts but their strength is based on how well known they are, i.e. the more famous they are, the stronger they are. The book opens with DJ dealing with Jean Lafitte, pirate extraordinaire, but he's not the only historical figure to make an appearance. I'm not going to say who else shows up, though, because it'll ruin the surprise but I think you'll be pleased -- I know I was!

DJ is a great heroine. She's plucky and smart and sticks by her proverbial guns. (And only the proverbial ones because she's not so good with the real thing.) I really appreciated how devoted she is to Gerry and to figuring out what happened to him, no matter what the personal ramifications might be. Alex is a strong foil for her. He's more experienced with fieldwork and he has local connections, in the shape of Jake, a cousin who runs a bar in town and who also happens to be interested in DJ. Fun times!

If that's not enough, ROYAL STREET also has a nice, tight plot. DJ's investigation goes in unexpected directions and the author has inserted some lovely moments in between the action sequences and investigational developments. She's also turned ROYAL STREET into something of a love letter to New Orleans, which I quite enjoyed. Suzanne Johnson is a native of New Orleans and it really shows.

Before I sign off, I'd like to say how much I love ROYAL STREET's cover. It perfectly captures the vibe of the story and it features lots of nice details, like DJ's staff and the New Orleans architecture.

All in all, Suzanne Johnson has created a wonderful world in ROYAL STREET, her engaging and vivid debut. It's a great new entry into the urban fantasy genre and I'd suggest you all run out and buy your copies now! And if that's not enough, you can find two free stories on the author's website!

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by jenn at Monday, April 16, 2012

 Macmillan, Magic, Review, Suzanne Johnson, Wizard  7 People left their mark

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