New Books!

My online book order has arrived! They came a lot faster than I had anticipated. I placed my order last Friday, and they arrived yesterday (Friday); in exactly a week. I was under the impression that online orders take 3-6 weeks to reach their destination, so I was pleasantly surprised!

Here are the three new books I added to my home library collection.

The Enchanter Heir (book 4 from the Heir Chronicles), The Sorcerer Heir (book 5 from the Heir Chronicles), and Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows (book 7 from the Harry Potter series.)

My parents bought me the first 6 Harry Potter books many years ago, before the 7th and final book was released, but I never got around to buying book 7 until now. My Harry Potter series is finally complete! Although I've read these books before, I will definitely re-read them again one day. Now that Bloomsbury came out with these new covers, my Harry Potter book covers are all mismatched. But I still think it gives them character and I absolutely love all seven of them!

The Enchanter Heir and The Sorcerer Heir are the last two books in the Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima. The First book by Chima I ever read was The Wizard Heir, which is actually book two in the Heir Chronicles, and then I proceeded to read The Warrior Heir (which is book one!) All was well though, because The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir are actually companion novels that follow completely different characters. The main characters and storylines from each of these books don't come together until The Dragon Heir (book 3.)

I don't have any of Cinda William Chima's other books, so now that my Harry Potter series is complete, my Heir Chronicles series is not! My next mission is to add The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir and The Dragon Heir to my book collection! I also want to buy The Seven Realms series, also by Cinda Williams Chima because I think her books are all brilliant, and love both series'!

Happy Reading! =)

Book Review 6: The Seven Realms Series

I have previously reviewed "The Demon King" but now that I've completed all four Seven Realms books, I thought I'd do a overall review of the entire series. Let me start off by saying, the first time I was introduced to Cinda Williams Chima was a few years ago, when I got my hands on "The Wizard Heir" which is book two from her other fantasy series, titled "The Heir Chronicles." When I learned she wrote another series, I knew I had to read it. The Heir Chronicles are set in modern day times, while The Seven Realms is high fantasy.

As soon as I started reading The Demon King, I just fell in love with it and it became one of my favourite book series'. It had everything in it that I wanted in a book; magic, betrayal, romance, and twists and turns that leave you at the edge of your seat. The two main characters are Raisa Ana Marianna and Han Allister. Raisa is heir to the throne to her mom's Queendom. She is stubborn, headstrong, causes trouble, and you can't help but love her for it. Han Allister is a former streetlord who often tries to do the right thing, but trouble seems to find him wherever he goes. We follow their journeys as individuals and their worlds eventually collide.

As the story progresses, so does the character development. Chima does a great job of keeping you interested and getting you emotionally attached. Without giving away any spoilers, I will say this; you may get attached to some characters that don't make it till the end. Having previously read The Heir Chronicles, I knew to expect some gore and deaths. There was one particular character which I expected to die early on, but he/she (surprisingly) survived .

The series ended very well. It left me satisfied, and I felt like it tied up all the loose ends. I was happy with the way things turned out. However, I am sad that there will no longer be any future Seven Realms for me to look forward to! On the contrary, I still have to read Chima's most recent book, The Enchanter's Heir. And if memory serves correctly, There will be one more book in the Heir Chronicles after the Enchanter's Heir. I really do hope Cinda Williams Chima decides to write more books in the future, because I absolutely love her!

Happy Belated Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!

Beloved author J.R.R. Tolkien came into this world on January 3rd, 1892. He was known to be friends with Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. Both Lewis and Tolkien were members of a writing group called "Inklings." Tolkien was the author of many novels, the most popular ones being The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

I am somewhat ashamed of myself. I've declared myself a fan of high fantasy and sci-fi, yet I've never completed the entire Lord of the Rings book series. I've read The Hobbit (on more than one occasion) but for some reason I've only watched the Peter Jackson version(s) of the trilogy on the big screen. Although I LOVED the movies, I promised myself that the next time I re-watched the movies, would be after I've read the books. I watched the films about ten years ago (when they first came out) and I've forgotten the storyline, so I think this may be a good time to start!

Though I haven't enjoyed all of his work, I've got to hand it to Mr. Tolkien for introducing us to the awesome world of bad ass wizards long before J.K. Rowling did. But I may be a little controversial in my opinion that Merlin is still the ultimate badass wizard. Sorry, Team Gandalf!

I close by saying, Happy Belated Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien and thank you for introducing us to a world of wizards, hobbits, and riddles.

PS, Please enjoy this movie trailer for the upcoming and very anticipated film version of The Hobbit. =)

Beyond Harry Potter

I keep hearing people say "So, I just finished Harry Potter... now what?!" Although I also jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon and fell madly in love with the series, I find it sad that Harry Potter fans are unable to find new book series' to read. If you spend time searching, it's really not that hard to find some amazing series'. Mind you, they may not live up to the awesomeness of Harry Potter, but you might just discover that you love them equally as much. Some books from the same genre which I know of are the following:

"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin: Although this is a popular book series, I will admit, I never heard of them until the HBO Series came out, which personally I thought was amazing. From various recommendations, I keep hearing that the books are equally as amazing.

 "The Seven Realms Series" by Cinda Williams Chima: Those of you who have been following my blog know how much I love Cinda Williams Chima, as I've written about her a few times before. I like to describe this series as a PG version of Game of Thrones; more aimed for teens, and less sex and nudity. I've only read the first book so far, but what I read, I liked.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" by Rick Riordon: The story is almost as good as Harry Potter, but the writing style is not as good. Though Percy Jackson's story is a bit more simple when compared to Harry Potter, I can see it possibly having the same fan base. In other words, if you liked Harry Potter, you will most likely also enjoy Percy Jackson.

"100 Cupboards" by N.D. Wilson: Well, I picked up book 1 from the series, but never got around to reading it. When I read the synopsis, I got the impression that the story was full of magic and wonder. 100 Cupboards is the first book in the trilogy, followed by Dandelion Fire and The Chestnut King. 

So there is a list of some of my personal series recommendations which I think Harry Potter fans might enjoy. Keep in mind, that this list is a mix of both children's, teen's and adult books. My fellow Harry Potter lovers: please remember that if you keep an eye out, you can surely find some hidden gems out there.

Book Review 3: The Demon King

So I finally got around to reading one of the many books on my "books I want to read" list. I usually like to complete one book series before starting on another (I'm currently going through the Percy Jackson series, Warriors cat series, Chronicles of Narnia series, and now The Seven Realms series) but I just couldn't help myself from grabbing a hold of The Demon King when I found it readily available at my local library. The Demon King is book one from the (planned) four part Seven Realms series. Having recently read the first three books of the Heir Chronicles by the same author (Cinda Williams Chima), I knew I wanted to check out any other book(s) she had written. Although The Demon King was different from the Heir series, it was equally as enjoyable. The Heir series dealt with fantasy in the modern world, while The Seven Realms series is more high fantasy in the Royal Queendom of Fellsmarch. It follows the story of Han Allister who is a reformed streetlord still constantly getting himself into trouble with the Raggers, his previous streetlord posse. Meanwhile, Raisa ana Marianna is the heir to the Fellsmarch throne. I don't want to give away too much, but I found this story a bit more complex than the Heir series since there was a lot more information to absorb. But I will say this; it was one of those books which was hard for me to put down. Cinda Williams Chima grasped onto my attention with this epic tale of love, loss, and self discovery. An intriguing page turner to say the least. There are currently two books out in the series; The Demon King and The Exiled Queen. Book three is due to come out around late August or mid September, which will be titled The Gray Wolf Throne, I'm really excited for it's release! One of my favourite passages in The Demon King was a scene in which Han stands up to his mother, who is constantly on his back about getting a better job so he can feed his family (Mam, and kid sister Mari.) This passage is just too awesome not to share. I remember getting goosebumps the moment I read it. Enjoy!

     Mam's breath hissed out, like he'd confirmed all her worst fears. "You're cursed, Hanson Allister, and you'll come to a bad end," she said. "It's no wonder you're in trouble when you're out on the streets all day long. When you run with street gangs, thieving and robbing..."
     "I'm not with the Raggers anymore," Han interrupted. "I promised you back in the fall."
     Mam plowed on as he hadn't spoken. "When you take up with ill-favored sorts like Lucius Frowsley. We may be poor, but at least we've always been honest."
     Something broke loose inside Han, and when he opened his mouth the words came spilling out. "We're honest? Well, honest won't fill our bellies. Honest doesn't pay the rent. It's been me supporting us for the past year, and it's a lot harder without slide-hand. Be my guest if you think you can keep us out of debtor's prison taking in washing and picking rags. And if we do go to prison, what do you think will happen to Mari?"
     Mam stood speechless, eyes very blue, her lips as white as the rest of her face. Then she snatched up a stick from the kindling pile and swung it at him. Reflexively, he gripped her wrist and held it. They glared at each other for a long moment, married by blood and anger. Slowly anger drained away, leaving only the linkage of blood.
     "I'm not going to let you hit me anymore," Han said quietly. "I've already had one beating today. That's enough."


http://www.cindachima.com/Demon_King/Demon_King.htm

The "Epic" Conclusion of Harry Potter

When I was about fifteen years old, one of my friend's introduced me to the world of Harry Potter. My immediate reaction to her recommending the series was, "Seriously? Why would I want to read a children's book?" However, I eventually learned never to judge a book by the section it sits on at the book store! At the time, only the first four books had been released. Since it was summer break when I began reading Harry Potter, I had no exams to worry about, so I devoured all four books in less than a week. (This included lots of self-discipline to keep my nose in the books, neglect my house chores, and ignore my mom's constant yelling due to the lack of chores being completed!) This followed up with years of waiting patiently for J.K. Rowling to complete book 5, 6, and 7. I read all three almost immediately upon release. Not to mention, I took part in a very memorable and enjoyable "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" midnight release party on July 20th, 2007. After four years of the book series coming to an end, it is time for the movie franchise to end. Below is the movie trailer for the final movie entitled "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2." Are you excited?! I know I am! =)

Note: Anyone who knows me knows how much I HATE the word "epic". ;) 

Book Review 1: The Wizard Heir

When I was about fifteen, I got introduced to the magical world of Harry Potter. After seven books, numerous character deaths, and a very memorable midnight release party for the Deathly Hallows, I finally said goodbye to my friend Harry in the summer of 2007. After mourning the end of Harry Potter, I didn't think I'd ever fall in love with another book character again. I spent months trying to find some good fantasy reads, and that is how I discovered The Wizard Heir. The book synopsis sounded dark and interesting so I decided to pick it up hoping for an enjoyable read. Much to my contentment, that's exactly what I got. And so began my love affair with Seph McCauley. The Wizard Heir is about a sixteen year old boy named Seph who keeps getting kicked out of prestigious private schools and is unable to control his magic within. He is unaware (or anaweir) of his origins and that's what keeps the readers second guessing from chapter to chapter. Cinda Williams Chima does a great job of hooking readers into the story and keeping you at the edge of your seat throughout the entirety of the book. It was a good old fashioned page turner, and FYI, I've had a lot of trouble finding those lately. One of the many reasons I kept reading was because I wanted to know if Seph ever finds his Weirbook or not. The only unfortunate thing was when I started reading The Wizard Heir, I thought it was Book 1 in the Heir Chronicles, but it's actually Book 2. (Book 1: The Warrior Heir, Book 2: The Wizard Heir and Book 3: The Dragon Heir. Keep in mind, The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir are companion novels. Therefore, can still be read as stand alones.) Although I found The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir equally enjoyable, I would have preferred to read them in chronological order, but that's just me. I would recommend this book series to anyone who loves fantasy, magic and is not afraid of a little bit of gore. I am pleased to learn that Chima will be adding two more books to this series, possibly titled The Sorcerer Heir and The Enchanter Heir. In the mean time, The Dragon Heir is sitting on my book shelf waiting to be read!

Happy Reading!  

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/cinda-williams-chima/wizard-heir.htm