Harry Potter Re-Read Books 1-4

As a massive Harry Potter fan, I have been wanting to complete a re-read of the series for a while. I have, of course, read the series multiple times but haven’t completed a compete re-read since I was an undergrad in college. During my honeymoon I fell in love with the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone. I read my copy in March and immediately wanted to finish re-reading the series. Due to time and a large list of other books I needed/wanted to read, I did not continue my re-read. I then found out that the illustrated version of Chamber of Secrets was coming out in October and immediately pre-ordered it. At the same time, my friends had discussed starting a group re-read in September!

The minute that the illustrated version of Chamber of Secrets showed up on my door, I dove in. Immediately after that I jumped into Prisoner of Azkaban and shortly after that, Goblet of Fire. I am completely sucked back into the world of Harry Potter and it is wonderful.

As I mentioned before, I have not re-read this series in at least 5 years. I was curious to see if anything would change for me during this re-read. I’m older, have lived more, and it has been a long time since I’ve read the books. I have to say, it is every bit as magical as the first, second, third, etc time I’ve read them.

One of the fun parts about this re-read is that I’m reading different versions of the series. The first two books I read were the illustrated versions. If you are a Harry Potter fan I HIGHLY recommend these. Not only are they pieces of art work, but they add a sense of fun to reading a story you know and love. I have found the experience of reading the illustrated versions enjoyable and having a bit of that anticipation from when I read each book the first time. I love reading through it and not knowing what pictures are going to come up next.
 

The other version that I’ve been reading is the new hardcover collection from the UK. For our one year anniversary (paper anniversary) my husband purchased the full set for me. So far, I have only read Goblet of Fire in this edition, as I didn’t have it in time for book three and did not have the patience to wait.
 

This re-read has solidified the fact that these books are my absolute favorite books of all time. Of course there are things here or there I could criticize, but it’s always due to personal feelings and never to do with the actual stories or the writing.

Harry Potter is perfection and I cannot wait to continue my re-read. I will check back in with you all after book 7, and then I think I will finally read The Cursed Child (I was lucky enough to see the play and loved it so I’ve been waiting to read the actual script). I'm also curious to see if what I say is my favorite book in the series is still going to come out as my favorite!

Have you completed a re-read of Harry Potter? When was the last time you read them? Is there a book/series you can read over and over and still love just as much the first time?
 

Kids of Appetite

By: David Arnold
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell.
It begins with the death of Vic’s father.
It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle.
The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it.
But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.


This is a story about:

1. A coded mission to scatter ashes across New Jersey.
2. The momentous nature of the Palisades in winter.
3. One dormant submarine.
4. Two songs about flowers.
5. Being cool in the traditional sense.
6. Sunsets & ice cream & orchards & graveyards.
7. Simultaneous extreme opposites.
8. A narrow escape from a war-torn country.
9. A story collector.
10. How to listen to someone who does not talk.
11. Falling in love with a painting.
12. Falling in love with a song.
13. Falling in love.

                                                                            First Impressions

I was so excited when I found out David Arnold was coming out with his second novel. I absolutely loved Mosquitoland and was beyond excited that he had written another novel. Then I saw the cover and it was love at first sight. Between loving Arnold’s debut novel and seeing the cover it was automatically added to my to-read list.

                                                                               What I thought

Have you ever read a book and immediately thought “This needs to become a classic”? That’s the feeling I was left with after this book. It is everything.

Vic is 17 and has run away from home. He finds himself taken in by a band of kids made up of Baz, Zuz, Mad, and Coco. They take him in and not only help him with his mission, but help him find himself.

This is going to be a hard review for me to write. I want to rave about it and tell you everything but at the same time I don’t want to tell you anything so that you can experience it all yourself! I didn’t know anything about this book other than it was a bit of a coming of age story about a group of teenagers and I think that not knowing much about it made it even better.

The story is told through multiple perspectives, but mostly through Vic and Mad. It alternates between them but switched multiple times between a chapter. I enjoyed the switch between perspectives but sometimes it took me a while to realize that the perspective had switched. I think that’s because Vic and Mad are similar, even though they are completely different. Oh goodness, I think the book has made more of an impact on my thoughts than I thought it did. A similarity that is also different is something that Vic would talk about.

Arnold’s writing in this book, again, is magical. It seems to say everything that I have ever thought and felt and not know how to put into words or maybe didn’t even know I thought it. While it could have gone a little far and become pretentious it works so well.

I know this is a short review. I wish I could find a way to rave about every aspect of this book without saying too much but I just can’t. I love it so much that I want to pick it for a book club book so that I can read it again and discuss it with people. Like I mentioned, this book needs to become a classic. There is so much to discuss and it is so relatable and wonderful and will make so many people feel they are not alone. I recommend this book to EVERYONE. No matter the type of book you typically read, you need to pick this up and enjoy it.
 

A Study in Charlotte

By: Brittany Cavallaro
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 321

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

                                                                               First Impressions

I first heard about this book through the Debut Author Challenge hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The cover is gorgeous and immediately caught my eye. Then when I found out it’s about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s great great (great?) grandchildren? I was sold!

                                                                                 What I thought

Charlotte Holmes and James (Jamie) Watson meet at a boarding school in Connecticut in their Sophomore and Junior years respectively. Watson was given a full scholarship for his rugby skills to attend the school and was moved there from London by his mom. Charlotte was sent to the same school a year earlier due to family reasons. In this version of Holmeses and Watsons the families are not in touch. Therefore, Jamie and Charlotte have never met and have not been encouraged to meet. Charlotte, as expected, helps Scotland Yard with cases. Shortly after Jamie arrives at the new school a student gets murdered. Jamie and Charlotte are the main suspects, so they take it upon themselves to find the murderer.

For the most part I enjoyed the story. I feel like this is one of those stories that I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but a few days out I look back and don’t feel as positive about it as I did while reading it or even shortly after. That’s not o ay I didn’t enjoy the story, I definitely did. But I think initially, I was excited to read the next one when it came out and now I feel very meh about reading a second one.

It’s a cute story and I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. I think one of my issues is that it’s a bit immature and predictable. I didn’t really like Charlotte or Jamie and their relationship together is a bit odd. I thought the murder was a bit quick in that the murder happened and immediately Charlotte went into Sherlock mode. I wish she was a little more different than the stereotypical Sherlock.

I did enjoy the environment that the story took place in. I also liked the take on the history of the Watson family and the Holmes family. I thought it was fun that Sherlock and Watson were real people and that their families didn’t get along because of that relationship and other issues they had.  I also enjoyed the references to original Sherlock stories. It was fun to include hat and I enjoyed the playfulness of it.

I think that my biggest issue is that Charlotte is so unlikeable. Maybe if I had read Sherlock when it came out I would’ve felt the same way about him? I just couldn’t connect with her and as a result couldn’t understand why Jamie was so taken with her. Considering that they are the two main characters, it definitely impacts the overall likability of the story.
 

While reading the book, I enjoyed myself. I finished it in about a day or two and I never felt like I was slugging my way through it. If you are younger or know someone younger I would recommend this book to you. I think I would’ve enjoyed it much more at a younger age. It’s not a complex mystery novel and considering that’s more what I enjoy now, I think that was a bit of my issue. I wouldn’t re-read this and I may or may not pick up the second one. I would definitely check out another book by AUTHOR, but maybe a different story.
 

Little Boy Blue (Helen Grace #5)

By: M.J Aldridge
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 380

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In the darkest corners of the city, there is a thriving nightlife where people can let loose and cross the lines of work and play, of pleasure and pain. But now that sanctuary has been breached. A killer has struck and a man is dead.

In a world where disguises and discretion are the norm, one admission could unravel a life. No one wants to come forward to say what they saw or what they know—including the woman heading the investigation: Detective Helen Grace.

Helen knew the victim. And the victim knew her—better than anyone else. And when the murderer strikes again, Helen must decide how many more lines she’s willing to cross to bring in a devious and elusive serial killer...

                                                                            First Impressions

Admittedly, the title piqued my interest but the cover did not. When I first read the summary I was still a bit iffy about the story. Maybe it was because it’s the fifth in a series, but I wasn’t immediately excited by this book.

                                                                              What I thought

Warning: This post may contain spoilers for earlier books in the series.

This book definitely took me by surprise!

Helen Grace is a senior homicide detective with secrets, one of which is their latest victim. Helen struggles to work towards solving the case while keeping her connection with the victim quiet.

It’s always hard to review mysteries such as these without giving away too much of the story, so I apologize if everything is vague. I also have not read the previous novels, so I think the way that I read this book might be different than someone who has read the series from the beginning. I don’t think that it is necessary to have read the other novels, but I do find myself wanting to go back and read them to understand more of the backstory.

 Detective Helen Grace has a dark history and has taken part in the BDSM community to help cope. Her first dominator is the first victim. What I liked about this story is that while Detective Helen is technically the main character, it really is a story told across multiple perspectives. The reader gets chapters from two of the other detectives (who are also female!), a head of the department, the victims, and even some of the suspects. Because of this, it read very much like a TV show crime drama as opposed to your typical mystery story. I also liked that since it wasn’t only from Detective Helen’s perspective, I didn’t feel like I was missing backstory or a connection that I would have had from previous novels.

The chapters are extremely short and therefore the story is really fast paced. It starts high energy right away and then continues to move that way. Two annoying aspects are some obvious misdirection on the part of the author and some stupidity on the part of the characters. The reason the misdirection is annoying is because the author uses the same style of misleading the reader twice. It was ok the first time but then the second time I got annoyed because I felt it was lazy and unnecessary. The stupidity bothered me just because it felt very obvious at one point that an experienced detective should have noticed something, but didn’t.

In regards to predictability (as that is an important factor to me in mystery novels), I was able to predict half of it. I don’t know if I had read the previous novels if it would have been completely predictable, but it still kept my curiosity piqued enough to keep the pages turning. Every page was filled with action and drama and intrigue ad it kept everything very exciting. And the ending! It was such a cliff hanger that I stared at the book for a while wondering if I was missing pages!
 

Is this mystery story going to blow the socks off of anybody? Probably not. Is it a fast paced, captivating story that makes me want to immediately grab the next one? Definitely. I felt like I was reading an episode of Castle, one of my favorite shows, minus the humor. I’m also tempted to go back and read the series from the beginning which says something about the writing. If you enjoy watching crime dramas, I would recommend checking out this series. Overall, this is a fun read and I can’t wait to check out the next novel.
 

September 2016 Favorites

Books

Letters From Paris By: Juliet Blackwell (Review)

Sunshine on a Rainy Day By: Bryony Fraser (Review)

One True Loves By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Billy & Me By: Giovanna Fletcher

Here’s to Us By: Elin Hilderbrand (Book Club)

Nemesis By: Anna Banks (Review)

On the Other Side By: Carrie Hope Fletcher

The Pocket Wife By: Susan H. Crawford (Book Club)

26 Kisses By: Anna Michels

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit By: Juliana Gray (Review)

Summer of Sloane By: Erin L. Schneider
 

Favorite Book I Read This Month:  One True Loves! Taylor Jenkins Reid always writes amazing, thought provoking love stories and this is no different. Her latest novel is so wonderful and I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend checking it out!

Nemesis is definitely a close second!

Beauty

I don’t have any beauty favorites this month. I didn’t try anything new this month so I’ve been using my old standbys.

Buys

Old Navy Plaid Shirts

I am such a white girl cliché when it comes to fall (with the exception of pumpkin spice). I absolutely love my plaid and my books. Old Navy has amazingly comfortable plaid shirts for not a lot of money. I purchased one last year (pictured above) and as soon as they came out again this year I knew I needed more in my closet. Not only are they soft, but they’re a looser fit so they actually button over my chest without pulling! If you like plaid and are looking for a fun option that doesn’t cost a lot of money, look into Old Navy!

Miscellaneous

Chef’s Table

This is a Netflix original docuseries. Each episode follows one world renowned chef and their current restaurant. The shots are so beautiful and in addition to talking with the chef the episodes explore the region in which the restaurant is. So in addition to getting a show about food you get a show on travel. I have been obsessed with this show and can’t recommend it enough.

My Crock Pot

I have made a challenge to myself to try to use my Crock Pot once a week. I have gotten a bit lazy with my cooking, and this is the easiest way I can get myself back into the swing of cooking actual meals. I have made a few that have come out very delicious and it’s nice to be reminded just how easy it is to use. It’s going to be fun trying out new recipes.
 

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit

By: Juliana Gray
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 416

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This book was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): As the personal secretary of the recently departed Duke of Olympia—and a woman of good character—Miss Emmeline Rose Truelove never expected to be steaming through the Mediterranean on a luxuriously appointed yacht under the watchful and jovial eye of one Lord Silverton. But here they are, as improper as it is, on a quest to find the duke’s heir, whereabouts unknown.

An expert on anachronisms, the adventurous Maximilian Haywood was last seen at an archaeological dig on the island of Crete. And when Truelove and Silverton disembark, they are met with incidents of a violent nature: a ransacked flat, a murdered government employee, an assassination attempt. And as they steam from port to port on Max’s trail, dodging danger at every turn, Truelove will discover the folly of her misconceptions—about the whims of the heart, the desires of men, and the nature of time itself..

                                                                                   First Impressions

I’m a little torn on the cover. It is eye catching because of the bright colors and I love that, but I also feel like it’s a bit cheesy and I might have put it back down after picking it up. The summary wasn’t immediately convincing either, but I decided to give it a shot.

                                                                                   What I thought

I’m a bit confused by this book. For the majority of the book it was going one way and then it changed towards the end and I don’t know how I feel about it.

After the Duke of Olympia dies, Emmaline Truelove, his personal secretary is sent on a mission to find his nephew and heir. Accompanying her is Lord Silverton, who we later find out has been on missions like this before. The nephew of the Duke of Olympia has been missing for two months and no one has heard from him, so the dowager duchess arranges the mission to find him in Athens.

Truelove is an interesting character as she is your typical lady of the 1900s with most of her attitudes, but she dabbles in being a bit of a renaissance woman. I liked that she wasn’t written as overly progressive like I feel a lot of female characters are written from the 1900s. It was refreshing to have a character from the early 1900s who seemed to act like a person from the 1900s.

The confusing part of this book is that Truelove has visions of the Queen and her father who appear in full form and talk to her. She understands that they are hallucinations and that they are just telling her what he subconscious already knows, but she has full conversations with them and they somehow know things that she doesn’t. For example, at the very beginning the Queen tells her she is going to be asked to go on a trip and she should say no because it will be dangerous. How would she know this? There is no reason that she should know that is going to happen, so how would her subconscious know?

Lord Silverton accompanies Truelove on the adventure as her protector/guide. He has been on missions similar to this before, so he is more knowledgeable about what they need to do and how to get the information they need. He also speaks Greek which is helpful. He is a bit of a rascal who often uses his wiles and good looks to get the information he wants. However, he is quite charming and enjoyable to read about. Definitely borders on being a bit annoying, but I enjoyed him overall.

My biggest issue with this book is that it seems to be a supernatural story in disguise. For the vast majority of the book it is a mystery adventure in which two people are searching for their lost companion. I enjoyed that part of the book greatly and looked forward to other adventures with Truelove and Silverton. However, towards the end there’s some time travel thrown in and people coming back from the dead and it’s just a mess. It honestly feels like the author was writing a story and then the editor said “there are a lot of books like this, we need something to make it stand out” so she threw in supernatural elements at the end. It was disappointing because it wasn’t fleshed out at all and I felt very taken aback by it. It didn’t fit and it is so completely unnecessary to the story.
 

Up until all of the random and nonsensical supernatural I was really enjoying this book. Unfortunately, those parts confused me so much that I almost didn’t understand the ending of the book and couldn’t get myself back into the story. The characters are fun and interesting and I did enjoy reading (most) of this book. If you like historical fiction (weighted heavily on the fiction) then you might enjoy this book, but be prepared for some supernatural twists.
 

Book Club October 2016

By: Susan H. Crawford
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 350

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Dana Catrell is horrified to learn she was the last person to see her neighbor Celia alive. Suffering from a devastating mania, a result of her bipolar disorder, Dana finds that there are troubling holes in her memory, including what happened on the afternoon of Celia's death. As evidence starts to point in her direction, Dana struggles to clear her name before her own demons win out.

Is murder on her mind—or is it all in her head?

The closer she comes to piecing together shards of her broken memory, the more Dana falls apart. Is there a murderer lurking inside her... or is there one out there in the shadows of reality, waiting to strike again? A story of marriage, murder and madness, The Pocket Wife explores the world through the foggy lens of a woman on the edge.

                                                                             What I thought

Dana wakes up from a drunken stupor to ambulances at her neighbor’s house. When she walks over she finds the woman who she was drinking with just hours before murdered on the living room floor. Dana has no memory of what happened shortly after arriving at her neighbor’s house after she started drinking. She finds she was the last one to see her alive and is concerned that she might have had something to do with it. Dana is dealing with bipolar disorder and finds herself slowly slipping into a manic phase. She can’t remember what happened that day and she starts questioning whether or not clues that she’s found were created by her. Her husband doesn’t help matters by convincing her that most of what she is looking into is due to her madness.

I flew through this book. It is very fast paced and keeps you interested through every part of the story. I liked that the narrator is a bit unreliable because of the bipolar disorder and her descent into a mania. It’s not completely unpredictable, but what was most fascinating was watching how it unfolded as opposed to the mystery of figure out whodunit.

Dana is a unique narrator in that you aren’t sure what you can and cannot trust from her point of view. I felt myself wanting to believe everything that she did, but once she started doubting herself I started to doubt her as well. I appreciated that we also received a perspective from the detective, Jack, as well.

                                                What Book Club Thought

Everyone enjoyed the book but the narration was a big point of discussion. While some of us enjoyed the unreliability of the narrator, others found it irritating and almost too difficult to read. There were two book club members who didn't finish the book completely, and so it was fun to see what their guess was for who the killer was! The other interesting discussion point was Peter and how terrible of a person he was. If you are looking for a book club pick, I would recommend this one. We had a lot of discussion with it and it brought up some interesting opinions. 
 

Finding a Leave-In Conditioner

I have been using the Redken Real Control Creama Care leave-in conditioner on my hair for at least 4 years. It was one of my Holy Grail products that I repurchased every time it ran out without every feeling the need to try a new product. I knew it worked wonderfully and my hair still loved it after years of use. Flashback to about 3 months ago when I went to Ulta to replenish my stock and found out that *gasp* it had been discontinued!!!!!

I immediately went on Amazon to see if I could purchase it through there and found out it was selling for $36 a bottle. For reference, it sold in stores or about $16. Now, my curly hair NEEDS a leave-in conditioner, so I wandered to the Marc Anthony aisle, the same line I use for shampoo and conditioner, and found that they had a spray leave-in conditioner. Knowing that my hair likes their other products, I bought it to give it a shot. Long story short, thumbs down. It’s not that it’s a bad product, it just didn’t do what I need it to do.

Back to Ulta I went, this time with my old Redken bottle in tow, deciding to ask the hair salon experts to recommend the closes thing to that product. They recommended the Redken Frizz Dismiss Leave-in Conditioner. Again, I tried it and this time it literally did nothing. At least the Marc Anthony product made a difference on my hair. This one was double or triple thumbs down.

So here I am, without a hair product that I need, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. As a daughter naturally does, I complained to my mother. Recently, her salon started carrying the Living Proof line and her beautician had used the Curl line on her hair and she loved it. Now, I tried the No Frizz Living Proof line a few years ago and thought it was decent, but didn’t love it (especially for the price) so I was a bit skeptical. However, mother always knows best, so back to Ulta I went for the third time, and I purchased the Living Proof Curl Leave-in Conditioner ($26).
 

II have been using the Redken Real Control Creama Care leave-in conditioner on my hair for at least 4 years. It was one of my Holy Grail products that I repurchased every time it ran out without every feeling the need to try a new product. I knew it worked wonderfully and my hair still loved it after years of use. Flashback to about 3 months ago when I went to Ulta to replenish my stock and found out that *gasp* it had been discontinued!!!!!

I immediately went on Amazon to see if I could purchase it through there and found out it was selling for $36 a bottle. For reference, it sold in stores or about $16. Now, my curly hair NEEDS a leave-in conditioner, so I wandered to the Marc Anthony aisle, the same line I use for shampoo and conditioner, and found that they had a spray leave-in conditioner. Knowing that my hair likes their other products, I bought it to give it a shot. Long story short, thumbs down. It’s not that it’s a bad product, it just didn’t do what I need it to do.

Back to Ulta I went, this time with my old Redken bottle in tow, deciding to ask the hair salon experts to recommend the closes thing to that product. They recommended the Redken Frizz Dismiss Leave-in Conditioner. Again, I tried it and this time it literally did nothing. At least the Marc Anthony product made a difference on my hair. This one was double or triple thumbs down.

So here I am, without a hair product that I need, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. As a daughter naturally does, I complained to my mother. Recently, her salon started carrying the Living Proof line and her beautician had used the Curl line on her hair and she loved it. Now, I tried the No Frizz Living Proof line a few years ago and thought it was decent, but didn’t love it (especially for the price) so I was a bit skeptical. However, mother always knows best, so back to Ulta I went for the third time, and I purchased the Living Proof Curl Leave-in Conditioner ($26).