The Queen of the Tearling

The Queen of the Tearling

Author: Erika Johansen

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: Paperback edition April 2015

Available in: Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle

Like any good book, you hear about it via word of mouth. I'd seen blogs, heard people talking about it, and finally I gave in, though I lacked any substantial reading time. We'd reviewed the book for MuggleNet but I'd yet to pull the trigger on a purchase. 

Luckily, a trip to London gave me plenty of the reading time I'd been lacking, so I hunted for the infamously eye-catching red paperback cover at Barnes and Noble in the airport and began reading before the plane had even taken off.

For the Harry Potter fans, you'll know the novel has already been optioned for a film which will star Emma Watson. For the non-Harry Potter fans, this is the medieval fantasy adventure story you've been waiting for!

"With the arrival of her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is ascending to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling. Surrounded by enemies, including an evil sorceress possessed of dark magic, the young ruler stands little chance of success. But Kelsea possesses fearsome weapons of her own, including the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic. As an epic war draws near, Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny begins - a wonderous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend...if she can survive." - The Queen of the Tearling

There are so many things that I love about this story. The relationships between each character, the seemingly plain-girl self-awareness that Kelsea has when it's so obvious that she is anything but plain, the mystery surrounding the event referred to as the Crossing...it all adds up to a read that answers questions but leaves more questions looming.

And perhaps my favorite thing - this isn't your run-of-the-mill fairytale Disney princess. The strength of this character and her conviction is refreshing. Yet she, and the reader as we take this journey with her, have yet to fully realize the power she holds.

I feel lucky that I waited so long to have jumped on the Tearling bandwagon, as the release of sequel to the first novel in the series is only DAYS away, and hopefully I'll get some answers to my questions! Who is The Fetch? Why is the evil sorceress so evil, yet written almost sympathetically? What is the secret of the two sapphires? Can Kelsea save her people and bring an end to the horrors they've experienced?

Is it June 9th yet?

Check back for my next review of the sequel, The Invasion of the Tearling!

Spies like us: Harry Potter and the Art of Spying

Harry Potter and the Art of Spying

Author: Lynn Boughey and Peter Ernest

Published By: Wise Ink, Inc.

Publication Date: September 15, 2014

Available in: Paperback and Kindle

Art of Spying website and blog

I've had this book on my shelf for more than a year now, having received an ARC well before its publication date. I read it cover to cover a few months before attending LeakyCon in Orlando, Florida last August. At that time, MuggleNet was asked to review the book and give a quote for the publication. I jumped at the chance to get my hands on it and provided a quote to the authors, which you can see below:

So....this just happened. "@ArtofSpying: Thanks @MuggleNet for the endorsement! #HarryPotter #ArtofSpying #IARTG pic.twitter.com/be9ziz0g6f"

— Aimee Krenz (@AimeeMarieK) July 6, 2014

Now, I'd meant to write a full review and post on Amazon but with the excitement of LeakyCon as my first real MuggleNet event since joining the team and being promoted to Source Editor, it kind of fell by the wayside. I'm about to rectify that!

My quote absolutely still holds true - what I love most about the Potter fandom is that we can really get our geek on. We re-read the books all the time, we watch the movies over and over, and when we get together as a group to discuss the series, theories and opinions and all the feels start flying around!

I consider myself to be a very intuitive person and think that I see (or in this case, READ) between the lines to what lies deep underneath. However, when it comes to Potter, the pensieve runs deeper. Just when you think you have it all sorted or you've discovered the hidden gems that Jo has laced throughout the series, someone else brings to your attention something you never thought of before.

That's what this book does. It marries the need to understand the Potter series on a deeper level with, as the title indicates, the art of spying.

"Although some Potterphiles consider Order of the Phoenix to be one of the lesser books in the series, we heartily disagree. This book is Harry's true coming-of-age story, alongside his best friends Hermione and Ron. With little to no help from the adults, the famous triad rebels against authority, organizes a subversive organization, and takes matters into its own hands! The fact that the kids must do this in secret allows them to develop important skills not only in magic, but in spy craft as well." - Art of Spying

Before this book, I'd never really thought of what Harry and his friends were doing in the series in quite those terms. What is supremely interesting to those addicted to Harry's journey and the world he inhabits is that there were so many things going on around Harry that affected him but that he just had zero clue about. He was completely new to the wizarding world and didn't understand the rules that governed it. We as readers had access to information he didn't, albeit sprinkled in what appeared to be a random sentence or paragraph that seemingly had no bearing to his journey.  Knowing what we know now, those bits of information were never random and never without purpose.

The authors, Lynn Boughey and Peter Earnest (the director of the International Spy Museum!!!), explore book five in the series - chapter by chapter, moment by moment, breaking down each one by reflecting on the action of the characters. They help us understand the various methods of gaining information, how that information informed the decision-making process, and revealed truths about each character and their motivations that we may not have seen at first glance.

Harry Potter and the Art of Spying is definitely worth the money as an addition to your Potter collection - you'll never look at the series the same way again!

You can check out the blog for the book, which I also happened to write a few guest posts for last December when Pottermore dropped clues and new information as a 12 Days of Christmas gift to fans!

Movie Review: "After the Dark"

Starring Bonnie Wright and Freddie Stroma
Reviewed for MuggleNet.com

While the film has been marketed as an apocalyptic survival story, the apocalypse in question is really more of a manifestation of a subplot that will move to the forefront of the film towards the ending scenes. I also scanned more than ten reviews of the film to see if my reaction was on target with other viewers, but stunningly, I found myself in the minority. Is it strange that I actually enjoyed the movie? I don’t think so.

One could argue that because I’m a fan of the Harry Potter universe and all that inhabit it, I’m likely to support any project that happens to have employed one of the Potter stars. That’s simply not true – I hated The Haunted Airman with Robert Pattinson and couldn’t get behind that film at all no matter how much I tried.

The fact is that After the Dark is a smart film. The premise is interesting, posing questions of logic and emotion throughout three apocalyptic scenarios which are posited by the teacher of a philosophy class for seniors graduating from an international school in Jakarta. As you and I have never actually been through an apocalypse, we can’t say for sure how we would react, but writer/director John Huddles allows the viewer, along with the characters, to ponder how we might react given specific sets of factors to consider.

Let’s get past the shocking deaths of the poet Toby in two of the three scenarios. This is window dressing, something to distract you from the real plot twist that comes at the end. Graphic – yes. Attention getting – absolutely. They’ve played this portion in the trailers to pull you in. This story doesn’t belong to Toby. It belongs to someone else entirely.

The film starts with the idea that humans are flawed in both their logical and emotional decision-making abilities in life and death situations. What I found more poignant about this film beyond the marketed apocalyptic theme is the subtle undercurrent of the true reason for the given scenarios in the first place. I won’t ruin the movie for you by actually giving a summary that includes the twist – you need to see this film for yourself. What I will say is that Sophie Lowe as Petra and James D’Arcy as Eric give amazing performances in this film, allowing the finer nuances of their characters to fall into place just as they should and not a moment before. I wish there had been more of Bonnie Wright, but her character Georgina took the teacher to task a few times and allowed the Potter fan in me to see more of what this young actress is capable of. Lastly, I have to say, I never could get behind Cormac McLaggen as a character in either of the Potter books and films, and Freddie Stroma’s performance as Cormac made me dislike the character as much as I ever did. His role in After the Dark is completely the opposite of Cormac and shows a side of this actor I wasn’t aware of. Freddie is utterly charming in his role as Jack and provided most of the comic relief the film needed due to the heavier nature of the storyline.

In truth, the film is a bit of a mind-fuck, but one that can be thoroughly enjoyable if you allow yourself to go where the story goes rather than trying to stuff it into a specific categorical box. After the Dark is not what you’re expecting, but it is a film that will make you question everything.