Review

Web of Lies (The Hundred Halls #2) By: Thomas K. Carpenter

Web of Lies (The Hundred Halls #2) By: Thomas K. Carpenter

Plot:

Whoever controls the Hundred Halls, controls the world.

Aurelia “Aurie” Silverthorne has high hopes for her second year in the Hundred Halls, the world’s only magical university, but her expectations are destroyed when she accidentally unleashes a plague of faez-eating thralls and spends week after week getting killed in the Grand Contest.

But none of this matters when Aurie learns that the Cabal searches for a powerful magic that will help them get control of the Hundred Halls. If Aurie can’t stop them, then passing her classes will be the least of her worries.

Review:

Within the first 30% of the book a couple of the tropes that I’d been happy weren’t in the first book reared their heads. We got some mild angst and a super-hot guy interested in one of our girls. We also had some stupid decisions and some moments of why did it take you so long to do what needed to be done. I could also see the author introducing a love triangle in the future, though a second guy hasn’t been introduced yet.

Overall I was super disappointed in the second book of the Hundred Halls series. Yes, there was more world building, but the main characters weren’t developed further and they were back to getting over the death of their parents. It wasn’t the focus but it was mentioned a lot, especially by Pi who I’m not sure Carpenter knows what to do with at all.

Aurie is supposed to be the selfless smart one, but she makes several selfish stupid decisions. Pi is supposed to be smart and impetuous, and willing to take advantage of a situation to help herself, she mostly lived up to that but she also became a lone wolf and her storyline was pretty much over halfway through. There were definite pacing issues.

Honestly, I’m probably not going to read the next book and I think I’m just going to avoid the genre completely. We’ll see.

2/5

The Bells are Ringing (1960)

The Bells are Ringing (1960)

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Starring:

Dean Martin

Judy Holliday

Fred Clark    

Plot:

Ella Peterson is a Brooklyn telephone answering service operator who tries to improve the lives of her clients by passing along bits of information she hears from other clients. She falls in love with one of her clients, the playwright Jeffrey Moss, and is determined to meet him. The trouble is, on the phone to him, she always pretends to be an old woman whom he calls “Mom.”

Review:

For a brief time growing up we lived near an old video rental store and they had tons of musicals that I ended up loving. This was one of them. I was lucky enough to stumble across a DVD of it on my most recent trip to the McKay’s in Chattanooga (best used bookstore I’ve been too).

The songs aren’t up to Rogers and Hammerstein but what I really love is the story. Ella, Judy Holliday, is klutzy and sweet, so naturally she falls in love with playboy Dean Martin. It’s cute, but after my most recent viewing I think part of why I like it is nostalgia.

4/5

Trials of Magic (The Hundred Halls #1) By: Thomas K. Carpenter

Trials of Magic (The Hundred Halls #1) By: Thomas K. Carpenter

Plot:

There are exactly one hundred halls of magic to choose from. Ever since our parents were killed I knew exactly which hall was for me.

Aurelia “Aurie” Silverthorne is one of the best and brightest to ever apply to the Hundred Halls, the only magical university in the world. To be accepted, she must pass grueling trials that claim the lives of aspirants every year.

But more than her desire to practice magic is at stake.

Aurie’s little sister has been courting powerful forces in hopes of protecting herself from the beings that killed their parents, but alliances come with complications. As things spiral out of control, and dangerous foes arise at every turn, Aurie knows the only way to protect her sister is to pass the trials—even if it means making a terrible sacrifice.

Review:

Once I got into “Trials of Magic”, which was pretty fast, I was so scared that YA tropes I hate would rear their ugly head, but they didn’t.  There was no stupid angsty teen moments or love triangles or gorgeous men/boys that loved our heroines. Those things alone cause me to like the book more.

Technically it’s New Adult, not YA, but I’ve noticed some of my most hated tropes are in both.

Anyway, Aurie and Pi were both interesting and different enough from each other but were still likable. The world was ours with the addition of magic and I could have used some more world building and some more character development on side characters. Hoping for more of that in the second book.

“Trials of Magic” was mainly spent with the girls overcoming the fact that their parents were killed when they were younger. It was sad, but they did well on their own, better than I would expect two young girls to do, but I guess we can attribute that to their powerful magic.

It was a good book, nothing really amazing, but it was interesting enough with interesting enough characters for me to buy the second.

3.5/5

 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Director:

David Yates

Starring:

Eddie Redmayne

Katherine Waterston

Alison Sudol

Plot:

The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

Review:

I was pretty excited to finally be able to watch this, even though I didn’t get to see it in theaters. Maybe I was too excited? All I had heard was how awesome it was and that it was so fun to be back in the Harry Potter universe, and it was, but…I just didn’t seem to love it as much as everyone else.

I’ve never been a fan of the HP movies, I love the books too much, which is another reason why I was looking forward to this, I wouldn’t have anything to compare it too. Unfortunately, that didn’t help things. I liked seeing all the magic, but I almost feel like the story suffered because of it. Sometimes it wasn’t about what was going on, but what they could do with their powers.

I’m also not the biggest fan of the stars of the show, I never knew what I was supposed to be feeling with them, they were both awkward for me. I loved the two support characters though.

It was a good movie, I didn’t hate it, but I think it was hyped too much for me. I thought the ending was a bit sad too.

3.5/5

The Crepes of Wrath (A Pancake House Mystery #1) By: Sarah Fox

The Crepes of Wrath (A Pancake House Mystery #1) By: Sarah Fox

Plot:

When Marley McKinney’s aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it—and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff.

After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy’s workshop, Marley is determined to find out what’s really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to get burned by a killer who’s only interested in serving up trouble.

Review:

I’m currently on the lookout for a cozy mystery author I love as much as Jenn McKinley so when I saw this I snatched it up. I like restaurants so I figured I wouldn’t have the issue I had with Better Homes and Corpses.

This was a cute story and I didn’t guess who done it for a while, which was nice, however I didn’t think the characters were fleshed out very well. Marley had the most done for her but I felt like it was more facts and not personality created. Also, the little romance that was between the main character and another was boring and I didn’t get any chemistry from it.

The mystery was good, but since the character was going through all kinds of other things because of who was murdered it didn’t feel like the main focus, which is fine with a cozy. Maybe I would have liked it better if Marley had something else to think about.

3/5