Tag Archives: books

Want to know what a younger reader thinks of this new script-book from J.K.?   Special guest Olive of Little Librarian is here to share her thoughts on Harry Potter #8…

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling
Summary: Harry Potter (now married to Ginny Weasley) is sending his son Albus Potter to Hogwarts for his first year at the wizarding school. Albus expresses concerns to his father that he will be sorted into the Slytherin house, famous for outputting more Dark witches and wizards than any other house. On the train, Albus befriends Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius, despite Rose Granger-Weasley’s warnings of rumours surrounding him. When Albus gets sorted into Slytherin, they become fast friends, and the story begins…
It was amazing to be back in the Harry Potter world. I mean, once you go through the books more than two times, you start wanting some new story. So it was refreshing to be back in that world, but with some new stories. It was magical to be there, and I hope that I can give it a fair review despite the fact that I was just happy to be back.

Another thing that I liked about it was that it reminded my of Doctor Who in all the best ways. Time travel, alternate realities (although none referred to as such). If you know me, you also know that I am also a massive Doctor Who fan. Combining one of my favourite book series with some of the best elements of my favourite TV show is like a dream come true.

Read the rest of Little Librarian’s review here. Continue reading →

Fire Touched, Patricia BriggsAs usual, I’m utterly unimpressed by the cover choices for Mercy novels.  In the first three books Briggs clearly establishes Mercy is the opposite in taste and style as the character who peacocks across the covers.&nb… Continue reading →

Shield, Rachael CrawI was so impressed with this author’s debut, thrilled when the sequel proved so strong, but now — oh — now I can scarcely believe this entire tale was a beginning for Craw since the final installment bears no marks of inexperience… Continue reading →

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two – J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne Published by Hachette New Zealand The much-anticipated special rehearsal edition of the script book has finally arrived, with fans flocking to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

End of Watch – Stephen King Published by Hachette New Zealand It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Stephen King novel that has consumed and terrified me as much as End of Watch did. This is the third … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Revelations of Carey Ravine – Debra Daley Published by Hachette New Zealand I felt bereft when I realised I’d read the last page of The Revelations of Carey Ravine. For a few moments, I refused to believe that it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

‘Return’ – Aaron BeckerStories without texts are automatic favourites in our house.  We love words, too, of course. In fact, we have to send Eleanor to bed with a notebook and pencil, so that she can save words to look up in the morning (parentals… Continue reading →

Outside of the Romance genre, the publishing industry is kinder to male authors. That’s just objective and observable fact. Author Catherine Nichols even did an experiment to demonstrate it—she took the same manuscript and pitched to the same agents, but used a different name. The unsurprising result: the male moniker was more than eight times […] Continue reading →

So Yesterday, Scott WesterfeldThis novel was ahead of its time.  MARTians is a good readalike comparison, although Woolston’s work is darker.  I thought Westerfeld’s Uglies series was pretty good (not amazing), but easy to read and entertaini… Continue reading →

The Loners (Quarantine #1), Lex ThomasThis month Walker re-launched this book, heralded as a modern-day Lord of the Flies.  This boded both promising and ill, for me.  A better Lord of the Flies sounded super (e.g. The Maze Runner), but anoth… Continue reading →

Spinning Starlight, R. C. LewisI found Stitching Snow okay.  Spinning Starlight was much much more.  I barely stopped reading to do anything else!  In addition to finding myself quite riveted…It is hard sci fi, which is delicious to me… Continue reading →

Amazing Daddy, Rachel BrightThis easy reading rhyming list-book comes out in bookstores today.  It doesn’t win the prize for originality (as we have had at least three out from the library that are very similar), but my girls love that the chosen … Continue reading →

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen – Alison Weir Published by Hachette New Zealand History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived. I’m a sucker for historical fiction, and have been fascinated by British … Continue reading → Continue reading →

That’s (Not) Mine – Christopher Weyant and Anna Kang Published by Hachette New Zealand – July 2016 When I saw that super-talented husband-and-wife team Weyant and Kang had produced a new story featuring our favourite fuzzy creatures, I knew my … Continue reading → Continue reading →