Muggle Monday (20): J.K. Rowling Confirms Harry Potter Encyclopaedia

It's time for Muggle Monday, in which I post a quote, a video, or a significant piece of news from the Harry Potter franchise. This is somewhat inspired by the Mundane Monday posts by The Mundie Moms.

But let's be real as to why I made up this meme: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.


Somehow in all this news surrounding the reveal of the title and blurb of Jo's strange new book and Pottermore finally opening to the public, no one is talking about what I feel was actually the most exciting HP-related news revealed this week - Jo has confirmed work on her comprehensive encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter Universe:

For a long time I have been promising an encyclopaedia of Harry’s world, and I have started work on this now – some of it forms the new content in Pottermore. It is likely to be a time-consuming job, but when finished I shall donate all royalties to charity.

Ever since Jo had strongly indicated in her announcement of Pottermore that the Potter Encyclopaedia was not going to happen and in its place, she would be using Pottermore as a means of releasing background information about the HP Universe, I was saddened. Partly because Pottermore ended up being a pretty big disappointment, but also because as cool as it is to get this information for free on the internet, I would rather have a thick and shiny hardback of the encyclopaedia on my shelf to be able to refer to easily. I would happily pay for that ability (and especially since all royalties of the encyclopaedia will be going to charity, as is Jo's way). And as excited and intrigued as I am to read her new book, The Casual Vacancy, nothing will ever get me as riled up as new HP-related writing from her does.

What do you think? Are you excited to read the Potter Encyclopaedia? Or are you not an insane Potter Addict like I am and don't feel the need to read or own an HP Encyclopaedia?

Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: April 24, 2012

Pages: 320

Source: For Review from HarperCollins/Edelweiss (Thank you!)

Rating: 2 Stars

Everything is in ruins. 
A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them. 
So what does Araby Worth have to live for? 
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all. 
But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does. 
And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

In short: Though I really wanted to like Masque of the Red Death by Bethanny Griffin, I couldn't get past the seriously TSTL protagonist.

Though I have not read The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe - and so cannot speak to the specifics of how well this book was adapted - I think Bethany Griffin manages to replicate the dark and creepy atmosphere present in all of his stories quite well in her own adaptation. Death and horror are present in abundance in Masque of the Red Death, as is inevitable in a story where a horrific plague has decimated the population. There were also some elements of steampunk, which combined with the dystopian-horror genre, created these sort of strangely and darkly beautiful images of ladies in corsets and porcelain masques and steam carriages and hot air balloons.

Unfortunately, and though I really, really wanted to like Masque of the Red Death because it very much seemed like my kind of book, I found much more fault with it than I liked it. The plot was a bit too reminiscent of The Chemical Garden Trilogy (Wither, Fever) by Lauren DeStefano. A dystopian world with a population decimated by illness, a girl with a twin brother and a scientist parent trying to find a cure, ways of avoiding the reality of life for the rich and complete hopelessness for the poor, and an overall dark and dismal atmosphere. I read so many dystopians that admittedly, many of them start to blend together, but I was still looking for more originality in Masque of the Red Death to really make it a great read.

The worst offense of Masque of the Red Death though is protagonist, Araby, who is Too Stupid To Live in the biggest and baddest way. Some of her TSTL moments include - but are not limited to - blindly following and betraying her family for a guy she just met without questioning who he is or what his motivations are, accepting a drink from the seriously evil Prince Prospero without thought and ending up poisoned, and falling for a guy who in one moment is holding her suspended over croc-infested waters, threatening her life, and in the very next second is confessing his love for her. I wanted a heroine to root for, to take control of the situation and to independently think on her own, and though I got a few glimpses of that girl, she was sorely lacking throughout the majority of the novel.

I really dislike writing negative reviews for books where the popular opinion is overwhelmingly positive; it makes me feel like maybe I am missing something, maybe I got this wrong. Still, I stand strong in my dislike of Araby, who pretty much ruined the novel for me. If I had to recommend Masque of the Red Death to anyone, I would say it may be liked by fans of Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden Trilogy. And of course, I recommend reading other reviews because even though Masque of the Red Death wasn't the book for me, it clearly was for most reviewers.

Other Reviews:
Katie's Book Blog
The Midnight Garden
Supernatural Snark

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

Review: Cascade and Torrent (River of Time #2 and #3) by Lisa T. Bergren

Publisher: David C. Cook

Published: May 24, 2011/September 1, 2011

Pages: 399/388

Source: Bought ebooks

Rating: 3 Stars

Cascade:

Gabi knows she’s left her heart in the fourteenth century and she persuades Lia to help her to return, even though they know doing so will risk their very lives. When they arrive, weeks have passed and all of Siena longs to celebrate the heroines who turned the tide in the battle against Florence—while the Florentines will go to great lengths to see them dead. But Marcello patiently awaits, and Gabi must decide if she’s willing to leave her family behind for good in order to give her heart to him forever.

Torrent:

Gabi and Lia Betarrini have learned to control their time travel, and they return from medieval Italy to save their father from his tragic death in modern times.   But love calls across the centuries, and the girls are determined to return forever—even though they know the Black Plague is advancing across Europe, claiming the lives of one-third of the population. In the suspenseful conclusion of the River of Time series, every decision is about life … and death.

In short: Though I needed more depth than the River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren was able to give me, I do actually recommend this series if you're looking for a fun, fast-paced read.

The River of Time series has received so much hype and positive reviews that I just had to jump on the bandwagon and read it too. And I can see why this series is so popular. The extremely fast pace, the non-stop action, the swoon-worthy boys men, the feisty and brave heroines - the River of Time series is Entertainment with a capital "E". At no point is there ever any scene that is boring and at no point is there ever any lull in the non-stop adventures of the Betarrini Family.

At times, however, I felt the series was actually a bit too fast-paced for me - and this was ultimately the major factor in every little problem I had with the series. Plot points could have been better developed, characters and character relationships could have been further explored, and the time travel aspect could have been better explained, if only the series had slowed up the pace a bit more and included these things. Action scene after action scene is really fun, but I needed some filler to fully flesh out the story. And I really needed to know why Gabi and fam thought it was okay to completely mess with world history.

Something that really bothered me about the series, which I believe stemmed from the extremely fast pacing and not enough time spent developing the characters, is that Gabi and Lia kill A LOT of people and feel no remorse for it. We see them experiencing some grief after their first human kills in Waterfall, and then NOTHING in Cascade and Torrent. I realize that they're in a war situation and killing in defense is inevitable and I'm not asking for an all out Angst Fest here, but I needed for these young girls who grew up in the 21st century to feel something about these countless people they were killing, especially in a series where there are several passages where Gabi reflects on the value of human life. And though this has nothing to do with this series being considered Christian Fiction - because if you are a GOOD person, you will feel remorse for killing someone no matter what your religion - I was kind of under the impression that God wasn't down with killing humans.

Am I taking this series too seriously? Probably. But if that isn't an indication that what is supposed to be a light, fun read isn't the type of read for me, then I don't know what is. I needed more depth than the River of Time series was able to give me. This all being said however, I do actually recommend this series. All my complaints are obviously highly subjective and I think the vast majority of people would actually really enjoy spending an action-filled time with a cast of fun characters in Lisa T. Bergren's River of Time series.

Previously, my review of Waterfall.

Other Reviews: 
Alison Can Read: Cascade, Torrent
The Bookworm is Here!: Cascade, Torrent
A Girl, Books, and Other Things: Cascade, Torrent
Logan E. Turner: Cascade, Torrent
Musings of a YA Reader: Cascade, Torrent
Poetry to Prose: Cascade, Torrent
Small Review: Cascade, Torrent
Supernatural Snark (complete series)
The Unread Reader (complete series)

Author Links:
Website
Twitter
Goodreads

Waiting On Wednesday: HarperCollins Summer 2012 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which an upcoming, eagerly anticipated release is highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the HarperCollins Summer 2012 Catalog (it was seriously hard narrowing my picks down to just four; there are so many great books coming out by HarperCollins this summer!):

Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
Date: July 10, 2012

Add to Goodreads

More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.
Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test, and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War Three. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him? 

I picked up a review copy of Insignia from Edelweiss and I'm eager to read it! It reminds me of Holly Black's Curse Worker series with the male narrator and the con artist parent, but with a dystopian twist.

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
Date: August 28, 2012

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Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.
At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.
As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

Defiance sounds like a seriously cool fantasy. And one where the heroine wields a sword, which is cool to the power of 10. I am dying to read this one!

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
Date: August 28, 2012

Add to Goodreads

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.
But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.
Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

I'm not sure what to make of the premise for The Lost Girl. It is very strange, yet interesting. Why does Amarra need to be replaced at all when she dies? And I love that it's set in India!

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
Date: September 18, 2012

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Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything. 

I love the concept of What's Left of Me. The two souls living together in one body reminds me of The Host, where Melanie and Wanderer lived together in Melanie's body while trying to find a way for Wanderer to get a new host, just like Addie and Eva are hoping to find a new body for Eva.


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these HarperCollins Summer 2012 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the HarperCollins Summer 2012 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of my Hunger Games-themed giveaway (An ARC of The Girl Who Was On Fire, and a Hunger Games-themed Charm Bracelet, Slap Bracelet, and Earrings)! There were a total of 181 people who entered. And the winner, according to random.org, is:

Brooke!

Congratulations Brooke! An email has been sent to your inbox. Please respond with your full name and address within the next 48 hours.