Fandom Mashups (39)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
Your team of annoying characters came through for you last week - but now you're stuck with them O.O Which characters (heroes OR villains) do you want to come and get rid of them? (Part 2 of 2)

It's time to get rid of those annoying characters from last week! Whenever possible, I tried to match up each annoying character with the character I felt was best suited to get rid of him/her, lol.

1. Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy): Rose can teach Elena from The Vampire Diaries a thing or two about how to be a badass heroine in a vampire book.
2. Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars): Yes, Obi Wan once tried to teach young Anakin Skywalker to use the Force for good, and things didn't . . . work out so well. So here's his second shot at getting Anakin to quit being so whiny, and if Obi Wan fails to get through to him again, well, we all know that Obi Wan will do what he has to do.
3. Celaena/Aelin (Throne of Glass): She's not here to take out anyone specific; obviously, she could eliminate everyone on the entire list while barely lifting a finger. So she's kind of here as backup, in case there are any especially troublesome characters. XD
4. Fred & George Weasley (Harry Potter): OK, totally cheating here with two characters, but you can't get revenge on Filch without including both Weasley twins.
5. Arya Stark (Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire): Arya's been through a lot, but she doesn't moan about like her cousin, Robert/Robin Arryn does. I have a feeling that Arya wouldn't put up with her cousin's whining for very long, and if anyone could make him quit, she could.

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (116)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
What Do You Think Your Best Subject Would Be? Not Necessarily Your Favorite But the One You Think You'd Be Best At.

Definitely NOT Potions, lol. It reminds me of cooking a bit, and I am a microwave kind of girl all the way! XD I think Charms would be more my strong suit. I'm good at memorizing things, so committing all of the incantations and wand movements to memory wouldn't be a problem. Plus, Charms always sounded like a fun subject; I'm pretty sure I'd forget I was even in school whenever I was in that class.

Pre-Ordering Books, or: I Need to Read This NOW!

Confession: when it comes to waiting for much anticipated new releases, be they books, movies, or whatever, I am not a patient woman. You’re talking to someone who went running to Best Buy the day that the original Star Wars trilogy became available on DVD for the first time. I am also guilty of going to midnight releases for various Twilight movie DVDs. (Did I really do that? Ah, yes. Yes I did.)

Unsurprisingly, I do pre-order books. Not often—just the ones that I must read the very same day they’re released or I shall be very grumpy. I’m talking about The Raven Cycle, Throne of Glass, and any Shadowhunter novels. Yes, I am all about instant gratification when certain books are involved. These are the titles that I clear the rest of my reading schedule for and time my current read to end so that I can dive straight into the new arrival on its release day (as long as there isn’t a delivery mishap, which, unfortunately, has happened). The day that a release date is announced for George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter, I’ll be adding that to my Amazon cart faster than you can say winter is coming.

Something I’ve noticed lately is the offering of some nifty swag to those who pre-order various titles. I have to say, there have been a handful of books that I’ve definitely been motivated to order sooner rather than later because the incentives were very sweet indeed, and they were books I’d planned to buy eventually anyway.

Do you pre-order books? Are there any upcoming releases that you absolutely MUST have in your hands the day they’re available? Have pre-order goodies ever persuaded you to place your order before the release date?

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Mist

Chase Tinker and the House of Mist (Chase Tinker #4)
By Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Format: eBook
Source: Author

To Sum It Up: The evil Marlowes have taken almost everything from the Tinkers—including the magical Tinker house—and Chase is determined to get it back. With the help of his family and friends, Chase follows every possible lead on the house’s whereabouts, a search that takes him around the world and even back in time. Locating the house is only half the battle, however, as a final showdown between the Tinkers and the Marlowes awaits Chase and his allies once they do find the Tinker home.

Review: The Chase Tinker books have all been very enjoyable reads, and Chase Tinker and the House of Mist sees the series close with a strong finish. Our young hero faces his biggest challenges yet, including the theft of his family’s beloved home by the dastardly Marlowes. The Tinkers and the Marlowes have clashed before in the series, but this one, the battle for the house, promises to be the most explosive of all—and it doesn’t disappoint.

While the series has maintained a charming sense of whimsy through, it also hasn’t shied away from going a bit more serious in tone with each successive book. Chase Tinker and the House of Mist starts off on a very somber note, another reflection of the series’ maturity. What’s impressed me the most about these books is how they’ve moved forward in a way that respects Chase and his readers growing up, but not too fast.

Most of the novel focuses on the search for the house, with the majority of the action saved for the finale. Not to worry, though: there’s plenty to engage your interest until the house—and the Marlowes—is found. We learn about Persephone’s backstory, and Chase and Nori take a heart-pounding trip back to 18th century Scotland where Chase hopes to gain some insight from Augusta, one of his ancestors (this Outlander fan fully appreciated this bit of time travel to Scotland). There’s also a return of some magical acquaintances Chase and company have made during the course of their adventures. Although it’s the Marlowes’ insatiable greed for power that has brought faeries, vampires, warlocks, and leprechauns together with the Tinkers, the reunion is still nice to see.

The all-out confrontation between the two magical families is as intense as can be expected from these mortal enemies, and then some. Here again I commend the series for not walking away from a centuries-old feud with a light step. The conclusion to both the book and the series is well-balanced; there are some serious consequences of the Tinker/Marlowe hostilities, but in the end, readers who’ve watched Chase fulfill his destiny should be quite satisfied with this last chapter of his story.

All in All: This has been a little gem of a series, especially because of how awesome the house is. Standing out among books on magic can pose quite the challenge, particularly when geared toward younger readers, but this series is definitely worth checking out.

Fandom Mashups (38)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
You've met a SERIOUSLY annoying person and try as you might, you can't seem to get rid of him/her. As one final last ditch effort, you've decided to make yourself a team of annoying characters to fight fire with fire, because what could go wrong? Which characters from within your fandoms are you going to pick? (Part 1 of 2)

Looking over my picks for this week's topic, I can confidently say that I would NOT want to be locked in a room with them, lolol. Not everyone may find these characters annoying, but they all grated on my nerves quite a bit:

1. Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries): Specifically, Elena as she's portrayed in the the VD novels that I read. And I only read said novels (three total) because Melissa begged me to. (I feel she still owes me coffee or something for that.) Book Elena lacks common sense about 99.9% of the time, which is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to fictional characters.
2. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones): Specifically, Anakin in this movie. He comes off so petulant, like if Obi Wan doesn't let him have his way, Anakin gets all pouty about it. This is not the future Darth Vader I pictured in my mind at all.
3. Tris (Divergent): I quit Divergent after one book, and Tris was a big factor in that. The way she treated her "friends" really, really bothered me. I understood that they were also her competitors, but I thought she could be really two-faced with them.
4. Argus Filch (Harry Potter): This guy is always in the place where you least need him to be. He's also incredibly annoying in the Lego HP game because if he catches you prowling around Hogwarts after hours, he literally grabs you and won't let go until your teammate rescues you.
5. Robert/Robin Arryn (Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire): No matter what name this kid goes by, he's a little brat. To be fair, his mother is mostly to blame for that, but excusing his behavior goes out the window (or should I say, Moon Door? XD) whenever I think of him destroying Sansa's Winterfell that she built out of snow. It's hard to believe that he's a cousin to the Stark children.