fantasy

Shadow and Bone, a TV adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's bestselling fantasy trilogy of the same name, launches on Netflix, April 23rd. Some are calling the show the next Game of Thrones. A huge GoT fan, I knew I had to read the books before the TV series hit the airwaves because let's face it, the books are always better than the show. 

I managed to read the entire trilogy in a month and have moved on to Bardugo's Six of Crows duology that follows. Needless to say, I'm a fan. Bardugo has created a captivating universe set in what feels like the Russia of long ago but with magic. In Shadow and

For me, the most compelling part of the book wasn't the existence and secrecy of magic itself, but the lack of acceptance around it. While normally the world of a book having magic isn't something too impressive. The way that this book had magic exist but villanized by the general public was a unique twist that I don't normally see and I was really intrigued to see how it turned out.

The one thing I could say is that there was a bit much exposition - you have to go 50 pages into the book before you even beet the only character given a name in the synopsis. I was initially very confused on

The Cup and The Prince was a largely enjoyable read that featured charming characters, an amazing world, and a strong plot. The idea of winning a competition under false pretense was really interesting.

The plot immediately separated itself from other titles because of the pretense. Since Zora technically lied to compete for the Blood Cup, she's put into a more precarious position than other characters. She must keep her reasoning a secret from other characters, causing tension. Being tied to all three royal characters was also a good choice because it showed the contrast in each of Zora’s

A Wizard of Earthsea​ by Ursula K Le. Guin is the classic tale of how Ged, a young wizard, comes into his powers and repairs the mistakes of his youth, restoring balance to the land of Earthsea. Along the way he attends a school of magic, battles a dragon, and faces true evil. I really wanted to love this book. It’s high fantasy with a cult following and I wanted it to capture my heart the way that it has for so many people over the years. But ​A Wizard of Earthsea ​is unlike any other fantasy that I have ever read in that it isn’t very heavily plotted and there isn’t a ton of detail. All of

After her mother dies in a car accident, 16-year-old Bree Matthews enters an Early College program at UNC-Chapel Hill. During her first night on campus, she witnesses a demon attack — one that she shouldn’t be able to see. When a mage’s attempt to erase her memory backfires, her own magical powers are awakened and she uncovers an erased memory from the night of her mother’s death. With the help of her peer mentor, Nick, Bree infiltrates the Order of the Round Table, a secret organization consisting of descendants of King Arthur and his knights, as she believes they may have something to do

The Tower of Nero ​is the fifth and final book in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. It follows the Greek god Apollo turned mortal Lester Papadopoulos, as he continues his quest to restore the power of the prophecy, take down the power-hungry Roman emperors, and regain his seat on Mount Olympus. I haven't loved the Trials of Apollo series as much as other Rick Riordan series, but this book was truly excellent. With plenty of cameos and appearances from other beloved characters, this book left me feeling incredibly nostalgic. However, Rick Riordan’s classic humor also shined throughout the

The Night Country is the chilling sequel to Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood. After returning to New York City from the Hinterland, Alice, an ex-Story, attempts to live a normal, human life. Even though Hinterland citizens are still trickling into New York, Alice vows to leave her past behind. However, she quickly learns that escaping the Hinterland was far from the end — Hinterland characters are being slaughtered, one after another. Something sinister lies behind the murders, and Alice is running out of time to find the killer. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Can you hear the hidden clock?

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Wench was a promising title that ultimately fell short for me. I loved the idea of following a tavern wench as she tried to get back her tavern and found it was really interesting. I was also pleasantly surprised by the role magic played in the story. However, the book ultimately failed to please me. Tanya was the only character who had a real arc. Other characters felt unimportant and under-developed. They had very little backstory and served no purpose beyond helping Tanya. They didn’t feel like real people. Relationships also suffered. Most of the relationships Tanya has by the end of the

If you don't know the basics of the British television series Doctor Who, here we go: a mysterious, eccentric, very long-lived, alien scientist known only as "the Doctor" travels through time and space in a ship that looks like a 1960s British police call box on the outside and is much, much bigger and more futuristic on the inside. The Doctor is accompanied by human traveling companions, fighting against tyranny, bigotry, and destruction in the past, present, and future, all across the universe. The show originally ran from 1963-1989 and was revived in 2005, continuing on today. It's my all

In this enjoyable remake of Disney's classic Pete's Dragon, Pete is on a trip with his mom and dad when a deer leaps into the road causing a fatal crash. Five year old Pete is the only survivor. Thanks to Elliot, a precious-looking dragon with hair like a soft grassy meadow, Peter survivors for six years in the wilderness.

When the townspeople find out the dragon is not just town lore or a figment of a lost boy's imagination, chaos ensues and thus beings an exciting and suspenseful adventure. Pete's Dragon has excellent animation and the actors interact quite successfully.  

While exploring the new home Coraline and her family have just moved in to, she stumbles upon a small, mysterious door hidden behind wallpaper in one of the rooms. Through it, she discovers a world very much like her own, and yet very different, including alternate versions of her parents and neighbors. This alluring world turns dark when she finds that her parents have been kidnapped and she is slowly becoming trapped in a web of her Other Mother's making.

This movie is crazysauce, that’s all I can say. Crazysauce poured over an amazing sci-fi spectacular with a generous dose of cheese and a side of over-the-top drama, and those with a healthy sense of the ridiculous will eat it up with glee. If you are not a fan of campy fun, it may not be your cuppa. But if you enjoy stylish space opera with a capital O, cult classics like Labyrinth and Dune, or fangirl over broody heroes, this movie will be your catnip. The Wachowski siblings have created a true extravaganza of beautifully designed worlds, costumes, aliens, human hybrid breeds, gadgets and