“Tomb of Ancients” by Madeleine Roux

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I finished reading this book this evening. It is the final book in the “House of Furies” series by Madeleine Roux. I’ve liked all her books so far and this book didn’t disappoint. This book was hard to put down and kept me turning the pages. I won’t ruin the end in case anyone reading this is in the process of reading this series and hasn’t finished it like I have. The “House of Furies” series would be something good to read around Halloween time (along with her other works) for those of you who like a good dark fantasy.

Synopsis: The war between old gods and monsters comes to a thrilling climax in this final book in the “darkly delightful”* House of Furies series, from the New York Times bestselling author of Asylum. (*Publishers Weekly)

Free from the nightmares of Coldthistle House, Louisa and her friends have taken up a posh new London residence. But there’s no rest for the wicked. Religious zealots from the shepherd’s flock are gathering in the city, and ominous warnings are being left on Louisa’s doorstep. With the evil influence of her father’s spirit growing stronger—trying to take over—Louisa knows she will be forced to pick a side in the coming war between the old gods, whether she’d like to or not.

To save herself, Louisa is desperate enough to do whatever it takes—even if it means returning to Coldthistle House and striking another deal with Mr. Morningside. To uphold her end of the bargain, Louisa will have to rejoin his supernatural staff to venture to a gateway between worlds, a place of legend: the Tomb of Ancients. But, as always, there’s a catch…

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“Hogwarts Castle” topper

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Today, I came home to find out my hubby had purchased the Hogwarts Castle Christmas tree topper from Hallmark. It plays “Hedwig’s Theme” when you push the button on it. It is also suppose to interact with the Harry, Ron and Hermione ornaments that you can get from Hallmark as well. I’ve already got Harry this month. I’m going to get Ron next month and then get Hermione in October (Hermione doesn’t come out till October 5th so I have to get her last). Just to let you know, in order to get the ornaments to interact with one another, you have to buy a cord to connect them all together. You can connect up to 7 ornaments with this cord and it works with ornaments from 2017 and later. It cost me an extra $11.99 and I purchased it at the same time I got my Harry Potter ornament.

There are a couple of other ornaments that you can get that don’t interact with the tree topper or the other ornaments. One of them is the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes shop. That one is out already and I purchased that last month. The other one looks like the book cover from “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. This one won’t be released until November 8th so I’ll have to wait till after I’ve purchased Hermione to get it.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

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This movie came out in theaters this weekend and I got to go see it. This movie actually ended up doing better in the box office than I thought it was going to. In the theater I went to, they only had this movie showing on one screen so I figured they didn’t expect this movie to make much if it’s only showing on one screen. My hubby even mentioned that there were more people in that theater than he was expecting (he went to see the movie with me). My hubby found out that the Hobbs and Shaw movie was the only movie to beat out this movie as far as sales and he said they didn’t beat it out by much.

Anyway, this movie was different than what I was expecting going into it but I still liked the movie. I don’t think my hubby liked it but he’s not big into any of the horror movies anyway. I liked how they left this open for a sequel (and whether or not we get a sequel will probably depend on how well this movie does) which makes sense because there are three of these books. But I’m not going to ruin anything for you in case you haven’t seen the movie yet and want to see it. Now I think I will go back and re-read the books (haven’t read them since I was a kid).

News on “Chronicles of Narnia”

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After watching the movies “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in 2005, “Prince Caspian” in 2008 and “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” in 2010, I was looking forward to seeing the next movie in the series which was rumored to be the “Silver Chair”. I’d heard the rumors for years that they were going to be making that movie and I held out hope that I’d get a chance to see them continue making the other books into movies. I have found information regarding the series that announces that they are basically rebooting the series on Netflix (I provided a link below). I’m not sure how I feel about this at the moment. I’m currently reserving my judgement for when it comes out and I will decide then if they do the series justice or not.

What are your thoughts on the Chronicles of Narnia making the move to Netflix? Do you think it’s good or bad? Let me know by leaving a comment below….

https://netflixlife.com/2019/06/13/netflix-the-chronicles-of-narnia-details/

“What the Night Sings” by Vesper Stamper

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Well, I can add another book to my list of books I’ve read this year. I had read “Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl” a couple of years back. It gave me the perspective of what it was like to be a Jew who was trying to hid from the Nazi’s during WW2 in the hopes that they can stay hidden until the war is over. This book gives you a completely different perspective and shows you what it’s like to be a Jew who actually got caught by the Nazi’s, separated from your family and sent to live in a concentration camp before finally being liberated. If you want to read something different that will change how you look at history, this will be a good book.

Synopsis: After losing her family and everything she knew in the Nazi concentration camps, Gerta is finally liberated, only to find herself completely alone. Without her papa, her music, or even her true identity, she must move past the task of surviving and on to living her life. In the displaced persons camp where she is staying, Gerta meets Lev, a fellow teen survivor who she just might be falling for, despite her feelings for someone else. With a newfound Jewish identity she never knew she had, and a return to the life of music she thought she lost forever, Gerta must choose how to build a new future.

Pottermore – The digital heart of the Wizarding World

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So, have any of you visited Pottermore yet? If so, have you found out which Hogwarts House you belong in? Which wand you should have? What your Patronus is? Which House in Ilvermony you belong in? Have you ever been curious about any of these things?

I got curious and joined Pottermore so that I could found the answers to these questions (my results are listed below). I got my hubby signed up on Pottermore because I was curious to see what his answers were to the same questions (I won’t share his unless he gives me permission to do so).

I’m pretty happy with the results I got. I was surprised on which house I was sorted into. I thought I would be sorted into Hufflepuff, to be honest. I didn’t have any expectations on the other things prior to answering the questions. The only thing I wished they’d have is which pet should you have while in school. That I’d be curious to see….

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Patronus: Tortoiseshell Cat

Wand: Ebony Wood with a dragon heartstring core, 12 1/2″ and slightly springy flexibility

Ilvermony House: Horned Serpent

Looking forward to…..

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This is a book that I’m looking forward to. I’ve read the first three by Stieg Larsson and the fourth novel by David Lagercrantz. I haven’t read the fifth novel yet. I know, I know. If I’m going to read this book then I’ve got to get reading. But I just found out just now that this comes out on the 27th of this month. I didn’t know that they were making another Lisbeth Salander book again. It feels like they just came out with the fifth novel not long ago. Well, I’ve enjoyed the series so far and this one sounds like it will be an interesting one.

“Hollow City” by Ransom Riggs

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I finished reading this book this morning. This book is the second novel in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series and it picks up exactly where the first novel ends. The children are in a race against time to help Miss Peregrine while being chased by monsters of different sorts. I love this book because it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole entire time. The store moves along at a good pace and keeps you entertained all the way to the end. You won’t be able to put this book down because you’ll be so caught up in the adventures of Jacob and the other peculiar children.

Synopsis: Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them–but she’s trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.

Another purchase!

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I almost forgot to mention, I got to make a second purchase at my local book store. I got “A Stranger in the House” by Shari Lapena (paperback), “What the Night Sings” by Vesper Stamper (hardcover), “Enter the Dark House” (Welcome to the Dark House & Return to the Dark House) by Laurie Faria Stolarz (paperback). I just love going to my local book store. Plus, I’ve noticed that they’ve rearranged the store a bit so I had to spend some time getting myself reacquainted with where stuff is. I didn’t mind them rearranging the store since I normally make sure that I have plenty of time to shop when I go to the book store because I know I’m going to spend a while in there anyway.

My latest purchase today!

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I got to do a little shopping today. As always, I had fun browsing the store looking for books. I could live at the book store if they stayed open all the time. If you’re mildly curious to see what all I bought, you can check out the list below.

“If You Go Down To The Woods” by Seth C. Adams (paperback)
“The Saturday Night Ghost Club” by Craig Davidson (paperback)
“Haunted Nights: A Horror Writers Association Anthology” edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton (paperback)
“Splinter in the Blood” by Ashley Dyer (paperback)
“Tomb of Ancients” by Madeleine Roux (hardcover)
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz (paperback)
“More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz (paperback)
“Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones” by Alvin Schwartz (paperback)