Quote of the Month:

Quote of the Month:

Friday, September 27, 2024

In Memory of Dame Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith (December 28th, 1934- September 27th, 2024) 

I grew up loving so many great movies with Maggie Smith. One of her most famous roles was in the Harry Potter movies as Professor McGonagall. She was an incredible Minerva and was perfect casting. My favorite of her scenes was in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, when she says “I always wanted to do that spell,” to Molly. I love the little moment of levity.

My first introduction to her was in the Sister Act movies. She was the head nun and I absolutely loved her. Then, I met her again in Hook and The Secret Garden (1993), which are two of my favorite movies. Overall, I have seen her in about twenty movies and loved her in every one. She was an extremely talented actress, who will be greatly missed. 

Rest in Peace Maggie

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Agatha All Along: Episode 3 Spoiler Review

    Another great episode, which has me so intrigued to see what will happen next with our coven. I love how we might have gotten answers here but most likely it is just leading to more of them. The crew behind this show are very good at creating a mystery for their viewers. I cannot wait to learn more as the story progresses. The rest of this review will have spoilers. I will be discussing all my thoughts and opinions on the episode. 

Eerie Setting 

    Up until this point, the episodes have been very humorous. Episode 3 definitely added in an eerie factor. The Salem Seven were creepy at the end of episode 2 but this had an eerie feeling throughout the whole episode. It was interesting to have such an unassuming house for the first trial and then for it get worse as the episode continued. 

    I particularly loved how each of the witches’s greatest fears were visually shown to us. We don’t know what is going on completely with any of them. Could they be visions of the past or could the task be paying on fears they all have? Or a bit of both.

Their Greatest Fears

    This episode gave us even more to think about each of the witches and Teen. It revealed quite a bit about each of them. On their way to the first house, Lilia is the one to say that they will come across their greatest fears on the road. Jenn then sees a beach house in the distance. When they get to the first house, it seems to be nice and peaceful until they drink from the wine. I like how each witch is going to have to use their powers to escape from the trials. 

    The first house was meant for Jenn, the potion witch. Though, I like how they each had to help find ingredients for the potion. They all had a hand in getting themselves out of the house. It was interesting to see them have to work together to get over their fears so that they could get the household items. Also, I love how all of the gross items are actually just common household items such as honey. Hilarious! 

Poor Sharon

    It was interesting and terrible that the show writers chose to have Sharon drink the wine first, so the witches are able to see the effects before they occurred to them. (Poor Sharon. I’m hoping she’s not actually gone). We can guess what Sharon’s worst fear is from what she says. It was probably when Wanda is making Mr. Hart choke at the dinner from the first episode of WandaVision. This scene made that original scene even more terrible. 

Jenn and the Doctor

    I like that it took Agatha helping Jenn to get her to have confidence in her abilities after Jenn saw her greatest fear. Multiple times throughout the episode, Agatha takes on aspects of the leader of a coven. She is her sarcastic self most of the time but there are glimpses of her caring for the others. 

    Jenn sees a doctor who tries to drown her in the sink in her hallucination. I’m assuming he’s the one she talks about later to Agatha, who stole her powers. What the doctor does to her reminds me of the “therapies” they used to do to women in the early 1900s to help with what men called, hysteria. I wonder if that is what happened to her. Or at least something similar. It is just too reminiscent. Also, it goes along with one of the ways they tried to prove if a woman was a witch in the past.

Alice’s Mom

    We knew that Alice did not know what happened to her mother and wanted to see if she could find out on the Witch’s Road. I’m wondering if what Alice saw was from the past or if this is what she believed happened to her mother. This is just one piece of the puzzle, I’m sure we will get by the end of the road. I look forward to seeing Alice’s task on the road. 


Lilia’s Past

    Since we met her at the beginning of Episode 2, Lilia has been having spontaneous visions. I wonder if this is something new that has been happening to her or if it is how she has always gotten her prophetic messages. She seems to be the other oldest witch in the coven at the moment other than Agatha. Makes me wonder what she could have gone through over all those years with such visions. She has given hints when she talked to Agatha and Teen in the second episode, but I’m sure there is much worse. 

    Lilia’s greatest nightmare is the one that interested me the most, besides Agatha’s. It was also the creepiest of them all. When Agatha and Lilia are trying to find their ingredients for the potion, Lilia sees the ghost of a young girl who asks her “Do you want to see?” The credits show that she was a young Lilia. Lilia follows her younger self, through what looks like an old house. As they continue on, they come across an old rotting woman (Lilia’s teacher), who has the personification of Death appear behind her. Then when Lilia gets out of the room, she comes across Agatha, who she tells in Italian “She’s dead… They’re all dead.”

    Her prophetic messages from both episodes could all be warnings to herself. And her greatest nightmare could be the fact that she didn't listen to a piece of one of her prophecies and the people she cared for died because of it. It seems like she is reliving these scenes from her past. 

Agatha and the Cradle

   Before watching yesterday’s episode, I told my mother that I hope the show doesn’t make it like Agatha hasn’t done villainous acts. I’m okay with her growing but I don’t want it to be like she was innocent the entire time. She has done terrible things over the years as a witch and that should not be just forgiven and forgotten. I love a great villain and she is one of my favorites. She has moments where she is trying to help others, like when she was helping Jen with her confidence and when she chooses to drink the wine instead of Teen. Most of these times seems to be when she is forced to so they can continue down the road or not die. But then she has her selfish moments when she at first tries to get out of being poisoned by the wine or when she kicks everyone at the end of the episode. She’s complicated. 

    After seeing this episode, I look forward to seeing what else they show of her character. There is a lot of depth below the surface. Agatha drinking the wine last plays into her seeing her own worst nightmare in front of everyone. Kathryn Hahn is an amazing actress. Her switch to hide how she is feeling from the other witches was incredible. She is someone so used to hiding her feelings behind sarcasm and it’s obviously hard for her to show any vulnerability in front of anybody. Even though I do hope she stays villainous, I want to see her able to trust someone by the end of the show. I think the point of the Witch’s Road for her will be for her to learn that she has to be able to work with people. 


    Oh my goodness, Agatha's greatest nightmare was so damn sad. I'm wondering if Agatha actually sacrificed her son like Jenn said the rumor is, or if someone else did. Maybe Rio. That would definitely explain why Agatha hates her as much as she does. It could also be the guilt of doing such a terrible thing to her own son or Agatha maybe didn’t even know what kind of deal she was making. What she sees in the vision might be just how it happened. Her son was crying, she went to check on him, and found the Darkhold instead. 

Teen’s Identity

    Teen’s reaction to the sigil seems telling. I believe he knows what is going on and is trying to act like he doesn’t. He probably is trying to hide who he is from the witches. But the question is, why? The show is obviously leading us to believe there is some sort of connection between himself and Agatha. Like, he could maybe somehow be her son. All I know is, that he is acting quite suspicious.  

    Also, I think Agatha might have some idea of what is going on with him. Or at least she doesn’t want anyone else to figure it out for themselves. 

Episode 3 Final Thoughts

    First, I would like to say that I hope Sharon is not actually dead. She was such a great character and she did not deserve such a fate just because Agatha is selfish. Though, them killing off the most innocent character on the road could be to show how terrible their journey is going to be. Also, the consequences if they don’t work together and unselfishly. 

    I’m hoping the show continues the way it is because I’m loving it very much. It is entertaining and has me theorizing a lot. Cannot wait for Episode 4 next week. I look forward to seeing what will happen next in their journey down the road. 

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Favorites of Summer 2024

  ☀️ My Favorites of Summer 2024 🌻

Below, I have listed some of my favorite music, YouTube videos, and TV that I have watched or listened to this summer. This has been a great season for some amazing entertainment. I also wanted to share the stories I loved on A03 from this season. 

🎵 Music:

This year has been great for new music. Here are some of the best that I loved in Summer 2024. My absolute favorites have an asterisk  (*) by them. 

1. The Tortured Poets Department*

    🎶 I wanted to mention this album again because it has been a countless favorite ever since it came out. It's funny how much each song resonates with me now. There were many songs I didn't enjoy the first several times listening to them but now I enjoy almost every one of them. I love working and listening to this album in the background. It is just so damn beautiful. Taylor has created something special with this one. I mean look at how long it has stayed number one.

2. “People Don’t Talk About” by the Reklaws*- 

    🎼 I first heard this song when the Reklaws performed it on AGT and it had me tearing up. It is one of the best songs I have heard in quite a long time. Now, I’m going to listen to all of their music. Incredible.  

3. Sabrina Carpenter’s cover of “Good Luck Babe”*- 

    🎧 I fell in love with Chappell Roan’s music earlier this year with “Good Luck Babe.” It is such a hit and Sabrina does an incredible job covering it here. I love this just as much as the original. Sabrina puts her own flare on the song and it stands out. Fabulous job. Definitely will be listening to it again and again. 

4. Teddy Swim’s cover of “Cruel Summer”- 

    🎵 Oh my goodness, this version is stunning. “Cruel Summer” is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs and this is beautiful. Teddy Swim has a great voice. 

5. F-1 Trillion*

    🎶 Post Malone was meant to sing country music. I love this album so damn much. My favorites are “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen),” “Nosedive (feat. Lainey Wilson),” “Guy for That (feat. Luke Combs),” “Devil I’ve Been (feat. Ernest),” “M-E-X-I-C-O (feat. Billy Strings),” and “Yours.”  

6. Short n’ Sweet

    🎼 I’ve loved some of Sabrina’s music for years but I have never listened to it consistently. This album is her best. My favorite songs are “Taste*,” “Coincidence,” “Espresso* (It’s the hit of the year for a reason. Damn, it’s such a bop.),” “Please, Please, Please,” and “Juno.” Sabrina’s voice is beautiful. I hope the rumors are true that there is a deluxe version of this album out there because I would love to listen to more music. My favorite thing about Sabrina is her humor. There are so many lyrics in these songs that make me laugh so hard. 

7. “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” from Agatha All Along

    🎧 I love that we got such a great song for Agatha All Along. This is on my Halloween playlist and I cannot wait to listen to it with the rest. I’m hoping we get other great songs for the show. 

8. “Mockingbird” by Rob Thomas*- 

    🎵  This is a song I used to listen to a lot during college. I have always loved Rob Thomas/Matchbox 20’s music and this was one of my absolute favorites. During this summer I put on a playlist on Spotify and this started to play. It was the first time I had heard it in a long time. I immediately put it in my Summer 2024 playlist. Such a great one!

9. “Ego” by Halsey- 

    🎶 Heard “Ego” for the first time with Halsey’s performance from the VMAs. Another great one. 

10. “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O. A. R.- 

    🎼I used to listen to this song a lot in high school. Another recommendation from a Spotify playlist. Spotify is so great at recommending me songs. They know I have a type. 


📺 TV Shows:

1. Ghosts*

~Finally, finished Season 1-3 of Ghosts. I adore this show so darn much. It was great learning even more about each of the ghosts as the show continued. There are so many clever ideas in this show with the ghosts. My favorite is dealing with imaginary friends. Such a great idea. These writers are clever and I cannot wait to see what they do in season 4. 
~My favorite characters are Issac, Thorfinn, Alberta, and Hetty. 
~October 17th cannot come soon enough. 
~Also, the song “Tubthumping” playing in Hell joke is brilliantly hilarious. This show is my brand of humor. 


2. Agatha All Along (Episodes 1-2)*

~ I have a post on here already discussing my love for these episodes. Agatha All Along is a great continuation of the story started in WandaVision. It is the witchy show I have wanted for a long time and I love it so far with all my heart. Cannot wait to see Episode 3 on Wednesday, September 25th. 


🖥️ YouTube:

1. BooksandLala

~ Reading YOUR 5 ⭐️ Predictions For Me 🤯 (books I’ve never heard of)- Many of these books sound quite interesting. I want to make my own Bingo board like she did and find books to fill in with my favorite things in books. 





~ completing my reading goals in a week ✨- Makes me want to read Dune 



~ Reading Haunted House Books for a Week 👻🏚- Gosh, I love Kayla’s videos so much! Great video idea. 

~ Reading the 10 Best Books fo the 21st Century (so far) via @nytimes- I’m always interested in looking at lists like this and seeing how much I have read off on them. 


~ this reading vlog ends when I find a 5⭐️ from 2002- Got to watch this video when it first premiered on September 8th. Great series. I also was obsessed with the Olsen twins in the early 2000s. 

~ My Fall Video & Reading Plans + TBR Jar Picks 🍂🎃- I’m glad Kayla’s going to read the Dale Mayer book because I love watching her try to figure out the mysteries with Rob. Those videos are always so funny.


2. Charlie Hopkinson

~ Qui Gon reacts to Ki Adi Mundi being a liar-.  Charlie is comedic gold!

“It’s why his head is so long, to hold all those lies.” 😂

~ Qui Gon loves the Acolyte now- Charlie is so funny. 


~ Acolyte Episode 7 confuses Qui Gon

~ Anakin reacts to Darth Plaguies the Shy- I love them trying to prove that Ki Adi Mundi is guilty. Hilarious!

“So when you put your fog lights on, you could be murdering fog people?”

“It’s a possibility, yes.” 😂


3. Daniel Greene

~ The Best Fantasy News You’ll Ever Watch!!!!- YAY, Merphy!!! I love watching Merphy’s videos and it was awesome having her do a Fantasy News episode. Can’t believe I haven’t had a Merphy video on here before. Have to change that soon. She’s great. Also, the title is very true. lol

~ Piranesi: Wet Winding Labyrinth Mystery! - This made me want to read Piranesi again. Probably will before the movie comes out. 

~ An Actually Brutal Bookshelf Roast! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

~ Sanderson Ruined My Day! 🥹 Fourth Wing Gets a Showrunner 🧪 John Scalzi Gets PAID 📚 ~FN~

~ Sanderson LIED About His RPG🎲 New DragonLance Series 🐉 Cradle TRAILER🎬- I love Daniel’s beef with Brandon Sanderson. Absolutely hilarious. 

~ NEW Gentlemen Bastards Books!📚 MASSIVE Arcane Season 2 Leak🚰 The Hugo Awards Are Back!🏆~FN~ - I love how he got Joe Abercrombie in a video. The Brandon Sanderson situation is so damn funny. 🤣 Every week it just keeps getting better. Love Tuesdays. 

~ Hugo Awards Apology🚀 Rings of Power Falling Viewership 😞 James Earl Jones Passes ~FN~ - Definitely, have to pick up Brandon Sanderson’s children’s book for my collection. Looks absolutely incredible! Those illustrations are stunning. 


Other Favorites

1. Vacation in New Jersey

    🏖 For the last three years, we have been going down to visit our family in New Jersey. We always have such a great time and this year might have been the best time yet. I love getting to spend so much time with the family. It was even better this year because my brother and his girlfriend came with us.


    🏝 Loved going to Seaside Heights, Dudley Park/Cedar Creek, Toms River, Bayville, and so many other places. I’m thankful for times like these and I cannot wait for many more to come. 

2. My favorite stories on A03

    🖋 I really want to gush so much about all of the stories on this list. There are so many that I would love to reread again and again. Damn, these writers are so great. 

~ Some Unholy Hoax by ArgylePirateWD*- I love this story so much. I don’t know if we’ll get a GO Season 3 after the stuff happening with Neil Gaiman (he’s terrible). Guess if that happens I’ll just have to accept one of these fanfictions as the ending. This is definitely a great one. It is very long (over 200,000 words) and also explicit. 

~Oh, Lord, Heal This Love by WaitingToBeBroken*- This was absolutely hilarious. Love this series of Meet Cutes so much! 

~ The Accidental Understudy by AppleSeeds*- A sweet story that I highly enjoyed. AppleSeeds stories are always wonderful. I will always love a feel good story that is supposed to just make you happy. 

~ Mr. Fell’s Heavenly Bed and Breakfast by INeedABurnerAccountOkay- Another great story. I love WriterCrowley stories. 

~ The Tadfield Holiday beerok23*- Here, I am again reading a Christmas story in the summertime. There's something about reading them that just brightens my mood. And I really needed some happiness this August. 

This story was perfect in every way and now makes me want to watch The Holiday. I don't know how I never watched it before. I loved the dynamic between Crowley and Aziraphale, especially Aziraphale's sarcastic attitude. He was so funny. Also, the references were wonderful. 

I laughed, cried, and smiled so damn much with this story. It was beautiful and everything I needed. Definitely, will be rereading this at Christmastime. 

~ I Know What He Smells Like by Sodium_Azide- Oh my goodness, this is so cute! 

“ ‘Sir, with all due respect, you’re legally blind and I have no idea how you identified him in the first place, if you did in fact just find him passed out in the hallway like you described.’

‘…I know how he smells. I know his footsteps. I know the feel of his shoulder under my hand. I know how he snuffles when he’s trying not to laugh, and how he holds his breath when he hurts at the end of a long day at work.’ ”- Damn, this is beyond adorable. I really love so many lines in this story. 

~ Passive- Aggressive Bouquets by susieboo- Absolutely, hilarious! I love Flower Language stories so much and want to someday write my own. 

~ The Rat Man by AppleSeeds- I love AppleSeeds’s stories so much. They are always so sweet and funny. 

~ AziraCrow AU- Home Is Where The Heart Is by CirusTheDivider- Such a sad story. 

~ The Ritual by AppleSeeds

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Agatha All Along: Episodes 1-2 Spoiler Review

    My witchy loving heart is estatic to talk about how much I adored Episodes 1 and 2 from Agatha All Along. I have been looking forward to this show ever since I watched WandaVision in 2022. Agatha was an interesting part of that show and I just wanted more of her. 

    This is a spoiler-filled review of the show with all of my thoughts and opinions so far. Everything below this paragraph will spoil the show. I highly recommend watching it for WandaVision fans and fans of witchy stories. I cannot help but feel like this show was made for me. 

Crime Show/ Nicholas Scratch

    I like how we got the crime show aspects throughout the first episode. It fits very well with what was going on in Agatha’s mind because of Wanda’s spell. After her conversation with Herb, I’m wondering what other kinds of delusions she has had over the three years. Or if this has been the only one. Also, the made car scene is hilarious. 

    Also, the scene when she looks in the room and sees all of the stuff for Nicholas Scratch makes me wonder if she actually had a son. I mean this could have just been for the crime show device. There is a trope in crime shows of detectives having dead children which makes them rough around the edges. But it feels like there was so much more to the scene than her mind creating it with the spell.

    I mean look at Wanda’s hex and what she created because she wanted a happy family life with Vision. Could Agatha have created this scene because she is holding a deep secret? In some of the comics, Agatha has a son named Nicholas Scratch so is this going to be a part of the MCU? And what happened to him if she did? All questions I hope we find out by the end of the show. 

Westview Citizens

    I’m looking forward to seeing all of the Westview citizens more out of the hex that Wanda created. It was great seeing them in these episodes. I like how we get to see them in Agatha’s crime show world but then also outside of it. 

    I’m surprised how much I loved Mrs. Davis (Mrs. Hart in Wanda’s hex). We didn’t know much about her other than what we saw of her in the dinner scene in WandaVision and then the bit we saw of her after Wanda lifts the hex. I love her in this show. She was so funny. The best part of Episode 2 might have been when she was tricked into joining the coven and her confusion to what was going on. “Are we doing laundry together?” and “Am I supposed to know this song?” are some of the best lines in the show. She is bringing so much comedy to the show and I cannot wait to see what will happen next with her. 

Kathryn Hahn as Agatha

    Kathryn Hahn is brilliant as Agatha. I loved the difference between her playing Agnus in the crime show parts to her being Agatha again. There is such an obvious difference in her personality between them both. Great acting! One of my favorite scenes is when she is taking off each of the personas she had during Wanda’s spell. It was such an interesting scene and visual for the show. I just wish they didn’t have it in the trailer because it would have been cool to see it for the first time in the show. 

    I look forward to seeing her journey throughout this show. I’m hoping we learn so much more about her character. Definitely, going to have to look for the comics with Agatha in them. I want to know as much as I can about her. 

The Other Witches and References

    Love seeing how each witch is dealing with the modern day and getting to know why each wanted to travel the Witches’ Road. Hopefully, we will get to learn more about each witch by the end of the show. 

    I have a feeling that “the Teen” is not completely telling the truth of why he wanted Agatha’s help down the road. We obviously saw in the trailer how his name is being kept from Agatha by magic. I find it interesting that when Agatha asks him about his past, she doesn’t hear what he is saying too. Makes me wonder what could be going on with that.

    Also, the references have been perfect so far. There have been the obvious ones to Wanda and WandaVision and then the witchy ones. My favorites so far have been from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I’m looking forward to seeing what other references are in this show and the music. “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” was great and I want to hear even more music from the witches. 

Answers I want by the end of this show

  1. Teen’s identity- This is what so many of us have been wondering since the first trailer came out for this show. So far, I love Teen. I love how he plays off of Agatha’s sarcasm and watching him help her get the other witches to join their coven. There’s the obvious answer to his identity and that’s Billy. But, I’m wondering if it’s going to be so simple. There is some kind of magic causing Agatha not to hear him when he reveals anything personal to her. It could be his own or maybe someone else’s magic. Maybe Wanda's.
  2. Wanda’s whereabouts- An answer I have wanted ever since watching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In Episode 1, we are led to believe that Wanda has died, at least in Agatha’s crime show allusion. But, we learn that this might not be real from her conversation with Herb. So, this makes me wonder why Agatha is seeing Wanda dead and how she was seeing it to begin with. Does it have something to do with what happened to Wanda in Doctor Strange? Wanda could actually still be alive and sending Agatha a message. Or does Wanda’s death cause Agatha to start seeing the crime show stuff because it messed up the spell? 
  3. Agatha and Rio’s relationship- I really want to know what happened between Agatha and Rio which made them hate each other so much. There is so much tension between them and it seems like they were in a relationship in the past. Rio is such an intriguing nemesis for Agatha and I am looking forward to seeing more of her throughout the show. I’m assuming she’s the animals Agatha was seeing all throughout episode 2. 
  4. Agatha’s backstory- I don’t want a ton of time taken up for this point but I would love to see more of Agatha over the years since her Salem days. Also, it would be great to learn even more about the other witches. This might happen for each of their challenges down the road. I’m sure they each will be given a task they have to complete during their journey. 
  5. Is Nicholas Scratch Agatha’s son?- I discussed this quite in depth above but wanted to mention it here too. We had the rabbit Senor Scratchy both in WandaVision and then here after Agatha is taken out of Wanda’s spell. I’m wondering if Agatha actually had a son Nicholas Scratch and that’s why the scene with her looking into his room played out during spell. 

Monday, September 9, 2024

In Memory of James Earl Jones

 
James Earl Jones (January 17th, 1931- September 9th, 2024)

One of my all-time favorite actors. He was such a great man with one of the most iconic voices in the world. Loved him in Star Wars, The Lion King, The Sandlot, Field of Dreams, Merlin (1998), and so many other works. 

James Earl Jones was one-of-a-kind and he will be greatly missed. RIP
 
 
 
One of my favorite scenes from any Disney movie
 
"Remember who you are." 
 

Sunday, September 1, 2024

August Reviews

  August Reviews 

August 1st-31st

Had a pretty great reading month in August. I read 9 books during the month and had 4 five star reads. 

Book 73: After Oz

By Gordon McAlpine

Read August 1st-2nd

Pages: 240

Release Year: 2024

📚📚📚

A dark take on what happens with Dorothy after she returns to Kansas from Oz. I’m always interested when I see a book that deals with the land of Oz and had to read this thriller as soon as I heard of it. The audiobook version was narrated by Maria Ru-Djen. She did a great job with this story. 

It is set in the late 1890s and is told from two perspectives. The first is one of the townspeople who is highly religious and holds a lot of prejudices. They are an unknown resident of the town who illustrates the viewpoints of most of the residents. It was oftentimes irritating to listen to what they were saying and brought down the story a bit for me. I know exactly what they were in the story for but it still made it less enjoyable of an experience. The second perspective in the book is Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford, who is a psychologist trying to solve Dorothy’s innocence. 

When Dorothy returns to Kansas from Oz, she begins to tell of her adventures there and also of its magical inhabitants. These stories worry the people in her town who believe she is at first delusional and then as the story goes on diabolical. When the body of a local woman, Alvina is found, they think Dorothy is the murderer because of her description of killing the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz. She is sent to an asylum. Evelyn Wilford goes to the asylum to interview Dorothy and sees a little girl who she does not believe could murder anyone. Evelyn decides to go to the town and see if she can solve what really happened. 

Don’t go into this book thinking you will see any of Oz, that is not what this story is about. Dorothy does go into some details about her friends and some of what she does in Oz, but not much. The story’s focus is on the prejudices and religious beliefs of Dorothy’s town and on the murder mystery. Dorothy is not in the book as much as I thought she would be either. She is obviously very important in the plot, but we see more of the townspeople and Evelyn than Dorothy. It did have me wanting to find out who murdered Alvina. The twists surprised me a lot. 

I’m always intrigued by continuations of classic stories. I think it was interesting how Gordon decided to take this in a very different direction. Though, it was disappointing to not get more of Oz or at least Dorothy. You don’t go into a Oz retelling/continuation thinking you won’t get at least some of the characters or the world.  

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Book 74: A Sorceress Comes to Call 

By T. Kingfisher

Read August 5th

Pages: 336

Release Year: 2024 

📚📚📚📚
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T. Kingfisher is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors and is definitely one of the best I have found at writing dark fairy tale retellings. She does an incredible job twisting stories into her own. You may know the "Goose Girl" fairy tale going in but that doesn't mean you'll know what will happen here. I didn't want to stop listening to this book once I started. It was great in every single aspect.

The story follows both Cordelia and Hester. Cordelia is a fourteen-year-old who has been tortured by her mother her entire life. Her mother, Evangeline, is a sorceress who is used to getting what she wants and even takes control of her daughter's actions at times. Evangeline has decided she wants to get married to a wealthy man so that she can have a great fortune and get her daughter married too. She will do anything to get what she wants.

Hester is the intelligent sister of the Squire, whom Evangeline wants to marry. She sees right through Evangeline and knows she has to find a way to stop Evangeline from marrying her brother. Hester also wants to help Cordelia, whom she grows fond of.

I loved following both perspectives, but especially Hester. This is quite a dark story, but I loved the humor throughout. Most of this humor came from Hester's narration. She was so funny, along with many of her friends. I was surprised by how many times this had me laughing out loud. The wit of these characters is just top-notch. Also, her romance with one of the other characters was so sweet. I'm a sucker for a story like theirs. 

Cordelia is a timid girl who is afraid of everything around her because of how her mother has treated her. It is hard to listen to this abuse, but it makes Cordelia's growth all the better. We watch her grow throughout the book with the love of her friends.

There is nothing I could say bad about this book other than the fact that I did not want it to end. Every character was so well fleshed out and came alive in the story. I also loved the side characters we had, such as Alice, Penelope, Imogene, Richard, and Wilfred. 

I'm thankful I requested the audiobook ARC from NetGalley because it was perfect. Both narrators did a wonderful job creating each of the characters' voices and an eerie feeling with their narration. I highly recommend it. I'll definitely be adding this to my collection and will pick up anything T. Kingfisher writes. She has such a unique voice and is a talented author.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Book 75: The Search for the Red Dragon 
(The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #2) 

By James A. Owen

Read August 6th-9th

Pages: 384

Release Year: 2008

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An interesting continuation of The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series. It combines many fantasy, mythology, and folklore characters into this story with many famous authors. I love when a story brings authors and their characters together and gives a fictional account of where they got their inspiration for their stories. My favorite aspects of this novel are the ones dealing with Peter Pan. I will not spoil any of that here but I love what they did with his character.

Book 76: The Black Bull of Norroway

By Cat Seaton & Kit Seaton 

Read August 20th

Pages: 224

Release Year: 2018

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Reread August 20th- 
This is such a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. I am very interested in reading the next volume after all these years.

Review October 26th, 2019- 
A very interesting fairy tale. I really enjoyed this story and also the art style. This was one of the prettiest graphic novels that I have ever read. It's absolutely amazing.

Book 77: The Queen on the High Mountain

By Cat Seaton & Kit Seaton

Read August 20th-21st 

Pages: 232

Release Year: 2021

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I enjoyed the first volume quite a bit, but this one lags too much. We get a time jump from the first story and nothing really seems to be accomplished with this one. It again ends on a cliffhanger and I will not be picking up the next if it ever comes out. I don’t like the characters or the story enough to want to know what happens at this point.

Book 78: Mythos: The Illustrated Edition 

By Stephen Fry

Read August 21st-24th

Pages: 512

Release Year: 2024

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This is the second time I have read this book. I adore Stephen Fry’s retellings of the stories of the Greek Gods and loved this edition with the illustrations. They made it even more enjoyable.

Stephen takes the stories of the Greek Gods that we have heard before and adds his own flare to them. Most of the stories focus on the divinity, along with some tales of the mortals who are affected by the gods and goddesses. 

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which Stephen reads himself. He is an incredible narrator and I’ll never get enough of his narration. The illustrated edition of this book is absolutely beautiful! The illustrations fit so well with the tales and make an incredible edition. Perfect for collectors out there. I’m sure it will be even more beautiful physically. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of the illustrated edition of this wonderful book. I highly recommend picking it up for fans of the original and Greek Mythology as a whole.

Book 79: Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers

By Jessica Roux

Read August 26th

Pages: 213

Release Year: 2020

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I bought this book to research for a book I am writing and throughly enjoyed it. Flower Language is one of the most interesting parts of Victorian history that I have found out about more recently. For each flower you get a stunning illustration, the meaning of the flower, the origin of the meaning, and other flowers to pair it with to gain even more meaning. I adore the design of this book and found out a lot about the flowers.

Book 80: The Indigo King
(The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #3)

By James A. Owen 

Read August 26th-27th

Pages: 375

Release Year: 2008

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Each of these books keeps getting better in this series. I love the world that James has created with the   Archipelago and I just want to keep seeing more of it. This has so many aspects I love in literature with time travel, Greek Mythology, and King Arthur. Also, we finally find out who the Cartographer is and that was very interesting. I want to reread the first two books in this series because of this book, especially to see the scenes with the Cartographer.

Book 81: Before the Ever After

By Jacqueline Woodson

Read August 28th

Pages: 176

Release Year: 2020

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One of the most beautifully heartbreaking books I have read in quite a long time. I love how this book was written in ZJ’s voice, through verse. There are so many lines that stood out, especially from ZJ’s daddy. Not only was this book heartbreaking, but it was also heartwarming. 

I adored how supportive ZJ’s parents were of his aspirations to become a musician. In a lot of stories where one of the parents is an athlete, they push their children to also go in that direction. That never happens in this book even before ZJ’s daddy starts to show signs of CTE. 

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Guy Lockard does an incredible job creating ZJ’s voice and giving emotion to such a hard subject. This had me in tears multiple times.