Welcome to Hotel Magnifique, Where Wonders Await and Mysteries Lurk… What Will It Hold for You?

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor is a YA fantasy that showcases the story of Jani, a spirited young lady, determined to make a better life for her sister Zosa and herself from their life of patched clothes and struggling to make enough to ensure they won’t get kicked out from their rented residence. So,…

Revisiting Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children: Updated Thoughts, Significantly More Positive Than Before

Reading any Young Adult book back when Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games started the trend meant that half of the time I consciously and subconsciously compared the other YA books to the trilogy that was finally receiving its well-deserved attention and praise. This did not bode well for the other YA series that may or…

Good Omens: Armageddon, The Antichrist, and An Ineffable Duo

Good Omens is fairly well known, especially after the Amazon TV adaptation starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen. The novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, published back in the year 1990, still holds up to this day with its many charms. If, it happens, that you don't know what the book is about, here…

A Look Into Coraline’s Bravery and Innocence, A Tale of Comfort and Terror

When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave. Many people would probably know Coraline through the detailed stop-motion animated movie directed by Henry Selick. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to see Coraline-related advertisements or short sections of Coraline playing on televisions. The movie was the reason many came to know of Coraline,…

The Eternal Pursuit for Happiness in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians

/**This post may contain spoilers for The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman **/ The Magicians is a trilogy by Lev Grossman that I have reread many times. It is this trilogy that I have written reviews for all three books. It is this trilogy that has been included in a “stories within stories” list made…

Fairies, Curses, Witch Hunters, and 13 Treasures

After revisiting some old reads that I enjoyed back in the day, I have returned with my opinions on them. These books include the Witch Finder series and the 13 Treasures series. Both series included have no relation between them besides the existence of magic.  The Witch Finder series is a duology by Ruth Warburton.…

Entangled By Margaret Rogerson’s Spellbinding Sorcery of Thorns

There was a time when it was common to see the enchanting covers of An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns (beautifully illustrated by Charlie Bowater) all over social media. I believe Sorcery of Thorns was a popular read a while back along with An Enchantment of Ravens, which are by author Margaret Rogerson.…

Of the Charm of Tea Dragons and the Depth of Life and Its People

I had no idea what The Tea Dragon Tapestry was. I also had no idea what a Tea Dragon was. Well, what I did know was that it had something to do with tea and dragons and tapestries, which isn't really helpful when you think about it. So I found out through online searches that…

The Extraordinary Intrigue and Kindness of Nausicaä

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is not a Ghibli film, but it is still directed by Hayao Miyazaki. I wasn't all that attracted to Nausicaä. I thought the thumbnail on the DVD set was blurry, blue and above all just really fuzzy (and to be fair it really was). Even so, it doesn't…

Neverwhere and Stardust: On The Heart’s Desire and What It Really Is

"If you say that someone or something is your heart's desire, you mean that you want that person or thing very much." That's according to Collins Dictionary's definition of 'one's heart's desire'. A webpage called Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity has this definition for the Heart's Desire. "The true heart’s desire lies in what is symbolized…