Hello October // A Very Potter October

As you can see by the title, Pottermore and JK released 3 short ebooks relating to the Harry Potter universe. Though these were released in September, i've waited until now to talk about them and review them because, duh, Halloween! I'm sure you will all agree that Harry is life and not just Halloween, but it's just another excuse to cosy up at Hogwarts and feel that connection with the Wizarding World.

You may or may not have read my recent review of Cursed Child recently in which I wasn't very happy about it (with the obvious exception of Scorpius Malfoy) and so the release of these 3 books filled me with happiness. 2016 is slowly becoming the revival year for Potter and i'm loving it. Despite Cursed Child being a disappointment for me, the chatter surrounding it and Hogwarts has put a spring in my step.

The ebooks have received a lot of misplaced attention from fans who aren't impressed that they've had to pay £1.99 for something they basically could have read for free directly on the Pottermore website. That makes me really sad. JK is not doing this for the money, guys. She really doesn't need it.Sure, the material IS available for free on Pottermore, but I just don't have the time or inclination to load up Pottermore and try to find the specific content that I want, especially when there's no wifi available and i'm saving all of my data for Pokemon Go *cough*. I wanted this format and so i've paid for it. It's entirely a choice that we are privileged enough to make.

So just incase you HAVEN'T already got them and you, like me ,need them in a much more transportable way, here you go!

Buy the books from Pottermore: UK Shop

 The titles are as follows:

Short Stories from Hogwarts: Of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies
Short Stories from Hogwarts: Of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists
Short Stories from Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide

I honestly have had SO much fun reading these and if you want to know what I think, then keep an eye out over the next 3 days...!

Please get in touch if you'd like to be featured during the month. Any submissions are accepted as long as they are received by 30th October

Caragh Reviews // Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne *SPOILERS*

Published - 31st July 2016
Publisher -  Little Brown UK
Format - Hardcover
Synopsis - It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Aside from being incredibly lazy, i've been putting off this review for what feels like forever to be honest. Much like all of you, HP has been in my life for a LONG time and in my heart I always knew that whatever came after, would never be good enough. So why am I still so disappointed with Cursed Child?

First off, I am 100% aware that it's a script and not a book. I knew what I was getting myself into and that really has no effect on my enjoyment of the book. I enjoy reading plays/scripts and my wildly active imagination works well with stage directions. Secondly, the writing style in general was actually pretty great. Considering JK didn't write this book, it still felt like part of the HP world. Harry still felt like Harry, at least most of the time. 

My FAVOURITE aspect of Cursed Child was and always will be Scorpius Malfoy. I'm pretty sure if someone handed me a 12 book series that just focused on Scorpius living his every day life, I would still read it and still love it with a fury like you wouldn't believe. However, there's just a LOT that I want to burn from my memory. Kayley Hyde's review (Kayley's Goodreads) of Cursed Child on Goodreads said the following:

'It sits beside my beloved Harry Potter books, but not with them.'

To give some context, Kayley wrote this positively but I have to disagree. Cursed Child is now and forevermore part of the HP Universe but for me, it's a really really far off connection. Like, next to the quiz books and fact books and not sharing the same space as 1-7. That being said, i'll move on.

*SPOILERS FROM HERE*

The absolute first thing I HAVE to talk about - Delphi. What the $%^&? This is batshit crazy and I'm looking for someone to correct me on the timeline of events. Right before the Battle of Hogwarts, Bellatrix Lestrange gave birth to a daughter. Voldemort's daughter. In Malfoy Manor. Are you kidding me? How was Bellatrix fully capable of running around chasing down the trio whilst HEAVILY pregnant? If Hermione used Polyjuice to mirror Bellatrix to get into the vault -would she not have also been mirroring Bellatrix's pregnant? Would Hermione reeeeeally not notice being pregnant? It just doesn't make sense to me at all.

Despite Ron and Hermione being in love no matter what timeline they're kicked into, it appears that the only love that was ever really meant to be, was that of Draco and Astoria. Albus and Scorpius mess with time SO MUCH that at one point, Albus never even exists. Rose doesn't exist. Scorpius though? There's just no stopping him it would seem. 

Who even IS the Cursed Child? Is it Delphi? Is she cursed as she's Voldemort's daughter and is destined to take the path that she does? Is it Scorpius, who has spent 11+ years being constantly scorned by the wizarding world? Is his existence the curse? Is it Albus? Forever cursed for being Harry Potter's least spectacular child? The only Potter to become a Slytherin? Or, is it still Harry himself? Still facing his dramatic past even as an adult? I know a lot of people really enjoy the mystery (Half Blood Prince, anyone?) but honestly, it pisses me off. This whole 'Nineteen Years Later' thing was supposed to end the questions, not open up the whole damn universe again.

I just.... I just don't get it. I am happy to admit that whilst actually reading the book, it was a weird happy nostalgia. I turned pages, I read words and it was fine. The long lasting after effects though are hanging around. Moving on to the most frustrating part of the whole thing....

'It's supposed to be SEEN, it's a PLAY!'

If that is what you're thinking, then you may as well click off the page now. I started this post saying that I am aware it's a play. But you know what? If you can only appreciate The Cursed Child by seeing it on the stage - don't print the damn script for the world to read. If the only way a Harry Potter fan can experience the Cursed Child as intended is to watch the play, DON'T PRINT THE DAMN SCRIPT. Harry Potter was written for a young audience, despite the massive impact it had on adults around the world. JK Rowling was benefit receiving mother with mental health problems when she wrote Harry Potter. So please explain to me why Harry Potter and The Cursed Child tickets go up to £140 PER TICKET, not including travel and hotel expenses for the millions of people who don't live in London. It's completely infuriating to me. I'm sorry that despite having a great job that pays well, I can't afford to go and see it but that doesn't mean that my feelings on the script are not worthwhile. Every opinion is worthwhile.

Well, I think that's probably all I need to say. The Cursed Child is out in the world and regardless of opinions, I'm glad that the HP community is still alive and that Hogwarts will always connect us, one way or another!

Sick/Ill Book Tag

I love these book tags! I tag whoever reads this ;) As always, link me to your answers in the comments as I love seeing what people come up with :)

This tag is the Sick/Ill book tag. As the owner of an autoimmune disease myself, I thought this one could be fun/different to anything else. The aim of the game is to pick a book that suits the description of the condition.

A total of 9 illnesses whose symptoms mirror how a book made you feel:

1. Diabetes: a book too sweet, like really sweet.
Let It Snow - Green, Johnson & Myracle.
Such an adorable book, containing three short stories (one by each other). Very sweet and easy to read. 

2. Chicken Pox: a book you've read once, and will never pick up again.
Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L.James or any autobiography.
Reading that book once was more than enough for me! Also autobiographies are really interesting to read but I can't see myself ever re-reading one.

3. Influenza: the flu a contagious book that spreads like a virus
The Study Series - Maria V Snyder
Since buying these books, i've gotten five other people to read them and LOVE them. I will forever push these books on to people :)

4. The cycle: a book you read every month, year or often
Harry Potter Series
I think every Potter fan re-reads these often! :)

5. Insomnia: a book that kept you up all night.
Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer & The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson
The Twilight books were just so easy to read that I soaked them up. I'm an unashamed Twilight fan and they would probably still keep me up all night!
Johnson's book was just brilliant and I could not rest until I had the story finished.

6. Amnesia: a book that's forgotten and failed to leave a powerful impression in your memory
The Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
I really need to finish this series! It's not that I didn't enjoy what i've read so far - I honestly just keep forgetting that i'm in the middle of it. It's just not powerful enough to make me want to finish I guess.

7. Asthma: a book that took your breath away
The Fault in our Stars - John Green
Beautiful writing, fantastic characters and a plot line that literally takes your breath away. This is a total must read.

8. Malnutrition: a book that lacked food for thought
Hush, Hush / Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick
I recently reviewed Crescendo and as I explained there - there's just nothing to these stories so far but I can't stop eating them up! Sometimes, I just can't argue with the critic in me, and I just have to sit back and read...:)

9. Travel sickness: a book that took you on a journey through time or space or to a specific local on the map
Eragon Series - Christopher Paolini
(With the exception of Inheritence, which I am yet to read).
I read these a few years ago whilst I was in hospital. Not really a 'travel' journey, but a journey none-the-less. They're just wonderful stories that anyone can get into and I hope that by the end of the year i'll have read the final installment to complete the story!