One of my favorite hobbies is Hearthstone, though at times I kinda suck at it. There's a new expansion out, and I hate to put it in a gender box, but the stuff is so pretty and cute :) (It's like an odd mix of Beauty and the Beast and World of Warcraft).

When I start to struggle, I remember my resources, and I tend to get better.  The following is what I use:

Hearthpwn
Yes, I use it, shut up. This is a list of decks and deck building tactics. It's essentially what Wow Insider used to be, but for Hearthstone.

Innkeeper
There have been some questions about this. All it does is let you know what cards are left in your deck (the format is nice too). Some people are concerned about security, I don't blame them.  Honestly, if Blizzard was irritated by it, they would have done something by now. If you know anything about them you know they tend to strike hard.  They also tend to be pretty easy on most mods as long as you aren't breaking any of the rules.

​Players
Trump (The Hearthstone player, not the YUGE star we have here in the US) and Kripparrian are probably the most watched on Youtube.  I don't use Twitch because I don't find it as user friendly, but you can find them there too. The article link has some competitive players listed.

​If anyone has any other good resources please send them my way!

All Anna wants is to turn eighteen. Turning eighteen will allow her the freedom she needs to get away from the group home she's been stuck in with her best friend Deo. Bouncing from foster home to foster home all she needs is the ability to make her own decisions.  Not to mention her knack for picking up random spirits, life has been pretty complicated, but it's about to get more complicated than she could ever imagine.  

​This book took me a  while to get into.  There are loads of info dumps that aren't enjoyable and tend to come of like a CSI episode.  The characters are believable and generally strong.  The only issue I had between them was a fast romance that seemed plausible but needed more time to develop.

This story deals with foster care, supernatural abilities, and political corruption.  If that seems up your alley, then this is for you. I'm personally not very fond of contemporary YA, and this didn't sway me at all. Although it deals with some supernatural elements it plays out like a YA drama.  The writing was good, just not really my thing.

******I received a free copy from Net Galley for a honest review*******

I have finally settled into a semi okay routine now that school has started.  Stuff was too hectic and loud during summer, so hopefully now that I have some time I can sit and finish a couple of things I really need to get done.  Summer felt like a slush pile of reading.  Reading a lot of so-so books.  That wasn't really fun.  I think at this point I'm going to have to say goodbye to Net Galley. It's kinda like working for free if none of the bigger pub houses ever give you a galley.  You are essentially buffering little press's review numbers  by reading books you may or may not enjoy. I have to say I did enjoy a lot of books from Abrams Kids (Iron Cast, The Graces) and I got to read Dark Matter early. So I guess it wasn't all a loss.

I watched Me Before You last night. UGH.  Why do I do that? It was super good. It was one of those books I wasn't ever going to get to so I just went on ahead and watched it.

One of my favorite bands, Empire of the Sun, is coming out with a new cd in a couple of months. Don't get me started on that drama.  They're weird, but I love em.

I'm going to post a bunch of review soon, AGAIN.  Sorry.  Such is life. After this bunch I think I'm done for a while. Writing needs to come first for a bit. Plus, there are a lot of books I want to read without psychoanalyzing them.

I just finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  All I can say is... I don't understand why so many people didn't like it. I loooooved it.  But there are probably reasons for this~

​I'm not actually going to do a rundown on the story because, to be honest, it would be super confusing. But I am going to run my mouth about how I felt about it.  Serious spoilers ahead.

​This was amazing.  I think a lot of people were expecting a book, which it clearly is not. Rowling even stated this before it came out. It's an eighth story, not an eighth book. It's not even written by her, not really. I do feel the story holds the original magic of the first seven though.

​A lot of people are mad or disappointed, some people have even said that it felt like fan fic (I've heard this from several people actually). If you haven't seen, or read, a play in a while it isn't going to connect as much in my opinion. I was in theater in high school.  There are so many things that the script does not account for when you're reading it.  Stage direction, effects, the facial features and reactions of the characters, even a character's tone can make such a difference (need I mention the much hated scene below -----------)

I just wanted to get that off my chest before I continued on.  
Again, I loved it.

-The story focuses on Harry and Ginny's son, Albus, and his best friend Scorpius, only son to Draco Malfoy. I have to say Scorpius was definitely one of the best parts of this book. He's like a good mix of Hermione and Ron's personalities (he's what Rose had the opportunity to be). Oh, and they're both in Slytherin.

-Speaking of Rose, I'm super disappointed we didn't get to know her better. Honestly though, we're probably better off.  She's what Hermione could have been if the boys hadn't balanced her out.  She's Hermione on elite education steroids. This is apparent when she starts talking to Albus about choosing their friends wisely her first year.

​-The story flashes back and forth from the Goblet of Fire events.  So be prepared to relive some of that a lot.  It's a good way to bring full closure to a story that needed a little more at the end though.  I read a review that showed exactly how each book mirrored certain things and how the play easily wrapped things up in a very cyclic way.  It was pretty neat.

​-We get a lot of fan service.  We see Snape (who still proves what a hero he is), Hagrid, Cedric, and even Umbridge (that bitch).  One of my favorite parts of the book shows what would have happened if Harry and the gang had lost.  I really had to appreciate Scorpius's bravery in flipping it all back, even if he was the "Scorpion King" in Voldemort world. He had to figure a way past Umbridge too since, you know, she ended up headmaster of Hogwarts with mudbloods screaming in the dungeon (not surprising).

​-A lot of the focus is in on Harry and Albus's relationship.  I appreciated that it didn't come right out and say Harry was having acceptance problems with his own son.  He started to blame everything and everyone, including Scorpius, for being a threat to his son after a prophecy revealed that a dark cloud hung around Albus.  Harry had eventually started acting like the adults he resented in his youth, and really couldn't fully acknowledge his son for who he was: a slightly rebellious Slytherin who was best friends with his childhood arch nemesis. This ended up mirrored in Albus's own acceptance of himself, and his father's celebrity, creating a slightly poisonous relationship. I'm sure there is a lot more there if you see the play, but for me it struck a chord.

​-The relationships with the adults tended to shift with the Time-Turner actions.  It was a hoot, and it was great to see different chemistry between Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

​-Delphi-eh. She was a plot device.  Again, a little interesting; but it got us where we needed to go in the story.  I find her history plausible but unlikely.  She was a pretty good bad guy though.

​Overall, I really enjoyed the whole premise.  The interactions with the characters really cemented their history.  It was a kind of "I got that reference" sort of deal.  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child brought everything full circle with a great wrap up, and I'm honestly glad I read it.

I'm super late to the V.E. Schwab party.  I finally read A Darker Shade of Magic.  It was Aaaaamazing! It's familiar and captivating in a way I haven't felt in a while.  This is a series of events kind of book, or at least that's the way I felt about it. I didn't feel a huge story arc; just the need for more when it was over. 

Kell is an Antari, a blood magician.  He can hop from realm to realm (White London, Red London, and Grey London) without much effort more than a scratch. He has the power to control all the magics available, bone being the most powerful.  His adoption into the royal family of Red London has given him privilege and honor, earning him looks of appreciation and some of fear in the streets. But honor and loyalty only reach so far when someone so powerful and young gets bored, and the temptation to drag things from realm to realm becomes too much.  Kell's bad habits finally get him into more trouble than he expected, but can a young thief help, or hinder him, in fixing things back to the way they were?

- The characters are a little predictable, but I really couldn't help but like Lila and Kell.  There was some menace missing from their personalities though. Both have killed, and not necessarily when they had to.

-The world is vibrant and slightly reminiscent in some areas of Harry Potter, especially in Red London.  It has an exotic feel so you don't forget where you are though.

-The story is a mix of dark pirate tale, poor thief's struggle, and political intrigue; all mixed together to make something familiar, yet foreign.  I've been looking for it-I just didn't know it.

-The story felt, not slow, but the story arc didn't spike almost until the very end.  I kept looking at the pages wondering how she was going to do it or if I was going to be left with a huge cliffhanger.

-Astrid and Athos-Eh. I wasn't scared of them.  I honestly feel with the information given to us that Holland probably would have won a fight against them for the White Throne.

​-I really wanted some kind of salvation for Holland at the end.  I can tell you that he isn't dead though. Putting that giant magic rock from Black London on his chest and sinking him into the ground wasn't the smartest of ideas that young Kell had. Antaris are hard to kill, remember?

-I wish we had gotten to hear more about Black London.  It was super fascinating.  Not a lot of its impact was explained on White London either.  I neeeeeed more of that. I have a feeling the rest of the trilogy will take care of my wants though.