Reading And Watching Joyously

 This book was in one of the boxes sent to me by the library, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. The cover didn't appeal (it reminded me of a book I borrowed and didn't read once before, by the author of The Book Thief) and it was a detective story, which is not my favourite. It was set in a fantasy world though, one with parallel universes and ways between them, and I'd been coming across that concept a lot lately so decided to give it a go. There was an introduction that talked to reader about them potentially having doubt about whether to read the book, but that it would definitely be worth it - so that seemed to be talking to me!  I kind of liked it - I was never fully sure whether I was enjoying it or not. The parallel world concept and the way sorcerers operated was pretty cool - and there were Fae (fairies) which I always like. But the world was pretty confusing and I wasn't entirely sure how things worked through most of it. The main character was not...

 Caitlin really wanted to watch this because she's a fan of Millie Bobby Brown, and she thought I'd like it too. I wasn't sure as I'm not always a fan of detective stories - I really loved it! (So did Caitlin). The cast was excellent - Millie Bobby Brown was awesome, Helena Bonham Carter was quirky and enjoyable as always, and Henry Cavill was excellent (I didn't like him as Superman, but loved him in this). The rest of the cast were great as well. The storyline was interesting and not obvious, and it turned out to be a detective story that I was enthralled with. The use of the fourth wall by Enola made her even more interesting. There were themes of friendship, duty, family responsibility, personal responsibility - I was impressed by everything about this movie. It was also cool to watch it just before Caitlin turned 16, as Enola turns 16 at the start of the film.

I loved this book so much! It was sent to me by the library in my box and I had never heard of it. It looked interesting, a teen paranormal mystery - I was only a couple of chapters in before I just wanted to sit and read it all day. Fairies and forbidden romance are my favourite combination of topics (not fairies like Tinkerbell, but mythological fairies (Faeries, Seelie) and that's what this book had. AND it was set in Australia which I hadn't encountered before - an Australian setting for a fantasy novel. It was scary at times and often exciting. The first person narrative gave a good insight into the fear and determination and confusion of the main character, she was a very believable 17 year old. There were a couple of moments that didn't quite flow, as if the story had changed a bit and an edit had been missed, but it didn't detract from the story. Halfway through I realised that it is the first book in a series, which means there's more to come - I can't ...