Sharon Reads: Weather Witch by Shannon Delany

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

[Cover]

Weather Witch

Weather Witch by Shannon Delany is a young to new adult novel with a bit of a steam punk feel. In the New World rank is everything, and being deemed to carry some sort of magic is the worst curse of all. Jordan is from one of the highest ranked families in society, and she is celebrating her seventeenth birthday, a moment when she should have been clear of any suspicion of magic and ready to start planning marriage and her future. However, a back alley dealing leads to Jordan testing positive as a witch. She, and her family, lose rank and all respect in the society as Jordan is whisked away to be tested further and ‘made’ into a usable source of power. But the Maker is having trouble doing changing Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordan’s friend and romantic interest Rowen seems to be the only one of rank that has not given up on her and does everything he can to save her, while an escaped witch works to bring down the man and culture that made him an outcast.

Weather Witch is a more complicated story than I expected when I picked up the book, in a good way. I expected the standard fare of young adult finds out they are ‘special’ and both good and bad happen because of it. While there is a certain aspect of this here – Jordan is considered special –  there is also deep world building and several related story lines running through the book as well. We get to see into the heart and personal life of the Maker, who without that insight would have simply been the bad guy. We get to see into the psyche of a good number of side characters as well. At times it felt like it would soon become overwhelming, for me it never crossed that line, rather it made me curious to see how everything would come together. I was not disappointed, well maybe in a couple twists but only because I liked the characters that I knew would no longer appear after certain moments. I could understand others getting confused by the voice changes and the incremental world building, but it really worked for me. I really enjoyed getting inside the head of Rowen, Jordan, the Maker, and even some servants to see the whole picture, rather than the limited perspective a single character might offer. I do not want to talk about the plot more, or give away any good stuff, because I found the book to be a surprising journey and would hate to ruin that for anyone.

I would recommend Weather Witch to readers that enjoy steam punk, coming of age tales, historical fiction, science fiction or fantasy, and simply reading something that feels fresh and new.l I think that young adults and adults would both enjoy the book, while the majority of main characters are of the teen set, the setting and political factions will keep everyone interested and turning the pages. Frankly, the only thing that really bothered me about the book was an ending that was obviously a set up for a sequel, and the knowledge that Stormbringer will not be released until January of 2014. I would give Weather Witch 4 stars.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

Fifty Shades of Grey – The Movie

/ Linda / Leave a comment

The casting decisions have been made and production will begin soon for the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Charlie Hunnam

Charlie Hunnam

Thirty-three year old Charlie Hunnam has been cast as Christian Grey.  He recently starred in the movie “Pacific Rim” and appeared in the FX series “Sons of Anarchy”.

Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson

Twenty-three year old Dakota Johnson has been cast as Anastasia Steele.  She is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.  She recently appeared in the short-lived Fox sit-com “Ben and Kate” and had roles in “The Social Network” and “The Five-Year Engagement”.

Focus Features will release the film on August 1, 2014. Sam Taylor-Johnson is directing the project.  It will be interesting to see if they can keep it ‘R’ rated or will they have to go to NC17?

Alexis Bledel

Alexis Bledel

Matt Bomer

Matt Bomer

UPDATE:  It seems not everyone is happy with the above choices.   Angry fans of the book are petitioning to have Alexis Bledel and Matt Bomer cast as the leads.  The petition has 20,000 signatures so far.

For the Kings, writing is all in the family

/ Louise / Leave a comment

The New York Times recently published an article about Stephen King and his rather literary family. King, of course, is the best-selling author of over 50 novels and dozens of short stories. His wife Tabitha is also an author with 8 published novels to her name.  Perhaps it was inevitable, with writers for parents, that 2 out of the 3 King children would also pursue a career in fiction.

Eldest son Joseph Hillstrom King, writing under the pen name Joe Hill, published an anthology of his short stories in 2005, and his first novel Heart-Shaped Box in 2007. His second novel Horns is being make into a feature film starring Daniel Radcliffe. Younger son Owen King (whose wife, Kelly Braffet, is also a writer) joined the family business this year with his debut novel Double Feature. No one can doubt that talent runs in the King family!

Next time you’re in the library, check out some of the books by the prolific Kings:

Stephen King:

http://ibistro.libraryconnection.info/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/57/5?user_id=CHESHIREPUB&password=PUBLIC&searchdata1=9781476727653

Dr. Sleep (coming Sept. 24)

Under the Dome (2009)

Joyland (2013)

Tabitha King:

The Book of Reuben (1995)

Survivor (1998)

Candles Burning (2006)

Joe Hill:

Heart-Shaped Box (2007)

NOS4A2 (2013)

Horns (2010)

Owen King:

Double Feature (2013)

On Our Shelves: New DVDs

/ Jenn / Leave a comment

I love it when a new DVD order comes in. For those who love watching movies, it’s like Christmas multiple times in a year. There were several in this batch which I was interested in and had been anticipating their release.

1. Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. Hopkins may not look an awful lot like the late Alfred Hitchcock, but boy, does he have his mannerisms down. My husband was interested in watching this movie, which seemed to fly under the radar. Hitchcock follows the pre-production and filming of Hitchcock’s greatest film: Psycho. Scarlett Johannsen shines in her role and Mirren is as always spot on. 

2. Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. First, let me start by saying that I love Melissa McCarthy. I thought she was charming on Gilmore Girls and hilarious on Mike and Molly. Who can forget her epic movie moment of going to the bathroom in the sink in Bridesmaids? Identity Thief started out with an excellent premise: McCarthy steals people’s identities, and you truly hate her for a lot of the movie. There are a lot of laughs, especially when Bateman and McCarthy are verbally dueling, but like Bridesmaids, it loses the funny 2/3 way through and becomes serious. I want to watch a comedy and laugh the whole way through, not learn a lesson.

3. Boy, starring Taika Waititi and James Rolleston. A Sundance Film Festival selection, Boy takes place in Australia in 1984. “Boy” idolizes both Michael Jackson and his father, who is a distant memory to him. “Boy” envisions him as a deep sea diver, war hero, and even Michael Jackson himself. His father returns home after spending seven years in jail and “Boy” has to confront the role model he imagined and the real man.

4. The Borgias, Seasons 2 and 3, starring Jeremy Irons and Holliday Grainger. All good things must come to an end, and the third season of the Borgias is the final season. But fear not! The original crime family (Mario Puzo based The Godfather on the Borgia family) has plenty in store for you in these seasons. We’ve seen the devious path Lucretiza is going down and the inner politicking Pope Alexander, AKA Rodrigo Borgia has been up to.

5. The Devil’s Backbone. This Spanish foreign-film, directed by Guillermo del Torro, deals with a personal subject for the director. Set during the final week of the Spanish Civil War, a ten year old boy is sent to a haunted orphanage after his freedom-fighting father is killed. This is a gothic ghost story, murder mystery, and historical melodrama done only in the style del Torro can do.

See you in the stacks,

Jenn

Linda Reads: You’re The One By Robin Kaye

/ Linda / Leave a comment

This is book two in Robin Kaye’s Bad Boys of Red Hook series.  They do not have to be read in order.  Book one is Back To You and is available at the Cheshire Library.  The series concentrates on three men who bounced around the foster care system until a New York cop took them under his wing.

You’re The One centers around Logan Blaise, the manager of a successful Napa Valley winery.  He’s engaged to the winery’s owner’s daughter and living the high life.  When his foster father becomes ill, Logan heads back to New York to temporarily oversee his father’s restaurant, the Crow’s Nest.  No sooner does he arrive, the chef has a family emergency and has to quit.

Skye Maxwell comes from a famous restaurant family in San Francisco.  She has four brothers who were gifted with their own restaurants on their 30th birthday.  Being an exceptional chef, all Skye has ever wanted was a kitchen/restaurant of her own and she expects to receive her own restaurant on her 30th birthday.   Instead, she is promoted to Business Manager of all the family restaurants.   Devastated,  she very quietly and secretly disappears.  She heads to New York City, hoping  to find a job as a chef on her own merits, not on her family’s reputation.   She ends up in Brooklyn and stumbles upon the chef wanted sign in the Crow’s Nest’s window.

Right away there is an attraction between Logan and Skye – a love/hate attraction.  Both characters have to overcome formidable obstacles in their pursuit of love, happiness, independence, and acceptance.  Both have families interfering with their journey, both have self-doubts to overcome, but neither one can deny the incredible chemistry that exists between them.

Ms. Kaye writes a heartwarming, believable story set in the wonderful backdrop of Brooklyn and San Francisco.  It is warm, funny and very entertaining.  Secondary characters add another interesting layer to a very well-written story.