My Book Reviews

HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A 17th-century woman (witch?) with her eyes and mouth sewn shut roams the town of Black Springs. With it, comes what is known as the Curse of the Black Rock Witch: From the moment you buy a house there, there's no going back. You'd be under the curse forever, as will any future kids you may have, as they would be born into the town and thus, cursed by default.
The witch whispers too. Listen to whatever she's saying, and you'll be overcome by this strong urge to kill yourself. And chances are, you will. Hence, her mouth being sewn shut (doesn't seem to stop her whispers from being heard though ).
And let's face it; even before reading the book, we'd know that somehow, somewhere, an idiot (or a 'rebel', some might argue) will at least try to get those incisions open. And so all hell will break loose.

Having said that, this book still packs a punch, with twists at every corner. In the first chapter itself, the slow burn for the foreboding that is the witch had already begun. Heuvelt makes sure that readers get the idea of how it feels to have a century-old witch, eyes and mouth sewn shut and arms and feet in chains, randomly appear throughout the town; yes, even in people's homes. Can you imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing the witch right beside you? *shudders*

The climax is full of tension, so palpable that you can feel it just by reading the words on the pages. However, there was a small detail that had been totally unpredictable (at least to me), but in a pleasant way. There are some stupidity by some people that frustrated me so much that I was cursing and gesturing wildly by myself as I was reading (and we all know that that's the marking of a really great book, to be able to invoke such a response).

Also, read the acknowledgements.
Trust me. It isn't like usual acknowledgements where an author commonly bores the reader (as acknowledgements normally just involve the author thanking whoever needs to be thanked in the process of making/publishing the book). I read the entire thing; something I've never normally do.

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Pied Piper by Debbie Viguié

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was more of a 'light reading' for me, and it didn't disappoint. It kinda reminded me of the times when I read the Mary-Kate & Ashley Mystery books. This book will be a little hard to review without spoilers though; but I'll try my best, because I want it to sound suspenseful without giving too much of it away. ;)

The first half of the book was fairly normal. It made me miss the TV series, though. It was one of my favourite shows. =/ (That and I have been interested in witchcraft since middle school.)
What I really mean by 'light reading' was that the book had no bombastic or difficult-to-read words; nothing a regular reader wouldn't understand, and even non-fans of the shows would understand what the story was about without loopholes in it.

From the off, I already had my suspicions on who the 'demon' was. And at the end, I was proved right. But I DID have a moment of pleasant surprise and shock at a little revelation at the end after the demon was vanquished. I never saw that coming. ;p Maybe it was because I was never one to spot connections straightaway, but yeah. =p

Also, I found that this demon was vanquished too easily. I wouldn't say that the pieces fell together too fast, because I wouldn't like it if they dragged the drama either.

I tried searching for this episode on YouTube, but couldn't find it. If anyone knows where I can find it, that would be great! ^^

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I don't think I need to say that fans of Harry Potter would love to have this book as a collection. What's even better is that royalties from the sales of this book are 'donated to the Children's High Level Group, which works to benefit children in desperate need of a voice'.

This book has 5 stories, conjured up (pun intended) by Beedle, and serves as 'fables' of sorts in the wizarding world, as were Cinderella and Red Riding Hood in ours.

Of course, in this is the famous Tale of the Three Brothers, as read by Hermione in The Deathly Hallows. It also features commentaries by Dumbledore at the end of each fable.

So for fans who want to know more about the story that Hermione was reading to Harry & Ron, this makes for a good 'side reading', if you will.

Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set: Two Classic Books from the Library of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I loved how inside Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, there are little witty 'scribbles' from Ron, Harry and Hermione. Reminded me of what I always did to my textbooks too! Both books are very pleasantly detailed and wittily written. I loved it!

The Harry Potter Complete Collection by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Is there anything to say that hasn't already been said? Ever since I saw the first movie (I admit I hadn't picked the book up before that; I heard a lot about it but just.. didn't. ), I straightaway went to the nearest bookstore (right after the movie, I might add), and got my first Harry Potter book: The Sorcerer's Stone. After finishing that one, I was even more hooked, so I went and got the rest of it, and made sure to pre-order the rest before they were launched. As a result, I've become one of the biggest, 24-year-old Harry Potter nerd, up till today. I just feel like I get sucked into the realm of Hogwarts everytime I pick up the books to read.

Now, I have both the UK and US versions of all 7 books.