Release Day Blitz & Giveaway: Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary Edition

Title: Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary Edition 

Author: Richelle Mead

Publication Date: November 29, 2016

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 480

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Richelle Mead celebrates 10 years of Vampire Academy with an exclusive, never-before-seen collection of stories that sheds new light on the world and its players:

• » The Turn and the Flame takes a deeper look into the dark stain on the Ozera dynasty...

• » Hello My Name is Rose Hathaway tracks the shenanigans that ensue when Rose and Dimitri become unlikely teammates in a high-stakes scavenger hunt...

• » The Meeting gives us a glimpse of Rose Hathaway through Dimitri's eyes...

• » From the Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir unearths the princess's private thoughts from a transformative period of her life...

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school--it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's--the very place where they're most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi--the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires--make Lissa one of them forever.

So here's the kind of embarrassing truth - I've never read this series. Way back in the day when this series came out, just after I'd graduated from high school, I had never even heard of young adult fiction! (My library sucked.) I WISH I had known about Vampire Academy! It was around the same time this series was being published that I was devouring adult vampire romance novels. I'm so disappointed I didn't know about this!

As a 28 year old adult I read YA almost exclusively, although I admit that I've never gone back to read this one. But have you seen thave cover? I've heard so many amazing things! Badass heroines? Swoon-worthy romance? I am absolutely committing to finally reading Vampire Academy. And now, with all the extras being included for the anniversary edition, how can I say no?

Have you read this series? Did you love it? Let me know in the comments!

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GIVEAWAY 

Enter for a chance to win one of five (5) paperback copies of Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary Edition by Richelle Mead (ARV = $11.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 9:00 AM Eastern Time on November 29, 2016 and 11:59 PM Eastern Time on December 5, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about December 12, 2016. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Top Ten Tuesday #124: books for the littles in your life

Today's Topic: 

Books to Buy the awesome
Young Readers In Your Life

Okay, so no I don't have kids... BUT I have a niece and nephews galore. My niece is 9 years old and loves to read so I've actually had to think about books she might enjoy reading. I've already sent her a couple of these and I've enjoyed every single book on this list myself. Maybe the littles in your life might like some of them too!

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Book of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

House of Secrets by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini

The Land of Elyon by Patrick Carman

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan

Peter & the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Serafina & the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Book Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Title: Dark Matter

Author: Blake Crouch

Publication Date: July 26, 2016

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 342

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“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable--something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe. 

Earlier this year I read Pines by Blake Crouch and LOVED it! Although I didn't know anything about this book, I picked up Dark Matter solely based on the fact that the author had really impressed me in the past. The cover isn't much to look at if I'm being honest, but the synopsis sounded super interesting! Based on my past experience, I fully expected to be blown away and I wasn't disappointed.

Jason is the protagonist of this story and he has a pretty all right life, thank you very much. No, he isn't a huge success in his field, but he has an incredible wife and kid and is quite content. Unfortunately, he's snatched from his world and unwillingly thrown into another one. Jason was an amazing character who was extremely intelligent but also able to explain all the science-y things in a way that didn't make him irritating. It was easy to sympathize with him as he did everything in his power to make it home to his wife and son.

From the moment Jason was taken, the ride was breakneck. I was constantly wondering what the heck was going on, which is honestly my favorite way to spend a book. We find things out along with Jason and there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding where he is, how he got there, and how he will get home. As things began to unravel and the twists were revealed I found myself truly shocked more than once - exactly what I expected in a book by Blake Crouch. Dark Matter isn't just your average mystery though. This book presents deep questions and explores them in thought provoking ways that may make you examine your own life.

Although this book has a contemporary setting, there were a lot of other components to the world building that the author really did a fantastic job with. I loved the way he melded the sci-fi elements of the story into the "real world" in a way that felt completely believable. A sense of unease surrounded everything and made the twists that much more exciting!

My complaints about Dark Matter are few, but I did feel that there was a bit too much repetition at times and not enough explanation. There were locations visited briefly on Jason's journey home that I would have loved to know more about. I also wish there had been some kind of follow up after he and his travel buddy went their separate ways. These issues weren't enough to ruin the experience, though.

Dark Matter is the kind of book that I really can't say much about without spoiling, so I'm going to have to cut this short. This book wasn't perfect (like Pines was), but it was immensely enjoyable and was really just a thrilling ride. I enjoyed going with Jason on his journey to find his wife again and loved figuring out the pieces of the puzzle along the way. If you're a fan of sci-fi and huge twists, this is definitely the book for you!

Weekly Recap: 11/20 - 11/26

Tracy's Happenings Off the Blog

This week was unusually exciting! The week began with a new co-blogger! In case you missed it, MC is here now and will be posting regularly on the blog! I'm so excited to have her around and I'm looking forward to everything she's going to bring to Cornerfolds.

Later in the week I had the opportunity to go to an amazing Christmas dessert party at Disney's Hollywood Studios. There was a ton of food and an incredible projection and fireworks show at the Chinese Theater.

Thanksgiving came and went with a simple meal and a Poldark binge. I didn't do much Black Friday shopping at all, though. I prefer to skip the crowds... On Saturday we went to Epcot for Jim Shore signing and then spent the evening at Disney Springs for their new Christmas drone show! I expect things to return to boring immediately.

New Books

Library:

Trades:

This Week I Read

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MC's Happenings Off the Blog

Well, the most exciting thing that happened this week was announcing that I would be a co-blogger here at Cornerfolds! It has reignited my love for blogging and I have been working on organizing and planning ever since!

This week was also a very short work week for me, so I have been spending a ton of time with friends and family. It has been absolutely amazing, but I haven't been doing very much reading at all. I'm currently listening to Cinder while I'm driving around in the car and I am slowly working my way through Heartless as well. It has been a Marissa Meyer kind of week! I am also reading Empath by S. Usher Evans in preparation for #ReadIndie!

New Books

For Review:

Purchased:

This Week I Read

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In Case You Missed It

Monday audiobook review of The Young Elites
The topic was a Thanksgiving freebie for Top Ten Tuesday
On Wednesday I introduced my new co-blogger, MC
Friday audiobook review of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
On Saturday I ate a lot of gingerbread for Disney For the Weekend


Upcoming Reviews

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I'm linking up to Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post!

Disney For the Weekend: reviewing all the gingerbread

//Disclaimer: I am not a food critic and I don't know what I'm talking about//

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas at Disney World! It's at this time each year that the most magical place on earth gets just a little more magical with the addition of holiday touches everywhere you look. One of my absolute favorite parts of a Disney Christmas is the gingerbread! Last weekend my husband and I headed over to the Magic Kingdom to have dinner and ride all three mountains and on the way out we decided to stop by the Contemporary Resort for gingerbread.

Each year in November resorts around Disney property create incredible displays from gingerbread. The Contemporary Resort builds a two-dimensional castle (this year the theme was Frozen, shockingly), while two others go for three-dimensional structures. The Grand Floridian is the most impressive with its massive gingerbread house, made even cooler by the fact that the house is an actual store that sells gingerbread! Over at the Yacht Club Resort you can find a giant carousel made of gingerbread that's nearly life-size!

While I've always known that gingerbread can be purchased at each location, it wasn't until this year that I realized each resort has a very different recipe for their gingerbread. I made it my mission to get all three and try them out!

As you can (maybe) see from the ingredients list, they each have slightly different ingredients and, presumably (based on the order of ingredients), recipes. I didn't know how many different ways gingerbread could possibly taste, but I set out to test each one. For science!

Exhibit A

First up was Olaf, the gingerbread shingle from Disney's Contemporary Resort. This little guy is what the gingerbread castle is made of and I expected him to be fantastic for obvious reasons. The first thing I noticed was that this gingerbread shingle was really hard to break. It was super flexible and took a few tries. This gingerbread was very dense and tasted very strongly of ginger. (It was almost tangy.) While it was okay, I don't think I'd buy this one again. I like my gingerbread to be a little less spicy.

Exhibit B

The next gingerbread I sampled devoured came from Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. This is what the entire gingerbread house/shop is made out of and it's amazing to see in person! While this gingerbread is the plainest of the bunch, don't let it fool you! There's a thick slab of dark chocolate on the bottom that makes it even more delicious. The first thing I noticed about this one is that it smells just like the cookies my relatives send from Germany (you know, these). It was much less dense and had a much more cake-like texture. It was also a little sweeter and much less gingery than the first! I'll definitely be going back for more of this one.

Exhibit C

The last gingerbread shingle I had to hunt down was at Disney's Yacht Club Resort and I really had to hunt. Instead of being sold at the gingerbread carousel, this one can only be found in the Marketplace, a small store off the lobby. The Yacht Club's gingerbread is much, much thinner than either of the other two and it's also the sweetest. There's a sweet glaze on top and a thin layer of chocolate brushed on the bottom. There's also a white chocolate Yacht & Beach Club logo over much of the top. The ginger in this one was definitely overpowered by the sweetness, not that I'm complaining. This one was also the least bang for your buck. I'll probably buy another one though, because it's already gone.

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So there it is, folks. I purchased and ate three different types of Disney World gingerbread just for you. If I had to rank them, the Yacht Club gingerbread would be my favorite (because sugar) and the Contemporary would be my least favorite (because spice). I see more Disney food projects in my future...

Do you prefer your gingerbread full of more sugar or spice? 

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Let me know in the comments!

Audiobook Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Narrator: Michael Crouch 
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
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Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has received a heck of a lot of hype since it's release in 2015, and after listening to this audiobook, I am jumping right on that hype bandwagon. The praise this book has received is so well-deserved, and Simon vs. has become one of my go-to contemporary recommendations now.

Simon Spier is gay, and not exactly out yet. The story opens with Simon being confronted by Martin, a classmate who has stumbled upon some email conversations between Simon and his anonymous internet friend, Blue. Martin threatens to out Simon and Blue unless Simon helps him get a date with the girl he likes. And thus, calamity ensues. We get to watch Simon and Blue falling in love (which is one of the most adorable things in the universe) and discovering what kind of person they want to be. Meanwhile, Simon has to deal with Martin (who is seriously annoying) and the chances of his friends and family finding out about his sexuality before he is ready.

There are so many things to love about this book. The writing was quirky and funny and lighthearted, despite dealing with sexual identity and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of homosexuality in a high school setting. Important and serious topics were dealt with, but not in a way that made them feel like they were the only aspect of the book. Which is exactly as it should be. The LGBT aspects of the story were mixed right in with everyday things like discussions of Oreos and Simon's favorite singer, homework and drama rehearsal. Yes, Simon vs. is a story about a gay teen. But Simon is so much more than his sexual preference.

Simon is....well, he's pretty much awesome. I think literally everyone can find something in Simon that they can relate to. Whether it's his sexual identity or his fear of his mom finding his dirty magazines, his odd sense of humor or his desire to be loved and accepted the way he is. Simon says things throughout the story that most of us have thought as some point in time, no matter our age, gender, race, or sexuality. Simon is in all of us. And he can help us to recognize that no matter who we are, we all just want a little happiness (and maybe some Oreos).

If you haven't figured it out already, I absolutely adored this book. I am normally someone who goes into a contemporary book kicking and screaming; I really don't enjoy romance and I have found very few contemporaries that I actually enjoy. But, boy oh boy, this one melted my ice cold heart. I still get a warm and fuzzy feeling thinking about Simon and Blue. I feel like they are friends of mine that I will never forget. If you love cute romances, this is definitely the book for you. But even if you are a cynic like me, I think you will really like this one. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

My co-blogger has arrived - Meet MC!

Happy almost-Thanksgiving, everyone! Today I have a happy announcement to share! My co-blogger search has come to an early end after a good friend applied and was a perfect fit for the position. I am so excited to welcome MC to the blog! Look out for some changes coming to the blog as we work to integrate her into Cornerfolds! MC has experience reviewing and blogging in her own corner of the blogosphere and will be contributing here weekly. Here she is to introduce herself!

Ahhhhh!!!! Hi everyone!!!!!!! I'm so excited to be here! Alright, now that I've gotten all that celebration out of my system, let me tell you a bit about myself....

I'm MC (only those who meet me in person get the privilege of knowing what that stands for) and, obviously, I love books! I am quite proud of my never-ending TBR pile, and I have no intentions of ever trying to decrease the number of books on my shelves. I love being surrounded by books, both read and unread. It makes me feel like I am filling my home with beloved friends and endless possibilities.

I love to read anything that can help me escape from everyday life, so fantasy and sci-fi are genres that I always reach for. I do read a bunch of adult and middle grade books, but YA will always hold a special place in my heart.

I started my own blog, Blame It On The Books, in June of 2015 and it was the best decision of my life! I found such amazing friends in the online book community and I've never looked back. I "met" Tracy this summer just after ALA in Orlando. Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet in person, but I'm hoping that can happen really soon! As soon as we met, we fell right into a great friendship and we have been talking just about every day since June!

I'm so incredibly excited to become a part of Cornerfolds and I can't wait to start sharing my thoughts with all of you! I absolutely love making new friends, so don't be shy! I would love to talk to you!

Here are all the places you can find me on the Internet:

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook | Blame It On The Books

Top Ten Tuesday #123: at least 2016 isn't -that- bad

Today's Topic: 

Books that actually make 
me thankful for 2016

Let's be honest, 2016 has been a pretty horrible year overall. Still, it could always be worse, so today I wanted to share books that make me thankful for 2016! These are ten post-apocalyptic and dystopian books whose main characters are probably having a worse time than we are! Happy Thanksgiving week, fellow Americans!

Angelfall by Susan Ee (review)

Anyone? by Angela Scott (review)

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Eve by Anna Carey (review)

Flashfall by Jenny Moyer (review)

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis (review)

Partials by Dan Wells

Pines by Blake Crouch (review)

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Audiobook Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Title: The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Narrator: Carla Corvo, Lannon Killea
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Add to Goodreads

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

The Young Elites is the first book I've ever read by Marie Lu and I began here on a recommendation from a friend. I went in knowing very little about this series other than that everyone seems to love it. I wasn't really sure exactly what genre this book fit into and, upon completing it, I'm still not quite positive. Is it fantasy? Is it dystopia? Either way, I really enjoyed it!

Adelina is the main character of this story and she is so, so refreshing! It isn't often you come across a character whose hunger for power pretty much overwhelms everything else. Adelina is a girl whose life has revolved largely around a lack of power. She lives according to her father's cruel whims, unable to defend herself. Until she suddenly she is able, and she likes it. Adelina is power hungry and vicious, but she's also incredibly easy to sympathize with. She cares deeply about her sister, and she just wants to be loved and fit in. I felt for her from page one and I'm eager to see how she grows in the next two books.

As the bolded lines in the blurb show, there are other important characters here too. Enzo is the leader of the Dagger Society and love interest to Adelina. He was an intriguing character who I always wanted to know a little more about. The same can be said for Raffaele who is perhaps the one person Adelina feels closest to. My only real complaint is that the romance did seem a little insta-lovey. While it did end up working out okay, I never felt like I saw the romance happening - it was just suddenly there. You can't win them all, I guess.

The world of The Young Elites really made the story come alive. I felt like I could picture the city and the tunnels underneath. I was completely convinced by the atmosphere the author created. That being said, I was still very unclear of where exactly the book was taking place. While the city was easy to visualize, I didn't feel like I had a firm grasp on the world as a whole. I'm hoping The Rose Society is able to explain things a little further.

Plot is one area where this book does not suffer at all. There's magic, conspiracy, and romance - basically The Young Elites has all the elements that I love in a book! The story was fairly fast paced without many opportunities to get bored. The magical system of The Young Elites was fascinating and unique, especially Adelina's powers, which I am excited to learn more about. There were twists and turns to keep me guessing and the feels were real! If I was a crier I might have even cried once or twice. And then the ending totally blew me away! I didn't see it coming and now I'm dying to see what happens next in Adelina's story!

The Young Elites definitely lived up to my expectations! Although this wasn't a perfect book, it was really enjoyable and I ended up loving Adelina. I found her to be unique among YA heroines and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens to her in the rest of this series. I do hope there will be more added to the world so that some of my questions are answered though.

Weekly Recap: 11/13 - 11/19

Happenings Off the Blog...

There goes another uneventful week. Okay, mostly uneventful. I did get to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was incredible! I cannot wait to see it again! Other than that, I got a little Christmas shopping done, although I'm far from being finished. For whatever reason, I was not able to get much reading done this week. After seeing Fantastic Beasts, my brain only wanted to focus on Harry Potter so I gave in and am reading Chamber of Secrets again. Oh well!

On the bloggy side of things, I posted my co-blogger search! If you're interested, please check out all the details (which have been tweaked slightly) on this page! I'm also excited to announce that prizes have been added to #ReadIndie! If you've been on the fence about whether to join, I hope you'll take the plunge with me. The event will officially begin on December 1st!

New Books

For Review:

Purchased:

In Case You Missed It

Monday ARC review of Flashfall
I went in search of a new co-blogger
The topic was weird childhood movies for Top Ten Tuesday
Friday movie review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Upcoming Review

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I'm linking up to Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post!

Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

//Spoiler Free Review//

Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Release Date: November 18, 2016
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston
Director: David Yates
Runtime: 133 minutes
Rated: PG-13
View on IMDB

The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

It's finally here! After all this time, the new movie we've all been anxiously awaiting has arrived in theaters. I don't know about anyone else, but I've had my doubts about how well this film would be received. I had doubts about if I would even enjoy it. After all, not much can top the original Harry Potter films in my book. On top of that, there wasn't very much revealed about the plot of Fantastic Beasts and I wasn't sure how such a small book could be come a two hour movie. I am happy to report I found it to be absolutely incredible!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens as Newt Scamander arrives in America for the first time. He's greeted by a rather strict wizarding community and almost immediately finds himself at odds with the rules. Tina, at first intent on bringing him to justice, becomes a friend and ally on his mission to wrangle up the creatures he's accidentally let loose. Other main characters include Jacob Kowalski and Queenie who tag along with Newt and Tina. All four are amazing together and I loved the relationships that were quickly forged between them. Jacob, the no-maj with no clue what was happening, was hilarious! I'm not sure what direction the next film will go in, but I really hope to see more of all of these characters.

I'll admit I had concerns about every aspect of this movie, and the world was no different. I couldn't imagine how the city of New York City could be convincing as a place full of magic. While it was very different from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I did enjoy it. In this world witches and wizards are hidden, just like they are in England. However, there's much more emphasis on that in Fantastic Beasts. Most of the Harry Potter series was based in locations separated from muggles - Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmead... But here, the entire movie is smack in the middle of New York City. I had hoped to see more of Ilvermorny, so hopefully that will be more of a focus in future installments... Which brings me to the plot.

I loved the story, but it was nothing like what I was expecting. The most obvious difference between Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter is that all of the focus in this new franchise seems to be on the adults of the Wizarding World as opposed to students. It definitely gives everything a much different feel, but I actually think that's a good thing. It gives us less to compare to the originals. I won't say much about the story itself because I don't want to give anything away, but there are a couple really well-done villains. I think this will end up being similar to Harry Potter in that there will be a smaller villain to defeat in each installment, while one main villain spans the entire series. I can't wait to see where it goes!

If I had to complain about something it would be the CGI goblins, which I found unnecessary. This was the same thing I hated in the new Hobbit trilogy and I still don't understand why it was done. The practical effects in the original eight films were so convincing, I don't know why they'd ever change it. Still, the rest of the CGI was incredible! All of the fantastic beasts were gorgeous and magical (as was the suitcase they lived in).

In case it wasn't clear, I loved this movie! Was it Harry Potter? No, but it was unmistakably the Wizarding World. Although I had serious doubts going in, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them completely blew me away and reignited my love of Harry Potter and his world. I have no idea how this is going end up connecting all the way back to the original series but I have some ideas and I couldn't be more excited to find out if I'm right!