Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Magic by Maila Ann Haberman

In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...

Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too.

Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic. 

Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.

from goodreads

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic can be one of those family book series that anyone would like. Mostly, if you are a fan of Harry Potter-and come on, who isn't? The book is not a rip off of the Harry Potter series though, and that was the key parts of why I liked it. I wasn't too keen on the idea of this twelve, almost thirteen year old boy and his brother discovering they have magical powers, and go to their grandfather's house to learn.

Malia Ann Haberman is a great author, but I won't compare her to J.K. Rowling because that's quite cruel, and no one can beat her-in my opinion. Though, she writes amazingly well, and it doesn't suck, as some independent authors have a tendency of having poor grammar and spelling-which can get tedious to a reader.   

The main thing I loved about her writing, was the characters. They were all very tangible people, and it was interesting to see them interact and follow them through the novel. My favorite character has to be the boy's grandfather, and I love the whole plop in out of no where characters. Sometimes, those characters are annoying and jerks, but the grandfather seems to work out a balance of being a cool old guy, that isn't a creeper. 

I believe that Chase Tinker and the House of Magic is a great reader for those middle grade reader, and even adults, anyone really. The thing is, magic is such an old story that you'd think it gets old after a while, but this novel is not one of those boring been there done that sort of deal. So, you guys being one of my all time favorite people, I give the novel by Malia Ann Haberman a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)

Music Friday: Spotify

I usually post a playlist I made for a previous book I've reviewed, but this week I'd also like to talk to you guys about this awesome, amazing thing called Spotify. I don't know if you've heard of it before, but it is a one hundred percent legal way of listening to music, but with out having to pay. I know that sounds a lot like Pandora, but for me Pandora doesn't have enough variety in their artist stations for some. While Spotify has the majority of the music you (I) listen to.

This is where I get my insperation from when I do those playlist. There are always new music coming out and new bands I'm discovering, so I like to listen to all their songs in probably one day or two and then turn into a fan girl. ;D!!!

I didn't just want to say that. I also wanted to share with you all of my stared songs on Spotify. It is quite a long list so bare with me. I would just love for you to check these songs out if you haven't already from my playlist. Some of these songs are in my playlist. Any recommendations please leave below and leave your current favorite playlist.

You're going to need to get Spotify for this. 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly Review

I've been trying to post books that I read in the past, that are still very popular(also not so popular), but I just wanted to get all the books that I've read in the past half year out of the way, before I got into really big present books.

 Summary

Andy Alpers is on the edge. She's angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and angry at the world for taking her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And her father has determined that Andi's accompanying him to Paris over winter break is the solution to everything.

But Paris a city of ghosts for Andi. And when she finds a centuries-old diary, the ghosts begin to walk off the page. Alexandrine, the owner of the journal, knew heartbreak also, and Andi finds comfort in the girl's words. Until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.