The Hawkweed Legacy by Irena Brignull

The Hawkweed Legacy
by Irena Brignull

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
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BookExcerpt
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Just released: August 15, 2017
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Genre: Paranormal, YA, Witches
Hardback: 384
Rating: 4

Hawkweed Prophecy series:
Hawkweed Prophecy
Hawkweed Legacy

Zombie sighting:
Like zombies, they shuffled to the door
page 462, chapter 23

First sentence(s):
She had been sleeping for months now, stirring only rarely to nibble on nuts and seeds. During her hibernation, she'd hardly woken from the dreams that had drifted her so far from the darkness of the hole in which she lay. But today she felt a shift in the temperature and a warmth on her back. It was spring.

From screenwriter Irena Brignull, the stunning sequel to her critically acclaimed YA debut, The Hawkweed Prophecy ("Full of romance, heart and suspense...completely absorb[ing]." -Madeleine Roux) about a young witch forced to choose between love and magic.

Poppy is discovering a purpose for her powers in Africa, but she is haunted by a vision of her own death. Taken in by a boy and his great-grandmother, a healer, they vow to keep her safe-even if that ultimately means holding her captive. But Poppy never stops longing for Leo and, when she feels his magic begin to spark, she will do anything to be reunited with him.

Desperate to regain Poppy's trust and bring her home, Charlock embarks on a plan to reunite Leo with his mother. What Charlock doesn't foresee are the string of consequences that she sets into motion that leave Ember all alone and prey to manipulation, the clan open to attack from other witches, Sorrel vulnerable to Raven's ghost, Betony determined to protect her son from his father's fate, and which leave both Leo and Poppy in terrible danger.

My two-bits:

The story continues with issues of sisterhood, friendship and love that swirl about in this tale of witches.

History of the mothers and their pasts is shared.

The use of magic and creates some action packed scenes.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

Happy Release: The Hawkweed Legacy by Irena Brignull

The Hawkweed Legacy
by Irena Brignull
-Fantasy, YA, Witches
Release date: August 15, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
From screenwriter Irena Brignull, the stunning sequel to her critically acclaimed YA debut, The Hawkweed Prophecy ("Full of romance, heart and suspense...completely absorb[ing]." -Madeleine Roux) about a young witch forced to choose between love and magic.

Poppy is discovering a purpose for her powers in Africa, but she is haunted by a vision of her own death. Taken in by a boy and his great-grandmother, a healer, they vow to keep her safe-even if that ultimately means holding her captive. But Poppy never stops longing for Leo and, when she feels his magic begin to spark, she will do anything to be reunited with him.

Desperate to regain Poppy's trust and bring her home, Charlock embarks on a plan to reunite Leo with his mother. What Charlock doesn't foresee are the string of consequences that she sets into motion that leave Ember all alone and prey to manipulation, the clan open to attack from other witches, Sorrel vulnerable to Raven's ghost, Betony determined to protect her son from his father's fate, and which leave both Leo and Poppy in terrible danger.

Excerpt: Chapter 5

Young Charlock

Eighteen years ago...

Every year, the coming of spring was greeted by a celebration from the coven. On the last day of winter, the sisters wished for night to fall quickly for then the preparations would be over and the merriment could begin. As if mindful of its unpopularity, the sun hardly bothered to show itself through the clouds and day stitched to darkness almost seamlessly. Immediately, circle upon circle of candles were lit in readiness for the night’s festivities. For this eve was not for sleeping. The coven had taken to their beds that afternoon in order to remain awake the whole night through. Fires were burning and hogs roasting. Cider was being poured. Young witches were practising spells for their displays.

Now that they were seventeen, Charlock and her friend, Betony, were responsible for lighting the candles.

“We’re lucky there’s no breeze tonight,” murmured Charlock as she admired the tiny flames.

“Your sister has made certain of that, most likely,” joked Betony. “It is not just us she bosses but the weather too.” Charlock smiled, then looked around guiltily to see if Raven might be watching. “Don’t fear her so,” whispered Betony. “You are a Hawkweed too.”

Charlock shrugged. “Not the one that matters,” she said simply, without complaint.

It was true. She was the younger, softer sister, a witch with only moderate magic. Raven, on the other hand, was already the most powerful witch their clan had ever known. As if able to hear these silent thoughts, her sister turned her head and peered at Charlock from across the camp. Charlock waved her hand in nervous greeting but Raven only narrowed her eyes before returning her attention to her young daughter, Sorrel. Betony moved closer to Charlock in a show of solidarity. The pressure and warmth of her friend’s side against her own were comforting, as were Betony’s words.

(continue excerpt here)

Lovely Books and Things - 7.22.17

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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Busy week of work and play. But, did more eating out rather than attending events and films. Experienced yummy dishes.

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Bought:

Made for Love
by Alissa Nutting
-Literary, Humor
Amazon | Goodreads
BEING that I enjoyed Alissa's storytelling style in Tampa, I wanted to see where she goes with this one. Also, looks like a good one to read for summer. Love that cover.


Freebie:

Devotion by Meg Kerr
by Meg Kerr
-Jane Austen theme
Amazon | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY treat from Savvy Verse & Wit (here) book tour. Might have to go on a Jane Austen reading binge.

GET YOURS (here)! For Jane Austen's deathiversary, July 18, Signature is offering an Essential Guide to Jane Austen.


For Review:

Happy Dreams
by Jia Pingwa
-Literary, China
courtesy of Wunderkind -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
LOOKING forward to learning a bit about this part of the world.

The Hawkweed Legacy
by Irena Brignull
-Fantasy, YA, Witches
courtesy of Wunderkind -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
LOVED the first book in the series and ready to read what happens next.

I picked up Eat Pretty Live Well: A Guided Journal for Nourishing Beauty, Inside and Out to get a handle on my world of food.

And, to prepare for the future, I got I'm Dead, Now What.


AND watched: online

Alice Waters and Her Delicious Revolution (2003)
American Masters series, episode 4
Director/Writer: Doug Hamilton
-Documentary, Biography | imdb | my rating: 5
Follow Alice Waters through a year of shopping and cooking, and discover the vision of an artist and advocate, who has taken her gift for food and turned it into consciousness about the environment, nutrition and a device for social change. -PBS

GOT me thinking of visiting restaurants that are farm to table oriented.


~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

:-)

The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irena Brignull

The Hawkweed Prophecy
by Irena Brignull

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Twitter @irenabrignull

Release date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Hardback: 368 pages
Rating: 5

Series:
The Hawkweed Prophecy
The Hawkweed Legacy - release date: 2017

First sentence(s):
The babies were born as the clocks struck twelve. As they finally slid from their mothers' bellies, wet and sticky, their tiny faces scrunched up with the effort of being born, their fists clenched and eyes shut tight, a dark cloud crossed the full moon, and out in the forest the sky turned black.

Zombie sighting:
Out on the street they stood, all in masks - devils and Frankensteins, warlocks and werewolves, witches and zombies, ghouls and grim reapers.
chapter 23, page 229

Poppy Hooper and Ember Hawkweed couldn’t lead more different lives. Poppy is a troubled teen: moving from school to school, causing chaos wherever she goes, never making friends or lasting connections. Ember is a young witch, struggling to find a place within her coven and prove her worth. Both are outsiders: feeling like they don’t belong and seeking escape.

Poppy and Ember soon become friends, and secretly share knowledge of their two worlds. Little do they know that destiny has brought them together: an ancient prophecy, and a life-changing betrayal. Growing closer, they begin to understand why they’ve never belonged and the reason they are now forever connected to each other.

Switched at birth by the scheming witch Raven Hawkweed, Poppy and Ember must come to terms with their true identities and fight for their own place in the world. Enter Leo, a homeless boy with a painful past who – befriending them both – tests their love and loyalty. Can Poppy and Ember’s friendship survive? And can it withstand the dark forces that are gathering?

My two-bits:

Loved the portrayal of witches and their world in this story. The sisterhood aspect and female strength and bonding was what captured my interest.

Friendship relationships were also touched upon that created cozy and warm feelings throughout the story.

Romance and love had my heart tugging back and forth. I am sooo curious to see how that story settles in the end.

As this is that start of a series, this first book does well in presenting the main characters and their backgrounds.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

Stacking the Shelves - 5.21.16

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~
Bought:

The Excellent Lombards
by Jane Hamilton
-Contemporary
Amazon | Goodreads

=====> Book Passage, Corte Madera, hosted a visit from author, Jane Hamilton. She mentioned that the main character, Mary Frances, is partly inspired by the character Frankie from Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. She said her quiet novel is filled with conflict and tension amongst characters in farm living.

Author, Gail Tsukiyama, was also on hand in conversation with Jane. She is currently working on a novel that is based in Hawaii.

For Review:

Pasta Wars
by Elisa Lorello
-Humor, Romance
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Hawkweed Prophecy
by Irena Brignull
-Fantasy, YA
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Gena/Finn
by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson
-LGBTQ, YA
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Freebie: for kindle

The Mirror and the Maze:
A Wrath & the Dawn Short Story
by Renée Ahdieh
-Fantasy, Short Story, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
From BEA:

=====> What a treat it was to find BookSparks at BEA (here). Loved meeting Robert and Janay :-)

Thieving Weasels
by Billy Taylor
-YA
courtesy of publisher at BEA -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> Fantastic fun! I inhaled this one on the plane ride home! This was one of a few books I was able to stow in my luggage on the flight home. I am waiting to receive a couple boxes of books that I shipped to myself from Chicago before posting that haul received from the fabulous publishers at BEA.

=====> Various tote bags were handed out as swag.

Pictured above left to right:

Penguin: Riverhead Books - this colorful one is my favorite! I quickly started using it the whole time at BEA. It is for the new release, The Mothers by Brit Bennett.

Hachette: Grand Central Publishing (Forever) - Book lovers never go to bed alone. This red tote had the best blurb on it ;-)

HarperCollins: Epic - Book Shimmy Second best blurb.

Quirk Books - For Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - looking forward to its movie release in September.

Scholastic - I Read YA.

Random House - Cute one for Penguin Problems by Jory John and illustrated by Lane Smith.

Chronicle Books - This is a handy one that folds up neatly into the size of a pocket pack of tissues.

AND watched: in theatre

Classmates (2016)
Director: Shoko Nakamura
Starring: Kenji Nojima, Hiroshi Kamiya, Hideo Ishikawa
-Anime | website | my rating: 5
Rihito Sajo is an honor student who enrolled into his high school with a perfect score on the entrance exam. Hikaru Kusakabe is in a band and popular among girls. They are “different kind of guys”, who would have never crossed paths.

One day, they started talking to each other at the practice for their school’s upcoming chorus festival. After school, the two meet regularly, as Hikaru helps Rihito to improve his singing skills. While they listen to each other’s voice and harmonize, their hearts start to beat together.

Their feelings for each other slowly elevate, then peak when least expected.

Goofy yet innocent, Hikaru directly talks about his feelings towards Rihito. Hesitant at first, but Rihito gradually opens up his heart to Hikaru.

Two adolescent boys – being perplexed about not only about each other, but also about themselves – struggle and get confused; however, they eventually get to understand each other.

As they start to think about college and their future, what comes to their mind in order to move forward…

=====> Sweet romance and can get you curious about the Yaoi genre if you don't already know about it.

AND watched: in theatre

The Huntsman (2016)
Winter's War
Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Writers: Evan Spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin, Evan Daugherty
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt
-Action, Adventure, Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
As a war between rival queen sisters Ravenna and Freya escalates, Eric and fellow warrior Sara, members of the Huntsmen army raised to protect Freya, try to conceal their forbidden love as they combat Ravenna's wicked intentions.

=====> Action packed fairy tale that I liked for the special effects.

A Bigger Splash (2015)
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Screenplay: David Kajganich
Based on story by: Alain Page
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson
-Crime, Drama, Mystery | imdb | my rating: 5
The vacation of a famous rock star and a filmmaker is disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend and his daughter.

=====> A dark moody story despite the beautiful, bright and sunny setting. Despite attractive characters in this film they are quite unlikable yet fascinating to watch. I cringed watching Ralph and Dakota's character interactions because you know that they were up to no good. Hence, they played their parts well.

The Lobster (2015)
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz
-Comedy, Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 4
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.

Oscar nominated for Original Screenplay.

Certainly gets the conversation going on the state of singledom.

Hotel Manager: Now have you thought of what animal you'd like to be if you end up alone?
David: Yes. A lobster.
Hotel Manager: Why a lobster?
David: Because lobsters live for over one hundred years, are blue-blooded like aristocrats, and stay fertile all their lives. I also like the sea very much.

Currently flipping through: from the library

M.F.K. Fisher's Provence
by M. F. K. Fisher and Aileen Ah-Tye (photos)
-Photos
Amazon | Goodreads
Fanciful breads
...the shop always smelled right, not confused and stuffy but delicately layered: fresh eggs, fresh sweet butter, grated nutmeg, vanilla beans, old kirsch, newly ground almonds...


=====> Love the various shots of Aix-en-Provence - makes me want to revisit the place.

~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers