For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you'll have already noticed that my illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban finally came around today and I'm so beyond stoked to dive back into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling was, naturally, one of the most prominent authors in my childhood and it brings me great pleasure knowing that I still love this series even after all these years. I've loved the previous two illustrated editions of Rowling's novels but this is the one I've been waiting for--Prisoner of Azkaban was always my favourite of the series.

Seeing Jim Kay bring J.K. Rowling's words and wizarding world come to life is a dream come true. I love the way he breathes a new sort of life into her stories and characters; creating a lush setting of colours and magic for new and old readers alike. I'm huge on seeing pretty much anyone's artistic vision when it comes to adapting the series and I can never tire of it. Kay's vision is one of the best.

In honor of its arrival, I took a few pictures of it--because, obviously. It's too pretty not to try. And as I have a free day today, and it's cool and rainy, I am going to keep myself busy swooning over the illustrations and getting reacquainted with my favourite world.

Obligatory, "thank you, J.K. Rowling for my childhood." 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling | Rating: ★★★★★ 
"My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice."

A lot of people are going to blow the lid off on this one for various reasons. I'm not going to argue with you on that--there are many reasons to be put-off by this one. There's no use denying it. That's that. But, I think the first thing that needs to be said is that I didn't like the screenplay only because J.K. Rowling penned it. I liked it because it was something that captivated me from the get-go. 

Newt Scamander is far more likable than I was expecting when I picked this up. You need to know this and you also need to remember that he is not Harry Potter. It's easy to compare him to Harry if you allow yourself but that's a mistake. And while it is set in the same world (with differences and similarities, as well as mentions of characters we knew of from Harry's story)--this isn't at all the same story. 

I find the characters we're introduced to have the same shimmering magic that we've come to expect from J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World. You (or rather, I) can't deny this because there's just something about them. From Newt, to Tina, to Queenie, to Jacob--there's something that draws you in from the start and keeps you in their orbit. If ever there were four characters that belonged around each other, it's them. And the way they form a connection with one another feels very permanent and indescribable. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne | Rating: ★★★★★

Like most fans, I had marked down my calendar for July 31st, 2016. Although I had known ahead of time that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wasn’t a book, instead it was a script, and that a great deal of the story itself wasn’t penned by J.K. Rowling, I was so thrilled to be having a new Harry Potter story nine years after the final book was released. How could we not be? This was our childhood. Hogwarts is our home. Because of all the spoilers that had leaked to Twitter upon the plays previews, I had low expectations from the start and I think that is why I loved (yes, loved) The Cursed Child as much as I do.

Far from my favorite release in the series, The Cursed Child is every bit as darkly magical as the previous seven full-length-novels. It took me back to my childhood. It reminded me what it was like to be so bloody excited for a book release, I barely nodded off whilst reading it and stayed up far later than I’d normally. There was something in it being the first Harry Potter story to have purchased with my own money, as many people from my generation have expressed. Midnight release parties, Freeform’s beloved Harry Potter Weekend and more played out to the tune of my weekend during its release date.

I felt younger again. I felt happy. You know that feeling, right? Tingling in your veins as you finally get your hands on a physical copy of something you love. Most of us hadn’t felt it since 2007–and I can’t explain how wonderful the sensation was after being from it for so long. My review would have come sooner but as I don’t have a laptop (still) and I couldn’t articulate what it was I wanted to say, here we are almost a week after its release.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling | Rating: ★★★★★

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

Let’s rewind to my childhood for a few moments. It’s a normal day except for one thing, instead of regular library time I’m at the Scholastic book fair, picking out various titles here and there that are expansions onto series I am familiar with (see: Captain Underpants, Junie B. Jones, Heartland and the Babysitters Club) when I turn and I see this little gem sitting on a display front and center.

Other kids my age are flocking around the display, pushing at each other to grab one of the many copies; giggling and eying the novel as though they want to devour it right then and there.

Making my way through the flock of children, I too reach the display. I skim through the novel momentarily (after all, I was only in grade three) and decide: huh. Wizards? WITCH CRAFT!! I’m totally in. I spare only a brief glance at my classmates still standing at the display, and then skip off (yes, literally skip) to my librarian so I can pay for what I’d found.

She was, of course, met with a certain level of eagerness that comes only to a child. It amused her, made her smile, to see my class eagerly grabbing up copies of a book in real and genuine interest.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling | Rating:★★★☆☆

“It was strange how your brain could know what your heart refused to accept.”

The Casual Vacancy’s tagline is “A Big Novel About A Small Town" and really, there is no better description for J.K Rowling’s debut in adult fiction.

Because it is just that. And, hey, no complaints here!

Admittedly, it took me a couple months to finish reading it because while it does intrigue you to know the happenings of a diverse medley of characters, it doesn’t always keep your attention for long periods of time. At least not for me. And again, taste is subjective — so this could just be me.

Our story opens with the death of Barry Fairbrother and follows a selection of characters of all ages in the months following his death as they try to find somebody to fill his seat. Each character offers their own look into this small town in various ways that are sometimes hard to fully follow.

You do get the hang of it eventually.