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spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub · 2 years ago

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SO's US Tour Round-Up

I'm pretty behind in doing reviews for these books, so I thought I'd write up some smaller reactions and put them all in one. It seems easier, so I may try this way for the next batch as well.

****

California : The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Look, I know that California is a big place, and there are a lot of things that could represent it - but I think nothing screams California more to an outsider than Old Hollywood. Plus, I had been wanting to read this book for a while.

I'll be honest - I have some mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, it's an interesting read. The premise is a young woman listening to the story of aging Hollywood Starlet Evelyn Hugo - and the story of her having seven husbands. You can tell that this was inspired by someone like Elizabeth Taylor -- and the book is broken up into various parts - each documenting the story behind each husband.

It's incredibly engaging, and I can say the book kept me captivated the whole way through. I think those who are interested - if they pick up the book, they'll probably, overall, have a good time with it. The problems I, personally, had was when you started to dig a little deeper.

First of all -- I was slightly disappointed that I don't think Reid fully captivates the Old Hollywood atmosphere. Everything reads as if it were happening in the present, and I never get that full sense of what Hollywood was like back then. I guess I wanted more from that. (Honestly - though, when this inevitably gets turned into a miniseries - I think seeing it on screen might help with some of the atmosphere issues.)

Secondly - the book deals with three main themes -- women's issues, queer identity, and (tangentially) racial issues. I think it's awkward with all three, and there were aspects of the book that just didn't settle well with me. Added into that - there was one element (the main character's central romance) that just did not work, which tied into the above elements, and why I don't think the book succeeds the way I think the author intended.

Overall, I think if you take the book for what it is -- an entertaining riff on Old Hollywood and its scandals and stereotypes, I think you'll enjoy the book. I just don't think it's the literary genius that social media (TikTok) has been making it out to be, and while I recommend it, I would advise going into for the enjoyment value and not thinking about it too hard.

Rating : 3.5 Stars

****

Colorado : Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

When I started this project, and was looking for a book for Colorado - all signs pointed to me to Stephen King's The Shining. Which I've read! And enjoyed! And wouldn't even have minded reading it again -- but I've been trying to go with books that I haven't read before.

So - I took a chance on this one. I like books about bookstores, and this one had a mystery imbedded into it, so I thought - hey, why not?

It's not a bad little book - but I can't say it's all that memorable (save for one thing) either. The story revolves around a woman named Lucy who works at an Indy bookstore in Denver. When one of her coworkers commits suicide, she starts looking into it, and finds out that it intersects with a horrific incident in her own past.

This is another one that was pretty easy to read - and the central mystery around it was pretty captivating. I finished it rather quickly. And even if I didn't really love the ending, I think it still works relatively well for a thriller.

Lucy's a likable enough character -- though the book does spend a good amount of energy exploring her relationship with her live-in boyfriend that ultimately doesn't go anywhere or have much plot relevance. The other characters serve their purpose well, though I wouldn't say this book digs in deep by way of character development.

As for atmosphere - I think it both works and doesn't. The whole idea of the bookstore was fun - but the mystery doesn't do much with it other than kick of the premise. The setting of Colorado works for a story that wants to remain in an isolated place, but it's by no means the feature of the novel.

One thing that I do think worked really well for the book was a sequence where it transcended genres and slipped from thriller to horror. There's an entire section that depicts a young girl witnessing some gruesome murders - and it is haunting. It's by far the biggest thing I remember from the book. I wish the rest of the book's writing lived up to this sequence.

Overall - it's a solid recommend. Again, I think if you go in wanting a couple of hours worth of engaging entertainment it's worth the read, but I don't think it's something you'll remember much about a year later.

Rating : 3 Stars

****

Connecticut : Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

The premise of this one is fairly simple - it's a slice of life from the POV of a Red Lobster manager named Manny. The restaurant is having its last day -- a cold day in late December, and it really showcases what it's like to be service worker in the lower working class of suburban America.

I was kind of expecting this one to be a comedy at first, but it's really not. It's more of a drama and a character study. And you know what? I really, really enjoyed it. It hit a bit close to home -- and it will for anyone who has ever had to work in a service industry. But I think where it really excels is just capturing what life is really like, and how there are these bittersweet beginnings and endings in a world that trudges forever on.

I think there's also a conversation about class baked into the story. All of the staff have unpretty lives. They aren't poor and it's not a horror show in the way I think other media often portrays the working people, but I think it's a commentary about how many of us lead outward sad lives but are so entrenched on making it through the day that we don't even notice. I'm painting a bleak picture here, I know -- but there is some silverlining, in that the staff is able to remember good times, too, and even at the end of their tenure, it's not all bad. It's a book about finding the good stuff even when everything around you is falling apart.

All of this is juxtaposed against the customers - who, while being not so great people themselves, regard themselves (intentionally or not) above everyone else. The irony being that they're living in New England and choosing to go to Red Lobster instead of somewhere local for their seafood, and yet still feel above people who go to, say, Long John Silvers.

I definitely recommend this one. Out of the books that I've read lately for this challenge, it's the one that's stuck out to me the most, and the one that's held the most weight, even if it's a somewhat simple story.

Rating : 4 Stars

****

Delaware : Cure for the Common Break Up by Beth Kendrick

I'm sorry Delaware that you don't seem to have any great American novels tied to you. I'm sorry that you don't seem to have much of anything written in your state. Because this book kept coming up on lists for Delaware - and while I'm totally fine with a Hallmark-esque, breeze romance novel. This book was terrible.

If you've followed me at all lately - I keep posting excerpts from it. Because it's just so unfathomly bad. Look - I can do fun campiness. The author does write for Hallmark, and even if they aren't the best pieces of literature around, at least they're often fun. This was not fun.

The story revolves around a woman named Summer who literally crashes and burns (she was a airline stewardess whose plane crashed) and when she's dumped, makes it to Black Dog Bay - where the main attraction is the fact that everything in the little town has to do with heartbreak. It's actually a kind of cute premise - which is why I initially picked it up - but the execution is just terrible.

Summer is wholly unlikable a good amount of the time. Her life is a mess, and yet she's perfect at just about everything. Her love interest is a guy named Dutch Jenson (omg the names) the mayor of the little town who kind of lucked into the role. The romance is kind of pathetic - there's zero build up, zero reason why the two should be together, and zero payoff.

The book really isn't interesting in being a romance anyway. It's more concerned with Summer's attachment to Dutch's teenage sister (where she's supposed to be a mentor) and Summer's dealings with an older woman named Hattie -- who is so bitter after a broken love affair that she's planning on taking the town down with her. Of course, Summer is able to save the day and the town and, everyone lives dully after after.

This book is stupid. It's just. So. Stupid. The characters are flat when they're not being annoying. The dialogue is incredibly forced - it's painful the people talk in this book. There are a ton of pop culture references that make me wince more than anything. The 'humor' is bad sitcom level of bad. And the plot is entirely bland and unoriginal. I think the whole thing makes those ridiculous Hallmark movies feel like groundbreaking art forms.

I think there's some fun to be had with cheesy things like this -- if you have fun characters and do interesting things with them. But this one just kinda fails in a whole lotta ways.

Not a recommendation from me.

Rating : 1.5 stars

#so's us book tour #the seven husbands of evelyn hugo #taylor jenkins reid #Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore #Matthew J. Sullivan #Last Night at the Lobster #Stewart O'Nan #Cure for the Common Break Up #beth kendrick #books #book review

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infoglitch · 8 months ago

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Yeah. No shit.

Jaune is by and large (atleast to most of the FNDM) not problematic, because all he really is, is the most realistic character in rwby.

He's also a fuckin dork that's why a lot of jaune fans (like me) get out gears grinded when people call him a "self-insert" just because miles voices him (you can have an opinion on miles but that doesn't mean that applies to Jaune) because one the point is moot because not everyone has the same understanding of a self insert. And even if jaune is he is probably a better self insert than the other really shit male characters who are self inserts (good ones definitely exist but those are rather rare)

Jaune is a likeable character because he's mainly unproblematic, the only real potential problem is that he has way more spotlight than the main girls which yes is a valid complaint but to my (not really) counterpoint

WTF did you expect from RT.

RT's writing staff for Rwby is unfortunately shit, they can't make a competent stories and now they probably cant get better after the RT shutdown. Men are unfortunately a lot easier to write than women because the idea of writing a man is just "big strong macho man" (which is not how men should be written, they should absolutely be strong in terms of character but men are not inherently about physical strength). Writing women is more difficult because for the prior half of modern history women weren't allowed to be independent nor outspoken, just meant to sit down and look pretty.

And in a show about women protagonist that is written by a shitty writing staff that can't write women, no shit jaune a male character that is constantly shown to be Ruby's counterpart in a sense, is going to be on screen.

But hey, fuck do I know, I'm a straight white man, the same people who apparently screwed over Rwby (a show already fucked over from the first episode) because it was about women. Since people can't comprehend the fact not everything bad that happens is because of some big general boogie man.

Fuckin hell man I got off topic.

Back on point, jaune is enjoyable because one he's an actual male character that Rwbys writing staff hasn't managed to make evil (obviously theres also ren but ren is the exclusion due to him being Nora's romantic interest) or morally questionable because despite RT's writing staff sucking at writing they still try and look like rwby is about the female protagonists.

I... I uh

Oh God I've written an entire fuckin essay and now I need to end it in a proper way.

SHIT!

Uh so to summarize, jaunes likable because he's a actual character who can have flaws, who has lost, and also be wrong on things, all the while being an entertaining and fun character.

Now... I'm gonna go the fuck to sleep before I go off the rails again.

Goodnight everyone

Guys, let's be honest with ourselves. The main reason most fics portray Jaune as a menhera magnet is (excluding Jaune-In-Name-Only Y/N fics, but we don't talk about those).... ....is mainly because he is a human therapy dog. A Golden Retriever wrapped in a Himbo package.

#rwby #jaune arc #jaune arc appreciation #rwby shitpost

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make-mine-movie · 2 years ago

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Melody Time (1948)

Melody Time is another musical segmented film from the Wartime Era. In comparison to its counterparts, Make Mine Music and Fun and Fancy Free, it received a 73% score from Rotten Tomatoes, somewhat better than its predecessors.

Melody Time is an entertaining compilation of short songs, and while not all seem relevant or connected, they are heavily representative of older stories, morals, and values frequently associated with the stereotypical United States. Some of the segments, like “Bumble Boogie,” “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed,” and “Trees” are genuinely very likable. “Once Upon a Wintertime,” “Little Toot,” and “Blame It on the Samba,” on the other hand, are mediocre at best. “Pecos Bill,” despite being entertaining, promotes harmful colonialist rhetoric that I will address later, tampering my overall view of this segment. “Once Upon a Wintertime” initially appears sweet, but later is bothersome with its persistently mocking relationship dynamics. Despite being played for laughs, the man and male bunny both alienate the feelings of their female partners, which is uncomfortable rather than funny. “Bumble Boogie” picks up this negative energy and throws it out the window with a wonderful jazz routine, something I can always appreciate. This continues with “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed,” which is a very sweet animated adaptation of a notable childhood favorite for many. “Little Toot,” however, is similar to “Once Upon a Wintertime” in which the mistreatment of one character by others drives the plot but in a manner that is distasteful. Little Toot, who is implicitly a child, is imprisoned and outcast. He is then only treated like a member of society again after proving himself by achieving a very difficult quest, which just seems like unnecessary punishment for causing only a slight amount of harm (without malicious intent or grave consequences). “Trees” has a lot of Christian imagery, which is intriguing and considering the execution, rather beautiful. This was a very peaceful segment, which I enjoyed. However, it would have made more sense to include this musical part immediately after “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed,” which would have been a more appropriate order. “Blame It on the Samba” reintroduces a lot of the colorful and fun artistic elements from Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, but unfortunately also reintroduces Donald Duck lusting after human women as a trope. Finally, “Pecos Bill.” “Pecos Bill” is an entertaining story with the most thought-provoking and interesting plot out of all of the other shorts. However, Pecos Bill has a really negative portrayal of Indigenous people, who are cashed out of their homeland by Bill and called a slur by the narrator. This reflects very negatively on the segment overall, which is disappointing, but considering previous films, not surprising.

In conclusion, Melody Time has been the most enjoyable segmented musical film from Disney’s Wartime Era yet, providing at least some semblance of connectivity amongst the pieces and an overall entertaining and captivating compilation of shorts. After the improvement featured in Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time pulls through. Overall, Melody Time receives 4 out of 10 stars from me, an unfortunately low score considering how much I enjoyed this film. It lost points due to the rhetoric surrounding colonization, racist slur usage, inconsistent ordering of segments, uncomfortable relationship portrayals in “Once Upon a Wintertime,” and upsetting treatment of Little Toot in the similarly named short. Like the other segmented films of this era, I will not be considering points based on whether or not the Bechdel Test is passed as character voice roles are few and far between to begin with. Melody Time’s music, despite its status as a musical film, was not memorable, so it lost an additional point in this category.

Summary of the film under the cut.

Melody Time contains seven segments: “Once Upon a Wintertime,” “Bumble Boogie,” “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed,” “Little Toot,” “Trees,” “Blame It on the Samba,” and “Pecos Bill.” The opening segment, “Once Upon a Wintertime,” depicts a couple in a horse-drawn carriage traveling about a small town in the winter. They go ice skating, but the man in an attempt to show off covers his partner in snow and ice. She storms off, accidentally moving towards an area with fragile ice. The ice beneath her breaks and the previously frozen over river turns into raging rapids, and she almost goes over a waterfall. However, her partner, the horses from the carriage, and a couple of rabbits jump to her rescue, pulling her onto the snowy bank and out of danger. She forgives her partner afterwards and it is implied the two go home a happy couple. “Bumble Boogie” features a bumblebee who is being bombarded with jazz music by somewhat sentient instruments. “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed” is a well known United States tale that is retold through the lens of Disney. The protagonist is Johnny Appleseed, a young man with a bunch of apples who has no idea what to do with them. He wants to be a pioneer because he thinks that is a fun life in which he can make a difference, but his guardian angel cautions him against this. Instead, he should use his gift of an excessive amount of apples and spread them about the world. So Johnny sets off on an adventure to grow apples across the United States. He encounters a large group of animals along his way, which are initially either aggressive towards him or cautious of him, except for a skunk. Johnny befriends the skunk, and when all of the other animals realize he is a kind person who will not attack them, he befriends them too. Johnny and the animals travel together planting apples wherever they go. At one point they walk into a party where they see a bunch of people singing and dancing together over apples. Throughout the rest of the segment, Johnny is seen aging from a young boy to an old man. At the end he leans up against an apple tree to rest with the animals, and his soul leaves his body. His guardian angel encourages Johnny to walk off with him, but Johnny is apprehensive about leaving the animals, apple trees, and people behind. His guardian angel says that he can plant apple trees in heaven, but for Earth his job is done. The camera pans out, connecting Earth’s apple trees to the clouds in the sky. “Little Toot” is the story of a small tugboat by the same name of the segment. He is a bothersome little fellow who gets on the nerves of his father, Big Toot, and everyone else in the marina. At first, they imprison him to stop him from causing trouble, but when that is not enough, Little Toot is banished to the open ocean. While out and about the sea, Little Toot is met with a huge thunderstorm where he encounters a sinking ship. He successfully brings the ship back into the marina, and is praised for his heroism. “Trees” is a musical piece centering on the beauty, mortality, and holiness of trees. It commends trees for their natural presence and innate sanctity. “Blame It on the Samba” begins with Donald Duck and José Carioca walking around, “having the blues.” The two depressed birds are coerced into a cafe by the Aracuan Bird, another character from The Three Caballeros. Then the samba begins, a complicated dance number in which Donald and José cure their depression by drinking and dancing on an organ being played by a beautiful woman. The final segment, “Pecos Bill,” is the most plot-driven. It begins with a group of live-action cowboys explaining tall tales to their kids. One girl asks “why do the coyotes howl at the moon” to which one of the cowboys responds that “it all has to do with the story of Pecos Bill.” The story begins with a group of pioneers who have many children, one of which falls out of the wagon as a baby. Hungry and alone, this human baby is taken in by a coyote, who raises him with her pups. In his youth, Bill learns how not only to survive in the Western desert, but also how to dominate it. One day he sees a young horse being preyed upon by some hungry vultures. After saving the horse, known as Widowmaker, Bill travels the entire West completing various challenges and tasks. He eliminates drought, scares away bandits, and pushes a group of Indigenous people out of their homes. Bill then meets a woman riding a catfish named Slue-Foot Sue. Bill and Sue fall in love and get married. However, Widowmaker is exceptionally jealous. So much so that he throws her into the sky and stops Bill from saving her with his lasso. It is then announced that Sue landed on the moon. The tale concludes with Bill riding around on Widowmaker howling at the moon with the other coyotes, longing for Sue’s return.

#disney #disney movie #melody time #walt disney world #disney world #disneyland #movies #movie reviews #animation #animated movies #the reviews

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theadusa · 4 years ago

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All the dramas I’ve watched in 2020

These are all the dramas that I watched in 2020, with some review there should be NO Spoilers. I think I watched a lot more than usual probably because what else am I supposed to do between school and quarantine. So this is gonna be a long one...

Crash Landing on You (Lee Jung-hyo, 2019-2020)

Main Leads: Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin

Episodes: 16, 70 to 110 Minutes

Thoughts: I enjoyed this drama, and it was a good one to start 2020 with. I thought it was a perfect blend of romance, comedy, heartfelt, found family, action, and some tragedy. I would highly recommend it, especially for those who are new to Kdramas. Also fun fact this is my first Hyun Bin drama. Rating: Fun and adorable

Tale of Nokdu (Kim Dong-hwi, 2019)

Main Leads: Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun

Episodes: 32, 35 minutes

Thoughts: I actually started watching this when it was airing but I stopped around episode 13 because of my busy schedule and finished it in the new year. I adore the main couple, the romance, comedy, the found family, and the women center story. I thought it shined the brightest when it was focused on the group and its funny and warm moments but once it got too political it kinda fell flat. I loved the ending, however. Also, I really like Jang Dong Young as an actor, I saw him in Solomon’s Perjury (2016) and Mr. Sunshine (2018) and I loved how he played Nok Du too. Rating: I love a women’s only widow village

I’ll Find You When The Weather is Nice (Han Ji-seung, 2020)

Main Leads: Seo Kang Joon and Park Min Young

Episodes: 16, 60 minutes

Thoughts: I really liked this drama, probably one of my favorites this year. As you will notice I enjoy quieter and more slow-burn stories. Also, I am a fan of Park Min Young she tends to pick more interesting and strong-willed female roles, so it is really enjoyable to watch. Rating: makes me want to own a book store.

King: The Eternal Monarch (Kim Eun-sook, 2020)

Main Leads: Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun

Episodes: 16, 70 Minutes

Thoughts: Confession; I am actually not the biggest fan of Lee Min Ho, nothing against him I just hate rich bratty characters and he tends to play them. However, I surprisingly really liked his character, he wasn’t a rich brat he actually was likable. I also really like Kim Go Eun, she is actually one of the main reasons why I watched and also with all the hype around it. Woo Do Hwan, who I have always liked, stole the whole show, however. I didn’t hate it like a lot of people, I really liked the characters, I liked the romance and the action. Also, Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun’s hugs were absolutely fabulous. It wasn’t my favorite and there were too many product placements, but I don’t think it was the worst drama this year. Rating: Lukewarm

A Piece of your mind (Lee Sang-yeob, 2020)

Main Leads: Jung Hae In and Chae Soo Bin

Episodes: 12, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I actually really liked this drama despite the low views, again I’m big on slow burn stories and character focus. I believe the episodes were cut from 16 to 12 I don’t know exactly why maybe because of the Pandemic or due to viewership or a mixture of both. Despite its being cut short I really liked the ending, and I thought the two leads were sweet. Rating: Wish we had more time to develop the characters.

Its Okay not to be Okay (Park Shin Woo, 2020)

Main Leads: Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Yea Ji and Oh Jung Se

Episodes: 16, 70 to 85 minutes

Thoughts: Out of all the dramas I talked the most about this one. I have always been a fan of Seo Yea Ji since Save Me (2017) and Lawless Lawyer (2018) and I am happy to see her getting more recognition because of this role. The entire cast was amazing and I think I cried every episode. Such a good and heart-wrenching drama which is why I chose to watch it before work every time. Rating: I would let Seo Yea Ji stab me with a knife anytime.

Mystic Pop up bar (Jeon Chang-geun, 2020)

Main Leads: Hwang Jung Eum and Yook Sung Jae and Choi Won Young

Episodes: 12, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I actually watched this while I was watching Its Okay Not to Be Okay and it was a nice balance to it because this was more of a found family story with less heartbreaking moments. Though it did have its share of heartbreak. I really liked all the characters and their relationship. Also, I am a sucker for bureaucratic fantasy/ magic, and kdramas are so good at it. Rating: I wish it was 16 episodes.

When the Camila Bloom (Cha Yeong Hoon, 2019)

Main Leads: Gong Hyo Jin and Kang Ha Neul

Episodes: 20, 63 to 75 minutes

Thoughts: I liked the story overall, the romance was cute and the mystery was interesting but I thought the family expectations was the best part of the story. This was not my favorite drama, but it was enjoyable and heartfelt. I watched it right after It's Okay Not to Be Okay and while I was watching Flower of Evil (2020) which probably is why I was so underwhelmed by it. Rating: Sweet romance and adorable found family.

Flower of Evil (Kim Cheol Kyu, 2020)

Main Leads: Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won

Episode:16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: This was my favorite drama of this year. I went into this drama not thinking much of it, and I mainly watched it as a post drama blues drama. It was an action and thriller which I mainly don’t get attached to plus I am a huge fan of Lee Joon Gi. I should have known better, I cared so much about all the characters, the acting phenomenal, also every time they showed their hands I cried. This drama left me shriveled and empty inside. Rating: Lee Joon Gi will literally kill me one day.

Put Your Head On My Shoulders (Zhu Dongning, 2019)

Main Leads: Xing Fei and Lin Yi

Episodes: 24, 40 to 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is the first Chinese drama on this list. I thought it was cute, I liked the couple and thought it was alright. I started to dislike the male lead later in the series but it was overall fine. It was basic and sweet with very little drama. Rating: It did its job.

The School Nurse Files ( Lee Kyoung Mi, 2020)

Main Leads: Jung Yu Mi and Nam Joo Hyuk

Episodes: 6, 45 to 57 minutes

Thoughts: This is probably my second favorite drama. I couldn’t tell what happened in the drama but I loved it. I thought it was weird and fascinating, and just so magical. I loved the children and just how the whole school was just off its rocker. I also think that Nam Joo Hyuk does really well in serious roles, and I thought he did a really good job here. Rating: 1 jelly heart.

Mr. Heart (Park Sun Jae, 2020)

Main Leads: Cheon Seung Ho and Lee Se Jin

Episodes: 8, 11 Minutes

Thoughts: This was 8 episodes of start fluff and I adored it. Apparently, it is apart of a BL series by Park Sun Jae and there is a movie version that I haven’t watched. If you want to destress and watch just fluff this is the show for you. Rating: If it is any sweeter I would be going to the dentist.

You are My Destiny ( Ding Ying Zhou, 2020)

Main Leads: Xing Zhao Lin and Liang Jie

Episodes: 36, 45 minutes

Thoughts: I hated this drama, I thought it was the worst thing ever. I don’t know why I even watched all 36 episodes. Apparently, it is a remake of a popular 2008 Twaniese drama Fated to Love You and there is a Korean remake of it as well. I have watched neither of them, so I was brand new to this story. I hated, despised the male lead. He was whiny, entitled, and an asshole. The only good part of the drama was the male and female lead actually had a lot of chemistry, unfortunately, they are playing awful characters. Rating: This was made in 2020???

First Romance (Ding Pei, 2020)

Main Leads: Wan Peng and Riley Wang

Episodes: 24, 45 Minutes

Thoughts: This is another Chinese drama. Similar to Mr. Heart (2020) this show was super fluffy. I really liked the main couple they seem to respect each other and they both had adorable crushes on each other. I loved the whole dumb jock and dumb artist dynamic it was so funny. Rating: Cute!!!

Lost Romance ( Eri Hao, 2020)

Main Leads: Marcus Chang and Vivian Sung

Episodes: 20, 70 minutes

Thoughts: This is the only Twainese drama on this list. I think I liked this drama, I actually only remember very little of this drama. I like the CEO in the real world more than the book world, and I also really liked the female lead except she lowkey stalked the CEO like that was not okay. Rating: I think I liked it???

When We Were Young ( Deng Ke, Liu Guo Hui, 2018)

Main Leads: Neo Hou and Wan Peng and Gala Zhang and Pan Mei and Ye Marcus Li

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: I really liked this film, I loved all the characters and thought it was all very heartfelt. I cried like a baby, and Hua Biao was such a touching and relatable character. And the whole grandma story hit so close to home. Rating: Made me cry like a baby.

Moment of 18 ( Sim Na Yeon, 2019)

Main Leads: Ong Seong Wu and Kim Hyang Gi

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I really liked this drama, and I thought the romance was so cute. I also really liked the relationship between the moms and was sad that the rich mom was a bitch and ruined the friendship. I also wasn’t a big fan of the ending, but I loved the rest of it. Rating: The main lead is part of a boy group because he had a random singing moment.

Perfect and Casual ( Li Shuang, 2020)

Main Leads: Miles Wei and Xu Ruo Han

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is another Chinese drama on this list. I’m pretty sure it's considered an Idol drama so that sets your expectations. I really liked this drama a lot, I am a big fan of contract marriages and I thought the leads were so cute together. Also, this is the first contract marriage drama where the leads don’t break up which I like. A lot of the drama came from outside of the relationship. Rating: You can’t analyze love.

Le Coup De Foudre ( Wang Zhi, 2019)

Main Leads: Janice Wu and Zhang Yujian

Episodes: 35, 45 minutes

Thoughts: My favorite Chinese drama on this list. I loved this drama, I thought it was sweet and simple and the main couple was so realistic. Unpopular opinion I disliked the second couple and the best friend I thought she was annoying and brattish. However, I adore the main couple and their relationship. Rating: Realistic sweet romance.

More Than Friends ( Choi Sung Bum, 2020)

Main Leads: Ong Seong Wu and Shin Ye Eun

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I enjoyed the overall story and characters. I loved the group and their relationships. Also, Young-Hee made me cry, and her relationship with Hyun Jae was so sweet. The main leads were also sweet, and I related a lot to Lee So. I just didn’t like the back and forth. Rating: How many times can we break up in a drama.

Be With You ( Zhou Miao, 2020)

Main Leads: Ji Xiao Bing and Zhang Ya-Qin

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is the last Chinese drama I watched this year. It was alright, the romance was sweet, I really like the female lead, and the male lead was nice to look at. It was okay. Also, the second couple was so ??? She was his boss, enemy, and older than him, what?? Rating: Sometimes you need to fall in love to be creative.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo ( Kim Kyu Tae, 2016)

Main Leads: Lee Joon Gi and Lee Ji Eun (IU)

Episodes: 20, 60 minutes

Thoughts: I know I am really late watching this, but I finally did. I went in knowing this would hurt me and Lee Joon Gi already scared me this year ( damn this man) so I was fully prepared. I really wasn’t, it so much. (SPOIlERS) When Wang Eun and Park Soon Deok died I sob like a baby (SPOILER ENDING). It took me a long time to finish this show because its heart so much, like it physically hurt me. The show was really good, and heartbreaking, and the ending stabs me in the heart 20 times. Rating: Lee Joon Gi is trying to kill me with tears.

Persona ( Lee Kyoung Mi, Yim Pil Sung, Jeon Go Woon, and Kim Jong Kwan, 2019)

Main Leads: Lee Ji Eun (IU)

Episodes: 4, 19 to 27

Thoughts: This is a collection of mini-films by directors. 4 separate stories are starring Lee Ji Eun. I thought all of them good, especially “ Kiss Burn” and “Walking at Night.” There isn’t much else to this, more than it is an artistic display of filmmaking. Rating: Hipster Kdrama

Come and Hug Me ( Choi Joon-bae, 2018)

Main Leads: Jang Ki-Yong and Jin Ki-Joo

Episodes: 32, 35 minutes

Thoughts: I actually just finished this show today. I really liked it, I thought it was both sweet and heartwarming/wrenching. I hated that one journalist and the public like why are they blaming a victim. I didn’t watch it with my full mind because I’ve been distracted lately, but I did enjoy it. Rating: another cute but sad couple.

Movies I watched this year:

Spell Bound ( Hwang In Ho, 2011)

Main Cast: Son Ye Jin and Lee Min Ki

Running Time: 114 Minutes

Thoughts: I watched this at like 12 am after a bad day and it was cute. I love RomCom fantasy, which I think Korean media does really well. I don’t know what else to say except it is a really cute romance. Rating: Is it the ghost or the butterflies

The Host ( Bong Joon Ho, 2006)

Main Cast: Song Kang Ho and Byun Hee Bong and Park Hae Il and Bae Doona and Go, Ah Sung

Running Time: 119

Thoughts: This film I had to actually watch for class. It was a really good film which is expected from Bong Joon Ho. I love monster films and I thought this was a good rendition of this film. Also, The monster was so cool especially from 2006. I thought it was heartbreaking, stirring, and so beautifully shot. Rating: Oscar-worthy Direction

Little Forest ( Yim Soon-rye, 2018)

Main Cast: Kim Tae Ri and Ryu Jun Yeol and Moon So Ri and Jin Ki Joo

Running Time: 103 minutes

Thoughts: I really, really liked this film. It reminded me so much of I’ll Find You When The Weather is Nice (2020) that I thought that it was based on this film but it isn’t. I have watched this film 3 times since October and every time I watch it have made bread. I really just love everything about this film, how quiet it is, the cinematography, the acting, just everything. Rating: Three loaves of bread.

Always ( Song Il Gon, 2011)

Main Cast: So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Joo

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Thoughts: I thought it was okay, I watched it while I was knitting so I was distracted a bit. But I thought the couple was sweet, and the characters were interesting. Rating: It's Okay.

Currently watching

True Beauty ( Kim Sang-hyeop, 2020-)

Main Cast: Moon Ga Young and Cha Eun Woo and Hwang In Yeop

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: This is currently an ongoing series that is actually really popular. Apparently, it is based on a webtoon, which I haven’t read. I like it so far, I always liked Moon Ga Young and I think she is a great actress. She plays Im Ju Kyung in a likable and insecure way, instead of someone annoying which could easily happen. I will be continuing watching. Rating so far: Okey dokey yo.

Live On ( Kim Sang-woo, 2020-)

Main Cast: Jung Da Bin and Hwang Min Hyun

Episodes: 8?, 60 Minutes

Thoughts: I really Like this show. The main couple is sweet and supportive. I really like the female lead, I like that she is cold and kinda quiet, but with a sweet spot if you are not a dick. I really like the main relationship conflict comes from friendship instead of romance, I think it makes the show more interesting. Rating: I want to Join a Broadcast group.

On My List:

I actually don’t have anything else on my list so if anyone has recommendations please tell me. I am thinking about watching Mr. Queen ( 2020) because I really like Shin Hye Sun. I also want to watch Sweet Home (2020) the Netflix series. But please recommend me some dramas!!!

This is such a long list, and I had fun doing it and going back over all the dramas. I hope everyone has a good New year and that we will have many more good dramas in 2021!

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buildarocketboys · 4 years ago

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Books read 2020: Reviews (1-20)

Decided to write a little review/overview for all the books I’ve read this year. Mostly just for personal record but please feel free to message me about any of these books!

1. Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly (Jan 6th – Jan 13th) 8 days 400 pages

I loved this whole trilogy, but this might have been my favourite of all three. I loved the setting (the main reason, apart from the queer characters, why I wanted to read this book) which is a fantasy setting based on the dying days of Berlin during the Weimar Republic. Loved this setting (especially the cabaret/music hall part) and it’s the only book that really features it. I also enjoy (or…find compelling, enjoy might not quite be right since there’s some very ‘yowch’ descriptions regarding torture/being beaten up) the story/plot most in this one, I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next…

2. Maurice by E.M. Forster (Nov 17th – Jan 21st) 256 pages

This is the only kind of cheat I have in here, because yes I did start reading it in November 2019, but I read the vast majority of it in 2020. I’d wanted to read it for ages because it’s such a gay classic and there were many sections (sentences, paragraphs) that I related to heavily, not even always as a queer person, but in that way that the best books get at the heart of something about the human experience in a way that’s intensely relatable to the reader. I think I found the romance elements kind of anticlimactic overall but maybe that’s kind of the point? It’s a happy ending, but in a very quiet way. (I think, it has been nearly a year since I read it!)

3. East, West by Salman Rushdie (Jan 17th – Jan 24th) 8 days 224 pages

I started reading this to compare it with its Spanish translation for my Postcolonialism in Translation essay lol. Some pretty interesting stories in here, also pretty sure this is the only collection of short stories I read this year, so it has that distinction. Not super my thing but acted as an enjoyable reading break in the local park while I was slogging my way through essays (and God do I miss that life now).

4. Affinity by Sarah Waters (Jan 24th – Jan 31st) 8 days 352 pages

This was the first of three Sarah Waters books I read this year. I have now read all of her work, and I enjoyed this one a lot – very much a ghost story. It wasn’t my favourite, but definitely sits nicely in the middle.

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Jan 31st – Feb 5th) REREAD 6 days 500 pages

Reread this while on a trip to York, when stuff like that was still possible. As good as ever. I love Time Traveler’s Wife not for the romance (which is…interesting, but personally I don’t find it exactly enjoyable and the characters aren’t particularly likable or relatable for me) but for the prose and the structure. The back-and-forth structure of the book (travelling through time, Henry – and Clare – at different points in their life) makes for a breathtakingly constructed plot and I love it more every time. Some of the prose and stuff the characters talk about are kind of pretentious but I’m kind of pretentious myself (I discovered Rilke through TTW) and a lot of it has stuck in my brain, to the point that 10 months later I keep thinking about it and kind of want to read it yet again.

6. Armistice by Lara Elena Donnelly (Feb 5th – Feb 9th) 5 days 400 pages

I really enjoyed this sequel, I loved exploring the rest of the world, I loved the interaction between characters who either hadn’t met before, hadn’t seen each other in years (there’s a time jump between Amberlough and Armistice) and brand new characters (who were mostly equally as compelling/lovable). A worthy sequel.

7. Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson (Feb 13th – Feb 24th) 12 days 327 pages

My thing (at least non-fiction-wise) this year has been books about food and food history, and this is the first of those on this list. It was pretty good, very interesting. I have trouble retaining information from non-fiction books so I only remember it in the broadest strokes (and remember reading it in the Hygge café in Sheffield which was really cool and I hope it’s survived the pandemic) but it was a really eye-opening look into different appliances/tools/processes/spaces used throughout history and in different parts of the world when it comes to food and cooking.

8. Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner (Feb 25th – Mar 11th) 16 days 352 pages

I read this in the period just before everything started shutting down and the day I finished it (incidentally my girlfriend’s birthday) was more or less the start of the lockdown for us, so that’s my prevailing memory of this book. It was a very good, enlightening look into bi politics and what we (I, as a white gentile especially) could do better. But again, I don’t remember it in great detail because I was more preoccupied with what was happening around it.

9. Solitaire by Alice Oseman (Mar 14th – Mar 16th) 3 days 392 pages

This was pretty good but I definitely read most YA (well, reality-based YA) as an easy, quick read that doesn’t challenge me too much, so I don’t have too much to say about it. It was nice to read about the Heartstopper characters

10. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (Mar 17th – Mar 20th) 4 days 437 pages

Again, early lockdown YA so basically brain popcorn for me. That’s not a bad thing though.

11. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (Mar 20th – Mar 30th) 11 days 512 pages

This was my least favourite of the Sarah Waters books I read this year, and probably not coincidentally, the only book of hers without explicit queer characters. But still a pretty good scary story.

12. Amnesty by Lara Elena Donnelly (Apr 1st – April 6th) 6 days 384 pages

The last in the trilogy. I still liked it very much, but not as much as the first two books. I think endings to a trilogy are hard to get right. I feel like there was too much focus on one character and his predicament (and while I enjoyed his ending and happily ever after with probably m favourite character of the series), I wasn’t as compelled by this one as I was by the other two.

13. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King (Apr 6th – Apr 15th) 10 days 513 pages

My first Stephen King! I actually really enjoyed this, especially the scary fantasy dream world thing. It wasn’t too scary for me (I am a big scaredy cat who’s just dipping my toe into horror novels since I figure reading horror is moderately less scary than watching it) and just overall pretty good.

14. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Apr 16th – Apr 20th) 5 days 209 pages

Loved this! The meandering almost poetry of it, the epic enemies to lovers, the weird admixture of sci fi and larger than life fantasy concepts (and beings!). Will definitely return to this one again.

15. Five Hundred Mile Walkies by Mark Wallington (Apr 21st – Apr 25th) REREAD 5 days 224 pages

I read this as a young teenager and found it hilarious. It was one of my dad’s books (he might even have recommended it to me, although I did have a habit of reading anything and everything that was in the bookcase – Memoirs of a Geisha at about 13, anyone?) and I laughed out loud practically every page. The gist of it is that Mark takes his sister’s (or sister’s ex??) dog, Boogie and goes to walk the entire 500 miles of the South West coast path. I loved this anyway because I loved the South West (especially Cornwall) and love seeing it through someone else’s eyes. So I reread it and I still enjoyed it, but didn’t find it as rip roaringly hilarious as I used to. Guess your sense of humour changes as you grow up, who knew?

16. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg (Apr 27th – May 10th) 14 days 416 pages

I’ll be honest, I struggled with this one. I’m not sure if it was the setting (historically, geographically, linguistically) that put me off or the way it was written or what. I enjoyed the story but it just wasn’t really my thing.

17. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (May 11th – May 17th) 7 days 528 pages

My final Sarah Waters book (until she writes more! *fingers crossed*) and definitely my favourite of the ones I read this year. Set during the Blitz in London, it’s pretty much straight up historical fiction, and I enjoyed it very much. I think part of it was I related heavily to the characters going through this dramatic time in history, because, you know, pandemic! There were certain passages that really connected with me/felt like an echo of today in a way that was sort of comforting, I guess.

18. Doctor Who: The Maze of Doom by David Solomons (May 18th – May 19th) 2 days 272 pages

A fun, quick and easy Doctor Who romp. Not much to say about this one.

19. Room by Emma Donoghue (May 19th – May 20th) 2 days 321 pages

Possibly the opposite of the previous. If you know anything about Room (the book or the film, which I actually watched years ago) then you know the subject matter is pretty dark and harrowing. Because it’s told through the eyes of a child however, I found it pretty easy (in terms of speed rather than subject matter) to get through and read it in about 24 hours. It’s super compelling too.

20. The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas (June 6th – June 11th) 6 days 372 pages

This, as far as I remember, was just a random one that I managed to pick up (metaphorically since I read this as an ebook) but it was pretty good. Possibly my favourite random discovery of the year, an interesting look on time travel and its consequences, based around the discovery/invention of time travel by four women scientists in the 1960s (I think) and how it affects the rest of their lives.

#bookblr #books #read 2020 #book review

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thetypedwriter · 4 years ago

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Only Mostly Devastated Book Review

Only Mostly Devastated Book Review by Sophie Gonzales

You know those feel good movies that are short and sweet and fun while you’re watching it, but mostly forgettable? You all know what I’m talking about. It’s the experience of something that is fine, enjoyable even, but largely unnoticed on the grand scheme of things?

Only Mostly Devastated is like that.

Now, before the fangirls attack, let me just say that what I commented above is not an inherent criticism. Not every novel that I read, or people want to read, has to be a masterful prose full of epistemological queries and agonizing philosophies on life.

Sometimes you want something sweet and fluffy, like cotton candy, to fill in the times when your brain needs a break. A good book does not necessarily equate to a challenging book, although English teachers in school will have you believe otherwise.

Sometimes books can just be fun.

Only Mostly Devastated tells the queer book version of Grease, down to allusions making its way even on the front cover. The plot is basic in its storytelling. The main character, Oliver, is staying in North Carolina for the summer with his parents as they help out his aunt while she receives treatment for cancer. During the summer, Oliver has a not-so-summer-fling with a boy named Will that both think will end when Oliver moves back to California at the end of the season.

But lo and behold! Oliver’s parents decide to stay in North Carolina for a year to help out, forcing Oliver to spend his last year of high school far away from home and unbeknownst to him, attend the same high school as his beloved Will from the summer.

However, predictably, Will from summer and Will the basketball player that Oliver meets in high school, seem to be two different people, with Oliver trying to reconcile why the boy he loves is pretending like he doesn’t exist.

This book...isn’t original. In any way, shape, or form. From the plot, the characters, the dialogue, and even the writing, nothing about this stands out too much to me.

Again, this does not make it a bad read, sometimes you want light and easy and predictable, but it does make it a forgettable one.

The plot is fine. It’s sturdy, it works for what Gonzales is trying to achieve, which is mainly the love story between Will and Oliver. She does try to throw some other things in there, like putting a side character who is struggling with being bisexual, another side character with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), some light stuff on body image, other airy commentary on fetishizing people’s sexualization, and of course, the death and loss of a loved one and the grieving process that goes with it.

Now, you might be saying, wow, thetypedwriter, what are you thinking? That is so much stuff that she put into her book! Incredible! How can you call it shallow and predictable?

Well, for one, the book is short. While again, nice for those readers who want something light to carry on their way to tan by the pool, great, but for those readers who want something more, this can be frustrating.

For an in-depth reading experience for any of those themes above, hitting the tip of the iceberg would be putting it lightly. The book skims the surface of those topics, but they aren’t delved into in any semblance of sophistication or depth that would actually make this a more memorable read.

Reason two, Sophie Gonzales does come across quite preachy sometimes.

Now, this can be tricky so let me explain. Putting forth your agenda or your beliefs and values in a book is not an erroneous thing to do. Actually, it’s an amazing thing to do and people have been using books as a form of expression for these types of things for centuries. Some may argue that the intrinsic value of a book is to express such opinions.

However, this is not Sophie Gonzales’ biography, nor is it an opinion article about how she feels about the fetishization of girls kissing girls for male entertainment. When you are going to put your opinions and beliefs into your book, it needs to make sense in the scheme of the characters.

For example, if J.K. Rowling randomly had Ron go on a speech about women’s rights and toxic masculinity, it would be out-of-character and baffling since Ron would not be the character to say such a thing.

However, if Hermione were to give such a speech, the ideas and beliefs would be passed along, message received, but without breaking character or pulling me out of the universe to think what the hell because a sermon came out of left field that held no continuity in the scheme of the novel as a whole.

This happened to me quite a lot in Only Mostly Devastated. It was like Sohpie Gonzales got to a certain point, told her characters to step aside, and then got on her soapbox to preach about love and acceptance.

Once again, I’m not against any of the messages she’s portraying at all.

What I think lacked finesse, however, was the way in which she got those messages across, which was often out-of-character and forced the plot to go certain places just so she could get the chance to talk about those issues.

With that out of the way, other slight criticisms I have mainly are to be found with the characters and the writing itself.

The characters were all likable enough. I’m not about to go write fanfiction about any of them though. They were largely generic, although entertaining enough for what this book is offering. They were also all pretty forgettable and formed pretty forgettable relationships as well.

Do I really remember any of Will’s friends? Nope. What about Oliver’s girl squad? Kind of? I did appreciate the attempt at including more characters of color, including Will.

I do think that Lara was the most interesting character. I honestly would have preferred to have had a whole novel about her rather than told from Oliver’s point-of-view, simply as Oliver is basic as all hell (white boy that plays guitar and is slightly awkward. I’ve only seen this character about 10 million thousand times before).

And if Gonzales had written this novel about Lara instead, all of her themes would have worked infinitely better. You still get the struggle with sexuality, you still get the side POC characters with PCOS and body image issues, and you could still have the plot of loss and death if you wanted to.

The friendship with the girls would make so much more sense, the fetishization topic could have been delved into way more thoroughly, and Lara was kind of a bitch, and I appreciated that about her. You would even still get a musical person in the form of Juliette even without Oliver on the scene.

But, nope. We get Oliver. Which is...fine. Mediocre, but fine, I guess.

Lastly, Gonzales is a perfectly average writer. The story flowed, it was funny, it had its moments of nuance and sarcasm, but there were moments where she would make comparisons, always with similes or metaphors, that left me literally confounded because of how bizarre and out-of-place I found them.

Some examples:

1. “Up close, she smelled like sugary flowers.”

-I’m sorry, but what do sugary flowers smell like? Why are the flowers sugary? Who would even sugar their flowers in the first place?

2. “Deep inside my chest, my heart was beating as though it was trying to tear free from bondage.”

-Just...an extremely odd choice of words. Why bondage, Sophie Gonzales, why?

3. “I’d rather floss with barbed wire, than watch a live sports match…”

-Ummm eww and scary?

I could go on and on with the frankly awful choices for comparison that are made in this book with incessant use, but I think you get the point. The similes and metaphors were downright baffling. Not really sure what Gonzales was going for with them, but...no. Just no.

Lastly, Oliver’s nickname Ollie-oop made me want to curl up and die. It didn’t make them seem like better friends. In fact, the whole rose gold-girl-group and Oliver was such a dumpster fire of a friendship that lacked any and all actual solid foundations for a relationship that it annoyed me, especially in the end when Oliver decides to stay in North Carolina to be with people he’s not even close to.

Additionally, the inclusion of Oliver’s two friends from back home was just...pointless, utterly pointless. I don’t even know why she bothered to write them into the story honestly. They added nothing.

Again, her themes are good in nature and provocative in theory, but the book was just too short and shallow to justify writing in any of it when really all she cared about was Will and Oliver sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. It was almost like fanfiction, but published. Actually, nope, I think fanfiction is better.

Wow, I guess I had more feelings about this book than I thought, mostly negative too.

Once more, I want to heavily emphasize that I DIDN’T HATE IT. It was a super, light, super cute, very simple book that I’m sure a ton of people will appreciate right now with everything heavy going on in the world.

If you need a book in cloud form, this is your novel. But....if you wanted something more like me, if you found it just a little too simplistic in nature, just a little too forgettable, then that’s okay too.

Recommendation: If you’re too burdened down by carrying your sunscreen and your cooler out to the pool, this is the perfect light summer reading to tuck under one arm and melt your worries away for a little while. If you want an actually good, actually complex and refined LGBTQ+ coming of age novel then I’d definitely go for the likes of Red, White, and Royal Blue or Autoboyagraphy instead.

Score: 5/10

#only mostly devastated #sophie gonzales #ya fiction #YA Books #YA literature #LGBTQ fiction #book blog #books #book review #Book Recommendations

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mediaeval-muse · 5 years ago

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Book Review

In Search of Scandal. By Susanne Lord. Sourcebooks, 2015.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, London Explorers #1

Summary: All of London is abuzz with the tale of Will Repton. The lone survivor of a massacre in Tibet has returned to England a hero, but the traumatized explorer has no time for glory. Another dangerous expedition awaits. Nothing will deter him from his quest, and no one will unearth his secret—until Will meets Charlotte Baker. Vivacious Charlotte Baker also has a mission—to find a man whose bold spirit matches her own. When she meets Will Repton, she immediately recognizes him as her soul mate, and she’s naively willing to turn her back on the rules of propriety to ensnare him. Will is torn between his fascination with Charlotte and his vow to finish his quest. He knows what it is to risk life and limb—but what if his most perilous adventure doesn’t lie across an ocean, but within his own lost heart?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content, poisoning, physical assault (not sexual), near miscarriage; mentions of: disemboweling, blood, violence, corpses, murder (including the murder of children)

Overview: I will admit that I felt a little uneasy going into this book. Seeing “a massacre in Tibet” in the summary gave me the impression that there could be some Orientalism (or, if not, some straight up depictions of racism), but since my favorite romance author blurbed and recommended it, I decided to give it a try anyway. I can’t speak to the book’s treatment of China and Tibet, though given the history of Victorian imperialism, it felt somewhat “accurate” here; I didn’t get the impression that the region was over-exoticized, though it was treated as a subject of curiosity and characters bring back “artifacts.” I suppose it wasn’t too bad, given the book’s setting, but I still don’t know how I feel about the whole massacre subplot. That aside, the author’s prose was well-crafted, which was impressive for a debut novel. My main reason for giving this book a middling rating, therefore, had less to do with the premise or writing craft and more to do with the characters and the romance itself. I had a hard time rooting for the main couple, and I wish Lord had spent less time forcing them into awkward situations that made for a tumultuous love story and more time exploring characterization and meaningful connection. As it stands, this book receives an average rating from me, but I would be interested to see if (and how) Lord improves in her future books.

Writing: Lord’s prose is surprisingly well-crafted for a debut novel, achieving a nice balance between description and exposition using a straight-forward style that is characteristic of many romances. While Lord’s prose is easy to read, it doesn’t lack fun flourishes, vivid imagery, and compelling figurative language, when appropriate.

I do wish, however, that Lord had been more attentive to how she crafted the scenes in her book. Many individual scenes felt like they were drawn out for no reason other than to provide Charlotte and Will with a chance to encounter one another, which is fine, except that they didn’t really build on one another to create a meaningful progression in the protagonists’ relationship. They seemed rather like a series of awkward moments, following a pattern in which they would awkwardly try to make conversation, get to a point where they were feeling comfortable around one another, do something like kiss or have a sexual encounter, and then Will would push Charlotte away, usually by insisting that he’s not good for her, that he is going on his expedition no matter what, etc. which would upset Charlotte. They would part, and Will would do something to try to make up for his behavior, and the process would start again in the next scene. It was somewhat cyclical and even frivolous at times - many of Will and Charlotte’s encounters didn’t quite end with the two developing as characters or as a couple, and I wish Lord had built her encounters on something more substantial.

On the flip side, this book was also missing scenes that could have helped with characterization. We’re told, for example, that Will has nightmares, but we’re never shown him having one until very late in the book. Having a scene earlier (not necessarily the beginning) might have helped establish why his expedition was so important to him, while also revealing something about his personality that informs his behavior in his encounters with Charlotte.

Plot: The plot of this novel basically follows Charlotte, a well-educated woman entering her third season, as she attempts to find a husband that will accept her family, and Will, a man attempting to raise money to go back to Tibet to make amends for a role he played in a violent encounter. Charlotte’s predicament in itself was very compelling; torn between wanting to be accepted by London’s upper class Society and her love for her family, she struggles to find a husband that will simultaneously make her happy but also raise the status (and thus, social security) of her brother and sister. I do wish Lord had put more emphasis on this aspect of the plot, and perhaps let it be a defining characteristic of Charlotte’s personal growth. Charlotte is torn between selfish desire and doing what she thinks she must for her loved ones, and I think there was a lot of room in there for an exploration of, say, women’s self-effacement in the name of “duty” or “responsibility,” or even more of an exploration of the hypocrisy of Society.

Will’s plot is a bit less compelling. Though we do see moments when he is meeting with potential investors to fund his second expedition into Tibet (and China, by extension), it never feels urgent. While the expedition holds a lot of personal significance for Will, so much is shrouded in mystery that it was difficult to see the stakes of going versus not going, and I personally didn’t care whether Will stayed in London or traveled abroad. I think revealing more to the reader could have helped with this, and the climax of the novel could have been less focused on revealing Will’s involvement with the massacre to the reader and more on revealing it to Charlotte.

In terms of the romantic plot, I’ll discuss that in more detail below, but I will say here that a lot of the drama felt manufactured. Every situation seemed set up to throw the main couple together, allowing them to express their physical attraction while still allowing Will to be obstinate about getting emotionally involved. I especially didn’t find the marriage of convenience compelling, nor anything that happens afterward, and I wish Lord had spent more time thinking about what the conflicts in the relationship might look like if it were built on something other than Will’s own stubbornness.

Characters: Charlotte, our heroine, is something of a social butterfly. She attracts people to her and is beloved by almost everyone, and she always has something to say to fill gaps in the conversation. While I did like that she was very agentive, pursuing her desires and doing what she wanted despite what was considered “proper,” I did think some of her more interesting characteristics were overshadowed by her obsession with Society and her single-minded pursuit of Will. Lord writes of how Charlotte reads Will’s more scientific reports by begging her brother to acquire copies from the Geographical Society, which is exclusive to men. Charlotte also meets with a group of women weekly, and Lord mentions that part of what guides their conversation is the fear of men seeing them as “too intellectual.” I honestly think Charlotte’s character could have been better served by having her thirst for exploration and knowledge denied to her by her gender competing with her desire to provide for her family by marrying well. It would have presented an interesting conflict for when Will comes along, who has traveled and seen the world, but doesn’t hold the social sway of a duke or earl.

Will, for his part, wasn’t an enjoyable character. He spends much of the book speaking gruffly to others, and when he’s not wallowing in self-loathing, he was saying things to Charlotte that were at best awkward and at worst cruel. He starts out reserved, but quickly grows possessive, and his temper could become violent. His main saving grace is that he’s attentive - he brings Charlotte the flowers she likes when all other suitors ignore her preferences, and he notices the care she puts into things like her appearance. But other than that, I did not find him likable, and my sympathy for his on account of his trauma ran out quickly.

Supporting characters were a bit more enjoyable to read. I liked the bond that Charlotte had with her brother, Wally, and wish more was done to showcase their closeness. I also liked that Charlotte’s sister, Lucy, married for love, and despite being socially shunned, their happiness seems to set the bar for what Charlotte wants in her relationship. I would have liked to see some of the main, unimportant scenes between Charlotte and Will cut and more scenes devoted to Charlotte’s relationship with her family, and perhaps even more done with Wally, whose sexuality caused the family to fall from grace in the first place. Perhaps if Wally had a subplot where he finds happiness again would have been a nice compliment to Charlotte’s arc of defying Society for the sake of her passions.

The antagonist, however, was not nearly so intriguing. Starting as one of Charlotte’s admirers, he quickly becomes over-the-top evil when rejected. I guess powerful men can be reactionary when it comes to not getting their way, especially if they’re sexist to begin with, but I just didn’t care for the conflict with the villain. I was much more intrigued by the possibilities of the protagonists’ inner conflicts.

Other: As I mentioned above, I had a hard time rooting for Charlotte and Will as a couple. Charlotte admits to imagining herself with Will before they even meet, and her reaction to him when they do come face-to-face for the first time is something like insta-love. For the majority of the book, Charlotte’s one-sided love for Will and pursuit of him despite his behavior towards her feels juvenile. It felt a lot like hero worship or a celebrity crush, and even though Charlotte says she becomes disillusioned with him and sees Will as a person, the fact that she sticks around when he’s acting like a jerk did not endear me to her or their relationship.

Will, for his part, seems to fall in love with Charlotte for no reason other than she’s pretty, and even though he’s attentive to her favorite things, I couldn’t see what Charlotte saw in him. He constantly pushes her away and says or does things to upset her, including directing his unattractive anger at her, and I was wishing that Charlotte would just cut her losses and find someone better. I think their dynamic could have worked if more focus was placed on Will’s social awkwardness rather than his self-imposed denial of romantic affection. For example, if he’s shy and awkward in Society, maybe Charlotte’s social personality draws him out of his isolation and allows him to connect with people. Maybe her influence also allows him to attract investors, and he finds himself so impressed by her abilities and support for his expedition that he finds it harder and harder to leave. Something more than the manufactured drama that makes every interaction between the two feel cyclical.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in historical romance (especially set in Victorian England), 19th century exploration, botany, love triangles, and marriages of convenience.

#book reviews

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calliecat93 · 5 years ago

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Top 5 Things That I Disliked ABout RvB: Singularity

(Top 5 Likes Post Link)

Well, it’s been about four months since RvB17 concluded. The shortest season in the series thus far, RvB17 has had overall very positive reception with good humor, compelling drama, and nice character development. I enjoyed it… but I would be lying if I said I loved it unconditionally. And I’d be lying even more if I said that it was better than the sadly often derided S16. The season has its pros and it has its cons, as every season of the show does. The cons this time probably annoy me more than some due to what I like and dislike, so that’s important to know before going further into this post.

So, it’s time for another Top 5 Likes/Dislikes about the recent RvB season! Now normally I do this shortly before the upcoming season, so why am I doing this now and not when RvB18 starts? Well, I’ve had a lot of these on my mind for a while, and after completing a recent rewatch, I want to go ahead and get it all out. To compensate, when RvB18 does roll around I’ll likely do a post about the past three seasons, and maybe some other stuff like what I’d like to see. And of course, as always, this is just my opinion and I will be as fair as possible, so take everything that I say with a grain of salt.

Anyways, let's get the part that I always hate doing done first: the Top 5 Dislikes.

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I hate being negative. I really, really do. Overall, S17 was a very enjoyable season and I liked it in spite of its flaws, as I do with most media that I get into. But I do have issues, more so than I did 15 and 16, and I do want to talk about them. Most of you who’s followed my blog probably already know them, but I’m gonna try to be more detailed about why I disliked it. So we’ll start with something nit-picky, and work our way up. So let's get started with...

#5. Execution of the time travel/The Everwhen

This one is probably the most minor, but the whole thing just… confuses me. So for those unaware, the Everwhen is essentially a giant time portal that allows you to possess your past self at any point in time. This is… not a bad concept at all. It’s a really cool one and they use it to great effect by going to various points in the show’s history. Then using the past variations of Halo also makes us more invested since we recognize those periods. And while I wish we got to see more moments in those periods that we didn’t see, the few that we got in Episode 5 with Wash and Carolina was very well done. I only have two real issues with the Everwhen. First being an excuse for the mass amount of nostalgia banking, but at least it served a purpose… well, the Freelancers did. The Mercs were totally unnecessary. But that can easily just be a me thing and I get that it made a lot of fans happy, so I won’t harp on it. The other reason though is the reason why it made this list.

The execution is confusing as Hell when you really think about it.

First, how does this exist? I guess we’re supposed to believe that Chrovos made it, which I guess that I can buy. But aside from a line in Episode 1 about how the Reds and Blues time period was the backswing that caused the paradox, there isn’t really anything about how this gateway suddenly exists. Which presents another problem, the Reds and Blues inside it. Okay, so the paradox happened and it messed their memories up. That I understand… but why are they having deja vu in the past?! Shouldn’t they have been like Wash was? In some period where they did and didn’t break time? I get that they were in the middle of the paradox while Wash had been in the present, but in that case, how did they get knocked back to the past? At first, I assumed that Chrovos put them there, which would have made sense in order to keep them out of the way. But that’s never said. The implication is that they just got put there randomly, but because of Wash’s state, it really doesn't make any sense for them to be there.

But I think I get why it was like this. On The SHizno Podcast, Jason explained how the original pitch was that the Reds and Blues were going to be in a simulation of Blood Gulch that Chrovos put them in. Think S9 when Epsilon was in the Memory Unit… which it being too similar is one of the reasons why that plan got rejected. It probably explains why they used Halo 2 Anniversary in the S16 finale if the simulation plan was still in effect when Joe wrote it. But that would explain why they were in the past and having memory issues while Wash wasn’t. And it being a simulation is what I thought it was... until Huggins was able to move through it without going through the portal, which made everything even more confusing. As much as I get being too similar to S9, I can’t but feel that it would have been the better move and not given me a headache over how this stupid Everwhen worked. Because it being a simulation and not the actual timeline made a heck of a lot more sense.

Ultimately, this is Number 5 because as I said, it’s nitpicky. Time travel is a mess no matter how it’s utilized, so I’m pretty lenient on it because thinking about it too hard is painful and not worth it. Plus it may just be my own stupidity confusing me. Still, it DID bother me and it made Episodes 7 and 8 especially a pain in the ass to watch through. But since again it’s overall more nitpicky, I’ll leave it at Number 5.

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#4: The Simmons Labyrinth

Yeah, we all knew that this was going to be on here. What’s left to be said that I haven’t talked about already? I think we all know why this was hated. First, it isn’t funny. I mean don’t get me wrong, the delivery of the joke was fine, but the joke itself sucked and made no sense for Simmons’ character. Say what you want about Grif’s Labyrinth, whether you saw it as good or terrible, but at least it made sense for his character. Simmons… is afraid of aliens cutting off his private parts. I’m…. fairly sure that RvB has done a joke like that before, and it was likely better there. Plus it didn't fit the tone. All the Labyrinths, even Grif’s, were portrayed as either serious or at least uncomfortable for the victim. I guess they wanted something to lighten the mood, but… it failed. Badly. It just took me out of it until we got back to Carolina’s. Even knowing Jason’s original plan of the alien being Simmons dad, while that would have been more impactful, still would have been treated as the final cut was and still would have taken me out of it.

What could have been done instead? IDK. Could have had Simmons relive one of his many embarrassments in high school. Could have been focused on the test anxiety that made him fail and get shipped off to Red Boot Camp. It could have been one of the many traumas that his dad inflicted on him, like being forced on the women’s volleyball team or something. All of those are still lighter than some of the other Labyrinths and could have had a comedic edge, but it still tells us something about Simmons and would make sense for him. I… am still trying to figure out how what we got fits Simmons at all or tells us anything about him. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

The reason that this is Number 4 is because the scene was ultimately brief and Simmons didn’t exactly have a major role up to that point. It was incredibly stupid and not funny, but IDT it ruined his character or anything. Plus at this point, I and many others have gone on about it and there is really nothing left to say until we see what happens in the future. Jason seems to be aware of the critiques, and I imagine that others behind the show would also be aware by now. Maybe it'll be taken into account in future seasons and they’ll finally give Simmons the attention that he deserves.

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#3. Huggins

Ho boy, I’ve been waiting to let this out since the season ended. So for those who were reading my blog when S16 was airing, you know that Huggins was one of my favorite parts of said season. She was likable and fun, her friendship with Grif was adorable and helped his character massively, and she was just a bundle of joy who made me smile every time that we saw her. Her death, while I knew even then it was likely a fakeout, was a huge shock and had me praying that it being a fakeout was correct. Which it was! I was so happy… until we saw how she was actually handled this season.

Personality-wise, Huggins was fine. Her being able to go through time made sense and was even referenced in S16. But… well, she’s used to discovering that Black Holes lead to the beginning of time, goes through time to find the paradoxes that Genkins made, and… that’s it. In other words, Huggins was nothing but a damn plot device. I have a problem with character shafting, but this one was just unfair. Maybe Jason couldn’t think of anything else to do with her? Maybe her VA wasn't available for much? Maybe they didn’t have the budget to animate since Miles did say that they had a slightly smaller budget at RTX? IDK. There’s any number of reasons why, but it was annoying nevertheless. I mean Huggins only appeared in THREE EPISODES, and the first was only at the very end. After Episode 8, she just… disappeared.

There’s a lot of reasons why I hated this. First, just dropping a character like that despite her clearly being important and prominent is an insult to the character. I have issues with how the Reds and Blues were shafted aside from Donut, Wash, and Carolina, but at least they were still around. Huggins leaves to go find paradoxes in Episode 8 and then is gone. Last we hear of her is in the finale from Donut. But the bigger issue is that, if you remember, she was understandably angry at Grif for deciding to go with the plan to save Wash, even though he knew what would happen. It happened and… there’s zero reconciliation. None. Yes, Grif was happy to see her. Yes, he clearly felt remorseful. Yes, he did apologize. But Huggins never really forgave him, saying that she can't be mad at him at the moment because of the larger picture. But it was pretty clear that, while not enraged, she was still unhappy with him… and they don’t allow the two to talk? At all?! After everything in S16, we couldn’t get closure on that?! Really?!

That was what pissed me off. It pissed me off for Grif’s character, but trust me I’ll be going more into that shortly. But for Huggins, it pretty much just says ‘yeah, we are only bringing this character back for exposition and nothing more’. I know many hated S16, but Huggins was easily one of the factors that people enjoyed. I enjoyed it. As I said, her and Grif’s relationship was easily my favorite part of it and I still enjoy rewatching all of their interactions. IDK if she’ll be back in later seasons. I really hope so because, at the very least, she and Grif should reconcile. But even so, she deserved better than what she got. She was a good character, and she deserved better than what she got. I shouldn't be wondering if her remaining dead would have been a better alternative afterwards. I really shouldn’t. So… hopefully future seasons can maybe fix things, but for now, this remains a major problem for me.

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#2. Grif Character Shafting

In general, Season 17 had a BAD case of character shafting. Now it’s a huge ensemble cast, so not everyone is going to be able to get attention. I wasn’t that upset that characters like Sarge, Caboose, and Simmons (even if that doesn’t excuse his Labyrinth) not getting much attention because they had already been more lowkey in this story arc. I didn’t mind it with Tucker wither since he got PLENTY of attention with Chorus. Hell, I honestly wish that they kept Wash and Carolina more lowkey because they ALWAYS get the majority of the focus, but for S17’s story it’s understandable why they would so I can forgive it. But you should probably NOT shaft a character who has been one of the central focuses in an ongoing story arc and still had a ton of character development that had to be wrapped up.

You know… like Grif.

Yeah, I won’t lie. While I thought that Grif acted IC and everything… they really dropped the ball with him. I wouldn’t mind that much had S15 and 16 not happened. Those are two seasons that gave Grif a ton of character development. He was essentially the main protagonist in S16, the one most involved in the plot despite how much he tried not to, and began resolving his issues. He went from doing everything in his power to avoid the plot, to openly confronting it and even rejecting the pizza that he had wanted so bad. He was the only one who knew what was about to happen after openly being mocked by Genkins, and despite his best efforts, he failed to stop it…

...and this got aBSOLUTELY NO FOLLOW UP? WHAT THE HELL?! THat’s like if, after Season 11, Tucker acted like none of the events during S11 affected him and didn’t grow as a leader and a soldier. It would come off as super weird since 12 followed the aftermath of S11 and would have been a huge disservice to the character and his development. That’s how it felt here with Grif. At first, it looked like they may show stuff since Grif DID believe Donut at first. But he had to ignore it since Donut isn’t allowed to be listened to. When he got his memory back, everything should have been hitting him then and there. There should have been more anger and probably some guilt about how even when he tried, he still failed and now they have even more bullshit to deal with. But they just… bizarrely ignore it.

I wouldn’t say that Grif regressed, but the fact that there is NO follow-up to his development in a storyline that allowed said development to begin with is a disservice. I get it, they only had 12 episodes and Donut and Wash were the more important. I understand that. And hey, S18 could follow up on it. But there still should have been something. Maybe the reveal about him lying about the enlistment was supposed to be that. Which I did like that… but that was not enough imo. He didn’t reconcile with Huggins. There’s no follow-up about how he failed to stop the paradox. Even for someone as lazy as Grif, we should still be seeing some emotions there. His Labyrinth, while I ultimately don’t hate it and I do see how it can apply to his character, probably should have been something stronger like being stuck back on Iris with the volleyballs mocking him or something.

Character shafting does have to happen in an ensemble cast. But Grif should NOT have been one of them. IDK how they could have incorporated him better while still keeping everything intact, but it’s still frustrating. Again, maybe S18 can provide something. I hope that at least Grif is allowed to reconcile with Huggins and realize that he should actually talk about his issues because I do think that his scene with Kai was an important moment for him. Whether you like to hate the retcon, it makes sense for his character to run away and he’s actually offering to talk about it. Okay, it’s more for Kai’s sake than his own, but he’s still willing to talk about his feelings, which is not something that I could have seen him done without his S15 and 16 development. Hence why I think that is S18 has him be more willing to talk to say Kai or Simmons and about how much S15 and 16 really did affect him instead of trying to brush it aside by calling himself hateglue, he can have a complete character arc. But as far as S17 goes, there’s no excuse for it and was a big problem for me.

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Honorable Mentions

Aka, the things that annoyed me, but not by much or I didn’t feel were bad enough to add onto the list.

Tucker not taking responsibility/talking to Wash: It was his idea to go and save Wash despite knowing the consequences, so he’s as guilty as Carolina imo. There should have been more focus on that, and about him reconciling with Wash and accepting what had to happen. The fact that they had zero interaction was bizarre tbh. But it isn’t as big of a deal as other things, so I kept it off. Consider this Number 6.

Character shafting: I hated it, and everyone outside Donut, Wash, and Carolina felt wasted. But it’s already a huge cast, so it was bound to happen and Grif’s was the one that manly pissed me off. So I spared it.

Nostalgia banking: That’s a me thing, so I didn’t feel it was fair to add it, especially since it overall did serve a purpose.

Carolina guilt trips need to die: I forgive it here because it worked for the story and was well executed. But... writers, you’ve done Carolina guilt trips since at least S10. It’s lazy and boring now. Come up with something new for her. Let it die.

Donut being ignored: Mainly, I think they played it up too much. DOnut displayed no noteworthy flaws in this season, and pretty much everything revolved around him. On rewatch, this was annoying and made him seem better and more important than everyone else. That’s unfair. But after all the years where he got shit treatment, he earned it honestly, so I forgave it.

And that’s it! So onto Number One!

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I thought long and hard about what Number One could be. Grif Shafting almost made it, but again the finale scene did actually make me happy. As such, I had only one real option left…

#1. The 12 Episode Count

Imo, this is I think the cause of many of the problems with S17 that I have. This should not have been a 12 episode season. 15 maybe, like last time. But not 12. Now there’s any number of reasons that they decided to go with that. Miles did say at RTX that they had a slightly smaller budget, so maybe they just simply couldn’t afford to do more than what they were able to do. Maybe they just thought that 12 episodes wrapped up the story and that there was no need to exceed that number or try to avoid stressing themselves and others out more. Production is hard and not cheap and you’re not going to be able to do everything that you want or even need to be able to do. As such, I’m not angry at them for deciding this since most likely, they had to work with what they had available.

That being said, it is still a problem. A 12 episode season has both its pros and its cons. With the pros, they were able to keep an overall steady pace and focus on what needed to be focused on without having to extend it or cram in filler. But the cons are you have to cram in as much as possible with limited time and put aside the things that aren’t as important. Grif wasn't as important as the other things. Huggins wasn't as important as the other things. They didn’t have time to elaborate on all the time travel, so they did as much as they could and then focus on the story. And Simmons Labyrinth was just a bad idea and would have still sucked even with a longer episode total, so nothing to say there.

My point is, while I do think that 12 episode seasons could work for RvB, they probably shouldn't have done it in the middle of a story arc. Again, they might not have had a choice, but it’s still an annoyance. The first half was fine and the best of the season. But the second half felt much more rushed and overstuffed. Episodes 7 and 8 shoved in exposition and it came across as more confusing than informing. Donut forgave everyone FAR too easily and it didn’t feel like they genuinely felt sorry after being called out. Which made the moment where he did call them out feel slightly less impactful. Only slightly, Then we rush through fixing the paradoxes and The Labyrinth within like four episodes, which when watching all the episodes together really makes it and the ending feel really anti-climactic. It’s like they shoved a ton of character stuff within like ten minutes, but we don’t get to explore it naturally. A problem that I think 15 episodes would have helped solve, but 12… it just… was not enough.

If they do go with 12 episodes again, I think it’ll work better since they’ll have a new story arc that they cal plan properly for. They didn’t have that luxury here. That, on top of Joe having to leave and Jason having to take over writing duties. Which is another annoyance. IDK the circumstances obviously and not to diminish Jason, but Joe should have been allowed to finish his own damn story, the fans' opinion on if he was good or not be damned. But again for all I know he chose to walk out, so I’m not going to go any further than that. Considering what they did have, the fact that they did make a good product is to be admired. But there’s still a lot of problems imo. Ones that I think that the episode count ultimately caused most of. As such, it is the thing that I dislike about RvB17 the most.

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Again, this is only my opinion. There was a lot that I did like about RvB17, and when I write the Likes post I’ll gladly talk about them. That being said, I do think that this wasn't as good as 16 and IDC how many people think I’m insane for saying that. It had story issues, character issues, and the second half was ultimately just a mess. A fun mess, but still a mess. No, IDK how any of these could have been done better and IDT it’s so bad that it can’t be amended in later seasons. But overall, these issues did damper my enjoyment and things that I hope to see improved in the future.

Okay! Dislikes are done! Thank God! Now I can do the happy stuff! Hopefully, the Likes post will be ready in a few days. But thank you all for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed~

#rvb #rvb reviews

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thesffcorner · 6 years ago

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An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors is an adult fantasy written by Curtis Craddock. It follows Isabella, the eldest daughter to Comte des Zephyrs, who is born without her sorcery. Growing up in a world that treats her as either a demon or an object, she only has one friend; Musketeer Jean-Claude. When she gets betrothed to a prince from a neighboring Kingdom, she sees this as an opportunity to have a new life; though a web of assassinations and conspiracies may threaten this future. I had a real hard time getting into this book, and even as I was reading it and was fully intrigued by the plot, I had this sense of dread that the book will go in a direction I would not like, or the ending would make me very mad. I’m happy to report my fears were for naught, and I ended up really enjoying this book. There were definitely elements and plot points that annoyed me, but the plot and characters were strong enough for me to enjoy my my time in this world. So let’s start with what I think will be the biggest draw and the biggest deterrent from reading this book.

Writing: The best way I can describe Craddock’s style is a mix between The Three Musketeers and Nevernight. The world-building and the plot focused on political conspiracy, marriages and royal bloodlines, as well as just the aesthetics of the book were straight of both Dummas’ work but also the much maligned 2011 film. The way this plot and world are conveyed however (as well as a lot of the magic system and religious aspects of the book) reminded me a lot of Jay Kristoff’s writing. Craddock has a style that I can only describe as overly-specific, overly-descriptive, and quaint; he uses very specific nouns for everything, from the clothes, to the different parts of the flying ships the characters move around on. And when I say specific I don’t just mean dictionary, I mean specific to the time period this is based on, which is 1600 France. It took me so long to parse out what title Comte and Comtessa and Le Roy are equivalent to, who all these different bloodlines and families were, and the fact that all the names of families, characters, cities, ships and castles were French didn’t help one bit. To give you an example, here is just a sentence from Chapter 1. ”All around him, deckhands scurried about, tugging on lines, adjusting sails in a madman’s dance, choreographed to the boatswain cry”pg. 9 And another from a bit later: ”Jerome stood on the rolling deck as if nailed to it, not a hair of his white, powdered wig out of place. He jerked his chin toward the bow and said, “We’re coming in widdershins on the trailing edge”, as if that clarified the matter. “If we don’t overshoot and ram the tower, we should make harbor within the hour”” pg. 11 This, again, comes down to personal preference. If you like this style of writing, and you don’t mind spending the first few chapters kind of confused and just coasting until you pick up on the world and the language, you will certainly find this enjoyable. By chapter 5, I was well caught up in the writing style, and really enjoyed how much personality Craddock managed to inject in the chapters, based on whether we were following Jean-Claude or Isabelle. It also made the world feel that much more well-rounded and real, since at no point did the characters stop and exposit for 3 pages about how things worked. However, if you struggle with this type of writing and world-building you will not have a fun time, because in addition to having to adjust to all the French terms and period words, you also have to contend with all the stuff that’s purely fiction to this world, like otomations, aether, artifex, and sanguinare, to name a few. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t confused; but I liked the plot and the characters enough to keep reading. World-Building: I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this in any review, but I’m a huge fan of The Three Musketeers. I’ve seen almost all the versions outside the BBC show, and I’ve read the books; they were the first classic I was ever really in love with as a kid. I also love flying ships that look like Caravels, so this world was perfect for me. San Augustus was a fascinating world; it’s a floating island that is held in the sky by magic which is never explained (which isn’t a bad thing). Since it’s floating in the air, people travel on this massive ships like the ones it Treasure Planet, which run on aether, a substance that seems to be the equivalent of whale-oil in the Dishonored games. I know I’m mentioning a lot of visual media, but it always helps me visualize the world, and there was more that reminded me of Dishonored, like the otomations which I imagined were like the Clockwork soldiers and the blend between technology and magic of the world. Where Nevernight comes into play was the fact that this world too is built on the ruins of an ancient civilization of Gods, which is where a lot of the technology, and magic comes from. The people who live in San Agustus today know very little about the Saints that inhabited the world before them, and though they use some of their technology, most of the artifacts and knowledge are collected by the Temple, the religious order of the world. The magic system was another thing that reminded me of Nevernight, and it was very cool. Saint Augustus is ruled by descendants of the Saints, who lived at the same time as the Builder. Each Saint controlled a different type of magic (now categorized by the Temple). Isabelle’s family, the Des Zephyrs are sanguinaires: they have bloodshadows that they use to feast on other humans. They can also hollow out a human and turn them into a bloodhollow, which they can possess to communicate with people or spy on them. The ruling family of Aragoth, the family Isabelle is to marry are glasswalkers, which I found the coolest powers. They can cast their reflection through mirrors and walk in the real world in various locations. Their mirror image is limited by hunger and thirst, and they see everything in reverse, but the mechanics of the power and the creative use it’s put to in the novel were really fun to read about. As for the religion… it was an interesting choice. I had some gripes with it. It’s clearly based on the Old Testament; a woman who was close to the Builder was curious to find out how his inventions worked, and tried to learn math which somehow awoke a demon which destroyed the Builder and all the Saints. Supposedly, in a time of great turmoil and violence, the Builder will be reborn and will resurrect the worthy in a Judgement Day type scenario. Seeing as the basis of the religion is profoundly sexist and even misogynistic, in this world women are not allowed to learn the sciences or the old language, and in some cases even reading is seen as heresy. The one thing they especially can’t do is learn math or astrology, which is precisely what our lead Isabelle really loves and studies. Moreover, women in this world seem to be seen as just walking wombs. They are sold into marriages, and being able to give birth is their only function. I couldn’t tell if this was a thing of the nobles, since we do see working women that are not aristocrats, but there are very few non-noble characters in the book. But rest assured, the society is profoundly sexist one part that made my stomach churn, was a bit where 12 year old Isabelle tells us she carries around a maiden blade, which she isn’t to use to ward off attackers, but to kill herself rather than risk being raped and bring shame upon her family. This was so incredibly unsettling, I even looked it up to see if it was a real historical thing, and apparently it is not. Even if it was, why would you write it in your FICTIONAL book? I will be fair and say that most of the sexist and misogynistic structure of the world is not meant to be seen as a good thing; the characters do lament the state of affairs, the ones we are meant to find likable disagree with seeing women as broodmares and prizes (for the most part; there are quite a few moments where Isabelle defaults to being owned by her father or being owned by her husband which was also Yikes). Craddock does try to show that the sympathetic men do see Isabelle as a person more than a womb with legs (though again, most of them with the exception of Gran Leon think she either needs protecting or want to sleep with her), and he does make sure all the female characters we get, even the villains have agency that is not tied to the men around them. I also have to give him props for having actual female friendships and having characters who are usually either background or written as shallow and vain, have a voice, like the servants, the handmaidens, the ladies in waiting, etc. However. When it comes to male authors, I am always wary of WHY they feel the need to write the world as horribly sexist in the first place. It’s not an oppression they can claim, and everytime I see it in fiction, even if it’s done with the intent to subvert it or question it, I feel squeamish reading it, and don’t trust them to handle it well. Even if the point is to make a point about sexism or misogyny, that doesn’t mean I want to endure 300+ pages of women being treated horribly, assaulted, kidnapped, silenced or otherwise harmed for the benefit of 100 pages of gratification. I have grown jaded of these kinds of stories, and though I really did like the world, and all it’s steampunk musketeer glory, and all the political intrigue, this was not something I could overlook. Everytime I would have fun, I would be reminded that this society sees women as just their womb, that they are completely indispensable and disposable. And I would stop having fun, and start dreading that the next page would have a rape scene or unwanted pregnancy, especially seeing as the main theme of this book is pregnancy. I didn’t trust Craddock as a writer because he chose to set this story the way he did, and while I will admit that was fully my own fault as a reader, I think it’s worth pointing out that we have to endure enough mistreatment in the real world, and I don’t necessarily want it into our fiction, even if it’s made clear that the author disagrees with it. Themes and Plot: The world-building leads me to my next point which is the plot. I’ll start with the bad first and then move onto the more positive stuff. I mentioned at the start, that this book centers on an arranged marriage between Isabelle and Prince Julio of the neighboring Kingdom of Aragoth. The King of Aragoth is sick and dying, and his eldest son, the heir, Prince Alejandro, is refusing to divorce his wife Princess Xaviera or take in a mistress, despite her not being able to bear children. Margarita, the King’s second wife wants her son, Julio to take the throne, and to leverage his eligibility, she wants him to marry and have a child. As all marriages are arranged through the Temple, an artifix, Kantelvar is sent to arrange the one between Isabelle and Julio. What I want to focus on is the theme or pregnancy, childbirth and being infertile. First off, I find it incredibly icky whenever male authors chose to write about women’s abilities to have children or even worse, their inability to have children. It always, always boils down to the character either being told or thinking herself that she’s some kind of monster for not being able to conceive. I HATE this trope, and unfortunately it’s present here. All we ever really know about Xaviera is that she can’t have kids. We know Alejandro loves her, and we know she can apparently wield a sword and pistol (not that we ever see it), but as a character she is simply reduced to her infertile womb. There is even a scene, which was profoundly ill conceived, (no matter how pure the intentions were) where Isabelle tells Xaviera she understands what it’s like to have your entire personhood being boiled down to your disability (Isabelle has a wormfinger). It’s a nice sentiment, except not being able to have children is NOT a disability, and the experiences are nowhere near SIMILAR, let alone the same. Yes, it’s horrible to feel like your body is betraying you, or working against you if you want to have kids and can’t. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to go through something like that, ESPECIALLY if you live in a society where that is what your entire worth as a human is boiled down to. But this is not a story for a man to tell, especially not if you want to focus so heavily on how other people think Xaviera is worthless, and not XAVIERA, the person who is seen as worthless and who actually has to experience this pain! There is never a scene in which Craddock dissuades the readers from thinking that it’s COMPLETELY unfair and sexist that Xaviera’s competence at being a Queen is negated because she can’t have kids; instead we focus on Alejandro and how he’s just such a good guy because he loves his wife so much that he won’t cheat on her or divorce her. Xaviera deserves a better story than being sidelined to be a foil to Isabelle’s working womb, and I absolutely hate this storyline, even more after we get a reveal that makes Xaviera;s infertility completely moot. Then, there’s also the whole thing with Isabelle’s mother having 3 miscarriages before she gives birth to Isabelle and dying while giving birth to her brother. Her character is mostly comedic relief, and though she may have been a vain, bad person, treating her miscarriages as some sort of divine punishment is incredibly offensive in a book that’s otherwise genuinely funny and clever about it’s writing. Isabelle’s entire birth scene left such a poor taste in my mouth, that I contemplated DNFing the book; it’s played mostly for laughs, with the Comtessa struggling to push Isabelle out, and yet Craddock wrote it the artifax giving a sermon about how the pain women experience in childbirth is the punishment from the Builder for destroying his Kingdom with their curiosity. Not only is this verbatim something religious fundamentals use to torment women with to this day, it’s so incredibly tone deaf and ill-placed in this supposedly lighthearted scene, that I was ready to quit. Then there’s Isabelle. There is a LOT to unpack with her, but unfortunately I can’t, without spoiling the whole book. What I can talk about is how she is treated as, again, a walking womb, for the whole first half of the book. She is arranged to marry Julio because she’s off saint’s blood, has a fertile womb and can’t do magic. It has nothing to do with her intelligence, or her skills or even her damn beauty; no it’s because her womb works and Julio needs a baby. And literary no one, not Jean-Claude, not Isabelle, not even Julio is opposed to this idea, at least until we find out the real reasons for the marriage. She is literary boiled down to her womb, and treated like a prized racing horse, and she is the LEAD CHARACTER. Again, this is not necessarily supposed to be viewed as good, but that’s only after we find out why the marriage was orchestrated. Up until then, no one questions this, and I cannot describe to you how uncomfortable it was for me to read all the 10 000 times people care about Isabelle’s womb more than her, encourage and downright blackmail her into sleeping with a complete stranger so that he can Euron style put-a-baby-in-her, and everytime someone calls her breeding stock or broodmare. That felt good to get off my chest. Let’s talk some positives. My favorite part of the The Three Musketeers is the bit about the Comtessa having her diamonds stolen, and the King asking her to wear them at the ball, and the Musketeers having to go make a new set and bring it in time for the ball. This plot is that same rush of tension and political maneuvering mixed with humor, except the conspiracy is so complicated, there would be no way I could describe it to you all without spoilers. What I can talk about is how through very different approaches and skill sets, Jean-Claude and Isabelle figure out what is happening parallel to each-other. Jean-Claude is like a Musketeer version of Hercule Poirot. He is incredibly good at improvising and acting, he has a way of getting people to talk to him and reveal information they don’t want to, he knows how to lie, fight, shoot, run and has a bit of a temper. While with Isabelle we learn more of the mechanics of the plot, with Jean-Claude we learn about the people involved in the conspiracy, and their various motives. I really enjoyed Jean-Claude’s detective skills; also since he’s the Musketeer, he gets the brunt of the action scenes which were all very fun. Isabelle on the other hand, is more like Sherlock Holmes. She’s good with words and people, but not the Jean-Claude’s effect, and she’s more than a little socially awkward and insecure, especially at first. What she’s good at is logic, facts and math, and she uses her analytical skills to deduce answers and see irregularities and inconsistencies around her. Though a lot of her skills are ones that she’s not supposed to have, like being able to read the Old Language, or know about how ships run and machines operate, her real skill is the ability to appeal to people and what they want, and she has a real knack for diplomacy that I really enjoyed watching develop throughout the book. The entire focus of the book, and Isabelle’s character arc is about soft power; she isn’t a sword fighter or a gunsmith, but she’s very intelligent, kind and clever, and combined with her deduction skills and wordplay, she makes a formidable political player. There is a reason Gran Leon picks her to be an ambassador, even if it’s with hidden intentions; she sees the loopholes in others’ plans and weaves her own, manipulating people when she must, and offering a branch of friendship when she can. I already mentioned the scene between her and Xaviera, but there are many more examples in the book of her making unlikely friends without even really trying to; my favorite scene was her duel of wits with Gran Leon.

Characters:

Outside of the plot which was excellent and incredibly clever, I loved the characters. There are so many of them, that I couldn’t possibly cover them all, and a lot I can’t talk about because of spoilers, so I’ll just talk about the leading duo, which is Isabelle and Jean-Claude.

Jean-Claude was my favorite person in this whole book. He was exactly what I imagined Aramis to be like; funny, sarcastic, too clever for his own good, very capable, and yet quite flawed. His father-daughter relationship with Isabelle was heartwarming, though I didn’t much care for how he saw her as someone who constantly needed protection, until she was to be handed off to another man to protect. He sees her as capable, but I wasn’t a fan of how he seemed to never quite understand that she was more than just whatever man was beside her.

He had the funniest quips, and keeping in with the theme of wordplay I liked his little anaphore game with Isabelle.

The other great thing about Jean-Claude, was how his moral compass was at odds to his loyalty to Grand Leon. He owes everything to Grand Leon, as he had handpicked Jean-Claude to be his own Musketeer, but when he finds himself in situations of injustice, Jean-Claude has a hard time standing by, even if it means potentially endangering his standing. He’s a flawed character, and sometimes he was too arrogant or too blindsided to see the full picture, like with Vincent and Thornscar, and he is like any good Musketeer quite fond of self-indulgent pity.

One of his best quotes:

”Majesty, please excuse me for bleeding in your presence, but someone just tried to shoot the princess’s coach and bomb me, which is rather backward of the way I would have done it, but I’m thankful for his incompetence” pg. 249

Isabelle on the other hand is a lot more subdued, which makes perfect sense, seeing all the things she has been through. She has had a very abusive childhood, with her father trying to force her sorcery to come out, as well as being bullied and shunned because of her wormfinger.

I tried looking up to see if wormfinger is a real thing, and I couldn’t find anything, but as best as I could understand it, it’s a hand deformity where the hand has a single, unresponsive finger. Since this society is incredibly focused on looks and sexual appeal for women, Isabelle is considered a freak and even a devil-child, which isolates her. However, what I really appreciated was that she accepts her disability as just another part of herself, not some kind of burden, and she is content with herself. The book also doesn’t focus on her appearance, other than general descriptions, (which was true for all of the characters, points for you Craddock).

Isabelle suffers from a lot of trauma, especially concerning her own voice and words, as something happens to her, which is a direct result of someone misconstruing her words to hurt her. However, she’s still if not happy, then content, and though she’s not the bravest character in the book, she pushes through regardless, and tries to meet all her obstacles and overcome them, no matter how daunting they look.

There is a very mild romance in the book, but it’s so insignificant to all that happens that I hesitate to even call it a subplot. I liked this too; most of the relationships Isabelle builds are with friends and allies and what motivates her is entirely her friendship to Marie. I loved that her strongest allies outside of Jean-Claude were always other women; Marie, Valery, Gretl, even Xaviera. Her friendship with Gretl was especially important, as she is the only character who treats Gretl as a human rather than some kind of object and the disability representation for Gretl was I thought well done.

Conclusion:

Though I might have come off harsh on a lot of aspects of this book, it’s only because the parts that were good were great, and every time we took a detour from those parts into bad territory it was all the more jarring. It’s a really fun book, and if you are looking for a gunpowder fantasy with a world we don’t often see in fiction, a focus on diplomacy, politics and a kick-ass pair of leads, then I recommend it.

However, if talk of fertility, childbirth, miscarriage and the threat of sexual assault unsettle you you might want to stay away; as much as I’d like to separate the adventuring from this, these are the main themes of the book, and it’s impossible to ignore them.

goodreads

#an alchemy of masques and mirrors #an alchemy of masques and mirrors review #moni talks #book review

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kiradurbin · 6 years ago

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Super Short Reviews: Spring TV part two:

Siempre Bruja (Netflix) – Spain. The story’s not bad... the acting’s not good... but oh that world! The Caribbean coast of Cartegna with some scenes in the present and some scenes in the past. And the heroine, Angely Gaviria sure is plucky!!

Miracle Workers (TBS) – When I saw the cast list for this I was super stoked. If Steve Buscemi was God and Karan Soni (Deadpool) was his angel executive assistant and Daniel Radcliffe’s angel ran the prayer department it would make for a pretty funny workplace comedy right?!? Someone forgot to tell the writers. Sad face emoji.

Workin Moms (Netflix) – Canada. There are 2 basic kinds of comedies... 1. You root for the likable people and laugh with them when trouble comes a calling... or 2. You watch messy not particularly likable people trying to wade through the trouble they bring on themselves by doing stupid things. This show is the second kind.

The Fix (ABC) – I like me some Robin Tunney. And Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje is awesome. And I was so excited to see Merrin Dungey!! BUT... created by Marcia Clark with a story line not even trying to be subtle about asking ‘what if OJ did it again?’ … a little too self-indulgent for me. Which sucks cuz there are so many interesting actors here.

The Village (NBC) – NBC tries valiantly to keep its THIS IS US viewers with another tear-jerker ensemble drama. This one’s based in NYC where “Family’s where you find it, kid,” and since they’re in NYC the ensemble is far more diverse. Lorraine Toussaint rules !!

After Life (Netflix) – UK. It’s Ricky Gervais. Soooooooo If you like Ricky Gervais you’ll be disappointed as this isnt nearly as funny as his other projects … and if you don’t like Ricky Gervais you’ll be pleasantly surprised because he’s actually really enjoyable when he’s not trying super hard to be funny.

Abby’s (NBC) – Only Boston would allow a Bar in someone’s backyard!! Not very practical to say the least. But really this fails because the the lead (Abby) is not likable or funny at all. Not sure how this got green lit with her as the lead. The excellent supporting cast cannot save this show.

Tacoma FD (TruTv) – Kinda like The Office if it were about firefighters. Great silliness and fun. What a treat to watch a comedy that’s FUNNY.

Pen15 (Hulu) – Two adult (?) women play junior high characters, surrounded by young people playing junior high characters. Feels like they (the creators) wanted to blow up all the bad stuff that happened to them in junior high so they could laugh about it now ... I mostly felt like: seriously its junior high, get over it, what else is on.

What We Do in the Shadows (FX) – Kinda like The Office if it were about Vampires. Perfect for the late night tokers. Harvey Guillén is as priceless as he was on The Magicians.

In the Dark (CW) – Now here’s a leading lady. Perry Mattfeld plays her drama as well as her smart ass comments. And even when she makes bad choices, its a CW show so you know she’s gonna grow and become a better person. Or is she? Maybe she will stay bitchy... Im hoping so. Anyway i’m still watching to find out. Its hard to put this into a genre or even say why it works. Its too old for the tweenies and too young for Gen X... but there it is.

A Discovery of Witches (AMC / BBCA) – I read all these books so I was super skeptical. And I was right. The story is told way too quickly and lots of things are left out… but you probably didnt read the books so just enjoy it for what it is –- witches and vampires and daemons, and genetics and history. Its superficial at times but its still British. Thumbs up.

#angely gaviria #lorrainetoussaint #harvey guillen #perry mattfeld

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beautyandherbooks-blog1 · 6 years ago

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5 Things That Irk Me About Young Adult Literature

Hello there!

To kick off the relaunch, I thought I’d get into a discussion of the young adult genre. As a teenager, YA books kept me warm on my darkest days and I am forever indebted to their company. As a 22 year old, I very much still enjoy reading YA and I believe that there’s so many great books in the genre that people of all ages can all learn from. I love coming of age stories and being able to relate to all the angst and the elements of naivety that add to the appeal of YA. They’re relatable, relevant, simple yet complex in their own ways, and just…fun! It doesn’t always have to be so deep ya know! Anyways, as an avid YA reader, over the years I’ve noticed a bunch of patterns and trends present in YA books that irk me. The intended audience for YA are impressionable and I think it’s important for authors to keep that in mind. Of course, a book is a writer’s vision of a story come to life and once it is published, readers often feel a sense of ownership of it. In some ways, readers technically do have some ownership of a story as they become invested with the characters and the plot itself, but obviously, at the end of the day it’s still a certain author’s story and they get to write it how they want. I fully respect that of course, but I feel that YA can be even better if certain issues were tackled. Well, with that being said, let’s begin!

1. Cliche Love Triangles. Now, a good love triangle is a classic element in many well loved YA novels and I don’t mind them all that much if they’re written in a developed manner. However, I often find love triangles in YA to be quite repetitive and honestly, so overdone. There can be drama and suspense and intrigue in a book without the addition of a love triangle, it’s possible! I’m just over seeing the same old story: two guys fight over one girl. It’s just so played out in my opinion. Besides, it also perpetuates heteronormativity.

2. Unhealthy Representations of Love, Romance, and Relationships. I don’t know how we let this slide when Twlight was a phenomenon but obsessive behavior is not romantic in any way. It’s not cute, it’s creepy. How many times do you remember reading a book that involves some mysterious shady boy that’s just completely head over heels over this one girl and he seems to always be in the right place, at the right time? Yeah, that’s a bit stalker-ish no? Let’s hype up YA novels that present healthy relationships and realistic depictions of infatuation. It’s important to promote ideas of mutual respect and consent. And again, majority of these portrayed relationships perpetuate heteronormativity.

3. Underdevelopment of Female Characters. This is a big one for me. I’ve noticed that in many YA books, the male characters as often easily likable and go through a great deal of character development throughout the story. However, the female counterparts seem to fall flat in comparison. I just find that a lot of the female characters are so…bland. They’re all the same! They’re brown-haired, petite/small-framed, thin, quiet, etc. I’m tired of seeing the same underdeveloped female lead who’s “different” because she’s so “quirky”. I want to see badass women who are outspoken and unapologetic. I wanna read a story where the girl is passionate about something other than her goddamn love interest. Gimme all kinds of women — all races, all sizes, all the different personalities — because it’s 2019, YA books shouldn’t have just straight cis women protagonists when that’s not our reality.

4. Lack of Diversity & Representation. One of the biggest issues I have with YA literature is the lack of diversity and representation in the genre as a whole. I touched on this throughout this post because it’s in my opinion, one of the more important issues to tackle. I think a major reason as to why YA books often seem repetitive and so similar to one another is because that they kinda are. We’re so used to seeing the same characters in every story, a pale boy with blue eyes, a pale girl with brown hair. There’s over 7 billion people in the world and maybe only 30% of the world looks like this. Representation matters. I want to write a more comprehensive post on this subject in the future and so I’ll leave it at that for now.

5. Tropes. Okay, so tropes play a big part in YA. There’s “the chosen one” trope, the protagonist is special as something about them sets them apart from the rest and it is up to them to fix everything. The “outsider” trope, the protagonist is a misfit, or doesn’t belong anywhere. The “bad boy” trope, the protagonist, well, perhaps the antagonist in some, is this mysterious fella who basically behaves like an asshole but is somehow excused for it because he’s charming and handsome. These are some of the many tropes that have existed for some time now and of course, if done with some originality they could be quite interesting and different. However, majority of YA literature incorporates these tropes over and over and I’m lowkey sick of it. I do admit that I find myself falling for these tropes sometimes and guilty is charged.

I think that the YA genre could really change direction and evolve if many of these issues were addressed. Young adult literature has the potential to be more inclusive, original, and timeless while still maintaining the elements that attracts us towards the genre. These are just my own personal opinions so take it how ya want. I’ll be over here continuing to read YA for my own enjoyment.

- M.

#young adult #young adult literature #ya #ya books #young adult books #books #bookish #bookworm #Book Recommendations #booklover

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thorntonkrell-blog-blog · 3 years ago

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Free Guy and Hogan Hat Marine Guy

It's nice to have fun at the movies. Free Guy is a lot of fun. It'll take your mind off the struggles of the day. Ryan Reynolds is a very likable actor playing a very likable character. The movie is set within a video game.

I don't play enough video games to comment on the validity of the action but it sure is engaging, authentic and at times surprisingly rigorous.

I understood most of the cultural allusions and linguistic idioms within the film but I'm sure that my millenial daughter Mary will grok them significantly more than I. We thought of her throughout the film which only increased our enjoyment.

Definitely go see it.

It helps to know what an NPC is. In case you don't know (which I didn't) an NPC is a Non Playable Character. The Reynolds character is an NPC who is involved in an ongoing Ground Hog Day experience until one day he realizes that there may be more to life than being a bystander watching the action like the rest of the NPCs who are part of his everyday existence and don't seem at all bothered by the endless repetition that has become their reason for being.

They don't really matter in the game. They are scenery. They love it

They know their role and keep their mouths shut.

Upon emerging from the theater, we encountered the real world of Birkdale. Birkdale is a village that is an array of upscale shops, bars and restaurants, an extended village green. People coming and going, shopping, eating, drinking, grooving, winking, nodding hello and getting on with their business. It looks a lot like the scene of a video game especially on a bright August day after departing from a dark theater.

I began to realize that all of the people that passed me or were passed by me were NPCs in my particular game of life. They are/were just part of the scenery. I realized as well that I was anNPC in their worlds. Nobody was gonna remember me just as I would not remember them. Most of them probably didn't even see me much less gather the fact that I was forgetting them as soon as I saw them, rebooting the scene with every glance.

Lynn decided to shop at one of the stores. I sat on a bench, enjoying the tranquility of NPC passivity. Then I noticed an older gentleman walking more slowly as he approached me and I got the feeling this man thought that I was in his game. Sure enough, he stopped right in front of me and said "hello."

I realized that the two of us were now in the same game at least for a minute and this gentlemen might make it into my memory.

He was nattily dressed. Trendy Skechers, blue ankle length Underarmour sweat pants and designer long sleeve shirt topped off by a Ben Hogan style hat. The gentleman was short and straight with vivid blue eyes.

I nodded hello. He sat down next to me on the bench. "The women are in the pie shop, all they want to do is eat." I assumed that he was talking about his wife and maybe his grand daughters. Birkdale has a custom pie shop not far from where I was sitting.

Once again I nodded.

Then the guy started on Biden. What a chicken shit. How all these Afghanistan refugees were gonna invade our country, none of them vaccinated, spreading Covid while China was going to take over Afghanistan through Formosa and that we would be at war in a couple of weeks with our enemies killing us with our own weapons.

MMMMkkkaaay

He said he was a veteran of the Korean War. He was an ex-Marine and we didn't need to stand for this Taliban horse shit. If our President had "any balls" it would be whole different story.

I just nodded to indicate that I heard him.

At that point, he was collected by a gray haired woman who I assume was his wife and two dark haired women who were related to him somehow. I don't think the three women even noticed me I was more NPC to them than they were to me as they were ending a game that I was barely playing with the Marine.

They went off down the street. Heading toward the theater where we had just watched Free Guy. Free Guy was a lot more fun.

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swmblog-blog · 7 years ago

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SW: Aho-Girl

SHOTGUN REVIEW: Aho-Girl (2017)

Mia: Hey Rice. Rice: what Mia: What is Aho-Girl? Rice: Aho-Girl is an anime about dumb people who eat fruit and cry a lot. Rice: Actually, bananas are a berry, so it’s about dumb people who eat berries and cry a lot. Mia: ahem Mia: That being considered Mia: p gud innit Rice: Stop stealing my socioeconomic dialect Mia: What is Aho Girl ACTUALLY, you absolute knob. Rice: Ladies and gents Aho-Girl is a show following Yoshiko, a girl who is somehow less intelligent than I am, and her involuntary friend Akutsu who just wants to get some goddamn study in. Join them in their everyday adventures as- Mia: Nevermind, I’ll sum it up. Mia: Aho-Girl is an adaption of a manga essentially centering around the antics around the protagonist, the titular Aho Girl, and her big ol’ tsundere childhood friend. It’s mostly comprised of shorts, five minutes at most. Very heavily comedy centered. Mia: If you’re still interested after that premise, the show’s worth checking out for yourself.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

STORY

Mia: I don’t think this anime really had a story. Most people’s knowledge of this series is just it being the source of most BEGONE THOT memes. Rice: I actually had no idea what it was, first I had heard of it as an actual thing was when you brought it up Rice: Though admittedly I had seen the “can I squeeze your boobies for science” cap somewhere before Rice: I agree with you, the anime has no story. It’s kind of just that thing where you tune in for a few minutes, turn off your brain, and laugh at the jokes (just like Yoshiko) Mia: It’s what Slice of Life should be, basically. That being said, it wasn’t poorly paced and it certainly holds your attention for 11 min at a time. Rice: The story is the weakest part of the entire thing, you’re honestly probably not there because a show called “idiot girl” promises an exciting and riveting plot Mia: Yeah basically. The bulk of the focus is really just whoever on the cast wants to bonk A-kun, but it doesn’t get tiresome with every premise. Mia: I guess I should also mention it’s very shamelessly focused on fanservice so. Mia: That’s not quite everyone’s bag. Rice: If you showed up and went “I absolutely cannot follow this, it has no story, 0/10” then you’ve found the wrong experience

CHARACTERS

Mia: Probably the best part Rice: i absolutely agree

Yoshiko Hanabatake

Mia: What can you even say about Yoshiko. Mia: She spends the entire show on the same sugar high and it’s never not entertaining. Rice: The only thing I can say about this is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Mia: Fitting for Yoshiko I guess. Mia: You can’t really put it into words. She’s the personification of the Genki Girl type and that comes out best in her antics. You have to watch it, really. Rice: Speaking of, I looked up a few opinions on the show myself, and it’s perfectly categorised into two groups Rice: You’ve got the people who didn’t like the comedy, and went “This show is the epitome of brain-numbingly dumb” Rice: And the people who did like the comedy, and went “I rate this show 4 bananas out of a bunch” Rice: Yoshiko’s characterisation was probably important in that, if you didn’t like her character then buckle up boyo you’re in for 12 more episodes of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Mia: Pretty much.

Akuru Akutsu

Rice: I absolutely cannot relate to Akutsu. Rice: er, A-kun Rice: Study? No thank you. definitely not me irl. Mia: The thing with A-kun is that he’d be an absolutely tiresome harem protagonist anywhere else. But he actually has a definitive, likable character. Even when he’s beating the shit out of the protagonist for the entirety of his time with her. Rice: Advocating for violence against women isn’t cool, Mia. And neither is study, which I would argue is somehow even less cool, because at least the other one has violence in it Rice: Also I guess I just don’t watch enough degenerate anime trashpiles because I don’t understand what constitutes a “harem protagonist” despite the obvious Rice: Though I feel like despite being what is more or less the deuteragonist, he doesn’t steal the spotlight, which is... probably a good thing Mia: You absolute plebian. You need to watch more Chinese shadow sock puppet shows. Mia: But yes, on his own, the series would be much weaker, so the fact he isn’t the focus is good. Rice: He was still kind of a bland character in the full scope of the show though Rice: Like I’m not gonna fault the character for that, it’s just hard to get invested into the straight-man study dude when you’ve got a gorilla woman who can’t keep her skirt down and someone literally called BOOB PRESIDENT in the same show Mia: You’re not there to get invested, I think is the point. You need the Straight Man to play off of the antics of all the other weird characters.

Sayaka Sumino

Rice: I would hug the SHIT out of Sayaka Mia: A little too much of the Ingenue for my tastes but she doesn’t fall into the cliches usually associated with that archetype. Rice: I have absolutely no idea what that means, because some people don’t live on the TVTropes website, but I get the gist of what you’re saying Rice: Like even with saying that I get the feeling Sayaka is a very archetypical “shy girl” character you expect out of this kind of show Rice: But I would still give her a hug Rice: Are you telling me you would reject a hug from Sayaka? Mia: I’m saying this show got you hook, line, and sinker. Rice: I’m just saying I would hug the shit outta Sayaka

BOOB PRESIDENT

Rice: BOOB PRESIDENT Mia: I’d chastise you for beating that joke into the ground Mia: But Yoshiko does the exact same thing. Rice: BOOB PRESIDENT Mia: Stop that. Rice: BOOB PRESIDENT Rice: Usually “haha boobs and butts xd” jokes cringe me into the 46th dimension but the boob jokes with BOOB PRESIDENT were somehow so tasteless it looped around, overflowed, and became funny again Mia: She’s just got enough of a comedic character to balance out being the butt of every lewd joke. If she did literally nothing, it’d be creepy. But half the time, she’s trying to molest one of the leads while being hypocritical about it.

PRODUCTION QUALITY

Mia: Nothing outstanding for a summer Slice of Life anime, but there’s effort here. I’ve never heard of the studio this came out of so I can’t judge if it was likely sweatshopped or not. Mia: The little touches like the shift in artstyle in the different little skits definitely help give it variety too. Rice: It’s no Nichijou when it comes to that but it is a touch Rice: The base production quality of the show is fine, it has no glaring errors or something (at least visually) Rice: I’ve got the opening theme stuck in my head so that explains itself Rice: My personal favourite part of the anime as it is was the constantly changing intro, it’s not like one of those big shot animes where EVERYTHING IS EXPLODING so they probably had the resources to make every intro unique Rice: Even the one where it was literally just a sign that said “summer vacation” Mia: Right.

ACTORS

Mia: best VAs tbh Mia: Especially Yoshiko’s. (Aoi Yuki) Rice: I’m not really one to look at VAs (unless they’re ear-screechingly bad or something) but I can at least say at least nobody sounded awful Rice: I can appreciate the fact they made 5-year old Yoshiko sound the same as 15 year old Yoshiko though. Mia: I mean I guess it’s not prudent to review acting in a language you don’t speak BUT I honestly think Yuki really showed off her range in this. Rice: We’re all kuso weeaboo here it doesn’t really matter Rice: Also your fixation on Aoi Yuki is now concerning me Mia: I said she was good, how is that fixating? Mia: Fine, I’ll go ahead and say the other VA’s did well too. They weren’t cringey and got into the part well enough. Rice: Voice actors are definitely a strong point for this anime, you heard it first. Go ahead and load up Aho-Girl so you can be thoroughly swayed by the sweet sounds of Aoi Yuki telling you to look at her panties Mia: I’m done with this >:( Rice: You brought up Aoi Yuki first

SUMMARY

MIA’S VERDICT - 7.5/10 (Well Above Average) A lot of good here. Not a lot of substance, but that’s not what you’re here for. Overall, a fun little series that doesn’t waste your time.

RICE’S VERDICT - 10/10 (IT’S LIKE SHOOTING UP POTASSIUM) My friends, there is nothing more enjoyable than kicking up your feet and injecting AHO-GIRL directly into your veins. I thoroughly enjoyed over an hour of banana and I think you should too. In intermediate school someone fucking told me bananas were herbs and I believed them until I looked up “banana” on wikipedia 40 minutes ago, they’re actually berries, fuck you Tom from Room 1.

#review #critique #aho girl #aho-girl #ahogirl #aho #girl #アホガール #Yoshiko Hanabatake #Hanabatake Yoshiko #anime #begone thot #B E G O N E

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squid-that-reads-a-lot-blog · 7 years ago

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Oathbringer Review

A while back, I finished the most recent entry into the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer. Haven’t gotten around to writing a review yet. Starting off, I have to say that I have similar thoughts to my opinions of the previous two books. Sanderson is rarely incompetent and he does many things very well. Like the previous two entries, there are several small arcs throughout the story that make the 1300 page count a little more digestible. There is also no shortage of action and each major character has their own story arc.

Overall, this is my favorite in the series by a long shot. The first two aren’t bad, the style just is not my cup of tea. However, this book did a lot of things that I liked. The part that I liked the most is the fact that the book focused a lot on Dalinar. Dalinar is my favorite character in the series and the fact that he is so much older than the other two previous leads made his story arc so much more enjoyable. Sanderson puts his characters through a lot of shit but it felt more natural in this book. I feel like the backstories aren’t as important as who the character is, and when the characters are as young as Kaladin or Shallan, their inner monologues about their pasts can’t help but feel... whiny…

It could just be me, and they aren’t terrible characters, but I think this story arc is far better than the others. It’s full of some fantastic emotional moments that crank it up to eleven. My personal favorites have to be the flashback of the attempted assassination and the burning of the rift. The first one made me laugh because it’s so insanely badass and over-the-top. It’s like a scene straight out of a crazy 90’s action movie. The burning of the rift is a whole chapter that I found grimly entertaining. I was reminded of stories of those ancient Roman emperors who would drag their enemies behind their chariots after they surrendered. Everything about it is so brutal and shocking that you feel a whole mix of emotions while reading. Honestly this is where Sanderson is at his best. It’s when really insane shit is happening that his talent truly shines.

A few smaller things that I liked included some of the other characters. While I felt like it was too late to make him really heroic, Ellokar felt a little less useless in this book. He had some nice moments in the spotlight throughout the book. Shallan also had a few good moments but I honestly think that Sanderson is not good at writing very feminine characters. Every time he has a female character with a tough, masculine edge he does great but if they like pretty dresses instead of punching people he tends to falter. While some of the choices that he makes in this book could be explained with the trauma that Shallan herself has experienced, it feels a little out of touch to me. He often misses the mark a little bit when it comes to writing women like this and it is very noticeable in this book.

As for a few other characters, I have some mixed feelings. Adolin is obviously being solidified as this awesome, likable guy that does badass things with a sword but something feels a little off. There are a few times where I feel like the book is going out of its way to say how likable he is and it makes me feel like he is going to die. It’s sticks out to me because nothing has really come out of it and he is so wildly different from the other members of the main cast. This seems like an odd choice to me but there’s nothing we can do about it for the next four years. Other than that, I love the fact that he is a total diva. It’s rare that I get a Legally Blonde vibe from a male character.

A character that got kind of shafted in my opinion, is Jasnah. I guess that she’s supposed to be this sort of mysterious character because she’s so smart but I have a hard time getting that. It feels like she does very little and there are few times when her intellect is really shown. We’re just told that she’s one of the smartest women in the world while she is busy doing… stuff… I’ve been waiting for her to be cool and I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer. She could be a really awesome character but I just haven’t seen that yet.

Now let’s get to the problems I have with this book. A lot of these boil down to my personal preference so some people might not be bothered by these as much as I was.

One small but glaring problem I saw in the last book had to do with Lift and it shows up again in this book when Lift returns as well as the introduction of Szeth’s overpowered sword. The way that they are written really rubs me the wrong way. The vast majority of the books are written in this old style that you see a lot with epic fantasy. You are stepping back in time in this alternate universe. People don’t use all the colloquialisms that we do in everyday life. Against this backdrop, modern words and phrases are rather jarring. Sanderson sometimes does this in this series. Usually it’s not bad enough to take me out of the story but with Lift and the super sword it is pretty egregious. The sword is not all that bad save for a few moments but the constant use of the word ‘awesomeness’ with Lift gets on my nerves. It is so out of place and jarring. It reminds me of L.E. Modesett Jr. where they would use modern curse words and it was really out of place. I wish he wouldn’t use words like that but ultimately it is a small part of the story.

A big grievance that I have with this book that may not seem all that bad to others is the whole murder plot. I read that scene in the last book where Sadeas is murdered and I was really waiting to see what would happen. Ialai is set up as this incredibly dangerous woman earlier in the series. The last time she saw her husband alive was when he walked off with a guy that hated his guts. There’s no way she doesn’t know exactly who did this. It might have been my expectations being too high, but I felt like this was such a lame story arc in the end. This was one that could have had some real consequences for our characters. Imagine how much trouble Adolin would have been in with this woman for an enemy. Not only that, but his rash decision would have some serious consequences on Dalinar’s budding political career. Does he punish his son for his crime or does he risk looking weak in front of his political opponents? It would add some legitimately serious consequences to Adolin’s story arc and this sort of thing sounds like it would be right up Sanderson’s alley storytelling-wise. But things didn’t go this way. Ialai doesn’t do anything in this book. There were so many chapters that talked about her extensive spy network and how dangerous it is to get on her bad side but it all seemed like it was for nothing. In fact, the whole treatment of the Sadeas characters has been disappointing to me. Toral’s betrayal in the first book didn’t really make any sense to me. I felt like he really was warming up to a friendship with Dalinar again. Politics had driven them apart but I believed that he could come over to the good side. I think he could have made a great anti-hero with his crooked approach to the things that the team good-guy is trying to accomplish. Appearance-wise, I also think that they are very well designed. I always like it when an author gives the faces of their characters some character itself. I have a clear image in my head of what these people look like. The fact that they’re both really ugly but really happy together is kind of unique as well. Team good-guy wouldn’t just be comprised of a bunch of pretty people if these two had the potential for some redemption arcs. The fact that he just died and his wife is just sitting like a bump on a log just feels like a waste of two potentially great characters. Sanderson could have something planned for Ialai, but I felt like this was a huge waste of potential and her potential time in the spotlight has passed.

The other big problem is just an extension of a complaint that I have with the other two books. Sanderson doesn’t seem to have the knack for making characters seem quite as alive as other authors. The coldness in his writing is one of the few things keeping him from being one of my favorite authors honestly. He’s introduced this vast and expansive world but it feels strangely small. I think a big contributor to this is that the plots rarely take the characters outside of one area. It’s a problem that’s seen in the original Star Wars trilogy. Action packed plots and fun characters in this massive universe but it feels so small because we just see this handful of people. The whole Kolinar arc made the world seem a little bigger but that went away as soon as the characters left. It’s strange because we get so many POV chapters from characters all over the map but they feel incredibly disconnected. It’s a strange problem to have, especially when this series is compared so closely with the Wheel of Time series, where this was one of its strongest parts.

One more small gripe I have has to do with the pictures. All of them are great but I wish there was just one landscape in there. The world is so alien to what we’re used to seeing that it would be cool to really see it through the character’s eyes. I hope he gets one of these in a future addition to the series.

I haven’t mentioned a lot of things about the book either because I’m not sure what to think about it, there’s not enough information, or the fact that it’s just good. The good far outweighs the bad in this book and I could not put this one down (not easy when I got the huge hardcover copy). Even with all my complaints, this is still a fantastic book that I would highly recommend. Full of action and badassery at every turn, this is something that I see people enjoying for a long time.

#books #book review #brandon sanderson #oathbringer #stormlight archive

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