Being Human (U.S.): Season 2 (2012)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I liked:

• Josh’s social anxiety is hilarious. Just think of how he guzzled the wine when Sally’s mother was there for that awkward dinner, or how he edges out and avoids uncomfortable situations. I love it.
• Demonic, dark side Sally is actually really entertaining, hectic plot to watch. The introduction of the Reaper and then all the things that subsequently happen? So good.

• Seeing Aidan delve deeper into the world of the vampires, and it is messy, ugly, and digs up another side of him altogether, which is quite cool to see.

• More of Aidan’s past was also welcome.
• The friendship between Aidan and Josh will just always be awesome. They are definitely besties.

• Zoe was a character I liked. She was so awkward and amusing, but I also felt so sorry for her later on – the Nick situation was a killer.
• Aidan and Josh banding together to save Sally – friends for life! It was also quite funny to see how they had no other choice but to let Zoe know that they are totally not normal humans.

What I didn’t like:

• Nora irritated the crap out of me this season. I really like her and Josh together, but this new Nora? Nah uh! What a bitch.
• Those thoroughbreds are a real issue – they come in out of nowhere, make issues for Nora and Josh, make Josh to feel a fool, nope. Just not on man.
• So many story arcs were introduced, rushed through, and then discarded. Like, really? What was the point of all that?
• Josh and Julia being together again was something I wasn’t a fan of. Not because Josh isn’t allowed to be happy, it was just a silly plot device.

Rating:

Yep, another really entertaining season if you ask me. Aidan will just never get the freedom he wants, to lead the life he chooses, there is just always something lurking about to make him miserable. The assumption was that the end of Bishop would have bought him his freedom, but instead left him in the precarious place of leading Boston. Never mind that, it put him in the line of fire of Mother, an acient vampire, and Suren, her daughter who crushed his heart many years ago.

Josh and Aidan are trying so hard to just be normal, and it is failing miserably. Aidan is still judged super harshly for ever slipping or just for being loyal, but is still expected to carry the world. I was pleased to see in this season that Nora knew all about Josh’s werewolf secret, and thought it was going to be amazing (after they dealt with the fact that she, too, is a werewolf). But oh no, it could never be that easy with Josh, and instead we got these annoying thoroughbreds introduced to us, and they just got right in there what with tearing Josh and Nora apart. She was such a bitch and so cruel in this season, really, she annoyed me the whole way through. ICK.

While Sally can still make things all about her, it was interesting to see how her arc went this season, what with her making friends, learning about possession, getting hooked, and leading a Reaper into her world. The consequences were rather dire there, and the way she snapped was fantastic. Seriously, it was worth a watch. Something that amused me endlessly was Aidan sleeping with Julia, only to find one super awkward morning that Julia is, in actual fact, Josh’s ex-fiancé. I know it sounds bad, but that scene was handled well. The friendship between Aidan and Josh survived it, so all is well. However, later, after Nora and all her stupidity, when Josh and Julia were together again? Not a fan. It’s just not supposed to work that way. Nope. Plus, he belongs with Nora. She just needs to get over her crap.

Aidan and Suren was a relationship that needed to grow on me, and I still don’t think they were properly suited, but definitely better than Aidan and Rebecca, that’s for damn sure. Suren originally grated on me, but she gets better. Still not a huge fan, but better. I also happened to thoroughly appreciate the story she told of how Aidan kept a black orchid from her mother alive once a upon a time. It was beautiful. The effects are still a bit sketchy, and there are times where the narrative stumbles a bit, but Being Human is still a damn fine show that I would highly recommend to anyone that wants a supernatural comedy/drama mix. Worth your time, for sure.

The Originals: Season 2 (2014 – 2015)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I liked: 

• Elijah and Hayley finally doing something about the things going on between them. Phew, thank goodness, it was getting a little intense.
• Mikael and Klaus working together. However brief, it was so cool to see what might have been. Sadly, it was incredibly short lived. Oh well.
• Kol has grown on me. A lot. I haven’t ever really been particularly keen on him, but when he came back as the witch Kaleb, and the way he changed and adapted? I grew rather fond of him. Plus, I really liked him and Davina together, quite nice.
• The whole Mikaelson clan making an appearance. You would assume this would be annoying, but surprisingly it just works.
• Vincent. I know that when he was Finn he peeved me, but when Vincent is Vincent and not possessed by a Mikaelson, he is pretty darn cool.

What I didn’t like:

• Jackson and Hayley. I really, really do want to like them, and he does love her, but the thing is, she went into this marriage due to obligation, and Elijah was crushed because of it, and goodness knows I am a Hayley?Elijah shipper, so just deal.
• This whole sticky situation with Klaus and Camille the whole time. I mean come on. They don’t actually have chemistry. I can buy into them being friends, but never actually more than that, it just doesn’t seem to come together very well. Plus, the bitch ain’t Caroline. #KlarolineForever
• Finn got irritating. I have never liked that slimy bastard, but he was just all over the damn show here. I thought that Caspar Xafer did a fantastic job portraying him, but sheesh!
• Freya. Goodness gracious me. The girl pitches up out of nowhere and just wants to pop in, take over, the whole shebang. Uhm, really?
• This Gia/Elijah bullshit situation. NOT A FAN!

Rating:

Plotsies afoot, plotsies afoot everywhere! I really quite liked this season! For one, there was all the crazy work initially with keeping a lid on the fact that baby Hope is alive and well, and Klaus had to look okay. When Marcel spoke of how weird it was that Klaus was not mourning and murdering together, I laughed. He is so right. Klaus and his politics, of course, were all over the show here, and the intensity and depravity of what he gets up to does not escape me.

The entire Mikaelson clan was alive at some point or other during this season, but that didn’t annoy me at all, anywhere. I mean, they are the original pretty much everything, so the regular rules totally aren’t going to apply here. The siblings facing off against Esther and her lackey, Finn, was going to be interested. From the beginning I was sure that Kol was not going to stick with them for long, and I was right. He quite grew on me this season, which was awesome, and he and Davina actually worked well together.

What really was sad, though, was seeing how Klaus had to deal with daddy dearest once again. Constant warring, and when you finally think they have made headway? Screw that, stake the bastard. I totally get why Klaus would though, he has always been rejected, bullied, and hurt by his father. It also broke my heart to see Hayley marry Jackson. Don’t get me wrong, I like the dude and all, but he is not Elijah, and Elijah and Hayley just click. Like, when they finally gave in to each other? My heart cheered, I was so happy about the whole situation. I knew it was doomed. Ugh. I should stop getting my hopes up.

Naturally, no peace can be known for the Mikaelsons, and one victory over mother dearest meant that they would have dearest Aunt Dahlia on their hands, and that was one hell of a sticky thing. Freya is not a character I can say that I love at all, something just seems off about her, but let’s see where this goes. I was impressed by how much Rebekah has grown on me since I first saw her in The Vampire Diaries. Goodness knows she is still flawed, but she is getting better, especially due to Hope, and getting into a witch body.

I am not a fan of the Elijah/Gia story-line, and I was glad when that was disposed of. So much actually happened this season, but it all worked wonderfully. I really wish they would stop forcing this Camille/Klaus thing, it’s like every now and then the show remembers they are supposed to be interested in each other, and send them to see each other again. I was so sad to see Aiden killed, and Josh’s heart broken, and the chain reaction that came from that was insane. Klaus, of course, for getting screwed over (and it was horribly sad to watch), responded as only he could – nobody can torture quite like our Klausie. Definitely a good season that looks fantastic, flows well, and is interesting throughout. Well worth a watch.

Review: Empire of Storms – Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass #5

SYNOPSIS: Kingdoms will collide.

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear. – via Goodreads

Oh my gosh! My love for this books knows no bounds! Hands down my favourite one so far. Wow! Okay… mouth words. Let me find them and function properly.

We finally start the march… Aelin has Aedion back, they have liberated Dorian (thank the heavens), and Rowan is around, all seems to be going to plan. Aelin has the beginnings of her court, and I was furious with that bastard Darrow for essentially shooting her down and denying her the throne of Terassen. This, of course, is a good plotsie to build loads of other things.

Elide is making her way to Terassen, to her queen, and is naturally paired up alongside Lorcan, for better or worse. The longer they are on the road together, the closer they get. He is a hard guy, and she doesn’t care, matching him step for step. She is quick and clever and keeps him on his toes, something I am sure has not happened for centuries. They complement each other. I also liked reading more about Elide, as she is becoming more of a character I enjoy, and not just some odd little sneaky prisoner in Morath.

Manon Blackbeak – goodness, this witch is so powerful and I absolutely adore her. She has made some seriously crazy but brave choices in this, and then there is her and Dorian. I swear to god, every time I read “Hello, princeling”, and his response of “Hello, witchling”, something inside me soars. Like, Dorian  has always thrilled me, no doubt (you all remember my gushing about him so far), and I must admit that since he has broken from the Valg prince that had him imprisoned in his body, he is a whole different character and GOSH it’s so hot. I need so much more. He has come out with a sharper edge and far more kingly than he ever was, and just reading about how he teases and frustrates Manon drives me crazy. She is certainly on his level where Sorscha never, ever was. The challenging between them!

Aelin is scheming from the very off in this, of course. No changes in that, and yet her scheming is growing in grander scales, which is most amazing. Her and Rowan, too, get so much time together here and their relationship finally takes the turns we needed it to and it has been immensely satisfying. The two of them just click together, drawing strength from each other and well as lending it. They have a nice, deep, fair relationship. He totally handles her perfectly, and she keeps him going.

Fenrys and Gavriel are two characters that turn up in this and I really like them. Fenrys made me laugh, and Gavriel’s struggle with Aedion broke my heart to pieces. I love how they might be blood sworn to Maeve, but they do not like the Fae queen whatsoever – Fenrys in particular. I want them to break free, to do their own things with their lives. Lysandra, of course, is still a fantastic character, and fits in with this court wonderfully. Also, her and Aedion man… so good.

Empire of Storms has so much awesome going on. There is action, scheming, wheeling and dealing, and the book spends a load of time developing characters and relationships between them, and as such has made them really deep and interesting – I have no objections whatsoever. I really need to stop gushing about this one. So much went on at the end, and this book has me ridiculously hooked from the opening pages to when I finally shut it, and I was desperate to keep reading. Seriously, this is what my life has become – debating whether my husband and I really need dinner at night, and whether I really need to go to work when this world demands my attention xD

Being Human (U.S.): Season 1 (2011)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I liked:

• Sally, Josh, and Aidan becoming so tight, especially after the guys initially tried to send Sally away.
• Tony helping Sally to be a more interesting ghost. This was quite amusing for me.

• Josh and Aidan’s struggle to be normal can be quite amusing at the best of times. Things work, and then they don’t, and then there are, of course, these insane complications. Makes for an interesting watch.
• Josh and Nora and their super quirky, strange relationship – it’s hilarious, and they really click quite well.

• Josh’s facial expressions are pure gold.
• The intricate relationship between Bishop and Aidan. You get glimpses of it throughout the season, and while you don’t get far too much depth from it, you get enough to know it’s actually quite good.
• This dinner scene, that went from amusing to hilarious (convince the family Josh is not a werewolf, let the vampire consume garlic, and wham, there we have it):

• Josh reconnecting with his family was also a good thing – the show didn’t drag it out for forever and six days, when it would have lost its impact.
• Sally’s death reveal – sheesh, that was some crazy stuff, but I think it was handled really well.

What I didn’t like:

• Rebecca. This character just grated on me. So many of my complaints about this season come purely from her, and her antics.
• Ray, and how  he tried so hard to split Josh and Aidan apart when they are such besties.
• The camera work is a little sketchy at the best of times.
• Sally really can make everything about herself.
• Rebecca and Aidan being painted as this epic love story confused me. They were not that tight before she passed, they were not that tight after she was turned, but we are supposed to buy into them being each others everything? CONFUSED.

Rating:

The first time my husband and I watched this show (although the rewatches have just been me), we put it on as a filler something to play on the TV while we munched some junk food and chilled. What happened, however, was us burning through five episodes and getting to bed late (it was a weeknight) because we got hooked. I had it for a while but the premise just sounds absurd: “A vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf live together in an apartment and try to be normal”. It sounded so silly, and yet, when you watch it, it just works.

The show is so stupidly entertaining, but I can’t get enough of it, flaws and all. I think it is a crying shame that it was cancelled what with only four seasons. I know that this is based on a U.K. show of the same title, but that I have never watched. After this, I don’t know if I can ever watch it. This is actually quite a solid introductory season, and it has a smaller budget, sure, you can see this, but it never really detracts from the entertainment. I quite enjoy the characters, or I do, for the most part.

Sally, while she can be annoying and supremely self-centred, is also very sweet and exceptionally loyal. Then there is Josh, who is constantly overthinking things, but he is smart and quirky. Aidan brings up the last leg of this trio, and is the character I enjoy the most, because he is (so far) the most layered of the lot, but I suppose it is easier to create a more complicated character if they have been around for a few hundred years. Aidan is constantly sorting everything out for Josh and Sally where he can, being the loyal friend, pushing them to do more, to be more, always being supportive, but is also the one that gets the most flak if something goes wrong, which I really don’t think is fair. He is judged the harshest all the time, and expected to be perfect, when he is just a flawed individual.

Anyway, the show also has its share of superbly irritating characters – Rebecca and Marcus definitely top my list here. For one, Marcus was jealous and competitive and whiny, not to mention he did’t have a backbone. Then there was Rebecca. She was just some chick Aidan went out with one night, banged, and killed. Yes, that is bad, but then the show paints it like some epic love story when she comes back to life (thanks to Bishop) and all. I just didn’t get it. I could have bought into it if they just left it as a purely sexual thing, but they tried to force emotion into it the whole time and that was just awkward. Not to mention, she does super questionable things. The worst was when she turned Bernie, which crushed Aidan, who was forced to kill Bernie, and then Rebecca was all torn up like she had lost everything when she knew this kid all of one day? I don’t get it man!

The effects are a little dodgy, sometimes the pacing is a little off, but Being Human is packed with awkward humour, is tons of fun to follow, and has three great leads that carry this show really well, making it one heck of an entertaining watch, something I definitely didn’t initially believe it had any right to be.

Review: Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass #4

SYNOPSIS: The Queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return. – via Goodreads

Wow. So much went on in this! The ball gets rolling a little faster in this one than ever before!

Anyway. Let’s move on. I really like Aelin. Like, we get strong heroines in books, no doubt about that, and I am obviously a fan, but I have a lot of time for her. She is not super whiny or anything. She had a moment of it in Heir of Fire, but she moved on from it so quickly. She is pretty awesome – strong, smart, not scared to get her hands dirty, loyal, resourceful, the whole shebang. She is brave and strong. I think the transition from Celaena to Aelin was not jarring at all, which shows you just how gradually things were set up. Queen of Shadows also features an array of new characters. We finally get to meet Arobynn and see a bit more about how things are there. There is Lysandra, whom I really enjoy. She is quite a good character and has a terribly sad story… although this can be said of most of them. Lorcan, too, makes an appearance and could very well be quite the character if left to develop.

I missed Rowan so much. So much more than I missed any other characters so far between breaks! I just needed him to come back. Naturally, when he did, I was practically squeaking I was so excited. He and Aelin are totally matched for one another, and there is enough of them not doing anything about that in this that you get desperate eventually.

Let us not even remotely forget to address Dorian in this. Oh no, no sirree. It broke my heart to see what had become of him. He was shattered and broken and hanging in by a damn thread. I feel that there was just enough of what was going on with him in this book – too much and it would be the same, too little and it would mean nothing. Then Manon Blackbeak makes her appearance and there is a click there, way more convincing than Sorscha ever was. I am, of course, hoping something comes from this. I will totally back this! Dorian needs to get back to being Dorian! Speaking of, there is Manon, and her story slowly but surely changes as the book progresses, and it is damn interesting. Everything she thought she knew is shifting and changing. Between the super adorable Abraxos, Elide, and Asterin, she will have to question large parts of her life.

Speaking of sad things, Roland. Kaltain. Really. Roland might not have been a huge character, per se, but the way he cropped back up in this and what was happening forces you to remember/see just how freaking cruel the King of Adarlan is. Goodness. I am not saying you forget, but he was the example that really slammed it home for me. Kaltain suffered, and I felt immense amounts of pity for a character I didn’t much like to start with. Then there is Aedion and Aelin together, and I love it. Their family has hurt enough and yet they still have each other, are still loyal to each other, both forgiving the other’s sins after both having thought there could be no forgiveness between them for their actions.

Flipping hell, I just wanted to smack the crap out of Chaol all the time reading this. What a whiny twit! He never stopped, and he was so self righteous and super annoying. My goodness! This totally runs home why I am glad that he and Aelin are no longer a thing. When she got on the ship to Wendlyn, they were over. And I am totally okay with that because, well, yeah. They both changed and grew apart and that is fine.

Queen of Shadows features a ton of drama, an array of new characters, loads of tension between characters, and adventure left, right, and centre. I would have it no other way. No sir, no other way indeed. These books are the most fun, just in case my raving didn’t inform you of that xD Get out, go read! I can see I am going to hang so bad when all this is said and done.

Review: Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass #1

SYNOPSIS: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. – via Goodreads

Well, after the pain and suffering that was the Court of Thorns and Roses books, I have been super reticent about checking any more of Maas’s work out, though I have wondered about this series off and on for years. Seriously, after that flipping A Court of Mist and Fury (truly, fuck that book to the ends of the earth), I was not even remotely interested. Natasha realised that I had a major issue with Maas after that, and when she read these, she loved them, but kept it low key and didn’t even remotely recommend that I check them out. So, with no pressure, I eventually needed something to read recently and was really in the mood for some fantasy. That is how we ended up here.

Well, this is a totally different beast compared to the ACOTAR series. For one, I actually liked it. For reals. Yes, sure, the book is still plagued with the typical Maas issue of being far longer than necessary, but aside from that, I was actually interested. The book is also really easy to read, and just breezes by, even though it is a touch long. There is, of course, this little love triangle that crops up in it, and it almost feels that it didn’t strictly need to be in it.

Celaena is not a nuisance, and I quite liked her. I know that she is cocky and self sure, but this is not necessarily a bad thing – she has spine and oomph, and I like that. Then there is Chaol, and this is the horse I was backing! Yes, Dorian is beautiful and charming and all that (and I certainly want so much more of him and did love reading about him and Celaena), but Chaol is the one that I was all for. He challenges her and sees her and just… they click really well together. That being said, I would love more Dorian. The competition that we get in this to set everything up is not quite as hardcore as one would expect, and fluctuates between being written about in a lot of detail or being glossed over. The third act with all its reveals and all that is where things really start rolling, and sets up for a lot more to come.

Overall, I quite liked Throne of Glass. There is a lot of potential to be found in this series, and I am interested to see where it all goes. I totally did not expect to like these books at all, but so far, so good! Yes, a little long winded, and Maas still has a really nasty fixation on vomit, but neither of those detracts from the story. I will most certainly be reading more in this series.

 

Review: Lady Midnight – Cassandra Clare

The Dark Artifices #1

SYNOPSIS: It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it? – via Goodreads

Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, me, back at these books, because I am a hopeless Cassandra Clare junkie. In the most extreme. Any excuse to return to the world of Shadowhunters and I am there. So. I am very pleased that a few years have passed in between since City of Heavenly Fire, as that was the one thing I was worried about – I wasn’t really in the mood to read about 12 years olds. However, Clare masterfully moves us on a few years until after the turmoil that was Sebastian Morgenstern is not the be all and end all.

So we move on with Emma Carstairs, and I grew to quite like her. Then again, I expected nothing less. Cassandra Clare writes great characters. Oh, and Julian. I love it. I feel for him, I really do. That he is the pillar the holds the family up is so sad. Mark Blackthorn returns, and I felt for him. I am so pleased that he has returned, but it has most certainly not been an easy return. Not for him, and not for the Blackthorn family. I had a suspicion the Kieran thing was going to go the way it did, but that was fine. Also, exploring two parabatai that want more than they may have, this has seriously interesting potential to it. Then again, what would a Clare book be without a forbidden love angle? Not that I am complaining, she delivers the goods better than anyone else!

I loved reading about Magnus Bane, even though it was just snippets. And, naturally, slurping up any and all information pertaining to Clary and Jace, because, you know, that was just soooo my jam.

Okay, so something that did annoy me a bit? We are always told and reminded how rare parabatai are (and you know how incredibly fascinated I am by the concept), though it is starting to turn into every second person has one, and I don’t like that. It’s like… it’s killing the magic?

But, mini gripe aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this. A new story, with new issues, events deeply rooted in the events of The Mortal Instruments series, and yet confident enough to stand on its own, I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Midnight. Not Clare’s strongest offering ever, but not one to be overlooked. I cannot wait to see where this story goes.

Review: The Wicked King – Holly Black

The Folk of the Air #2

SYNOPSIS: You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world. – via Goodreads

OMG. OMG. Like really now! So as you know, I quite liked The Cruel Prince, and I was looking forward to seeing how things were going to go after Jude played all her fancy pants tricks on Cardan and burnt her bridges with Madoc and family.

So starting up shortly after the end of all the trickery, the book gets right down to business. While I do think the logic of Jude deceiving Cardan into bearing the crown as king was a little uneven, it is how we get the story. I mean I understand the whole concept of them wanting Oak to rule, but it just seems sketchy, conning Madoc out of the regency and forcing Cardan in.

Naturally, things are a little different between Jude and Cardan now, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Like, there was finally more interaction between them – he wasn’t just some character off in the distance anymore. Cardan and Jude have a strange relationship, and it is fantastic. I love the tension built between them, and the misery and the longing and the anger. I have a lot of time for it. It is not the newest of all relationships ever written or anything, but I appreciate the way Black has built them. I am also quite taken with the concept of fairies not being able to lie, because it gives another dynamic to the games that they are playing with each other. 

The Wicked King certainly delivers the goods in terms of events and things happening, scheming, wheeling, and dealing. I do enjoy how that was all woven together, and things are certainly becoming more intense. There was so much cracking with the war brewing, so obviously I was sold. There is backstabbing and desperation, devious and calculating plans, mayhem, so yes. I liked the way the book was written, barrelling along and flowing and keeping you super hooked. There are characters you are never going to like, and others you do. Jude and Madoc also have a rather strained connection, and it is interesting to read about, with so much going on in it.

Also, the end of Chapter 15? Whoooooo *fans self*.

I wasn’t even finished with this when I pre-ordered the last book in the trilogy. January seems like it is forever and a day away! I say that these books are so worth the read!

Review: The Cruel Prince – Holly Black

The Folk of the Air #1

SYNOPSIS: Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. – via Goodreads

After taking forever to schlepp through another book, I wanted something that wasn’t going to make me pull out my hair in frustration and feel like work. I decided to give this a shot to see how it would work out, and boy oh boy, I had absolutely no idea it was going to spark my latest obsession. 

I really liked the opening for The Cruel Prince. Like, right off the bat we have strife and murder and the book keeps rolling from there. Holly Black gets to the story quick as can be, and I appreciate that. A story set in Faerie is always something that can either work really well for me, or backfire completely. This is certainly in the former category.

I really liked the world that Black creates, and I appreciate how complex the story is, and you don’t even realise. I only got to grips with it when trundling along in my book when all sorts of freaking crazy broke out, and I was like “whaaaaa?!” and my husband asked what was cracking because (of course) I was very vocal while reading. Dear lord, that explanation started simply enough, and then I was backtracking and breaking stuff down and then I realised that there was so much more going on, but Black has woven it in such a way that it feels straightforward and simple enough, but gives you tons to pick apart.

The relationship between Madoc and Jude is such a complex one, and I am really interested to see what comes of this one. Madoc himself is a rather layered character, and I truly hope he is not wasted. I am not too keen on either Tarynor Vivi, but I guess we will have to see where that all goes. Cardan is a character who is hateful, and yet the more you get into it, the more complex he becomes. Obviously the whole hate you thing with Jude is where it starts but won’t stay, but I do so like how it is done. 

Anyway, as you can tell, I really liked this. Here I thought I was in for a quick, easy read, and before I knew what was happening, I was hooked and enchanted. The story barrels along, the book is an easy, engaging read, and there is so much potential going on. Plus, there is the whole Jude and Cardan thing to keep your eyes peeled for, that could really turn into something.

Review: Pet Sematary (2019)

“It was a myth. Kids used to dare each other to go into the woods at night. They knew the power of that place. They feared it. Those woods belong to something else.”
– Jud Crandall

SYNOPSIS: Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home. – via IMDB

After having a lot of fun at the cinemas recently, and completely forgetting that Pet Sematary was even still a thing, I saw the posters up for this and obviously decided I needed to see it. So, while I was maybe not expecting it to be It, or even The Mist (if we are looking purely at the more horror based side of King’s adapted works), I thought it would be a watchable movie, maybe not great, but entertaining. Plus, you know, I will watch Jason Clarke in just about anything.

Well, let me state it simply and succinctly: Pet Sematary sucked. I wasted time and money tripping out for it. And I took my husband, he is always keen on a horror. Then there was this, and it was just… rushed, sloppy, messy, and features a different story from the book. I felt that the movie was going downhill slowly pretty much from the minute that family arrives at the new house, and completely lost faith in the story as a whole by the time the wrong kid died. I mean, that is a driving point of the book! I know, I know, what lunacy is this, comparing a book and a movie? But honestly, you would think the basics would be the same. Also, I am capable of appreciating it for what it is and ignoring the book, but I really didn’t like this.

Anyway. Even the music was just meh in this. The movie was heavy handed trying for scares and failing miserably. The story doesn’t resonate at all and the characters are all flat caricatures. If there is one thing that Stephen King excels at, it is writing characters. This movie did not highlight that in the slightest. As much as I love Jason Clarke, this movie sucked. I wish it had been an okay movie, but it is not even that. I had serious regrets. I could have gone to see another movie. Any other movie.

Pet Sematary  isn’t very long at all, but it is absolutely chaotic – and not in the good way. Scenes jump all over the show, the content is heavy handed, there is nothing creepy or scary about it, and that whole child progression they are marketing on the posters? You see it once.  Skip this. Completely.