Preacher "Pilot" Review

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Dang was this ever good! I think this was THE BEST pilot episode of a show in recent years! The action scenes were so fast-paced and badass. From what I've seen so far Tulip is quite possibly the strongest female character I've ever seen on television before. My favorite scene in the whole episode was a tie between the kickass introduction of Tulip and the wonderful emotionally-charged scene between Preacher and Eugene. The action-packed scenes on the plane and the bar were also awesome in their own right though. The end was also so intriguing. I already can't wait to see what happens next. I have to know what is going on with this. I may even start reading the comics just to get a better idea of what actually is going down. A great start to what I'm hoping will be an awesome new series.

Fear the Walking Dead "Shiva" Review

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This week's episode of Fear the Walking Dead was EXACTLY what I've been waiting to see. When Madison finally stepped up and her first Rick Grimes moment by locking Celia in with the walkers I just about lost it. Such a great moment! The entire time Travis was looking for Chris all I could think was:

He is so clearly and totally insane! He. Is. A. Serial Killer! However, when Travis finally took Chris' side in the end I actually thought that was the right thing to do. Chris is young after all and he has been through a lot. You kind of have to give him the benefit of the doubt. The very end of the episode was the most badass scene the show has scene yet. All the zombies coming at them and everything on fire. It was so great! I cannot wait for the next half of the season in August. I am dying to know the fate of the group - Daniel, Travis, Chris, and Nick in particular.

"Royal Day Out" Review

SPOILER ALERT: There are spoilers for The Princess Diaries series as well as the first book in the  From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess series in this review.

"Royal Day Out" is a new short story in the From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess series by Meg Cabot. It could be considered 1.5 in the series. I loved this cute little story. It was a great snapshot of what is happening over in Genovia. The story is told by the main character, Olivia Grace. Olivia Grace is Mia's 12-year-old little sister. At the start of the story the reader finds out that Mia (who is pregnant with twins) has been having terrible morning sickness while trying to plan her and Michael's wedding. So in order to cheer Mia up Olivia and Grandmère decide to go shopping and buy Mia a present. Their day does not go perfectly according to plan but in some ways it goes better than it might have. While the story did not introduce any major events it was a cute story that tided me over until I could get my hands on Royal Wedding Disaster and it was free. I also loved how clever Olivia is. I think she reminds me of a cross between our favorite princess, Mia, and Eloise from the Eloise books by Kay Thompson. A great bit of writing from one of my favorite authors.

The Final Verdict?

Five stars because of how cute and refreshing it was. I've been reading a lot of Fantasy with heavy topics and this was exactly the witty break I needed from that.

Orphan Black "The Scandal of Altruism" Review

Hello other Clone Club members!
Before I dive into tonight's episode of Orphan Black there is something else that needs to be appreciated real quick. THIS SELFIE:

I took this to show off my new clone club necklace that I wore since today was Orphan Black day. Can't you just see Alison wearing this outfit to a community theatre rehearsal though? I can and I love it! I don't often take selfies that I like this much so I thought I'd share. I'm thinking of doing more clone-inspired outfits. Let me know what you think of this idea!

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Anyways onto the episode - which was, by the way, SUPER INTENSE!

Me at the beginning of the show when they came up with the plan to save Leda but not Castor:

The writing for this episode was so clever. The amount of hope provided at the start of the show parallels the devastation that occurs in the end. I almost felt bad for Ira though. Almost...

Let me just say - I am loving Krystal being back. The scene where she maced Felix was absolutely perfect! One of my new favorites up with the Donny massage scene from last week.

Me at the end of the show:

So yeah, the end of this week's episode actually made me cry. How are our clones ever going to get better? Poor Kendall! WHY???? This is just all too sad. Not gonna lie either I kind of wanted to be Beth while she was punching freaking Evie Cho in her stupid evil freaking face. As sad as all this was however, I also think this was exactly what the show needed. The stakes have been raised now and I can't wait to see where things go from here. It is going to get even more difficult and time sensitive to find a cure. I predict this will drive the plot better than any other turn of events in past seasons.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Review

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When I first delved into A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas I was enthralled by the world she was building. A huntress supporting her family? Freezing cold woods? Dangerous faeries? I was all in! As the story went on I was entranced by Tamlin and his court as well as the mystery surrounding the blight. The romance was as steamy as I had heard as well. This was not a disappointment!

BUT I was not a fan of how out of nowhere Tamlin and Feyre's relationship seemed. Also, the fact that he took care of her family so well and that this was made clear so soon seemed a bit odd. In short I liked the beginning and the end of A Court of Thorns and Roses but it did drag a bit in the middle and I still don't know if I REALLY ship Tamlin and Feyre.

The Final Verdict?

I would give A Court of Thorns and Roses a 4 out of 5 stars. I loved Feyre's backstory and her obsession with painting. I loved the world and the faeries. The only thing I didn't like was the instalove and the fact that it was advertised as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Tamlin could choose to be a handsome prince with only a mask hindering his appearance. He didn't really have anything wrong with him. It was still a good start to the series though and because this was the first Sarah J. Maas book I read I will be giving its sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury, a try.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Re-Read

Like so many others I have had a long relationship with Harry Potter. Like really long. I started reading the books when I was four years old and they were my world. Harry Potter got me reading and writing and it was my gateway fandom. If I had not fallen so hard for Harry I would not be who I am today. Because of this you can imagine my excitement over the release of the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. This new release has prompted me to return to the wizarding world full force with a re-read. I started at the beginning and I'd like to offer up my thoughts on it since up until now I had not re-read the books in about eight years. So let's get into it, shall we?

Since Sorcerer's Stone is the Harry Potter book I've read the most I decided to make it even more exciting by reading the picture book edition I received for Christmas. This book is GORGEOUS!

Some new realizations I had and little things I noticed while re-reading Sorcerer's Stone:

-Dumbledore really isn't the amazing hero I used to believe he was. He's endangering small children! Also why is his being able to turn invisible without a cloak never revisited and explained? Get on it JKR?! We've seen how good at backtracking and filling in plot holes you've become.

-J.K. Rowling mentions Harry feeling as though Snape can read minds. That is some pretty early planning for the occlumency introduced in Book 5. I loved that!

-I forgot how much more antagonizing Draco is in the books. He's so obsessed!

-I still love Lee Jordan's quidditch commentary!

My final verdict:

Harry Potter has come to be much more to me than any other book has throughout my entire life. Letting myself get lost in the series again has been a bit like finally going home after a long vacation. However, now that I have developed a much more critical mind toward literature I found myself able to see small flaws for what they were: human. J.K. Rowling is just as human as you and I and everyone else in the world. She made some mistakes when she wrote the series. She tries to cover them up as best as she can but she can't go back and rewrite the books. Does this take away from the books whatsoever? NO because she also did follow through on the plot of the books very carefully and created a wonderful world. Who cares if she made a mistake here and there? That only makes her all the more relatable and the books more lovable in my opinion. I will never be able to experience the books completely anew but going back was every bit as lovely as it ever was.

Supernatural "We Happy Few" Review

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SO... This week's episode has got me all like:

First off let me start by saying did they really let that battle happen the week before the finale?!?! What on Earth, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory is going down next week?! Second off does anyone else think not killing "Chuck" was a bit predictable? I really think that should have been left on a cliff hanger at the very least. The battle in this episode was epic! Everyone getting their own part in helping take down Amara? Exactly what the show needed. However pulling so much focus from Sam and Dean may have been a bad move. It was cool but I still have mixed feelings about it. I will say this however... This arc with the Darkness has been so epic and confusing on an almost Biblical sort of scale that the finale has got to blow all past finales out of the water if it's going to live up to what fans are expecting. Like we're talking as good as Season 5. Personally I feel like at the end of the season we are going to lose both Amara and God but on the other hand I'm kind of hoping that God sticks around simply because Chuck is awesome! More than anything whatever happens next week what I'm looking forward to most is: