Preacher "See" Review

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This week's episode of Preacher was a fabulous continuation from the pilot. Preacher started to discover his strange new powers a bit more. He held strong in his resolve not to commit crimes with Tulip. There were some wonderful moments between Jesse and Cassidy. Eugene had a strong moment in his admitting that he hadn't felt better in spite of his baptism. Oh, and Cassidy kicked some serious but. The action in this particular episode was just as great as the last. The episode also had me laughing so hard at moments like the bit with the steering wheel. Over all, while there were some great moments in the episode it wasn't quite as exciting as the pilot. I'm hoping we get the energy we saw at the very start back soon and that it stays throughout the rest of the season.While this episode did slow down a bit it was still good and provided a nice little snapshot into the lives of all our main characters while introducing some cool new people and concepts.

STORY TIME: My Thyroid Cancer Story

For those who don't know I used to do booktube. I stopped when the last school year started and this is why. I made a video explaining my absence due to Thyroid Cancer because I plan to jump back into making videos again this summer. My May Wrap-Up should be up soon, though it will be a little late as it's already June.

Feed the Beast "Pilot Light" Review

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Tonight was the premiere of the new AMC series, Feed the Beast. When I first saw a preview for this show I couldn't contain my excitement. I was like:

I mean, first of all, I love David Schwimmer. Second, I love intense dramas. Third, AMC has been killing it with the new shows so I figured this one had to be good! And I am proud to say I think I was right.

The pilot was really good. Not as wowing as the other week's premiere of Preacher but still great and all I was expecting it to be. It had just the right mix of drama with a sprinkling of funny moments. The cooking montages were beautiful and overall the show has a cohesive tinge of dark humor. Some moment's gave it an oddly similar vibe to Orange is the New Black. Weird comparison, I know, but that's what many parts reminded me of. Schwimmer and Sturgess both do a great job as their characters and I can't wait to see both their characters and their restaurant grow over the course of this season. This show just makes sense all the things it has going for it fit perfectly together. My only qualm is that there may be a bit too much going on. You have the two down-on-their-luck bros trying to realize a dream, the dead wife/mom drama, and the gang problems. Why through in a plot about Tommy's dad so randomly? Hopefully they'll tie that together nicely though and it won't seem like there's too much happening anymore.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Re-Read

As I've mentioned I'm in the process of re-reading the Harry Potter series before the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is released. I just finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which I have always referred to as one of my two least favorite books out of them all. The other being Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Usually, I only refer to these two as my least favorites whenever somebody asks which one is my favorite because those are the only two I can rule at as not being my favorite. However, they still have a special place in my heart. One of my goals with this re-read of the series, though, is to finally choose a favorite. Who knows if that will actually be accomplished though. I think the problem is more like when you've been a Harry Potter fan for 80% of your life you have different favorites at different stages of life. Same goes for Disney princesses. Anyway onto the re-read!

Some new realizations I had and little things I noticed while re-reading Chamber of Secrets:
- Rowling does foreshadowing really well. It's almost like she's trolling you when you go back and read these. I noticed that Dumbledore tells Harry exactly what he needs to know about Fawkes' powers way before the chapter that takes place in the chamber.
- I got unreasonably angry about how Hagrid was treated during this re-read. It was proven that he didn't open the chamber when he was at Hogwarts so in my opinion he should have at least been given his wand back. People should have known it wasn't him anyways. His dad was a wizard and his mom was a giant. How likely would it have been that he was Slytherin's heir? I mean really.
- It also struck me more than normal how hard poor Ginny really had it during her first year. The thing about reading Harry Potter as a young child is that the characters are still older than you so you don't process that they're actually still really young and are putting up with the crap that they do. Reading this now, if I were Mr. or Mrs. Weasley I would be having her go to St. Mungo's for some magical therapy. That's for damn sure. Poor Ginny.
- In the same vein. Ginny and Harry make so much more sense than I realize. Only the two of them have been so deeply affected by Voldemort messing with their mind. I mean Ron and Hermione get a taste of that in Deathly Hallows from the locket but not on such a long-lasting level. They take turns carrying the burden at least. Harry and Ginny could both totally have PTSD from this. Ginny's mind has been so utterly violated and she is only an 11-year-old girl! *shudder*

My final verdict?
I'm loving getting back to the wizarding world but it is so much darker than I ever remember it being. I guess I just never really noticed as a kid. I appreciate Chamber of Secrets so much more than I ever have. However, it will probably never be my favorite. Maybe the darkness is what put me off from Chamber of Secrets in the past. I can't wait for Prisoner of Azkaban now though. I feel that PoA is such a lighter read. It may be a real contender for favorite HP book.

Orphan Black "The Redesign of Natural Objects" Review

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This week's episode of Orphan Black was as intense as always. This is just such a wonderful season so far. "The Redesign of Natural Objects" was an especially great episode for Alison. Because Alison isn't pregnant, isn't sick, and isn't Sarah we don't get to see as much character development from her as of late, however, that changed a bit this week. We saw her struggle with her love for Donnie and her sisters, her alcoholism, and her faith. All the struggle. I was feeling some big time second hand panic for Ali not gonna lie. I was like:

What's really interesting about Alison's story is that while typically she isn't in quite as much immediate danger as the rest of the clones she is still so affected by everything. I think in some ways Alison trying to keep things so normal in her family is what causes her story to have such high stakes as well as what causes her character to have so much stress and conflict. This can cause her to act rashly but at other times she thinks things through even better to protect those she loves. Like tonight.

When everything turned out okay and the girls got back on the path to saving themselves this was me at the end of the episode:

Alison and Felix did good and I'm confident that Cosima is on the right track. I do worry that not involving Rachel will be a risk, though. Maybe that creepy swan is a bad omen.

Signs Point to Yes Review

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Last summer I read Sandy Hall's debut novel,  A Little Something Different, and I LOVED it! So of course, I got her next book the minute it cam out last year. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to read it until just now. But I am so glad I finally got to it.

Signs Point to Yes was so good! I read it in only two days and absolutely adored it. The plot was wonderful. The family dynamic of both families was great as was how the parents reacted to the kids dumb decisions. Very realistic on that front. Also, being a young bisexual woman I really appreciated Margo's subplot. It is pretty rare to see a bi character in YA. Jane being into fandom was also great. If you are fan of John Green, Sarah Dessen, or even Rainbow Rowell you will like Sandy Hall's writing. I love road trip stories and cute quirky summer romances so of course I loved this! If you can imagine Paper Towns and Fangirl having a baby that's what Signs Point to Yes and how can you not enjoy that?

The Final Verdict?
I give Signs Point to Yes a 4.8 out of 5 stars. The plot and characters make it a 5 but Hall's writing style is the teeniest tiniest bit passive but then again the same could be said for Cassandra Clare's writing style. I also got really angry about how immature some of the decisions the characters made were. It was still worth reading in spite of these minor flaws because the story is just lovely. Haven't read something so cute in a while.

Clockwork Prince Review

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Before I get into this review I'd like to explain that I did not like this trilogy from the start but this second book made me fall in love with it! I tried to read The Infernal Devices three times before I finally forced myself to get through Clockwork Angel once and for all. It ended up being not too bad but it was still really slow. This book though! This book made me like The Infernal Devices even more than  The Mortal Instruments and I devoured those when I first read the original trilogy.

My one warning is that there is a love triangle in this book but what makes this okay is that it is loosely based off of A Tale of Two Cities so it kind of has to have a love triangle. This particular love triangle is so wonderfully angsty and you have a hard time deciding what guy you are rooting for. Jem or Will? Jem or Will? They're both equally wonderful. The scenes between Tessa and either boy (but especially Will) were delightfully steamy and intense. Much more so than any romantic scenes written in The Mortal Instruments (which is a bit surprising considering the eras both series are set in). The backstory that was revealed about Will is what really kept me hooked. It made his character much more understandable and three dimensional. The battle scenes in The Infernal Devices are also ten times more well written than those in The Mortal Instruments.

The Final Verdict?

I would give Clockwork Prince a 5 out of 5 stars. This was the best story I've read since Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus which is my favorite standalone novel of all time. That's how good this book was. I used to feel like I was struggling to get through an Infernal Devices book so I could read another Mortal Instruments book and now that I'm reading City of Lost Souls  I feel the exact opposite. I cannot wait to get to Clockwork Princess and get my next Will Herondale fix.