Review

Shannara Chronicles (2016-?)

Shannara-Chronicles

Shannara Chronicles (2016-?)

Network:

MTV

Starring:

Austin Butler

Poppy Drayton

Ivana Baquero

Manu Bennett

Plot:

Series of adventures, war, and evil that occur throughout the history of the Four Lands.

Review:

I don’t watch MTV so I managed to see no marketing for this. It wasn’t until I was reading a thread about upcoming TV shows that I even found out about it. On a whim I set my DVR to record and apart from the fact that it recorded a horrible SD quality version I was really impressed.

Most of the reviews I’ve read have been pretty negative, so naturally that meant I liked the show. I hate when that happens, it’s Tomorrowland all over again. Oh well, the fan reception (what I’ve read at least) has been pretty positive.

I haven’t read the source material, in fact I’m not sure if I’ve read anything by Terry Brooks, but I don’t think that made the show and less enjoyable. Which is not always the case, so that was nice.

I loved the fact that there are two kick ass female leads and of course Manu Bennett was awesome. There’s a lot going on in the pilot and at times it was difficult to watch because my cable was messing up, but I’m really excited to see what happens next.

That ending, man, I’m already looking to see if I can watch the next episodes on MTVs app.

4/5

Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) By: Meg Cabot

Royal-Wedding-Meg-Cabot-Out-June-2

Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) By: Meg Cabot

Plot:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Diaries series, comes the very first adult installment, which follows Princess Mia and her Prince Charming as they plan their fairy tale wedding—but a few poisoned apples could turn this happily-ever-after into a royal nightmare. For Princess Mia, the past five years since college graduation have been a whirlwind of activity, what with living in New York City, running her new teen community center, being madly in love, and attending royal engagements. And speaking of engagements. Mia’s gorgeous longtime boyfriend Michael managed to clear both their schedules just long enough for an exotic (and very private) Caribbean island interlude where he popped the question! Of course Mia didn’t need to consult her diary to know that her answer was a royal oui. But now Mia has a scandal of majestic proportions to contend with: Her grandmother’s leaked “fake” wedding plans to the press that could cause even normally calm Michael to become a runaway groom. Worse, a scheming politico is trying to force Mia’s father from the throne, all because of a royal secret that could leave Genovia without a monarch. Can Mia prove to everyone—especially herself—that she’s not only ready to wed, but ready to rule as well?

Review:

There was a lot of nostalgia attached to this book, for me. When I was a teenager I read almost all of the Princess Diaries books and I talked about them to my girlfriends, so reading this brought back all those memories.

Mia is an adult now, but still has a lot of the same personality quirks so there are plenty of shenanigans. She’s also more polished and able to articulate herself very well.

I loved seeing all the old people and appreciated that Cabot addressed the fact that Mia’s friends are all from high school.

The ending was great and I don’t know how many times I laughed out loud while reading. I’m surprised at how excited I am at the prospect of seeing these characters that I loved growing up, now my age. I really hope that there is more to come.

4.5/5

Side Note: It would be so awesome if Lilly and Lars became a thing

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

The Man from UNCLE

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Starring:

Henry Cavill

Armie Hammer

Alicia Vikander

Plot:

In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

Review:

It’s interesting that Henry Cavill keeps playing Americans. I don’t have a problem with it, it’s just interesting.

Anyway, this movie should have been better than it was. Maybe it would have been if I hadn’t seen Kingsman or a James Bond movie. The chemistry between the actors was great, the story was interesting, but for some reason it went from trying to be a Spy movie to an action movie and it did the action bits poorly.

I don’t know what it was, maybe I just watched this in the wrong mood. I’d honestly love to see another movie with these same actors in these same roles, but something needs to change. Since it barely made back what it cost I doubt we’ll see a sequel, though.

It wasn’t a bad movie. It was entertaining and I enjoyed several aspects of it, but it wasn’t remarkable.

3.5/5

 

Newt’s Emerald By: Garth Nix
Love this cover

Love this cover

Newt’s Emerald By: Garth Nix

Plot:

Lady Truthful will inherit her family’s most valued heirloom on her eighteenth birthday. Until the Newington Emerald is stolen.

Lady Truthful, nicknamed “Newt” by her boy cousins, discovers that to her horror, the people closest to her have been framed for the theft. But Newt won’t let their reputations be damaged by rumors from a false accusation. Her plan is simple: go to London to recover the missing jewel. Despite her best intentions, a young lady travelling alone is frankly unacceptable behavior. So Newt and her aunt devise another plan…one that entails men’s clothing and a mustache.

While in disguise, Truthful encounters the handsome but shrewd major Harnett, who to her amazement volunteers to help find the missing emerald under the assumption that she is a man, Henri de Vienne. But once she and her unsuspecting ally are caught up in a dangerous adventure, Truthful realizes something else is afoot: the beating of her heart.

Truthful has far more than romantic complications to worry about. The stolen emerald is no ordinary heirloom-it is the source of the family’s luck and has the power to yield vast magic. It would be completely disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands. The fate of England depends on Truthful securing the emerald.

Review:

This was very much a Regency romance with a few fantasy elements thrown in. Honestly, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all from Nix. The only similarity between this and his Abhorsen series was how well written it was.

The fantasy took a back seat to the romance and the period. There were little bits of magic thrown about but they weren’t used in much detail, though, magic did come into play throughout, it just wasn’t as prevalent as I had expected.

Truthful was a great character and similar to a Julia Quinn heroine. She was a lady, but she easily disguised herself as a man to get stuff done. She and the hero were a good match and fun to read.

It was a good book and I enjoyed it, but really the only remarkable thing that it brought to the table was that Garth Nix wrote it. I would very much enjoy more and if he’s trying to mirror the Regency series he had plenty more characters to work with, but I haven’t been able to find anything online about a sequel so we’ll see.

4/5

Side Note: This was marked as YA, but the heroine is eighteen and even though it’s a romance the most that happens is a kiss. I would have no problems recommending this to any age group

A Tiger’s Bride (A Lion’s Pride #4) By: Eve Langlais

A Tigers Bride

A Tiger’s Bride (A Lion’s Pride #4) By: Eve Langlais

Plot:

When at first you don’t succeed—turn to abduction.

It’s all in a day’s work when this Siberian tiger meets the woman he wants.

An accidental kidnapping? Check.

A forced marriage? Check.

A virgin bride? Damn. There go his plans for seduction and here comes the pressure into making her first time perfect. Because everyone knows that’s the one she’ll remember, forever. Gulp.

Add in a plane crash as well as hunters out to capture them and the heat is truly on.

Can this Siberian tiger meet the challenge?
Review:

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the last. Teena and Dmitri were both fine, I thought Dmitri was funny, but it just wasn’t as romantic. Things moved pretty fast, but—I don’t know I just wasn’t feeling it.

Oh well. Liked the series. Love Eve. Looking forward to reading her newest book about a Crocodile.

3.5/5