Book Review

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

The struggle was real while waiting for City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. And I must say the wait was worth it. I was pretty worried I would build up my expectations and in the end disappointed. But the intriguing world of Shadowhunters Clare has made is creative and interesting, filled with relatable characters and unexpected twists. Bravo Cassandra Clare you did well.

Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother. Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastions - but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a change....

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Spoilers Ahead:

Not only was the conclusion to the series extremely well thought out and thrilling, Clare did an excellent job connecting all four Shadowhunter worlds together. Everything finally came together; the reader gets a look at how all three worlds intertwine. I especially liked how Clare explained The Bane Chronicles as Magnus Bane opening up to Alec about his past. For those of you who haven't connected it yet Brother Zachariah is Jem from The Infernal Device Trilogy, and we finally find out that he and Tessa were the ones to helped Jocelyn protect Clary when she took her and ran from Valentine. Simon's band finally decided on a name "The Mortal Instruments", just another way Clare ties everything together. It is expected during a war that lives will be lost but it's sad that Jordan had to die; although I thought it was interesting when Maia said Jordan saw her as forgiveness and how she needed more. I am glad that Clare decided not to kill off one of my favorite characters. After finishing the book and being introduced to Emma and Julian I can't wait to read Lady Midnight the first book in The Dark Artifices Trilogy in March 2015.

A.B.

Maleficent

Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales so I was so excited when they decided to make another movie.  If you haven't had the chance to see it her's the trailer.

A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

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Spoilers Warning:

I was happily surprised that the plot remained faithful to the original while recreating the title character; you may think you know the story but this on - in so many ways - is so much better. Angelina Jolie is flawless. She was the perfect choice for this role and she nailed it. She really is amazing and this movie would have been half as good without her. And the scene with Vivieene was adorable! I would have loved to see when it being filmed. Although Elle Fanning left me wanting I really loved the rest of the cast in general, the cast was well picked. The graphics and the music in the movie were fantastic. Retold fairy tales can always go one of two ways, bringing new light and a fresh spin on the old story, or it slacks in all important areas. 

I think that the king overreacted when he sent Aurora when she was a baby, I  mean he had 16 years to spend with his daughter while looking for a cure to the curse. Instead he sends her away and goes crazy trying to find a way to break the spell. He could have watched his daughter grow and had her play with a bunch of little boys and girls and maybe by the time she was 16 she would have had a true love, instead of being cast away at a cabin with no one but the incompetent fairy's. In reality if he had spent time with his daughter as she grew up, he would have fallen in love with his daughter and he could have broken the curse. Because true love is more than just a kiss from a lover as the movie proves.

 I love that they did not glorify true loves as a kiss between a young princess and prince that have just met, that's just unrealistic, even for a fairy tale. Instead they allowed Aurora to melt Maleficent's icy heart and Maleficent to fall in love with Princess Aurora. In turn Aurora falls in love with her "godmother" and the magical world she lives. In the end she fixes all the chaos her father's greed created, by reuniting the Moors and her fathers kingdom. I'm so excited to see this movie again, I might even see it in the theater again; because it was amazing on the big screen.


A.B.

Girl Meets World

I still remember the days when Boy Meets World was airing on ABC. It feels like yesterday I couldn't wait to watch Cory and Topanga's wedding. When I heard about Girl Meets World I was ecstatic as any true Boy Meets World fan would be. For those of you who have yet to see it, here's a sneak peek!

Spoiler Warning:

I still feel as though it would have received a larger audience if it had been aired on ABC Family, mostly because Boy Meets World originally aired on ABC. Therefore the 90's kids who are now adults would be more likely to watch this show on a channel where the station caters to a more adult audience. Although I'm still glad they picked up the pilot at all. My first question is during the college years of Boy Meets World was Cory going to school to be a teacher? Did I just miss that? I guess I was only 5 when the show ended and I mostly watched reruns. I must say I enjoyed it and not just because I really wanted to like it. 

The show was actually funny and cute. Riley and Maya were a great modern female version of Cory and Shawn. I'm glad the writers incorporated lines that Cory and Topanga used to say. I have a feeling I'm going to love Riley's brother Auggie, I mean he's 5 but he thinks he and Riley are twins. That's adorable. He's adorable I also enjoyed the character Farkle although they could have given him a different name. I love that  Minkus had a child, and it's Farkle, seriously, peer genius! I really hope Mr. Feeny has a bigger role then just that one cameo. In actuality I really hope all the characters return in some capacity. 

The good thing about this show is that young kids who have never seen Boy Meets World can enjoy it and the kids who grew up with the old characters can enjoy them as adults. I really enjoyed watching it tonight and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the season and seeing what the writers have in store. I hope they can keep it going for more than just a short one season run.

A.B. 

Delirium Pilot 

A week ago today Hulu published a pilot based the novel Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Originally Fox  ordered a television pilot based on Delirium, although Fox later declined to pick up the pilot. Finally the pilot episode was picked up by Hulu and is now available to stream for a limited time. 

In a not-so-distant future, love is a disease that the government eliminates by forcing all citizens to get the Cure when they’re eighteen. Shortly before Lena Holoway’s scheduled procedure she does something dangerous: she meets Alex and falls in love. 

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Spoilers Ahead:

 As excited as I was to hear that the pilot was picked up, watching it was a major let down. Reading all the reviews on Hulu I only agreed with one, and it was the one person who didn't like it. I think this would have been great if they had adapted the book into a movie not a TV show. It's tricky enough creating a movie plot let alone a full TV show without making drastic changes. Although the only major change made was that Julian became Hana's love interest and not Lana's the major problem I had was if this was the true pilot to the show it was extremely rushed. It was the whole first book in 43 minutes, but it never when deeper. In the movie Lana and Alex met a few times and suddenly they were in love. To me the importance of the novel was about choosing your own path and not allowing the government or other people telling you what your destination and future should be. The pilot skipped over all the meaningful bits of the trilogy put all the major points together. Although it was a good idea to adapt Delirium it was poorly done and I understand why Fox did not pick up the pilot as well as why the show will not continue. 

A.B.

Bones Season 9 Finale

 

I don't really like cop shows or shows about murders I'm more of a romance comedy and drama type a girl, but going against all my norms Bones falls into my top 5 TV shows. It's full of serious story lines with a great amount of dry humor. Why am I watching the 9th season so late? Because I watched all 8 seasons on Netflix over Christmas break so when I finally caught up the 9th season was already in full swing on Fox.  But not to worry I'm all caught up and thanks to HuluPlus. So here we go, Bones season 9

I'm speechless. Words do not explain how amazing the season finale was, I'm talking better then the Grey's plane crash  (Grey's Anatomy, season 8), the attempted murder of Dan Scott, Hailey's return and Peyton's surprising second mom (One Tree Hill, season 2), the death of Marissa Cooper (The OC, season 3), even better then when Olivia fly's away with Jake the death of Fitz's son and Olivia's dad's master plan is revealed. Seriously this was the best season finale of any show I've ever watched! 

Anxiety inducing would be the best way to describe it. The team attempts to unravel a conspiracy, trusting no one, they considered everyone outside their inner circle a threat while Booth purses his high-profile promotion with the FBI. In the end a friend turns out to be a foe, putting Booth and Bones in grave danger. As trained killers tracking him down, Booth sets up a Home Alone style defense against the Delta Force team who is after him. Booth takes the men down with the help from Bones and is rushed to the hospital. In the end we see that Booth is out of danger - for now - but he was last seen handcuffed to his hospital bed for killing the Delta Force team, while Bones is cuffed when she rushes into see Booth. 


I cannot wait for season 10 to get here already, the possibilities are endless! I do have a few hopes for the coming season. 

1. Bones and Booth don't go to jail/get out of jail/aren't in trouble/don't die - OBVIOUSLY
2. Wendell beats his cancer - seriously why must my favorite Squint-tern have cancer
3. Jessica Warren never comes back - I know she'll end up being Sweet's new love interest but man she's annoying.

A.B.

Book Review 

Promise Me Darkness by Paige Waver

 

So I know it's been a while but it's been a pretty hectic summer so fair, but no worries I'm back. For my first post after my writing hiatus let's talk about Promise Me Darkness by Paige Waver.

  

"He was my darkness and I was his light. We couldn't exist without each other."

For me, life was simple. I went to school and studied. I spent time with my friends and stayed out of trouble. I didn't drink or swear and I only dated gentlemen. I was the typical good girl with a bright future. My world seemed perfect. 

But that was about to change. 

Ryder Delaney was the one imperfection in my life. He was the bad boy, the black sheep, the one your always warned you about. He had only one hard-and-fast rule- Don't fall in love. 

But some rules were meant to be broken. 

We were best friends inseparable since childhood despite our differences. I knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew all my secrets and dreams. But he didn't know there was one thing I wanted and couldn't have.....him. But sometimes Fate has a way of intervening. Soon our world collapsed. War Erupted. Darkness prevailed. Alone and on the run, our only goal was to survive and to ignore the feelings we had for each other. But love is powerful.....

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So when I read the description of this book I didn't take the whole "our world collapsed" thing seriously I took it more as an over exaggeration of Maddie's emotional hardships in relation to her bad boy best friend she is secretly in love with. In reality the United States collapses and Maddie and Ryder are really fighting to stay alive. Although I rather enjoyed the twist of America being on the verge of a war with a terrorist country, I found that Ryder's continuous opposition and resistance to his as well as Maddie's feelings annoying. They were together and yet they fought their feelings until the end. Personally the whole plot twist of one character fighting their feelings and pushing the object of their affection away is rather over used. What is interesting about this novel is the fight and struggle Maddie, Ryder as well as their family and friends go through to survive under a terrorist attack. This book may not be in my top 20 favorite books of all time, it was an enjoyable read.

A.B.