Reign-- For King and Country

Image from the CW

After tonight’s episode, I had to write down a few thoughts!

Things have changed completely! Like, the whole show—changed! …I’m not sure I like it yet.

Bash and Mary were quickly found and brought back to the palace. Mary ultimatums (yes, that word is now a verb. Deal with it.) the king—To save Francis, she wants Bash legitimized, and she’ll marry him instead of Francis. Um, o…kay? Why is that good, exactly? Francis is a whiny, weak little boy. The only thing he had going for him was that he was going to be king one day. Hell, even Henry mentions how weak Frankie is! So, without the throne, without Mary…what’s going to happen to him?!

The king agrees (wat? He does? Why?), and Bash will be the new king after Henry dies. Henry is preeeetty pissed at Catherine, and he wants to kill her. Instead, he banishes her to a convent…But wait! At the very last second, he decides against that and keeps her around. He wants to keep an eye on her. Which is good, because I was FREAKING OUT. I mean, Megan Follows (and Bash’s eyes. Oh, and kitchen-boy…where the hell IS kitchen-boy anyway?!) is the BEST thing about this show, and I was seriously about to give up on it without her!

Oh, and THEN crazy bag-lady freaking STABS Nossie in the neck, yo! WHAT THE HELL, DUDE?! So…is he gonna die?!

But my question is—

When the hell is Mary going to tell Bash—the future king and her new fiancé!—that she’s not a virgin?! I mean, that was NOT cool back in the day, right?! 

And lastly, WHERE THE HELL IS KITCHEN BOY?!
Oh, and poor Frankie, right? Yeah, I feel for him. But I’m Team Bash all the way. ;)

It's COLD! Here's a Simon & Schuster giveaway to warm you up!

Seriously, what better way to warm up then to win all of these goodies from my pals at S&S?!

Enter at www.staywarmbooks.ca for your chance to win everything you see in the pic above, and more!

...now get out of my way. I'm entering this puppy FIRST! ;)

Good luck, everyone!

YA Book Review: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Paperback
356 pages
Expected Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Internment Chronicles, Book 1
HUGE thank you to S&S Canada for sending me this book to review!

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil. Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

This book was my introduction to Lauren DeStefano. I have the Chemical Garden Trilogy sitting right over there on my shelf, but I haven't read it yet.

After reading Perfect Ruin, that trilogy will be moved waaaaaay up in my TBR pile.

This book was AMAZING.

You know when you read a book, and the plot just makes you go, 'WHERE DID THIS EVEN COME FROM IN SOMEONE'S BRAIN?!'? Like The Hunger Games or Harry Potter or the Uglies series? Where the author just blows your mind because you have no idea how someone could be so brilliant and have an imagination so wild that it thinks up the most wonderful things?

Yeah, THAT'S what this book is.

Hundreds of years ago (probably), a huge chunk of the earth is somehow taken from the ground and put up into the sky. Way up, like, miles and miles and miles. And it just kind of...hangs there.

The people who live on the earth have no contact with the people who live in the sky--which is called Internment.

The people who live on Internment pretty much believe that their 'sky God' is responsible for everything that happens in their lives. 

But some question that, and some feel like they want more out of life. Some even try to go to the edge--something that is strictly forbidden--and see the ground for themselves. And sometimes those people even try to jump off.

Perfect Ruin is the story of Morgan, who's brother was one of those jumpers.

Morgan is a normal girl on Internment, with normal friends and a normal boyfriend--her betrothed, because the people of Internment can't choose who they want to marry.

But Morgan, like her brother, wants more. 

And so the story begins.

I really enjoyed the romance in this book. It's not shoved in your face with constant make-out sessions.

It's subtle and sweet and just really normal. 

I loved pretty much every character, with the exception of Royals--who we're supposed to hate--and Thomas, but I think even he will grow on my throughout the series.

Pen, Morgan and Basil are particularly easy to relate to.

I'd definitely recommend this book to all kids 12 and up, and to their parents. 

It's definitely a great book to read together and discuss.

The only downside? 

Now I have to wait until 2015 for book two! [Vader]NOOOOOOOOOOO![/Vader]

What Am I Watching? Fall 2013

Better late than never!

Here's what I'm watching this season!

New Shows:

Sleepy Hollow

Agents of Shield

The Crazy Ones

The Originals

The Tomorrow People

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

Reign

Dracula

Almost Human

The Michael J Fox Show

The Blacklist

Hostages

Returning Shows:

American Horror Story
Arrow
Beauty and the Beast
Bones
Castle
Grey's Anatomy
Homeland*
Glee*
Nashville
New Girl
Once Upon A Time
Sons of Anarchy
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
The Walking Dead

Dropped Shows:

Chicago Fire
Elementary
Revolution
Grimm
Person Of Interest

(* I'm a few seasons behind and plan to watch live if/when I can catch up)

Shows That Will Be Cancelled First:

Dads
The Goldbergs
Lucky 7
Sean Saves the World
Trophy Wife

And there it is!
Of course, many of these shows will be PVRed to watch when I'm able, and I'll have to catch others On Demand because tons of shows conflict for me this year (Thursdays are insane!).

So what are YOU watching this season?!

Book Review: HERO is a Four Letter Word by J.M. Frey

eARC

Expected Release Date: Sept. 23, 2013

Publisher: Fast Foreward

Author: J.M. Frey

Big thanks to JM for providing this book for review!

Good and Evil. Two sides of the same coin? Or something less defined, something more liminal? Entertaining and always thought-provoking, author J.M. Frey offers three remarkable stories that explore the grey area of the hero/villain dichotomy in this debut short story collection. Funny and irreverent, "The Once And Now-ish King" finds King Arthur reborn. "Just A Four Letter Word" follows Jennet, descendant of mythic lovers. In "The Maddening Science", a former supervillain is forced to return to a life of crime to save his stalker. Heroes. Villains. Monsters. Fairy Tales. Myths. Legends. Who is the good guy, who the bad, and who gets to decide which is which? After all, 'hero' is just another four letter word.

JM has done it again, you guys! This is such a fun book!

First, lets look at that cover. LOVE, right?! It's so great!

HERO is a Four Letter Word is a collection of three short stories.

In the first story--which is the weakest of the three--King Arthur is reborn. 

I can't say much without spoiling it, but this one was a bit too weird, even for me. It was amusing, yes...but just a bit too odd and out-there. 

The second story was right up my alley, and very familiar.

You ST:TNG fans will remember the episode where Dr. Crusher's Grandmother dies, right?

This story was so similar to that episode...but it had fae! I love me some fae. ;)

The third story was definitely my favourite.

Being a former City of Heroes player--a superhero MMO that shut down just about a year ago now (and that I will miss until the day I die), this one hit close to home.

It's about a former supervillain, who is doing his best to try to live a normal life,  who unknowingly meets his stalker and saves her life.

HERO is a short book that makes a great afternoon read. I definitely recommend it to you grownups who enjoy genre or romance.

Hello, New Doctor

So the internet exploded today with the announcement that Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor.
And then my inbox exploded with people who wanted to know what I think of the choice.

First, I love you guys. I really do. I'm seriously honoured that you even bother to ask me my thoughts. You have no idea how flattering that is. ♥

Secondly, I find that I'm having a very hard time putting my thoughts into words, but I'm going to try.

We've seen Mr. Capaldi's work in previous Doctor Who timelines. He was brilliant in both Fores of Pompeii and Torchwood: Children of Earth.
He was also recently seen in World War Z.
He's much more high profile that previous Doctors, and I'm okay with that.

I'm very happy that he's older, and I'm very happy that there will be no more potential romance with Clara.
I'm rather hoping that the next companion is an older woman or a man of any age.
I'd love to see the Doctor have a best friend again. I miss Donna and Amy in that regard.

I also like his face. Yes, that matters to me. Sorry.
He's handsome in an awkward way. Perfect for the Doctor, in my opinion.

Now, here's what worries me--
Can he bring the humour and fun to the role that both David and Matt has for the last 6 seasons?
Yes, I love it when the Doctor goes dark, and Peter will be amazing in those situations...but what about the childish fun? That sense of wonder that surrounds the Doctor?
I truly, truly hope that Mr. Moffat keeps that part of the Doctor's personality, and that Mr. Capaldi can play it as well as his two previous successors have.

It helps to know that he's been a big fan his whole life. We know the last huge fan turned out to be wonderful--David Tennant.

So, colour me optimistic, but cautious.
Like Matt, Peter will have to make me love him. Unlike David, it's not going to happen right off the bat.

I am very excited to see what he can bring to the role. He will be an amazing Doctor, regardless.

And that's how I feel about Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. :)

Goodbye, My Doctor...

"Watch The Eleventh Hour", my brother said...And that's how it all began.

I watched and fell in love with Matt Smith and with the Doctor.
Sure, I used to watch as a kid, when it aired on TVO and starred Tom Baker, then Peter Davison...But I wasn't a 'fan'. I only watched because it was the only thing on TV. And because my dad watched.

The Eleventh Hour, with it's flashes of previous Doctors, Matt Smith's brilliant acting and the fiesty and wonderful Amy Pond, made me go back to 'Rose'.
Back to where it all began...again.
"Run."
And I didn't love it.
Honestly, I hated Chris Eccleston. But I made myself keep watching.
And then came, 'The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances', and, oh, did I fall head over heels for that wonderful, fantastic man. THAT was when Eccles shone and I finally, FINALLY understood him.

Then came Tennant. Oh, my beloved David Tennant.
And with him came 'The Girl in the Fireplace', 'Doomsday', 'Blink', 'Turn Left', 'Midnight' and 'The End of Time'.
Wilf and Donna...My dearest Donna, my favourite of all the companions
And tears. So many tears! 'I don't want to go...'

And I was back to Matt. But this time, with more knowledge.
I thought I was ready.
Then he threw 'Vincent and the Doctor' at me...and I realized that I was so not ready.
The feels that man made me feel. My favourite of all the episodes.

This will be the first time I watch a Doctor regenerate with the rest of the world.
And I'm still not ready.
Baker was my first Doctor. Tennant is the Doctor who has my heart....but Matt is MY Doctor.
It all started with him....

Goodbye, my Doctor...