Review time
I have been meaning to do an update for at least two weeks, but it's never quite happened and then when it did, I managed to delete everything I'd said. I wasn't best pleased, I can tell you.
So, despite my total lack of any kind of reviews, I have been reading books recently.
Oh, and spoilers under the cuts, in case it wasn't obvious.
It took me a bit of time to get into the book but once I did, I blasted through it.
I am, of course, terribly curious about who killed the queen. I'm 99.9% sure Victor and his brother are involved, although I greatly doubt that Victor actually killed her.
I was pleasently surprised that the whole Dimitri thing was resolved by half way through the book. I was half scared that reverting Dimitri back to his old self was going to take at least another book.
Dimitri telling Rose he can never love again? I call bullshit. Because he obviously feels just a little guilty and feels he doesn't deserve Rose and is trying to protect her.
I kind of love Adrian now, I mean, I had always liked him but now? He's kind of wonderful and has hidden depths (obviously) and I don't want Rose to break his heart. But, at the same time, I adore Dimitri. I'm very much torn and Richelle Mead better have a plan to make everyone happy.
Also? Abe rocks. He is the only reason I'm not terrified that rose is going to die.
And after what was leant in Vegas, who didn't guess that Lissa's dad had had a mistress tucked away somewhere?
Can't wait for the next book.
I loved this book SO much.
So often in books and movies, when a bad guy (or woman) is constantly hyped as an impossible foe to defeat the eventual fight is so anti-climatical it's not even funny. This time, that didn't happen.
Every fight Kate had with her aunt there was tension and you really wondered how she was going to get away, survive and keep her friends alive. I just hope that the fights with Hugh and Roland are as well written and engaging to read (I don't know that there are going to be fights, I'm just assuming).
I was delighted that Kate not only told Andrea and Curran about her past but let them decide if they were going to stand by her or not. I mean, it was obvious that they were always going to, but good that she let them make the decision.
Finding out about Curran was awesome and kind of heartbreaking.
I was SO glad that her and Curran were able to sort things out eventually although I can't imagine it will get any easier, just different.
Andrea and Raphael's distasterous date was hilarious. I kind of hope they sort things out between them. I get why Raphael was pissed with Andrea but I also get her point that attitudes will only change if there are people there to change them. I also liked that she trusted Kate to go and save her people when she couldn't.
Jim was brilliant. I kind of love him. I think he spends a lot of his time wondering whether to laugh or despair at the antics of Curran and Kate.
There wasn't enough Derek but he did get some killer lines. Julie reading to Curran was adorable.
Can't wait for the next book.
After all the insanity of the last book, this was a nice change of pace.
Sookie is still recovering from what happened to her and it's great to see someone having to take time to recover instead of being better within a few days.
Pam is awesome. I love her reactions to everything Sookie/Eric based.
Claude moving in was kind of adorable. As was his attempts to be more human, or at least to give a bit of a crap. It was so obvious that he moved in to protect Sookie but I really liked him for it. The end with Martin was also pretty cool and I can't wait to see how that all pans out in the next book.
Am I the only one who gets really annoyed - and thrown out of the book - whenever Eric calls Sookie 'my lover'? I've always found it annoying and not all that believable, but in this book it irked me more than usual.
Jason being all mature and looking to sort out his relationship with Sookie is awesome.
Yay that Bill got someone and might now get over Sookie because that was getting really, really old.
Those werewolves are kind of pesky, aren't they?
Can't wait until the next book, whenever that is.
Out of the two, I definitely preferred Angel's Blood.
There were parts of Archangel's Kiss that I loved, but other aspects of the story were far to rushed.
Everything about Elena learning to be an Angel was awesome and interesting and fun. The murder's were curious and seemed to be building to something, but then were resolved very quickly, with no real pay off and in the middle of another storyline, itself horribly rushed.
By the time I was more than half way through I thought the Ball would be in the next book. I thought there was far too much that would have to be discovered there for it to make it into Archangel's Kiss, but I was wrong.
And really, it should have had a book all to itself. Having Elena learning to be an Angel, the murders around the Sanctuary and stressing about the Ball all resolved in one book was way too much.
This was definitely one of those books that set up a lot of cool ideas but then didn't follow through on two of them.
And I was very upset when Dimitri disappeared half way through the book. He's all kinds of awesome.
This is awesome fun. Alexis is a wonderful character. There are so many moments where I was laughing so very hard.
I am enjoying this series of books. The second one is better than the first and reading all about the Barrani was really interesting.
I like a good number of the supporting cast and enjoy Kaylin's interaction with them far more than I do her time with Severn, who I really don't like. I have to admit though, I think that's because the author hasn't given me any reason to like him. Also, I'm worried that he'll end up being the predictable love interest, while I'd frankly prefer her to be with pretty much anyone else. Even Nightshade.
Now on to TV
I'd just like to say that season 4 of Burn Notice has started back. YAY! I'll be watching that tonight.
True Blood starts on the 13th June, to which all I can say is thank god! It's been an age.
Again, spoilers...
Random thoughts, really:-
1) Penny and Leonard broke up! YAY! That got boring really quickly. Although Penny complaining to Leonard that thanks to him she now cares if the guys she sees are stupid or not, was hilarious.
2) The 'Penny and Leonard divorce' epiosde laid it on a bit thick, I think. We get it. Sheldon hates change, hates people arguing and doesn't want to chose between Leonard and Penny. But really, did you have to go as far as you did?
3) The manner in which Leonard came to live with Sheldon was hilarious. I LOVED the Simpsons reference (Die, Sheldon, Die).
4) OMG! Sheldon saved Leonard's life.
5) I love how they finally explained how the lift was put out of action.
6) Howard's 'What have we done?' was hilarious and brilliant and excepting any ComicCon or Star Trek lines, has got to be my favourite line of the series. The amount of horror he injects into it is perfect.
I can't wait for the next series. I kind of hope they keep Sheldon's not-girlfriend around for a bit.
I think it sucked for the writers having to do a mini arc in just six episodes. I think a lot of what happened - the intersect going funny in Chuck's brain and Ellie being kind of recruited, in particular - would have benefited from having a longer fun to explore things.
I like that Sarah and Chuck's relationship seems to be stable for the most part. I kind of hated the will they/won't they of the previous two and a hlaf seasons so if they could keep going in that direction, that would be great. I really don't want Chuck and Sarah to break up or anything. That would be SO irritating - but also hilarious to see the shippers go mental. In fact, it could be worth it just to see that.
01) I knew that the Ring would go after Eliie since she was the only one left to get at.
02) Devon being so relieved that Ellie knew and then discovering she didn't know was hilarious and about what I'd expect from Awesome.
03) Morgan dismissing Anna was kind of great.
04) Lester and Jeff being on the run is kind of hilarious.
05) Casey going to the cafe that Alex worked at is all kinds of adorable and a character detail I loved.
06) Morgan standing up for Casey was just so Morgan. I kind of love him.
07) I love Chuck's dad and I cried SO much when he died. Both for Chuck and for Ellie. Although you knew he was going to die when he promised Ellie that that was going to be the last time he ever walked away from her.
08) OF COURSE Stephen would have made something that would sort out Chuck's intersect problem. He's just that kind of dad *g*
09) After Ellie made Chuck promise to leave the spy business, and his dad puts him right back in it, I hope this time he's more honest with Ellie from the start. This is her mum, too, afterall.
10) I hope all the rumours of Mary McDonnell being Chuck's mum are true because that would be too awesome to be true.
11) Shaw coming back wasn't really a surprise. As Morgan said, 'if you didn't see the body...'
Roll on ComicCon and the beginning of Season 4
I'm really not sure about this.
On the one hand, Bradley Whitford is awesome and I love him. Colin Hanks isn't at all bad.
On the other, the story just didn't engage me.
I did like the 80s ending, though, with Bradley Whitford holding the girl, the bad guy banged up in the car and Colin Hanks in the backseat looking relieved.
I just got season 2 of Psych on DVD. The photo on the front looks nothing like Shawn. Nothing. It's really kind of creepy.
So, despite my total lack of any kind of reviews, I have been reading books recently.
Oh, and spoilers under the cuts, in case it wasn't obvious.
It took me a bit of time to get into the book but once I did, I blasted through it.
I am, of course, terribly curious about who killed the queen. I'm 99.9% sure Victor and his brother are involved, although I greatly doubt that Victor actually killed her.
I was pleasently surprised that the whole Dimitri thing was resolved by half way through the book. I was half scared that reverting Dimitri back to his old self was going to take at least another book.
Dimitri telling Rose he can never love again? I call bullshit. Because he obviously feels just a little guilty and feels he doesn't deserve Rose and is trying to protect her.
I kind of love Adrian now, I mean, I had always liked him but now? He's kind of wonderful and has hidden depths (obviously) and I don't want Rose to break his heart. But, at the same time, I adore Dimitri. I'm very much torn and Richelle Mead better have a plan to make everyone happy.
Also? Abe rocks. He is the only reason I'm not terrified that rose is going to die.
And after what was leant in Vegas, who didn't guess that Lissa's dad had had a mistress tucked away somewhere?
Can't wait for the next book.
I loved this book SO much.
So often in books and movies, when a bad guy (or woman) is constantly hyped as an impossible foe to defeat the eventual fight is so anti-climatical it's not even funny. This time, that didn't happen.
Every fight Kate had with her aunt there was tension and you really wondered how she was going to get away, survive and keep her friends alive. I just hope that the fights with Hugh and Roland are as well written and engaging to read (I don't know that there are going to be fights, I'm just assuming).
I was delighted that Kate not only told Andrea and Curran about her past but let them decide if they were going to stand by her or not. I mean, it was obvious that they were always going to, but good that she let them make the decision.
Finding out about Curran was awesome and kind of heartbreaking.
I was SO glad that her and Curran were able to sort things out eventually although I can't imagine it will get any easier, just different.
Andrea and Raphael's distasterous date was hilarious. I kind of hope they sort things out between them. I get why Raphael was pissed with Andrea but I also get her point that attitudes will only change if there are people there to change them. I also liked that she trusted Kate to go and save her people when she couldn't.
Jim was brilliant. I kind of love him. I think he spends a lot of his time wondering whether to laugh or despair at the antics of Curran and Kate.
There wasn't enough Derek but he did get some killer lines. Julie reading to Curran was adorable.
Can't wait for the next book.
After all the insanity of the last book, this was a nice change of pace.
Sookie is still recovering from what happened to her and it's great to see someone having to take time to recover instead of being better within a few days.
Pam is awesome. I love her reactions to everything Sookie/Eric based.
Claude moving in was kind of adorable. As was his attempts to be more human, or at least to give a bit of a crap. It was so obvious that he moved in to protect Sookie but I really liked him for it. The end with Martin was also pretty cool and I can't wait to see how that all pans out in the next book.
Am I the only one who gets really annoyed - and thrown out of the book - whenever Eric calls Sookie 'my lover'? I've always found it annoying and not all that believable, but in this book it irked me more than usual.
Jason being all mature and looking to sort out his relationship with Sookie is awesome.
Yay that Bill got someone and might now get over Sookie because that was getting really, really old.
Those werewolves are kind of pesky, aren't they?
Can't wait until the next book, whenever that is.
Out of the two, I definitely preferred Angel's Blood.
There were parts of Archangel's Kiss that I loved, but other aspects of the story were far to rushed.
Everything about Elena learning to be an Angel was awesome and interesting and fun. The murder's were curious and seemed to be building to something, but then were resolved very quickly, with no real pay off and in the middle of another storyline, itself horribly rushed.
By the time I was more than half way through I thought the Ball would be in the next book. I thought there was far too much that would have to be discovered there for it to make it into Archangel's Kiss, but I was wrong.
And really, it should have had a book all to itself. Having Elena learning to be an Angel, the murders around the Sanctuary and stressing about the Ball all resolved in one book was way too much.
This was definitely one of those books that set up a lot of cool ideas but then didn't follow through on two of them.
And I was very upset when Dimitri disappeared half way through the book. He's all kinds of awesome.
This is awesome fun. Alexis is a wonderful character. There are so many moments where I was laughing so very hard.
I am enjoying this series of books. The second one is better than the first and reading all about the Barrani was really interesting.
I like a good number of the supporting cast and enjoy Kaylin's interaction with them far more than I do her time with Severn, who I really don't like. I have to admit though, I think that's because the author hasn't given me any reason to like him. Also, I'm worried that he'll end up being the predictable love interest, while I'd frankly prefer her to be with pretty much anyone else. Even Nightshade.
Now on to TV
I'd just like to say that season 4 of Burn Notice has started back. YAY! I'll be watching that tonight.
True Blood starts on the 13th June, to which all I can say is thank god! It's been an age.
Again, spoilers...
Random thoughts, really:-
1) Penny and Leonard broke up! YAY! That got boring really quickly. Although Penny complaining to Leonard that thanks to him she now cares if the guys she sees are stupid or not, was hilarious.
2) The 'Penny and Leonard divorce' epiosde laid it on a bit thick, I think. We get it. Sheldon hates change, hates people arguing and doesn't want to chose between Leonard and Penny. But really, did you have to go as far as you did?
3) The manner in which Leonard came to live with Sheldon was hilarious. I LOVED the Simpsons reference (Die, Sheldon, Die).
4) OMG! Sheldon saved Leonard's life.
5) I love how they finally explained how the lift was put out of action.
6) Howard's 'What have we done?' was hilarious and brilliant and excepting any ComicCon or Star Trek lines, has got to be my favourite line of the series. The amount of horror he injects into it is perfect.
I can't wait for the next series. I kind of hope they keep Sheldon's not-girlfriend around for a bit.
I think it sucked for the writers having to do a mini arc in just six episodes. I think a lot of what happened - the intersect going funny in Chuck's brain and Ellie being kind of recruited, in particular - would have benefited from having a longer fun to explore things.
I like that Sarah and Chuck's relationship seems to be stable for the most part. I kind of hated the will they/won't they of the previous two and a hlaf seasons so if they could keep going in that direction, that would be great. I really don't want Chuck and Sarah to break up or anything. That would be SO irritating - but also hilarious to see the shippers go mental. In fact, it could be worth it just to see that.
01) I knew that the Ring would go after Eliie since she was the only one left to get at.
02) Devon being so relieved that Ellie knew and then discovering she didn't know was hilarious and about what I'd expect from Awesome.
03) Morgan dismissing Anna was kind of great.
04) Lester and Jeff being on the run is kind of hilarious.
05) Casey going to the cafe that Alex worked at is all kinds of adorable and a character detail I loved.
06) Morgan standing up for Casey was just so Morgan. I kind of love him.
07) I love Chuck's dad and I cried SO much when he died. Both for Chuck and for Ellie. Although you knew he was going to die when he promised Ellie that that was going to be the last time he ever walked away from her.
08) OF COURSE Stephen would have made something that would sort out Chuck's intersect problem. He's just that kind of dad *g*
09) After Ellie made Chuck promise to leave the spy business, and his dad puts him right back in it, I hope this time he's more honest with Ellie from the start. This is her mum, too, afterall.
10) I hope all the rumours of Mary McDonnell being Chuck's mum are true because that would be too awesome to be true.
11) Shaw coming back wasn't really a surprise. As Morgan said, 'if you didn't see the body...'
Roll on ComicCon and the beginning of Season 4
I'm really not sure about this.
On the one hand, Bradley Whitford is awesome and I love him. Colin Hanks isn't at all bad.
On the other, the story just didn't engage me.
I did like the 80s ending, though, with Bradley Whitford holding the girl, the bad guy banged up in the car and Colin Hanks in the backseat looking relieved.
I just got season 2 of Psych on DVD. The photo on the front looks nothing like Shawn. Nothing. It's really kind of creepy.