The Selection Series - A Rant

*includes spoilers*

OH MY GOD.

I just finished the series (except for the heir, but I'll get to that soon). This was just a journey. So many things happened, and so fast too. I mean, the whole Maxton finding out about Aspen like that was just….woah. AND AMERICA'S DAD DYING? AND THE QUEEN? that broke my heart. BASICALLY EVERY MAXTON AND AMERICA MOMENT EVER.

I've heard about this series for a few years now, and at first, I was indifferent because YA romance novels am I right? But if you're considering reading this series, DO IT.

First of all, it's an adorable romance, but it's also so much more than that. The bonds that form between the girls selected for The Selection are absolutely precious. As well as the friendship between America and her maids. And let's not forget America's lovely family (except for Kota, we don't like him). May and her dad were two of the best side characters in the entire series, I love them. Also, AMERICA SINGER. She does some pretty stupid things and gets into so much trouble, but I cannot find it in myself to be mad or hate her for it. You know why? She's so true to her morals, no matter the consequences. I am still not over the prison scene and I never will be. I love her for that Yeah, basically, I am in love with this series and definitely recommend it.

(p.s. the acknowledgments and author dedications alone are so worth reading the books for)

But like, seriously, this is one heck of a series and I do not regret reading it instead of finishing my assignments like I was supposed to.

"The Selection Review"

It'd say it was a 3.5 out of 5

It was a pretty nice book.

Classic friends to lovers with plenty of banter and cute moments. Also, I liked how the friendships were presented, with the obvious tension due to competition, but overall healthy friendships with people not being too shitty.

There's nothing about this that makes me go "oh my god I love this" but at the same time it's not like "wow, this boring af."

It's more of a comfort book tbh. Especially if you're a romance reader, the tropes and cliches are ones that you're most likely very familiar with, making it an easy read, but at the same time still making things interesting.

*spoiler alert*

One part I didn't like too much was the end when America just kinda accepts Aspen. Like he broke your heart after promising to stay with you, and over something as stupid as not being able to spoil you, and you're just gonna let him walk back into your life and kiss you like nothing happened? Damn, have some respect for yourself

I need to know why we're all not having a collective breakdown over Scrat's death

Update

So.....

I've been gone for a while, but I am back and I have lots of things to cover.

For books, I've recently finished reading The Glass Queen, which I loved and will post a review for. Currently, I'm reading Along for the Ride and The Night Circus.

As for the movies/tv shows, I've been watching the Moon Knight and Bridgerton (I know I'm late to it but better late than never right?). I'll start updating on that.

I have also gotten into Anime again, so look out for posts related to that as well.

Um, finally, there's going to be a lot of comebacks soon. I'll be focusing on the Le Sserafim debut as well as the TXT and BTS comebacks if you're interested.

Update - Paper Towns

WARNING: Spoilers

I'll just give a quick summary of my thoughts on the book so far, so bear with me.

So. At first, I hated Margo.

She seemed extremely ignorant and was so......quirky in an annoying way.

Then...we got deeper into the story and my view on things completely changed. From the clues she left behind, she felt more real, she was no longer some amazing being, but just another human.

And honestly, I kinda saw the reason behind those clues. She was known to everyone as this fearless girl, someone who did all those amazing things, someone who didn't....care in a way, idk how else to explain it.

But maybe she also wanted to be treated as another person, someone who wasn't just adventures, fun and carelessness.

I liked that.

....

Then Quentin became annoying.

I fail to understand how Quentin, after realizing that there's more to people than what you see in them, gets annoyed with Ben for not caring as much as he does about Margo going missing.

Like, dude, if some random girl who wasn't Margo went missing, you wouldn't care either. Ben and Margo have no relation, at all (unless my memory decided to forget an important detail).

So why would Ben be concerned about Margo, who to him, is just another girl? It's so frustrating to read Quentin get annoyed with Ben, and even have a fight on the matter.

Also, I stupidly read the ending of the book, like the last 3 pages or smth, so now I know how it ends and I am very happy.

It's bittersweet, definitely, but I think it gives us closure.

Update - Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine

Things are getting interesting. I haven't made a lot of progress yet because I'm reading like *3 books at the same time, but I really wanna know more about Eleanor's 'mommy.'

At first, when she was mentioned, I thought she was dead and someone who was close to the MC.

Then, recently, I found out that she's not dead, and that she scares the MC, even though the MC goes by her words.

This makes everything so much more interesting.

*The other two books are 'City of Ashes' and 'Paper Towns', lemme know if you want updates for them

P.S. I started watching 'How I met your mother' so lemme know if you're interested in that as well

New Book

Don't you love it when you borrow 3 books you plan to read, and then go browse the library, only to impulsively borrow another book that'll probably take up all your attention?

This is the new book I'm reading. Quite exciting, because we all love reading about women whose lives are falling apart *cough*the midnight library*cough*

If you've read this book, lemme know how you liked it. If you haven't, feel free to find it and read along with me. I'll be dropping updates for this book, so look forward to that.

Updates

Um, so I know I haven't been that active, so sorry about that. I did watch Spiderman, but I think I'll skip that one. The next review will probably be My ID is Gangnam Beauty or a random movie I decide to watch.

For show updates, I'll probably start Hawkeye again, and the same with anime cause I need to finish that.

For books, I'm currently reading book 1 of the PJO series, as well as Paper Towns and a Charles Dickens book which I do not remember the name of.

There have been no new comebacks, so not much there.

Lastly, if there's a book/show/movie you'd like me to mention, lemme know.

P.S. Happy Valentines Day!

Rant 2 - My Roommate Is A Gumiho

Since I'm exhausted from school, instead of a review, imma just rant and talk about the bits I liked/disliked. As a rant, it's expected to have spoilers, so if you are reading this before you've finished the show, you have been warned, though I'll happily give out spoilers for those who are looking for some.

Firstly, Gye Seon Woo and Lee Dam are OTP

I'm so invested in them it's worrying, they're chemistry and Seon Woo's character development just makes them amazing

*Not me spending three days straight making an edit of them because I needed ship content*

I mean, look at them!! They could have been so happy...

Also, can we talk about how Mr Gumiho was straight-up stalking her at one point in the show, as well being the reason she quit some of her classes, as well as not being honest with her, both about removing the bead and using other people?

The thing with him is that, he and Dam have great chemistry and were cute, will admit that, but...that's kinda it. There wasn't exactly any character development, and finding out that he knew how to remove the bead from the start just kinda...made it worse.

Also, the fact I did not emotionally connect with him at all. Like, no I don't care if he dies, the only thing I care about is the fact that Dam is gonna be hurt.

....

I think that's about it....of course, there's so much else, but I'll leave it here. To make it up to you, have some parts from the show.

Eternals Review

Warning: Spoilers

Plot:

Um, if I’m being honest, Eternals was not that good. Like, the plot was so boring. It was, a lot, especially for a movie, so the pacing didn’t sit right with me and there was nothing that made it worth my time. Good movies usually have that ‘wow factor,’ something, whether it be character dynamics, making the viewers emotionally invested in the story, or just the overall meaning or lesson, to name a few. This...had none of them. The character dynamics were boring, so I looked towards the plot and...it was just as bad, if not worse. Like I said, the plot was boring and there was NOTHING that made me even slightly invested in it.

Characters:

I’m very neutral towards the characters. They’re not bad but could have been better. I think the fact that there were so many characters was the problem. Okay, all of them had, and have so much potential. For example, Sprite. Her whole thing with liking Ikarus and wanting to know what it’s like to grow up was such a good way to make her three dimensional, but, it was introduced at like the middle, and wasn’t fully explored, just like every other character, which was a bit sad. They could have improved this by either only focusing on around 3 characters or just not having so many people. Like seriously, the whole, “we actually destroy planets and stuff” could have been such an important realisation if it wasn’t for so many people because we could have seen how it affected the one character the movie focused on, and it could have been anyone. Just imagine how strong of a moment that would be and how much it would connect with the viewers. I’m kinda sad that they missed those kinda opportunities.

We Need to Talk About This:

This is important. I think...adding Harry Styles and ‘Friends’ by Jimin ruined the movie. Lemme discuss the BTS part first. Imma be straightforward and say what I think. It was for clout. The reason is that it was played at the most random moment and did not fit the scene. Like, what was its purpose? Other than you know, attract ARMY because I was definitely excited and wanted to watch Eternals when I heard that a BTS song was going to be in it, so I assume that most ARMYs also felt the same way. I feel a similar way about Harry Styles, I think, one of the reasons he’s in the movie is because it’ll make Directioners want to watch the movie. There may be other reasons for casting Harry Styles, but I am convinced that they added the BTS song for views and, let’s be honest, Harry Styles is just as popular, so it’s kinda hard to assume otherwise.

Overall Thoughts:

Overall, I have to say I’m disappointed. What else is there left to say? First *Hawkeye, and now Eternals? I really hope marvel stops making content like that because it’s just not the same level of entertaining. Yeah...that’s all I have to say.

*Before you come at me for Hawkeye, I haven’t finished, so if I do end up liking it, I’ll say that in the final review. Don’t tell me it’s good until I finish it please and thank you.

PJO birthdays

Happy birthday to Nico!!

It's finally happening!!

The Hawthorne Legacy Review

Warning: Contains spoilers

About the Book:

The book was released in 2021 and is written by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. ‘The Hawthorne Legacy’ is the second book in the series, ‘The Inheritance Games’ which is a trilogy. In this book, the plot mainly revolves around finding Toby Hawthorne, who is actually alive but believed to be dead. The book also goes into detail about how Avery, the main character, feels about two of the Hawthorne brothers, Grayson and Jameson.

Plot:

If you’ve been following my updates, you would already know how I feel about this book’s plot. For those of you who haven’t, or skipped to the review, I am disappointed, to say the least. I think most of it comes from my own expectations, to be honest. The first book was honestly amazing and just excelled at making me curious about the mystery while also adding some romance in the background to spice things up and add to the plot. While going into this book, I was expecting it to be of the same quality, or at least similar but that just kinda went out the window real fast. Um, this was mainly a romance more than anything. Like, more than 75% of the book was spent on Grayson, Avery and Jameson. It was painful and it was kinda boring at points. Sometimes I really just wanted Avery to take a moment, figure out who she wants to be with and stick to it. Honestly, it became annoying after a while. I think if this was a stand-alone romance/some sort of Cinderella story, I wouldn’t have been as harsh on it as I am. Hopefully, the last book turns out better and gives the series a good ending.

Characters:

I have so much to say that I have no clue where to start. Let’s start with Avery. I honestly don’t get her. She clearly likes Jameson, wants to mean something to him and cares about how he sees her, but then when Grayson comes around to help her, she’s suddenly like, ‘oh, I’m attracted to him and really wanna be with him but can’t.’ Someone explain because what? If she’s so attracted to Grayson, she should leave Jameson and date Grayson, but if she truly wants to mean more to Jameson, she should try and get over Grayson and set boundaries to avoid anything that might make it difficult for her to move on. What does she do? NEITHER. Did I miss something? Because she’s acting so idiotically about her love life it’s annoying. Next, we have Rebecca. She needs therapy. No, okay, listen. She was treated terribly by her entire family and because of that, she’s messed up now. I really don’t want to see her in the next book, because honestly, her presence feels so unnecessary and just overall ‘why-is-she-here-she-needs-help.’ Idk how else to word it. And Thea. While I do appreciate the LGBTQ+ representation, I kinda hate her. The person she loves (Rebecca) is clearly suffering, so you should probably help her by taking her to a psychologist, right? Apparently according to her, nope. Secondly, yeah, she loves Rebecca, but I question she’s a good person or not if she’s willing to throw out her morals for someone. To be frank, I do not like her. Thirdly, Libby. I’m in a bit of a grey area on her. Like, I ship her and Nash, but also, it feels like the author kinda wrecked her character. To be fair, I have barely any memory of her from book 1, but still, hear me out. I just don’t know what there is to her other than wanting to protect Avery and being too kind, sacrificing and trusting for her own good. Seriously, what is there? Because of that, her character feels so misplaced in a way. I think I’ll leave it here for the characters.

My Thoughts Overall:

Honestly, at this point, I’m just done. I have no idea what to expect from the next book and I’m clearly disappointed in this one, but I think I might have expressed that already. Um, to be honest, Max and Xander were really the only characters of this book I enjoyed reading about, everyone else was...no. As I said in one of my updates, things, other than the romance, were rushed quite a bit, so that kinda wrecked the book. Would I read it again? No, at least not unless I re-read the entire series. Would I recommend it? Depends. If the last book turns out good, then yes, I would encourage you to read it along with the other two books, but if it doesn’t, then honestly, I wouldn’t. So far, only the first book has been worth reading, at least if we’re talking about them as a series.

P.S. I've been running out of reading material lately, so let me know if there's a book or book series you'd like me to try/review.

Her Private Life Review

Warning: Spoilers for the show

Before we start, can I just say...this took a really long to finish, so forgive me if I mess stuff up in this review.

Plot

Okay. Firstly, can I just say, we need more male leads that don't have a traumatic childhood/have met the female lead when they were kids because

a) it's overused and

b) it ruins the story and the development of the characters relationship for me

Like, the story was initially about a curator who was also a fangirl. When the director at her art gallery changed, things happened which led them to fall in love. The plot then switched halfway to what happened to Ryan Gold (the director) as a child.

I loved the first part of the plot, but then...it became kind of bland for me, with the focus mainly being on the main lead’s childhood. BUT, I do find the plot twist they added (the female lead had a younger brother who died) interesting. It came out of nowhere, which made it a good plot twist, though it was introduced very late in the series (2nd last or last episode), so it wasn’t really explored or anything. Other than that, there wasn’t too much to the plot.

Characters

I really liked the two leads. One because of their chemistry and second because, and this is important. They had a really good relationship, like GOOD. In most dramas it’s either toxic, the couple doesn’t communicate, or something similar, but in this one, sure they started out not really liking each other, but still, whenever there was a problem, they talked it out and were really supportive. They are probably the best ship I’ve seen so far. Also, I really like the fact that the side characters are given a lot of attention too. They’re not just there for the plot. They have their own stories which we get to know about in quite a lot of detail, which makes it easier for more people to relate to the drama.

Overall

Overall, I think that the show did a really good job hooking me, but lost its appeal in the second half. As I said before, it doesn’t have anything that makes it amazing but it’s not bad. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a show that’s not overly complex, has quite a bit of comedy and uncomplicated relationships.

Eternals

I just finished watching Eternals, and whoever decided to add 'Friends' and Harry Styles to it needs to stop.

The Hawthorne Legacy Update 4

I really thought things couldn't get worse...

that is, until I found out that Avery is a Laughlin.

Just why? This is the second worse plot twist ever.

Also, can we talk about Grayson and Avery for a sec, because they have some Adrien Agreste level friendship there and it's getting annoying.

Also...I'm up to chapter 72 so far, and who decided it was a good idea to add so much romance and push the plot aside?

Now everything's gonna be rushed and I can already tell imma hate it.

Also, question. Would you like another update before I read chapter 90 or should I just finish the book and give the final review next?