Merry Christmas!

The Hunger Games: The Balled of Songbirds and Snakes

 Two things I never thought I would say about Coriolanus Snow:

1. He’s absolutely gorgeous (which has been well and truly established since the film came out) 

2. He cries all the time.

Over a decade since the release of The Hunger Games, the audience is transported back to Panem, 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as a tribute. This time the story is told from POV of Coriolanus Snow; and the first steps he took as a ambitious college student to becoming Panem's most notorious blood thirsty president. The book was published in 2020 and it's excellent. Needless to say I knew a film was going to be coming up in the near future and it did not disappoint.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Musical Aesthetics Answer - October

And the answer is...

Guess the Musical Aesthetics - October

Answer reveal on Saturday!

Happy guessing!

 

Currently: Summer 2023

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows

- St. Francis of Assisi 

Hello and I hope everyone had a fun and active summer! Mine sure was! This was a typical humid summer, but thankfully the days weren't consistently hot either. This summer was also very different for the sole reason that I spent it almost entirely with my boyfriend. Something I never thought would happen, but what a beautiful time it has been!

Coromoron Strike: The Running Grave

Book seven of the Cormoran Strike series arrived yesterday (the release day)! I started it and it's already intense! 

I should humorously add that the thickness of this book is roughly half an inch less that its predecessor. 

Previous Books:

The Cuckoo's Calling

The Silkworm

Career of Evil

Lethal White

Troubled Blood

The Ink Black Heart

 

A Fool For Good - A Study on Peregrin "Pippin" Took

If we are completely honest The Lord of The Rings is about the Hobbits. The story starts and ends with them and most of the story is from their POVs. Even though they are regarded as simple creatures, there is a great deal of depth and understanding that the four (five counting Bilbo) possess. There's Bilbo's character arc from a country bumpkin to a famed adventurer, Frodo's sacrifice, Sam's bravery and Merry's cleverness. 

And then there's Pippin, the youngest of the group (still a child by Hobbit standards), the clumsy, awkward one, who lives in everyone's shadow, who's always saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, never really knowing his place; and certainly getting into enough trouble to earn him him his nickname, "Fool of a Took," by Gandalf. What does this confused and often misunderstood character bring to the story?

A Tolkien Blog Party 2023 - Kick off Tag and Giveaway

 

A Tolkien Blog Party has officially arrived!!!

Musical Aesthetics Answer - September

The answer to September's Musical Aesthetic is...

Guess the Musical Aesthetics - September

🍁🍂This was a difficult one! 

And possibly the prettiest one I've made so far.

Answer reveal on Saturday!

Happy guessing🍂🍁

Goodreads Review: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

   

 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If Agatha Christie and Steven Moffat decided to have a literary baby together this novel would be the product. That's about the best description I can give. This book was both extremely creative and original; at the same time you feel that you're running a mental marathon in the dark. With a title like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle it's hard not to be curious as to what the content might be. How does one die 7 1/2 times?

Aiden Bishop wakes up one morning to find himself at Blackheath House with little to no memory of anything else. Even crazier is that Aiden is not in his own body and he will never be able to return to his former life until he uncovers the identity of the murderer of Evelyn Hardcastle. It is predicted that Evelyn will be killed every night for eight nights. Everyday is a race against the clock to track down Evelyn's murderer who is one of the many residents at Blackheath. All of them Aiden must inhabit to know their true intentions. Even if it means having to discover the absolute worse.

Think of The Murder on The Orient Express only Poirot has the POV of all of the suspects. I was intrigued from the very first page, but there was a great deal of back and forth going on as well. Just as you were getting somewhere with one person's story, time ran out and you were back to someone else. As the week progresses more of Aiden's past life is revealed and it only gets stranger and more unreal with each passing day.

As a whole I enjoyed the book. It definitely merits a re-read! It was unique in its telling and certainly had a wide variety of characters and personal stories. And if life inside of Blackheath was bizarre nothing can prepare you for the life outside of it.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

 

 

Even with the popularity of Bridgerton and the anticipation for season 3, I don't think anyone could have expected the absolute success of the prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story which centers on the young Queen Charlotte and her early marriage to King George III. When the show premiered on Netflix in early May it literally took the world by the storm. After viewing a few clips from the show, my mind was made up and I finally sat down and binge watched season one and season two of Bridgerton in one week!

A Tolkien Blog Party Announcement!

  

Rachel from The Edge of The Precipice has announced her annual 

Tolkien Blog Party!  

This blog party is so much fun and she has the best giveaways! Hop on over to her site for more information!

Musical Aesthetics Answer - August

The answer to August's Musical Aesthetics is...

Guess the Musical Aesthetics - August

Happy guessing! 

Answer reveal on Saturday!

 

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Katherine and Grace at The Maidens of Green Gables tagged me!

Thank you!

 

Musical Aesthetics Answer - July

 

 

I love making these, but this one was quite difficult!

 

The answer is...

 

Guess the Musical Aesthetic - July

 

🌞Happy guessing!

Answer reveal on Saturday!🌞

 

Happy 4th of July!

Currently: Spring 2023

 

"Where flowers bloom so does hope"

~ Lady Bird Johnson

Hello! I hope everybody had a happy and healthy spring (as in, I hope the seasonal allergies didn't kill you). Here in Virginia the spring was very rainy and unusually cool. Normally the heat hits by about late April to early May, but this year springtime was stretched out. Not necessarily a bad thing either. Spring is oftentimes described as a time of change, of renewal, but also of surprises too. And let me tell you, I've had quite a few surprises since March.

Musical Aesthetic Answer - June

June's Musical Aesthetic answer is...

Guess the Musical Aesthetic - June

 

🌹 Answer will be revealed on Saturday 🌹

Happy guessing! 

 

 

Bridgerton: Season Two

 

Season Two has the audience returning to the London season for more romance, scandal and adventure in the lives of the Bridgerton family and the residents of the ton. This time the head of the Bridgerton family, Anthony, takes center stage as he fulfills his role as the Viscount. In order to do so Anthony believes he must find himself the most perfect woman to be his match. Meanwhile, Lady Whistledown continues with her gossip and intrigue, much to the dismay of Queen Charlotte, while both the Bridgerton and Featherington families course through their own private and public controversies.

Bridgerton: Season One

 

After a year of debating of whether or not I should finally watch the Netflix series (that is loosely based on the book series from that came out in 2000), I finally decided to give the show a chance. Of course my hesitation came from the reviews of what a sexed up Regency Romp it was and I think someone almost likened it to Game of Thrones. So naturally I was cautious; however when I saw some scenes from the spin off prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, I was very interested, but I thought it would be best to get caught up with the prior seasons first. 

Musical Aesthetics Answer - May

May's musical aesthetic answer is...

Guess the Musical Aesthetic - May

 

 

🌷🌸🌹Starting on time for May's musical

 

Answer reveal on either Friday or Saturday

 

Happy guessing 🌺🌻🌼

 

Goodreads Challenge 2023 - April

 

I was hoping that my reading streak would pick up again in April, but unfortunately I was only able to get through two books:

This was a good book! The basic premise of the story is a young women who wakes up each new year to find herself in a different year of her life. So one year she's 23 and the next year she's 51. Exploring the different decades was cool and it had some unexpected twists and surprises. I've come to realize that I enjoy the time flip or timeline genre. Similar to The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle where the whole story dealt with body swapping and trying to keep a linear timeline. I find those genres both aggravating and fun.

I'm making my way through the Anne series and I'm almost there. I was somewhat disappointment in this book because I thought it was going to be a continuation of the Blythe children's growing up, but it focused primarily on a different family. Granted the Meredith's were a great bunch and I loved their adventures, however, I felt that Anne and Gilbert's children still should have the primary focus of the book. Oh and am I in the minority when I say that I actually like the Blythe children?? I've read so many book reviews about how people can't stand them! I didn't think the children were precocious in any way. They were just normal kids who had their ups and downs and learned from their mistakes, just like their parents. I actually found Anne back in her younger days to be much more annoying. 

Musical Aesthetics Answer - April

And the answer to April's Musical Aesthetic is....

Guess the Musical Aesthetic - April

I know I'm a little late, but here's the musical aesthetic for April.

This one was a lot of fun to make! 

Answer reveal on Sunday. Good guessing everyone!!

 

Currently: Winter 2022/2023

 

 

 So much has happened since Nov/Dec of last year that I hardly know where to begin! As my last currently post will attest, it's been a crazy end/beginning year for me. The new year started off with some unfortunate drama, but for all that, 2023 has proven to be a good start and God knows I've been needing some solid good in my life.

Goodreads Reviews: Little Women

 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

 
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Unless you live under a rock, it would be safe to say that any American has either read or at the very least seen some kind of film/staged version of Louisa May Alcott's all American classic Little Women . I grew up watching Little Women through multiple movies, shows and mini-series, however I never actually read the book until earlier this year. To be honest I never really cared to read Little Women . I tried numerous times over the years, but I could never get into the story. The girls always seemed to good to be true and I especially never liked Amy March, especially if book Amy was anything like she was portrayed in the films.

I probably never would have gotten around to reading the book had it not been chosen by my book club. So, conveniently starting on Christmas Day, I finally read Little Women . Even though it took me forever and a day to get through, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

As most people know, Little Women is about the four March sisters, Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth) and Amy and their growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during the Civil War. Although the girls are as tight at sisters can get, they are all vastly different in their personalities and dreams in life.

Meg is a typical oldest sister who "mothers" and mediates the girls, while she secretly longs for a life of wealth and luxury. A life she had known many years before.

Tomboyish Jo has been the epitome of the "feminist heroine" since the book's first printing. Wild, rebellious and hot tempered, with a desire to be successful author, Jo is unstoppable in her pursuits and her fierce love for her family.

Shy and reserved Beth hides unexpected strength and wisdom that coincides well with her musical talent. Despite her ill health, Beth's sweetness and generosity moves and inspires everyone who meets her.

And now we get to the youngest sister. Amy, Amy, Amy....the notorious spoiled brat of the family. Petulant and stuck up, it seems that Amy March just had everything handed to her. Or at least that how I always saw her in the films. However, after reading the book, I was surprised that Amy actually became my favorite character. Childhood flaws set aside, Amy really rose to become an independent, intelligent, and compassionate young woman who knew what she wanted and set out to get it. Unfortunately, Hollywood has spent years devaluing Amy March and making her so one dimensional, that she's been villainized more than admired. Not anymore, not by me at least.

Did I love the book? Not really. It tended to drag in many areas and was certainly very preachy, but given that time period it wouldn't have been out of place. I think my unexpected admiration for Amy is what I enjoyed most about the book. Also, meeting Professor Friedrich Baur and his and Jo's slow, but sweet romance was a good change of pace for Jo's character development. Meg and John Brooks and their little family was delightful and of course, following Beth and her quiet story that always manages to speak volumes.

I can see now why Little Women is considered a classic. It's more than a story of family, but rather as a deeper look into the ordinary person. Everyone can on some level relate to one of the four March sisters. They're not perfect and neither are their parents or friends. Jo's desire to be a writer which led her to a more fulfilling calling, Meg's childhood longing for nice things that was put to rest in the contentment of her small family, Beth's beautiful soul that shone through her shyness and touched the hearts of so many, and Amy's strong heart that was cultivated through mistakes and mercies. Anyone would be so lucky to be able to relate to any of these Little Women.