Month: November 2021

November 2021 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible14 Comments

Can you believe we are about to head into the final month of 2021? In part, this year really dragged on but simultaneously, it also just wooshed by. However, we’re still in November now and I’d like to start wrapping up the month by talking about some books I read!

  • Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven by Kami Garcia/Gabriel Picolo (4 stars)
    This is the third installment of this particular run of Teen Titans and I’m still enjoying myself. The art style is sweet, but not too cutesy. There’s honestly not *that* much happening in the story, but I like the characters, although some might argue that they aren’t always portrayed how we might know them. The next comic will be about Robin and I’m looking forward to that change.
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (3 stars)
    Honestly, I’m just not that much of a fan of the story. More about that in an upcoming post!
  • Love, Lists & Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz (4 stars)

Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven Jane Eyre Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships

As per usual, click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads, where you are always welcome to add me as a reading buddy! My own reviews (where there is one) you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above if there are posts for them.

Again, I would also like to mention that I have created a Storygraph profile and try to link to the books on that platform as well when I do my reviews. Feel free to add me as well here, but know that I’m struggling with the navigation on the web version a little bit. I can’t use the app on my phone (I have zero storage left), but I’m not vibing with the desktop version as much. Still, the stats are very cool and I want to support the site!

So, I have a couple things to confess. First of all, I did not end up participating in NaNoWriMo after all. I was really excited at the beginning of the month, but then I just got busy and distracted by other things, dropping my writing entirely. It’s sad, because I even did an outline for the most important plot points and am generally passionate about the story, but I’m really not happy with my writing and the quality I put out there. So, I didn’t want to be dissatisfied and just stopped. I’ll write and edit a whole book eventually … I think … here’s how I spent my time instead:

However, I did spend some time getting back into drawing. While Eternals is not my favorite Marvel movie, I fell head over heels in love with Druig and Makkari and I couldn’t stop myself from creating some art. It’s been half a year of me not picking up a brush and if I had more time, I’d love to get into this more regularly again. It’s just that it takes roughly 8 hours to complete a piece and that means there’s little else I can do on that day, so I often don’t want to spend my weekends or days off just with that.

I’m forever happy to have Lauren Ridloff be Makkari and therefore giving us the first deaf superhero in the MCU, paving the way for better representation in the genre. I’m also very glad to have a hard of hearing Hawkeye now and that Echo is getting her own show soon.

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Aside from Drukkari having stolen my heart, I really truly earnestly am obsessed with the Amazon adaptation of Wheel of Time! The show is absolutely fantastic, it even has me out here considering if I should read 14 books with 700+ pages each, because I cannot stand the one week wait between episodes. (But let’s be real for a moment, I’m not actually going to do it. I don’t have time for this!)

There’s so many characters I already love, but I’m particularly sad to have learned that Barney Harris, who is portraying Mat, was recast for Season 2. I know that no one owes me or us an explanation, but the secrecy around the departure has me worried and a bit sad. He is really the perfect Mat and his successor has big shoes to fill, but most of all, I just hope Harris is alright? I’m definitely overthinking this, but I get so easily attached sometimes.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I’m still not the best at blog-hopping, but I’m trying! Please go and show some love to these amazing blogs and bloggers!

MY OTHER POSTS

MARVEL REVIEWS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

THURSDAY MOVIE PICKS (HALLOWEEN EDITION)

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a good November and wish you all the best for this upcoming December! Let’s talk some more in the comments!

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz (ARC Review)

Kat Impossible2 Comments

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Page Count: 336
Release Date: November 23, 2021

*I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!*

CW: loss of a loved one, parental abandonment, grief

Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships is Sarah Grunder Ruiz’ debut women’s fiction/contemporary romance novel. However, while the cover looks very sweet and fun, I’m very glad I knew going in that grief would be a central aspect of the book. As my reading list tends to show, I gravitate towards books that deal with loss and the handling of grief quite regularly, so I was pleased to see how it was dealt with here. It’s a topic that can easily become overwhelming, but while the sadness was always there as an undercurrent, there were so many beautiful and upbeat moments in the story to balance it out, so it never felt too heavy. I can confidently say that I can imagine everyone who has suffered a loss in their lives, finding Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships deeply moving and relatable.

We start off with Josephine Walker aka Jo at her job on a charter yacht. It’s such a fun setting, but what I enjoyed even more than that were the characters that gradually got added. You could feel the history Jo has with each individual as they felt fleshed out and real. There wasn’t a single person I didn’t like to read about. Nina is the kind of ride-or-die best friend one can only wish for. Alex is the kind of love interest you really want to root for, because he is kind and funny and charming and definitely also hot. He’s one of the few romantic leads where I didn’t have to constantly shake my head in disappointment about the choices he made. However, the romance doesn’t actually always take center stage, as the familial relationships with the nieces, daughters and sisters are just as important. It definitely felt like a well-rounded cast!

Jo makes it her priority to be the fun aunt, to distract everyone from the never ending sadness, which backfires on a few occasions. Still, the bucket list was a fun addition, especially when the gang got creative in how to tick off the last few items before time ran out.

The things I didn’t love so much about the book where all very me-problems. For one, I could not handle the Chris Evans disrespect. While Zac Efron gets celebrated (in an ironic way or not), Chris Evans gets described as old and gross. There’s literally only a six-year-age-difference between the two actors, but okay … guess I’m an old millennial myself at this point. Then there was an airport run, which I’m never a fan of, but most of all, I was bugged by the way Jo’s blogging experience was described. It’s very rare that a personal blog with, how can I put this, infrequent updates gets such a big following within less than a year that she’d get multiple concerned emails for not posting. It honestly didn’t feel very realistic to me, while everything else in the story had an authentic vibe.

Overall, I really enjoyed this journey! I felt close to the characters and shed tears on several occasions, while I also laughed out loud more than once. I was especially excited when I saw that my copy included a teaser chapter for a potential sequel with Jo’s best friend Nina as the narrator, set two years after Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships ends. I’d be so here for it! (And book 3 could be about Britt and RJ … just saying …)

Fazit: 4/5 stars! A really beautiful exploration of grief, without ever getting too heavy.

Have you read Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships? Do you want to? Do you like books that are partially set on boats? I’m kind of digging that, to be honest.

What I’ve Been (Binge-)Watching #69

Kat Impossible12 Comments

As I’ve been home a lot these past two weeks, I’ve really leaned into watching all the stuff I could get my hands on. I really wanted tot talk about those things, before they start to get to be too much. So, without further ado, here are the shows and movie I watched.

Nine Days

This movie forever changed me! There’s just no other way to put it, because I keep thinking about it all the time. I can see how many people won’t necessarily like the ending, but it made sense in its own way.

Once I got over the fact that half the main cast was also in Marvel movies, I was just surprised by how emotionally involved I was. It’s beautiful and sad and heartbreaking and magnificent. The continued use of the violin, which you can also hear in the trailer, is way more important than you might think and will tear at your heartstrings. I really can’t rave about it enough and remember just sobbing through large parts of it. I suppose, this is one of those movies you have to be in the right mood for, but it’s now among my top movies of the year!

Only Murders in the Building (Season 1)

I just recently mentioned this show in the last TMP post, but I’m just going to repeat myself. I was surprised how much I liked this show and am now really excited for another season! Of course, the cast always looked fun, but I didn’t expect how funny it would actually be and how many twists and turns they’d manage to add to the story. I found it to be way more unpredictable than I would have initially suspected.

Gentefied (Season 2)

The first season had some real tearjerker episodes, especially some that weren’t even pertaining to the main cast. I was fully prepared for this to hit the same way, but it just didn’t. I don’t know if it was because I already knew what to expect or because I used it more as a background show while painting, but I wasn’t as invested this time around. Sounds like a me problem either way. The season focused a lot on “illegal immigrants” on top of the family ties, which was well done. I enjoyed that they didn’t neglect to mention that cases with a lot of media attention sometimes have it easier and that there are so many more cases that get overlooked.

Saved by the Bell (Season 2)

This show is so ridiculous, but I keep enjoying it every single time I put it on. I’ve never watched Saved by the Bell while growing up (it just wasn’t a thing here and maybe I’m too young?), so it’s definitely not a nostalgia thing, but I sure keep having fun. That’s what matters most, right? I don’t know what more to say. The most random line will just have me laughing out loud, but they do have really personal moments too.

Selling Sunset (Season 4)

Okay, I usually don’t talk about reality shows much, but I binged the entire season in one go. I just couldn’t stop.

I don’t know if you know this, but Chrishell and Jason are dating now, but they didn’t yet in this season. However, the editing team sure loved to hint at it. There were so many cuts to Jason when Chrishell was talking and just showing him paying attention or wanting to help her or being downright jealous. When Simu Liu showed up, my worlds kind of collided, but the jealousy was so odd. I still can’t.

Shows I Watch Weekly

This is the part where I talk about the shows that I watch each week and that are still ongoing. It’s my way of not forgetting them, because I can’t binge them in one go and mostly talk about finished seasons in the above section.

The Wheel of Time (Season 1) – I am OBSESSED with this show! I haven’t read the books and I kind of doubt I will (it’s 14 really massive volumes, not counting the prequels and novellas), but I’m so curious. One episode per week is just not enough to satisfy my need for more. I’m already sad to have learned that Barney Harris, who is playing Mat, got recast for S2. The entire Wheel of Time internet is wondering what happened.

The Sex Lives of College Girls (Season 1) – I may or may not have started this show because of Gavin Leatherwood, but I’m not mad at it at all. I weirdly find it less salacious than the title might suggest, but then again, I’d still not watch it with my parents.

Hawkeye (Season 1) – I’m reviewing this show episode by episode, so you can check out my thoughts on ep 1& 2 here.

Yellowjackets (Season 1) – It’s such a disturbing show, but I’m intrigued.

The Big Leap (Season 1) – Love this show. Nothing new.

Gossip Girl (Part 2/Season 1) – I think it says a lot about me that I’m most invested in the throuple storyline.

Dickinson (Season 3) – I can’t believe this is the final season. I’m kind of over the entire Sue thing and the war seems an odd focus for a finale, but alright.

Nancy Drew (Season 3) – My ship is about to sail! They both know they have feelings now, they just need to let each other know.

All American (Season 4) – This hasn’t been my season so far. I’m feeling really ambivalent.

Station 19 (Season 5) – I AM FUMING! I’m so mad at the show, I don’t even know how to express it. A certain character perished and I adored them and they literally got a job opportunity in another city, so I don’t understand why they had to die. This is one of the cruelest story arcs and trauma to add to that character that was just not necessary. They literally don’t know how to write out characters in a healthy way.

9-1-1 (Season 5) – This season hasn’t really grasped me as much as previous ones. I still love the relationships, but I haven’t felt as invested for some reason.

What have you been watching? Do you watch any of the same stuff as me? Let’s talk!

TMP – TV Edition: Mystery

Kat Impossible18 Comments

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the Thursday Movie Picks feature. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

As it so happens, we change it up once per month and talk about TV shows instead of movies and today is all about shows in the Mystery genre! I feel like that’s such a huge pool to draw from, because there’s also a million sub-genres, that I’m super curious to see what everyone will come up with. Here are my picks!

Yellowjackets

Two episodes in and I am disturbed yet fascinated, grossed out but curious. It’s not a show for everybody and I find myself not being able to stomach some things, but it’s still interesting. I like the different timelines and how we only slowly uncover what happened and to what extent the situation really escalated. They went into more than just survival mode.

Only Murders in the Building

I didn’t think this was going to be for me, but it was so fun, I binged it all in a day or two! It has those typical amateur detective elements, but really great twists and hilarious cameos on the way. I enjoyed it a lot and am glad to know there’s another season coming.

Cruel Summer

Throughout the entire show, I kept finding myself going back and forth on who to believe and who to trust. I really liked the ending too, because of the implications it held, even if that meant that it wasn’t really closed. It works as a limited series for me.

I definitely went with more recent shows! What do you think? What are some of your mystery picks?

Hawkeye: Episode 1 & 2 Review

Kat Impossible7 Comments

Aren’t you all happy that I’m back with weekly reviews? Hawkeye just released and I’m here to talk about the first two episodes. As per usual, these breakdowns are meant to be read after watching the show – beware of spoilers!

credit: Marvel Studios

What was it about?

Clint Barton just wants to live a quiet life with his family, but the chaotic mess that is Kate Bishop has other plans.

My thoughts?

Those were some really solid opening episodes for Hawkeye! While I can’t claim that this was my most anticipated Marvel show, I was definitely excited to see what this would add to a character that most people don’t really appreciate. I’ve always enjoyed the humanity of Clint Barton, because, like his wife Laura said, these heroes and gods needed him in their own way, despite his apparent vulnerabilities. I also, please don’t hate me for this, understood why Nat sacrificed herself for him and his family. Getting to continue this journey was definitely intriguing to me.

What I felt mixed about was the fact that this show takes place during Christmas. I don’t really enjoy things that are holiday-themed too much, because it sort of ruins the rewatch-ability for me a little bit. I’m also just not that much of a Christmas person … but anyway, it was handled well here and didn’t throw it too much into your face.

credit: Marvel Studios

But before I get into anything too much, let’s just break down the episodes!

“Never Meet Your Heroes” – Episode 1

Like with TFATWS, this episode started off with our main characters/heroes not yet in the same frame. It was a good establishing episode, setting the tone for what’s to come.

  • The year is 2012 – a young Kate Bishop just eavesdropped on her parents’ fighting when suddenly, the battle of New York commences. She loses a lot, namely her dad, as a result, but a saving arrow from Hawkeye also inspires her to become a fighter and protector herself. She goes on to become excellent in martial arts and fencing as well as the use of a bow and arrow.
  • Kate isn’t just magnificent at everything she does, she’s also a bit of a troublemaker. While her skills are amazing, she’s responsible for the destruction of a bell/clock tower at her university and consequently has to go home for Christmas with quite the bad news.
  • Speaking of Christmas, the Bartons (minus Laura) spend it in New York. They are watching “Rogers – The Musical“, which I’m very conflicted about. Is it a super fun idea? Is it super ridiculous? Did they really have to add Ant-Man to the storyline about saving NYC, because he tests well with audiences? I’m not sure, however, I loved that re-introduction to Clint.
  • Barton is clearly still haunted by the loss of Nat. On top of that, we are reminded that he truly is just human, as his hearing has finally given up after the many explosions etc. he had to endure. Clint is now using a hearing aid and we later also see his youngest son, Nathaniel (named after Nat), using ASL to communicate with him. I love that Marvel is making more room for deaf or hard of hearing characters! (more on that later!)
  • Kate’s Christmas is quite different though. Where Clint and his family feel grounded and warm, Kate and her mother, albeit having a loving relationship, feel more distanced. Once Kate arrives in the city, she gets dragged to a charity event with her mother, Eleanor, and her fiancé, Jack, which Kate does not find out about in a great way.
  • Jack, is a nephew of Armand Duquesne III. Although it wasn’t stated in so many words, Armand Duquesne is a Marvel comic character and so is his son, Jacques Duquesne, who is also known as Swordsman. I think it’s fair to say that they’re hinting at that being this version’s Jack alter ego, because the man does love to collect swords.
Jack - Swordsman
credit: Marvel Studios
  • At the charity event, a secret black market auction is also held. Armand and Jacques are present, while Kate spies on them. The items of the auction include dinosaur skulls, but also The Ronin’s sword and suit. However, the auction is interrupted by an explosion, caused by the Tracksuit Mafia, which is in search of a certain watch from the Avengers compound. I’m blanking on what that particular watch could potentially be for, but I’m sure it’s going to come back later in the season.
  • In order to help, Kate dons the suit of the Ronin and takes on some of the robbers. However, she didn’t expect them to still have beef with the Ronin from the time during the blip and a wild chase is started for her. Clint and his kids see the news about “the return of the Ronin” and he immediately knows that someone is in trouble and he needs to get his suit back.
credit: Marvel Studios
  • Kate eventually finds a dog (which miraculously gets super clean from episode 1 to 2), which we might better know as Lucky the Pizza Dog, however, he is not yet named. She brings him to her apartment and then goes to spy on Armand III, just to find him dead in his apartment. The episode ends with Clint rescuing Kate from the Tracksuit Mafia, that have followed her.

“Hide and Seek” – Episode 2

I’m glad they aired the second episode right away, because it picks up exactly where the first one ended. It’s a really neat pacing for the show.

  • Clint evidently being shocked that a “kid” (Kate is 22 years old) donned the suit of his alter ego, tries to get her to safety. She’s obviously very stubborn and doesn’t listen too well and some fun banter ensues.
Hawkeye and Kate Bishop
credit: Marvel Studios
  • I don’t think we need the play by play of how the Tracksuit Mafia keeps finding Kate and Clint and they have to move houses (with the dog) to stay safe. It showed us how capable and always prepared Clint is, while also showcasing that Kate has real talent and skill.
  • Seen as both characters have very different objectives (Clint just wants to go home to his family, Kate wants to solve a murder and deal with her mother’s shady fiancé), they are barely on the same page.
  • Clint, in an attempt to get the suit back for good, goes to a Larper event, which is just hilarious to watch. There he meets Grills – in the comics, Grills is one of his neighbors, although I doubt he will show up more than once here. It was a nice cameo though.
  • In general, I enjoyed but was also surprised about how supportive Laura was of Clint. I’m glad to now know that he told her about everything he did during the Blip and she seems to understand his struggles. They really don’t have secrets – maybe that’s the recipe of why their marriage works so well.
  • Kate, on the other hand, antagonizes Jack further during dinner, while her mother doesn’t seem to see eye to eye with her daughter. Frankly, I get annoyed at adults who always feel like they need to protect their children and won’t listen to a word they say. However, I would like to point out that I also think Eleanor Bishop is quite shady.
  • In the comics, Eleanor Bishop was believed to be dead and Kate’s father was actually involved in the happenings of that. I could very much see them doing a role reversal here, because of the struggle between Kate’s parents in the pilot episode and Eleanor’s mysterious absence while her daughter was looking through the apartment for help during the 2012 alien attack. This is obviously just a guess. Another option is that Eleanor is involved with vampires (as she was turned into one in the comics) as they are becoming more and more of a thing in the MCU. Either way, I wouldn’t be sure she’s entirely on the “good” side of things, despite believing that she does everything to protect her daughter.
  • Eventually, Clint gets himself kidnapped by the Tracksuit Mafia to end things for good, but Kate, who wanted to tell him about her clues in the murder case of Armand, intervenes and actually makes the situation worse.
  • The episode ends on a shot of Maya Lopez aka Echo (portrayed by Native American actress Alaqua Cox). We know that Echo is a deaf martial arts athelete, who can copy people’s movements perfectly, who still has a bone to pick with Clint/the Ronin and therefore worked with the Tracksuit Mafia. She’s also getting her very own show! With Makkari and Echo, I’m really glad to see Marvel stepping up their game in terms of representation. It was direly needed!
credit: Marvel Studios

Ultimately, I think this show could work well as a reminder of how inspiring Clint was as part of the Avengers. They did heroic stuff all the time, but we’ve never before seen their impact in such detail, truly focusing on one individual, like we do with Kate Bishop. I can see the humor being hit or miss with a lot of people, but I didn’t mind it. I’m looking forward to more, especially if they keep up the 45-minute-run-time for the episodes. Although, I’m sad to see there are only 6 episodes in total. It’s going to go by so fast.

PREVIOUS MARVEL SHOW PILOT REVIEWS:

What did you think of the first two episodes of Hawkeye? Let’s chat!

Trailers You Might Have Missed … (Nov 15-21/2021)

Kat Impossible5 Comments

This was not my week, due to a number of reasons I’m not going to get into. This meant I neither posted nor did as much as I would have liked to and I cannot really promise that it will get much better over the next week, although I’m probably going to spend a lot of time online. Feel free to find me on Twitter! Anyway, today is about trailers, so let’s get started!

Read More »

Thursday Movie Picks: Book Adaptations

Kat Impossible16 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

Today we shall talk about Book Adaptations, which most of you will know, is a topic I’ve talked about on numerous occasions here. Seen as this blog is dedicated to books, TV shows, movies and really anything I can think about, it does tend to be a repeat subject.

Here are some examples of previous posts regarding adaptations:

I’m going to try my very best to not to repeat myself too much from previous posts (and to stick to movies and not TV shows). There’s not really a theme here, other than that I have actually read all the books for the movies as well as watched them. (Because there’s still some books I haven’t watched and some films I haven’t read … if that makes sense.)

Stardust

Stardust is one of my absolute favorite comfort movies and I can watch it pretty much any day, whenever it is on. There’s no such thing as too much Stardust. I also have to say that I enjoy the movie more than the book, because I didn’t actually connect to Neil Gaiman’s writing at all. I know he is brilliant and a much beloved author, but this book wasn’t really it for me. The movie is where it’s really at!

Charlie St. Cloud

I read this book after watching the trailer, while I was doing my internship in the French countryside. Something about this story was just magical and although I think the movie didn’t capture that as well as the book, I still enjoyed both.

The Spectacular Now

The Spectacular Now is one of those cases where I thought I would really enjoy both, the movie and the book, but ended up feeling very confused about both. It’s not a fluffy teen romance at all, it has a deceptively amount of depth. It’s even quite sad …

Dumplin’

I cried watching and reading Dumplin’. It’s a really beautiful story, but it was interesting to see on what different aspects the two variations focused on. I remember the book featuring more of Bo (who I adore as a love interest), while the movie had a clear focus on the mother-daughter-relationship. Then again, how could you not utilize having Jennifer Aniston in your movie …

This Is Where I Leave You

I have a thing for grief explorations and complex family dynamics, so I was immediately drawn to This Is Where I Leave You. The book obviously has the room to go much more into depth on some of the relationships, which I missed in certain scenes, but generally, it was a well done movie. Some things were even improved (thank the lord we didn’t have to hear Judd’s horny thoughts all day long).

What are some of book to movie adaptations you like? Let’s talk about those!

Thursday Movie Picks: Dream Sequences

Kat Impossible13 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

This week is all about Dream Sequences! I honestly couldn’t think of a single one from the top of my head, which just means that dream sequences aren’t something I pay a lot of attention to. Either way, we are … or rather I am going to try and come up with some.

Inception

Does it count when basically the whole movie is a dream? I’m just going to say yes. Inception had such a great concept and I loved the world of possibilities it opened up. I really enjoyed watching that movie back in the day, although I haven’t revisited it much to be honest.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Walter Mitty’s daydreams were wild and ridiculous at times and then really beautiful as well. I love that movie, despite some flaws, because it’s just such a great motivator to be brave and go into the world. It’s also just very human.

Grease

Okay, who could ever forget the Beauty School Dropout scene? I sure couldn’t, so it made this list. Grease didn’t age particularly well, but it’s one of the musical movies I enjoy more than others.

What are some dream sequences in movies you enjoy? Do you tend to remember those very vividly or did you have to look it up? Let’s talk!