The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee | Review Time!

Hidden Gem of the Month: This beauty right here. I picked it up completely by chance, and ended up falling in love with the characters, the plot and the travel.

Overall, I'll give this book: 

★★★★★!!!

Before we get into spoiler territory, let me just tell you something. If this book was part of a series, the main couple could rival Malec. This book is that amazing.

Spoilery Spoilers of Death

Do. Not. Read. This. If. You. Don't. Want. Spoilers.

You have been warned.

OMG. I can't even formulate my thoughts enough to write a comprehensive review of this book. Everything about it was wonderful and fantastic.

Monty is a completely lovable protagonist, and I adored him. He was so genuinely nice, but he had a very firm idea of who he was and what he was willing to do. I loved how he was willing to be vulnerable (particularly after Helena poisons him and he sobs), and how he wasn't the best with people when he wasn't trying to sleep with them.

Percy was another character that just felt so right to me. He was biracial, queer, and struggled with epilepsy. The odds were stacked against him, but he remained kind and passionate and was one of the most stable characters in the book.

I was a huge fan of the way the LGTBQ community was portrayed in this novel. Obviously it was very taboo at the time, but Lee did a great job of reminding us that there has always been a movement. So many of the people Monty and Percy encountered on their tour were very openminded and while it may not have been 100% accurate, it was certainly eye-opening.

Okay, I'm keeping the review short and sweet. I really don't want to risk spoiling it for anyone.

Everyone should go and pick up this book. It's quirky, humorous, and entertaining. 

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The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead | Review Time!

“We’re all in charge of our own lives—and we have to live with the consequences of the choices we make.” 

I bought this book in October, and I'm just now getting around to reading it. I actually feel quite ashamed, seeing as how Queen Richelle Mead is responsible for bringing the perfection that is Vampire Academy into the world. 

Glittering Court was an entertaining read, but filled with flaws and strange time jumps and real-world connections that made it hard to stay immersed in the story.

However, the concept was interesting, and as a standalone novel this has a great deal of potential.

I gave it:
★★★

Spoiler Time! (not actually too spoilery)

Okay, first I must preface this with the fact that I am a huge history nerd. A Canadian history nerd. And any of you that may or may not have read a Dear Canada called Alone in an Untamed Land will certainly be able to understand why I am bringing it up.
Glittering Court is about young girls who are trained and sent off to the "new world" in order to become eligible brides for the men who have settled there. Les Filles du Roi were almost exactly the same as this (and it would not surprise me if this historical element was used as inspiration). However, this book was strange in that it almost seemed entirely based off French-Canadian history. Everything from the initial concept, to the religious tensions to the conflicts with the natives was right out of my Grade 7 history book.

Now, some problems I had with this book. Characters.
I did not like a single character in this entire book. We didn't get nearly enough insight on Elizabeth/Adelaide to really understand her, and there were too many time jumps for us to understand her development. The other characters clearly were relevant to their own stories (and they are getting their own novels), but Mira and Tamsin were plot-changing characters, and they were never in the damn story. Any major things that they figured out, weren't in the book. Any author know that you can leave loose ends, but you can't leave unexplainable ends.

My biggest problem with this book was time. Firstly, time jumps. We skipped eight months, then we skipped a few more months, and then we skipped a few weeks. And all in all, these periods of missing time were so important to the character development, and we didn't get anything. 
Then the time period confused the heck out of me. The continent seems to be medieval from the way they describe their dresses, but the new world seems to be almost late 1700s-like in their manner of dress. And then we get an entire section where Cedric and Adelaide/Elizabeth are in the wild west, which was confusing to no end.

There were, however, things that I did enjoy about this book. Cedric was a character with decent motivations, who at the very least I didn't despise.
There was a lack of interactions with her grandmother, and I loved that old lady for the two scenes she was in. She was spunky and it was perfect.
The pirates. Wonderful in every way.

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I think that just about wraps it up. The Glittering Court was nowhere near my favourite read of the year, or even the month, but it was entertaining. Sometimes that's all you can ask for.

Now... if you'll all excuse me. I must reread Vampire Academy.

“Bad things are always going to happen. There’s no way to avoid that. Our control comes in how we face them. Do we let them crush us, making us despondent? Do we face the unflinchingly and endure the pain? Do we outsmart them?” 

Playful Kiss | K-drama Review

Hey Everybody! Look at me...being a horrible person and not posting anything! I was struck by an idea today, so I'm going to try it out and see where it gets me. Please let me know what you think of these kinds of posts, as I really enjoy writing them.

K-dramas are something that I am really passionate about, and the idea of being able to share my love of them is beyond exciting to me. If you hate it, let me know either by commenting here or by messaging me on my Insta.

Without further adieu...

Playful Kiss K-Drama Review

Playful Kiss is a 2010 K-drama that has literally been on my list since I finished watching Boys Over Flowers (my first ever K-drama) for the first time. For those of you who have no idea what this is about or anything about it in general, here are your facts and stats!!

Kim Hyun-Joong plays Baek Seung-Jo, and is the male lead of the drama. Jung So-Min is Oh Ha-Ni, and she plays the female lead of the drama. The show is based off a manga called Itzura Na Kiss, though this adaptation was met with negative reviews in Korea. It has since become popular overseas, and has gained a cult following.

The basic premise of the show, is fairly simple. Oh Ha-Ni is a high school girl, who has a crush on the class genius Baek Seung-Jo. She writes him a letter confessing her feelings, but is rebuffed rather brutally. Lo and Behold, an earthquake hits and destroys her home. Her single father and her move in with her father's estranged best friend, who just happens to be Seung-Jo's dad! Many cheesy and wonderful plot contrivances ensue, so without spoilers, that is the gist of the show.

My opinion?? The main love story was ridiculous, predictable and awful in general (more detail  in the spoiler section), which was in no way the fault of the actors. The side characters, however, were compelling and interesting, and really carried the last few episodes of the show on their own. All in all, it's worth a watch, but keep your expectations in check. 

I Gave Playful Kiss:

★★★

Spoilers spoiler time. I don't like to read reviews where someone has just summed up the plot, so I've decided to instead go over the main characters, and how I felt about their participation and involvement in the plot.

Kim Hyun-Joong as Baek Seung-Jo

Wow. This is a pretty, pretty boy. Sadly, he was my least favourite part of the show. I first saw Kim Hyun-Joong in Boys Over Flowers, and I rooted for him the whole time (sadly I didn't yet understand the second-male lead syndrome). He's a talented actor, yet this character was so unbearable that I could't handle it. He's a cold, removed genius, which in essence shouldn't be that bad. You know, like a Spencer Reid Type, I would love that. Unfortunately, he seems to be a borderline psychopath,and is manipulative and abusive to Oh Ha-Ni. 

Firstly, she isn't that bright. She's in the lowest class, but she tries hard and that's what counts. He, however, mocks her for it constantly. And he enjoys it when she tries to make herself "worthy" of him, by becoming a nurse. 

When they get married, he doesn't register their wedding and refuses to do so UNTIL SHE CAN PASS HER EXAMS, which should just be a massive red flag on how manipulative he is. 

When they got engaged, he didn't ask her at all. He just kissed her-for the first time letting her know that he liked her- and then announced his plans to marry her. And her father was okay with it!!!

And lastly, he was super disloyal. He would let women fawn all over him, and not push them away until the last possible second. This hurt Ha-Ni multiple times, and he didn't care. In fact, he blamed her for being jealous!!! The biggest one that annoyed me was when they were ON THEIR HONEYMOON and he let another newlywed drape herself on top of him.

Again, this is nothing against the actor, this was simply poor character writing.

Jung So-Min as Oh Ha-Ni

This character was actually a really decent person, and that's why it bothers me so much that she settled for Baek Seung-Jo. As a genuinely good person, she deserved someone who actually cared about her, yet never even seemed to consider Joon-Gu! Jung So-Min is still, however, an impressive actress. If you want to see her give an incredible performance, watch D-Day. As a character she was entertaining in this show, she just wasn't as good as she could have been.

Lee Tae Sung as Bong Joon Gu

Bad hair aside, Joon Gu actually ended up being one of my favourite characters on the show. Early on, he was just used a comedic relief, but he became a very well-rounded and likeable character. His love for Ha-Ni was genuine, and, unlike Seung-Jo, he actually cared about her and put her needs first. His romantic story line at the end with Chris (lovable foreigner played by Abigail Alderete), was honestly so wonderful. 

Finally, the second male lead gets a happy ending.

Hong Yoon-hwa and Yoon Seung-ah as Jung Joori and Dokgo Minah

They were cute, they were loveable, they were stereotypical K-drama best friends. They were supportive of their friend, and honestly gave her very solid advice when it came to Ha-Ni's love life. That's why it makes me so upset that their stories were sidetracked. Joori and the soldier were goals, and they deserved some actual growth. I will happily remember them as being my OTP. And Minah finally got some personality! She met a "cute" boy at a signing for her cartoon, and we never get to see what happens to her!

But they were both decent characters, who really came through for me, as a viewer.

Okay...that about wraps up my review. All in all, this drama wasn't a favourite, but it was entertaining. Don't go into this expecting riveting television, but it's worth a watch. 

In my opinion, it is a cult classic because it fully embodies the stereotypical K-Drama genre. All the cliches are there, and they are executed to the best of their ability.

I hope you guys at least somewhat enjoyed reading this! If you didn't please let me know why! Comment here of message me on Instagram, and I will message you back. If you're a fan of K-Dramas, then I'll hopefully be posting these reviews along with my normal bookish ones throughout the summer!!

Adios!