Thursday, February 21, 2019

Just Finished Watching: Manifest

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I haven’t done this in AGES but I just finished season 1 of Manifest which I reallly felt the need to talk about so here we areeeee. I am sure you were as fascinated by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 as I was so when I found out this show was about a plane disappearing and the people returning 5 years later not having aged a day, I WAS CURIOUS. CURIOUS indeed. Also curious about how I could make that run on sentence not a run on sentence but thats for another day.

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My friend Nick watched the pilot but was unimpressed so I decided to not dive in right away. I was bored one day late in October though and suddenly found myself in the midst of a mini-binge where I caught up with the first couple episodes. This show promised some of the fringe-science vibes I’d been craving for ages and a LOT of drama I couldn’t help but be entertained by.

While Manifest seems to be a promising new show, I am definitely hooked, it is also ALL over the place. We spend this entire first season kind of jumping from theory to theory and never really landing on anything concrete. If this is something that works for you, that’s awesome, but I felt like it was a sure sign that even the writers aren’t sure where this show is going quite yet. Sometimes it seemed that the show was leaning more on paranormal explanations and other times we got government conspiracy vibes and yet other times we were given some scientific explanations. All of this is cool but it made it hard for me as a viewer to find my footing??? Does that make sense?

I did get really excited about the government conspiracy angle because I love both Fringe and The X-Files (both of which have psuedo-science/government conspiracy vibes) but I mostly kept coming back to this show because I found myself invested in the dynamics of the Stone family. 

The show centers siblings Michaela and Ben which is a nice change from many other shows that tend to center romantic couples. I might not love many things about both Michaela and Ben as individuals because they FUCK UP A LOT but I LOVE their bond and how supportive they are of one another. IT WAS GREAT. I assume that part of their closeness and supportiveness of one another is because they have both survived such an ordeal and help ground each other in a new, foreign world (quite literally given that they missed 5.5 years of it) but it really helped the show stick with me.

I loved that the show has some realistic romantic drama with both Michaela and Ben’s partners moving on over the 5.5 year period and I love that show really allowed us to see Grace’s (Ben’s wife) side of things. I love the confrontations, the drama, everything. Some of the romantic drama that arises out of the tragedy though? Not as much. Or I should say that it wasn’t so much the drama that bothered me as how it was handled throughout the season? With no communication, building angst and character seemingly acting out of character. It was A LOT. Especially when new tensions arise randomly in the last couple episodes and come to a climax in the Season Finale.

Speaking of the finale, I am sure no one still reading this will be surprised that the season ends with a major cliffhanger that will leave us all begging for more. BUT, as one watcher to potentially another? I’d very much advise waiting for the new season before diving in if you haven’t already. While season 1 is great, it still leaves much to be desired and I hope with season 2, the show will finally find its footing and be all the more stronger. TILL THEN, I shall wait.

Fresh Batch (February 17th – 23rd)

Fresh Batch (February 17th – 23rd)

Posted by on 02/16/2019 • 1 Comment

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

The Art of Losing Lizzy Mason Publication date: February 19th 2019by Soho Teen

Goodreads Purchase

On one terrible night, 17-year-old Harley Langston’s life changes forever. At a party she discovers her younger sister, Audrey, hooking up with her boyfriend, Mike—and she abandons them both in a rage. When Mike drunkenly attempts to drive Audrey home, he crashes and Audrey ends up in a coma. Now Harley is left with guilt, grief, pain and the undeniable truth that her ex-boyfriend (who is relatively unscathed) has a drinking problem. So it’s a surprise that she finds herself reconnecting with Raf, a neighbor and childhood friend…

Read It So You Can Read the Sequel: Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway

Posted by on 02/13/2019 • 2 Comments

I think it was the comp to The Winner’s Curse that drew me to Dark of the West (which is funny because I still haven’t read that series) but I dove into this book with not many expectations. The only one I remember having was that Dark of the West was a fantasy but it became abundantly clear very early on that it was not. The main reason I bring this up is because it very much felt like false advertising. There are no fantastical elements to this book. In fact, calling it a historical novel would be way more accurate since it seems to draw inspiration from the World Wars of the early 20th century. A lot of the technology we have exists in this world too: planes,…

Fresh Batch (February 10th – 16th)

Fresh Batch (February 10th – 16th)

Posted by on 02/09/2019 • 0 Comments

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Crown of Feathers Nicki Pau Preto Series: Crown of Feathers #1 Publication date: February 12th 2019by Simon Pulse

Goodreads Purchase

I had a sister, once…

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

I promised her the throne would not come between us.

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes…

Join Xpresso Readers Lounge!

Posted by on 02/08/2019 • 0 Comments

Hi lovely bookish people! We’d love to invite you to our new Xpresso Readers social lounge Facebook Group!

This group is for fans, readers, authors, and bloggers to socialize and discuss books. There will also be author takeovers, giveaways, freebie and sale notices, and more fun bookish stuff like hot teasers and sneak peeks! It’s mostly YA of all genres and adult Romance oriented, but there will be the occasional PNR/UF, too! Come in, get to know amazing bloggers, make new reader friends, and meet the best of the best authors! And don’t be shy – post questions, random bookish polls, discussions. We want to chat and get to know you!

Respect other members is our only rule! Book lovers unite!!…

Entertaining: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Posted by on 02/07/2019 • 0 Comments

I really enjoyed Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King duology and I had no doubt that I would at least like Warrior of the Wild. And I did! But overall Warrior of the Wild doesn’t hold a candle to the Daughter of the Pirate King books. It’s a fast, entertaining read but it is the kind of book that if you looked at it too closely, it kind of just falls apart. Everything about the plot line almost feels too easy. I love a fast paced book but this might have just been a LITTLE too fast.

Warrior of the Wild follows a privileged village leader’s daughter as she is exiled from her village and has to embark on a quest that involves killing an oppressive, abusive God…

Incredibly Hilarious and Deeply Sad: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

Posted by on 02/05/2019 • 1 Comment

So I was going to open this review on a whole tangent about how long I’ve been reading Shaun David Hutchinson but when I went onto Goodreads, I realized I haven’t even READ ALL OF HIS BOOKS because I am a terrible person. But, in some ways, opening an SDH book is so familiar and comfortable even though, including The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, I’ve read all of three books by Shaun David Hutchinson.

The Past and Other Things That Should Say Buried is more reminiscent of some of Hutchinson’s earlier stuff in that it is more lighthearted but that’s not saying much when even at his most light hearted, Hutchinson never fails to punch you in the feels. The best way to really describe…

Fresh Batch (February 3rd – 9th)

Fresh Batch (February 3rd – 9th)

Posted by on 02/02/2019 • 1 Comment

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Courting Darkness Robin LaFevers Series: Courting Darkness Duology #1 Publication date: February 5th 2019by HMH Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Purchase

Death wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…

Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella’s fellow novitiates, disguised…