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All 4 One And One 4 All

1/20/2020

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Hi Everyone,

So I just read the Kings of Linwood Academy by Callie Rose and it was great! Let me tell you a little bit about the trilogy so you can have some insight on this series and what would make it a good limited series on television. The novel follows Harlow and her mother after her mom gets a job offer as head maid working for a wealthy family, the perks being that they get to live on the premises and Harlow gets to attend the private academy in the area which is Linwood Academy.  The guys that so happen to be popular and run the school are Lincoln in which Harlow's mom works for his family and his friends River, Dax, & Chase. The novel starts off as a bully romance, but it is so much more. Lincoln hates Harlow and her mom immediately because if his father's fidelity issues and since he's the head of the popular brigade at school, he and his friends turn the whole school against her. That is until Harlow makes a little bet that ends up with her owing River a favor and that favor ends up costing all of them. During that favor all 5 of them witness a murder of their classmate, being it too dark to recognize the perpetrator, they have no idea who killed their classmate.  When Harlow suggests they go to the police the Kings of Linwood tell her that things work differently in their world and they should just wait it out, Harlow reluctantly agrees until the very person she always depended on is accused of murder, and from there it's a downward spiral. Harlow not only has to prove her loved one's innocence, but has to fight off her classmates who are constantly threatening her and bullying her because of the murder of the beloved cheerleader in which whom she never got along with.

The aspect of this story is intriguing because Harlow doesn't only have one love interest, but four. She has a special relationship with each of them without any M/M themes. It's always often that we see a harem full of women from a male's aspect but never a reverse harem from a woman's aspect. She has a special relationship with each of them, and you see the interesting dynamic of the relationship they each have with each other. I also like that the guys are regular teenagers even though they come from wealth, they can't always beat the system. They still don't have the means to do everything and really have to follow the rules of their parents, because essentially their living off their parents, as in some cases a lot of stories you see is that the teenager not only rules the school, but also run their parents at home, making them seem more like the adult. The author also touches on the base of all of their personal lives, making them have issues, but I also find it that the wealthy always has something broken inside of them, not that wealth equals happiness, but it's funny that none of them are never really happy in their life, making me guess I wonder how they would feel if they were broke with the same problems, they would probably feel even more miserable.  I do like that it has a bit of a Nancy Drew element. If I could compare the story to a TV show, it would be like Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries had a baby except Elena ends up with both of the brothers.  They are in a fight with time of trying to figure out who killed the cheerleader and clearing Harlow's loved one's name. With no leads and everyday issues with a killer on the loose, they are in the fight of their lives and when the truth is revealed none of them will come out the same. 

I suggest that this series would be a limited series as once the mystery is solved, then the story is over, but I would like to see a better epilogue, not just a Happy For Now ending. Maybe the author will write a continuation on how their dealing with college life, but that is something that you can do on TV is make them have more of an extended Happily Ever After. All in all I think this novel will give the television world a different perspective and a great mystery to boot. The series has a great setting in wealthy Connecticut and it wouldn't be that much of a big budget considering that the novel only surrounds their homes, school, and a couple of clubs in the area. Sooo tell me what you think about the review in the comments below and do you think it would be a good limited TV series.

Casting
Harlow- Madison Pettis
Lincoln- Charles Melton
River- Jedidiah Goodacre 
Dax & Chase- Cole & Dylan Sprouse

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You are my Sunshine, My only Sunshine

1/5/2020

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***4.5 Stars***
***Also triggers are talks about suicide, rape, depression, & autism***

A Bad Day for Sunshine is a good way to start off my reading for the New Year. The novel is about Sheriff Sunshine Vicram and her daughter Auri Vicram. The series starts off with Sunshine winning an election that she didn't actually run for as she just moved back to her hometown, and from there we get all the wacky things that go on in Del Sol, New Mexico. The series follows Sunshine as she's working against time to solve a kidnapping case of one of her daughter's friends that just moved to the small city. She's not only dealing with that, but threats from the mayor, another missing teen, her crush on the town's bad boy Levi, and working on her own criminal case secretly from an incident that happened when she was only 17yrs old. I enjoyed that Darynda has two main characters, in that we not only follow Sunshine's life but, also her 14yr old daughter Auri and the hardships she goes through being not only a teenager, but also the Sheriff's daughter. The interactions that they have with each other are heart warming and funny, they have excellent chemistry as a mother and daughter team. The supporting characters are wonderful too, Quincy(Sunshine's best friend), Levi(crush) Hailey(Levi's sister & Sunshine's nemesis) Jimmy( Hailey's son who's also autistic), and Cruz( Auri's friend and crush) and let's not forget how wonderful Sunshine's parents are. The ensemble cast adds a great dynamic to the story making it very well rounded. 

But, let me tell you, it took me a pretty long minute to finish this book. I loved the Charley Davidson series and thought this book would capture me from the beginning as it predecessor did, but that wasn't the case. I initially started reading the book back in November and then picked it back up on and off in late December and then finally read it consistently for the past 5 days. In my opinion the beginning of the book started off a little too wacky and a little slow, and that's where my reluctance on reading the book fell in. Although the pace was steadily moving as the author had to do the groundwork on the characters, it didn't really pick up until around 50%. Even though, I didn't really start enjoying the story until the latter half of the novel, it is still a great book to start off the New Year's with and kept me wanting more. It's like now I'm regretting starting the series so early and that the book doesn't actually come out until April, and I'm over here anticipating for the second book, which I will definitely be reading. It has a good premise and I actually think it will become better than her Charley Davidson series.  I'm not going to lie the ending although not too much of a cliffhanger, still leaves me wanting more.  This will definitely great for a TV lineup. I would say a cross between Gilmore Girl and Rizzoli & Isles. It's not everyday you read a novel or see a TV show with a dual POV with mother and daughter as main characters. I feel like everyone could relate to the characters. The small town vibe is very charming.  Since we're on a content revolution of some sort now and days don't be surprised if you run across it for TV shows this fall. 

Cast
Sunshine Vicram - Blake Lively
Auri Vicram - Veronica Bonell
Cruz- Diego Tinoco
Levi - JD Pardo
Quincy- Michael Ealy

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All Fairytales Are Real

9/7/2019

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Hi I’m back again with another amazing series. I have been reading the Circle of the Rose Chronicles by SJ West recently and I think it would be a great television series. This series is loosely based off the Cinderella fairytale. And when I say loosely I mean it, the only similarities are the names and a little bit of the characters back stories. So let’s introduce you to the main character whom is named Cin D’rella, first name Cin last name D’rella. The story starts off with Cin at the age of 10, a few months after her father passed and she is living with her evil step mother and evil step sisters, until her god father comes and rescues her and enrolls her into an elite all girls academy to become a thorn, which is a soldier in charge of rescuing Briar Rose, a woman whose immortal sleep has caused her city to be cut off from the rest of the world for a century. What I mean by rescuing, is actually waking her up, because supplies are running low and if they don’t find a way to break the curse the people are doomed because of the over- crowding in the city.

When Cin first joins the academy she is intimidated because every girl that has attended the academy has a special skill and Cin has none and the only reason she had a fighting chance is because her god father is one of Briarsdale (the city in which they live) leaders. Briarsdale is broken into two parts, regular Briarsdale in which Cin lives and the Prince side, which belongs to the Prince family empire. The Thorns are in charge of protecting Briar Rose from the Prince family because they don’t want the curse broken on the city for a lot of nefarious reasons and have ordered numerous assassination attempts over Briar Rose’s life over the years.

In this story we see a little of Cin’s life growing up in the academy over the years and then the story jumps to when she is 18 years of age and now the leader in her group. At 18 is when the academy decides if her group will become a Thorn in the formidable Circle of Rose.  It has been a century and Briar Rose still has not woken, but what Cin doesn’t know is that she is the only one that is able to break the curse.  Cin has come a long way from the scared child with no parents to a lovely young woman surrounded by a god father who adores her and a group of friends that have her back throughout everything. There is also a love interest from the wrong side of the tracks, you guessed it one of the Prince brothers, that has Cin questioning everything she knows about the Circle of Rose.
This setting is awesome, they mention things about the regular world and how they have been cut off from it for a long time, and that’s how they became folk lore, they have been cut off for so long no one remembers that the place is real anymore. I love how it’s not a fairy tale, there are deaths and betrayals throughout the series, and a real heroine who is not waiting for her prince charming, but she is in fact the hero of the day, saving herself and the rest of her world from extinction. This story includes witches angels, and even mermaids. I feel like as a television series they can do so much with the world building and there is so much going on, that it could last for multiple seasons.
These are some changes that I would make for TV. Since this is a YA story, I would make the TV series more mature, spice it up a little bit more with some gore and a little sex, I wouldn’t make it so tween. In TV it would be a little more intricate and have more drama to add a little more depth. The target that I would try to reach would be 16-30yo, I think it would be more interesting that way and show a little more character on TV.  In all it is a great story, and if I were on the project of turning it into a television series, I would stay true to its story and just embellish it more. And, of course I would always try to have the author on as a consulting producer. They know their story better than anybody. Until Next time!

Cast
Cin D'Rella- Anne Winter
Colton Prince- Booboo Stewart
Scarlet- Amanda Arcuri
Maximus- Jeremy Irons
Isabel- Aimee Carrero
Gretel- Sierra McClain

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When in Roam do as Romans do LOL!!!

7/14/2019

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Sorry  it's been so long putting up another blog, I promise not to try to ever take this long again with posting another blog. I've been trying to start a Youtube channel and hoped that it would include the next blog, but it has taken longer than expected to get the channel up and running. I am excited about the future of making videos, so without further ado, let me tell you about my most recent read. 

Today I will be talking about a novel series that I recently read called Roam by Kimberly Sterdronsky Adams

So let me tell you a little bit about the books and why it would translate well into a TV series. Roam is about a 17yo girl named Roam Camden who is living a pretty normal life, aside from her mom passing away from cancer she lives with her dad and her older sister, she’s really smart being in all advanced classes and is dating her childhood sweetheart Logan. The novel starts off with it being her first day of school as a senior from summer break. She enters her first period history class and is taken aback by her attraction to her teacher Mr. West Perry, she tries to steer clear of him until they accidentally touch and numbers appear on Roam’s arm. West then has to explain to Roam that he’s immortal and that she has an immortal soul and he has to find her in every lifetime and that their baby will save the world, but while their trying to save it, another pair is trying to destroy it and the numbers that appear are coordinates to the other person’s location. But, West tells a reluctant Roam that he will figure out another way to fulfill the prophecy since Roam is so young this time and he’s 10yrs her senior. She agrees since she is very committed to Logan, but after Roam’s run in with West, she starts having dreams about her past lives and her own demise. And after an unfortunate series of events she learns that unbeknownst to himself that her childhood sweetheart Logan is one half of the opposite pair. And from there the action starts. Roam and West try to figure out how to stop Troy the immortal which is Logan’s other half,and they time travel to do so along with trying to escape him in the present. I’m going to stop right here because i feel like i’ve given enough for you to get the gist of the story. So let me tell you why it would be great as a TV series.

So I would pitch it like this. It’s like Vampire Diaries meets The Netflix show Travelers. It has the element of a love triangle with two men who are mortal enemies and have spent a lifetime hating each other and a girl who has to choose and then you have the element of time travel but when Roam time travels she’s back in the body of the person in her past life. But the story is so much more, you learn about parallel worlds and that the evil immortal Troy is not only hunting them because of his obsession with Roam which was his wife in a past life but also to save his kingdom. 
It has all the elements to keep an audience tuned in. Kidnapping, murder, love triangles,time travel. And what i really like the most is that the story builds up into the paranormal element, we see Roam living a normal life like every other teenager until she’s thrust into a world where she’s apart of a prophecy. The supporting characters play a big role too, her sister and her father are not left by the wayside like every other book where the parents are not around or they leave their families for good and start another life. The story is set up nicely where there is always a dilemma that could span out multiple episodes. I haven’t seen time travel shows do well in the past but this novel has a unique twist on it and has never been done before and it’s so different from what is out now and has the potential to be a great hit in television. If I could change some things to make it better for TV is that i would build up the relationship with Logan more, because it was such an easy choice while i was reading the novel that her love would be West, she didn’t put up much of a fight and I would also make West a little younger and make Roam at least 18 her senior year. I would also have her friend Ally Mae play a bigger role, I can count on one hand how many times Ally Mae appeared in the story, it made it seem like the only friend the heroine had was her boyfriend. I would target the show for 16-34 year olds, and if you plan on reading this series there are trigger warnings such as sexual content, rape, and language. And one thing i would do that executives rarely do is make the author a consulting producer on the show, because it’s ultimately their vision and they can add things in there where the writers lack and I think it would be key to the success of the show.

Casting

Roam Camden- Kristine Froseth known from the society
Violet – Sarah Grey – known from the order
Logan Rush -  Brenton Thwaites – known from the Giver and Pirates of the Caribbean
West Perry – Zach Roerig known from Vampire Diaries
Troy – Stephen Amell known from Arrow

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Five Part Series

3/24/2019

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Hi Guys,

I’m back again and so soon right. I’m trying to do better with updating my blog, so this is m 2nd one this month, and I’m quite proud of myself LOL! I just finished this book called The Five by Lily White. It was great in my opinion and would not mind seeing it as limited five part television series. It’s about a girl named Rainey Summer Day and how she was the lone survivor of a mass murder that occurred at a party. She’s a very beautiful girl that has endured a rough life and only knew how to use sex to get what she wanted. The police question her about that night her friends were killed and pass her off as a dim witted slut that knew nothing about what happened, but she all but admits is that is exactly what she is, until a victims advocate comes to her house to interview her, and from there she tells her whole story that started five years ago when she first moved into her rundown neighborhood at 17yo old and meets the Connor family that lives across the street from her and her mother. She first meets the youngest of the Connor boys which is Rowan and is 2yrs younger than Rainey at the time, but then she quickly meets the rest of the Connor men when she has sex with the oldest brother Jacob for a score of some pot. She describes herself as perpetually broke, so never having any money and always chasing a high she trades sex for drugs. She ends up having sex with all four brothers and the father just to get what she wants, and they all are aware but use her and disrespect her and she allows it because she doesn’t feel worth and all the while her mom thinks she’s a sweet innocent virgin. Rainey’s mom is oblivious and depends on men for her happiness inviting every boyfriend she’s ever had into her home and some who have sexually preyed on Rainey unknowingly to her mother. As time passes the youngest Rowan starts falling in love with Rainey and she with him, but thinks she’s unworthy of his love and pushes him away by sleeping with everybody and anybody because that’s who she is, but Rowan never gives up on protecting Rainey and making sure that they will spend forever together.

There are so may murders in this story, not only we have the mystery of who killed everyone at the party but also the mystery of what happened to all the Connor men. One by one they all died the father Paul, the oldest brother Jacob, the psychotic one Frankie, the date rapist Joel, and the youngest sweet and innocent Rowan. It seems like everyone dies around Rainey and she sinks so low, but she’s a strong character that keeps getting back up again. I love how the story is told, it done during an interview ad Rainey describing her life to the victims advocate. We also get a glimpse of the victim’s advocate’s life and how he wants to protect Rainey and take her away from the horrible neighborhood she continues to live in. He is just as eager to clear her as much as he wants to have sex with  her. Rainey is irresistible to him and most men around the way and he falls in lust with her just like many before him. We see both of their pov’s his eagerness to help her and her eagerness to tell him her whole story. It’s an intricate tale of mystery, murder, and romance. How you would do anything for the person you love to protect them. Just how far you will go. That’s why this would be an interesting limited series, trying to figure out why does death keep following Rainey and where will she end up and where the story ends. I loved every second of this story because it kept you guessing even if I figured it out what was going on at the end. I loved it. It was sadistic and heartwarming at the same time. I loved the way the author wrote this story and how she had the heroine remain true to herself and also gave her redeeming qualities, that she was capable of better.  The backdrop was fitting to the story and the characters were greatly developed, you felt for the characters and became attached. You felt real emotion and that’s what you want out of a story and that’s why it would relate great on television. So please check the story out and see for yourselves why it would be a hit limited series.

Cast
Rainey - Vanessa Morgan
​Rowan - Adam DiMarco
​Justin- Chris Pine
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My Belle

3/10/2019

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 I know I’m late and I meant to publish this post in February in honor of Black History Month and Valentines Day, so in honor of that Happy belated Valentines Day and Black History Month. I have read Belle by Beverly Jenkins and what a warm hearted young adult romance novel. This novel follows 16yo Belle Palmer a runaway slave separated from her father while fleeing the south and heading up north. She gets discovered by Daniel Best and his little sister Josephine, and they mistaken her for a boy, they live in Detroit and their family helps runaway slaves become acclimated. Belle is stricken with grief that she was separated from her father and is in bad shape when she comes to the Best’s household. Daniel Best’s mother, Mrs. Best cleans her wounds and helps her heal for the next couple of days. During those days she becomes close with Daniel and his younger sister. She begins to have a crush on Daniel, but keeps her feelings to herself as Daniel is promised to Francine, who is beautiful, but spoiled, jealous, and has a horrible mean streak. Belle hides the fact that she can’t read and enlists Daniel to help her and he obliges. He introduces her to his friends who are smitten with her but Francine becomes jealous and says some cruel words in which Daniel has to apologize for. Belle’s feelings are hurt and confides in Mrs. Best.  They end up getting along very well and Mrs. Best puts Belle’s sewing skills to good work as Belle used to sew for her mistress. In the mist of  al the family drama Belle has to watch out for bounty hunters also who capture African Americans who were former slaves or not and either take them back to their owner or take them to a plantation to be put to work. The rumor mill has also been spinning with news of Francine’s infidelity against Daniel with the new teacher in town. Daniel refuses to believe it and when he confronts it she all but admits it. Daniel breaks up with her as Francine decided to pursue the new teacher and Daniel decides to pursue Belle.

His parents tell him to give himself some time after he broke things off with Franince to make sure he’s sure about his decision as they do not want him to break Belle’s heart, and soon after he starts to court her. They all end up going to the biggest African American event in Canada where Belle is reunited with her father. And in that alls well that ends well. It was a great conclusion to the story where African Americans in the time of slavery end up with a happy ending. I’m not going to lie I would really like a sequel to this book where Ms. Jenkins would write about finding Belle’s mother who was sold some time before and them all being reunited and I would also like to see Daniel and Belle getting married and having a family of their own. I was skeptical about this book at first and thinking about it being on TV, because when it comes to slavery i absolutely hate seeing the brutality of it and for Beverly Jenkins to write it in such a different aspect was refreshing to say the least. We often forget about during that time people did fall in love and made the most of their situations and she put light on that. I would love to see this as a movie on Hallmark on Lifetime. It would be awesome. A love story of a former slave and a free man who are both African American. The chemistry between the two characters were great. Beverly Jenkins knows how to create romance and sexual tension without having sex scenes. The story was sweet, and innocent and all about black young love. I feel like there is so much to this story. There was great world building and the settings and information given about that time was so accurate.  It would be great as a TV movie and I would love to watch it. So tis the season for Valentines Day for this young black couple in the mist of history making events. So in honor of not only Black History month and Valentines Day but everyday take some time out and read this wonder novel that definitely should make it to the screen.

Cast

Belle Palmer- Camille Winbush
Daniel Best-  Algee Smith
Josephine Best- Marsai Martin
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Soul Summoner

1/27/2019

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I just read a great book over the weekend. The Soul Summoner by Elicia Hyder was a delight to read. It had depth, a great plot, and great characters. The story centers around Sloan, who has the ability to tell whether a person is good or bad, and also she’s able to summon someone just by thinking about them. The story starts off with Sloan in college and then quickly jumps to being well in her career. She’s a publicist for Asheville, NC, where she was also raised, but it is unknown where she was born because she was adopted, and left at the hospital where her adoptive mother worked. She has a pretty great life and seems to make friends everywhere she goes. Sloan describes the feeling as if she knows everyone even before she meets them. Suddenly her life is turned upside down when the new employee at the sheriff’s office Detective Nathan Mcnamara enters it. He comes by her office to drop off a couple of things and to introduce himself when Sloan sees a picture he has of a person and immediately she blurts out that he’s dead. The next day Nate finds out that Sloan is telling the truth when it is reported that the guys in the picture is indeed dead. After that, he enlists her to help find a missing person. Sloan declines as she doesn’t want to disrupt her normal life. She is reluctant to use her gifts until her best friend Adrienne tells her what is the point of having a gift if it is’t useful. Sloan then helps Nate track down the missing person, and from there on have a easy alliance and budding friendship that Sloan wishes would progress if he didn’t have a girlfriend. The funny thing is, is that Nate fancies Sloan also, but only seems to show it  when a new person enters her life. A guy named Warren Parrish that is very similar to Sloan, but where she is light, he is dark. Nathan and Warren get off onto the wrong foot because of their feelings for Sloan, but soon all three of them come together to solve a case involving a serial killer, and from there things only get stranger.

So I think that this novel should become a television series. It would be a paranormal criminal show, where the cases are solved by normal means to the public, but are really solved by paranormal means behind the scenes. Every episode would be a new case and the ongoing plot would be discovering why and how Sloan and Warren have these powers, since both were abandoned as children and don’t know their true heritage. This would be a great show because it is intriguing involving both romance and action. The setting of Asheville, NC is a great back drop. It’s rare that we see a crime show take place in a southern location. The dynamic between the characters is great and they have great chemistry. The plot is built up very well, things happen at just the right time. The pace of the novel is just right, discovering who the characters are and how well they interact with each other. I think it will be well perceived to the public as a TV series, it’s like Criminal Minds meets Grimm. Their looking for criminals who may or may not have a supernatural connection or finding them with supernatural means. The novel is not only enticing, but engaging, and will also appear on television that way as well. This is something new and refreshing for TV right now. It would be a hour long drama primetime television show, I mean because who doesn’t like a crime show with a little supernatural in the mix!!!


Cast
Sloan- Alison Brie
Nate - Mike  Vogel
Warren- Ben Barnes

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The Darkest Star

10/16/2018

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I just finished reading The Darkest Star by Jennifer Armentrout, a spin-off of the Lux series and let me just say OMG, Mind Blown!  This story centers around Luc, you know our young origin in the Lux series that helped out Daemon, Kat, and Daemon’s brother Dawson, if you don’t remember or haven’t read The Lux series, don’t fret you don’t have to read it in order to enjoy this story, but I do highly recommend it. So let me get back to my review. This story is about Luc and Evie. Evie is a senior in high school and lives with her mom, she’s a normal teenager going about her regular life, nothing exciting happens until she steps in Luc’s club Foretoken one night with her friend Heidi, not wanting her friend to go alone, she’s there for moral support. Foretoken is a club where everyone can be themselves. Humans and luxen alike attend to have a great time without any judgement, because after the invasion the luxen are kept on a tight leash from the government and humans are still scared of them, so there is a lot of prejudice in this story.  Luxen and humans cannot intermarry or date and if they do there are consequences, also the luxen wear a disabler on their wrists to mute their powers. During her time at the club Evie meets Luc and they get off to a rocky start, she doesn’t get along with him and a raid full of government agents enter the club to find unregistered luxen, but this is the least of Evie’s problems, because their is a serial killer on the loose, killing girls that resemble Evie that also happen to attend her school. During their tenuous relationship Luc seems to care an awful lot about Evie and her well being and insinuates that he knows a lot about her and her life. Evie is a little unnerved by this, but isn’t scared of Luc, she keeps going back to him because she’s interested in the secrets her mom is keeping from her that Luc seems to know an awful lot about. Evie ends up finding out all kinds of things about the Luxen and government conspires that she never thought about in her wildest dreams and also finds out about an even bigger secret that involves her, that i think the people who have read The Lux series would know immediately from the moment Evie meets Luc. The excitement about the secret was not me finding out, but the anticipation of Evie finding out. 

Jennifer tells a great story of the aftermath of what happened after the Lux invaded and the problems going on in the present. 
My thoughts on this book is that it’s great and I cannot wait for the next one. I am interested in what is in store for Luc and Evie next. Jennifer has produced my favorite paranormal books to date which is The Lux series, I was hooked from Obsidian. I know that those books have been optioned a few times to make into a movie, but hasn’t manifested yet. It comes to my understanding that there is no longer a option but I am confident that the Lux series will one day make it to the big screen and when it does, I think Luc’s story would be a great addition TV series spin-off of the movies. And since the show Roswell is coming back out as a remake, I really think the fad will catch on and people will begin to love our out of this world friends. Her stories will be the hottest thing in teen movies. And this book has all the makings of good YA television. There is angst, great characters, and just the right amount of sex appeal. The characters are lovable and the settings are perfect. There is also some appearances from our main characters from the Lux series which I’m stoked about that she included. The chemistry is just as good as her previous main characters if not more.  Luc is more powerful and filled with more arrogance. I also liked that this time around the female protagonist has mixed feelings regarding her lover interest, that she was the one indifferent to him and not the other way around. I enjoyed how she made Evie complex about her feelings and that although there was attraction on both parts, it wasn’t instalove, she made smart about her choices and skeptical as she should be. No one in real life just automatically goes with the flow. She made her have time to think about things and come up with a logical conclusion. Also, there was not pressure from Luc, he respected Evie and was a true gentleman and he was realistic. All in all this would be great for TV and there is nothing like it on the market, television is in need for great paranormal stories, and when they find this gem, they know they stumbled onto something great. I’m glad I got to read this story early from Netgalley and tell everyone how awesome this book is and even more awesome it would be on TV. I hope everyone enjoys The Lux series and now The Darkest star as much as I have. So Until Next Time!

Cast

Luc - Dylan Sprayberry
Evie - Nicola Peltz

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Loving The Crew

9/16/2018

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Okay so I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I just read a book by one of my favorite authors Crew by Tijan. I really enjoyed this book. This book could become a TV series. I think it would best fit to become a spin off of the Fallen Crest series. We get to experience the other side of the tracks from the fortunate to the less fortunate. We explore what's going on in Roussou High School. The story surrounds Channing Monroe's sister Bren Monroe, you should remember him as Samantha's BFF's Heather's Boyfriend in the Fallen Crest series if you read it, if you didn't it's fine, you do not have to read Fallen Crest to enjoy Crew, but it would help because it's in the same world. In Roussou you have the normals which are the cheerleaders, jocks, or anyone who isn't in a crew. The crew system was started by Bren's brother Channing, he has the most feared longest running crew. Bren belongs to her own crew which is the Wolf crew and only consists of Jordan, Zellman, and our love interest Cross, and they are the most feared crew at Roussou High. Just to be clear a crew is not a gang, there is no initiation and you don't have to die to get out, it's really just a group of alike people banding together to survive their surroundings and circumstances. Our heroine Bren is a troubled teen, her mother has passed away, her father is in prison, and she has a barely there brother who is also her guardian, so she's pretty much left up to her own devices. She also has a mean temper and carries a knife that she isn't afraid to use. Although the crew is her family, she is closest to Cross, he's her best friend, and confident. There rule in the crew is that no one can date each other inside their crew, so a relationship between Bren and Cross is forbidden. I like the dynamic of the crew, how they have their ups and downs and how their relationships with each other is forever evolving. Most people on this side of the tracks aspirations is just to graduate high school and get a good enough job. The most success Bren has ever seen is her brother and his girlfriend, both run their own bars in town. The biggest threat to their crew is the Ryerson crew which is ran by Bren's ex-boyfriend's brother Alex Ryerson, seems like he's cool on the outside, but is every bit of evil on the inside. We follow the crew as they navigate their way through school and how tough they are, always starting fights and proving themselves. That saying the book is about Bren overcoming her past and falling in love with her best friend and the complications that come along with that. The story is gritty and engaging. The main character  has multiple layers that are peeled back in each chapter. 

I do like the concept of us seeing the other half of town of the people who don't have as much as the Fallen Crest crowd. I really enjoyed this book and flew through the 500 pages. That being said I really think this book could've been a series, I don't feel like it fully covered everything as thoroughly as it could've been told, I feel that it is still more story to tell. I feel like we learned so much about the crew that the build up into Bren and Cross's relationship wasn't much and could've been a little more chemistry between the two. Also Cross had a twin sister and in the book her personality seemed as if she was younger than she actually was. The author described her as having a mouth on her and not taking anything from anybody, but it really wasn't showcased all that much. The story has a unique setting of normals vs. crews, its great actually. A clique just surviving. The book was a entertaining read and I would enjoy more if Tijan gifted us with another story with them. It would be great TV because it's full of drama and relatable to people, and also sometimes feature our Fallen Crest Friends like how TVD did with The Originals. I can just imagine bringing the teenage era back to TV, like Dawson's Creek, Popular, She's All That, etc. I think that's another fad that's just waiting to come back just like when we had the vampire era, where we had the whole Twilight, Vampire Diaries, & True Blood.  This will be one of the shows that I will be waiting on, because I know it's only a matter of time before both her novels Fallen Crest and Crew become a television series to remember!

Bren Monroe - Katherine Langford
Alex Ryerson - Will Poulter
Cross - Jacob Elordi
Jordan - Noah Centineo
Zellman - Mandela Van Peebles
Taz - Anne Winters

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Life of a Hollywood Starlet

6/10/2018

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So I have just finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and it was epic. I know I say this about almost all the books on my site, but this is written differently from anything I’ve read thus far. Evelyn Hugo is a famous legendary Hollywood starlet that enlists a journalist Monique Grant to interview her under false pretenses, because in fact she hires her to write her biography, but that’s not all, there is a heart wrenching secret in why Evelyn chose Monique at all. The story toggles between the past and the present, sort of reminding me of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, especially with the author showing the audience Monique interview Evelyn and the fact that we get a glimpse of Monique’s life. The story follows Evelyn at a early age from when her mother passed away when she was fourteen years old and then her running away from her abusive father at fifteen by marrying her first husband and moving from Hell’s Kitchen in New York to Hollywood, CA. From there she receives small roles until she she demands bigger roles from studio executives. They tell her she doesn’t have the right look, so she chops off her hair and dyes it blonde and renaming herself from Evelyn Herrera to Evelyn Hugo making her sound like she’s an actress from France instead of being her native Cuban. In the 1950’s being a starlet of color wasn’t a trend, so she had to look the part of what the public idolized in that time. At this time if you were signed to a studio they had complete control of your life, so they suggested that she divorce her husband and go on a few dates with actors that were signed to the studios to get her name out there. She eventually married a famous Hollywood actor and things started looking up and she finally got her first real serious role as Jo in Little Women and that’s when she met her life long friend Celia St. James.

Evelyn’s story is full of pain, passion, and romance, but more importantly it tells a story of ones life, all the ups and downs, the heartache and pain. I particularly enjoy this story because it shows real life aspects in what people go through day to day, but also how Evelyn  went through it and coped with situations being a highly publicized individual. She’s had to hide her identity of being a woman of color. She’s had to deal with being a bisexual and hiding her sexuality. Just a fair warning that some people might take offense to this book because it deals with homophobia, racism, adultery, abortion, and death. If these things offend you or your a highly offensive person then I suggest you don’t read it, but if you do,  you have to be open that times were different back in the day, a lot of things weren’t acceptable and if you came out as a certain person you were cast out as a pariah or it could’ve gotten you killed. I absolutely loved this story and a hundred percent vote for this book to be made into a movie. I’ve always wanted to see behind the scenes of starlets like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and how their life was like away from the cameras, and we get that with the fiction story of Evelyn Hugo. It’s like a story of all the Hollywood starlets wrapped up in one woman. Sometimes the reasons why she married some of her husbands were ridiculous but sometimes necessary for her fame and namesake. At a time she hit rock bottom and had to start all over again to make a name for herself, not everyone could make a comeback like she did. I especially like this story because both of our main characters are women of color, Evelyn being Cuban and Monique being a biracial woman of African American and Caucasian heritage. They are both strong women, and I particularly like Evelyn because it was no easy feat having to hide who your truly are for the sake of your career. The author did so great with the description of how life was like during that time, it actually felt as thought I was reading a biography of a real person. So I must say that I love love this book and would love to see it as a movie on Lifetime, Netflix, Showtime, or in the theater. I definitely know this, that if its anywhere on the big screens I’m sure it will get rave reviews.

Young Evelyn Hugo-Camilla Belle
Older Evelyn Hugo- Raquel Welch
Monique Grant- Grace Byers
Young Celia St. James- Lily Cole
Older Celia St. James -Julianne Moore

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