Month: October 2022

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go home for the weekend. For those who don’t know, I live in a small town in Iowa. This meant I had a few hours in the airport and on a plane. My favorite activity to do on a plane is to read a book because I can never hear movies well, due to what the pressure does to my ears. This brings me to my media of this week, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

I can practically guess what most of you are thinking, why a romance? Listen, I never used to like romance books, but something about enemies to lovers is just sheer perfection in my eyes (hopefully there are no psychology majors reading this). Anyway, I am also a complete sucker for Barnes and Noble. This is why when I saw this book on a table titled ‘Book Tok,’ I bought it and trusted the combination of TikTok and Barnes and Noble. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

With nothing else to say, let’s get into the review!

Characters:

Lucy Hutton is an interesting protagonist. She has layers to her personality, but is also really to understand. Her character is quirky and determined. It’s really nice to read about a female protagonist that never quits and has her own goals. I also enjoyed reading the book from her perspective in 1st person because of how entertaining her thoughts were. Lucy Hutton is easy to relate to, including the amount of character growth she undergoes throughout the book.

Lucy Hutton is an amazing protagonist to see the story through because she is flawed, overthinks, and in her own way, hilarious. So it only makes sense that her love interest is also a great character. Josh Templemen is one of those characters that readers root for. He is hard to guess and read, but ultimately charming. Despite playing the role of the love interest, Josh has a solid character and personality of his own. It is clear and evident that he is more than just a love interest.

This book didn’t have a lot of focus on the side characters, due to the amount of stuff happening to just the main two characters, Lucy and Josh. However, The Hating Game still made the side characters stand out and impact the plot. Luck and Josh’s bosses, Mr. Bexley and Helene, are each unique characters in their own. Every time they appear, they add humor or some other important element to the story.

For characters I give The Hating Game a 9/10.

Plot:

The plot seems like a typical ‘enemies to lovers’ trope. Coworkers, both assistants to the heads of the publishing company, compete for a new promotion. And of course, they hate each other.

Josh and Lucy are very much opposites and the plot plays on that really well. It was entertaining and held my attention. While romance is mostly predictable, this book still left me wanting to know how everything would come together and unfold. The detailing in the plot is perfect and makes the ending so much better. Everything is well thought out and well positioned in the story.

Overall the plot was cute, left me wanting more, and extremely enjoyable.

For plot I’m giving The Hating Game a 8.5/10.

Enjoyment:

I love the enemies to lovers trope, as I have already mentioned. The Hating Game lived up to my standard of that trope. Now was it the best book I’ve ever read? No, it isn’t even my favorite romance book. However, The Hating Game was a really good read. It made me happy, sad, and anxious all at the same time. I fell in love with Josh and Lucy’s dynamic as well as their story.

While some parts of the story seemed to drag and I was able to easily guess the ending, I couldn’t help but smile at some parts of the book. It was realistic, cute, and definitely a good read.

For enjoyment I give The Hating Game a 8/10.

Overall:

Overall I rate The Hating Game a 25.5/30.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you would like to order the book or read the synopsis, click here!

“That’s a tough one. I would have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.”

“I am in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven’t slept all night, I’m starved, and I’m armed! Don’t mess with me!”

The movie I am reviewing this week is what can only be defined as a true 2000s classic. It is truly iconic. Hopefully, some of you already guessed from the quotes above, but for those who don’t know, the movie is Miss Congeniality. Miss Congeniality is one of my comfort movies; it’s simple, funny, and just an overall feel-good movie. So when I had free time this previous weekend, I knew it was time for a rewatch.

But enough of the intro and let’s get into the actual review!

Characters:

As I have said before, the lead of any kind of media is one of the most important parts. They set the tone and enjoyment level for the entirety of the movie. They have to be a good balance between flawed, yet not annoyingly making wrong decisions. Sandra Bullock’s character is an example of an amazing main character.

Gracie Hart is very much an independent woman. She’s a top FBI agent who knows what she’s doing and values her work. However, she does have an issue following orders, which gets her in trouble various times throughout the movie. Gracie Hart is not only strong, but she’s entertaining to watch. Her character is highly comedic. This is due to multiple causes, one being the dramatic irony of her trying to fit in with a bunch of pageant contestants. Another cause for entertainment in Gracie’s character is simply her humor; she’s funny and does humorous things throughout the movie.

A majority of the side characters are either USA pageant contestants with Gracie or fellow FBI agents with Gracie. Each side character adds their own little aspect to the movie. For example, ‘Texas’ is very much in it to win it. By having so many personalities with so many little ‘quirks,’ the movie feels much more real.

A major character is Gracie’s friend in the FBI, Eric Matthews. Eric is the one running the task project. His character isn’t complex by any means, but is still dynamic. He, along with Gracie, go through character development throughout the movie. Eric and Gracie’s friendship works really well in terms of plot and entertainment.

Gracie’s main friend in the pageant is ‘Rhode Island’ or Cheryl. Cheryl is not the brightest person, but truly has a heart of gold. Her influence on Gracie throughout the pageant is what makes this movie so wholesome. Their friendship dynamic truly makes this movie special.

There are also other characters that make the movie better, such as Victor Melling. Victor Melling is hired by the FBI to help Gracie become a pageant content. Throughout Miss Congeniality he carries the one-liners and makes up a lot of the humor.

For characters I rate Miss Congeniality a 9/10.

Plot:

Gracie Hart, an FBI agent, gets put under review after making a mistake out in the field. However, she later needs to get put undercover in the USA pageant to find a person threatening the pageant. The plot is full of surprises and is honestly just really funny. This movie takes an audience on a wholesome journey through the eyes of Gracie. The ending might be cliche and predictable, but it still is entertaining to watch, as well as heartwarming.

For plot I give Miss Congeniality a 8/10.

Enjoyment:

As I mentioned before, Miss Congeniality is one of my comfort movies. It’s simple, cute, and funny. It makes me laugh as well as makes me feel good. Sandra Bullock always is amazing on screen and all the acting is amazing to watch. Is this one of the greatest movies I’ve watched? No. But will I watch it again? Heck yes.

For enjoyment I give Miss Congeniality a 9/10.

Final Score:

The final score for Miss Congeniality is 26/30!

Thank you for reading this and if you’d like to learn more go to Miss Congeniality’s IMDB Page!

Rick Riordan was a staple in my childhood and was part of the reason I fell in love with reading. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved reading before I first picked up The Lighting Thief, but little 3rd-grade me fell even more in love after reading Rick Riodan’s most popular series. I was so in love with Rick Riordan’s work that I read all of it throughout my youth. I have even reread most of his books at least 5 times… So with how much love I have for Rick Riordan’s other books, it only made sense to read the new one he published last year on October 5th.

Rick Riordan’s Daughter of the Deep had a lot to live up to in my mind. However, I was also worried I wouldn’t enjoy it because of my high expectations. I should learn to never doubt Uncle Rick because yet again with his works, I was pleasantly surprised.

So with no more introduction left, it’s time for the review!

Characters:

The main character of Daughter of the Deep is Ana Dakkar. The reader is shown the entire story through her eyes since it’s in first person, so it is highly important that Ana’s character is enjoyable.

Ana is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, meaning she’ll have less knowledge and experience compared to other points of view in the story. However, this is part of what makes Ana’s character enjoyable. As a reader you get to see her pain and her struggle with it. It creates a very relatable and empathic feeling in the reader towards Ana; it creates a personal connection. The readers can almost feel Ana’s pain and therefore want her to have a good ending.

The personal connection with Ana’s character is just one of the traits I like. Ana is a funny narrator, she keeps the story entertaining no matter the action with her own internal dialogue. Her point of view of situations adds humor to the book, which is a very important factor to me. Ana is also very caring. She is shown throughout the story trying to do the best for everyone, despite not always knowing what is best. The last point brings me to one of my favorite parts of Ana’s character, that she is flawed. Ana isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes and doubts herself, and this makes the story realistic and relatable for the audience.

While we don’t get to see the story through their eyes, the side characters are also good examples of relatable and enjoyable characters. Ana has two best friends; Nelinha da Silva and Ester Harding. Each one brings their own element to the story. The three friends have different personalities that work together amazingly, while remaining unique to each character. Between the three of them they also cover a lot of representation for people, such as Ester having an anxiety disorder.

Daughter of the Deep also has other characters such as Gemini Twain and Dev Dakkar. Each charter plays their part of the story extremely well. They all interact in a way that resembles how a real freshman would react. The characters make the story entertaining, heartfelt, and as realistic as it can be. Even the ‘villains’ display real human emotions and motives, meaning there is more to them than just evil.

For characters I’m giving Daughter of the Deep a 9/10.

Plot:

At first the plot of Daughter of the Deep seems to be simple, however, Uncle Rick never does anything simple.

Tragedy strikes Ana and her friends and immediately introduces the readers to heart-racing tension they’ll feel for the rest of the book. From the moment the conflict starts til the moment the book ends, Daughter of the Deep’s plot kept my attention. It was entertaining, thrilling, and also managed to create a connection between the characters and the reader. The plot also weaves in life lessons and ways to deal with emotions in a healthy way. Uncle Rick even included a plot twist, which may have been somewhat expected, but played out in a way I didn’t expect.

For plot Daughter of the Deep receives a 9/10.

Enjoyment:

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys, I am somewhat biased in this review. Well, all my reviews are technically biased, but this one is more biased. This is because I have such a deep love for Rick Riordan and his books. His writing style and the way he brings characters to life makes him one of my favorite authors. Just keep in mind that for enjoyment it might score higher for me than it will for you if you end up reading Daughter of the Deep.

Based on my previous paragraph you should be able to guess that I enjoyed Daughter of the Deep. The characters and plot made the story entertaining, relatable, and thrilling. I could never tell where the story would go next and oftentimes found myself unable to put the book down because of my enjoyment. I was constantly wanting to know what was next and was upset when I finally reached the last page.

My score for enjoyment is 9.5/10.

Final Score:

The overall score for Daughter of the Deep is 27.5/30.

Thank you all for reading this and I hope you all enjoyed the review! If you would like to learn more about Daughter of the Deep go to Rick Riordan’s website.