Month: November 2022

Stunning PLL Book #11 by Sara Shepard Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ 1 Comment

This one was a wild ride. First of all, the girls think that a grown-ass woman is A? Almost like when on the TV show they thought A was Jessica DiLaurentis lol. Why would a middle-aged woman care so much about your secrets? It’s so random. I guess they do provide good reasoning as to why they think she is A but it never quite added up for me.

Anyway yeah, so this one was like extra ridiculous, and I know I usually go into a full-blown account of what happens but with this one I’m going to try to keep it brief. I say try because when I start writing it just kind of gets away from me.

So first of all the secrets and the drama the girls had was very random and not relevant to anything. I mean Emily was the main focus here so everyone else’s drama was just thrown in because they all have to be tortured equally you know?

For example, Aria finds out that Noel’s dad did drag and then A threatens to expose it unless she breaks up with Noel. Like what was that? It is so random and provides nothing aside from it just being funny. I think the most shocking thing was that Noel knew about it and that it was just a normal accepted thing. Which, I mean fine, Noel’s dad do what you want but if he’s not actively hiding it then surely more people in Rosewood would talk? I don’t know just wasn’t my vibe. There had to have been more scandalous secrets for a family as rich as Noel’s to be hiding, but that’s what we went with.

Next, there is Hanna stalking Mike and his new girlfriend, I mean not surprising but A leads Hanna on this wild goose chase acting as if Mike’s girlfriend Colleen has been hiding a huge secret. Again a lacklustre reveal – she did an embarrassing commercial and Hanna was going to share it with everyone. Hanna has a change of heart though, realising that she didn’t want to be a bully and so instead, A shares a video of her stalking Mike and Colleen making her the loser.

Again, nothing surprising, I feel like a lot of Hanna’s stuff is very repetitive. Plus Mike ends up getting back together with Hanna in the end anyway because he thinks it’s cool she loved him enough to stalk him?? It’s very dumb.

As for Spencer, she is trying to impress a club at Princeton by baking pot brownies and bringing them to the club’s potluck. Yeah, this one also was dumb. Basically, Spencer makes fast friends with this girl but then feels uncomfortable seeing her smoking pot, A calls the cops on her and everyone thinks Spencer did it. Then Spencer apologises to the girl and the girl invites her to a potluck and Spencer thinks she means to bring food with drugs in it? Yeah okay.

Naturally, this idea backfires, like seriously backfires as A switches Spencer’s brownies out for some that are much stronger and laced with LSD and something else I don’t remember. This is definitely a step up for A and hella dangerous. Someone definitely could have died but they did not and it was all kind of fine in the end.

Definitely not my fave situation and honestly thought Spencer was smarter than that but yeah that’s where we are with that one.

Finally, there is Emily, and we finally learn what happened to her and her baby. So Emily had promised this woman, Gayle, her baby after Gayle offered her a lot of money but Emily ended up changing her mind because she seemed like a psychopath. Which is fair because who randomly offers someone $50k for their baby?

Emily ends up calling her friends to help her get the baby to the original adoptive parents Emily had chosen before Gayle offered her money and she thought she had gotten away with it, until Gayle shows up again in her life. Gayle has moved into town recently to help fund Tom Marin’s senate campaign. Coincidence? The girls think not and sus out that she’s A because she is getting revenge for Emily changing her mind about the baby.

It’s a stretch, because why would Gayle want to punish the rest of the girls for something Emily did? Seems a bit random. Also they justify it because Gayle is always around, she knows Hanna’s business because she’s on her dad’s campaign and she knows about Spencer’s Princeton activities because she’d been spotted there before. Doesn’t really explain how she knew Aria’s thing but the girls are just adamant she’s A.

Not to mention, Gayle comes face to face with Emily and says she wants what she’s owed, which people assume is the baby. So now everyone thinks Gayle is trying to track down Emily’s baby and steal it from her. Again this whole thing sounds ridiculous as I type it. Like between this book and the last, it’s like some switch in me has flipped and I just find all this so dumb??

I mean at least in the last book, Kelsey was the same age as the girls and you could see her as A because she’d be petty like that. And the drama was still silly between the girls but it wasn’t so over the top it was unbelievable. This time though I feel like things were wild for the sake of it.

PLUS A lures the girls to Gayle’s house at the end of the book saying that they had Emily’s baby and then A ends up killing Gayle at the end like…are you serious? Why? What is the point?

The girls also find out that Gayle was Tabitha’s step mum which is something new but they didn’t know until the end. I mean if they had known before that would have been a stronger case for her being A if she somehow knew about Jamaica. But seems like she didn’t know.

And the final bomb to be dropped is that at Gayle’s funeral, her husband, aka Tabitha’s dad, reveals that he got an autopsy done on his daughter and he knows it was a murder and not an alcohol overdose. So the girls are not out of the woods for this murder just yet.

So that’s everything, still quite a long post but I feel hits the main points. Like I said I feel like this book was way too OTT with the drama that it just made everything seem ridiculous. I suppose this is the downfall when a series runs on too long, the same thing happened with the PLL TV show. Which is sad but since I have made it this far we might as well continue on.

We still need to find out what Aria did in Iceland that was so horrible and Hanna has a summer secret too so I hope we get those revealed soon. I just need them to be a lot less extreme because I don’t know how to take this series seriously anymore. I guess it’s not supposed to be super serious as a teen drama series but still, there has to be some layer of believability.

Maybe I’ll read something else before diving into the next book to cleanse my mind from all the craziness that happened in this book…Or we just power through and get it done as quickly as possible…either way I am finishing this series.

Love Is Blind Season 3 Wedding Predictions

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I feel like it wasn’t that long ago I was writing about Love is Blind season 2 lol. I guess maybe because the season 2 After the Altar episodes weren’t that long ago. But I thought I’d share how I feel about the couples of season 3 and what I think will happen at the weddings. So we already have seen Raven and SK’s but I’m still going to talk about it because it was a shocker. This whole season has been a mess and I have lots of thoughts so might as well share a blog post, even though I have been tweeting up quite a storm recently about the show lol and will no doubt tweet more as the rest of the weddings unfold. But until then, here are my predictions for the rest of the weddings.

Raven and SK

I was not expecting SK to say no and I feel like many people felt the same way. Never did he give an indication that he was going to say no he was so positive about this whole experience and so yeah that was wild and dramatic.

If anything, I thought Raven was going to say no. She was not ever going to live up to the ideals of a Nigerian wife and I know SK said that’s not what he wanted but I’m sure down the line there are some things he would wish for that Raven would not feel comfortable doing. So I think overall this was a good decision.

It’s just wild that even his family didn’t know he was going to say no. Especially after how he talked about how he loved Raven and everything before he was like “I don’t tho”. Savage. I could never go through something like this only for them to say no at the wedding. I bet Raven is glad her family didn’t wanna be involved now.

Bartise and Nancy

I feel horrible for Nancy to be honest. Like you know it’s bad when she’s literally crying to someone else about how your fiancé doesn’t seem to find you attractive.

Then there’s the whole abortion thing. Yikes. I know Bartise thinks they can talk through it together and he was learning from her but I also feel like if in the future, Nancy for whatever reason needed to abort their child he would not be okay with it. I just don’t think that’s a thing you easily change your mind on.

OH, and of course, Bartise bringing up Nancy having the business with her ex every five minutes. I feel he’s insecure but like there’s been no evidence of Nancy sneaking off to meet her ex or doing anything shady. So to me, it’s just him complaining about something just to complain.

I’m actually disappointed Nancy said yes. She has put up with so much crap from Bartise and she hasn’t done anything wrong. I thought she would have given up on him immediately from when he started talking about how he felt about seeing Raven but she didn’t.

As for Bartise, I don’t know what he says. In my head, it would be easy for him to say yes because Nancy is a good person, he would be financially secure with her income and live his best life. Like his friends said before the wedding how he wanted someone to take care of him, which is all well and good but is that a partner or a parent you know?

Ooh I just rewatched the first ever promo after the first lot of episodes dropped and it looks like Nancy’s brothers are pissed so something tells me Bartise could say no. I mean not that the brothers were impressed with Bartise to begin with. So could be messy, now I’m intrigued to see what happens.

Alexa and Brennan

The first couple to get engaged is always framed as the ones meant to last. And I think Alexa and Brennan could be good together. I mean they are a bit awkward at times but I feel like that’s to be expected when you meet and have a relationship without seeing each other haha.

I don’t know if they would be as solid as Lauren and Cameron but realistically no one will be. But I could see them both saying and things being fine. Even with Alexa wanting a prenup lol.

That being said the promo for Wednesday makes me think Brennan might say no though like him crying? But he could just be emotional…I think Alexa says yes though, I don’t know if she has reason to say no.

Cole and Zanab

As soon as I saw Cole I knew he was going to be another Shake type. And he’s living up to that. I mean as soon as he got out of the pods and was talking to the other guys he was already like “I am not physically attracted to her.” Great. I mean it’s valid not to be physically attracted to someone but if it’s not happening just walk away. Like why string someone along for TV it’s harsh.

And then when they started showing Cole and Zanab having good moments I just felt like Cole was trying too hard to compliment Zanab. I mean she may like that and need that to feel secure in the relationship but if Cole was playing it up I can see him getting bored of it quickly.

It also does not look good when Cole is asking Zanab to be nicer to him haha. To be honest their dynamic has been really weird and I don’t like them as a couple.

People on Twitter seem to have mixed feelings about them saying Zay is the one that’s crazy or Cole is a manchild and I think it’s both lol. Like Zanab wants someone who looks like Cole but isn’t Cole since she seems very annoyed when he tries to be his actual self. And for Cole, he wants someone who is a little immature like him to have fun with and not be too serious, oh and looks like Colleen obviously lol.

But yeah I don’t know if Cole will say yes or not. In my head, because of how Zanab talks she’s in it 99% of the way but maybe while walking down the aisle she gets some sense knocked into her and says no. Let’s wait and see…

Colleen and Matt

Oh boy. Well, Matt was giving such a red flag when he threatened to walk out the first time. Like he got so angry over a conversation Colleen had with Cole and I don’t even think it was bad. It was crazy. And then it happened again a few episodes later and I’m like…this is not the kind of person you want to marry.

I think it’s obvious Matt has some issues to work through and was so not ready to go on this show and commit. Like in the latest promo you see him freaking out and being indecisive. I also think he’s the one that says “I do not” in the first promo they showed after the first lot of episodes aired or something. (Though I just rewatched the promos and I could have made up the fact someone says I do not because I didn’t hear it the second time???) But I would be okay if he says no because he’s too on edge all the time to be fully in this relationship.

I don’t know what Colleen would say, to be honest, I mean she’s very on the fence so could go either way. I mean if Matt was the one to say yes would she also say yes? I don’t know. But also if she says no after he’s said yes in my head he would just fly off the handle like he has previously so would make for good TV. So I guess we shall see.

And so those are all my predictions for this season, I honestly feel so much more up in the air with these ones compared to last season. I had clear ideas of who was going to say what but this time I am very unsure. I guess because this time I went on Twitter before writing this and people were swaying me in different directions lol. Either way I am very invested in these weddings and can’t wait to see how it unfolds. See you all at the altar on Wednesday!

October 2022 Reading Wrap Up

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I feel like this month I wasn’t reading very much which is weird because I didn’t feel particularly busy with anything but it is what it is.

The Spanish Love Deception

This one I did like when I started reading but as things went on it really started to drag for me. Plus when the characters finally got together I really started to not care anymore which is not what you want with a romance novel. Don’t get me wrong I love a good enemies to lovers story but this one was not it for me.

I am sad though because I did want to like it but I think it was too long and descriptions started to get repetitive. So I was just glad I made it to the end.

Twisted PLL Book #9

Full thoughts here.

We are back in the PLL world again for the second half of the series. The girls thought they were free from A until Spring Break goes wrong for them and A is back with a vengeance…

I am interested to see where we go in this second half of the saga, mainly because the first half ended so nicely. Hoping that it doesn’t go south like the TV show but so far things seem good.

Ruthless PLL Book #10

Full thoughts here.

I count this as having being read in October since I only read about 20 pages on the 1st November. But this one was okay, I think I wanted more reveals. Like the Kelsey thing was fine and definitely a good red herring but overall lacked something for me. Still I am enjoying being back in this world so looking forward to seeing where we go from here.

And that has been my reading for October. It would have been nice to wrap up PLL at the end of the month but no big deal. I predict the end of the year will involve more PLL books and maybe some other things sprinkled in. Which has basically been the theme of reading this whole year haha but I’m proud of myself for making it through this series it’s been a long time coming.

One thing I can say for sure is I probably won’t be reading any seasonal reads because I never time those things well but never say never.

Ruthless PLL Book #10 by Sara Shepard Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ 1 Comment

We are back again with our Pretty Little Liars. And we have quite a few things to unpack so let’s get down to business shall we?

First off, Aria. Her drama didn’t really add anything to the main story so we can talk about it briefly. Basically, Ezra comes back. Yeah I know. I thought we were done with him but no, Aria sends him an email saying she misses him and next thing you know, he’s back in Rosewood.

He is still his old creepy self and it turns out while he and aria were apart he has written a book about her! And instead of Aria finding this really inappropriate and weird she loves it and thinks it’s romantic. Ugh. I admit it’s only marginally less creepy than in the TV show because at least he didn’t know Aria was a minor when they met and wasn’t obsessed with her because of Alison. But even then…a teacher writing a love story about his student is crossing so many lines.

It’s kind of brushed off as no big deal though because when Aria says she has some criticisms about it, Ezra turns into a whiny defensive baby and won’t listen to her. So there’s that.

Plus when Ezra suggests the idea of Aria introducing him to everyone as her boyfriend he doesn’t see any problem with it. Like yeah okay he’s not her teacher anymore but everyone in Rosewood knows he used to be. He doesn’t see anything wrong with the situation yet Aria sees some sense to it and doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

Again Ezra gets pissy about this with Aria and so they break up lol. Good riddance. Not to mention Ezra ends up making out with Klaudia, the Finnish exchange student who Aria accidentally pushed off a ski lift lol. Looks like Ezra will always be a creeper hitting on minors. Well it’s stated Aria is eighteen in this book but even then that doesn’t really make it okay.

And at the end of all that Aria and Noel get back together. So really Aria’s storyline amounted to nothing. Boring.

Hanna’s story is also in the love department as she starts a romance with the son of her dad’s political enemy. It’s supposed to be romantic and all star crossed lovers until Hanna sees a news article about him being a serial dater. Yawn. To get back at him she decides to tell her dad the drama she found out from the guy she was seeing. Oops. That’ll teach him not to mess with Hanna.

Didn’t get to see the fallout of what her dad will do with the information but I imagine it’s coming. So I guess we sit tight and see. Kate doesn’t even use this information against Hanna because apparently she’s been cheated on before too so I guess that’s nice?

Then there is Spencer and Emily. They are tied together this time around because of one girl. Kelsey.

In this book we find out that Spencer had spent the summer on some pills trying to ace her AP classes to get into Princeton. Her and her friend Kelsey got hooked on them and while all of Spencer’s other friends thought it was a bad idea, she didn’t listen.

Unluckily for Spencer, the girls get caught by the police with the pills and so Spencer decides to save her ass by getting Hanna to plant the drugs in Kelsey’s room and pin the whole thing on her. Harsh.

Spencer thought she was free from that whole situation and that she was getting into Princeton early admission. Only she gets a letter to say that there was a mix up and they accidentally accepted two people with her name and now she needs to work extra hard to secure her place.

This sends Spencer into a whole guilt trip frenzy as she channels her guilt of what she did to Kelsey into her performance of Lady McBeth. All for her to find out that A was messing with her. Cool.

Another reason Spencer was spiralling is because Kelsey reappeared in her life after leaving juvie. She is back at school and working on some orchestra thing with Amelia, Spencer’s step sister to be, so Spencer is constantly on edge. She also believes that Kelsey is A, especially after stealing her phone and finding out that she was in Jamaica that spring break. So she thinks Kelsey saw what happened, figured out Spencer is why she went to juvie and is out for revenge.

It’s a bit far fetched considering the other girls weren’t really involved in the drug bust, well Hanna was but how was Kelsey meant to know? But at the same time it makes more sense than other A theories that floated about on the TV show.

Spencer tells the girls her theory and shows them a picture of Kelsey to be on the lookout and this is when Emily discovers she knows her.

Emily ended up going to a party and meeting Kelsey. The two hit it off right away and were having a good time and it looked like Kelsey could have been Emily’s new love interest. It turns out Emily has a thing for bold women who are a little daring and a little dangerous. Who knew?

But then Spencer and Emily fight about Emily spending time with Kelsey and then Emily ends up telling Kelsey that Spencer is the one that turned her in for the drugs and sent her to juvie. Uh oh.

Spencer then gets a text from A which contains a photo of Tabitha on the beach in Jamaica the night that Aria pushed her and she thinks Kelsey is the one that sent it. Especially when she runs into Kelsey and she asks Spencer if she got her text, this leads to Spencer attacking Kelsey making her look like a psycho.

This then sends Kelsey off the rails and she drives Emily out to the quarry – the same one where Mona tried to kill Spencer – and it looks like Kelsey is trying to kill Emily in the same way…until it is revealed that Kelsey is trying to kill herself?

So the girls theory about her being A is wrong. Naturally I didn’t think Kelsey was A but the girls did have every right to believe that she was. Turns out that Kelsey ended up relapsing on drugs after finding out Emily was friends with Spencer and was mad at her for keeping a secret. Things spiralled out of control for her when she found out that Spencer sent her away to juvie. But the girls ended up saving Kelsey’s life and she wrote them apology letters for what happened.

Kelsey ends up being put into the Preserve, the same institution where Courtney/Alison once stayed and that Hanna also had a stint in. They also discover that Tabitha went there too…so many coincidences. And of course A is still around so it’s not going to be that easy to get rid of her.

And that is where we end things. Naturally it got a bit dramatic at the end but I think it was lacking something for me, I guess I just wasn’t convinced that Kelsey would suddenly be so sucidial? It seemed out of left field for me but yeah.

Oh! And also they keep mentioning Aria doing something unspeakable in Iceland and I hope we find out that soon. I also feel like there’s more to the Emily pregnancy story that we are missing. She can’t just give up a baby at sixteen and go back to life like nothing happened, especially not with A around…so yeah lots of mysteries still be to revealed. Fingers crossed they are good reveals because I’ve been enjoying them so far.