Ultra's Fic (and Other Stuff)

So, I had high hopes when I bought this book. It's part of a series called 'Meant to Be', sanctioned by Disney, which are rom-com novels based on Disney animated classics. Since I love a good rom-com and The Little Mermaid' is my all-time favourite animated Disney film, I felt I couldn't go wrong with this one.

Unfortunately, when I first started reading, I was less enthusiastic. There seemed to be so many characters popping up all at once, and aside from Ariel, Eric, Grimsby, and Max, they did not share the names from the film, and even the latter two were very different people (understandable since they're a stuffy servant type and a dog in the film! lol) It was just a lot of information and introductions all very close together, BUT once the romance kicked in and I settled into the story proper, I really started to enjoy myself :)

It has a LOT of nods to 'The Little Mermaid', but at the same time, in many ways, it is it's own story, to the point where I really had no idea how everything was going to resolve by the end (aside from the fact I was expecting the usual happily ever after ending for the main couple, of course). In this story, Ariel and her sisters are a pop group, about to take a break from the spotlight, while Eric has a band of his own that is up and coming and about to go on tour. As you may expect, Ariel soon finds herself in Eric's world, and out of her on-stage costume, nobody knows who she is. She gets to be a 'normal' young woman for the first time in her life and, naturally, she and Eric fall in love along the way.

I know that sounds straightforward and fairly cliche, but there are soooo many twists and turns, so many secrets revealed, every time I thought I knew where the story was going, I was proven wrong, in the best ways. So, yes, I will absolutely be re-reading this in the future, and I plan to look into more books by the author, plus the rest of the 'Meant To Be' series. (Since Beauty and the Beast is my second all-time favourite animated Disney film, 'By The Book' by Jasmine Guillory does appeal!)

Definitely recommend this one if you're a rom-com and/or Disney fan :)

I never watched any Arrowverse shows. I almost did. I thought Arrow might be interesting, but in the end, I never bothered with it. I forget why exactly. Maybe because, for me, Green Arrow will always be Justin Hartley thanks to my Smallville-loving days. Plus, there were so many shows spinning off and around it, it would've got really expensive and complicated for me to see the all over here in the UK.

However, Superman and Lois suddenly popped up on a free channel over here and I seriously thought about watching, mostly because, at the time, I didn't know it was related to the Arrowverse. Then I found out it was, plus it was already 3 episodes in on TV, and I just figured, what's the point? I'll just be confused!

Well, apparently, that same channel will let you stream the whole first season for free online AND somebody told me you can absolutely watch S&L without having seen any other Arrowverse shows, so I went for it. I'm actually really glad I did :)

To start off with, I wasn't sure I liked this version of Lois. I love the incarnations played by Teri Hatcher and Erica Durance, not to mention Margot Kidder, but this one... meh, I wasn't sure. I did think Tyler Hoechlin who plays Clark/Superman is very good though, and I liked a lot of the other characters and easily got hooked into the storylines, so I kept on watching, and after a while, Lois grew on me too :)

In this world, Lois and Clark are older...
( mild spoilers under the cut )

The weirdest part was when the main villain...

( major spoilers under this cut )

Overall, I did like the series. After a few episodes, there were a lot of cliffhanger moments that made me want to run straight to the next one, and I thought the season ended well, tying up almost all the loose ends, but leaving a couple of things open, in case they got a Season 2 (which I believe they have) so that was cool.

Anybody else watched this show at all, or thinking about watching it? :)

When I first heard that Andrew Davies was adapting Jane Austen's unfinished novel Sanditon into a TV mini-series, I was excited. His version of Pride & Prejudice (BBC, 1995) is my favourite period drama of all time and I have enjoyed some of his other adaptations too, so it all sounded promising. Then I heard that, since it was an unfinished novel, he felt he could be a bit freer to do what he wanted with it and that he planned to 'sex it up' a bit. This concerned me, not because I'm at all prudish about sexual content as such, but because, for me, that sort of thing just doesn't belong in Austen!

Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try when it aired...

( Spoilers under the cut )

tl;dr - Better than I thought it could be to start with, more sexual than Jane Austen would've made it, but in the end, an utter disappointment!

So, the Timeless finale proved that this whole adventure couldn't and wouldn't end the way I wanted it to, but it could and would end the way I expected it to.

( Read more... )


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I bought this book because it was one of those things that came up on Amazon as a rec based on other books I've bought. I'm a big fan of the YA novel in general, love a good romance, and am all for the modern retakes of fairytales and such, so this seemed an ideal choice.

As you might guess from the title, its Cinderella with a modern geeky twist. The characters are deep into fandom and all that entails - blog posts, fanfiction, online communities, etc. - but it also handles the teen angst that comes with feeling like maybe you're the only person who feels the way you do. Not that its only teens that feel that way sometimes, I know, but there really is a beautiful message in there about being yourself, standing up for who and what you love and who and what you are, as well as accepting things about people even if you don't agree or understand.

The references came flying from the start - everything from Star Wars and Star Trek to Avengers and Batman to Gilmore Girls as well! I was in geek heaven reading about people who loved all the things I love, who invested themselves in fandom so deeply, including cosplay and con attendance (which I've never done but I think it's all awesome!).

And then of course there was the impossible love story that all worked out in the end. It was beautiful!

So, if you like a good YA romance and are a total fandom geek/nerd, I highly recommend Geekerella :)