Book Review- Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

Well hello there little dumplings! It's Scarlett, but you knew that. Today I will be reviewing Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick. Are you ready for this adventure? I am. Let's go. 

Summary:

           This book is written in male perspective, and the main character's name is Peter. He starts off as a baseball star, but an injury caused him to never be able to play again. The novel tracks Peter's adjustment to not being able to play anymore, and the things he falls in love with: photography, a girl, etc etc. The book kind of has a John Green feel to it, but won't leave you emotionally destroyed for the rest of your life. Moving on. 

             

Review:

This book is delightful. A wonderfully modern story, with characters that are easy to connect to, Sonnenblick draws readers in from the first moment. His complex and detailed descriptions paint a picture for the reader, while leaving enough to the imagination. One moment it is heartbreakingly sad, and the next, you're giggling into your coffee. A phenomenal balance of emotionally evocative moments and light humor, Sonnenblick keeps readers engaged, and wanting readers to be there alongside the protagonist, snapping pictures right there with him. Five out of five stars.

The Lady of the Lake, Sweet Dreams ~ Alex

The Lady Of The Lake

Synopsis (Taken from Wikipedia)

          Merlin rescues a lovely young Druid girl but her former captor says she was cursed.

Review

          Well! I no longer ship Morgana and Merlin. I now ship Merlin and the Druid girl. Honestly, I know she was cursed but they are still adorable together as heck. 

Also, Merlin would literally be the best boyfriend ever. He saw her at her absolute worst and he STILL loves her like DAMN! That is just...DAMN! 

Sweet Dreams

Synopsis (taken from Wikipedia)

          Five kings gather in Camelot to sign a peace treaty, but one of them intends to scupper the talks. King Alined's jester uses magic to enchant Prince Arthur and the beautiful Lady Vivian to incite a war between her possessive father, King Olaf, and Camelot.

Review

          So...can we just talk about how ridiculous Arthur acts when he is under a spell. It is probably the best thing ever. This love spell made him completely insane. I mean challenging a king for his daughters hand. Also, the king being THAT protective about his daughter. It's kind of just ridiculous. But that's why I loved this episode


Guys, you are probably going to hate me, but I am no longer going to be doing Merlin Reviews. I AM SORRY! I stopped watching it for a while and then when I went back to watch it I had to stop again and then I started watching Vampire Diaries because one of my friends who is obsessed with the show wanted me too, so I will Probably blog Vampire Diaries instead, but I will do it season per season and then eventually compare it to the books as soon as I read them. I am sorry! If you want me to finish blogging and reviewing Merlin, just comment and I will. It only takes one comment!

The Witchfinder, The Sins of the Father ~ Alex

The Witchfinder

Synopsis (taken from Wikipedia) 

          A harmless bit of magic by Merlin brings the wrath of Uther's witchfinder down on Camelot. The witchfinder accuses Merlin of being a sorcerer but it is Gaius who takes the fall.

Review 

          I can't even stress how much I love Gaius. He is defiantly my favorite character because he WAS willing to die completely for Morgana and Merlin both. He was willing to ruin his name in Camelot to die for them and names back then were a huge thing. 

          I also really appreciate how much Arthur stands up for Merlin and the trust Arthur has for Merlin.

I give this episode a 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Sins of the Father

Synopsis (taken from Wikipedia)

          Arthur faces a challenge from a mysterious knight who turns out to be a woman. He is forced to face Morgause in a battle to the death. She defeats him but spares his life in exchange for a promise to meet her and further tempts him with the knowledge that she knew his mother. What Arthur discovers when Morgause uses her sorcery to allow him to speak with his dead mother, forces Merlin to lie in order to stop Prince Arthur from killing his father.

Review 

          Why can't Uther just die already? Like seriously! He has made so many bad choices and it's just ridiculous. Especially after this episode it has made me hate him even more. And just ugh! Arthur just needs to be king already. 

          I have a really bad feeling that sorcerer in this show will be back later. She seems like a character who isn't going to stay away for long. 

I give this episode a 3 out of 5 stars

The Nightmare Begins, Lancelot and Guinevere ~ Alex

The Nightmare Begins

Synopsis (Taken from Wikipedia) 

          Morgana begins to suspect she has magic and Merlin wants to help despite Gaius' warning not to get involved. When Merlin assists Morgana to reach out to the Druids for help, King Uther declares she has been abducted and sends Arthur with a party of knights to kill the kidnappers and rescue Morgana.

Review 

          Let me just say this I ship Merlin and Morgana. There I said it people I said it. I ship Merlin and Morgana. Obviously they aren't my otp, nor will they be because Captainswan has that place filled. Mmmmmmm captainswan, but I ship Morgana and Merlin. 

          The reason I ship them is because in this episode Merlin defies what Gauis said to help Morgana feel special. He did it because he didn't want her to live in the dark like he had to. I just think it was very shippable of him.

I give this episode a 2 and a half stars out of five. 

Lancelot and Guinivere 

Synopsis

          A gang of criminals abduct Morgana and Guinevere intending to force King Uther to ransom his ward. When Morgana escapes, her abductor attempts to pass off Gwen as the king's ward. While imprisoned, Gwen discovers Lancelot working for the kidnappers. As Arthur and Merlin attempt to rescue Guinevere, she and Lancelot also make a bid for freedom.

Review

          OKAY I DONT KNOW WHO TO SHIP GWEN WITH MORE!!! ARTHUR OR LANCELOT! I am pretty sure THAT ^ was the exact intent of the writers, and if so YOU WRITERS ARE EVIL LITTLE CREATURES!! Cruel cruel little buggers. 

          I ship Lancelot and Gwen so much because Lancelot is the sweetest thing on planet earth and he was willing to die for Gwen and he actually shows her his love for her. 

          Arthur on the other hand is sweet to her and he is the prince and he is trying to be a better man for her AND he is also willing to die for her, but he doesn't show his feeling for her BECAUSE HE CANT! Ugh!!! Why can't this show just be simple on shipping. 

Honestly though I give this episode a five out of five stars because I loved it so.

Beauty and the Beast - Part 1 and 2 ~ Alex

          Hey guys!!! Since this is a two parter episode I am just gonna clump the synopsis and review as one episode. Sound good? Good. Also, I have started taking the synopsis from Wikipedia because I find it so much easier than writing them myself, but it isn't plagerism as long as I quote it. And the "taken from Wikipedia" is me quoting it, and giving them credit. 

Beauty and the Beast

Synopsis (taken from Wikipedia) 

          The lone survivor of an attack on a nobleman's household and her odd servant obtain refuge with an old friend, King Uther, but she is not what she appears. Even when Merlin successfully unmasks the troll for what she really is, her enchantment continues to hold her new husband, King Uther. It will take Arthur's death to break the spell.

Review

          Guys! I freaking loved these episodes. They were so amazingly hilarious. I think the funniest thing for me was definitely the second part where they unmasked her, but because of the spell he was under he still thought she was beautiful and not a troll. Even though she was completely acting natural. 

          Another thing I found hilarious was in the first part whenever she was alone she dropped her pasture and started acting like a troll. I have to give credit to the actress who played her, she has got some talent. 

 I give this episode a definite 5 out of 5 stars

The Dark Swan~ Alex

The Dark Swan Episode One of Once Upon A Time ~ Alex

Once Upon A Time

          Well hello there! So, if you guys haven't noticed yet, I am OBSESSED with a little show named Once Upon A Time. This show has now been going for five whole seasons and I have never been able to blog about it because my old blog was a book blog, but now this nifty new blog is an ALL THE THINGS blog which means you now get this weekly review of the show that came out this week. .

Synopsis (taken from sidereel.com) 

          Immediately after becoming the Dark One, Emma disappears and the heroes must band together to save her, but first they have to find her, which will require the help of an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, Emma struggles to resist her dark urges as she searches for Merlin in the hope that he can stop her transformation. Along the way to Camelot, she gets help from the plucky and brave warrior princess Merida, as well as King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table

Review

          This episode of Once Upon A Time was amazing. I think that the producers were extremely creative by making Emma the dark one. I can't wait to see what the heck is going to happen from here. 

          I really hope they at least keep Captainswan, because they are my otp! Those two need to stay together, they really do! 

          I think Emma giving Regina the dark one's dagger was probably a really good idea because her logic was truthful. Regina is the only one who would kill her if it came down to it. 

The producers ALWAYS do this, but ending the episode in the way they did killed me. I want to know how on earth Emma became the dark one.

I give this episode a 3 out of 5 stars

         

The Curse of Cornelius Sigan and The Once and Future Queen ~ Alex

          Well hello there people of the Internet. Sooooooooo I'm back. And I am still not dead yet.

          Before I had done several Merlin reviews in one episode, but now I am only going to do two, because that means y'all will get more posts! YIPEE!

The Curse of Cornelius Sigan

Synopsis 

          In the beginning some of the people in Camelot have struck a tumb of a dead warrior. A man comes to Camelot in search of riches and he hears about the tumb. He sabotages Merlin by taking his job and he gets close enough to Arthur to be able to get his keys and he gets into the tumb of the dead warrior.

Review

          Let me just say this that man who took Merlin's job was stupid. He was a greedy stupid man. *spoiler alert* he was so stupid and greedy that he let a dead sorcerer take over his body. THE SORCERER WAS DEAD! 

          Other than the fact that I find the man utterly stupid, I do believe it was a good episode. It kept me entertained the whole time. 

          This episode is hard for me to remember though because I got half way through and then I had to stop because of reason and I didn't find the episode good enough to restart and watch from the beginning so, I just started from where I left off. But it wasn't the worst, but wasn't my favorite. 

I'd give this episode a 3 out of 5 stars

The Once and Future Queen

Synopsis

          In this episode of Merlin, Arthur is tired of being treated like the Prince. Everyone always goes easy on him when they are fighting him because he is the Prince. He decides to enlist the help of Merlin, who goes and finds a farmer from one of the villages and enrolls him in a jousting tournament. He does this so Arthur can then take his place so Arthur is allowed to fight opponents without them going easy. What Arthur doesn't know is by him "disappearing" from Camelot he was actually saving his life as a man is in Camelot to kill him. 

Review 

           First of, I ship Arthur and Gwen! THEY ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER AND I SHIP THEM! The good thing is if anyone knows anything about the original myth of King Arthur, they'll know Gwen and Arthur do get married. This show hasn't followed the myth very well, but...I hope they follow this part at least. 

          Anyways, I found this episode really good. I loved how Arthur was trying and making an effort to have Gwen not treat him like a Prince and he actually sat there and let her tell him what was wrong with him and what he was doing wrong. 

          Also, I find Arthur extremely attractive so seeing him fight basically the whole episode was AMAZING. 

          I give this episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It wasn't a horrible episode, and it wasn't 3 stars worthy, but I feel like 4 stars would be an overstatement.