On my latest trip to Barnes & Noble, I happened upon this super cute looking book called Between the Water and the Woods by Simone Snaith. I picked it up because of the cover, and I bought it because of the synopsis and the claim that there were illustrations in this - and what lovely illustrations they turned out to be.

People are always raving about hardcore fantasy novels like The Poppy War and Game of Thrones (literally the only two examples coming to mind right now), but I have such a soft spot for these cute fantasy stories about magic and kings and knights. As soon as I began reading this, I knew I was going to love it. The heroine Emeline is adorable and yet fierce in her own way, and her family and friends are the cutest - I grew to love all of them. And honestly, the summary doesn't do justice to the wonderful love interest that is the "whip-wielding Lash Knight". The characters are on the road for a good portion of the story, and they spend the rest in a castle; I greatly enjoyed both portions. The chemistry between Emeline and Reese aka the Lash Knight is super soft and the story is a perfect blend of fantasy and science. There aren't enough standalone fantasy novels in this world, but at least this one exists, and it is a delight.

And don't even get me started on the illustrations: they're gorgeous. It makes me glad I have a copy for myself so I can look at them whenever I want (I haven't done this, but it's possible in theory). As I've mentioned before, many times, I haven't been reading as much as I'd like, but on the bright side, not being obsessed with reading over-hyped books means I get to discover little gems like these - I highly recommend Between the Water and the Woods if you're looking for a lovely, standalone fantasy novel that will leave you feeling all cute and warm inside.

I watched the Korean movie Swing Kids the other day and I was rightly impressed. It's very different from other Korean films I've watched - the style feels more similar to Hollywood movies that most other Korean films tend to - and everything about it was spectacular: it takes place during war and deals with tough issues like racism and discrimination, but it's done in a musical format where you get tap dancing instead of lyrics. It was a joy to watch, and probably one of the best films I've seen this year. I usually complain about two hour movies but this one was brilliant all the way through. And shortly after, I stumbled upon a new book by one of my favorite authors - Lovely War by Julie Berry. Imagine my pleasantly surprised expression when I began reading and the book turned out to be in a similar vein! It took place during a war (hence the title), it dealt with racism and discrimination, and it had similarly beautiful and heartbreaking relationships between characters: exactly my cup of tea.

I've read quite a few Julie Berry books in my day, and I have never been disappointed by anything she has written - Lovely War is no exception. Berry's books are always brilliant and emotionally draining in the best way possible, and there's always some super unique perspective to them that I always enjoy. Lovely War is a multi-year story of human love during wartime, except the twist is that it's narrated by Greek gods Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Hades, and Hephaestus. This beautiful, beautiful book gives us not one, not two, but three amazing love stories that are so much more than just sappy romance (not that I have anything against sappy romance - I adore the genre). But Berry clearly did a crazy amount of research to bring this book to life, and it shows. 

Another thing Berry is kind of known for, at least with me, is her heartbreaking endings. I won't say anything to spoil this one, but allow me to say that the reader will be immensely satisfied but at the same time still shed a bucket of - equally satisfying - tears. It's been a couple of weeks since I read the book but I still can't stop thinking of both Swing Kids and Lovely War. If you've watched one, read the other; if you've read one, watch the other. I can't recommend these two titles enough, so if you're in the mood for amazing, deep relationships, brilliant stories, and more than a tinge of sadness, do yourself a favor and pick one of (or both of) these up.

I hadn't really been excited for Aladdin - sure, I'd watched and enjoyed the live action versions of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, but I felt that live-action remakes were getting old really fast. In fact, I hadn't even planned on watching the film in theaters, but other people's excitement rubbed off on me and I couldn't stop myself from going. I ended up having a glorious experience: I love spectacle, and this film gave it to me.

When you think Jasmine and Aladdin are too cliché but you keep watching and you were wrong.

That moment you realize that Will Smith is actually a brilliant Genie.

It's been quite a while since I watched the animated Aladdin, and that made me enjoy this film that much more. There were obvious scenes from the original film that I'd completely forgotten about, and it made those moments that much sweeter when watching the live-action. And you'd think this film would be boring because it's pretty much the animated version, except live, but NO. Everything about this film is perfect; just like with the live-action Beauty and the Beast, Disney creates new depth to the characters (although let's be real, Aladdin did it better). And the actors and actresses really bring the original, beloved figures to life! I don't have qualms about any of them! And wow they all sing really well? I am very impressed.

Jasmine being her usual gorgeous, genius self who doesn't buy into the Prince Ali of Ababwa nonsense.

I've been feeling pretty meh about Disney movies lately - I rewatched Mulan a couple months ago and I felt nothing; even Li Shang started to annoy me (I know, it's terrible) - but this live-action film has reminded me of why I loved the original Aladdin in the first place. It really does justice to the original animated feature, and this is hands down the best live-action remake Disney has done so far; I doubt any of the others will top this. The film is gorgeous from beginning to end, and ugh, I fell in love with each and every character, except the villains, all over again! It's so heartwarming and makes me feel warm inside - and don't even get me started on how much I love Princess Jasmine, and Naomi Scott's portrayal of her. The laughs in this film are ridiculous and cute, and Will Smith has outdone himself as the genie. Even Aladdin was perfect, as was the magic carpet. I have zero complaints, and I loved every minute of the movie. Hopefully I'll get to go again this weekend and show my mom this masterpiece that she was too lazy to accompany me to the first time.

I'm not one to read books on war, but I'd heard nothing but ridiculously positive things about this book plus I learned afterwards that it's actually based on a real war! And so I checked it out from the library, started reading, switched to audiobook (the older I get, the more intimidated I am by huge books), and finally finished reading/listening over the course of several commutes to uni and forty-five minutes spent reading the last forty physical pages because I have no patience. Was it a great book? Most assuredly. Did I enjoy it? Only the first half.

This book is written and plotted brilliantly - something made more amazing by the fact that the author was a mere 22 years old at the time of publishing. The first half takes place in an academy and depicts a story akin to something like Nevernight or Harry Potter, except it's Chinese-inspired and definitely much bloodier than HP. Needless to say, I loved that part. The main character Rin is a badass who thinks twice about nothing - not necessarily a good thing - and will go to any lengths to get what she wants. She's also surrounded by several interesting masters and students and yes, I did identify some HP counterparts (one of the masters had a twinkle in his eye at one point and I was like "why hello there, Dumbledore!"). During this half, I enjoyed my commutes to school because I was really into the story and whatever crazy thing Rin decided to do next. But as soon as it came time for her to leave the Academy, I grew bored. 

Characters are dying? Okay. Rin is being stupid? Okay. She keeps saying she loves Altan and she probably means it platonically because there is literally zero chemistry between them? I mean, I don't like Altan, but fine. People have said that in the last portion of the book, the plot outshines the characters, but honestly, I was disinterested in both. And it's not because this is a bad book - no, definitely not. Objectively, it's brilliant. But I was right when I held off on reading this because it didn't sound like my kind of book. Also, I didn't really feel super connected to any of the characters: Rin is cool, but I don't love her, and I never really became invested in her. As such, I won't be reading the second book in this series, but I don't for a moment regret having read this; it was a story of such breadth, and I'm in awe regardless of the fact that I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I'd hoped to.

Allow me to finish my sentence: please tell me you liked Detective Pikachu, because otherwise we can't be friends.

I've been crazy excited for this film since a) I realized Ryan Reynolds was voicing Pikachu, b) I saw Pikachu wearing a little Sherlock Holmes hat (there are very few things I love more than Sherlock Holmes and mysteries), and c) Pikachu is freaking adorable and I could literally watch him sleep on the big screen and be satisfied. Of course, my brother tried to kill my buzz the day we went to watch the film by claiming that it "sucked", but I didn't let him get to me: I was confident in my furry friend. And did he deliver? Oh yes he did. 

My mom thought the movie was crazy boring and my brother said the Pokemon were the only decent part of the movie because everything except the twist ending was predictable - every Hollywood movie is predictable, it's the three act structure over and over again! - but I beg to differ. The fact that the twist ending caught so many people by surprise is actually quite amazing; movies rarely accomplish this. And come on, how many people are actually going into this movie hoping for a beyond thrilling plot that keeps them on the edge of their seat? I hope not many people, because the movie delivered exactly what the trailer promised: a mystery about a boy's father and a Pikachu who's lost his memories and makes great jokes. Honestly, I went in just for the comedy, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by the breadth of the mystery. I never got bored. And the cute Pokemon and the beautiful, heartwarming bond between Tim and Pikachu and the cute Pokemon - I just really adored this movie.

The guy at the theater gave us about six or so Pokemon packs when we bought tickets to the movie, so I now have 12 Pokemon cards, 6 of which are all Detective Pikachu and absolutely adorable. I shall use them as bookmarks and gaze upon Pikachu's cute face - and hat - every time I can be bothered to pick up a book (it's a rare occurrence nowadays).

The other day I was blowing my nose into a tissue as I am wont to do, when my dad asked me whether I had gotten a cold. I was immediately offended. No, of course I don't have a cold, dad. What, just because I blow my nose after eating spicy food and several other times throughout the day means I have a cold? Do you even know me? And with that, I tossed my tissue in the trash bin and went back to my room to do what I normally do aka plop myself in front of my television and dread Monday because I stupidly - but I'll appreciate it in the fall when I get to take one less class - signed up for a spring course on mobile app development.

Everything is fine. I enjoy a couple of hours of fictional drama - on the scale of 10+ hours, sorry not sorry - and go to bed. Then comes the next day. More television, except now I seem to have a bit of a scratchy throat. That's not good. But I just keep watching tv, hoping that it'll go away. Maybe I'd gone overboard the last few nights with the fan on high while blasting the air conditioner? Oh, now drinking cold water hurts my throat too? Even breathing in slightly colder than room temperature air hurts? You know what, it's fine. Everything will be better the next morning.

The next morning: scratchy throat has increased, nose is stuffy, and anything other than scalding hot water definitely hurts my throat. I down cough medicine and drink less than scalding water because I can't wait that long for the microwave to do its thing. I have a cold - this is your fault, dad.

Image from Unsplash.

I started watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend back when I watched American television and had no idea about Korean dramas, but it quickly became an enjoyable show thanks to its many hilarious musical sequences. Also I am - was? - kind of a CW junkie at the time, so there's that. A couple seasons in, I watched Crazy Ex as more of a routine kind of thing than because I was genuinely in love with the show, but this final season has warmed up my heart and yes, this show really was one of a kind and in a level of its own.

Probably my favorite part of the final season was how ridiculously meta and self-aware it was. It's hard to think way back to season one, but this show has really gone so far. Every episode in this fourth season was a pleasure to watch - although I'm pretty sure this is true of every season - and the last few episodes have really stirred up my heartstrings. I personally love the way the writers chose to end the show but at the same time I'm totally squeezing my hands into fists because now I have to know whether Rebecca wants to be with Nathaniel or Greg. Gah! I know the show couldn't have ended any other way and still be satisfying, but I like answers. Even though her choice of man is obviously not point of the show, duh. But if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that she would've chosen Greg because he was literally perfect for her, but my favorite out of the three love interests is hands down Nathaniel - I adore that weirdo and equally adored his rom-com remake episode.

The live musical medley with the cast that finished off the season was maybe the best part? It reminded me all over again why I love the show and we even got to hear throwback songs from season one like I'm So Good at Yoga - I remember sharing this song with my high school girlfriends LOL - and Period Sex (it was such a weird song, but so catchy - as are most of the songs on this show.) Thank you for a great four years, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. And thank you, Netflix - without you, I never would've watched past season two.

A few weeks ago I began watching Voice 2 on a whim - I'd watched Voice last summer - and found myself binging it within about two days and agonizing over the wait for Voice 3. My twitter header is currently Voice 2 related and I regret nothing. I know people have been disappointed by the second season and claim that nothing can compare to season one, but I genuinely have no idea what they're talking about. I thought Voice was great, sure, but the leads didn't have any chemistry. And then Voice 2 comes along and BLAM! I'm hooked on these two leads along with the brilliant writers, and after a painfully long wait of not that many weeks, I've been watching and re-watching the first two episodes in this new season over and over.

Thirty minutes in, I'd been afraid that Voice 3 wasn't going to live up to its predecessor, but I was way off-base. Things started picking up as soon as the leads met up again, both sizzle-wise and plot-wise. The case presented in these first two episodes is just as brilliant as we've come to expect from the minds behind the drama, and I need it to be next Saturday already. This is one of those dramas where I cry every time the episode ends because I want more: I can't wait to see what's in store for our beloved characters next. On a related note, why is Team Leader Do's life so hard?? He seriously needs a break (although I am so here for the drama in the meanwhile).

My favorite dialogue from the first episode:

Do Kang-woo: You're still the same. You don't care about anything when you're saving people.

Kang Kwon-joo: I think it's better than someone who says things differently after disappearing for ten months and becoming a different person. I never imagined that you would be here as an illegal alien.

Do Kang-woo: You never know what people think. So don't trust people too much.