Royal Guard of Draga
Draga Court #0.5
Emma Dean
Sci-Fi Romance
August 3, 2017
Kindle
174
The Author
Jillian Ashe
July 2017
In a galaxy far from our own in a faraway future humans have settled among the stars, altering their genetics to create a more peaceful society where dominance and rank are known instinctually. Princess Adelina of the Draga royal family seeks love before political gain and her guard is the only male her eyes see. Alpha is the most beautiful man she's ever laid eyes on and ever since he came back from his training Adelina can't get him out of her mind.
The strength and dominance Alpha has tests her will and all Adelina wants to do is submit to him, but she has duties required by the crown. When her father becomes ill her life, and that of her siblings are turned upside down. Can Adelina find love with her royal guard before it's too late and the choice is taken from her?
This is a prequel to the new Draga Court series by Emma Dean (pen name of author Jillian Ashe).
So, right off the bat, the heroine of this story, Adelina, is kind of hard to like, at least for me. This epic, sci-fi universe takes place in the far distant future and people have been genetically altered so that they are born with a natural “dominance” level. Princess Adelina is at the bottom of that chart, being very submissive. She can come across as a push over and weak at times. Do NOT let that turn you off. Keep reading.
This story is a short little introduction to this new world. It’s descriptive, interesting, and very sexy. This particular story, as I said before, is a prequel and takes place before the events of book 1. You don’t have to read it to know what’s going on in the series, but you’ll understand the events referenced later a little better having read this.
Basic gist – the princess has feelings for her personal guard. He shares those feelings. You have to read on to find out what, if anything, becomes of that.
I also feel like this isn’t too heavy on the sci-fi so anyone who enjoys steamy romance, who is open to non-contemporary genres, can enjoy this series. It is VERY steamy at times.
Quotes
How one was born was reflected in their personal, natural scent. It broadcasted their abilities to everyone around them and created a safe environment where those who were dominant protected those who served. She always knew who to defer to and how to act thanks to protocol. As a royal she should have been more dominant.
Alpha didn’t move for a second. His whole body tensed and then it was like he let go of everything holding him back. His arms went around Adelina’s waist and held her close. Alpha’s touch was soft and gentle – barely there – but he kissed her back with force.
Nyxia
The Nyxia Triad
Scott Reintgen
YA Sci-Fi
Penguin Crown Books
September 12, 2017
E-ARC
384
Penguin First Reads
August 20 - September 20, 2017
Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.
Forever.
Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.
But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.
I received a copy of this book from the Penguin First Reads in exchange for an honest review.
I heard good things about this book, so when I saw it on Penguin First To Read I took a chance and guaranteed a copy for myself. I started reading soon after… and it took me a long time to get through his one.
Brief summary: a big corporation in the not-so-distant future has gathered a group of poor teenagers, offered them enough money to keep them and their families comfortable for life, and taken them aboard their space ship en-route to a new planet called Eden. They need the kids because the native peoples on this planet hate humans, but they have a deep affection for children and won’t hurt them.
So, I’ll start with the negatives…
Early on I was honestly bored. This book had a little bit of a Divergent feel to it, but I didn’t really feel any emotion or connection to the characters. I think part of the problem was that they dumped SO many characters on us at once. By about 15% things were looking up and I was enjoying it a little more.
The main character, Emmett, has some characteristics that bothered me. He would call his parents “moms and pops” – I’ve heard pops before, but something about moms just grated on me. It’s a personal thing, not a deal breaker.
The other thing Emmett did that drove me crazy was saying things like “I filed that under A for Anger” all the time. They finally explained WHAT that was all about, but it was too little too late for me. The annoyance was firmly there.
Too many characters were introduced all at once and I was really never given a chance to really get to know them. Not even the one involved with the first big plot twist around 30%. Had I been really given a chance to connect with that character I might have gotten bent out of shape.
The villains were a little one dimensional. I’m hoping they will evolve when it comes to book 2.
Okay, all that said, there were a lot of things I DID like. I mean, I’m giving it 4 stars after all.
This book is very creative. Just the concept of Nyxia (this alien material that can be controlled by your thoughts) is fascinating as all get out. There’s more to the substance than we know as well, it’s already been alluded to, and I look forward to finding out more.
The challenges the kids underwent were also very creative and unique. They got a little repetitive at times, but overall I did enjoy them.
This book is as about diverse as one can imagine. The protagonist is African American from Detroit, his bestie on board the ship is from the Middle East. His roommate is from Asia. There’s tons of representation in this book and it was pretty awesome.
The plot twist at the end. I did NOT see that coming. I was left speechless. With an ending like that there’s no way I can skip book 2.
So, should you read this? If you’re looking for a (mostly) unique Sci-Fi teen novel, this might just do the trick. It has a few flaws, but on a whole the creative and unique bits (and that ending!!!) make for a pretty compelling read.
QUOTES
When Babel recruited me, they said all of this was a game. I like playing games, but I like winning even more.
“The reward for your efforts will be beyond your imagination. A trust fund has already been established for each of you. A check for fifty thousand dollars will be put into your account every month for the rest of your lives.”
I almost laugh, thinking we’re the politically correct version of the Justice Squad. But if Babel’s looking for heroes, they picked the wrong guy.
Habitable planets. Aliens. Right. Our generation watched the Mars landings. We’ve seen NASA’s recruiting posters all over our high schools. But there’s never been a whisper of other life-forms.
“I get a suit?”
He nods. “And a gun.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Congratulations,” Defoe says. “Expect adjustments to the course tomorrow.”
Translation: The glitch will be fixed, but we like that you took advantage of it.
“Yes, but are you familiar with the phrase, ‘you should see the other guy’?”
I nod. “Of course.”
“Well, you should see the other guy,” Defoe says, throwing me that dangerous grin of his.
“And how did it make you feel?”
Oh. He’s one of those doctors.
“The sky isn’t much of a sky. More of a misty overload pressing down on any and every thing.
Does Morning want to talk, or does she want to talk? I may have bragged otherwise to the Most Excellent Brothers, but I’ve never really done that kind of talking with a girl like Morning.
My (Writing) Life
I took my girls to their school skate night (yep, roller rinks are still a thing here) and got a nice bit of writing done on SUMMER OF PEACE while the kids burned some energy. I may have lost some of my ability to hear thanks to the shrieking kids during the Hokey Pokey and YMCA, but overall—despite the evening ending in tears when my little one dropped her hoop right away during the hoola-hoop competition—it was a good night.
I’m trying to get some work done today before I start another long weekend at the hotel. Hopefully it will be pretty tame and I’ll have an opportunity to write during some down time.
In other news, I binged season 2 of Outlander over the past 3 days. Now I’m going through a bit of withdrawl. Never have I wished more for the Starz channel!
Anyone have big plans for the weekend? Or are you lame like me and spending it at work?
Ahhh! Goodreads somehow flagged this book as READ before I wrote the review! There was a very real possibility this could have gotten lost in my incredibly unorganized Goodreads account and never reviewed. Good thing I realized I never wrote this review and hunted it down today! Whew!
What I love about well-written indie books, like this gem by Jillian Ashe, is that it fuels my own desire to finally finish my novel. Right now I’m working on a novella for a super-secret group project (actually, I’m not really sure how secret it is any more…)
Once I get through this story (which I’m really loving and proud of so far!) I’m planning on getting back to my paranormal YA series which I began during NaNoWriMo 2013. I won that year, but the book is still not where I’d like it to be. So… more edits!
Until I have more news about that, keep reading my book reviews. Let me know if you find a book from my reviews – I love sharing the gift of a good story and I’d love to hear from you!
My Delicate Destruction by Jillian Ashe
Series: Wolfgang #1
Read: April 16-18, 2017
Format: Kindle
My Book Rating: 4 Stars
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 11, 2013 (originally published)
Genre: Sci-Fi
Pages: 266
Reading Challenge(s): TBR 2017, Beat The Backlist 2017
ABOUT THE BOOK
They Promised her Hope…
My name is Katerina Anderson. In 2016, a drug called Hope was created. Administered during suspended animation, the drug was supposed to cure the cancer my twin brother and I had. When an earthquake leveled Los Angeles, we were presumed dead.
Forgotten, we slept.
The day I woke up, I realized everything had changed. My brother was missing, and everyone else I knew was dead. I booked passage on a ship to find Kris. The government thinks I’m a criminal and the cure did more than just cure my cancer. My brother is the only one who might have the answers I need, but that drug and all its false hope set me on a path I’m not sure I can follow.
Will I find my twin and learn exactly what they did to me before it’s too late?
REVIEW
I was a little bit hesitant when I began reading My Delicate Destruction by Jillian Ashe because I just wasn’t sure this was the kind of book I’d like. Not to mention it’s self published, which is always a little scary for me as a reader, because I never know exactly what kind of quality of writing/editing I’m going to get. I had no need to fear with this book though, Ms. Ashe has put out a fine finished product!
Things start off strong with Kris coming out of a pod after having been cryogenically frozen. Though very cool, this seemed like it might possibly be too sci-fi for me. And then we jump back in time and meet his twin sister and the protagonist of this series, Kat, who is totally into racing cars. Which I’m sooo not into. But I stuck with it. And I’m glad I did.
Even though car racing just isn’t my thing, I was able to move past it and it really did end up being important to the story, aside from helping to give this character a personality. I really liked Kat, she was feisty and strong. Despite being thrown into a really scary and horrible situation, knowing her brother was out there somewhere really helped her through it all and forced her to push through it. Gave her a purpose in this new and confusing life.
I loved that the author could have chosen to have Kat, who is now so far in the future that everyone she ever knew or loved is dead, instantly fall in love (or at least in bed) with Captain Chase Wolf, but instead went for a more realistic approach. Kat is a little depressed, and rightfully so, over her situation. The man she was in love with is nothing but dust in the ground somewhere, along with her parents and friends. That’s a lot to wrap your mind around.
Despite that sadness, this book has plenty of lines that made me chuckle. And plenty of characters to fall in love with. (I’m personally a big fan of Ricky. Read the book and I think you’ll quickly find out why!)
The ending came upon me quick, and it was pretty epic, and I wish there was more! But this little segment of the story was clearly done, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next for Kat and the gang on the Wolfgang!
So should you read it? I think so! This is a fun and fast paced sci-fi space opera – and the story is just starting!
There was nothing like good friends to keep you out of trouble, or to get you into it depending on the situation.
Kris was dying and I needed to feel like I was living enough for the both of us.
Was I afraid to die? Truthfully, there were worse things than death.
I couldn’t help but think about every science fiction movie I’d ever seen and book I’d read. Which one did my life fall into now? Would it be a false utopian society or a war torn galaxy full of freedom fighters working against evil?
They went to all that work to arrest me, but for none of the things I was actually guilty of.
The fear was almost like a friend now. It wanted to keep me alive. It was like a stuffed animal that turned into a golem when I needed it. I read about that once in the Bible. Or was that Grimm?
I wanted the time of heroes to return—white knights and dragons. How desperately I used to dream of dragons. Now all I had was this steel ship and the vacuum of space.
I was playing at cowboys and aliens, and I had no idea how I was ever going to find Kris without getting killed.
I didn’t know why I ever thought I could stay out of trouble. It always seemed to come looking for me.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m finding it hard to believe 2017 is less than a week away!
How the hell did that happen???
I’m a couple books behind on my Goodreads reading challenge. That’s not to say I didn’t read enough books, I just haven’t written the reviews for them yet! It’s going to be a scramble these last few days getting these posted!
I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas (or, if you don’t celebrate – a fabulous weekend!) I know I did. I spent plenty of time with family. The kids had a blast opening gifts and playing with cousins. Food was bountiful and delicious. And I got a new Kindle Fire HD 8! Woohoo! The screen on my 2012 Kindle Fire HD was starting to fade at the edges and was quite sluggish. I’m so stoked for my new beauty. I’ve just ordered a case and can’t wait until it arrives!
By new years, watch for my BEST OF 2016 post! I’ve got a list going of my favorite reads for the year. I can’t wait to share them with you all!
The Martian by Andy Weir
Read: December 17 – 25, 2016
Format: Paperback
My Book Rating: 4.5 Stars
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi
ABOUT THE BOOK
A mission to Mars.
A freak accident.
One man’s struggle to survive.
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars’ surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, Mark won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark’s not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills—and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength–he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.
As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive.
But Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.
REVIEW
I’m late to the game on this one. I heard about this book when I heard about the movie. I have yet to see the movie, but I’m glad I waited until I read the book first. (Fun fact – I found the book in my neighborhood Free Little Library! Now that I’m done it’s making the rounds to my dad next.)
You wouldn’t think a book about a man stranded alone on Mars would be funny, but this book is HILARIOUS. The hero, Mark, is probably the best person to be placed in this situation because he’s got the personality and humor to see the bright side. He’s also a mechanical engineer / botanist. Strange combo, but it worked out well for him!
Though this book is full of techno mumbo-jumbo, Mark’s humor makes it easy to follow what’s going on, even when the details went over my head. It was just the details that made it feel real, and because I’m not a science nerd*, I’ll have to just believe the author knew what he was talking about. Even if it’s all BS, I’d never know.
Despite being an absolute page turner, I can’t give 5 stars to this book. The dialogue was downright comical in it’s ridiculousness. It read like bad fan fiction. I would rather the book have remained 100% Mark’s log of his time on Mars. But, because I was engaged in the rest of the story, it still gets a solid 4.5 stars from me.
I can’t wait to see the movie next. I’m trying to imagine how they pulled this off.
Log Entry: Sol 6
I’m pretty much fucked.
That’s my considered opinion.
Fucked.
Remember those old math questions you had in algebra class? Where water is entering a container at a certain rate and leaving at a different rate and you need to figure out when it’ll be empty? Well, that concept is critical to the “Mark Watney doesn’t die” project I’m working on.
Godspeed, little taters. My life depends on you.
In high school, I played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons. (You may not have guessed this botanist/mechanical engineer was a bit of a nerd in high school, but indeed I was.)
If ruining the only religious icon I have leaves me vulnerable to Martian vampires, I’ll have to risk it.
I’ the first person to be alone on an entire planet.
Maybe I’ll post a consumer review. “Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10.”
I don’t want to come off as arrogant here, but I’m the best botanist on the planet.
I can’t wait to have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead Series: Age of X #1 Read: February 11-26, 2016 Format: Ebook (library) My Book Rating: 5 Stars Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy Romance
‘The truth is, when you banish gods from the world, they eventually come back—with a vengeance. Humans can’t stay away from gods, and gods can’t stay away from humans.’
First of all, the only two reasons it took me so long (15 days) to read this book is because:
1. It’s a beast! 462 pages long!
2. I’m trying this thing where I don’t stare at a screen right before bed, so I read an ACTUAL book before bed instead of ebooks. (I broke that rule the last two days because I could not put this book down!)
Alright, now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to write this review in a slightly different manner, addressing the 5 W’s first, because this is a really complex book. It wasn’t hard to follow, but it was very heavy with (necessary) information. In true Richelle Mead fashion however, that information was woven beautifully into the story and I didn’t feel like there was any info dumping.
WHEN:
The Age of X series takes place sometime in the future, in the “post decline”. Society is much different from our current ones, and technology is even more predominant and advanced than now.
WHERE:
RUNA (Republic of the United North America) – from what I gather this is most of the present USA plus Canada and some other areas of the world. Vancouver seems to be the new capital and it’s the home base of operations for our characters. RUNA also contains land grants (from what I gather, similar to Native America Reservations, but not really…) which allowed rich people who helped fund the forming of RUNA to be exempt from certain laws while on their land. There’s also the EA (Eastern Alliance) which isn’t visited, but referenced. Lastly there’s the Provinces, which is everyone else. They’re basically considered barbaric third world countries in the eyes of Gemman’s (that’s the people of RUNA – the name is explained in the book, I won’t get into it now.)
WHO:
Dr. Justin March is a servitor, which basically means he is tasked with visiting various religious organizations in RUNA and licensing them. When we first meet Justin, he’s in exile from RUNA, biding his time in the provincial country of Panama. Justin is a broken man, he’s an addict – booze, drugs, gambling, and women. He also has two raven’s (Horatio and Magnus) who live in his head and speak to him, nobody else can see them, but he knows they’re there.
Mae Koskinen is a Praetorian. Basically, she’s a kickass super soldier for RUNA. She has a chip implanted in her which makes her virtually unstoppable. She’s also a complete and total knockout.
Tessa is a sixteen year old girl from Panama whom Justin brings back to RUNA with him in order to give her a better life. He sees a lot of potential in her, she’s very smart.
WHAT:
Okay, so “the decline” mentioned above. Basically, some disease began running rampant. It affected lots of people and they found the only way to virtually destroy it was to mix races. Ergo, Mae being a blonde haired, blue eyed bombshell is a rarity because dark hair and eyes are dominate among the people of RUNA now. After the decline, the leaders of RUNA also decided that religion was too dangerous. That’s where Justin comes in, as a servitor he ensures that no religion gets too big or powerful, lest they cause an uprising. It can be a dangerous line of work.
WHY:
In this book, Mae is tasked with keeping Justin safe. He’s allowed to come back to RUNA under the condition that he can stop a murder from happening. Castals (those that live on the land grants who are exempt from the mixing of races rule) are being murdered in a ritualistic fashion, but nobody can figure out who is doing it or how they’re getting in. All they have is video footage from a hidden camera showing a cloud of black smoke coming into a room and murdering a woman with a silver blade.
So, that’s the gist of the world and the storyline. The relationship between Mae and Justin is pretty complicated, so I won’t get into that, but know there’s a lot of sexual tension between the two and for good reason. I spent the whole book wanting them to get together, but knowing how bad it could be if they did.
Justin and his raven’s are probably my favorite part about the story, the conversations he has with them are hilarious. I’m not sure why, but in my head Magnus has an English accent and Horatio has a Mexican accent. *Shrugs*
When this book first came out a couple years ago I had read the Vampire Academy series and was working my way through the couple of Bloodlines books that were out. I liked VA, and quickly fell in love with Bloodlines, but I wasn’t sure I would like this book. I have read one of Richelle Mead’s adult books, Succubus Blues, a few years ago and I didn’t care much for it at the time, so I didn’t think I’d like this one either. Boy was I wrong. I loved this book. Richelle Mead is like a fine wine, with time, she just gets better and better. Each new book of hers is more intricately weaved than the last. What I initially didn’t like about that Succubus Blues was the simplicity of it. (Though as I’ve read more of the series, I realize the first book really just sets it up, the real story arc seems to start in later books, though I’m only on book 3…) Anyway, back to this book….
I was wrong. This book is amazing and fantastic. If you’re looking for paranormal, you won’t find it. But if you’re looking for mythology, you will find that. At first you won’t even realize it’s there, but it is. If you’re afraid that this book is anti-religion, it’s not. The government in the book is anti-religion, but that doesn’t mean the storyline is preaching that.
Gameboard of the Gods is an absolute must read in my book, though a word of warning to the younger readers, it does include some adult content and the storyline is very complex, so I wouldn’t recommend it for most readers under 16. You won’t find Vampire Academy here, you’ll find something much more complex.
And for fun, here’s my comments from my Goodreads status updates as I read the book:
Netflix became a little sadder a place a couple weeks ago. They removed all episodes of the hit BBC show ‘Doctor Who’, leaving fans like myself unable to get our Doctor fix whenever we want.
In honor of The Doctor, I bring you a special edition of Friday Favorites: DOCTOR WHO EDITION.
Now, I must first point out that I haven’t watched the original series. I tried, but they just didn’t hold my interest. My first Doctor is Nine, played by Christopher Eccleston. Any references I make refer only to New Who (2005 and on).
If you’ve never seen the show, you may not be aware that the actor who plays The Doctor changes up from time to time. As an immortal alien Time Lord (from the planet Gallifrey), instead of dying, The Doctor regenerates into a new body. Thus, we’ve had twelve incarnations of the doctor thus far, and twelve actors. They each bare some similarities to those who have come before them, but as all people are different, so are all incarnations of The Doctor.
FAVORITE DOCTOR:
This is a hard one, I loved Nine (Eccleston) because he was my first, and he just had such a wonderful childlike charm he brought to the role. I think Ten (David Tennant) has to be my favorite though. He was the perfect mix between goofy and serious, light and dark.
I don’t really have a least favorite doctor, but Eleven (Matt Smith) took the longest for me to warm to (though in the end I did love him), and by the time Twelve (Peter Capaldi) came around, the storylines had strayed so far from the original concept of the New Who Era, I actually stopped watching….
FAVORITE COMPANION:
Ten and Donna sassing one another.
Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) is hands down my favorite companion. She’s the first to not have any romantic feelings toward the doctor at all. I honestly hated her in the first episode in which she appeared (The Runaway Bride, S3, Christmas Special) but she grew on me as soon as she appeared as The Doctor’s companion in Season 4. Not only is Donna hilarious, she’s also so full of heart. The end of her time with the doctor is downright heartbreaking. (BONUS for her being the granddaughter of recurring character Wilfred, played by Bernard Cribbins!)
Runner up goes to Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). She was feisty and spunky. She flirted to no ends with The Doctor, even in front of her fiancé Rory (Arthur Darrell – I really loved Rory, too, but he was more Amy’s companion than The Doctors). She knew what she wanted and she fought for it. (BONUS: I can’t recall a time when Amy was not wearing a miniskirt and fun colored nail polish, no matter the situation, planet or climate! And she’s a Scottish ginger.)
Third place goes to Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). She was the first companion of the series reboot. A lot of people hate her because she fell in love with The Doctor and he had feelings for her as well, but I guess I’m just a romantic at heart. I loved that story arc. Plus, when she came back for those few episodes later on, she was super badass.
LEAST FAVORITE COMPANION:
Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
Nothing against the actress, she was in an earlier episode of Doctor Who playing another character and I had zero problems with her. But Martha Jones? She was just… annoying. She was so clingy to The Doctor and while her time with The Doctor had some great episodes, I hated her character. (Note: I didn’t mind her later on, when she appeared again, not as The Doctor’s companion. She was more confident in herself and held her own.)
____
FAVORITE VILLIAN / MONSTER:
The Master (John Simm): Because he had a really cool story arc. And he’s a little crazy. Okay, a lot crazy!
The Weeping Angels: Because if you’ve seen the episode ‘Blink’ you’ll know! (I didn’t care for them so much the second time around.)
You’ll never look at angel statues the same way again…
The Lady Cassandra: She just wanted to be beautiful. But she was sneaky and underhanded. I enjoyed her episodes.
Daleks: Because…. DALEK’S!
The Face of Bo: Not a villian, but sort of a monster. I almost cried the last time he sees The Doctor. So sad and tragic. 🙁
LEAST FAVORITE VILLAIN / MONSTER:
The Silence. Seriously.
I can’t even re-watch that season because they’ll give me nightmares. They were not the fun kind of creepy for me, they were (are…) just scary. Honestly, I only made it through the first time around because my husband was watching with me! (Keep in mind, this is coming from the girl who is still afraid of E.T., okay?)
FAVORITE EPISODES:
Season 6 is where things got weird, and I’m not even going to go there…. So this is seasons 1 – 5 of New Who.
In order of season:
S1 E9: The Empty Child (part 1) AND… S1 E10: The Doctor Dances (part 2)
– If you’ve ever been awoken in the middle of the night by a child staring at you blankly, you will appreciate these episodes. “Are you my mummy?” has new meaning. This is also our first introduction to Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman).
S2 E13: Doomsday (season finale)
– This was a sad episode where we had to let go of a friend. The season finale’s always pack a punch.
S3 E8: Human Nature (part 1) AND…. S3 E9: The Family Blood (part 2)
– This was just a really cool two part story arc. Two episodes where I didn’t mind Martha Jones so much, plus there are so many feels for The Doctor in this one.
S3 E10: Blink
– This was an episode featuring very little of The Doctor done right. Our first introduction to the Weeping Angels.
S3 E11: Utopia (part 1) AND… S3 E12: The Sound of Drums (part 2) AND… S3 E13: Last of the Time Lords (part 3) (season finale)
– This might be my favorite of the finales. A 3 part story arc and our introduction to The Master. Alternate time lines. Martha Jones undertaking a mission to singlehandedly save the world. It was epic.
S4 E7: The Unicorn and the Wasp
– The Doctor and Donna visit Agatha Christie. This was just such a fun “Whodunit” murder mystery episode.
S4 E8: Silence in the Library (part 1) AND… S4 E9: Forest of the Dead (part 2)
– When I think favorite episodes, the first that come to mind are this two episode story arc and Blink. An abandoned library full of shadow creatures (Vashta Nerada) that will kill you. It was creepy and terrifying and amazing. (We also meet River Song for the first time.)
S4 E10: Midnight
– This is a single episode that adds nothing to the overall season story arc, but I love it as it stands alone. It’s very psychological. The Doctor on a broken down shuttle on the planet Midnight. A mysterious creature taking over one of the passengers. Very creepy and cool.
S4 E11: Turn Left (part 1) AND… S4 E12: The Stolen Earth (part 2)AND… S4 E13: Journey’s End (part 3)
– Doctor Who knows how to do a season finale. This one was one of my favorite. The only thing I hate is that we had to say goodbye to Donna Noble. However, it would lose so much of its impact if we didn’t have to say goodbye to her at this point in time.
S5 E6: The Vampires of Venice
– The Doctor treats Amy and Rory to a trip to Venice. Except…. There are vampires??? This was a fun one. I’m a big fan of vampires, so of course I liked it.
S5 E10: Vincent and the Doctor
– If I could only choose ONE episode of Doctor Who to watch on repeat, it would probably be this one. It’s not very exciting, but the emotion is so raw. Vincent van Gogh was a tortured artist and seeing him interact with Amy and The Doctor was fun. The script was brilliant, Tony Curran as Vincent was amazing, and the bonus of Bill Nighy as the museum curator was beautiful. This episode is full of feels.
S5 E11: The Lodger
– This episode introduced me to James Corden, and I fell in love with his geeky charm. I can’t picture anyone better to be The Doctor’s roommate while he’s stranded on Earth as Amy is stuck in The Tardis.
S5 E12: The Pandorica Opens (part 1) AND…. S5 E13: The Big Bang (part 2)
– Yet another season finale that goes out with a BANG – literally! More feels. Lots of villains. Etc, etc.
As I stated above, season 6 is where things got weird, and I’m not even going to go there…. So this is seasons 1 – 5 of New Who.
In order of season:
S2 E7: The Idiot’s Lantern
– This one just didn’t hold my attention at all.
S2 E10: Love & Monsters
– This one barely featured The Doctor. I get that they were trying to show what the alien encounters on Earth are like without The Doctor around, but it just failed for me on so many levels.
S2 E11: Fear Her
– Another one from season 2. Apparently I didn’t enjoy much of that season. This episode was sort of interesting, but it just didn’t spark enough interest with me to care much to watch it again. I think, if memory serves, the little girl in this episode was just super annoying, so that might be why I don’t care for it.
S5 E4: Time of the Angels AND S5 E5: Flesh and Stone
– I did not care for the reintroduction to The Weeping Angels. They were perfect in ‘Blink’. They should have been left alone!
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And now, for fun, a music video I found on YouTube, featuring a brief overview of ALL of The Doctor’s, including the ones I haven’t watched from the original series, minus the most current.
*Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the videos or images shared here. I gave credit where I knew credit belonged.
The book I’m reviewing today, Hourglass by Pauline C. Harris, is on SALE right now for only 99 cents!
I highly recommend grabbing this book now while the price is rock bottom!
Hourglass by Pauline C. Harris
Read: November 1, 2015
Format: Ebook (Kindle)
My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Sci-Fi / Fairytale Retelling – YA
At just seven years of age, Jude Sprocket was rescued from a mysterious planet—her hand having just been severed from her body—and adopted by a space pirate. Flash forward ten years and Jude is now an orphan, her adoptive father having just died, leaving her all alone with just his spaceship, Hourglass. Missing her father and eager to return to outer space where she feels most at peace, she quickly assembles a small crew of teenagers to man the ship and help raid the atmosphere for abandoned space ships and other space junk which they can sell on the black market.
Plans are soon forgotten as the crew discovers an uncharted planet not far from Earth. Despite everything telling her not to land, Jude brings Hourglass to the surface and things get weird.
Hourglass is a sci-fi novel, but it’s also got a bit of horror and mystery to it. Upon landing on the mysterious planet, creepy things happen. This part of the book actually reminded me a bit of the episode ‘Midnight’ from Doctor Who, in which The Doctor takes a tour of a diamond planet and freaky stuff starts to happen.
Ms. Harris does a beautiful job of weaving the story of Peter Pan into a futuristic sci-fi setting. The character of Jude is well developed and easy to like. The villain, Prince, is easily disliked, but we’re also given a chance to try to understand him and feel for him. It’s easy for an author to simply have the “bad guy” and make the reader hate him, but to help the reader understand him is a step up that I for one appreciate.
I don’t want to give too much of what happens on the planet away, but this was a very creative and interesting take on Peter Pan. I loved the character Hook being not only the hero, but also a teenage girl. I only wish the story was longer!
If you are a fan of fairy tale reimagining’s, mild horror or sci-fi, I recommend checking this book out. I don’t think you’ll regret it!
Favorite quote from the book: While recruiting one member of the crew and trying cautiously to explain that they are a pirate crew, Jude says: “How attached are you to… the law?”
Disclaimer: I designed the cover for this book so I do receive a small monetary compensation for sales of the book. This in no way affects my review of the book. If I wanted to be dishonest, every book I design covers for would be a 5 star read! 😉
Royal Guard of Draga
(Free on KU!)
