Luckylyn

I just finished a contemporary romance titled The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert. It’s also known by the title Wanna Bet. Jasmine and Rahul have been best friends since college when she made it clear she didn’t do dating. Rahul could have had a temporary fling with Jasmine but choose to be her friend instead. Years later Jasmine’s apartment if flooded and so she temporarily moves in with Rahul stirring up repressed attractions and feelings. Sometimes Jasmine’s self sabotage could be frustrating but the book provides a foundation for why she’s so terrified to fall in love. So I sympathized with her and I appreciated the book makes it clear love isn’t enough. There were issues that needed to be worked through. I liked both characters and really enjoy Hibbert’s romances.

I was a bit thrown by the tone of the Netflix Persuasion trailer but will give it a chance. The books about regret, longing, and hope. The trailer isn’t really showcasing that. I loved the 1995 adaptation. I felt it really captured both characters and got the Wentworth letter scene perfect. The Sally Hawkins adaptation didn’t work and especially screwed up the letter scene. Dakota Johnson's New Film "Persuasion" Is Already Facing Backlash — Here's Why Sometimes an adaptation wins me over despite drastic changes like Mansfield Park (1999). But if Netflix ruins Wentworth’s letter which I consider one of the most romantic Austen scenes ever I will not be pleased.

I just finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I found it very compelling. I love old movies and I could imagine the fictional Evelyn in that classic era. I could see bits of Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, etc as inspiration for her story. Evelyn is ruthlessly pragmatic, but I can respect her doing what was necessary to get ahead in Hollywood while also understanding that she could be hurtful. There were times people were tools to her and at other times she would use her ruthless streak to benefit people she loved. I see her as a grey character with a mix of good and bad. I found the book an interesting mediation on love and its different forms. I like that platonic love was as valued as romantic love. I go back and forth in how I feel about Celia

Okay I’ve read further along and it’s getting more bananas. It’s getting a bit frustrating. A simple honest conversation would resolve so much.

I’m reading the historical romance An Earl, A Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley which is book 2 in her Rogues and Remarkable Women series . After a shipwreck Jemina is left with amnesia and Daniel becomes the guardian of a step daughter his late betrothed never told him about. Initially placed in an asylum due to her lack of memory Jemina is freed with the help of barrister Daniel. After 2 years a powerful attraction has grown between them but there’s tension due to Jemina believing Daniel knows more about her past than he has revealed to her and Daniel wanting Jemina to stop seeking information about herself that could inadvertently uncover secrets about his step daughter. There’s also a subplot of a secret organization called “The Widow’s Grace” where widows help each other when they have been mistreated.

He was almost James Bond but turned it down because he wasn’t willing to commit to doing sequels.

I absolutely adore Cary Grant. I recommend his film with Ginger Rogers Once Upon a Honeymoon.

I’m hoping it’s a new story with actors playing different characters instead of a continuation. I found the end if season 1 so satisfying.

I think the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous contains some problematic/offensive stuff and I absolutely adore it anyway. It's so hilarious. I think there so many groups who could be offended by it. I don't like movies that are offensive for the sake of being offensive but Drop Dead Gorgeous works extremely well.

Car Wash "Honey, I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get."

I’m in the middle of The House of Gucci A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. I saw the movie and felt it should have been a miniseries. I was left with the impression that a lot of events and information were left out. Reading the book confirms my view. There’s so much more to the story than ended up in the movie. The family history/dynamics are interesting to read about. I like a nonfiction book that provides information in a compelling way.

I have completed my Chronicles of Narnia journey. The Last Battle had a plot I found very intriguing. The book makes a solid argument about not blindly following leaders but contradicts that message by villainizing the Dwarves for wanting to be independent thinkers. They are portrayed in an obnoxious way but they have a valid point. Blinding following lead to a ton of damage to all the creatures of Narnia. Also I have to ask why does CS Lewis hate Susan? Overall the first three books and the Last Battle were the ones I found most compelling. Now I am starting book 2 of the Meant to Be Series where different authors take a fairy tale and write a contemporary romance. The first book which tackled Cinderella was lackluster but I am enjoying Book 2 By The Book By Jasime Guillory which is adapting Beauty and the Beast. Guillory has not disappointed me so far. I enjoyed her wedding date series and By The Book is so far a pleasure to read. Izzy is trying to get a promotion at a publishing company and sees reaching out to uncommunicative child star whose memoir is past due as a way to get taken more seriously. Izzy and the snarky author Beau fall for each other as she tries to get him yo complete his book. I really relate to Izzy’s difficulties speaking up for herself at work.

I finished The Sliver Chair and so I am almost done with my Chronicles of Narnia Journey. I thought it was okay. A few eye roll worthy moments. I was amused Puddleglum and his gift of saying the least comforting thing possible. I’m reading contemporary romance Fake the Date. Ben is sick of his mother constantly trying to set him up with women despite the fact he’d come out to his family years ago. For his sister’s upcoming wedding, she has the idea that he bring a boyfriend and force their parent’s to stop pretending Ben is straight. So Ben’s roommate Evan agrees to go to the wedding and be Ben’s fake boyfriend. Of course romance ensues.

I went through a Clavell phase in college and really enjoyed his books. I recommend reading more. I think my favorite was King Rat. I just finished The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. As WW2 is getting started, Grace moves to London after the death of her mother and a friend gets her a job at a book shop. It’s a challenge because she’s not a reader, the shop’s a mess and her boss doesn’t want her there. Over time she falls in love with books and grows to love the bookshop. The book has a cozy vibe. The characters experience tragedies and trauma due to the war. Still, there’s something lovely about the way characters take care of each other and come together. It’s very wholesome regarding a difficult time. Part of me wishes it was spicier, but I think overall the book is comforting.

I am halfway through Voyage of the Dawn treader and I find I am getting bored. I enjoyed the first three books of the Chronicles of Narnia. I think the most interesting plot was the Eustace/Dragon plot but not enough is done with it. Plus the inclusion of Aslan can come off as lazy at times. Of course he’s going to show up at the exact right time and make things okay. It’s getting repetitive. There are interesting ideas but I feel like not enough is being done with the execution.

I have a soft spot for Nathan/Hayley on One Tree Hill. I really thought show’s decision to rush the characters into marriage would ruin them but despite some rough patches they were a pairing I really enjoyed. I was also on Brooke’s side. Lucas and Peyton repeatedly broke her heart and acted like she didn’t have the right to feel anger about it. She could be petty but she had valid reasons to be hurt. She started as the mean girl but I think she had more heart than a lot of the other characters. She and Nathan are similar in that they both could have gone the villain path but ended up maturing into good people. I enjoyed the Haley/Brooke friendship more than either of their dynamics with Peyton. I feel like I was supposed to see Peyton as the good girl and Brooke as the bad girl and side with Peyton. Yet Brooke’s the character I was more attached to.

It was frustrating for fans who spent the hiatus speculating only for the show runners to refuse to provide a solution to the mystery they created. They treated fans who put thought into solving it with contempt. My theory is that they wrote themselves into a wall and couldn’t come up with a big surprise twist that the fans hadn’t already thought of so they just refused to explain how Sherlock survived. One of the things that made fans hold on to JohnLock as a possibility was a belief that the inconsistencies on the show had meaning and was leading to something. But in the end the inconsistencies were bad writing.

I never watched Supernatural but I have heard stories about the intensity of that fandom. I think it even reached a point where the wives of the actors were being attacked online. I enjoy shipping but I think shipping real life actors goes too far. Even in figure skating there’s an ice dancing pair Virtue/Moir where a whole fandom has developed based on the theory they are secretly married and have kids even though they have made it clear they aren’t a couple. Sarah z did a video analyzing the Supernatural fandom and the fallout from the season finale with a focus on Destiel shippers.

Corey and Shawn on Boy Meets World and Turk and JD on Scrubs we’re basically played like platonic boyfriends. Even though the characters were straight the shows would make jokes about the friends almost being like a couple. Turk and JD even had their own love song called “Guy Love.” That never felt like baiting to me.

There’s an awesome analysis of the whole Johnlock conspiracy. It was a show that encouraged fans to speculate but ultimately didn’t reward the viewers. There was a toxic mix of show runners baiting the fandom and fans going too far. It’s not great when show runners tease fans but fans also have to try not to take the shows too seriously. I have definitely experienced being disappointed with the outcome of a ship I supported. I shipped Angel/Cordelia on Angel and Ianto and Jack on Torchwood. The way viewers who were hurt over how Ianto was handled were treated by the show runner was horrible. He referred to us as hysterical women. I do think some of the anger in the Torchwood fandom was about overall questionable writing and the how the show was skewed in Gwen’s favor. The eruption over Ianto was a straw breaking the camels back situation. It wasn’t just disappointment for a ship being destroyed but anger over the show in general not being as good as it could be. Regarding Angel I was so confused at how Cordelia’s character was handled post Season 3. Now I know the suffering Charisma Carpenter went through with Whedon’s harassment and punishing her for getting pregnant. In that case the anger was more about how the actress was being treated than disappointment that Angel/Cordelia was ended.

Shipping isn’t inherently bad. It’s when people go too far being willing to harass people that takes the fun out of it for people who just want to enjoy romance. Plus it ends up giving shippers in a general a bad reputation. I thought of more examples of a show switching ships. On Life Goes On nerdy Becca crushes on jock Tyler and they end up together eventually. The relationship ends up falling apart and Becca is ends up with Jesse. I think in the end Jesse/Becca ended up being the show’s big romance. If I remember correctly Tyler/Becca started falling apart when Tyler’s bitter over having to repeat senior year due to his poor grades. Becca I think also idolized Tyler and didn’t know how to deal with him as a flawed person. Her fantasy of a relationship didn’t match the reality. Then Jesse came along as this mysterious new student. He’d pop up here and there and at first I wasn’t sure if I liked him because I worried he might be shady. But the chemistry between Becca/Jesse was fantastic. He really won me over in the episode where Becca’s sixteenth birthday party goes wrong and he comforts her. Becca/Jesse is on of my all time favorite ships. Another example is Dawson’s Creek where the show seemed to be building to best friends Dawson and Joey as end game but Joey/Pacey ended up the more compelling romance. I really think the plan was for Pacey/Joey to be a temporary obstacle to Dawson/Joey. They broke Joey/Pacey up and tried to reorient the show to Dawson/Joey but it just did not work. Fans couldn’t let Pacey/Joey go. Season 1 of Parks and Recreation focused on Leslie’s crush on Mark and her trying to move when he dates her friend. I think they intended to have Mark/Leslie ultimately be together but the writers and the actor weren’t clicking. I think when they were retooling the show the character Mark didn’t quite work anymore. So Mark leaves and Ben and Chris join the cast. Leslie/Ben’s enemies to lovers romance is so wonderful to watch. They are proof you can let characters get together and they still remain interesting. They didn’t make them a will they/won’t they until the final season. They actually got together at a pretty nice pace and after some bumps in the road were happy together throughout the show.

What happens when Covid shuts down production and you have to shoot a scene where the actors are on different continents. Scene breakdown Everything Everywhere All At Once

The books are very much a product if their time. Reading it with a modern perspective makes that stand out.

I finished Prince Caspian. I saw the movie years ago and don’t remember it very well. I was surprised that in the book the prince is a child because in the movie they aged him up probably just to give him a romance subplot with Susan. Now I am reading Artemis by Andy Weir which I find engrossing. A porter/smuggler named Jazz who lives in a city on the Moon called Artemis has been hired for a job involving illegal sabotage that will make her rich but things go wrong landing her in major danger. Jazz m can be frustrating and I can understand why the people who love her think she squandered her potential. Still she’s an engaging narrator and I root for her to survive.

On Daria they established Daria’s crush on her best friend Jane’s brother Trent. Later in the show Daria falls for Jane’s boyfriend Tom which was a really well done triangle. Interestingly the episode where Daria finally let’s go of her crush on Trent is the same one where Tom is introduced. She and Trent have a conversation about a project he flaked on helping her and Jane with and there’s this undercurrent of her realizing she and Trent aren’t compatible. I think it’s interesting that they had her move on from Trent rather than have them end up together.