April 2017 Wrap-Up

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What I Read…

Beastly by Alex Flinn | ★★★★
After seeing the new live action Beauty and the Beast, I was really in the mood for some Beauty and the Beast retellings. I actually enjoyed this movie when I saw it when it came out, so I thought I’d pick up the book. I know this could have been the perfect time to finally try A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I’m not ready for that one yet. Plus, I just wanted a straight retelling and this one was quick and easy. It wasn’t great by any means, but it got four stars because it was exactly what I needed at the time.

Beastly: Lindy’s Diary by Alex Flinn | ★★★
It was short, so I figured why not? I’m usually not interested in books that are retold from a different character’s POV. But again because this was a novella and not a full-length novel, I figured I’d give it a shot. It was okay.

Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman | ★★★★½
I’ve been slowly making my way through the audiobooks of the Shadowhunter Chronicles, and this was my favorite one yet. I’ve heard people apparently don’t like Simon very much (at least in the earlier books), but I’ve always adored him. So when he got his own book of novellas, I was stoked! Each novella is narrated by a different actor. I particularly enjoyed Torrance Coombs from Reign, Jack Falahee from How to Get Away with Murder, Nico Mirallegro from My Mad Fat Diary, and Devon Bostick from The 100 (and Diary of a Wimpy Kid). The ending annoyed me… a lot. But this only made me love Simon more, and I’m shipping Sizzy forever.

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Whatever.: or how junior year became totally f$@ked by S.J. Goslee | ★★★★
This was such a pleasant surprise. I came across this on Amazon or Goodreads as a suggestion for YA books with LGBT themes. This was a super fun one. It wasn’t anything deep, but I really enjoyed it.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern | ★★
If you read my review… you know I was not a huge fan. I was so bored about halfway through, I had to switch to the audiobook. And I’m pretty sure the only reason I finished the audibook was because Jim Dale narrated it, and since he was the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks I listened to as a kid, his voice was very nostalgic.

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel | ★★★★½
This was quite the pleasant surprise. I have a review for this coming out this week. It’s definitely a pretty generic YA. Girl is supposed to kill boy, girl falls in love with him instead. You know. But I actually really enjoyed it. It was fast moving and fun, and Bishop Lattimer is definitely my newest book boyfriend.

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What I Watched…

Anne on CBC/Netflix | ★★★★★
Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books. It also holds a really special place in my heart because it was a book my aunt gave to me and something we bonded over. Not to mention, Gilbert Blythe will always and forever be my number one book boyfriend because he may or may not have been my first-ever crush. (Jonathan Crombie in the Megan Follows iteration… amiright, people?) So I was super excited when I hard this was going to be a Netflix original series. Then I saw it had already aired in Canada, and I may or may not have found the entire series online… Let me just say, it is perfection. It has taken a few liberties from the original, but I absolutely love it. Amybeth McNulty could not have been cast more perfectly. I liked the first couple episodes, but I knew I would reserve final judgement until we finally saw Gilbert Blythe. And let me just said, Lucas Jade Zumann makes such an adorable and charming Gilbert, he does my first crush justice. I can imagine he will be a first crush to many girls the way Jonathan Crombie was to me. I’m super excited to rewatch it when it’s put on Netflix!

Famous in Love on Freeform | ★★★
I give every show on Freeform a try pretty much. I can’t help it. This show is based on a book and stars Bella Thorne as an unknown girl who gets cast in a huge blockbuster based off a book series. The book series involves a famous love triangle, she gets involved in a love triangle in real life. Basically, this series has a lot of stuff I hate. The ~sky and ~awkward girl and the ~hot ~playboy guy who ~changes~ for her. Love triangles, girl on girl hate, cliche tropes. The show’s nothing special, so it’s still TBD about whether or not I will watch season two.

Beauty and the Beast | ★★★★½
Yes, I definitely saw this in March as soon as it came out… but I loved it so much, I saw it twice more in April. I thought the film was beautiful, and a great live-action follow up to the animated movie. The animated movie is obviously amazing, and I know a lot of people felt it was unnecessary to remake it. But I thought this was a beautiful tribute to the original, and I’m super excited for the home release so I can watch it again and again!

Moana | ★★★
Finally got around to watching this one! I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. (I did, of course, enjoy all of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beautiful music.) But I wouldn’t put it up there in favorites among recent disney released like Tangled or Zootopia. But it was definitely beautifully animated, and I’ve definitely been listening to “How Far I’ll Go” on repeat.

I’m pretty proud of my April! How’d you guys do? Did you read or watch anything particularly good? Let me know in the comments and link your wrap-ups!