Gugudan - Act. 2 Narcissus (2017) - Album Review

Act. 2 Narcissus is the second mini-album released by South Korean girl group Gugudan.

Tracks & Individual Ratings:

1. Rainbow - 4/5
2. A Girl Like Me - 4/5
3. Hate You - 3/5
4. One Step Closer - 4/5
5. Make a Wish - 5/5
6. A Girl Like Me (Instrumental)

In my opinion, this is one of the best albums released by a girl group so far this year. The vocals are absolutely gorgeous, especially on "Make a Wish". Most of the songs have a '90s pop feeling to them. After several listens I still find myself unsure of how I feel about "Hate You". It comes off sounding a little messy and all over the place. My favorite track off the album right now is "Rainbow". It could have easily been the title track and part of me is really hoping that they do release a music video for it. Compared to Act. 1, Act. 2 is an incredible improvement and I am definitely looking forward to future releases now.

Overall rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Artist & Album Information: iTunes, Spotify

Released: February 27, 2017

Gugudan: KProfiles

Circle's Dream - Park Subin - Album Review

Circle's Dream is Dal Shabet member Subin's latest Single album. It features four songs.

Tracks & Individual Ratings:

1. Swing - 5/5
2. Strawberry - 5/5
3. Circle's Dream - 4.5/5
4. Moon - 5/5

I absolutely love this album. The vocals are beautiful and each song is unique and refreshing. Even though it is still only February, I know this is going to be one of my most played albums this year. My only complaint is that it is only a single. I need Subin to release a full solo album pronto.

Overall rating: ★★★★★ 4.8/5

Artist & Album Information: iTunes, Spotify

Released: February 23, 2017

Park Subin: KProfiles, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs - Book Review

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae. Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched? (Goodreads)

Patricia Briggs is my favorite authors and I love reading her books. Fire Touched is book nine of the Mercy Thompson series (thirteen in the Mercy Thompson World). 

It feels like the series is falling victim to what I call the copy/paste formula.  With the Mercy Thompson series, it goes like this: We open the book with an introduction that refreshes what has happened in the previous books and give quick updates on some of the characters. Then something big happens. They fix the bad thing only to find out there is a bigger thing. They spend the majority of the book talking about the bigger thing and planning what to do about it. There's usually some smaller thing that will happen and then with about fifty pages left they resolve the big thing that the book has spent most of its time on. So in the end, it feels like there is an awful lot of unnecessary filler. This is especially true if the characters become boring or predictable. So when a character (well sort of one) dies, it doesn't seem to matter. With that being said, this is probably one of my least favorite books by Patricia Briggs. I just could not get into the new characters or care about them and the way Mercy deals with everything has become too predictable for me to fully enjoy.

Rating: 3/5

Book Information: Goodreads

Published: March 8th, 2016

Patricia Briggs: Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Official Site

Passengers (2016) - Movie Review

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. (IMDB)

 

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes

Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Scifi

Released: December 21, 2016

Directed by: Morten Tyldum

Written by: Jon Spaihts

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen

This is a very pretty movie. The special effects were probably my favorite aspect of this film. The story and the acting were okay. There was not anything special about it that makes it stand out. However, if you are in the mood for a somewhat romantic sci-fi movie, this would be a good pick.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - Book Review

The saga that began with Illuminae continues on board the space station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of BeiTech’s assault. Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter, Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum may be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival. The fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. (Goodreads)

Holy crap. It is, in my experience, very rare when a sequel is just as good as the original. Just like book one, Gemina is more than just a book, it is an experience. It follows the same unique format as Illuminae and continues the story with several extremely relatable characters. Reading this series, so far, has been one of the most unique reading experiences I have ever had. I am both excited and sad about the impending release of book three, which is intended to be the conclusion of the trilogy.

Rating: ★★★★★5 /5

Book Information: Goodreads

Amie Kaufman: Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, Official Site

Jay Kristoff:  Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, Official Site

Is it worth reading?

👍💖 Absolutely.

Rookie (2017) - Red Velvet - Album Review

Rookie is Red Velvet's 4th mini-album.

Tracks & Individual Rating:

1. Rookie 2/5
2. Little Little 4.5/5
3. Happily Ever After 3/5
4. Talk To Me 3.5/5
5. Body Talk 5/5
6. Last Love (Wendy Solo) 5/5

I didn't like the song, but I loved this part of the video.

I just do not seem to like many of the title tracks released recently. I had high hopes for "Rookie", but it is, in my opinion, the most annoyingly obnoxious song that Red Velvet has released thus far. I do think this disappointment may have helped how I felt about the rest of the album, though. "Happily Ever After" sounds like a mish-mash of several previous Red Velvet releases. It does not really stand out much. "Talk To Me" is okay, and seems to be growing on me with each listen. "Little Little" is definitely from the "Velvet" side of Red Velvet (which I prefer) and I absolutely love the harmonies. "Last Love" is a  beautiful solo ballad, sung by Wendy. It sounds like it was meant for a Korean drama. The gem for me, on this album, is "Body Talk". I really wish this had been the title track. It has a nostalgic melancholy vibe and it is my favorite when it comes down to lyrics on this ep. I would love for Red Velvet to feature more songs with this type of feeling in the future.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆3.8/5

Artist & Album Information: Spotify, iTunes

Released: February 1, 2017

Red Velvet: KProfiles, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter