January Recap

 Books

Stats:

Books Read: 10

Books DNF'd: 1 [Review for Victories Greater Than Death]

Average Rating: 3.4 (★★★⍣☆)

Most Read Genre: Fantasy

Physical Books: 4

Ebooks: 3

Audiobooks: 3

Rereads: 2

Highest Rating ★★★★★

Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan

Review to Come

Lowest Rating  ★★☆☆☆

Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie

Mini Review: 

This book sort of felt like true crime fan fic. It centers around three different stories in present day, and one ten years prior. It was so meandering that I had a difficult time understanding certain characters motivations. It also had my number one pet peeve and least favorite trope for thrillers, the unreliable narrator. I've seen it done well only a handful of times (Gone Girl being my favorite example), but for the most part, it leads to an annoying ending.

Everything in this book that happened was undone by the last few chapters. There was no missing persons cases that the rest of the book spent setting up, there was no big mystery. Instead, we get all three narrators basically lying to you the whole book, only to turn everything on it's head. I hated the ending. I still gave it two stars because I did fairly enjoy the rest. I just hate unreliable narrators that know everything and spend the whole book spinning tales only to spin the plot on it's head to "surprise" you. If this is what the rest of the author's books are like, I don't see myself picking them up.

Movies

Stats:

Movies Watched: 7

Most Watched Genre: Horror/Thriller

Average Rating: 4.1 (★★★★☆)

Rewatches: 2 [Fellowship of the Rings & Twilight]

Favorite Movie ★★★★★

Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)

Mini Review:

This was so good! I'm sure it's a lot to do with nostalgia, because Monk was one of my favorite shows growing up. I'm so glad they brought most of the cast back. I definitely cried multiple times while watching this and it made me want to rewatch the series again. Was it the best movie I've ever watched? Definitely not. But did I enjoy every minute? Absolutely!

Least Favorite Movie ★★★☆☆

Malignant (2021)

Mini Review:

I liked parts of it and hated other parts. A lot of inconsistencies and very strange things were in this move, but I was entertained. The underlying story was pretty intriguing, with a woman in some sort of sleep paralysis, witnessing murders after a haunting took place in her house. I just really, really hated the ending. It turned into a B action movie and all the horror elements fell apart. 

TV

Stats: 

Shows Completed: 3

Most Watched Genre: Thriller

Average Rating: 6.8/10

Favorite Show - 8.5/10

True Detective - Season 1

Mini Review:

I finally have HBO so I have a lot of catching up to do. I love a dark, twisted thriller, and this didn't disappoint. I love the duo leads, they played off each other super well. I can't wait to continue with the series, as I'm currently watched the 2nd season. 

Least Favorite Show - 5/10 [I'm being generous here]

You Are What You Eat

Mini Review:

Look, I am not a vegan, but I'm always interested in nutritional studies. That is, if they are done well. From what the documentary actually showed, this experiment was not very well controlled at all. They didn't measure caloric intake nor energy expenditure. They didn't control the actual food that the individuals were eating, and their results seemed to cherry pick certain metrics. I've watched other reviews on this and they seem to come to the same conclusion that the study design was not a good one.