📺 ~ Good Omens (Season 1)

rating: 9.5/10

this is such a fun and campy show, and the book definitely translates well onto the screen. idc how low budget it was coz they really made it work. michael sheen and david tennant really ATE their roles. crowley was an absolute delight to see onscreen, and aziraphale was positively adorable. the opening theme is gonna live in my head for a LONGGGGGG time—those strings are *chef's kiss* iconic. the only thing that left a bit to be desired was adam and the "them" but ehh i'll forgive it coz i had fun anyway. i was surprised at how book-accurate the entire season was coz i expected more changes like the tlou and pjo show. nonetheless, my Ineffable Husbands craving was satisfied coz i got a whole half hour of them in the 3rd episode meeting in different points in history, which i couldn't get in the book but the show DELIVERED. i wasn't aware that terry pratchett had passed away but if he saw this today he'd be proud. good job, neil gaiman (edit 2025: that didn't age well).

📖 ~ Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

rating: 3.75/5

listen: i know, okay, i KNOW that objectively, this is a good book—it's hilarious and the writing has just the right kick of humor—but FFS DID I NOT LIKE READING IT. i genuinely believe the way you read certain books influences ur experience of it a lot and reading this w a physical copy would've been a far more pleasant experience than reading it on my phone. the middle of this book DRAGGED. there were so many characters and random setups to introduce minor elements of the plot and i was just struggling to absorb all that information. this is a book to be read with PATIENCE (which i don't possess at present) but i just wanted the whole thing to be over with. i only read this to get on w the tv show, so hopefully that proves to be more fruitful. i liked adam as a character tho. he was nice (shipped him w his friend too—wellesley was it?). i honestly thought there'd be more Ineffable Husbands moments but nah. newt and anathema were cute tho—they're adorable hehe i love them fr. agnes nutter is an icon. at least everyone got a happy ending (i hope the show isn't happy tho (edit 2025: u got ur wish whore)). anyways, if u're over 30 years of age, i might recommend this book to you (edit 2025: why does that sounds like an insult? i swear it isn't).

📖 ~ Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

rating: 2/5

i haven't seen such a severe lack of chemistry between two couples than i did in this book. it was so unbelievably dry and i was irrevocably bored for 90% of this book. dnf-ing a book doesn't normally cross my mind but it definitely did here. it's a travesty to market this book as akin to heartstopper because they are simply NOT in the same playground. i was dragging myself through gwen's pov chapters coz she had NOTHING going on for her. gwen and bridget had zero sparks between them and it all felt so forced—they don't even have any emotional connection with each other to make me believe that they love one another. hell, gwen's relationship w arthur was better developed than whatever tf she had going on w bridget. 

onto arthur and gabe: they had a bit more chemistry so that i could root for them, but they were still dry. the book was stilted and it felt like the characters were being forced together more often than not. i clocked onto the third act conflict as soon as the cultists vs catholics thing was mentioned earlier, but the author is as bad in writing politics as they are with relationships. some of the banter was fine, and it is a testament to how dry gwen was that i have more highlights of arthur than her. the use of pop-culture references was truly comical, even though they caught me off-guard (esp the riverdale reference). the ending left much to be desired. i feel like if u set a coup up and put it into effect in the climax of your book, you should also show a proper aftermath instead of a half-assed "the guy who didn't want to be king is king and he changed policies and they all lived happily ever after". it felt so unearned?? gabriel rarely exhibits proper leadership qualities. gwen had the potential to take over in his place but she's a coward and her end motivations are non-existent. she doesn't rlly change much from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. arthur is arguably the best written character but even he has his flaws. his alcoholism is shown as a problem but the book doesn't properly explore WHY he goes down that path in the first place, and fails to examine his relationship w his dead mother even though it seems to be a big facet of his personality. this was a poorly written book. don't recommend.

🎬 ~ Damsel

rating: 6.5/10

NOOOOOOOOO! oh man, i'm so disappointed. this movie and concept had sm potential. the cinematography, the score by hans zimmer, the visual effects—WONDERFUL. the cast were also slaying. but man, the plot fumbled BIG TIME. this was set up to be a VERY good fantasy survival horror. even the dragon was terrifying enough to make me fear its appearance onscreen, but the movie was too short. if the runtime were two and a half hours, it would've been PERFECT to explore more of elodie's time in the caves but instead we got this rushed plot. even the dragon and elodie's relationship could've been developed way better in a slowburn setting. damn it, man. the opportunity for a great film was wasted. but nonetheless, i'll appreciate what we got. it wasn't all that bad. i wish we had more time to explore the prince's character. the ceremony scene was downright creepy lol. if i was elodie, i would've bolted. did not expect angela bassett to be in this. the characters were not fleshed out. we didn't get much explanation of what happened to elodie's mother. why did her father agree to sell her out in the first place and then come back looking for her??? how the heck did someone draw that perfectly accurate map of the way out—like did they come back to draw it?? how would they do that if they were dead?? too many questions left unanswered for a standalone. also, some of the modern language took me out of my immersion. i hate it when language isn't time-accurate haha forgive my pedantry (even though it's valid in this case). it felt like a.i. had a hand in creating this script. i don't like throwing that statement around but yeah, this time i have to mention it. that score was SCORING tho, like i need this in my elementalists playlist coz the scenarios in my head were going ahhhhhh. hans zimmer never misses. okie, that's the review. byee.

📺 ~ Young Royals (Season 3)

rating: 7.95/10

the FINAL season, oohhhh boy. damn, it feels weird to rate it coz it's a feel-good show, not one of my critique projects lol. i watched the finale w my friend ananya and wasn't really in the zone to process this on an emotional level, but that finale was the perfect bow to wrap this experience up. one day, i wanna just sit down and binge all 18 episodes in a day and experience this roller coaster altogether.

from 16 to 18, this show does hold a tiny special place in my mind for the feelings it evoked in me. season 1 remains my favourite, and all the little callbacks in the final episode were so special. it made me happy. and wille breaking the 4th wall for the final time, looking all happy for the first time fjdjsksk man this show>>. lisa slayed. was lowkey scared august was gonna unalive himself coz w that open ending and him sorta realising that the royal life ain't all it's cut out to be, it's looking BLEAK for him. ik ppl kinda hate him but damn if he isn't the best written character in the show and makes me wanna hug him and wish happy things for him. i'm not excusing his actions but he's actually regretful for what he's done so i'mma be a august apologist. sorry folks, this guy needs to be studied in How To Write Morally Grey Characters 101—he's undeniably my favorite character. FELICE MY GIRL! I'M SO HAPPY SHE RODE OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH THE GANG. SHE DESERVES ALL HAPPY THINGS. and wille: i theorised before starting the season that he'd abdicate and i'm grateful he did so for himself coz i've had enough of seeing this poor guy suffer. simon and wille otp 4 lyf. and i kept getting mad at simon for putting fuel to fire by reading his socmed comments and posting things like BOY STOP IT. at least he didn't talk to the journalists. anyways, good season. it was slay (don't fuxx in the hallway kids).

🎬 ~ Madame Web

rating: 7/10

the internet just hates women in the spotlight istg. this isn't a bad movie, on the contrary, it's probably the most visually creative marvel movie to date. the cinematography, transitions and camerawork are genuinely artistic and i can't believe no one has been talking about it. i haven't heard a peep. the trailer of this movie did it no justice. this was my first time watching a dakota johnson movie (not counting her cameo in The Social Network) and i quite liked her character. she's sarcastic, kinda awkward, and is responsible for three baby spiderlings and fulfills her older sister role pretty well. julia, mattie and anya themselves had distinct personalities and bounced off of each other pretty well. i quite liked all their dynamics. AND OHMYGOD BEN PARKER. MARY AND UNBORN BABY FETUS PETER AHH FJDJSJJD i gasped so loud when i realised hehehehehe. i rlly want madame web in the main mcu timeline. that'd be wild. looking forward to the live-action spiderverse (pls don't fuxx it up feige). the weakest part of this movie was definitely its antagonist coz we have zero explanation for his motivations except that he had a vision that the spiderlings would kill him (why would they tho). also, plot hole: what happened to the spider that was in ezekiel's apartment?? is this a separate universe or within the main mcu 616 world? so many questions.

🎬 ~ Your Name Engraved Herein

rating: 8.75/10

listen. i was gearing up for a tragedy, but i got something better: hope. that ending is one of my favorites. meeting again as adults, hope is not all lost? i am all for it. the main duo are great. their friendship and relationship—everything was full of life and i feel happy for them. FATHER OLIVER IS A G. HE IS EASILY ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS man. "help me go to hell" wow i- the scene w the telephone and the song being used as a confession and both of them silently crying? tugged something in me bro. it's so raw. i'm glad they'll have time to be together. slayed fr.

📖 ~ A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

rating: 5/5

i started reading this on my birthday and finished it the day after which means i DEVOURED it—ATE IT UP and left no crumbs. this was such a good book y'all. i loved that ravi and pip's relationship wasn't explicitly romantic but implicit in the way that we kinda knew they cared abt each other and oh lawd i can't wait to read more about them in the next two books. THE PLOT BTW!?!? THE PLOT WAS SO GOOD!! THE MYSTERY, THE REVEAL—ALMOST CRIED WHEN SAL'S DEATH WAS REVEALED but like fr the last 100 pages of this book are such a rollercoaster. pip is actually quite smart and i love seeing a smart teenage girl in my books. pippa fitz-amobi and stevie bell would be unstoppable. u can't argue w me on that. one of the best mysteries i've ever read (i've only read like 3 or 4 before but still). i love that it was a self-contained book. it worked out well. (also excuse me thinking holly black and holly jackson were the same person no lol). can't wait for the bbc adaptation <333