Pretty Sassy Cool All Things Pretty, Sassy, and Cool.
Welcome to a new Week in Review. Each week, we’ll let you know what we’ve been reading and checking out, whether it’s books, movies, shows, or anything else š
Sherry: Parenthood – Love the Bravermanās and this final season is going to be full of heart and tears as always. Check out more on our weekly TV wrap-up.
Madam Secretary – New Show – I wasnāt sure I was going to like this show, because in all honesty, I donāt love TĢĢĢĢĢea Leoni. But, I really liked this show and her character. Thereās really nothing better than a woman in power whoās willing to get it done no matter the cost and that is Elizabeth – Secretary of State. Sheās smart, witty, and no holds barred with a lot of heart. Definitely win for me.
Chicago P.D. – The men & women in blue are back and finding out who killed Jin was on the top of the list. One of the things I love about this show is always wondering whether Voight is good or bad. Just when you think heās bad, he does something good. Iām glad he didnāt kill Jin and that he brought down the man who did even at a cost to himself. But, giving Jinās father the money to get out of his gambling debts, well, that just gave me all the smiles for him. I love a good cop show.
Mysteries of Laura – New Show – Speaking of cop shows, this show is a little campy but Iām enjoying it. I love Debra Messing and so far itās an ok blend of funny and drama. Thatās a real fine line I think, sometimes when cop shows are trying to be funny, it doesnāt really appeal to me. But, Iām liking this one so far. This week with Laura capturing the casanova strangler by setting up a profile on a dating site, going on the date with him and then provoking him was a great epi.
Selfie – New Show – Watched the pilot epi of this and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I was sort of beginning to think that it was going to be one of those āyou see all the funny in the trailerā shows. Happily, it wasnāt. I havenāt seen My Fair Lady, lowers head in shame, but it definitely has similarities just from the little Iāve heard about MFL. The main character is Eliza Dooley and the guy who is going to āreformā her is Henry – sound familiar? Seems like this show could have a lot more heart than it originally may seem. Already, Iāve had a few āahhhhhā moments. Definite win for me.
Sandi: In the land of books, I confess I havenāt done a lot of fiction. I am reading a great account of Genghis Khan, though! More specifically, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World . Jack Weatherford (the author) is clearly a fanboy of the Great Khan and he has a perspective that is new to me, so Iām enjoying it.
I have done some fiction, though. One is an old classic that has only recently been released on Kindle: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Now, if youāve seen the old television show, this is NOT that. Neither is it the lovely 1947 movie with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, though these characters will always be the Captain and Mrs. Muir in my head. The novel is much more engaging, to my mind, and more interactive between the two principle characters. I highly recommend this book. I have also finished Trail of Crosses by Jo Grafford. I need to review this historical romance for PSC! Grafford is exploring the lost Roanoke Colony from the 16th Century and writing about what might have happened to the people who had been there in her Lost Colony Series, for which this is book two. Though she makes some minor historical anachronistic references, her storytelling is solid and I am enjoying the series very much.
In Beauty Product Land, I have recently been playing with OPI polishes. Right now, Iām wearing their German-icure by OPI. I am not thrilled with this particular color (though I like OPI in general) because itās wearing from my nail edges quite quickly, even with a top coat. Alas. I am looking for something more brown, however, and am going to be trying China Glazeās Call of the Wild next week. Iāll let you know how it goes.
I have been finishing watching the final season of Revolution on Netflix this week. I was bummed it was not renewed, but I have two more episodes to go and I hope they closed it up with enough of a period to make it work. If not, thereās always fanfic.
(I absolutely enjoy fanfic from favorite shows of mine that were canceled. Firefly fic is SO MUCH FUN!)
Betsy: TV: Outlander – Saturday saw the mid-season finale and there was a lot going on in it. I admit it was not my favorite episode, but that may have more to do with the fact that I am still unhappy about the split season and the incredibly long, 6 plus months to wait for the second half. There were some brilliant moments and one (for me) incredibly cheesy section. Now I will say that others loved the cheese. Just didnāt work as well for me. We saw some more of what Frank has been up to and a really intense scene where he gets into a fight and you see a little of that āancestral echoā that Tobias Menzies has been talking about. Plus he uses a blackjack in the scene. Nice. Of course there were some lovely and very heated moments between Jamie and Claire. There was the expected cliffhanger, and it was the exact one that Ron Moore talked about in an interview months ago about how it would make a great episode cliffhanger. So weāre hanging by our fingernails on the cliff. Hope youāve been using some nail strengthener because itās gonna be a looooong wait.
Been watching a bit of on demand stuff too. Black Sails has some wonderful characters and a lot of intrigue, but its use of female characters is the usual Starz tits and ass presentation. Meh. Sad, because this could be great if they would stop the gratuitous female body part display. I mean really, a āfuck tentā??? Iām sure that was integral to the pirate treasure story. (said with high sarcasm) 0-o
Oh and Reign mockers, itās back and ready for mocking. I really donāt think they could get much more historically inaccurate if they tried. Big meh.
Books: Finished Embrace by Jessica Shirvington that I started last week. I enjoyed and will probably pick up the rest of the series to see how it turns out. Pray that I am not disappointed by the rest which seems to be a recurring theme for me.
Also read Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley. Really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of the mysteries I used to read in high school by Mary Stewart. Itās set in Chinon, France with a very interesting cast of characters.
Also picked up a couple of ARCs because I canāt seem to learn my lesson about blurbs. Blurbs are often like movie trailers…the best bits are there and the rest is drivel. Suffice it to say they were awful. Yes, I did read the second one or I should say I skimmed to see if things improved and they did not. I will not name this one but will send my sincere thoughts to the publisher.
For fans of the Outlander books and ancillary novels/novellas, I read A Wind in the Leaf of All Hallows. A very bittersweet little tale of Rogerās parents. It fits in with both pre-Outlander (WW2) and Written in my Own Heartās Blood. Warning: Both soft and hard hearts cried over this one. I started Lord John and the Private Matter and as usual I love Lord John. What a great secondary character and Iām so glad Gabaldon decided to expand his world.
Kassiah: I generally love OPI producs, Sandi, but I totally agree with you on the longevity issues. I’ve been crazy busy –still– with Cheerleading and Football stuff, but I did read Never Been Kissed by Molly O’Keefe. I love this author and this book was pretty awesome. Hope ya’ll have a good week.
