Top 10 Kdramas I Watched in 2018

1. I'm Not a Robot: This series about a guy who has developed a psychosomatic allergy to other humans ends up investing in an extremely life-like robot in order to experience companionship but the robot ends up breaking before he gets to test it out so the girl who the robot is based on has to pretend to be a robot. Our two main characters end up becoming friends under these strange circumstances first and later fall in love with each other it's a very sweet and cute series but there are times when this series can be surprisingly sad as well.

2. Just Between Lovers: In this series our two leads were connected to each other because they were trapped together during a collapse of a shopping mall both our main characters are still dealing with PTSD related to that day although it presents itself in very different ways. Our two main characters end up falling in love and finding ways to over come their trauma together in ways that feel realistic but also optimistic.

3. Solomon's Perjury: This series is about a group of high schoolers who decided to investigate whether or not one of their fellow students killed themselves or if they were murdered, they decide to put on a trial in order to find the truth once it becomes clear that the school doesn't want to look further into the matter. This series does a good job of setting up the mystery and also showing us the many different sides to the important characters in the case which made this a great watch.

4. School 2017: This series that deals with the various issues of various students in one grade at one high school is one that I loved. I thought that most of the characters that were focused on were interesting and had good stories to be told and I liked seeing the various relationships that the students had with each other as well.

5. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: This show centers around a female weightlifter who is trying to succeed in her dreams of become the best weightlifter but also wants to date and finds it hard reconcile those two parts of herself. I really loved the friends to lovers storyline that the two leads had which was very sweet and allowed the female lead to stay true to herself.

6. Hymn of Death: This drama was both beautifully and tragically romantic with this based on true events forbidden love story that you knew from the start would end in tragedy. The main characters were sympathetic despite the fact that they're relationship with each other is one that is frowned upon by most.

7. Fight My Way: This show was a really fun rom-com about two friends falling in love with each other after years of friendship and failed relationships with other people. This show along with being a good fun romance series also was about people going out and working on achieving their dreams even if it seems impossible for them since making money is more important than getting the job they actually like or if they feel like they're too far behind everyone else that are applying for the jobs they want because they either gave up on their dreams or couldn't afford to work unpaid internships, this aspect of the series was one that was really easy to relate to.

8. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?: This was a very fun and sweet romance between a very talented secretary and her CEO boss where he did most of the chasing in the early part their relationship which was delightful to watch. I really liked how the characters end up having to figure out how their relationship would have to change once they started dating so that there wasn't too big of a power imbalance in their relationship as lovers. I had some issues with some things regarding a traumatic backstory but overall these issues didn't take much away from how much I loved this series as a whole.

9. Oh My Ghost:  This series was a fun and spooky romantic comedy about a girl who can see ghosts being possessed by a ghost who needs to have sex in order move onto the afterlife and she sets her sights on the other girl's crush/boss to be the one that she does it with. The series has an unconventional premise which makes the series fun and it also gives two female leads who end up working together to achieve what they want in a way that you wouldn't expect. This series can also get a bit dark at times when dealing with how one of are main girls died in the past.

10. The Innocent Man: This series is one that involves a lot of the main characters manipulating each other and playing mind games in order to get what they want which is something I always find is great fun to watch. I also really liked that this story is about revenge and that there is a relationship that starts out based on achieving that goal but then becomes genuine over time. I found that series had a little to much drama involving medical conditions in it's second half but overall really loved this series.

TV Review: The Innocent Man

                                                         The Innocent Man Review

The Innocent Man is about Kang Ma ru a promising young med student who grew up in poverty who ended up taking the fall for a murder that his girlfriend Han Jae hee committed in self defense because she told him that she couldn't bare to go back to the gutter after making herself into a successful reporter. Ma ru goes to prison in Jae hee's place assuming that she would wait for him and continue her career as a reporter but it turns out that Jae hee stops being a reporter soon after the murder and instead marries a CEO who is much older than her and has a child with the man. Years later after Ma ru has been out of prison for some time discovers that Jae hee not only didn't wait for him but has also stopped being a reporter decides that he will take his revenge on Jae hee by bring her back down to his level.

Ma ru decides that the best way to get under Jae hee's skin is to start a relationship with Jae hee's step daughter Seo Eun Gi who is around the same age as Ma ru and Jae hee so it's unsurprising that Eun gi doesn't like that her father left her mother for Jae hee. Eun gi is ambitious, cold and has a temper which are traits that can both help and hurt her while working in her father's company, she wishes to be the CEO once her father steps down but her father would rather her younger brother(who is currently only five) be the one that takes over for him since he believes that men make better leaders. Eun gi has a lot of resentment towards Jae hee even before she meets Ma ru which is why she agrees to date him even after it becomes clear that he has ulterior motives for why he approached her in the first place.

Eun gi eventually begins to fall for Ma ru as he starts to notice her hidden softer side which is something he uses to win her affections in order to get closer to her in order to mess with Jae hee but Eun gi's softer side also leads to Ma ru developing some feelings of his own that he won't admit to having. About halfway through the series a lot of dramatic things happen all at once there's some character death, injuries and a time jump which leads to the second half of the series mainly dealing with the fall out of what happens midway through the show.

Overall I really enjoyed this show, the story was one that was driven by revenge and filled with manipulation which is something that I find to be very enjoyable in a story even it did get a little too dramatic at times. I thought that the main characters were very well written and acted, I liked that the characters were more intriguing than likable for the most part. I really loved the music for the show, I felt like it suited the tone of the show perfectly. Please tell me your thoughts on this show in the comment section below.

TV Review: Hymn of Death

                                                         Hymn of Death Review

Hymn of Death is set in the early 1920s while Korea was under Japanese occupation and is about play write Kim Woo jin whose father disapproves of his writing and his desire to speak out against Japanese ruling over Korea and Korea's first soprano singer Yun Shim Deok. Woo jin and Shim deok meet while they're studying in Tokyo while working on a play to be perform around Korea and through out the course of working on this play together the two get to know each other and they began to fall for each other. Since Woo jin is already married him and Shim deok agree to part ways as simply friends before they allow themselves to fall too deeply for each other.

Woo jin and Shim deok don't see or hear for each other for five years during that time Woo jin had been working for his father's company and not writing since his father has forbidden him from doing so while Shim deok has been working as a singer but is not being paid enough to completely support her family. When Shim deok performs in a certain prestigious theater that she had Woo jin promise that he'd watch if she ever preformed there in the future the two of them meet up again and find that they can't bare to loose contact with each other completely again which leads to them starting to write letters to each other. Woo jin starts writing again secretly after Shim deok tells him that she enjoyed reading what he wrote and he also starts to send out his writings to publishers under a false name. Woo jin and Shim deok write letters to each other and meet up secretly with each other and it seems that by all accounts that their having an affair with each other.

Woo jin ends up leaving his family in order to pursue his writing and his love for Shim deok which leads to him moving back to Tokyo. Shim deok plans to join Woo jin in Tokyo but after her reputation is ruined because she met alone with a male record executive in his home she finds that she is no longer able to get work or support her family. Shim deok and Woo jin spend about a week together very happily in Japan before heading back to Korea by ship. Woo jin and Shim deok share a slow dance under the starry sky right before its implied that they kill themselves since unable to live without each other but also can't live with themselves if they abandon their families.

Overall I really enjoyed this drama it was a beautiful romantic and tragic story that was directed and acted beautifully. I really enjoyed seeing a drama that was set in this time period since I felt that the period this show was set in added a lot of drama to the story even though it wasn't really the focus of the story. Please tell me your thoughts on this show in the comment section below.

Top 8 Books I Meant to Read in 2018

1. These Broken Stars: This is a book that I already owned and I decided pretty late in the year that I should read this book in 2018 but I ran out of time before the end of the year to read it but I have actually started reading this book just a few days ago.
2. Born Wicked: I have really wanted to read this book for years because it's a about witches and I really loved the cover for the book. I put this book on my to be read list for 2018 but I haven't read this book yet and I still don't even own this book.
3. Entwined: This is a book I put on my to be read list last year and is a book that I have owned for years but I still haven't got around to reading it.
4. A Touch of Power: This is a book that I owned for the longest time that I put on last year's list of book that I want to read but I still haven't gotten around to reading it despite already owning this book.
5. Dash and Lilly's Book of Dares: This is a book that I've owned for years now and for some reason I haven't read yet even though I meant to read this book last year.
6. If I Stay: A book that I have owned for a long time that I meant to read last year but I didn't read it because I found a lot of other books to sound a lot more interesting than this one.
7. Wither: This is a book that I have wanted to read for awhile and I planned to read it in 2018 but I never ended up reading or even buying the book by the end of the year.
8. The Marked Girl: This is a book that I bought about two years ago and I meant to get around to reading it last year but I just never did.

Top 10 Books I Read in 2018

1.Renegades: Renegades is a book that actually does something that feels new involving superheroes which is something that I really enjoyed. I liked seeing a society that is now ruled by superheroes because they are the ones that brought society out of an age of anarchy and I like that this society is shown to be a flawed one. I liked that Nova our heroine is actually a-lined with the villain side of things which isn't something that female leads often get to do and I liked that Adrian our male lead is with the heroes but still see flaws in their current system. I really loved the world that was created in this series and the characters and the relationships that they developed with each other.
2. Holding Up the Universe: This book is a really good character driven story that follows Libby an overweight teen who is going back to school for the first time in years and is doing her best to not let other people's opinions about her get her down; and Jack a well liked student who is secretly dealing with face blindness which is making his life much more complicated that it has to be and making him feel like he has to do things that he's uncomfortable with in order to appear normal. I really loved Libby and Jack as individual characters and I also loved the relationship that they developed with each other which made this book a great read.
3. This is What Happy Looks Like: This book is about teens Ellie and Graham who start emailing each other accidently and discover that they have a bond with each other despite having very different lives with Ellie being a normal high school student in small town Maine and Graham being an up and coming Hollywood actor. I really loved this book I really loved both of the main characters and I found myself rooting for them to end up together.
4. The Fill-in Boyfriend:  This book was I really sweet and fun romance that involved fake dating with leads that were likable yet flawed which made the book all the more interesting. I also thought that the book a few surprising things with the friendship conflicts in the book which is something that I really enjoyed.
5. Turtles All the Way Down: This book was the first book in 2018 that I read that I actually loved which makes me love this book a little more than I would have otherwise. This book has an interesting main character who is very stuck in her own head because of her fears of germs which affects her life in many ways in that it causes conflict in her friendship and makes her feel that she can't be in a relationship. There was also some interesting going on with her old friend and then briefly boyfriend and his family that added something to the story as well.
6. Vampire Academy: This book was a good introduction to a new type of vampire mythology and had an interesting cast of characters which made this book great fun to read. I really Rose and her relationship with Lissa and I loved that even though it's Rose's job to protect Lissa that the love and protectiveness that they feel for each other is mutual. I also really loved the romance that developed between Lissa and Christian. I thought that this book had a good plot to it despite this book not being too focused on plot.
7. Glass: This book was a good sequel to Crank and it was beautifully written despite being about the very ugly continuing descent that Kristina experiences into meth addiction, it isn't a fun read but I feel like it is a worthwhile read.
8. To All the Boys I've Loved Before: This book was another romance book that involved fake dating that I really enjoyed but I feel like it was a bit less fluff than The Fill-in Boyfriend probably because this book is book one of a series so it's a lot less clear whether or not Lara Jean and Peter will actually end up together. There is an emphasis on Lara Jean's relationships with her sisters that I really enjoyed and I think it added a lot to the book. For as much as I liked the book I must say that I actually love the movie more because it was clear from the start that movie Peter was into Lara Jean and I liked that Josh didn't end up having romantic feelings for Lara Jean in the movie these things just really improved the story for me.
9. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: This book isn't actually as romance centric as one would think it would be based off the title but it is still a good story about a girl coming to terms with her father get married to the woman that he cheated on her mother with and her figuring out if she still wants her father in her life or if he even really wants her to be part of his new life. There is also a sweet romance that starts to develop between our main character and boy she sits by on the plane to her father's wedding which is a relationship that I quite enjoyed even though not a lot of focus was on romance in this story.
10. Frostbite: The second book in the Vampire Academy series has a less focused plot than the first book and less focus on Rose's relationship with Lissa which makes me a bit sad. This book did introduced new aspects to the world and it's characters and to some new characters as well which made the book all the more interesting. I liked this book a whole lot but I found it wasn't as good as the first book in the series.

Book Review: Glass

                                                             Glass Review

Glass is the second book in the Crank series by Ellen Hopkins this book takes place months after the last book and starts off with Kristina being off of meth trying to raise her infant son Hunter and study for her GED. At first Kristina is determined to get her life back on track and be a good mother but since she's always tried and hasn't loss all her baby weight left she thinks that it would be a good idea to do meth just one or two more times. Kristina after some internal debate with Bree starts scheming to find a new way to score some meth without her mom finding out about it. Kristina ends up visiting a former party friend of hers and she ends up smoking some glass which is a stronger strain of meth that can only be smoked, she also ends up falling for Trey who is a meth dealer.

Kristina continues to use meth once she gets back home and she actually ends up getting a job in order to pay for her addiction while framing it as her trying to become more responsible. As time goes on Kristina's addiction becomes harder to hide and she ends up neglecting her son in favor of meth and Trey who she thinks she's in love with. After Kristina's neglect and drug use put her son in danger her mom kicks her out when it becomes clear that Kristina isn't planning on stopping with meth and she tells her that she isn't allowed back until she is clean. Kristina ends up staying with Trey's cousin who is also a drug dealer which just makes her addiction worse and after awhile she even gets involved with dealing herself, most of the book is really just Kristina making more of the same mistakes that she made in the first book but taken up a level or two.

I overall thought that this was a really good book although I did find myself frustrated with the decisions that Kristina was making. This book is written in verse like the rest of Ellen Hopkins books and the writing style is as beautiful and insightful as it always is. Please tell me your thoughts on this book or series as a whole in the comment section below.

Movie Review: Aquaman

                                                             Aquaman Review

Aquaman is about Arthur Curry whose mother was the queen of Atlantis and his father was a human lighthouse keeper which made Arthur a man of both the sea and the land. Arthur's mother had to go back to Atlantis in order to protect him and be married to and have a child with a man that she did not love and she is later put to death by her people. Arthur has grown up and became the super hero Aquaman but has never been to Atlantis and never tried to take his place as the king of Atlantis despite his mentor encouraging him to do so. When it becomes clear that Arthur's half brother Orm is trying to start a war between the sea and the land's people agree to go to Atlantis to challenge Orm's rule. Arthur is aided in his quest by Mera who is a princess and is betrothed to Orm but doesn't agree with his plans to start a war with the surface world.

Arthur has to find a trident that only a true king can wield and has been missing for hundreds of years in order for him to unite the seven seas, stop Orm and prevent a war with the surface world. Arthur and Mera have to travel across the world looking for clues about were the trident is hidden while evading Orm's men who are out to kill them. During their adventures across the world Arthur and Mera start to get to know each other better and start appreciate each other's differences and begin to fall for each other. Through out the film Arthur learns more about himself, his people and what it truly means to be a king which helps him to succeed in his mission in the end.

Overall I really loved this movie, it was a lot of fun, had a really good story to it and was filled many wonderful characters that I enjoyed learning more about. I thought the world building and mythology that this story had was very well down and I thought the directing and special effects made this movie look beautiful. Please tell me your thoughts on this movie in the comment section below.

Book Review: Royals

                                                             Royals Review

Royals is about a high school students named Daisy Winters whose older sister, Ellie is engaged to the prince of Scotland, Alex  and because of this there are people who are interested in what kind of person she is. Daisy's boyfriend tried to sell their prom pictures to the press which led to Daisy dumping him and because she dumped him her boyfriend tells some gossip website that she broke up with him because she wanted to date the other prince of Scotland  Sebastian who is about her age. Daisy's boyfriend lying about her somehow leads to such bad press that the head of PR for the royal family decides that Daisy has to come to Scotland for the summer to avoid causing anymore scandals, unsurprisingly actually being in Scotland and actually meeting Sebastian actually causes there be more scandals which they blame completely on Daisy despite them generally not being her fault.

While in Scotland Daisy discovers that life among the royals isn't so picture perfect when she sees what a mess Sebastian is and how stressful living under a microscope is for Ellie. Daisy ends up being put in a fake relationship with Sebastian's most responsible friend Miles. At first Daisy and Miles have a hard time getting along because they both make unfair assumptions about the other but after awhile the two sort out there differences and start to fall for each other for real.

Overall I really enjoyed this book but I did find that the plot relied on a fairly stupid reason to get Daisy to spend the summer in Scotland in that I'm pretty sure that anyone with even a little common sense would see that Daisy staying a way from royal would make people less likely to believe the lies her boyfriend told and if she isn't with the royal family people generally won't be interested in what she's doing which would cause less scandals. I really liked Daisy and I felt like she was often blamed for situations that weren't her fault and scolded for not knowing rules that no one ever told her about which made this book frustrating to read. I really liked the relationship between Daisy and Miles but I really wished that we got to spend more time with them. Please tell me your thoughts on this book in the comment section below.

Book Review: Renegades

                                                                  Renegades Review

Renegades is set in a world were some people were born with superpowers and through out most of human history those people were discriminated against and treated poorly because of their differences that all changed a few decades before the story began when Ace Anarchy overthrew the government and allowed people with powers to take over society. Ace never put together any new form of government in place after he overthrew the old when which to a lot of angry violent people with powers to develop into gangs and the world descended into anarchy for about a decade under the rule of various villain gangs until a group of super heroes known as the renegades defeated Ace and the various villain gangs.

The story of this novel follows Nova who is the niece of Ace whose parents and baby sister were killed by a villain gang and she blames the renegades for not being there to protect her parents and for making people rely on them when it's impossible for them to protect everyone and since Ace was the one that ended up saving her in the end she sides with the villains known as the anarchists. Nova along with several other members of the anarchists are planning a way to kill the members of the council who were the original members of the renegades and current leaders of the country so that they could live freely again and because they dislike the way that they are currently running things. Since Nova was too young to be an active villain during the age of anarchy no one knows who she is and this allows her to infiltrate the renegades to learn their secrets so that the anarchists could stand a chance at defeating them.

Our other main character in this story is Adrian Everhart who is the adopted son of two members of the council and his mother was a super hero during the age of anarchy before she was murdered by someone during that time. Adrian has the ability to make is drawings come to life and he is a member of the renegades and while he believes in the renegades mission of protecting all of their countries people he also thinks that the rules that the council have put on themselves has kept them from stopping villains before they hurt innocent people, in general Adrian also thinks that the renegades were meant to be superheroes not politicians. Adrian has decide to create an alter ego for himself so that he can stop villains without following protocol.

Nova ends up joining the renegade team that Adrian is the leader of and despite both of them having secrets that they are keeping from most people in their lives they began to become close to each other and develop feelings for each other. Nova ends up questioning how right her mission is when she sees how sincerely Adrian and his team cares about protecting people and Adrian allows himself to fall pretty hard for Nova despite having secrets that he should be more worried about protecting and he's a bit too trusting of Nova who he barely knows.

Overall I loved this book, it had a complex world that had a complex history and a flawed system of government that was still trying to figure out how to run itself after a period of anarchy. I thought that the characters and the story were great and the amount of secrets that the characters kept from each other put quite a bit of tension into the story. I thought the possible romance between Nova and Adrian was sweet and interesting. Please tell me your thoughts about this book in the comment section below.

Book Review: This is What Happy Looks Like

                                          This is What Happy Looks Like Review

This is What Happy Looks Like is about how a girl named Ellie O'Neal who lives in a small town in Maine who after a mishap with an email for a boy named Graham's pig walker is sent to her the two begin emailing back and forth which leads to them developing a friendship and an interest in becoming something more than friends. When a movie is filmed in Ellie's town she soon learns that the boy she has been emailing with for the past view months is a popular upcoming actor Graham Larkin who most girls her age would love to date. Graham who has already figured out who Ellie is seeks her out and introduces himself as the boy that she's been emailing with for last several months and asks her out on a date since she's one of the only people he has developed a genuine connection with since he has became famous. Ellie is reluctant to date Graham because her mom had an affair with a married politician which resulted in Ellie's birth and paparazzi constantly following her and Ellie around until she ran away to Maine. At first Ellie decides to give Graham a chance and as she gets to know him better she falls even harder for him but after almost being seen with him by the paparazzi she decides that protecting her mother's reputation and her father's identity is more important than her feelings for Graham.

For most of the summer while Graham is in town Ellie spends her time avoiding him even though she really wants to see him again and Graham spends his time hoping that he'll see Ellie again but since he respects that she doesn't want to deal with the downsides of dating a famous person he keeps his distance from her as well.  Graham is somewhat used to people who aren't famous not wanting to be around him anymore since he started his acting career since his old friends grew apart from him and his parents feel uncomfortable with dealing with anything to do with Hollywood so Graham doesn't think to question the reason that Ellie doesn't want to be with him. Eventually Ellie admits that she does want to try and have a relationship with Graham and she also tries to meet her father.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I enjoyed both Ellie and Graham's characters and I enjoyed the relationship that they had with each other. I thought that the book let the parents off the hook a bit too easily towards the end of the novel but other than that I really loved this book. Please tell me your thoughts on this book in the comment section.

Book Review: The Raven Cycle: The Raven King

                                                     The Raven King Review

The Raven King is the final book in The Raven Cycle series and in this book our main characters have to face the fact that Gansey is destined to die in the near future, finally find Glendower and figure out how to stop a demon that's destroying everything magical. Most of the book has to do with everyone trying to find Glendower as fast as they can because they want to use the wish Glendower will give them in order to bring back Gansey after he dies because they figure while it's foretold that Gansey has to die that doesn't mean he has to stay dead. Adam also tries to figure out a way to use Cabeswater to save Gansey.

Meanwhile there's a demon that is destroying everything it's path that is controlled by Piper Greenmantle and the demon is causing Cabeswater to die and is affecting Ronan's dreaming abilities which leads to him and Adam working together to figure out a way to stop the demon and save Cabeswater. It is discovered that in order to stop the demon someone has to willingly die on the ley line and Gansey figures that it should be him that dies to stop the demon since he's already suppose to die and he's always wanted his life to mean something. Gansey then spends the later half of the book coming to terms with the fact that he's going to die soon and admitting to himself that he'd rather not die but he figures that this is the way that things were always meant to play out. While our main characters still continue to find other ways to stop the demon in the end they have no other option but they hope that they'll be able to bring Gansey back.

Overall I like this book but I felt like not that much really happened in this book and that we spent way too much time with Piper and nowhere near enough time with our main characters that I really wanted to have a more satisfying ending for. While I enjoyed the moments we got between Blue and Gansey and the relationship that started to develop between Adam and Ronan I felt like neither relationship got the attention that they deserved in the final book of the series which disappointed me greatly. Now that I've finished the series I can say with certain that I prefer the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by the same author, which I know is an unpopular opinion but I feel like that series did better by the main characters and mythology behind the series. Please tell me your thoughts about this book or series as a whole in the comment section down below.

Book Review: Be More Chill

                                                      Be More Chill Review

Be More Chill is about an unpopular high school student named Jeremy who is someone that is terribly awkward and he takes what other people think of him harder than most in fact he keeps track on a spread sheet of all the embarrassing things that happen to him which just makes his social life even harder than it has to be. Jeremy has a hopeless crush on Christine who he is in drama club with but has no idea how to get her attention. Jeremy learns from a fellow classmate that there's this pill that is a mini computer that is called a Squib that you can get that will tell you how to be cool and get girls to like you which he ends buying and following the advice of in hopes of getting Christine to like him.

Jeremy ends up following the advice of his Squib which does help him to become more popular and does give him the chance to hook up with some girls but isn't much help when it comes to Christine. The Squib ends up causing problems for Jeremy when it comes his relationship with his parents and his best friend Michael  mostly because the Squib's idea of being cool involves being asshole to most everyone especially if the Squib considers them to be uncool which is part of the reason the Squib is little to no help when it comes to Jeremy trying to get Christine in fact listening to Squib ends up causing Christine to not want anything to do with him.

Overall I really liked this book it had an interesting idea and it did a good job of blending the normal high school stuff with the Sci Fi elements. I feel like I would've like this book if I hadn't listened to the cast recording for the musical that is based on this book because the musical was a lot more dramatic which makes the book feel anti climatic in comparison which isn't really a fair comparison since the book came out first. The musical had the Squib be an outright villain which gave the musical much higher stakes, the friendship between to Jeremy and Michael became much more strained in the musical and I also found Christine's character to be so much more likable in the musical. Overall a good book but I think the musical really improved the story. Please tell me your thoughts about this book or the musical in the comment section down below.