Lockwood & Co. BOOK REVIEWs for 3, 4, & 5, (aka The Hollow Boy, The Creeping Shadow, & The Empty Grave)

Like many other unfortunate souls I am a person who was not aware of the Lockwood & Co. books [written by a Mr. Jonathan Stroud] until the Netflix series [directed by a Mr. Joe Cornish and starring a Mr. Cameron Chapman as Anthony Lockwood, a Miss Ruby Stokes as Lucy Carlyle, and a Mr. Ali Hadji-Heshmati as George “Cubbins” Karim] debuted at the end of January this year, 2023.  Needless to say, I was immediately [ghost]locked to my screen for the next 8 hours (admittedly spread out over 2 to 3 nights), drinking in the moody British perfection like a good cuppa *Cameron Special* tea. 

Naturally, as soon as it was over (and I’d consumed it an additional 3 more times) it was necessary for me to purchase the books and read the three that the show had not covered.  I simply NEEDED to know – ‘What was behind that door?’, ‘What was the deal with all of those ghostlocked kids?’, ‘Would Norrie ever wake-up?’, ‘WHEN do Lucy & Lockwood kiss?’  Well, if you’ve read the books then you’ll know the answer (or lack thereof) to all of those questions.  And, if you haven’t read the books yet – then what are you waiting for??  Until the happy (delusional) news that some other network has picked up the show for a second season (fingers and toes crossed so hard over here!) the books are the only way to live that Portland Row life again.

All that being said, without much further ado, here are my SPOILER-FREE Snapshot Reviews of the last three Lockwood & Co. books.

THE HOLLOW BOY – An outbreak of Visitors in Chelsea has left London terrified, confined to their homes, and all of the psychical agencies spread thinner than a bit of butter stretched over too much bread.  The agents of Lockwood & Co. are no exception.  Drowning in work, an office manager is hired, but not everybody is happy about extremely pretty new addition.  Tensions and Talents rise in tandem with the danger of the cases, until everything bursts.  Truths emerge out of the wreckage, presenting one of our agents with a heartbreaking choice. 

In three words The Hollow Boy was:  Frustrating, Painful, Nail-Biting.  Seriously, the angst between all of the characters was so real that the FDA had to give an official consumption warning (not actually, of course, but if you know, you KNOW!).  I loved it!  I really, truly did, but the miscommunications, the passive-aggressiveness, the misunderstandings – really, it was very painful

THE CREEPING SHADOW – The Lockwood & Co. crew team up for one more case – that quickly turns into three or four.  A cannibal ghost, gangster humans, and a dark creeping shadow are just the headlines while the subtext reads delicate relationships, secret societies, and curious capes. Will the answers received be enough for the little agents that could, or will the new questions raised, set them up as the David against the Goliaths of their industry?

In three words The Creeping Shadow was:  Gross, “THANK-YOU!”, and “Oh-Ma-Gawd!”.  I mean, without spoiling too much, I will just say that the conversations (if you know, baby YOU KNOW!!), the twists (I mean that character always was a little suspicious to me so it wasn’t too much of a surprise, but STILL!), and the ghosts (that’s why the word Gross is being used here) … *clap**clap* trust me, multiple cups of tea were harmed (by me drinking them) in the reading of this book.

THE EMPTY GRAVE – Lockwood & Co. knows a secret that the rest of the world does not.  In this last adrenaline rush for the truth our heroes must battle Visitors, the press, and their own feelings.   With the future full of uncertainties, of one thing our agents are sure – the Problem must end.  One way or another.  For good.  

In three words The Empty Grave was:  Adrenaline-Spiking, Releasing-a-breath-that-you-DEFINITELY-knew-that-you-were-holding, and SATISFYING.  Just the memory of this book sets a person’s (this person, this one right here!) heart racing and their blood pumping whilst a casual giddy smile spreads across their face.  I was SOO HAPPY with the conclusion of this book.  I was terrified for a little bit there, I’m not gonna lie.  I was actually crying at the three-quarter mark… but then it all went … aaaaagh!  And all I can say now is that I wish there were more books!

AND MORE SHOW!!!  C’mon, someone please pick it up!  Please?!  I’ll bake a cake for you😝   (well, I’ll bake it for myself, I don’t know your address, but it’ll be in your honor!)

If you’d like to have a couple of major scenes spoiled for you, or if you’ve read the books and would simply like to see what those scenes could’ve looked like on screen, then you can head over to youtube to my fan channel to watch these fan music videos.

Spoilers for THE HOLLOW BOY!

Spoilers for THE CREEPING SHADOW!
Spoilers for THE EMPTY GRAVE!

Ciao bellas, till next time!

(here’s a happy little #locklyle toast gif to make you smile)

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in defense of Dean Forester (a silly post by an old Supernatural fan and a new Gilmore Girls fan)

Hi there! Long title, wasn’t it?

I realize that I’m stepping in a hornets nest here. After all, a quick google search let me know that noooobody likes Dean Forester, and I’m gonna be absolutely honest with you – I’m new to Gilmore Girls! I’ve never seen it before, and I just started it last night, so I’ve only seen 14 episodes thus far haha! But, I think that there’s something very important that we all need to realize and accept about Mr. Dean Forester, and that is that … he does NOT exist! He is just Sam Winchester in disguise!

Hear me out! (I’m sure this joke has been made before, but please humor me!)

Little Sammy, as we all know, had a rough childhood. Growing up hunting monsters, ghosts, and demons, does not leave much time for your regular little league games and elementary school science fair projects that Sammy would have so enjoyed. We also know, that before the start of season 1 of Supernatural, Sam and his Dad, John Winchester, had a falling out which resulted in Sammy ‘running away’, so to speak, to attend college as a ‘normal’ kid, who was just estranged from his family for ‘normal’ reasons. We’re just gonna rewind the clock a bit and say that maybe his first stop was – Stars Hollow.

Now, there are a couple of options for how Sam Winchester could have ended up in Stars Hollow, and we’ll go through them each one by one.

  • First: This was the beginning of his ‘running away’ phase, where he split from Dean and John, attended high school and then eventually college, where he met Jess (his girlfriend Jess not Milo Ventimiglia’s Jess from later seasons of GG), and then the rest is history.
  • Second: Dean and John were working a particularly nasty case and they dropped Sammy off in Stars Hollow to hang out for awhile while they went off hunting.
  • Third: Sam was/is/always-has-been in Stars Hollow BECAUSE of a case with Dean and John.
  • Fourth: Stars Hollow was the location of Sammy’s first ever solo job.

Whichever event led to Sam ending up in Stars Hollow, all of “Dean Forester’s” mysteriousness, awkwardness, standoffishness, and toughness can be explained once we all realize and accept that “Dean Forester” doesn’t exist! Sam Winchester is just living a lie.

First now, lets explore the options of Sam Winchester being in Stars Hollow NOT on a job (either Sammy ran away or his brother & dad dropped him off). That would mean that we had a Sammy that was eager to re-invent himself. To leave the identity of Sam Winchester behind and become someone entirely new! Unfortunately, when they asked him for his name he, missing his brother, said “Dean. Dean – Forest, er. Forester. Dean Forester.” (cause c’mon, forester is a made up name [no offense to any foresters reading this hahaha]!!)

Equipped with his new name, “Dean” enrolls in high school, meets a pretty girl, and falls in love!

OR … Second, let’s explore the ‘being there on a job’ options. If he’s there on a job, the whole ‘attending high school’ thing is just a cover and not Sam trying to start a new life. The thought process for the name is probably the same though. His reasons for approaching Rory could also be the same – she was pretty, he liked her, he made a move, he fell in love. OR, it could be that there was something ‘haunting’ the Gilmore’s or the people around the Gilmore’s and so Sammy was just trying to get close to gank whatever monster it was.

Regardless of how he ended up in Stars Hollow things are far from perfect, as everything, but his feelings for Miss Rory Gilmore, is a complete and total lie.

It’s really sad when you think about it! He talks about how he has “sisters”, either in an attempt to disown his brother Dean, or as a secret inside joke that only he’ll be able to laugh about now that he’s all alone. Then later, he talks about his Mom, and how she cooks dinner for his Dad every night, painting the picture of a perfect Leave It To Beaver style family – that little Sammy Winchester never had. 😥

Then, there’s the dance episode! “Dean” tells Rory that he ‘doesn’t go to dances’ – of course he doesn’t, because he’s never done any of those normal, usual, teenage school things! He seems very uncomfortable dressing up in formal wear – of course he would! The Winchester’s wear leather jackets and jeans. That’s it! Then, there’s the confrontation with Tristan. Sam, aka “Dean”, tells Tristan, ‘I’m not fighting you’, and ‘you don’t wanna fight me… cause I’ll kill you, idiot.’, and as we know for Sam Winchester that is a one hundred percent true statement! Sammy Winchester is MORE than capable of absolutely destroying anyone in Stars Hollow. Being raised with a Glock under your pillow will do that to a person.

I haven’t gotten to the bits where it all falls apart for Rory and “Dean”, but I’m sure that when it all does, it will be symptomatic of the classic Winchester ‘push-away’ routine, of needing to be on the move, and keeping people at a distance so that they don’t get hurt, traumatized, and/or killed. “Dean” would have to/will end things with Rory, maybe (quite probably) even be a bit of an ass about it, to protect Rory Gilmore from the Winchester curse. (which typically involves a lot of death!)

Other proof that “Dean” is just Sam Winchester in disguise:

1: on movie night he buys the Gilmore gals pizza and grabs a salad for himself – a very healthy Sam Winchester thing to do! 2: the leather jacket – do I even need to explain about the leather jackets? 3: the swagger. Winchester’s have swagger. 4: “Dean” is sensitive just like Sammy, but also not to be pushed around (him talking to Lorelai on that first movie night about how ‘he’s not going anywhere’ and ‘I need you to like me’, boy was he a lot braver in that moment than I expected him to be!).

Imma wrap it up here… maybe I’ll add more thoughts into the comment section of this post as I continue watching. Cause, like I said, I’m new to Gilmore Girls and I’m only 14 episodes into the first season – but I’m loving it! And as an OG Supernatural fan and especially a fan of the Real Dean Winchester, I felt it was my duty to point out that “Dean Forester’s” flaws exist because “Dean Forester” does not exist – Sam Winchester does!

Talk to y ‘all’s later!

Current OBSESSION!

The Crowned Clown starring Yeo Jin Goo and Lee Se Young!

This drama isn’t new (it came out on TvN in 2019), but for some reason I just hadn’t taken the plunge on it till last night, and hunny let me tell you IT IS GOOD!!

It’s a pretty basic concept – there’s a crazy king who’s paranoid about being assassinated, and there just so happens to be a local circus clown that looks EXACTLY like him! I believe, it’s loosely based off of King Lear by Shakespeare, but I haven’t read that play yet.

So, naturally what’s a crazy king to do but force the clown to assume his identity and die! in his place.

But, with a king slipping further and further into madness and a goodly clown with a heart of gold, who will capture the heart and loyalty of the people and retain the crown in the end?

I haven’t finished it yet, I’ve only just finished episode 6 (of a 16 ep show) and Yeo Jin Goo just had an IT Crowd moment with himself in the street.

Or was it more of an It’s Always Sunny moment?

Anyways, I’m super stressed and excited to finish it and would highly recommend it!

Yeo Jin Goo’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* SUPERB!! He’s one that I had mixed reactions about when I first started Hotel Del Luna, but as I’ve seen more and more of his stuff (the kid is a total child actor superstar btw!) I’ve just fallen completely for his acting!

It’s over on Netflix now, and it was on Viki in the past, so if you wanna get as obsessed as me then go and give it a go! xD

Night!!

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Dance Movies!!:D

I love dancing and by extension dance movies!  I first off have to say that my all time favorite dance movie is Step Up!  But I have discovered a new favorite!:):)

Innocent Steps!!!:D:D:D

While a lot of dance movies focus on Hip Hop nowadays this movie centers around the everlastingly classy form of ballroom dancing.

I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not at first because, being an American, it was a foreign film from South Korea.  However I was drawn in first by the sweet picture of the couple (played by Moon Geun Young and Keon-hyeong Park) on the front dancing and then by the beautiful dancing itself.  I don’t want to spoil the movie by saying too much so I’ll just say … WATCH IT!  You will fall in love with the music, the dancing and the romance!

Here is a little sample to get your dancing appetite whetted!

 

DancerForever,

OUT!

The Wonderful World of Anime (Music)

Today’s post is all about beautiful music!!  Specifically music from the Anime genre!

Oh-my-damn I have never heard such music!  This genre has perfected the art of awesomeness!  Had I merely been told that someone could mix violin and electric guitar into the same show, without it sounding like two cats having a fight over the last scrap of fish, I would have laughed in disbelief.

Nothing I say will ever convince you of the awesomeness of the music.  You simply have to experience it for yourself.

 

Behold some of my favorite songs!

 

Song:  Scattered Rain, Anime:  Trigun, Composer:  Tsuneo Imahori

Song:  Crime & Punishment, Anime:  Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Composer:  Akira Senju

Song:  Tank, Anime:  Cowboy Bebop, Composer:  The Seatbelts & Yoko Kanno

Song:  Katte ni Shinryakusha, Anime:  Sgt. Frog, Composer:  (Unknown)  Sorry! ;P

 

There are soooo many more songs, from so many other TV shows/movies but if I tried to post them all here it would take hours!

Please enjoy the music! 😀

Ciao!