Book Review: Sweet Venom

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Sweet Venom CoverBook: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Published September 2011|Published by HarperCollins|384 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Series?  Yes, Medusa Girls #1

Genre: YA: Fantasy/Paranormal- Mythology Re-telling

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Tera Lynn Childs’ Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

I’ve been going back and forth for a while, trying to figure out if I wanted to read Sweet Venom or not.  But I finally bought it, read it, and really liked it!

I’m a fan of mythology re-tellings (especially when it’s Greek mythology), and I really liked that it focused on Medusa and her descendants.  I mean, triplets representing Medusa and her sisters, and each one having the characteristics of each one is pretty cool.  The prophecy part of it was kind of interesting, even if it was expected.  We are talking about Greek mythology so a prophecy is expected.

I liked that all three characters- Gretchen, Greer and Grace- narrated the novel.  And I LOVED that they were all very different characters, and I knew who was narrating without even needing to look at the chapter headings.  Sometimes, multiple narrators don’t work, but this a great case where it does work.

Grace is my favorite of the three, but Greer is also intriguing.  Gretchen is interesting, and most of the story is told through her eyes, but I just couldn’t completely connect with her the way I did with the other two.  There’s definitely a lot that can happen, and I have the feeling there are going to be some personality conflicts between Gretchen and Greer, with Grace playing mediator.

I liked seeing each one deal with the prophecy and the discovery that they are triplets with a destiny.  I was hoping for more of a connection between Medusa and the triplets, and that we’d get a little more about Medusa, but with some reading up on mythology (and the next book) I should be good.

Plus, San Fransisco totally works as the setting.  I can see the portal that leads monsters to our world being located in San Fransisco.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Sweet Venom, and can’t wait to read Sweet Shadows.  It’s nice to see a re-telling focusing on Medusa, and I love that Gretchen, Greer and Grace are so different but still have to find a way to work together.  Sweet Venom gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Last Breath

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Last Breath CoverBook: Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Published November 2011|Published by Penguin Group|368 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Series Or Stand-Alone: Morganville Vampires #11

Genre: YA: Paranormal- Vampires

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Rachel Caine’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Student Claire Danvers learns that three vampires have vanished without a trace. And after an uneasy encounter with Morganville’s latest resident, Claire is certain that the mysterious Magnus isn’t human. But is he a vampire-or something else entirely? One thing is clear: Magnus is to blame for the disappearances. And if vampires are turning into victims, what chance does a human like Claire have of stopping him?

My journey in Morganville is progressing quite well, and I thought Last Breath was easily the most interesting in terms of strange people and happenings in Morganville.

Amelie picking Morganville as the location of her town makes so much sense after reading this book.  I mean, Magnus, and only Claire can see him at first?  Crazy!  And there’s this major thing that happened that I don’t want to give away, but anyone who’s read Last Breath will probably be able to figure it out.  I mean, I wasn’t expecting it, but even that managed to work out in the end.  I wonder if there will be any repercussions for that…

Caine continues with multiple narrators, and we see chapters where Shane, Michael, Eve and Amelie are narrating.  It was really well-done, and I liked seeing everyone else’s thoughts on what was going on.  It’s too bad we don’t see Myrnin narrating in this book, so I’m hoping that if Caine continues with multiple narrators, Myrnin will get a chapter or two.

After reading this one, I’m definitely excited to read the next book.  And Eve and Michael getting married?  Definitely not going to happen, because Amelie won’t approve it, and both the vampire and human residents of Morganville aren’t happy with it.  I’m hoping that they get married, and I don’t want that story-line to just randomly go away…so hopefully it’s not the last we’ve seen of it.  With the Magnus plot, it’s understandable that the marriage half of the book would get dropped.

There are just SO MANY things I’m wondering about, mostly having to do with the event that I will not in this review.  Just…at this point, I’m certain that there are going to be consequences to what resolved that event (which really does make the title super-appropriate).  Something that’s been a constant is now different, so I just want to know what happens!

Final thoughts:

I loved Last Breath, and it’s definitely one of my favorite books in the series.  There’s so much going on, and it’s easier then normal to stay interested and keep reading.  Last Breath gets 5 stars.

Top Ten 2013 Debuts I’m Looking Forward To

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Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find all top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top Ten 2013 Debuts I’m Looking Forward To

Debuts I’m looking forward to…this one is definitely fun to think about, because there are a ton of books I’m looking forward to.  I may have gotten a little creative with my definition of debut once or twice, but it looks like there are tons of debuts this year to be excited about!

  1. The Program by Suzanne Young.  This one looks pretty interesting- suicide is an international epidemic, and The Program is the only cure.  Expected Publication is April 30.
  2. Splintered by A.G. Howard.  It’s a modernization or re-telling (or whatever you want to call it) of Alice In Wonderland!  It seems great, and it came out on January 1.
  3. Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans.  It’s a good versus evil story in the afterlife!  I’m really intrigued by this because you don’t see a lot of good versus evil in the afterlife.  Expected publication is January 15.
  4. Mind Games by Kiersten White.  She’s debuting a new series this year, and I’m excited about it.  A world where girls with amazing powers are used as tools for corporate espionage?  I am so there on February 19, when Mind Games is released.
  5. Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis.  I came across this one while looking at my goodreads recommendations, and it looks totally cool!  A world where you have to protect water from others?  Sounds scary (and totally possible) but also really interesting.  Not A Drop To Drink comes out September 9.
  6. PODs by Michelle Pickett.  This one is her YA debut, and it’s about this girl who was chosen to live- and not be killed by this crazy virus.  Only, the POD she’s in gets opened up, and the virus has undergone this crazy mutation.  PODs is coming out on June 4.
  7. Starglass by Phoebe North.  This one seems pretty cool and very mysterious.  Living on a spaceship, and needing to kill it’s captain to prove yourself to rebels?  Very intriguing.  Starglass comes out July 23.
  8. Control by Lydia Kang.  A world where you can’t have genetically enhanced genes because it’s been outlawed?  Sounds like an interesting world.  Control comes out December 19.
  9. City Of A Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster.  First of all, the title got my attention!  But a world where orphan girls are expected to be musicians, healers, courtesans, and assassins?  And trying to figure out who’s behind a bunch of girls dying?  Totally cool!  I’m excited for February 5, when City Of A Thousand Dolls comes out.
  10. Pivot Point by Kasie West.  I’m looking forward to Pivot Point, which is about a Searcher named Addie, who can look into the future and see both outcomes when she is faced with making a choice.  I’m definitely excited about Pivot Point, which is coming out February 12.

Gilmore Girls: Season One Wrap-Up

Posted in Season One, Season Wrap-Up, The Gilmore Girls Project by

I can’t believe I’m finished with Season One of Gilmore Girls already!  Season Two will begin next week, but for today, I thought I’d share some of my general thoughts on Season One.

It’s definitely been a learning experience, and I’m definitely trying to include more of my thoughts on the show.  I’ve also learned that writing the posts on each episode are a lot easier when I take notes and then write the episode, instead of writing the post as I watch the episode.  The one thing I still struggle with is not including spoilers for future seasons.  Clearly, I have spoilers for each episode, but the hard part is when I see something that’s important in later seasons.  Believe me when I say that I’ve noticed quite a few things in season one that I never realized were mentioned so early on!  If I do include spoilers for future seasons, I’ll definitely put up spoiler alerts.  It will definitely be kept to a minimum.

So…season one had 21 episodes.  The lowest rated episodes were Episodes 8 (Love & Snow & War) and 18 (The Third Lorelei), which got 2 mugs of coffee.  And Episode 15 (Christopher Returns) got 5 mugs of coffee.  I think those were my least favorite and favorite episodes.

In general, I liked Season One.  I just love the town events and the very strange people that live in Stars Hollow.  I’m so glad we get to see town events!  And I love that the show is about mother-daughter relationships, and how there are so many different relationships.  A lot of times, Friday night dinners are funny, but I think they also show how different Lorelei is from her parents.

Re-watching this season, I realized that Rory is a bit too perfect.  I’m not completely sure if she falls into Mary Sue territory, but she does have a few Mary Sue tendencies.  As much as I like Rory, and as much as I love that she’s smart and loves to read, I kinda thought she’s a bit too unbelievable at times.  Seriously, how many 16 years-old read classics willingly?  I suppose it’s possible, and it is a t.v. show after all.  You really have to love the magic and logic of t.v. sometimes.

But I also think it’s partly in contrast to Lorelei.  Lorelei getting pregnant at 16, not wanting to get married, and leaving home to work as a maid and live in a tool shed is pretty well-known, and we definitely know that Lorelei’s a disappointment and made some mistakes. So, you have to wonder if Rory being this amazingly smart, nice person that almost everyone loves and who doesn’t do anything wrong is a way of showing how different she is from her mother, and to show how different their relationship is from the one Lorelei and Emily have.  We only get bits and pieces of what happened when Lorelei was pregnant, and we continue to get bits and pieces of her relationship with her throughout the series.  I can’t remember how much we get from Emily and Richard’s perspective, but in comparison to Lorelei’s side of what happened, it’s definitely not a lot.  I may have to pay more attention to that.

I certainly can’t pass up talking about their love interests.  Lorelei first…her and Max!  Thinking about it now, I’m not completely sold on her and Max.  They just seem too different to completely work.  And that goes for Rory and Dean too.  I’m not the biggest fan of Dean, and there are times when I think he’s a jerk.  But there are a few times when I feel a little bad for Dean too.

I’m generally not one for nit-picking but there are some things I thought were strange.  I already mentioned Rory being kind of perfect, but it also seems like her only friends are Lane, Lorelei and Sookie.  It’s possible she has other friends we never hear about, but still weird.  The more likely possibility is that the cast is already a pretty big cast, and so the powers that be didn’t want to add more people to the cast.  But you’d think they’d at least mention other friends, even if they don’t make an appearance.  And Stars Hollow High and Chilton are certainly interesting schools, if they have majors and open up classrooms for students on weekends to work on a group project.

Overall, I did like season one, which had overall rating of 3.29.  I’m really looking forward to watching season 2.

Book Review: Beauty Queens

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Beauty Queens CoverBook: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray|Narrated by Libba Bray

Published May 2011|Published by Scholatic Audio|Run  time: 14 hours, 33 minutes|Audiobook via the library

Series Or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Libba Bray’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: From bestselling Printz award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty contestants that crashes on a desert island. 

Teen beauty queens. A “Lost”-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to e-mail. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.

SPARKLE PONIES!!!!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Beauty Queens!  It’s hysterically funny, and this one was the perfect book to listen to as an audio book!  Like, funny as in listening to it in public wasn’t the best idea, because I’d randomly start laughing.

The fictional pop culture references were great…and more than a few bore an uncanny resemblance to real life people and products.  I mean, Joey Testosterone reminded me of Mario Lopez, there was an evil corporation, the island was kind of like the one on Lost, Lady Bird Hope kind of reminded me of Sarah Palin…although I was never able to put my finger on who Mo-Mo, the hilarious dictator of The Rock reminded me.  Just the general stereotype of someone who publicly doesn’t like the U.S. but secretly like certain aspects of our culture.  Also great were the random footnotes and commercials.  They just fit with the book so well!

It was fun to listen to the 12 survivors survive on a deserted island.  You wouldn’t expect all of those 12 to survive as well as they did, but of course, they all survived, got off the island and went on to lead very productive lives, while remaining close friends.

The characters were definitely cliché, but for the most part, I wasn’t annoyed by it.  I mean, Miss Texas was the ultimate beauty queen, and it’s a shame we don’t really see more of her, especially after she goes off the deep end.  That’s one story I’d like to read!

Idina, by far, was the character who irritated me the most.  She’s the girl who’s only in the pageant because she wants to expose how evil and horrible pageants really are, and, at one point, complains about how stupid girls can get when they’re around guys (only to act that way herself).  She does have some great moments with Taylor (Miss Texas), who is her polar opposite in many ways.  I loved Tiara and Mo-Mo.  Tiara was just adorably random, and Mo-Mo was hysterical.

Narration!  Libba Bray (the author) also narrated, and she did a great job with all the voices, footnotes and commercials.  I already mentioned that this book worked well as an audio book, and I am so glad I did listen to the audio book.

Girl power and accepting others for who they really are did come through, but it just didn’t work for me.  It was kind of hard to take those messages seriously, mostly because it seemed a little too random.  I mean, I know they’re stranded on island, and it was easier to be themselves away from society and all, but…it was still a little too random.

Final thoughts:

Beauty Queens was great, especially in audio form.  I liked the characters, the book was hysterical, and the pop culture references keep me guessing.  Beauty Queens gets 5 stars.

Book Review: Confessions Of An Angry Girl

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Confessions Of An Angry Girl CoverBook: Confessions Of An Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Published August 2012|Published by HarlequinTeen|272 Pages|Purchased for my Nook

Series or Stand-Alone?  Series, Confessions #1

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Louise Rozett’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I’m livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I’m allowed to be irate, don’t you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is nowenraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and “seeing red” means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don’t know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

I liked Confessions Of An Angry Girl.  It was a fun read, and I was reminded of The Princess Diaries partway through the novel.  If you like the Princess Diaries, you might like this one.

I loved the vocab words throughout the books, and how they kind of described what was going on with Rose’s life.  I do wish there was more of a connection between Rose and her being a word geek, because I didn’t get a sense of her love of words or how important they were to her.

I didn’t get her interest in Jamie Forta.  At all.  I would have been fine without her crush on Jamie.

Moving on from the romance, I didn’t feel like Rose was all that angry.  But she does have her own issues that we see throughout the book.  She does, however, do what she thinks is right…and that is completely awesome!  But…I didn’t really get why a lot of the minor characters were there.  They weren’t that interesting, and more often than not, the characters felt pretty superficial, even Rose.

I did like seeing her journey, and work her way through the loss of her dad (which wasn’t as important as I thought it would be) boys, friends, and adjusting to high school.  She felt very much like a 14-year-old who’s trying to figure all of this out, so she did feel pretty real.

Final thoughts:

Overall, I liked Confessions, but there was just something that didn’t completely click for me.  I’m not sure if I’ll be continuing this series, but it’s a pretty decent YA contemporary.  It gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Lola And The Boy Next Door

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Lola And The Boy Next Door CoverBook: Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Published September 2011|Published by Penguin Group|237 pages|E-book from the library

Series or Stand-Alone? It’s a companion to Anna And The French Kiss…so it’s a little of both

Genre: YA Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Stephanie Perkins’ Website

Goodreads.com Summary: In this companion novel to “Anna and the French Kiss,” two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – more sparkly, more fun, more wild – the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket – a gifted inventor – steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Lola And The Boy Next Door.  I mean, I totally loved Anna, and there was a lot of fan-girling by the end.

I really liked it.  I think I loved the parts where Anna and St. Clair appeared the most, but there were some really funny moments throughout the book.

I loved Lola and how she went all out with her fashion.  Making a Marie Antoinette costume for her winter formal?   Seriously cool!  She’s just so quirky, and I love that about her.  But as much as I loved Lola and her costumes…take away the costumes, and Lola doesn’t seem too special.

I wasn’t a big fan of her relationship with Cricket but then again, who can live up to the aswesomeness that is Anna and Etienne?  I can’t help but compare the two, which is sort of sad, because they are different books.  But Lola and Cricket were a cute couple, and after years of liking each other (and things getting in the way) they do end up together.  I liked Cricket, but I didn’t love him…if only we saw more of Cricket, but I kind of get why we don’t see as much as we should have!

It does some a lot more light-hearted than Anna…which reminds me, it seemed like the opposite of Anna in terms of the romance.  I mean, Cricket is waiting in the wings, for Lola to be available.  Just like Anna was waiting for Etienne to be available.  Maybe I wasn’t a big fan of their relationship because I saw how she knew he liked her (and she knew she liked him) but didn’t break up with her boyfriend for a long time and just kind of strung him along.

I loved Cricket’s inventions, and they sounded super-interesting.  It seems to fit with Lola’s costumes really well.  Plus, being related to Alexander Graham Bell made his inventing really interesting.

Final Thoughts:

I wish I listened to the audiobook, instead of just reading it, but I did really like Lola.  The characters were fun and quirky, and there was an overall quirkiness that you didn’t get in Anna.  Lola gets 4 stars!

Book Review: The Probability Of Miracles

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The Probability Of Miracles CoverBook: The Probability Of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Published December 2011|Published by Penguin Group|386 Pages|Purchased for my Nook

Series or stand-alone? Stand-alone

Genre: YA/Contemporary Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Wendy Wunder’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Cameron Cooper, a cynical teenage girl dying of cancer, is told by her doctors she needs a miracle to survive. In a last-ditch effort to save her daughter’s life, her mother takes her to a small town in Maine rumored to be magical. If there’s a shot for Cameron, her mom believes, it’s here. But for Cameron, believing in miracles would mean believing she has another chance at life … and that’s dangerous for someone who knows better than to get her hopes up. As the girls settle into Promise, amazing things start happening: it snows in August; there’s a rainbow when it doesn’t rain; a flock of flamingos takes residence in the pond behind the high school, even though they’re not supposed to live this far north. Cameron, a scientist at heart, searches for explanations for these bizarre occurrences, refusing to believe they’re miracles. But soon, the magic of the town—and her feelings for Asher, a local boy who seems to know Cam better than she knows herself—become impossible to deny. Over the course of the coming months, Cameron lets go of her cynicism and opens herself up to life and the world. In the end, Promise is a magical place, but for Cameron becoming a believer might just be the biggest miracle of all.

I really liked The Probability Of Miracles.  I did get a little teary-eyed, and I totally loved the crazy town of Promise.  I totally get why her mom would take her to such a magical place.

I thought Cameron was okay as a character.  I get why she doesn’t believe in miracles, and it’s refreshing to see a character dying of cancer who’s not all inpsirational and hopeful.  But in the end, she does believe in miracles.  I never completely warmed up to her, and I didn’t completely warm up to a lot of the other characters either.  But I did like her sister, who seems to be lost in the shuffle.  And all of the things that Cam experiences?  It kinda felt like it was randomly thrown in so she could have a chance to experience it.

Honestly, I’m not completely sure why I liked The Probability Of Miracles so much- I just did.  Maybe it’s the fact that the book takes place in a town where things just happen.  Cam didn’t seem to fit into the craziness that is Promise, and part of me wishes she fit into that better.  But there is something that is interesting about Cam slowly liking Promise…a very cynical girl in town full of miracles and hope.  I liked that Cam’s mom had hope that Cam would be okay, that Promise would help her feel better.

But there is something to be said about the journey itself, which may be the important thing in this book.  You get why Cam is cynical, and she is pretty realistic about her disease.  And you see her (very slowly) become more open to letting people in and having even a little bit of hope.  Hope and magic and possibilities are good.

Final thoughts:

I really am at a loss here.  I know I really liked it, and I just can’t put my finger on why.  It’s weird that I can kind of pinpoint why I didn’t like it, but can’t explain why I did like it.  The Probability Of Miracles gets 4 stars.

Top Ten Bookish Goals For 2013

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Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top 10 lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find all top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Bookish Goals For 2013

I’ve read a lot of books over the last year, and there are definitely a lot of things I really want to do as far as reading is concerned.  It’s amazing what sort of goals you can come up with after reading a lot more than I ever expected in the last couple years.

  1. Re-read books.  I have 2 bookshelves full of a lot of books…most of which I haven’t read since high school or college.  So re-reading would be good.
  2. Vary my reading choices more.  I love YA, I really do.  But there was a point a few months ago, when I felt a little bit burnt out on YA.  Hopefully, varying my reading material will help out with that.  Plus, it’s just weird that I’m sticking to YA, when I know I’ll like at least some of the books aimed at adults.
  3. Plan out what I’m reading…at least a little.  I just randomly pick stuff, and it works pretty well, but I’d like to have an idea of what I’m reading.  I’m thinking a monthly list of potential books, and going off of that whenever possible.
  4. Work on getting series read.  I read start so many series, so I really need to work on finishing series that I’m reading.  Maybe I need to prioritize them by assigning them a rank, based on how much I like them.  You know, read the ones I love right away, and go down that list.
  5. I’m good at buying books, but I’m terrible at reading them, especially right away.  I have a few classics in paperback that I’ve had for a good 4-ish years, and have never read.  So, read the stuff I buy would be a good goal.
  6. Buy less books, and use the library more.  I go through these weird cycles where I buy a ton of books, but don’t use the library.  Or I use the library a ton but don’t really buy anything.  I definitely need to balance buying books, borrowing them, and re-reading them.
  7. Comment more on the blogs I read.  Seriously, I’m great at reading blog posts, but horrible at commenting.  There are so many times I’ve wanted to comment, and didn’t, so this year, I will most certainly be commenting on stuff!
  8. Listen to more audiobooks.  I really like them, and I have an audible account, so I really should take advantage of that.
  9. Use more cookbooks!  I have a few, and I don’t use them nearly enough.  They are sitting there, collecting dust, and that needs to be rectified immediately.  Plus, I’ve been eating like crap for months now, so if I actually use my cookbooks, I’ll be eating better.
  10. Read more classics.  There are a bunch of books I was never required to read in high school.  I kind of  feel like I’m missing out on something by having not read these books.  Plus, I definitely appreciate them more, even if I don’t like them.  And…there’s just something different about reading them because I WANT to read them, instead of reading them because I HAVE to read them.

What are everyone’s bookish goals for the year?

GG 1 x 21: Love, Daisies And Troubadours

Posted in Season One, The Gilmore Girls Project by

Love, Daisies & Troubadours originally aired May 10, 2001.  It was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino.

We open with Lorelei waking up early because Luke is fixing her porch rail at 6:30 in the morning.  She wakes up Rory and proceeds to ask Luke why he’s fixing things so early.

At the inn, Michel and Sookie are suffering from onry- and we learn that Sookie seems to be a hypochondriac.  Later on, Lorelei is telling Rory about a dream and is trying to describe one of the townspeople to Rory, but can’t remember his name, so she asks Luke.  We see Rory find the Dean box in the closet, and Lorelei explains that she couldn’t throw it away.  Lorelei apparently regrets getting rid of some of her boyfriend boxes, and wants Rory to look back at the box someday and think about how she had an interesting life.  We see Rory looking at some of the stuff in the box.

We next see Rory and Lane talking, with Lane mentioning that someone from Stars Hollow High said she was good cheerleading material.  Rory looks at Doosey’s and says she’s going in, even though it’s not Wednesday.  Lane gets excited, because she thinks Rory and Dean are getting back together.  Rory goes inside, to learn that Dean isn’t there.

At Chilton, Tristan asks Rory to go see P.J. Harvey with him, but she turns him down.  Rory lends her biology notes to Madeleine.  And minutes later, Tristan tells Paris, Madeleine, and Louise that he and Rory are going to see P.J. Harvey- and Paris (naturally) doesn’t take it well.  Meanwhile, Lorelei runs into Rachel, who is looking for Luke, because they were meeting for lunch, and he was a n0-show. He, of course, is at Lorelei’s fixing things, and Lorelei wonders why he’s not spending his free time with Rachel.  Luke is definitely used to being alone, and having Rachel there is a big adjustment for him.

Rory goes to Dean’s house and meets his sister, but eventually runs off when he comes downstairs.  Next, we see the town meeting, where the main topic of discussion is how there can only be one town troubadour.  Rory gives this speech about how he should be able to sing around town, but really, it was about how she wanted to fix things with Dean but couldn’t.  After the meeting, Rachel leaves town, because she thinks Luke is interested in Lorelei.  As she leaves the diner, she tells him not to wait too long to tell her.

At Chilton, Rory tries to give Madeleine the notes she asked for, but refuses to take them.  Paris tells Rory that she never should have let her guard down, and how Rory is going to get some less-than-stellar writing assignments for the school newspaper the following school year.

Luke comes over to pick up his toolbox, and then Max comes by for his date with Lorelei.  I definitely sensed a competitive vibe between the two of them.  Max thought Luke and Lorelei dated while they were apart, and Max admits that he saw people during their separation.  He ends up proposing, but Lorelei doesn’t agree to it- she doesn’t want it to be a way to stop their bickering, and thinks it should be planned, with music and 1000 yellow daisies and a horse.

We see Tristan waiting for Rory, and wants her to go to the concert with him, but she still refuses to go with him.  He takes her books, and we see that Dean came by to talk to her, but changed his mind after seeing her with Tristan.  She tells him she loves him (finally!) and they stand in the courtyard kissing.  Random thought time: Shouldn’t Dean be in school?

Moving on, Lorelei arrives at the inn to find 1000 yellow daisies, which was Max’s way of proposing to her the proper way.  He wants her to take some time to think about it.

The episode ends with Lorelei and Rory sharing their good news in the middle of the street.

Favorite lines/scenes: Nothing really jumped out at me in this episode, but I did like the town meeting.

Pop culture: Dick Tracy, Henry David Thoreau, Lee Harvey Oswald, Unibomber, Blue, Courtney Love

Final Thoughts:

I liked this episode, and it was a pretty decent season finale.  I like that things were wrapped up really well.  It really is how a finale should be, as far as things being wrapped up.  There are also quite a few things we’ll see throughout Season Two.  Overall, this episode wasn’t too memorable, but still a fun episode to watch.  It gets 3 mugs of coffee.