A Disappointing Read and What I've Been Watching

Hey y'all! Happy September! To me, when it hits September, Fall has officially started. So woohoo!!! Let's eat all the Pumpkin Spice related products and deck ourselves in our comfiest sweaters even though it's still 90 degrees out! :D

So today, I wanted to talk about a disappointing book that I DNFed and discuss t.v. shows that I've been watching! Let's get into it!

So, the disappointing book is That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston. I had really high hopes for this one and they were squashed! The book is set in an alternative history of a futuristic Victorian society where the British Empire never collapsed and kept growing and becoming more diverse. I kinda laugh at this concept BUT it also sounded cool to me at the same time. So, I bought the book and looked forward to some cool worldbuilding and futuristic setting. Did I get that? No. There was very little worldbuilding, so much so that the author had to explain basic premises at the BACK OF THE BOOK in an interview. What is the point of that? The characters were a plenty and all were one dimensional and boring. I didn't connect with any of them and didn't really care about what happened to any of them. 

The plot was severely lacking. In fact, there really was no plot. Which I can't stand in books. If a book is character driven, fine, but these characters weren't interesting! I got over 120 pages into the book when I just DNFed it. The futuristic setting wasn't even that cool and it barely explained any of the inventions. I was just so annoyed and done with this book. I gave it 2/5 stars simply because the premise was so unique, yet the execution did not pan out. 

Now for fun stuff, like what I've been watching on Netflix and Amazon Prime. First, Netflix. Season 2 of Million Pound Menu came out and me and my brother rejoiced at this because this is one of our favorite shows. It's a food show set in Manchester, U.K. Different chefs, cooks, and food stall owners compete to win an investor and hopefully open their own restaurant in the future. The investors are the top food industry people of the U.K. and sometimes all of Europe. It's a really fun and enjoyable show, I highly recommend it!

We also began watching our old fave, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown. I absolutely adored Anthony and his books and shows and was devastated with his passing, rest in peace. But it's been over a year so me and my brother are watching his show again to honor him. The first episode Netflix has is set in Manila, Philippines and it's so heartwarming :)

On Amazon Prime, I'm dying to watch Carnaval Row, but I'm holding off on that til I'm done with my current show. I'm currently watching Picnic at Hanging Rock which is a classic Australian novel apparently. Natalie Dormer is the star and if you know me, you know I LOVE her!!! She's fantastic in this and I've only seen one episode. She's a headmistress of a girl's college in the middle of nowhere in Australia and she has a mysterious past. 4 girls at the college get into mischief and go missing at Hanging Rock so, theories and flashbacks abound. It's very stylistic and beautiful. 

That's all for now lovely people. Hope you're all having a wonderful day! See you soon. 

Alette