Nov 20, 2014

#TGIT Recap Week 8

To see last week's post click here.
Shondaland's Thursday Night Lineup TGIT will have its winter finale tonight!  It's been a crazy nine weeks so far, and we can't wait to see how it ends! Naturally, there's a lot more that goes on each show before the winter finale, which means that there was even more to forget or miss last week. Here's are the main points from last week's episodes so!  This #TGIT Recap starts in 3... 2... 1...

Babies, Drugs, and More Drama...
Grey's Anatomy
Can We Start Again, Please?
  Amy's sobriety comes into question when someone from Narcotics Anonymous breaks the most important rule and it almost makes her lose her job as a result.  Everybody in the hospital is talking about it, or whispering is more like it.  Richard helps her through the ordeal.
  Derek is asked by Owen if Amy should be Chief of Neurosurgery and he hesitates and doesn't even give an answer.  Amy is not happy about this and Derek promises to fix it, and he does.  At the end, he tries to apologize and says he doesn't know who he is anymore.  He's miserable and he hurts the people he doesn't want to hurt.  Amy tells him that he's hit rock bottom.
  Arizona decides to go through with Herman's deal.  When Herman goes M.I.A., Arizona has to handle a case on her own the way she knew how. She has Kepner help her work on closing up the mother, who ends up dying.  She has a deep talk with Jackson later on, saying she's not worried because she's got her faith.  
  Meredith apologizes to Maggie for the dinner incident.  She ends up forgiving her and they go out for dinner at the end of the episode.  Also, be happy because Jo successfully did her first surgery by herself!  She doubted herself and Bailey, who stood in on the procedure, played on her fear before she told her everything was okay.  
  Arizona walks in to Alex's house with her stuff, asking if she can stay and he, of course, tells her she can.  The awkward part... everyone, including Callie was there and just pointed out everyone was related through sex.  Jo is just sitting in the other room, and she needs to get over her problems with not having all the Alex time she used to have.  

It's all coming together!
Scandal
Displaying photo.JPG
The Last Supper
  Jake spends most of the episode in the bunker because Rowan can't know he's free.  He fights with Fitz multiple times about various things, but Olivia is always at the core of their arguments.  Later on, Fitz and Olivia share a kiss with only a wall between them and Jake.  
  Lizzy Bear goes to Olivia to help find out who's bugged her phone.  Olivia finds out that Cyrus is the one and she also finds out about Michael, the prostitute.  It turns out he never really shared information with Liz because he cares about Cyrus.
  At the White House, Mellie and VP Andrew are starting up their affair again.  Why?  Because he almost died from a car bomb and it made her realize how much she loved him and wanted to see him again.  They do adult-like things a couple times during the episode.  Also, David is turning in the B613 files to help with Jake's case.
  Huck takes Javi on a stakeout.  They're watching Lizzy Bear's secret apartment.  Hu sends Javi to go grab ice cream while adult business goes on.  First, Kubiak, who Quinn has been watching for forever, but does nothing; he is the last connection to the key and pictures of Olivia.  He walks in to Liz's apartment.  YOU. WOULD. NOT. BELIEVE. WHO. WALKS. IN. A. MINUTE. LATER! 
  IT'S THE VICE PRESIDENT!! That's not even the worst part of this! Kubiak leaves for a minute and then we see him start making out with LIZZY BEAR!!!!  That's right!  He's cheating on Mellie, who's cheating on Fitz with him!  Kubiak comes up to Huck's surveillance truck and they have a quick fight.  Huck barely kills Kubiak... and then he looks over and sees that Javi saw the whole thing.  He runs away.
  Amid one of the Fitz-Jake fights, Olivia poses a plan to distract her father.  She takes him to dinner that night.  At dinner, he tells her that even though he wasn't always the best father, everything he does is for her.  While this is happening, snipers have their guns locked on him and there's a whole video feed and everything at the White House.  After Rowan's little speech, all of the agents on the perimeter are shot down, and the B613 files have all gone blank.  He obviously knew somehow that this was happening.  He tells Olivia that now she's turned her back on him, so she is on her own.  He tells her that if she thought the world was a such a terrible place with him in it, she's gonna see what it's like without him.

 #BonnieKilledSam
How to Get Away with Murder
He Has A Wife
  We see Lila Stangard's last moments before she was murdered.  She talks to Rebecca about "Mr. Darcy" and all of that drama.  When Sam breaks up with her, she shows up to the Keating residence to tell Annalise everything.  Bonnie answers the door and tells her that she needs to go home.
  The day before the murder, Annalise tells Wes about Lila's pregnancy and asks him to keep Rebecca out of the loop on this one.  That, of course, doesn't happen.  He tells Rebecca, who tells her new buddy Nate, who tells her a DNA test should fix everything.

The Day of the Murder...
 
  Wes finds out that these two are in kahoots with each other and he doesn't like it at all and he argues with Rebecca about it.  When Connor and Laurel come over for a study group thing, Rebecca storms out. Afterwards, we see Wes beating on Rebecca's door, which has loud music playing behind it.  Connor suggests that maybe she's ran away, and that's exactly what happened.
  Michaela feels like she should have the trophy because she won the case today, but Keating doesn't really care at this point, so she never really gives it to Michaela.  What does Michaela do?  She has an argument with her mother-in-law-to-be at dinner and then goes to Asher's place and steals the trophy.  No big deal.  Meanwhile, Frank and Laurel are doing it as they're entering his apartment.  It's very exciting... Until another girl walks in asking if Laurel's the student of the month!  Laurel leaves without any explanation.
  Bonnie talks to Sam about what happened with Lila and she knows that he knew about the pregnancy.  They kiss.  Later that night, Bonnie tells Annalise that Sam kissed her to manipulate her.  She rambles on about how he can't be trusted and stuff like that, crying as she does so.  She is fired right there, right then, and is devastated.
  There are so many people with the motive, but there's only one murderer.  Tonight, we will finally find out who killed Sam!  Many believe it's Bonnie because of her long history with Sam and she is probably not happy with him at the moment.  Others believe it is Rebecca because of everything that has happened concerning Lila's case.  Could it be someone else?  Find out tonight on the winter finale of TV's new #1 Drama How To Get Away With Murder!  


Now that you're caught up, don't miss the TGIT Winter Finale starting at 8/7c on ABC!

Nov 18, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Sequels I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by 

This weeks topic: 

Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On


Nepenthe
Book #2 in the Bracing For Love Series
by Lindsay Paige
Bracing the Blue Line (Bracing for Love, #1)Nepenthe (Bracing for Love, #2)

Contradictions
Book #3 in the Woodfalls Girls Series 
by Tiffany King
No Attachments (Woodfalls Girls, #1)Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls, #2)Contradictions (Woodfalls Girls, #3)

Finding Carson Lee
Book #3 in the Oh Captain, My Captain Series
by Lindsay Paige and Mary Smith
Looking for You (Oh Captain, My Captain, #1)A Hockey Player's Proposal (Oh Captain, My Captain, #2)Finding Carson Lee (Oh Captain, My Captain, #3)

Writing A Wrong
Book #2 in the Write Stuff Series
by Tiffany King
The Write Stuff (A Write Stuff Novel, #1)Writing A Wrong (A Write Stuff Novel, #2)

Boy Most Likely To
Book #2 in the My Life Next Door Series
by Huntley Fitzpatrick
My Life Next Door (My Life Next Door, #1)

Breaking The Rules
Book #1.5 in the Pushing The Limits Series
by Katie McGarry
Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits, #1.5)


That's it for me this week!  Leave me your links so I can see which sequels you are most excited about!


Nov 17, 2014

Memory Lane Monday #33: Banana Edition ~ Review ~ Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins


Memory Lane Monday is a weekly meme that Amber at Paradise of Pages and Kristalyn (and Beighley) at The Sarcastic Palmtree, came up with. We have been wanting to re-read some of our favorites but feel overwhelmed by all the other new books coming out that our re-reads get put to the side. We have decided we don't want to put them aside anymore, so we will be taking turns putting up our reviews on our blogs throughout the month. This does not mean we won't keep up with recent releases, it just means we will make more time for those we have read before as well.



Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)
My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.
To see what I remembered from this book, go see my memory post here.  I'd definitely recommend you read it because there will be things which are covered that are not in this review.



Okay... since this is the final book in a series and the movie will be coming out soon... I'm gonna give everyone a fair warning!

WARNING:  This review has spoilers!
At First Sight
I love this cover because it's a symbol of Katniss (The Mockingjay) breaking free of the Capitol's grip.  This is also the first time we really got to see what a Mockingjay looks like and I thought it was cool!

Characters and Relationships
Katniss is destroyed at the beginning of this book, mentally and physically.  In addition to this, the rebellion wants her to be the one people look up to, The Mockingjay.  The only real reason she agrees is to get Peeta back and take revenge on the Capitol.
Once they finally get Peeta back... the first time Katniss goes to see him, he tries to kill her.  Plutarch and Haymitch deduce he has been "hijacked".  "Hijacking" is a sick form of torture the Capitol uses to twist a person's memories around using a dose of tracker jacker venom that is "just enough to infuse the memory with fear and doubt".  In Peeta's case, they made him think Katniss was a "muttation" The cure that is discovered is a game that Jackson, Bogg's second in command suggests called "Real or Not Real?".  The rules are very basic:  Peeta asks if something he remembers happened or not, then someone, usually Katniss, tells him the answer.
I liked being able to see Finnick grow as a character.  To see he really isn't the fake Capitol brat was great!  His love for Annie Cresta cannot be matched.  Annie was driven insane after winning her Hunger Games so it was always cool to see he was there to bring her back.  It was so sad to see him die, leaving not only her, but their son behind.

Is This A Kissing Book?
There is a maximum of like 10 kissing scenes in this book... There is little to no focus on which guy Katniss is gonna choose.  I think that all the people who think that's what it's about need to reread it and think again.  This book is deeper than that.

Don't Leave Me Hanging
Since this book is the FINAL book... there is really no cliffhanger.  The epilogue was the crack that broke the dam holding my tears it's happy, yet sad.  Katniss and Peeta end up having what some people would call a "happy ending" with kids and peace and all that stuff.  What those people don't realize is that they really don't have a happy ending, and that is the sad part.  They have been through the equivalent of three Hunger Games.  That is a traumatizing, life-altering event!  I think this is best summed up in some of the last words of the book...
"How can I tell them about that world without frightening them to death?... My children, who don't know they polay on a graveyard... We can make them understand in a way that will make them braver.  But one day I'll have to explain about my nightmares.  Why they came.  Why they won't ever really go away.  I'll tell them how I survive it.  I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I'm afraid it could be taken away".
The Best Gems

  • Mockingjay Perks (Demands)
  • Crazy Cat
  • Finnick Reveals Secrets
  • Real or Not Real?
  • "...Effie Trinket, rebel."
  • A Presidential Execution
The Sum Up
To sum it up... this book is amazing!  I know it's probably the one billionth time I've said it, but it's true!  Katniss goes through not only this book, but the entire trilogy, enduring all the crap that's thrown at her.  She does end up with a happy ending, but at a huge cost.  She will always live her life in fear that the happiness she rightfully earned will be taken away.  I think that this is why this book is so good.  This isn't some fairy tale with sunshine and rainbows!  Katniss experiences reality.  Suzanne Collins does a good job with showing this world through the eyes of a 17 year old that has had to mature at the rapid rate Katniss had to.  I can't wait to see how well the movie adaptation will be this time around since they've done such a great job with the first two.



I LOVED being able to read this book again!  It's one of the best finales in book history EVER!  Go see the movie on November 21st after you read it!  Thanks for stopping by!  
~Banana


Here's how Memory Lane Monday works:
  • Each week the co-hosts will trade off with recapping when it is a re-read or what they have heard so far about the book and the other co-host will put up their review. 
  • The participants can read anything that they remember reading in the past, or something that they have wanted to read that has been around for a while and just haven't gotten around to reading it yet for whatever reason.
  • Participants can decide if they want to recap the book before reading it or just put up a review of what they read.
  • Anyone can join in, just please link back to our blogs as well as add your name to the linky so we can hop around and see what everyone is reading.
  • Please put our banner on your post as well, so we all look the same!
  • We ask you kindly to follow BOTH of our blogs.
  • Most importantly remember to just have fun! :)



We will be providing each week a linky that you will be able use to link your posts for us and everyone else to see as well. All we ask is for you to put up our banner as well as a link back to both hosts on your post.