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TV Review: Shadowhunters 2×17 ‘A Dark Reflection’

Jul 26, 2017

Shadowhunters: Season 2 Episode 17

Episode Name: A Dark Reflection
Release date: 24 July 2017
Running Time: 42 minutes
Starring Katherine McNamara, Dominic Sherwood, Alberto Rosende, Matthew Daddario, Emeraude Toubia, Will Tudor, Isaiah Mustafa, Harry Shum Jr.
Directed By: Jeffrey Hunt
Watch: Freeform (US) – Netflix (Worldwide)
Episode Reviews: Season 1 | Season 2
With two of the three Mortal Instruments missing, everyone hunts for the last one – The Mortal Mirror; Jace and Clary race to recover it first before it falls into enemy hands while Clary struggles with the idea that her brother is pure evil. Isabelle struggles with the fact that Max is growing up.

A Dark Reflection:

Episode 17 of Season 2 was intense and I can only expect that the following episodes are going rip and tear our hearts out.

A Dark Reflection starts off with Clary having nightmares of Lake Lyn. For those who have read the books, you know how important this lake truly is. There was a lot some tension between Clary and Jace as they try and hunt down both the Mortal Mirror and Jonathan. Meanwhile, Izzy is struggling to come to terms with Max growing up and becoming a shadowhunter. There is also high tension between Alec and Magnus as who they are and what they stand for come between them.

Clary

There was a real focus on Clary in A Dark Reflection, but not just her per say, but her feelings. From the start of the series, we see Clary struggle with who she is and the world she was dropped into. We see her struggling again but with family this time.

After her mother died and finding out Jace isn’t her real brother, she had no blood relative – expect for Valentine. So when she finds out that Jonathan is alive, she wants to do everything in her power to make him part of her family. She wants to believe that he isn’t evil.

I think we are really going to see Clary stand up for herself and those that she loves in the coming episodes, especially those leading to the final.

Sebastian

It seems like every week Sebastian is becoming more and more cunning and evil – and I love it. Sebastian is one of my favourite villains simply because of how manipulative he truly is. In A Dark Reflection, we get to see more of Sebastian’s demon side, and it was very interesting.

We see that he wants Clary to accept him and treat him as a brother and when he doesn’t get his way – let’s just say that I don’t want to be on the other end.

Izzy

This week was a real struggle for Izzy, and not because of her addiction – but because of her love. Izzy struggles throughout the episode that Max is turning older, that he is going to become a Shadowhunter. He is going out to fight and could die…

It was really great to see this. Throughout the series already, we know that the Lightwood siblings have an amazing connection and will always be there for each. They are really one of the only family dynamics in these series and I just adore it.

Max

Oh Max. My poor heart. I can’t deal with it. He wants to be like his older siblings so much and his good, real good. I know what is coming and I am so not ready.

Overall

A Dark Reflection was an intense episode. Things are starting to both fall in place and fall apart. There is only 3 episodes left and it’s getting more intense as we go. There is going to be deaths, fights and a whole lkot of tension. And I don’t know if I am ready.

Have you watched A Dark Reflection? What did you think of it? What do you think is going to happen in the next couple of episodes? Let’s Chat!

TV Review: Shadowhunters 2×16 ‘Day of Atonement’

Jul 25, 2017

Shadowhunters: Season 2 Episode 16

Episode Name: Day of Atonement
Release date: 17 July 2017
Running Time: 42 minutes
Starring Katherine McNamara, Dominic Sherwood, Alberto Rosende, Matthew Daddario, Emeraude Toubia, Will Tudor, Isaiah Mustafa, Harry Shum Jr.
Directed By: Paul Wesley
Watch: Freeform (US) – Netflix (Worldwide)
Episode Reviews: Season 1 | Season 2
Jace and Clary go on an unsanctioned mission, while Maia helps Simon out at a Yom Kippur family dinner.

Day of Atonement:

This week was a really interesting episode. Day of Atonement really delves back into the shadowhunter world. And we are given some answers to last weeks shocking discovery about Sebastian.

The shadowhunter world is still reeling from the escape of Valentine and everyone is on edge. But, even before the episode starts we know who has Valentine.

Alec is feeling the pressure of being head of the New York Institute and Valentine escaping on his watch. Jace and Clary head to Idris to an old cabin where Jace spent some as a child with Valentine.

Meanwhile, Simon has a family dinner that doesn’t exactly go to plan.

Sebastian

Sebastian had a really big impact in this weeks episode. We got to really find out more about this life growing up with and without Valentine and how he ended up the way that he is.

I really enjoyed that we got to delve deep into Sebastian character in Day of Atonement. We really get to see him become ‘Sebastian’ – he is evil and cunning.

Clary and Jace

This episode had a great focus on Clary and Jace and we really get to see them connect in a way they hadn’t before.

We get to see them both worry about each other and while they both can’t admit it yet, we know that they are falling for each other.

Clary and Jace dive into Lake Lyn – literally. It was amazing to see something so close to the book in the TV show. I have said this a couple of times before, TV adaptations are hard and while they aren’t sticking closely to the book, I am still really enjoying it.

Simon and Maia

In Day of Atonement, we start to see the connection between Simon and Maia and while I don’t love them together. It’s still really nice to see. They are both interesting characters and together they are quite dynamic. It’s definitely going to create more tension in the show, much like the books.

Lightwoods

The audience also got a good look at the Lightwood family in Day of Atonement. We see the tension growing between the Lightwood kids and their father. We see Alec struggle with the responsibilities of being head of an Institute and dealing with the outcomes of losing something very valuable to the Clave.

Overall

I really enjoyed this episode. I liked delving into characters more, finding out more about the shadowhunter world and seeing some ships come to life. I think that the audience got a nice outlook on Sebastian and got to see his – demon side. We see the connection between Clary and Jace start to really form and with only a few episodes left I am so ready.

Have you watched Day of Atonement? What did you think of it? Are you planning on watching it? Nevertheless, Are you reading for weeks to come? Let’s Chat!

Blog Tour | Trust by Kylie Scott #LoveOzYA

Jul 21, 2017

Trust by Kylie Scott

Pages: 383
Publish date: July 18, 2017
Publisher: –
ISBN: 1546768092
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Trust:

I received an e-arc of Trust by Kylie Scott from Inkslinger PR as part of their blog tour in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t read any Kylie Scott books before I picked up Trust and now I cannot wait to read more. If you didn’t know before I started blogging, I never really read much contemporary, it was all fantasy. But, now I love reading it and while I do love it contemporary romances can feel quite the same. However, Trust was such a refreshing read that really stood out to me.

Trust follows protagonist Edie as she recovers after being held hostage during a terrifying robbery. With everything going on, she decides that she can’t deal with the snobbery of her private school and moves to a local public high school. It’s there she meets, John, the guy that saved her life. And let’s just say that things are about to get interesting.

What I loved most about Trust was how refreshing it was. It’s very rare to see a bigger girl in YA, especially as a love interest. That first drew me into Trust and I loved it so much. At times Edie was hard to get along with. You wanted to yell at her and give her a little shake. But, then at other times, you wanted to wrap your arms around her.

Edie has been a hell of a lot and I think nearly all the things she does or tries to do is so she could feel something. Something other being scared. I really liked the concept of PTSD or along those lines being presented in Trust. Edie had a gun to her head and that doesn’t just go away.

John was an interesting character in himself and it did take me a while to warm up to him. I really don’t know what it was, but it didn’t take me long to find out who he was. I did at times feel that it was too hard to connect with him and maybe it was because Edie and John both had walls up that needed to be cracked. John has a tough past, so I wasn’t expecting him to easy to get to know.

The romance in Trust was quite sweet at times. When you normally think ‘bad boys’ it’s the opposite, but John was really sweet with Edie. And as the novel went on you could see that they were starting to fall for each other. I also felt that Trust was very sex positive, especially for teens. Again something nice to see.

I didn’t like that there weren’t any amazing family relationships. It’s missed a lot in YA and I would have really enjoyed Trust more if there was. In saying that Edie relationship with her mum wasn’t horrible, just I wanted something more.

Overall, I really enjoyed Trust. Was it perfect? No. But it was still a refreshing YA contemporary that had a protagonist that isn’t typical for YA. She is flawed and is also on the larger side. And I was able to connect with her insecurities and some of the ways she looked at things. I enjoyed the romance and while I did want to see more, it was still very enjoyable. Trust explores the notion of finding yourself, falling in love and learning to breathe again.