What did I just watch? A Carnival Row discussion

Happy Monday! Normally a review of a TV show would be included in my monthly Saturday Screen Time feature, but this one felt like it needed a bit more room for discussion. I recently finished Carnival Row and was... underwhelmed. This post will be split into a non-spoiler review and a spoilery discussion in case you haven't watched yet!

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

At the end of August Carnival Row was released on Amazon Prime. I'd been hearing buzz about this show for months so of course I was intrigued when it finally popped up as available to watch! I didn't have much in the way of expectations. I haven't enjoyed Cara Delevingne in anything I've seen her in (and I was surprised she was a main character in this show) and I haven't seen Orlando Bloom in much since the mid-2000s, but have always enjoyed him. All that to say I went in not expecting much, but hoping to be impressed.

Right off the bat I had a hard time getting into this show. The first episode was extremely slow and, while (mostly) pretty to look at, there didn't seem to be much substance. Still, I gave it one more episode, then one more. Everyone said that the third episode was the best of the bunch and would absolutely hook me! Episode three did show the backstory, but it was rushed through and didn't seem to lend much to the overall story beyond setting up the relationship between Philo (Bloom) and Vignette (Delevingne).

Carnival Row is a rare example of a show that is trying to do way too much while also not accomplishing a whole lot. Philo is a police officer living in the Burge who had a previous relationship with Vignette, a fae, during the war seven years prior. Philo faked his death to keep Vignette safe, which she discovers when she arrives in the Burge after she's chased away from her home. Their relationship doesn't have much to it, having ended years earlier, but they try to convince the viewer for eight episodes that they actually still love each other. Their chemistry is non-existent and their romance doesn't add anything to the story, which, despite the show's marketing, is all about Philo.

This is really a murder mystery at its core. There's also tons of infighting between politicians, bickering amongst a few families, extreme racism against the fae by literally everyone except Philo, Lovecraftian monsters, steampunk technology, magic, and a random Pride and Prejudice retelling between characters with nothing else to do with the plot. It's a lot. And yet it's unbearably slow until the last two episodes. At that point everything happens so fast that I have to wonder why this wasn't spread a bit more evenly. I actually feel that this season could have been split in two with much more backstory about the war between the fae and humans.

I wanted to love this show, even if I didn't expect to, but I definitely didn't expect to dislike it as much as I did. There was a ton of promise, but Carnival Row was simultaneously too much and too little. This is definitely a case of style over substance and I truly wish Guillermo del Toro had been the one at the helm as he was rumored to be originally.

SPOILERS BEGIN

The random werewolves in episode three seemed to be setting up something bigger but never was mentioned again.

The Pact - what even is it? Who are they? They're there in episode three as the Big Bad that bring Philo and Vignette together, but then what? Apparently they weren't a big obstacle considering the library was recovered.

The romance between Imogen and Agreus happened entirely too quickly to be believable. Someone figured out that the story must have taken place over about ten days (excluding episode three). In that time, Imogen went from being extremely racist against pucks to having an affair with him, to leaving her home and family behind to sail off with him into the sunset. This plot line didn't seem to fit within the bigger story, but if it was going to exist I wish it had had more time to develop.

Piety's motivations - what were they exactly? Was it just that she wanted her son to do great things? How does that tie into kidnapping her own son and killing a bunch of people related to Philo, as well as her husband? It was so over the top and unbelievable.

Who even is Sophie?

The sex and violence in this show were probably the most gratuitous and unnecessary I've ever seen. I have no issue with sex and violence in television, but the scenes in Carnival Row seem to have been put there for shock value or to keep up with other popular shows. Did we really need to see a man with goat legs having sex with a woman against a wall? Did we really need to see intestines pulled out of literally every murder victim (there were several)? Was there any reason we needed to see Vignette awkwardly balancing to sit on top of Philo in a cave? Does ANYONE in this universe own a bed?

END SPOILERS

I just don't understand the whole thing. There were parts that I liked, of course. I enjoyed the backstory of the war between the races like most everyone else, but I wish the rest of the show had been a little more cohesive. Is it a murder mystery? Is it a period romance? Is it steampunk? Is it Lovecraftian horror? Is it a political drama? What is this show??

My hope is that season two will be more polished, but at this point I'm honestly not sure I'll watch it.

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Have you seen Carnival Row yet?

Did you love or hate it?

Let me know in the comments!

Weekly Recap: 9/8 - 9/14

HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG

Hi everyone! This week has been SO MUCH less stressful than the last few. We had a tiny storm scare that ended up being an off the coast tropical storm, so just another breezy day here in Central Florida. The temperature actually stayed below 90 for a full day and I couldn't believe it! In other non-stressful news, all of my tests came back normal from the doctor! I don't have an autoimmune disease and she doesn't know what caused the original abnormal ANA result, but now it's down to a reasonable level. That's a huge weight lifted!

My mystery binge continued this week with Neverworld Wake and now Capturing the Devil as well as an adult mystery by C.J. Tudor, who I've never read before. I'm not sure what's gotten into me as I've taken a step away from fantasy and towards mysteries. I'm attributing it to Halloween getting nearer. I did take some time for fantasy though and watched the first two Lord of the Rings movies (extended, of course) for the first time in a few years. I'm definitely planning on watching Return of the King this coming week!

NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK

  

THIS WEEK I READ

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Monday review of Needing to Love You
The topic was TBR books I'm avoiding for Top Ten Tuesday
Thursday ARC review of Rules For Vanishing
On Saturday I did the Fall Book Tag


UPCOMING REVIEWS

 

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I'm linking up to Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post!

Fall Book Tag

Happy weekend! This weekend it's below 90 degrees and I even felt a little breeze. There are pumpkin spice snacks out and Halloween decorations are going up at Target. All of this must mean it's almost fall! What a wonderful time for a fun new book tag! The Fall Book Tag was created by Bionic Bookworm.

Wilder Girls has been one of my favorite reads of the year! It's dark and bleak and totally unique. I definitely hope to see more spooky and weird, fresh books in the years to come.

The endings of both books in the Sweet Black Waves series have both blown me away! This author knows how to write a twist ending that will absolutely break your heart and keep you dying for more. 

I don't read a lot of warm, fuzzy books, but The Selection series definitely was on the light and fluffy side. America and Maxon, while they have their issues, are one of the most warm and fuzzy couples I've ever read about! 

This book didn't get nearly enough hype! Dry is an amazing read and it also happens to have a lovely red-orange cover that perfectly fits this prompt.

Not many books are truly non-stop, but Dark Matter was close. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and now I'm reminded that I very much need to pick up Blake Crouch's most recent book!

Is anyone shocked? I am dying to read the next book in this series to see what happens with Cardan and Jude! Not much longer to wait now!

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What's your favorite part of Fall?
Have you had your first pumpkin spice latte yet?

Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: Rules For Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Title: Rules For Vanishing
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
Add to Goodreads

In the faux-documentary style of The Blair Witch Project comes the campfire story of a missing girl, a vengeful ghost, and the girl who is determined to find her sister--at all costs.

Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her--and who won't make it out of the woods?

It's been exactly one year since Sara's sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn't know whether her former friends no longer like her...or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to "play the game" and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca--before she's lost forever. And even though she's hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends--and their cameras--following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.

I picked up Rules For Vanishing at ALA this summer when I spotted the spooky cover. When I saw the comparison to The Blair Witch Project, all bets were off. I had to have this book! I didn't know much about Rules For Vanishing other than that several friends told me it was extremely creepy. It definitely is that!

Becca is the MC of this story set a year after her sister's disappearance. She and a group of estranged friends decide to go back to the location of the mysterious road they've all heard stories about to see if it will appear. When it does, they set off not knowing exactly what's in store but determined to find Becca's sister and bring her home. This is a more character focused horror novel and, while I did enjoy the characters, that's really not why I pick up a horror book.

Right off the bat I will say that this is one of the most terrifying YA books I've read in a long time, at least until the last little bit. I am not claustrophobic in the sense of fearing small spaces, but I have a fear of being trapped in any place with no way out. Cruise ships, as much as I love them, freak me out because there's no way off until it docks. I had the same feeling with the road in this book. Once the characters became trapped on the road I was so physically uncomfortable that I had to put the book down at times. I loved it!

I really enjoyed the writing style the author used! Rules For Vanishing is a mix of your standard narrative, interviews, and documents. It's a style that I've enjoyed in the past and would love to see more of in the future. It made this an extremely quick and tense read.

Where this story went wrong for me was the inclusion of a ton of mythology extending beyond the road. I really didn't think it needed so much backstory and explanation. Honestly, that's where horror books often go wrong for me. Without spoiling anything, there's a tonal shift towards the end and the horror changes to something altogether different. I know that a lot of people enjoyed the way this book ended, but it ruined the horror a bit for me and I really wish the story ended with the road.

Rules For Vanishing was a quick and super scary read, at least until the last several chapters. I do wish that the focus had remained on the road, but the shift definitely didn't ruin my reading experience. I highly recommend picking this one up this October if you're in the market for something spooky!

Top Ten Tuesday #255: TBR books I'm avoiding

Today's Topic: 

Books On My TBR I’m 
Avoiding Reading and Why 

Happy Tuesday! This week's topic was fun because I was able to figure out exactly why I haven't read some of the books on my list. Mostly it has to do with being a mood reader, but some I'm also waiting to get audiobooks of. I tend to listen to a lot of books that I'm not sure I'll get through if I pick up the physical copy. 

WAITING ON A LIBRARY AUDIO COPY

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Inspection by Josh Malerman

Recursion by Blake Crouch

WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOOD

Anyone Else? by Angela Scott

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

Other Words For Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Book Review: Needing to Love You by Erin Rylie

Title: Needing to Love You (Houston's Finest #2)
Author: Erin Rylie
Publication Date: April 12, 2019
Publisher: Independently Published
Pages: 273
Add to Goodreads

Carlos Ramirez has always prided himself on two things: being damn good at his job on the Houston police force and being able to land any woman he wants. When a devastating car accident leaves him crippled and in excruciating pain, he begins to rely too heavily on his prescription painkillers. The only person who can help him heal is the only woman who has ever rejected him—and on more than one occasion. Living with Kelsey while he works through physical therapy wasn’t anything he ever expected to happen, but it might just be what he needs.

After a divorce that left her doubting her ability to love, Kelsey Byrne wants nothing to do with relationships. Unfortunately for her, the only man she could see herself loving needs a place to live and help while he recovers. She had a hard time pushing him away after a one-night stand, so how can she possibly keep him at arm’s length when he’s in her house every day, playing with her son, cooking her meals, and leaving her cute notes every morning? Carlos may be working his way into her heart one sweet gesture at a time, but can she give him everything knowing that she’s more than a little broken inside?

Needing to Love You is way outside of my comfort zone, but recently I was in the mood for an adult romance and this is the book I reached for! It ended up making for a great, quick read for my flight to Washington DC and back.

Carlos Ramirez is recovering after an accident and subsequent surgery when he finds himself at the mercy of Kelsey who has offered him a place to stay. He moves in with her and quickly finds himself at a pity party and in too deep with his prescription painkillers. As Kelsey tries to understand how to navigate Carlos's issues as well as her own, the two find themselves being drawn together and romance ensues.

I really loved Kelsey and Carlos! It was definitely difficult to watch Carlos struggle with addiction and feelings of not being good enough after his accident. I also hated seeing the two of them push each other away instead of leaning on each other when they both needed it. But the two of them when they were getting along were a fantastic pair! I loved Carlos's snarky attitude, Kelsey's quirk of spouting off random fun facts, and their banter back and forth. Their relationship was sweet and obviously passionate.

My favorite thing about this book is that, while it was a fantastic, spicy romance novel, it had a lot of depth and tackled real life issues. There were painful moments dealing with addiction, depression, and moving on after painful relationships. I felt that Erin Rylie handled these issues really well and I loved that it made the story so much more impactful.

Although this is actually the second book in the Houston's Finest series, it read fine as a standalone and I felt like enough was filled in by the author that skipping the first book was okay. There were certainly times when I would have been more in the loop had I read the first book, though.

Needing to Love You was my first book by this author, but I can definitely see myself picking up others!