UDON Manga Classics: The Count of Monte Cristo

Title: The Count of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexandre Dumas (original); Stacy King and Nokman Poon

Length: 401 pages

Publication date: April 1, 2017

Genre: classics, manga

Rating: 5/5

Having just finished reading the Count of Monte Cristo (which I loooved), I thought it would be fun to read this manga adaptation. I was very pleased with it! The source novel is obviously a beast, and this manga managed to be faithful to the main story while still trimming a 1,000+ page book to something readable in this format. The art was well done, it was easier to follow than some other manga I've read. I really enjoyed this volume! I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

I Owe You One | Sophie Kinsella

Title: I Owe You One

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Length: 432 pages

Publication date: February 5, 2019

Genre: Adult contemporary

Rating: 4/5

Sophie Kinsella has been a favourite author of mine for at least half of my life. I remember reading Confessions of a Shopaholic as a teenager, and since then I have read every book that she has put out. Sometimes I'm not sure if they're genuinely good or if it's just nostalgia for me. But I really have enjoyed her last few releases, and I Owe You One was no exception.

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer's owner Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she? Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

There were things I really enjoyed about this book; mainly the emphasis on family and the personal growth of the characters. There were things that drove me crazy - Fixie's crush on Ryan was the wooooorst and it made me upset. Like, wow I hated reading any scene that he was in. There was also a bit of that miscommunication trope that I hate but SK likes to use in every book (seriously, just use your words, people). It wasn't the worst instance but it was there. The romance was also a little weird - I did like the two characters together but just the pacing of it was off. Even with those things, I did enjoy the story and how things wrapped up. 

I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Galentine's Day: My Favourite Lady Friendships in Books & TV

Confession - I have not watched Parks & Rec. I find this to be very tragic, but that's not my fault because it's not available to stream on any Canadian service. Regardless, I am familiar with the concept of Galentine's Day from that show. Galentine's Day is on February 13 and it's just a celebration of lady friendships. So today, I thought I'd make a quick list of some awesome friendships from books (and a couple from tv).

1. Anne & Diana from Anne of Green Gables
   Hello, I'm Felicia and I'm obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. And I love Anne and Diana's friendship. Their loyalty and honesty and support of each other is so memorable. They are the purest and I love them.

2. Joanna & Emilia from Salt to the Sea
   I just finished this book and first of all, it wrecked me emotionally. I loved the characters, and I loved the relationship that formed between Joanna and Emilia. They became like sisters in the short span of time the book covered, and their devotion to each other through their language barrier was so heart-warming.

3. The March Sisters - Little Women
   Sisters count as friends! And Amy, Beth, Jo, and Meg are such a good example of sister friends. Love it.

4. Cinder & Iko - the Lunar Chronicles
   Really, I want to include all of the ladies in the Lunar Chronicles, but Cinder and Iko are the original duo. They have such a fun rapport, and they make such a great team for saving the world.

5. Sylvie & Tilda - Surprise Me
   I recently finished this book and this friendship was such a highlight. My favourite thing was that there is actually an age difference between them, similar to me and one of my best friends. So I felt a little more connected to them because of that.

6. Kelly & Erin - The Office
   How I love The Office, and I love Kelly and Erin's relationship. They are so different but they have such a tight bond. I love the craziness they get up to together.

7. Rachel, Phoebe, & Monica - Friends
   As I grow older, I have more problems with Friends, but it still holds a place in my heart for the nostalgia factor. There is something about that show that makes me feel comforted. And I always love the parts with the three girls together. They are such good friends and their connection feels so real to me.


As I have come to the end of my list, this actually is kind of making me sad that I don't have more friendships to add?! Tell me some of your favourite friendships, especially from tv and movies because this is actually pathetic. But yay for frands!

The Last Thing I... [bored at work edition]

I may just do these from time to time because I think they're fun.

Last thing I ate: chicken fingers and fries for lunch

Last thing I drank: water with lemon

Last text I sent: "it was tucked inside the McDonald's coupons haha" HA so I couldn't find my phone when we were at lunch, and I was a little worried it fell out of my pocket when I was getting into the car or something. When I got back to work I checked in my purse better, and it was tucked inside the booklet of McDonald's coupons I had in there. So I was texting Chris to tell him that I found my phone.

Last book I read: Treasure Island was the last book I finished. This morning I started listening to Invictus by Ryan Graudin on audio.

Last time I laughed: Chris and I are ridiculous and we started a fake coughing war on our way back to work after lunch. I know, we're odd.

Last thing I bought: a humidifier for our bedroom because it's soooo dry and my skin is dying. But I at least got this pretty one:

Last movie I saw: I think that was Paddington 2. Yeah, we go to watch family movies by ourselves.

Last TV show I watched: Hogan's Heroes. I got Chris the box set of the series for our anniversary and we're on the last season now.

Last thing I googled: "kid by jt during halftime show" because that was just the funniest thing and I wanted to see how quickly people would make it a meme.

Artemis | Andy Weir

Title: Artemis

Author: Andy Weir

Length: 384 pages

Publication date: November 14, 2017

Genre: Adult sci-fi

Rating: 4/5

I was kind of nervous going into this book, because I loved The Martian so much, and what if this one wasn't as good? While I didn't get immediately sucked into this story like I did with The Martian, overall I did quite enjoy Andy Weir's second novel.

The plot: Jazz Bashara is a smuggler in Artemis, the first city on the moon. Being well known (in the more shady community, anyway) for her skills at bringing in contraband, a life-changing opportunity presents itself. It may not be legal or ethical, but when you have large debts and you're living in an apartment the size of a horizontal closet, can you really afford to turn it down? Unfortunately for Jazz, what she stumbles into turns out to have bigger consequences than she could have imagined.

The cons: I didn't love Jazz. It actually took me a good chunk before I was visualizing a female, even though going into it I knew the main character was a girl. It took me a while to care about her as well. She was a bit of a stereotype of the "super brilliant young person that doesn't apply their potential, and they act all tough but they have a good heart" trope, which I'm tired of, but as far as that stereotype goes I guess it was okay here.

Andy Weir doesn't shy away from swearing, but I think this may have had less than The Martian. There was also lots talking about sex, but it was talking and not showing. Nothing actually happened in the book, but Weir wants you to know that Jazz has a sexual history and she likes it that way.

The pros: Everything else. It's got the awesome science that you don't have to be a scientist to understand. It has a fun heist story with a quirky cast of characters. The setting on the moon is so cool, and it added a lot to the stakes of the heist as well. If things got screwed up, literally everyone in the city would be affected. Things kept happening that I wasn't expecting at all, so I was on my toes until the end. All in all, I did enjoy this novel a lot.

Autumnal knitting.

Autumn is here and I couldn't be loving it more. This is the season when I thrive.

I have been a knitting fiend lately. I don't know why, but lately I just can't stop knitting. Even while I'm doing it, I just think to myself "man, I love knitting!" It's probably weird but that's how it is. Right now I'm taking part in a mystery knit-a-long, which has been so much fun. Basically the pattern designer tells you what yarn you need, and then emails you a clue, or a section of the pattern, every week. The above picture is of my project, which is going to be a cowl. (This was the first clue and I was like "how is this supposed to be a cowl? It looks like a shawl!" It has since been made clear.) I am loving working on it. The construction is very unique, and the fall colours that I chose are making me very happy.

I'm hoping to post more about my knitting and crafty endeavours on here, so stay tuned!

The Last Thing I...

My dearest Callie just posted this tag thingy and I just had to do my take on it! I love these kind of questionnaire things. We were obsessed with these when I was in junior high. Anyone else go through that phase?

Last thing I ate: a jam-jam cookie. Yes, it was only 9:30 but when there are cookies in the office I have to eat one fast if I want one at all. The guys I work with are cookie fiends.

Last thing I drank: a vanilla iced coffee from McDonald's. I'm addicted. It doesn't help that they're a dollar all summer.

Last text I sent: "I'm in the back" to Chris when I was picking him up after work yesterday.

Last book I read: It was just the Booktubeathon and I read 7 books in a week. The last book that I finished was Fruits Basket vol. 17, and the last book that I read from was Passenger by Alexandra Bracken.

Last time I laughed: I overheard a conversation my co-workers were having and one of their comments made me giggle.

Last thing I bought: the previously mentioned iced coffee.

Last movie I saw: Chris and I have been watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix, and the last episode we watched featured the movie Starcrash. It was so horrible, I'm ashamed that Christopher Plummer was involved in that movie.

Last TV show I watched: Yesterday evening I was watching Friends while doing some housework and tackling my massive paper pile. It never ends.

Last thing I googled: "jord watches." I have one of their watches and I love it, and I've kind of been wanting another one in a different colour. I'd love to get this one but at that price tag I don't think I'll do that anytime soon!