#quick review

didn’t love the end. think it would have been more poignant if grace and rocky returned to their respective planets. something about them becoming the most unlikely of friends to save both their worlds, and then never seeing each other again would have hit so incredibly hard. instead im just kinda … well he lives on the rock planet now and might one day go home, which is a weird place to leave it on when they could have ended the movie 10 minutes earlier.

also, the petty part of me wanted to see ryland return to earth when no one was expecting him to especially after they forced him into space. save the world, return unexpectedly, and sue their asses. but that’s just me.

another point — does andy weir only know how to write one type of man? ryland grace was just another mark watney. literally the same humor and manner of speaking. i always thought i didn’t like Matt Damon’s portrayal of mark watney but it might just be the way he writes his main characters that I don’t like because i was getting the same feeling with Ryan gosling’s portrayal of ryland grace. Both of them aren’t horrible, but their kind of humor always felt kinda forced to me.

It's really not the type of story I usually read, but I've been trying to read different things recently. I think it was an interesting first volume because I thought I was going to read a typical sci-fi story with a System, and I got more: lonely people meeting each other, survivors trying to get by, a coming apocalypse and the beauty of ordinary feelings that are so relatable because so very much humans.

I knew there wouldn't be any romance in the first volume since it's supposed to have 6 volumes for the whole series. I should really check before buying a book because it makes me start stories and I have to wait to get the next volume. I'm really learning patience. If we didn't get any romance, we still saw the relationship between Cha Uijae and Lee Sayoung going from a reluctant partnership (at least from Uijae) to something more.

First, I finished "After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine" volume 3 by Liu Gou Hua. I have to admit I was really looking for this next volume. There is something about the writing or the characters that I find charming. The balance between the political schemes and the romance between the main characters is really good. Sometimes, in danmei the political part of the books can be heavy and not easy to follow. It can also be confusing and/or boring. However, in this series, I think it's just the right amount to give yourself something to look at while allowing the characters to have witty conversation and cute moments too. Minister Pang may have thought he had the upper hand, but in the hand his schemes only allowed Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu to finally admit their mutual love and start being together. I was more than happy to see it. Now that Jiang Suizhou has admitted the world history has changed for good, he is ready to give himself a chance, but also to work towards a happy ending for the nation, but also for his own personal life. I can't wait for the last volume to finally conclude the story.

The second book I read is a light novel called "Pure Light" by Violette Banks. Unfortunately this book is probably only in French. I chose it by chance at a book fair. I admit I only chose it because the summary on the back cover was talking about Thai BL and I was intrigued to see what was going to happen. It's a basic romance story between an English-Thai actor who after a fight that made him lose professional opportunities and contracts, ends up being the lead of a Y series alongside an unknown actor who only wanted this job to pay his studies. I didn't that writer, but I guess she is also someone who watches BL series. Even if the book is a light romance story, you can see that she tried her best to discuss the job and requirements of a Thai actors who play in BL series. She also wanted to add a few cultural aspect about Thailand and to talk about LGBTQ+ issues. It's really a slow burn. It was a nice read. Also, the light novel version had a new bonus chapter to include something about the Marriage Equality Act,

Firstly, you have to know that thriller isn't really my favorite genre of book. I have no problem watching a thriller series or movie, but I just can't really get into a thriller when it's a book. I don't know why. It's just more complicated to get into the story. Probably the reason is, I prefer fantasy-setting over anything else. I read to escape and thrillers don't give me the same sense of escapism as fantasy. However, horror stories do and I have no real reason to offer. 😅

Now that it is said, I still wanted to read this one because a good friend of mine insisted I should read it. I have finally understood that they like Priest so I felt compelled to read it just to see why this friend was raving about this story. .

To be really clear, the investigation wasn't my favorite part. It was okay, but I was only waiting for the conclusion. All the twists and turns, the obstacles, the dead end or the schemes of the murderer didn't really catch my attention. I only liked the part with the mother of the victim. I felt really empathetic towards her.

No, the real beauty of the book are the characters. I wouldn't say it's a character-driven book, but it felt like it for me. I fell in love with Fei Du. Everything about this character fascinated me: his past, his mannerism, his cleverness and the way he can morph himself to be exactly what people expect him while also having moments of him being truly him. I haven't read the other volumes, but I bet that his past and family story are going to play a huge part in his personal journey.

On the other side we have Luo Wenzhou... And I think I will need more than one volume to warm up to him. There is something about him that annoyed me and I can't really explain why. However, the relationship he has with Fei Du in this first volume is a delight. Their usual digs that sometimes let them have more profound conversations are one of the best parts of the books.

I also appreciated Tao Ran a lot. He really is this paternal/brotherly figure for Fei Fu. He usually acts as the voice of reason when Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou start bugging each other. He makes a real contrast between them. I admire his patience.

In fact, episode 10 was really about the influence public and media can have on artists' life. It explores the para-social bond that fans can have with their favorite artist through Chang Yang's sister. She is a fan of Qing Lang, but upon learning that her brother is dating him, she wasn't trilled. Instead of being happy for them, she was mostly mourning the fantasies she had about his previous CP and thus endangered the secret of her brother's relationship with her favorite artist. She also has the bad habit of telling all her thoughts online without really thinking, which is telling that some people also have a bad relationship with social media.

This issue was also highlighted with the second couple. Their situation reminded me of the fall out we got with both actors from Top Form, even if this time in the series the second couple has a positive outcome. When two actors become a CP, but they are from a different agency/company, it makes everything more complicated. Hao Yu wants to keep working with Han Lu, partly because he also have feelings for him. However, their companies aren't on the same page. Han Lu and Hao Yu aren't being very careful when showing public display of affection and their kiss get recorded (because people now need to record everything I guess). Han Lu's boss used this as a way to ensure another collaboration. It seems like a victory, but it has a bitter taste. Something that is genuine, is used as if it was part of work. I don't know what consequences it is going to have for them.

As for Qing Lang, he is thorn between protecting this relationship he has with Chang Yang and the pressure of hiding it. I feel like a second break up is going to happen between them. Qing Lang's ex CP partner is using their relationship as a leverage and Qing Lang is also starting to be afraid that he is preventing Chang Yang from pursuing his dreams. I wish they talk about this issue together. I believe they can make everything work when they work together. When it comes to feelings, sometimes we can also make bad choices thinking that we're protecting the one we love. Qing Lang is only human and these mistakes make him feel more real.