North & South: A BBC Miniseries

*Spoilers*

Mr. Darcy, Who?

Oh my goodness! I loved this miniseries so much! I wish it was a full-length show. The only other BBC miniseries I've seen is Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, and while I enjoyed that one a lot, this one was my favorite out of the two. But to be fair, I have a capricious relationship with Pride and Prejudice; I just don't see the big fuss over it. I know a lot people think North & South is very similar to Pride and Prejudice, I did not think so. North & South dealt with so many other themes: moving to a new place, feelings of alienation and isolation, loss and death, the gaping social divide (I know, I know Pride and Prejudice also dealt with differences in social status, but trust me in North & South the difference is a lot starker), etc. 

The setting and tone of the show was a lot darker and grittier than what I was expecting for a period piece set in the Victorian Era, but I liked it. Bring on the grit! The story was set in a cotton mill town where it was the working class versus the "Masters" of the cotton mill. The depiction of poverty was truly grim and heartbreaking. The show maintained a perfect balance between the interpersonal problem: the love/hate story between Margaret and Thornton and the larger societal problem: the social class war between the laborers and the Masters of the cotton mills.

The show opens with Margaret and her family leaving behind their southern home in Helstone to move to Milton in the North. In her search to buy a house, Margaret comes across Mr. Thornton, a cotton-mill owner, beating up an employee for smoking. Margaret is appalled and indignant; Thornton is angry and annoyed, and so begins their love/hate relationship. I just loved the interactions between these two; and the awesome soundtrack just made it even more perfect!

Another thing I liked about this miniseries was that it didn't neglect its side characters. Case in point, I loved Nicholas and Bessy Higgins, a father-daughter duo that worked in the cotton mills. Nicholas was such a dynamic character; I'm so glad that he wasn't made into a one-dimensional bitter, old mill worker. One of my absolute favorite character interactions was between Nicholas and Thornton as they slowly overcame their prejudices of each other and started respecting each other.

There are many reasons to watch this miniseries; the amazing acting, the beautiful soundtrack, the gritty reality of the cotton mills, the lovely romance and the awesome characters. I know that was just a bunch of adjectives, but it really is all that! I leave you with this:

The Fiery Heart: A Bloodlines Novel

*Spoilers*

It's not you, It's me...maybe

Title: The Fiery Heart

Series: Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead

Verdict: Why did I read this?

             

 

This is my first book review on this blog YAY! Anyway this is the fourth book in the Bloodlines series chronicling the adventures and romance of Sydney Sage (an Alchemist) and Adrian Ivashkov (a Moroi). More Adrian? Sounds pretty awesome right? Except I was forcing myself to turn the next page (Well not really "turn" it was more like "clicking" since it was an ebook. Have I mentioned how much I prefer actual paper-books, but whatever that rant is for another day.) I don't know why this series has been so hard for me to get interested in because I devoured the Vampire Academy books like there was no tomorrow. I've factored a couple of things into why this just isn't the book series for me. 

1. I'm too old. This is a young adult novel so it's pretty much targeting the 14 to 18 year old crowd. Most YA fiction is universal and can be read by all ages, this one just isn't (at least for me). Since I'm no longer in that demographic it makes sense as to why I loved Vampire Academy and not Bloodlines. (Oh My God, I'm old...*shove aside mental breakdown for a later date*) All of the characters just seemed so juvenile and annoying. One especially unnecessary plot point that irked me to no point was when both Jill and Angeline pretended to like the new dhampir guy for some stupid reason that I can't even recall right now. C'mon teenagers do not act like that, do they?

2. Sydney Sage is no Rose Hathaway. While Rose annoyed the heck out of me at times and especially in the end where she cheats on Adrian. I actually hated her character then, but at least she never bored me. I don't know why I find Sydney so boring. Maybe it's because she feels like a one-dimensional studious, brown-nosed character. Even her flaws are boring (a caffeine addiction). *yawn* I'm just saying that you can have a intelligent character that is interesting and quirky. But to be honest, I did start reading this book primarily because of Adrian. You know who I thought was pretty interesting enough to have her own spin-off, Mia, Rose's kick-ass former nemesis. 

3. My final point is that... Adrian Ivashkov seems completely watered down. I understand that Sydney is a good influence on him, but I think this is one of those moments where too much of a good thing becomes kinda bad. Adrian was a helluva lot more intriguing to read about when he was all mysterious, dark and destructive.

Well that's about it :) I don't know if I'm going to read the next book at this point, but hey you never know!