Pretty Little Liars 4.13, Ravenswood 1.1-1.2, Witches of East End 1.2-1.4

The Pretty Little Liars Halloween episode was about 30% a PLL episode, and 70% a backdoor pilot for Ravenswood. Which was immediately followed by the actual Ravenswood pilot. Thankfully, I went in forewarned and so already had my expectations adjusted. The parts that actually were PLL were good and have me very eager for the second half of the season.

And then there's Ravenswood itself, which seems to be trying hard both to keep the crossover PLL fans happy and to separate itself from PLL as much as possible. Ravenswood is another of this seasons new gothic shows, this time about 5 teens in a small town known for its weirdness. The teens (one of whom is Caleb from PLL, meaning that PLL now has NO major male characters who I like at all, unless they bring Caleb and/or Jason back) appear to be part of a curse, and at least two of them are possibly doppelgangers of residents who died over a century ago. The curse may or may not be connected to a flood from somewhere around the same time that killed many of the town's residents.

I'm not sure about what they've chosen to do with Nicole Gale Anderson's character at all (and that's not even touching on the whitewashing) and I think it's going to take it a little while to really find its footing, but I'm interested.

( spoilers )

I'm also current with Witches of East End, which continues to be charming and delightful, if not necessarily a high quality show. Also, watching the latest episode just after rewatching Practical Magic really emphasized the similarities between them. (Note that I'm not complaining about those similarities.

( spoilers )

With Ravenswood out, I think I'm through with the new shows of the season that i'll be following, though there are a couple I'll likely check out on DVD, or start watching if I hear something about them that makes me think I need to get on that train already.

Weekly Wednesday Reading meme

What are you currently reading

Nothing, because I finished the novella I was reading about half an hour ago.

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Absolute Witch, which I posted on separately.

Chimes and Midnight by Seanan McGuire. The seventh October Daye novel, and certainly a gamechanger. (Enough so that I was actually expecting the A plot to have to carry over into the next book before it was resolved.) This is possibly the only book I have read in which the words "evil pie" were completely accurate and as serious as they were absurd. I'm not sure, but I think (hope) that the next arc of the series will bring the focus to Toby's mother and her mysteries.

( spoilers )

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn. This one has Kitty going to Vegas and doing a live show, while meeting the Vegas supernatural crowd on the side. I liked the parts about the show and the parts with Kitty's parents a lot, and was generally enjoying it until near the end, where ?Vaughn actually managed to make me feel physically ill.

( spoiler )

The Earl and the Fairy Vol 1 by Mizue Tani and Ayuki. Adaptation of light novels set in Victorian England, and a girl named Lydia who can talk to fairies, and a possibly-fake nobleman named Edgar who abducts her (by way of rescuing her from other, less nice abductors) and then hires her to help him find a fairy artifact. I enjoyed the anime based on the same light novels, and this is very similar, though it doesn't give so much deja vu to make me want to stop reading, though I do find Edgar's "La, I have abducted you but it was at least partly for your own good. Also, look at my angst that makes me more dark and dangerous." more insufferable than I recall finding it in the anime.

Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin. Novella set in Tang Dynasty China, about a scholar studying for his exams, and a song girl who thinks he stole a valuable book from her. Very enjoyable, but too short, IMO.

What do you think you'll read next?

Manga, probably a romance novel. Maybe one of the Twelve Kingdoms books that I haven't read yet that I found English translations of online.