January, 2021
January 5th, 2021, 5:19 p.m. - Just watch Get Out instead
1. When No One Is Watching (Alyssa Cole)
Up next: Open House (Katie Sise)
January 9th, 2021, 2:38 p.m. - "Before I take your questions, I really want you to think about if your question is dumb"
Mr. Mayor – "Pilot"; "Mayor's Day Out": I appear to be the only person who likes this show. I don't care. Excellent cast, fun writing, and a little heart. It'll probably be canceled by the end of the month. Rating: 4 banned straws
January 10th, 2021, 3:18 p.m. - I'd give this a solid B
2. Open House (Katie Sise)
Up next: Long Bright River (Liz Moore)
January 16th, 2021, 2:26 p.m. - "I see you've used my being an idiot against me. Touché"
Mr. Mayor – "Brentwood Trash": I enjoyed Andie MacDowell and David Space making fun of themselves, but Chrissy Tiegen was really the star of those scenes. She's not a bad actress, either. Some of the L.A.-related jokes are too niche for a general audience, but I like a show that skewers the environment it came out of. Rating: 4 bags Andie keeps dogs in
January 17th, 2021, 3:43 p.m. - Writers, I'm begging you, use quotation marks
3. Long Bright River (Liz Moore)
Up next: Little Secrets (Jennifer Hillier)
January 23rd, 2021, 2:13 p.m. - "I was cool AF – cool as Fonzie"
Mr. Mayor – "The Sac": This wasn't as good as the first three episodes. It still had some funny moments, like the Alexa joke and Ted Danson using modern slang, but it was mostly meh. Rating: 3 giant blueberry pancakes
January 24th, 2021, 11:44 a.m. - 500 days of bummer
4. Little Secrets (Jennifer Hillier)
Up next: The Girl from Widow Hills (Megan Miranda)
January 30th, 2021, 2:17 p.m. - While you were sleeping
5. The Girl from Widow Hills (Megan Miranda)
Up next: Vicious (V.E. Schwab)
January 31st, 2021, 2:11 p.m. - "We'll just say you're doing something with the troops. It's like a period; it gets you out of everything"
Mr. Mayor – "Dodger Day": I was happy to see Tommy getting more screentime this week; I think Mike Cabellon is great in that role. His scheme with Mikaela felt like a classic sitcom plot. I also really liked the twist on the cliché training montage. Rating: 4 bad ID photos
I feel like I'm being set up, like I can't comment negatively on this book without being called racist. All I will say is that Cole seems to think that 99% of white people are evil, and her villains are cartoonish.
This was mostly good, though there were too many characters, I guess to present a lot of suspects. I like Sise's writing and would probably read more from her, but I wouldn't put her on my list of must-read authors.
It's so slow. I don't get why everyone was raving about this last year. Not worth it.
I can't remember the last time I read a book where so little happens in the beginning and middle...but it was still good. I also called the ending, but it was so satisfying that I would have been disappointed if I hadn't been right.
This is a tricky one – I like Miranda's writing, but this was basically an unsolvable mystery with too many red herrings and unimportant characters clogging things up. And the ending was cracked. At least it was better than her last one.