"The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue" set to be brought to HBO Max

Greg Berlanti - Genevieve

Deadline announced yesterday that New York Times best-selling YA novel “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” is being made into a film for HBO Max, which launches in May 2020. The new film will be produced by Greg Berlanti, who also produces “Riverdale,” “The Flash,” and “Supergirl.”

“The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” is the first book in a series titled “Montague Siblings” by Mackenzi Lee. The story follows bisexual Henry “Monty” Montague in the 18^th century who was born and raised to become the perfect gentleman. However, Monty has other plans that don’t involve following in his father’s footsteps. He embarks on a grand tour of Europe, his last chance to be reckless before taking over his family’s estate. One of Monty’s careless decisions turns the trip into a dangerous manhunt.

The movie may have Matthew Berry as its writer, according to Deadline, who has written and produced two seasons of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” on Netflix. The deal to produce this movie comes after Berlanti signed a $300 million development and production deal with Warner Bros. last year.

"Shadow and Bone" is coming to life

Filming for the new Netflix series “Shadow and Bone” began yesterday, Nov. 5 in Budapest, Hungary. The eight-episode series will be based on the series by the same name written by best-selling young adult and fantasy author Leigh Bardugo. The series will combine characters from “Shadow and Bone” as well as her other popular novel “Six of Crows,” which is set in the same universe.

Currently on set, bundled in a hoodie, watching the First and Second Armies enter the Shadow Fold. Happy doesn't cover it.

— Leigh Bardugo (@LBardugo) November 5, 2019

However, Bardugo tweeted to her fans that same day that if she did reveal anything else, like costumes or sets, she would be "shot out of a canon." With many replying that she should do it anyway and that it could end up being "fun."

Bardugo also met the cast yesterday, something she said was "emotional" and calling them "incredible." Actor Ben Barnes ("Westworld") surprised Bardugo on set, coming in on a day that he wasn't filming anything. Barnes is set to play General Kirigan in the show, better known as the Darkling from the books.

"Finale" delivered everything it promised

Finale” by Stephanie Garber was an excellent ending to an already breathtaking series. Following “Caraval” and “Legendary,” the final installment to the world of Caraval again follows sisters Scarlett and Tella. The books start two months after the last Caraval ended and two months after the feared Fates escaped.

While Tella attempts to stop Legend, the overseer of the game, from taking the throne, Scarlett tries to take control back. She starts a game of her own that sees Julian, her love, and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition to see who receives her hand in marriage.

The story is fast-paced and gripping. It’s hard to put down after you’ve already been sucked into the tale. The plot has so many twists and turns that are hard to keep up with, you never know what twists will happen next and it puts this series on top. The surprises at every turn keep the reader on their toes.

Tella has come a long way since the first installment of the series. In “Caraval,” she was barely a character, only having lines at the very end for the most part. In this one, we see her flourish into someone who wants more from her life and will do anything to get what she deserves.

Scarlett has also changed, becoming more independent. In this book, she makes her decisions more confidently and seeing her become more courageous made this novel that much better. Her character is more dynamic this time, where previously she was quite one-sided.

This novel also introduces a new “villain,” a fate named Jacks. Being an immortal who cannot love, but who wants to, makes him a complex character. Jacks thinks himself “in love” with Tella, and he does not know how to handle it.

While introducing a new villain in the last book can prove to be a detrimental move, Garber ultimately pulled it off. Jacks tries to be good, but evil ultimately lies in his heart. Seeing that struggle and his interactions with Tella gave us some of the most gripping scenes.

Overall, this novel gave readers everything they wanted. Every book has its flaws, and this one is no exception, but it moves past them to still deliver a thrilling story. Garber’s writes in such a remarkable way, and this novel continues to prove that.

"Six of Crows" is not full of "average tropes"

“I heard so many positive praises of Six of Crows and Leigh Bardugo’s characters, how they were complex or engaging. I found none of that. They were average tropes at best and the only reason this title doesn’t ask if anyone else hates SOC is I believe hate is a strong word to be used sparingly. It’s just. . . fantasy Russia. Okay. Fantasy China. Gotcha. The worldbuilding is beautiful and the opening chapters are laced with potential. But the characters ruined it for me. Kaz Brekker is showy and acts like he’s in control but he’s an idiot. Inej is a trope. Nina is good but that’s only because she’s purposefully subversive.” – Pericloud

The character in Leigh Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” are some of the most complexly written characters in many of the young adult novels today. Kaz specifically has such an intense and engaging backstory full of heartbreak and betrayal that explains his actions in the book. What he went through as a child is something that not many people would survive, losing a sibling the way he did.

Kaz “acts like he’s in control” because he needs to feel in control because of the control he didn’t have when he lost his brother. He also is in control. He directs the group and creates the plans using his incredible intelligence and judgment more than once.

As for Inej, her engaging backstory has a great deal of depth as well. She worked in a brothel for a cruel madam for years. Criminals stole her from her family and her home of Ravka and taken to Ketterdam (an island far away from Ravka). She was kidnapped and sold, how would this not be considered complex or engaging? Inej should not be considered a “trope” and to call her one is a huge misinterpretation of her character and the effort that Bardugo put into creating her.

The worldbuilding will always represent a huge and astounding part of all of Bardugo’s books. Reading the books make the reader feel as if they were walking the same streets. She creates such a perfect world full of wonder and horror, but mostly horror on the dark streets of Ketterdam.

All characters have their faults, and Kaz is not any different, but he is certainly no idiot. He makes mistakes like anyone, but not at the expense of others. For all his dark and brooding-ness, Kaz cares about his team because they are the only family he has left.

Kaz and his team are set to come to life next year in a Netflix adaptation titled "Shadow and Bone." He is played by Freddy Carter while Inej is played by Amita Suman.

"Shadow and Bone" first episode name is finally here

It was revealed on Friday that the first episode of “Shadow and Bone” will be titled “Hope Is A Lantern At Night” according to IMDb. The show follows characters written about in a series of books by Leigh Bardugo. The news comes after one of the filming locations was posted on Twitter. The cast filmed unknown scenes at the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary.

🎥 Filming location today: Buda Castle ✨ pic.twitter.com/MF9K7gAGSM

— Shadow and Bone (@grishaupdates) November 15, 2019

Freddy Carter, who plays Kaz Brekker in the show, tweeted a photo of himself and Bardugo on set in Budapest yesterday. Carter showed off his new hair, styled after his character in the “Six of Crows.” He described himself as a “superfan” of Bardugo.

Left to right: HRH @LBardugo and a superfan. pic.twitter.com/e0GAMhj2Rm

— Freddy Carter (@FreddyCarter1) November 15, 2019

Bardugo is no longer on set with her the cast in Budapest. She appeared at a signing today, Nov. 16 in Madrid for her new book King of Scars. The line went back blocks as seen on the Twitter account of the venue.

¡Ya queda poco para que empiece la firma de @LBardugo y así está la cola en @Fnac_ESP de Callao! 😱 pic.twitter.com/bRJb1Fw8iC

— Hidra/Colmena/Medusa (@EdHidra) November 16, 2019

Mariana Barerra talks writing

Mariana Barrera is a 19-year-old Saddleback College student majoring in psychology. In her free time, she enjoys reading young adult books and sometimes writing small things. She has not published any work or written any full-scale books as of now because she is currently focusing on school and working.

Hello.

Hi!

What’s your name?

My name is Mariana Barerra

What is it that you do?

I write young adult historical fiction short stories for fun.

Why that genre? Why historical fiction?

I was just always really interested in history, you know? If you read the right books you can get a lot of perspectives about the same situation. And you can also make some up so, that’s what I went in to.

How long have you been writing short stories?

Ever since I was younger, I guess. You’ll find some weird things from when I was little that I wrote. I think actual writing with intention probably around middle school, probably around 12 or 13.

What drew you to writing instead of reading? Or along with reading?

I was reading things and I wasn’t seeing myself in them, if that makes sense. See, because I am Hispanic and a lot of popular books didn’t have those types of heroines and stuff like that so I started writing my own.

Who’s your favorite author?

Susanna Kearsley. She’s great. She’s fantastic.

Why?

She’s just so good at letting the readers visualize and it has a lot of facts as well. She also writes historical fiction. She actually has a few popular books Winter Sea and Mariana. She’s just very talented, the way that she speaks is very clear, but it’s also very thoughtful and I like the way she writes imagery.

Thank you!

You’re welcome!

"Shadowhunters" isn't done yet

"Shadowhunters" managed to pick up an award at the E! People’s Choice Awards last Sunday, Nov. 10. The show won the award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2019 for the second year in a row. Katherine Mcnamara showed her gratitude on Instagram with her costars after the big win.

View this post on Instagram

Thank YOU, angels!!! We know how rare this is. How incredible it is to win two years in a row! This is a testament to you, angels This show-this fandom - this family is lightning in a bottle. This award is a celebration of what YOU have built. You have taken Shadowhunters beyond a story and created a community of love and acceptance for all. This award is for you. This is your legacy, angels! Long live the ShadowFam! #PCA #TheSciFiFantasyTVShow #ShadowhuntersLegacy @peopleschoice

A post shared by Katherine McNamara (@kat.mcnamara) on Nov 10, 2019 at 8:59pm PST

Freeform announced back in June 2018 that its beloved show “Shadowhunters” had been canceled. The show is based on a series of books, titled “The Mortal Instruments” by Cassandra Clarke. The show aired in January of 2016 and has had a spectacular three seasons over the almost three years since it’s premiere.

The show follows Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara) as she learns on her 18^th birthday that she comes from a line of demon hunters, called “Shadowhunters.” Clary navigates a world of demons and monsters with the help of her friends, Jace Herondale (Dominic Sherwood), Alec Lightwood (Matthew Daddario) and Isabelle Lightwood (Emeraude Toubia).

While the fans have always loved the show, it never really had the higher numbers of some of Freeform’s other shows. According to TVSeries Finale, the show averaged a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demographic and had an average of 341,000 viewers per episode.

These numbers are a significant drop from season 2, which had a 0.26 rating in the same demographic and an average of 648,000 views an episode. These dropping numbers added to Freeform’s financial difficulties, this show didn’t make the cut to stay on the air.

The fans have not given up yet, creating a petition on change.org to save the show. The petition now has 196,508 signatures out of its goal of 200,000. The petition was created a year ago and still gets signatures today.

In addition to this, fans hired a plane to fly over Netflix HQ flying a sign saying "#SaveShadowhunters," and the company even tweeted a photo of it.

Save ShadowHunters is the Mission NOW! Airplane Banner Towing #saveshadowhunters Over NetFlix Studios on Sunset in LA. Tweet Some On-Site Pics. Can We Make It 2 for 2 After We #SaveTheExpanse Last Month. Aerial Advertising WORKS GREAT! Try It Sometime & See. @airadsworldwide pic.twitter.com/UX5E72LvqR

— Airads Worldwide (@airadsworldwide) June 22, 2018

Fans also rented a billboard in Times Square and a subway ad in Seoul, South Korea according to Digital Spy.

In addition to these pleas, the fans raised money for The Trevor Project, donating over $12,000 in the name of "#SaveShadowhunters" according to Hypable. There is still no news regarding a reboot of the series, but fans are holding out.

"Clockwork Angel" does not need to be more steampunk

“First, the setting and period. Purportedly, “Clockwork Angel” is a steampunk novel, although the only real steampunkish thing about it is the time period (set in Victorian London) and the presence of a slew of killer automatons. To me, this does not a true steampunk novel make, as “Clockwork Angel” lacks either necessary quality (the centrality of steam-powered aesthetic/technology, or the socio-economic critique) to be truly considered a work of the steampunk subgenre. Furthermore, the character dialogue feels as though an American author is trying—unsuccessfully—to write in the Victorian period. In truth, this novel could have taken place in any other time period, in any other country, and it still would have been the same book.” -Thea James, Tor.com

“Clockwork Angel,” by Cassandra Clarke is a period story through and through. It’s based in London in the 1800s. It’s also a steampunk novel, but apparently not enough of one. What else could be added to make it “steampunk enough?” More automatons? Perhaps some of those classic steampunk goggles?

A story does not need to embrace every aspect of a genre to be in that genre, that’s not how it works. The author can make the setting of her writing whatever she wants, and she did a fantastic job of making this one. This book’s world-building imbues a feeling of wonder into it, expertly describing 17th century London with a vividness not seen often in young adult novels.

This book could not have taken place anywhere else, plain and simple. The setting of London is pivotal to the plot. Setting it anywhere else would have made it a different story. London in the 1800s was special, unlike any other place during that time. It’s unique and to say the novel could have taken place anywhere shows a misguided thought process.

The year the story takes place was specifically chosen as well and could not have happened at any other time. The special aspects of this period are important to “Clockwork Angel.” The carriages, the clothes and the buildings are all pivotal in the overall plot and evidently, make the book extraordinary. Similar to the place, changing the period would alter everything that makes this novel one of a kind.

“Clockwork Angel” is an incredible work of fiction, as are the rest of the books in the Infernal Devices series. While there are some imperfect things about it as with all written works, the “Clockwork Angel” series delivers joy to its readers every year. It’s kept its magic even after almost 10 years.

Image: Everfalling

Lauren Oliver's "Panic" is coming to Amazon

Amazon announced earlier this May that they were bringing Lauren Oliver’s, author of Before I Fall, “Panic” to life on their streaming platform. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show is Amazon’s first series aimed at young adults. It follows the lives of two Seniors in the town of Carp, Heather and Dodge.

Amazon Studios tweeted on Oct. 21 that production had started on the show along with a photo of the cast.

Meet the cast of #PanicTV, our upcoming series based on the novel by Lauren Oliver 👋 The show centers on a small town in America where every year the graduating seniors engage in a competition they believe is their one chance to escape. Now in production. pic.twitter.com/6tdbmzEc4J

— Amazon Studios (@AmazonStudios) October 21, 2019

Oliver will write all of the episodes and will be the creator and executive producer of the show, according to Variety. This will give her the perfect opportunity to make sure the show is how she wants her book to be portrayed.

Oliver said she is grateful that Panic will be among the first of Amazon’s shows to include stories of “emergent adulthood” to their platform, according to Variety. IMDb states that the first episode will air in 2020 and will star Olivia Welch and Mike Faist as Heather and Dodge.

End of 2019 top 10 YA releses

The end of 2019 is coming up and this year was filled with incredible new releases for young adult readers, such as King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo and Finale by Stephanie Garber. As the year comes to a close, here are the best new YA novels being released before 2019 ends and 2020 begins.

Abhi Sharma

1. The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

This book is the long-awaited conclusion to “The Folk of the Air” series, following “The Cruel Prince” and “The Wicked King.” Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, readers will see what happens to Jude and her wicked king Cardan once and for all.

2. Children of Virtue and Vengeance - Tomi Adeyemi

The sequel to “Children of Blood and Bone” and the second book of the “Legacy of Orïsha” trilogy written by Tomi Adeyemi will be published Dec. 3. Adeyemi will take readers back into the land of Orïsha after main characters Zélie and Amari have finally restored magic to the land.

3. Starsight - Brandon Sanderson

The second book in Brandon Sanderson’s four-book “Skyward” series is set to be published on Nov. 26. Spensa has finally become a pilot like her father was, but with consequences. In this book, we see her struggle with what she’s learned about her deceased father and what these secrets mean for her.

4. Blood Heir - Amélie Wen Zhao

The debut novel by Amélie Wen Zhao is sure to be a hit. The first book in her Blood Heir Trilogy will be published on Nov. 19. Anastacya Mikhailov is a crown princess with a secret and throughout the book we see her deal with the assassination of her father, something people believed she did. Ana fights to clear her name with the help of Ramson Quicktongue, a con man.

5. Dangerous Alliance - Jennieke Cohen

Author Jennieke Cohen comes out with her debut novel “Dangerous Alliance” on Dec. 3. This young adult/historical fiction will follow Lady Victoria Aston on her journey to find a husband and save her family from losing everything. There is one twist, however. Strange accidents have been happening all around her, accidents that could end her life as well.

6. The Weight of a Soul - Elizabeth Tammi

Elizabeth Tammi will publish her second novel on Dec. 3. Her story follows Viking Lena, who has just lost her younger sister Fressa. Lena never recovered from Fressa’s death and begins a mission to find out exactly what happened, and how to bring her beloved sister back. On her mission to bring her back, she discovers secrets about her family she won’t soon forget.

7. Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things - Jacqueline Firkins

Jacqueline Firkins is releasing her first book on Dec. 17. Main character Edie Price is spending her last summer before college in Mansfield Massachusetts, much to her dismay. Edie soon finds herself between to boys vying for her attention, Sebastian and Henry. She must choose between the two before summer is over.

8. Crown of Oblivion - Julie Eshbaugh

Releasing on Nov. 12, Julie Eshbaugh’s latest novel follows Astrid, a surrogate for Princess Renya who takes the physical punishment every time Renya does something wrong. Astrid’s only way out of this life is to compete in the Race of Oblivion, where participants are administered a drug that wipes their memory and thrown into a new world filled with death.

9. Eight Will Fall - Sarah Harian

In Sarah Harian’s first book since 2014 and being released on Nov. 26, readers will follow Larking and eight criminals led by her who go on a mission to kill an ancient evil in a world where magic is outlawed. She soon finds out the eight of them were chosen for a reason, and that they were never meant to return.

10. Reverie - Ryan La Sala

In Ryan La Sala’s first novel “Reverie,” releasing on Dec. 3, main character Kane Montgomery finds himself half-dead in a river with no memory of how he got there. Kane tries to piece together clues to find out how he ended up there and ends up being dragged into incredible worlds that come out of nowhere. He realizes he must defeat an evil force before it’s too late.