Web Series Wednesday - Emma Approved

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Web Series Wednesday post! Hope you enjoy this one.

Okay, so I'm perfectly aware that some people might not agree with me this week. I know Emma, as a character or as a novel, isn't everyone's favorite Jane Austen book, but I have to say that I enjoyed this web series, as well as the novel that inspired it, very much.

My experience watching this series was very different than what I'm used to. Instead of watching the series after having read and loved the novel, like I usually do, I watched the series while reading the novel for the first time. I know it might sound weird and scary, but I made sure to be a couple of épisodes behind what I was reading so that I wouldn't be spoiled. I really enjoyed doing it this way, because I could see this behind the writing, such as the romance, which isn't developed that much in the novel because of when it was written. I could still see hints ofit in the novel, but the web series was absolutely swoon-worthy, which got me addicted to the series. I fell in love with Knightley (and the actor who plays him, actually) and I started seeing him in a completely different way because of the episodes I was watching. My suspicions were also confirmed in video when I wasn't sure if actions meant more than they seemed like, so overall, I had a very nice time reading and watching the same story unroll before me.

After LBD, I was afraid that I would have excessively high hopes and be deceived. However, I ended up liking this as much, or maybe even more, than the series that drew me into this fantastic world of adaptations. I quickly became addicted to the music of this web series (don't judge me) and I fell in love with so many characters that it's actually crazy. It's a funny, light-hearted and well-played series that made its way into my heart.

I really liked Emma, first in the novel, but then in the web series. I think many people take her on the wrong side, but I personally think she's hilarious. Sure, she has her flaws. She's self-centered and tends to go overboard, she's vain and nosy, but in the end, she only wants what's best for the people she loves and her biggest dream is to help as many people as she can. She can be clumsy while doing so, but she's so caring and entertaining that I can't help but love her. I think that people must stop seeing all her faults and see behind them, where amazing qualities show themselves. If you've ever started this web series or novel and couldn't stand her, please try again with that in mind, because you could discover an amazing human being who is admittedly annoying sometimes. But aren't we all?

The settings in the web series are great. I love how they transposed the story into Emma's company, because it truly makes sense. Filming in the office is a really nice touch, even though sometimes it seemed a little bit nosy to be watching all of that (still loved it though, because it would've sucked NOT to see everything). As with LBD, I'm convinced the writers of this web series are geniuses, because I could see how tiny details were adjusted to make the story work as a whole in modern world.

In my opinion, the true reason why this web series is so good is the way they used the secondary characters and made them more important on the screen. Harriet and Martin are absolutely adorable and so are Harriet's videos, which are a nice addition to the series. Knightley makes tiny appearances that kill the fangirls, because there's so much that's not said but that we readers understand and it's sweet torture. Reading the comments is also really nice, because you'll find some obsessing over sentences and looks that you hadn't even realized meant something. I find the web series experience much more fun than regular TV for this reason, because there are true discussions that you can be a part of if you want to. Or you can just read and like hundreds of comments like I did, which is just fine and makes you laugh and obsess over characters (Knightley).

Here's a Knightley for you. Not too bad on the eyes, right?

To sum it up, I'd like all of you to give this book and this web series a chance, because I think the story truly deserves it.



A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

Goodreads summary:

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.  


My review:

5/5

This book is huge, but I absolutely loved it. It's totally worth the hours I spent reading it.

From the beginning, I fell in love with the world of this series. It's so complicated, with different houses and particular weather for all parts of the country. I was intrigued by the customs, the religions and the way they rule the country, even though it took me a while to understand everything. Some things about this world made me really want to live in it, while others made me happy I wasn't actually living in it. The author is crazy to have thought of all about this world, and I'm so glad he did.

I really liked the different chapters about someone in particular. The complexity of each family made me want to know more about them, even when it's not positive. I found it hard to believe that Daenerys lived in the same world as the other characters, since her part of the world is so incredibly different from the others, but I really liked seeing other people's opinion of her, no matter how bad it is. It made everything more natural and realistic, which I really liked.

I have to admit it, there are characters I don't remember the names of. Most of them aren't important characters, so it didn't make my reading experience too hard, but you need an impressive memory to remember all the characters in this book, because there are a lot of them. However, I loved the main characters (except for the horrible ones). The Stark are amazing, especially Arya and Jon (yes, I consider him a Stark), some of my favorite characters. I loved their wildness, which was refreshing compared to everyone else's politeness. I might be a nerd, but I also loved seeing how everything was ruled, mostly by the Starks, because I feel like they're the ones who we get to see rule the most. I found the discussions really interesting and the battles stressful, which made me want to read even more of this book. Weird enough, the character I identify to the most is Daenerys, because there are many things in this book that I would've done exactly like her. I do wish I could be Stark, though. I love them (although Sansa was annoying for the biggest part of this book). Tyrion cracked me up many times, which I loved when I was stressed about the events.

I really liked seeing a different kind of drama, because I really a lot of YA books where drama is all about boys and bad friendships. The drama in this book is about war, murder and bastards (the latter isn't much different to YA though, but I liked it much better), which is refreshing and very complicated, too. I found myself dreading some events, but impatient for others to come, which made me keep on reading for as long as I could whenever I picked this book up.

Seriously, I loved everything about this book, except maybe how long it took me to finish it. I'm incredibly excited to watch the TV show now, which I'll start as soon as possible. I really recommend this book!