Monthly HapPENings: June

Well, another month has gone by, and we are now halfway through the year. That's kind of an insane thought, actually. Why must time move so quickly?

In terms of life stuff, June was pretty busy for me. There was lots of stuff I had to do to get ready for my family vacation and Realm Makers. (I've gotten quite a bit done, but I still feel like I've got tons to do for RM.)

One of the best days of the month is when several of my coworkers and I hung out for part of a day. We headed out to a nearby city in the late afternoon to do some bowling, which was a lot of fun. Then we came back and went to the fair that had come to our city. We got a late supper and went on rides until pretty much midnight. The food I had was absolutely amazing, and it was fun to go on a few rides with my friends.

Then my family stayed at a cabin for the week, which was such a good time. I enjoyed being able to just get away and spend time with my family. I mostly read and played my 2DS XL, but trust me, it was some much needed downtime. It's been a bit difficult going back into the routine of regular work. I'm already counting down the days until RM!

Bookish HapPENings

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This was my second read-through of Seeds of Rebellion, and I feel like I enjoyed it more than I did the first time. The first time I read it, I felt like there were too many characters to keep track of later on in the story. That wasn't the case this time; I was easily able to keep tabs on who was who. I loved on how this book gave Rachel more importance in the grand scheme of things, since her role was a bit smaller in the first book. I can't talk much about the plot or anything without spoiling it, so you should just go read the whole trilogy.

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I had issues with the titular first book in the Dreamtreaders series, and some of those same issues made the first portion of this book a slog. Then all of a sudden, the plot started picking up and became really interesting. I zoomed through the rest of the novel. By the end of it, my "seriously don't recommend" became a "yeah, this was actually a pretty good story." That's not to say I didn't have issues with it. Seriously, nobody in their right minds would use "snot-rockets" as their exclamation of choice. At least I can say the trilogy is getting better, so hopefully the next book will end the series on a high note, writing-wise.

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I didn't expect the Amulet series to be as intriguing as it is, so I've been pleasantly surprised! I'm amazed at how well a graphic novel can captivate me. I blazed through this one. The characters are all very interesting, even if some of them do fall into cliched character categories (say that three times fast). As with the first one, I really like the art style, and I look forward to reading the following installments!

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It's almost a tradition of sorts for me to read an Eoin Colfer novel on my summer vacation, so I chose Airman this year. Definitely an excellent read! It feels pretty different from his other works, because this one doesn't have nearly as much humor. It's a heavier, darker story, one that kept me entranced from cover to cover. Whether you're a fan of Colfer or you haven't read any of his books, you should really give this one a read.

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It's been a while since I last read one of the Tales of Goldstone Woods books, so I figured it was finally time to dive into book four. And man, oh man, what an incredible story! I love Eanrin, and I was happy that we got to see some of his origins. Starflower herself was a very interesting character, what with her not being able to speak. Anne created a really interesting culture from which Starflower comes from--but it's also totally messed up at the same time. The themes, as usual, were on-point and resounded with me. I'd still that Moonblood is my favorite so far, but this is a close second.

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Let me preface by saying that this is probably ONE OF THE GREATEST SERIES THAT I HAVE EVER READ. Now that that's out of the way, I honestly think this one was better than the first--which is saying something, because the first book was already epic. This feels like an incredible mashup between Jennifer A. Nielsen, Andrew Klavan, and Eoin Colfer. Everything from the plot to the characters to the dialogue to the puzzles was phenomenal. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time; heck, I practically inhaled the book. You must, MUST read the Blackthorn Key series!

HapPENings on the Screen

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When I went to watch The LEGO Movie 2 in theaters, it had only been me and my sisters. We decided to show this to my parents when we were on holidays. I still hold to my opinion that it's one of the best LEGO films to date. It's also super fun to imitate Rex Dangervest's way of talking. If you don't know what I mean, you'll have to watch the movie. Even if you do know, you should go see it anyway.

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I wasn't sure what to expect from the finale of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, but after watching it, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fitting conclusion, one that made me almost cry. The plot felt pretty different from the other two movies, which was a nice change of pace. I'm constantly amazed at how far the animation has come along, such as with the reflection in the dragons' eyes or the light on the grass. The villain was very cool, and Hiccup's final character arc was done really well. All in all, I'd say it was a worthy send-off to the series.

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I'm not sure if I'd classify this movie as better than the first or just as good. Either way, I think it was a fantastic sequel! The humor really clicked with me (the human players in Slaughter Race was one of the movie's funniest moments), and the plot was both personal and engaging. I'm glad that the antagonist was quite different from the first film's, save for the fact that they both end up being really big. And, per typical Disney fashion, it brought me quite close to tears on a couple of occasions. If you've been hesitant about it, I can assure you that it's definitely a great watch.

Also, I'm not sure if I watched my TV shows or not in June . . . If I did, they were good. Like usual.

Gaming HapPENings

So I finished four games on holidays, two of which were Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Miitopia. When I say that I finished those two, I mean that I completed the main storyline. There's still plenty of missions to perform and achievements to unlock. The other two games were definitive finishes, and I'll spend a little more time talking about those.

When I first reached the final boss of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, it was April of 2017. As I was fighting the Shroob Princess, my DS decided to die on me. The second time I tried it, it was early that summer. I eventually rage-quit during the third final boss section. I didn't touch the game until I restarted it mid-April last year. And at the cabin on my family vacation, I attempted to defeat the final boss for the third time. It took patience and good use of my items, but I managed to beat all four sections without dying. I'm so happy to have completed the game. I know I've mentioned doing a Versus series on my blog where I compare two video games, and I think this game would be a good candidate for the first installment, where it'd go head-to-head against Bowser's Inside Story. No promises as to when that'll happen, though.

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While I was playing Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney earlier this year, I decided to purchase the original Ace Attorney trilogy for my 2DS XL. After playing the abovementioned game, I began the first AA game. I basically played one case and left it at that. It was hard to get into the older design after playing PLvPW. But I picked it up again at the cabin, and it became basically the only game I played. I ended up playing it for over twenty-two hours while on holidays. Ace Attorney is now officially one of my favorite game series of all time. I love the unique and crazy cast of characters, from Phoenix and Maya to Edgeworth and Gumshoe, and everyone in between. The music often had me tapping my foot or bouncing my leg to the beat. The courtroom gameplay is one of my favorite aspects of the whole experience, and the investigation periods are a good change in pace (they also remind of the old Club Penguin spy missions). I really think I need to do a proper review on this one.

Writing HapPENings

Not much in this department, but I did have to write my blogoversary mashup. On the 19th, I wrote the most out of any day that I've recorded in my notebook, with 3,181 words. I did have to rush to get the story done, but I hope that it turned out all right. I know at least a few people enjoyed it, so . . . *shrugs*

And that FINALLY concludes my month! How was yours? Are you planning on taking any family vacation? What have you read, watched, or played? Let's chat in the comments!