“I’m not a huge gamer – more of a button-masher, actually – but Hyrule Warriors is one of the only console games I’ve ever been completely obsessed with. A Legend of Zelda game using the game mechanics of Dynasty Warriors, this is the hack-and-slash game I’ve always dreamed of playing. There are multiple playable characters per scene – my favorite so far is Sheik, and there’s something inherently satisfying about watching Princess Zelda herself smash mobs of monsters.”
– Feliza Casano, Editor
“August 8, 2015 was a big day for me because it was the day Series 8 of Doctor Who was finally streaming on Netflix. I love Doctor Who, and I’ve been equal parts excited and nervous to see how Peter Capaldi stacks up against previous Doctors. I liked Matt Smith, but I’ve never gotten over David Tennant, and I was hoping Capaldi could somehow fill the void. That was foolish, because nobody will ever take that place in my heart, but so far I’m very happy. I’m only a few episodes in, but I can already tell Capaldi brings a darkness to the character that Matt Smith lacked, and I really like Clara as a companion. “Listen” was also one of the first truly spooky Doctor Who episodes we’ve seen in a while. I can’t wait to finish the season and I’m seriously considering using a day of PTO to binge watch the rest of it. If you need to find me, I’ll be the insane person humming the theme song (doo-WEE-doo) on my way to work all week.”
– Laura Jewell, Staff Writer
“Life has been busy for me this summer, and I feel like I’ve barely had any time to enjoy the things I love! But lately, I’ve been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. My mum actually handed me the first book in the series—Throne of Glass—when I was visiting her recently, and now I’m hooked! I read the second book—Crown of Midnight—in about two days, and I’m currently in the middle of the third—Heir of Fire. I haven’t read Young Adult in a longtime, but I’m really enjoying this series. It’s been a lot of fun reading something for fun, which I haven’t done in a while either, because I’ve been in graduate school these last couple of years. The books are exciting and action-packed, and Celaena Sardothien—the main character—is sassy and gritty and not your typical female lead. She’s multifaceted and a breath of fresh air! The books are hard to put down, and I just want to know what happens next! I’m definitely team Chaol, although Rowan is starting to grow on me as I make my way through the third book. The fourth book—Queen of Shadows—comes out on September 1st, and I can’t wait to start reading it!”
– Rine Karr, Anime Writer
“I’ve been craving something creepy to read or listen to for a while now, and I’m so glad that I stumbled onto The Black Tapes Podcast. Told in the style of old-time, serialized radio, The Black Tapes is a fictionalized account of a reporter named Alex Reagan, who has dedicated her show to the work of paranormal investigator Dr. Richard Strand. Strand is unique in the fact that even though he’s a paranormal investigator, he doesn’t believe in ghosts. He’s got shelves upon shelves of white VHS boxes in his office to showcase all the supposed paranormal cases that he’s debunked, but he’s also got a smaller section of black boxes (the black tapes)–cases he hasn’t solved yet. Together, Alex and Strand go through the black tapes, which range from demonic possessions to a ghost who wears the upside-down face of a girl she killed before killing herself. They’re only seven episodes in so far, so it’s a great time to check it out and catch up. Also, listening to them during the day is creepy enough, but at night is even better.”
– Allison Racicot, Audiobook Reviewer
“I’ve subjected everyone from my two lovely roommates to the staff here at Girls in Capes to my newest show obession: Teen Wolf. And I’m not sorry. I tweet about it, I talk about it, I send Laura and Christi emails full of gifs about it. I admit that I can get really irritating about it, but there’s a lot of really great aspects of the show. First off, shirtless men. Like hi, hello, can I get some more of Derek Hale over here? Throw in some Scott McCall and Isaac Lahey as well. Thanks.
But besides the mega-attractiveness factor, the relationships built on screen are super important – from the romance between protagonist Scott McCall and werewolf hunter Allison Argent (I just finished Season 3B and I am not okay) to the beautiful father-son relationship between the Stilinskis. The relationships represented show the characters growing and changing over time, and they show the impact of both healthy and unhealthy relationships. Besides the parental love that the show gets, the most beautiful bromance of them all between Scott and Stiles makes the world a better place. On the other hand the manipulation of Derek by his uncle, the loss of love between Jackson and Lydia, and – with an episode that caused many tears – the physical abuse suffered by Isaac at the hands of his father shows that the world of werewolves is just as emotionally scarring as it is horror-movie-scary. With interesting and complex characters, had the show been called literally anything other than “Teen Wolf” people would not judge me as hard as they do for being super enthusiastic about it. Despite the sometimes questionable dialogue and some of the more controversial aspects of the show, the solid foundation built by the relationships between characters has created a really entertaining and touching show.”
– Christina Casano, Assistant Editor
