Celebrating Stories in Every Medium
Today’s Topic: Auto-Buy Authors
Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl
Fellow readers know that when you find an author you love, you want to read every book they write as soon as they release it. This week’s prompt was an easy one for me. The hard part was trimming my list down. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – My Auto Buy Authors”
Grace Kelly was a popular and talented actress beloved by her public. But she became even more loved by a larger public when she became the Princess of Monaco.
According to The American Film Institute, MGM decided to capitalize on Kelly’s relationship with Prince Ranier by casting her as Princess Alexandra in the film The Swan. They even co-ordinated the release date of the film with that of her wedding. Helen Rose who costumed Kelly for this film also created her famous wedding dress.Talk about a genius marketing move by the studio! Because of this, The Swan is a good example of life imitating art.
Princess Alexandra is her family’s only hope of regaining their royal eminence, generations after losing their throne. Her desperate mother, Princess Beatrice hopes to marry her off to Crown Prince Albert, who is travelling Europe in search of a wife.
When Albert arrives for a brief visit, Beatrice does all she can to throw the two together. But Albert mistakes Alexandra’s awkward shyness as disinterest and coldness and undertakes to avoid her.
Distraught, Beatrice talks her daughter into publicly flirting with the family’s tutor, in an effort to make the Crown Prince jealous. But her plan backfires in ways she can’t forsee.
To read my full review, please follow me over to The Silver Petticoat Review.
Since I was out of the country for the last half of June, my viewing stats are a bit down this month. For once, my choices were almost evenly balanced between classic films and contemporary offerings.
Today’s Topic: Character Freebie (any topic you want that deals with book characters!)
Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl
I love a freebie topic! And as most of you probably can tell, I love a good romantic story. But even more, I swoon over a well written romantic hero. So originally, I was going to list the romantic leading men I had fallen for lately. But then I realized it is a topic I have covered more than once and wouldn’t it be nice to do something different.
One of the things I’ve been seeing more and more of in fiction in recent years is the inclusion of characters with disabilities and/or trauma. I appreciate that authors are writing these types of characters. Not only are they generally inspirational, but it also gives readers a glimpse into the challenges they face. Hopefully, this also makes us more understanding and compassionate humans in real life. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Characters Who Have Overcome Disabilities & Adversity”
Every now and then, something comes along that is really special. In its’ own unique way it captures your imagination and admiration. Such is the case for me with Acorn TV’s new series Queens of Mystery. As a fan of cozy mysteries, I’m always on the lookout for ones I haven’t already seen. This quirky little mystery series is an unexpected pleasure which fits the bill perfectly.
Matilda Stone has returned home to her village of Wildemarsh to take up her new position as a Detective Inspector with the local police force. Mattie is also returning to her three single aunts who raised her after her mother’s mysterious disappearance.
Beth, Cat and Jane Stone are all crime mystery writers. They can’t seem to help getting involved in Mattie’s cases, much to the frustration of her boss Derek Thorne. Though Mattie takes her job seriously, she has a hard time setting boundaries with the women who raised her. To make matters worse, she falls hard for the local doctor and pathologist, Daniel Lynch. She finds herself frazzled every time they work a case together even though he already has a girlfriend. In the mean time her aunts can’t help but set her up with every eligible man they meet.
Together the Stone women are a crime-solving team to reckon with. But the mystery Mattie most wants to solve is the one her aunts don’t want her to – what happened to her mother.
For my full review, please follow me over to The Silver Petticoat Review.
Today’s Topic: Childhood Favorites
Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl
Good grief, I’ve been reading so long and have devoured so many books that it is hard to remember back far enough to my childhood favorites. Living in a small town, both my city and school library was somewhat limited. And while I know my parents provided plenty of books at home, I can only remember a few. So making this list proved a challenge. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Childhood Book Favorites”
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Modest Independence follows secondary characters who were introduced in Mimi Matthews The Matrimonial Advertisement. Tom Finchley is legal advisor and friend to Justin Thornhill. It is through his relationship with Justin that he meets the fiery haired, strong-willed lady’s maid Jenny Holloway. After Justin’s wife Helena bequeaths a large financial settlement to Jenny, she is determined to live completely independent.
Jenny’s life has been governed by selfish men, but she yearns for freedom and adventure. She admires and is attracted to the quietly intense Tom. But she refuses to let this influence her plans. Jenny’s curiosity and wanderlust lead her to book a trip to India. If she manages to track down the truth about Helena’s presumably dead brother while there, then her trip will also serve a second purpose.
As the trustee for Jenny’s new inheritance, all Tom knows is that he can’t allow Jenny to make such a perilous journey alone. Not only is she vulnerable traveling as a single woman abroad, but he just can’t allow this fascinating woman to leave his life.
The closer Tom and Jenny get to their destination, they closer they get to each other. Tom has never thought to marry and Jenny never wants to marry. But as they traverse thousands of miles, their attraction and intimacy grows. Will these two solitary souls resolve the conflict between love and independence?
For the full review, please follow me over to The Silver Petticoat Review.
Second only to Cary Grant, Clark Gable is my favorite actor. As such, I’ve made it a point to a watch as many of his films as I can. I had seen every one of his credited films with the exception of But Not For Me. As much as I wanted to be able to say I had seen all of his movies, I put off watching this particular title, because my expectations of it were very low. However, when the Clark Gable Blogathon rolled around this year, I knew now was the time to complete my exploration of Gable’s filmography. Fortunately for me, it was a better experience than I anticipated.
After a long, successful career as a theater producer, Russ Ward is considering retirement. Because along with a string of hits, he also has a long list of expenses which include alimony to his ex-wife, a fancy apartment he has no time to enjoy and the renovation of a theater which is not likely to recoup his investment. His latest theatrical endeavor is foundering, thanks to his friend Jeremiah, a burned out, washed up, alcoholic playwright.
When he breaks the news to his long-suffering, faithful, young secretary Ellie, she decides to finally confess her love for him. Her earnest sincerity sparks Russ’ creative imagination. Using their relationship and her words, he convinces Jeremiah to re-write their play in a situation of art imitating life. Though Ellie is happy that she finally has Russ attention (and the leading role) all is not smooth sailing. Russ still has to manage Jeremiah’s reluctant come-back and his ex-wife’s financial demands and verbal zingers, while securing financing for the play. In addition, Ellie has her own admirer who is cast in the role of leading man on stage but who also wants to be leading man of her life. Continue reading “Clark Gable Blogathon – But Not For Me (1959)”
I’m keeping my intro brief this month and just sharing May’s entertainment viewing stats:
Favorite discoveries: Tell It To the Judge, But Not For Me, Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries Continue reading “May 2019 Quickie Film Reviews”
Today’s Topic: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019
Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl
I’m not exactly following the correct prompt for this week. But I will be out of the country for the next several weeks and was really excited about the prompt for next week. I am really looking forward to some of the new releases for the last half of this year and have chosen to share those with you now. I’m feeling a bit proud of myself since my choices span a range of genres. But I”ll try to keep my gloating to a minimum. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday -Book Releases I’m Most Looking Forward to for the Rest of 2019”