Movie Review: Clueless

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Funny at times, the cast

Cons: Episodic, not all the jokes worked for me

The Bottom Line:

High school comedy

Goes back to 1990’s

Some laughs; uneven

Amusing, but Wears Thin

Over the years, I’ve heard lots of people talk about Clueless.  I wasn’t sure the movie would appeal to me, but I decided to give the film a chance when I spotted it on TV.  It turns out to be what I expected – amusing at times, but not something I enjoyed the entire way through the film.

Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is your typical high school student – that is if you are a high school student in 1990’s Beverly Hills, California.  While her mother has died, her father is a highly successful lawyer, so Cher pretty much has anything her heart desires.  She rules her high school, along with her best friend, Dionne (Stacey Dash).

Now if you are thinking Cher is a horrible human being, you’d actually be surprised to find she can see what is going on around her.  For example, she decides to set up two teachers.  Okay, so she is hoping that if they fall in love, they will be nicer to all the students and maybe increase her grade.  But when Tai (Brittany Murphy) moves to the area, Cher sets out to help her fit in with the right friends and right boyfriend.  What will happen next?

This movie is very 90’s.  If you didn’t know that when you sat down to watch it, you’d, like, figure it out very quickly.  There’s the fashion for one thing.  Mid-90’s fashion may not be as obvious as 1980’s fashion, but it still stands out as dated.  Then there’s the slang of the day, which the teen characters throw around all the time.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely does date the film.

Part of my issue with this movie is that it is very episodic.  Cher moves from one thing to another, and at times there is very little to hold them together.  I kept waiting for some big plot to emerge that held everything together.

Now don’t get me wrong, this movie definitely includes some funny lines and moments.  I laughed several times as I watched.  However, I found that the movie felt like it should be funnier than I found it.  I think that probably has to do with my age.  This movie was aimed at teens in the mid-90’s.  I was college by that point in time, and never really part of this mindset.  I could recognize the jokes, but I didn’t find them that funny.  Maybe if I’d watched the movie when it came out, I would have laughed more, and would enjoy it more today.

Do take the PG-13 rating seriously.  There are some rather crude jokes along the way, and I found them cringe worthy.

For me, Cher reminds me of Elle, Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde.  I love Legally Blonde, so I’m not completely sure why I didn’t connect with Cher as much.  Again, maybe it’s age, and maybe it’s the fact that Elle gets a clearer story arc than Cher does.  And maybe it’s the fact that I saw Legally Blonde when it first came out, so I wasn’t viewing some of the jokes through a time warp.

I am aware that this movie is based loosely on Jane Austen’s Emma.  Having never read the book or seen any movie adaptations, I can’t comment on similarities or differences.  But maybe that helps explain what appear to be unconnected plot points to me.

And none of this is the fault of the actors.  Everyone in the cast is fantastic in bringing their characters to life.  They deliver the comedy perfectly and make their characters come to life in the quieter moments.  The only other name I will mention is Paul Rudd, who plays Cher’s step-brother, here.  I’m always amazed when I find him in something and remember just how long a career he’s had.

I’m glad I finally watched Clueless since I’ve always been curious about it.  While I know many people who love it, for me it was an amusing movie to watch once but I have no desire to watch it again.

Book Review: London Calling by James Ponti (City Spies #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Page turning story with wonderful characters

Cons: A couple of things wrapped up quickly

The Bottom Line:

Goal: Rescue Annie

Can the team balance missions

Satisfying book

Family Found Finally?

Fans of the City Spies books have been waiting since the beginning of the series for this book. You see, London Calling is the culmination of the story that’s been woven through the previous five books in the series. And they will find the payoff worth it. 

If you’ve missed this middle grade series, it features a group of teens who work for MI-6. And no, I don’t mean behind the scenes. These teens work in the field, taking on cases where adults would stand out. Their code names are all various cities around the world, hence the name of the group. 

As I’m sure you can guess, I’m going to recommend you don’t start here. Yes, the backstory you need is here, but you’ll miss the twists and turns of this particular storyline over the course of the series. And you’ll miss the character growth as well. Trust me, it is worth it. 

This book starts with Annie in Istanbul. Thanks to things her mom has drilled into her, she realizes someone is following her and manages to give them the slip before she sends out a cry for help. A cry that the City Spies get and immediately jump into action. 

You see, Annie is the daughter of Mother, their leader. But the spies are already on assignment protecting the fiancée of one of the princes before their royal wedding. Can they find Annie and rescue her while keeping their current assignment on track?

And that’s all I’m teasing. If you are a fan of this series, drop everything and read it now. You’ll thank me later. 

As I said, this book is the culmination of what’s been going on in the series so far. A couple of things got glossed over, but they are minor. We have the full picture and some resolution to this particular storyline. 

Of course, we get plenty of action along the way. This wouldn’t be a City Spies book without that. Likewise, there are puzzles to solve and codes to break. 

One thing I absolutely love about this series is the team that has been formed. You can tell how much the characters truly care for each other. And they work so well together. It’s heartwarming to see. Not to say there aren’t some squabbles along the way, but they are resolved realistically. All of this is done without the characters seeming like they are too perfect or sickeningly sweet, which is a delicate balancing act. 

This book leaves things open for more adventures, and I certainly hope we haven’t seen the last of the City Spies. But if this does signal the end of their adventures, I will be satisfied. 

As I’ve already said, if you are a fan of the series, pick up London Calling today. And if you’ve yet to start the series, fix that today, no matter your age.

Book time with the rest of the City Spies series. 

Movie Review: Reality Bites - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Enjoyable time with characters we like

Cons: Mystery was weak

The Bottom Line:

Producer murdered

Hannah’s shop becomes crime scene

Entry just okay

“I Wouldn't Be Surprised If You’re the One Who Figured This All Out.”

I’m a week late!  I hadn’t seen the announcement that Hallmark was premiering their first mystery movie of the year last week, so I had to catch a reairing on Valentine’s Day.  Fortunately, they reair stuff frequently, especially right after it has first premiered.  It was fun to check in again with Hannah Swensen in Reality Bites.

Hannah Swensen (Alison Sweeney) is thrilled when the production for the Connie Mac show reaches out, asking to use her bakery for a couple of days of filming the show.  Hannah’s a big fan of the famous baking show.  She even gets to work behind the scenes helping prepare the food.

However, she quickly learns that Connie is not a nice woman.  But the big shock comes the second morning of filming when she shows up to find one of the producers has died in her bakery.  While the police are slow to rule it a homicide, Hannah starts investigating anyway.  Can she find the killer?

When I was reading the description for this movie, I was trying to figure out what book they were using as the basis for this movie.  When Connie Mac popped up, I knew, although it’s hard to call Blueberry Muffin Murder the basis for this film.  There are so many differences that they might as well be two different stories.  Okay, so it’s been a couple of decades since I read the book, but still, when the murder victim is different, it’s hard to consider them remotely the same.

So, we get to judge this movie on its own terms.  Honestly, as a mystery, it’s a bit of a disappointment.  It’s obvious what the motive for the murder is going to be tied to early on, and we just have to wait for the characters to catch up.  The killer was a surprise, but that was because we really didn’t have any clues leading to this person.  Or anyone, really.

Having said that, it was entertaining.  I enjoyed getting to spend time with the characters and watch them in all their over the top glory.  Okay, so that’s mostly Delores, Hannah’s mother, who is played with scene stealing delight by Barbara Niven.  And yes, she is playing the character that way on purpose since she is supposed to be providing us with some laughs.

Since we’re on the subject, overall, the acting is fine.  Some performances were stronger than others, but if you are used to Hallmark movies, you’ll know what to expect.

The main cast is all great as they work to solve the case.  I find it interesting that they included Gabriel Hogan’s Norman in this one in a big way while clearly ramping up the romance between Hannah and Chad (Victor Webster).  I’m still trying to figure out why they brought him in since we’ve got plenty of other characters.  Speaking of which, Andrea was missing this time around, but the rest of the cast filled in just fine.

Unfortunately, Reality Bites wasn’t the best way to kick off a new year of Hallmark mystery movies.  But fans of the channel, and especially the Hannah Swensen movies, will still be glad they watched it.

Book Review: Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy (Braddock Mysteries #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: The ceramics scenes were fun

Cons: Pretty much everything else

The Bottom Line:

Death, disappearance

Propel debut mystery

That’s disappointing

Broken Debut

My grandma did ceramics for years, and I even joined her for a few months. With that connection, I was immediately interested when I spotted Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy last year. I had to give it a chance. I should have passed. 

Tammy Wright is returning to her hometown of Braddock, Maine, to help her aunt with her ceramics shop. It’s only supposed to be for the summer, but Tammy is lucky that as a bestselling mystery author, she can work from anywhere so even a few months isn’t really disrupting her life.

She’s only been in town for a few hours when she learns that her aunt is being harassed by one real estate agent who wants to buy her shop to tear it down and turn it into condos. Since Clara isn’t interested in selling, he’s getting nasty. But neither are expecting a dead body in the shop. The next day, someone vanishes. Can Tammy figure out what is going on?

It’s been decades since I did any ceramics, and I realize that ceramics isn’t the hook for this cozy series. These are the Braddock Mysteries, after all. Having said that, the details of the ceramics felt right to me. I was smiling as I read those scenes. 

However, I struggled with much of the rest of the book. It starts with the writing, which was poor. There was some poor grammar (and yes, I realize I probably shouldn’t be criticizing that myself). But there were lots of other examples of just weak storytelling. 

The mystery was decent, although events substituted for true plot advancement, leaving the pacing off. Then, things were resolved in a rush at the end. 

It’s a shame because there is some promise with the characters. Yes, they needed some development to become truly real people, but I did like them. 

I’ve often said that I felt like I was reading a first draft, and this is another case where that is true. There is certainly promise here, but it needed some more polish before it was published. 

It’s a shame I didn’t enjoy Kilned at the Ceramic Shop more. I’ve seen others that liked it, but I won’t be moving on with the series. 

February 16th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday post, where I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This was a fairly uneventful week for me.  We had a huge rain storm hit on Thursday.  Part of LA was getting rain on Wednesday, but we didn't have much where I live.  And there have been floods and mud slides due to the storm, but nothing that has impacted me, thankfully.  They did let us work from home on Thursday (we are hybrid, so Monday and Friday are at home every week), which was nice.  I enjoy rain so much more when I don't have to be out in it.

Friday, being Valentine's Day, I celebrated in my own way.  I did my taxes.  Always try to do them as soon as I get all my forms, which often means President's Day weekend.  Nice to do that at the beginning of the long weekend.

Yes, my job does give us Monday off.  First place I've ever worked where we get a holiday between New Year's Day and Memorial Day.  I'll probably be celebrating it around the condo reading and watching TV.  Still trying to work my way through the Christmas movies I recorded in the last three months of 2024.  We'll see if I ever do that again.

Saturday morning, I did have my walking book club again.  It was a nice sunny morning.  It was cool in the shade but warm when we were out in the sun.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: The Lies We Live by Liz Milliron

Tuesday - Movie Review: Splash of Love

Wednesday - Book Review: April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart

Thursday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From the Heart

Friday - Book Review: Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy

Tuesday - Movie Review: Reality Bites - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Wednesday - Book Review: London Calling by James Ponti

Thursday - Movie Review: Clueless

Friday - Book Review: The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

It was a Gregg Hurwitz kind of week.

Seriously, all of the books on my list are books he has written.  As a note, he writes thrillers, not the mysteries I typically read.

I've been expecting one of them since his newest Orphan X book came out on Tuesday.  No, I hadn't preordered it (was thinking about going to the launch party, but ultimately decided against it).  But I did stop by my local Barnes and Nobel (only new bookstore in town) and picked up a copy of Nemesis.  Looking forward to reading it.

Meanwhile, some of his earlier books that I've never read when on sale on Kindle.  It looks like The Tower, his first standalone, is still on sale.

Meanwhile, three of the four books in his earlier series, the Tim Rackley Thrillers, went on sale.  At this point, The Kill Clause and The Program have reverted to their regular price, but I see that Troubleshooter is now on sale, so I just snagged it.

As I said, a Gregg Hurwitz kind of week.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm about half way through Termination Dust by Sue Henry.  This is the second in her Alaskan Mysteries.  I actually bought this book when I was on vacation several years back in Alaska and am just now reading it.  It's good, although the pacing was off at the beginning.  It took a little too long to really get to the start of the story.  I see how what we learned there is going to come into play, however.  And maybe it has to do with the fact that this book came out in the 1990's, and I'm more used to more recent novels.  Either way, as I said, I'm enjoying it.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

February 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

One week back, and Wild Cards was already preempted for basketball.  Any wonder why I hate sports?  I'll catch up this weekend.

But here's what I did watch.

Poppa’s House – I’m interested to see if they follow up on this and we see Jr.’s directing/film making career take off.  I mean, they did reference last week’s episode at the start of this one.  I loved the scene where we got to see the video and then go to know a bit more about Poppa.

Rescue: HI Surf – I know it’s realistic, but it always gets me when someone dies.  I hope the one guy’s father is starting to come around.  I found the flip over the social media influencer fun if not predictable.  Glad there are consequences for endangering others.  And if she was just pulling their legs (might have been distracted during that scene so I couldn’t quite tell if she was bluffing or not), there should be laws like that.  There’s no excuse for that ever.

Night Court – There were some good gags, especially with the circus/clowns.  But overall, it was another case of them just trying too hard.  I wish they’d back off a bit.

Deal or No Deal Island – I was wondering what was going to happen when I saw we were getting close to being out of time.  Not happy that we have to wait until next week to see how things play out.  All this drama is not entertaining.  Scheming?  Yes.  People accusing each other of things?  Not so much.  Did like Parvarti’s move on Dr. Will.  Of course, they knew what the other was up to.  As much as I don’t like him and only grudgingly respect her, it is entertaining to see them go at each other.

Shifting Gears – I was waiting for them to make some crack that referenced the guest star’s past with Tim Allen.  (I really should give that show another chance, I guess).  Overall, a very sweet episode, especially for Valentine’s Day.  Never forgot it was a sitcom, but tackled a touch holiday/time with the respect it deserves.

The Challenge – I’m feeling for the guy who is sick.  Glad he stuck around, but if he doesn’t get better, is it going to matter?  And I’m going to be frustrated if the same people are always in the eliminations.  There really should be a rule about how often a team can be voted it.  Like two times and they have to get a week off.  But I know that ain’t gonna happen.

Happy’s Place – I was thinking to myself that only it a sitcom would someone believe these wild stories.  Turns out, even in a sitcom, they aren’t believed.  That was another fun episode, even when I am ahead of the plot.

Book Review: Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis (Cupcake Catering Mysteries #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in another fun mystery

Cons: A couple small things, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Killer chocolate

In Valentine’s set entry

Series fans will love

Death By Chocolate is Real

I’ve enjoyed Kim Davis’s Cupcake Caterer Mysteries from the start, so I was quite happy to see that book seven was out. Chocolate Can be Deadly is another delicious entry in the series. 

This series follows Emory Matinez as her business catering various events gets her involved in murders. She lives in Orange County and over the course of the series, we’ve gotten to know quite a bit about her family and friends. Having said that, we don’t have as much of the ongoing stories here, so if you want to jump in here, you won’t be lost. A small thing or two might be spoiled, and there are references to past cases (but without spoilers there), but nothing will be truly ruined for you. 

Emory has reluctantly agreed to cater a post Valentine’s Day bash. The hostess is horrible to Emory since she has a long-standing feud with Emory’s friend Tillie. The theme also puts her off since Dying for Chocolate hits a little too close to home given all the murders Emory has found herself involved in. Just as she is thinking that she might pull off the event, the hostesses new finance is found dead clutching one of Emory’s cupcakes. With the rumors of poison in a cupcake destroying her business, not to mention a cop that wants to arrest her, Emory has to find the killer. Can she do it?

Obviously, the bustling Orange County is not the normal choice for a cozy mystery setting. But, living in Southern California myself, I love it. And, despite the larger population, this still feels like a cozy in every important regard. 

A big one of those is the characters. Emory leads a cast of regulars we can’t help but love. A few of them just have cameos here, but that’s okay since the time spent with the rest is fantastic. I loved checking in with them and getting updates on their lives. The suspects are also strong. 

The plot is great. It wastes little time before the murder happens, and then we are off and running trying to figure out exactly what happened and why. I did figure one thing out early, but I still needed Emory piece everything together.   And the climax? I might have read a little extra on my lunch hour because I just couldn’t put it down. 

As you’d expect, there are chocolate themed recipes at the end of the book. By my count, we have 10, with plenty of gluten free options and a few vegan options as well. 

If you are looking for a fun culinary cozy series, I highly recommend you check this one out. Chocolate Can Be Deadly is a book that will keep you turning pages and craving chocolate. 

Check out the rest of the Cupcake Catering Mysteries. 

Note: I received an ARC of this book. 

I'm reviewing this book as part of a blog tour with Great Escapes.  Stop by here to check out the other stops.

And enter the tour wide giveaway.

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Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - From the Heart

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Another great entry with characters we love

Cons: Some low budget cheese

The Bottom Line:

Explosive letter

Valentine’s complications

Will entertain fans

“Do You Know What Her Hashtag Is?”  “Please, Norman, Let’s Not Go There.”

Once again, I let more time go between watching movies in the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise than I intended.  But that turned out to be perfect since it mirrored the time for the characters and it let me watch From the Heart, a Valentines themed entry, in February.  If only I could say I planned it that way.

For those uninitiated, this Hallmark series follows four members of the dead letter office in the Denver Post Office.  They’ve dubbed themselves the POstables.  What started out as a weekly series for 13 episodes has turned into a long running movie franchise as we follow the four characters as they slowly work toward romances.  There’s also a new mystery of the movie for them to uncover.

When this movie opens, it’s been a few months since we last checked in with the POstables crew.  Valentine’s is coming up, and Oliver O’Toole (Eric Mabius) has finally decided to ask out Shane McInerny (Kristin Booth).  Being Oliver, he’s doing it via a hand written letter.  Meanwhile, Rita Haywith (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) gets some surprising news, which threatens to upset her first Valentine’s Day with Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson).

Outside of their personal lives, Norman has been given a box of antique Valentines by his cousin.  One of them might just hold the answer to an almost 200-year-old mystery of great importance to US history.  Meanwhile, a letter has surfaced that was damaged when a mailbox exploded 15 years before.  In it, a teenager is confessing to killing someone.  And Oliver realizes his own connection to the letter.  Can they figure out where to deliver it?

As you can see, these movies do tackle some serious themes and issues.  As always, I appreciated how they did that.  The characters in the case of the movie made some poor choices, but also took responsibility for them.  While I wasn’t moved to tears as I often am with these movies, I was still moved as the story unfolded.  Yes, the writing is that great.

With the last movie, I thought they’d wrapped up a storyline involving Rita that we’d been following since the series.  Turns out I was wrong.  I’m curious if this is something that will continue to follow her as the movies progress.  And speaking of her, the actress was pregnant while this movie was filmed.  They hid it pretty well, but it makes one particular line pretty funny.

As for as Oliver and Shane’s storyline goes, they took a trope I usually hate and managed to actually make it work.  Yes, I still longed for a little actual conversation between characters to iron some of these things out, but it was fun watching what happened between them.  And it provided a nice counterpoint to the serious letter they were working on.  I also appreciated how some of the other storylines managed to connect to each other thematically.

The acting in this movie does suffer from a little low budget cheese.  Or, maybe it’s the writing.  Either way, this doesn’t apply to the main four.  They have taken characters that could be weird and made them lovably quirky.  For me, it was great catching up with these friends.

Which is why I don’t want it to be that long before I catch up with them again in the next movie.  (No, really, I mean it this time.)  Whether you are already a fan or just now finding Signed, Sealed, Delivered, you’ll enjoy From the Heart, whether you watch it around Valentine’s Day or not.

This movie is part of the Signed, Sealed, Delivered Movies 5-8 set.

Book Review: April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand #13)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Twisty mystery and laughs

Cons: Nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Some hijacked fliers

Annie hunts for who done it

Murder complicates

This Killer Isn’t Fooling Around

Whenever I start a long running series, it can feel like it will be forever before I get caught up.  I was a bit surprised when I realized that, with April Fool Dead, I’ve hit the half way point of Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series.  And it’s another enjoyable entry.

If you aren’t familiar with this series, it features Annie Lawrence Darling, the owner of a mystery bookshop on the island of Broward’s Rock, South Carolina.  Naturally, this means she keeps getting involved with lots of mysteries herself, with her husband, Max, helping her solve them.

This is rarely a series with massive changes in the character’s lives.  However, there was one in the previous book in the series, Sugar Plum Dead.  I’d say this book gives us minor spoilers for that one as a result.  But if you wind up picking up this book first, it won’t be the end of the world.

As this book opens, Annie is looking forward to hosting a book signing for the island’s resident mystery writer, Emma Clyde, on April first.  She’s even come up with the perfect promotion for it, leaving fliers all over the island with the clues to identify famous mystery books for a prize at the signing.  However, someone has mimicked her fliers, but instead of talking about fictional murder these new fliers are accusing residents of the island of real crimes.  Just as Annie thinks her job restoring her name is over, someone dies.  Is this murder connected to the fliers?

With the number of mysteries I read, I always enjoy it when I find a unique plot.  That was the case here.  While the time line to make the plot work seems extremely tight, I’ll let that go for the creativity of it.  And there are quite a few threads that come together in the end, which is always wonderful.  I didn’t have any idea where things were going until near the end, and I also appreciated that this book didn’t include a couple of the tropes the series usually does.  While I won’t mind if they come back, it was nice to not see them here.

The characters are on the thin side in this series, and that’s the case again here.  I’m not saying we don’t like them or care for them; I wouldn’t keep reading the series if that were the case.  They are fun to spend time around, and that’s the most important thing here.  They also did help me pull into the story, and I smiled when the supporting players in the series made their cameos.

And the book contains plenty of laughs as always.  Many of those are provided by Annie’s mother-in-law, who is a hoot.

The series is also known for its references to other mysteries, both classic and contemporary.  While we get some of that here, it is not as over the top as it used to be.  I prefer the lesser references, and we are finally to the point that I am recognizing some of the contemporary references made to books I enjoyed.  We also have much less foul language than we did in earlier books, which is appreciated.

Also of note, this book originally came out in 2002, so a few things are dated, especially the technology.

I read this book via audiobook.  Kate Reading is once again the narrator, and I love how she brings the characters to life.  She really adds to the humor of some of them without being over the top or getting in the way of the story itself.

You’d be foolish to skip this book.  Anyone looking for a fun mystery will be glad they picked up April Fool Dead.

Enjoy the rest of the Death on Demand books.

Movie Review: A Splash of Love

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charming romance

Cons: Low budget issues, one pretty pointless character

The Bottom Line:

Trip to study whales

With beautiful scenery

And charming romance

“I’m Not a Tourist.  I’m a Scientist.”

I’m sure I’m not alone in my love of orcas, so when I saw that they played a part of Hallmark’s movie A Splash of Love, I decided to see what it was all about.  I’m glad I did.

Chloe (Rhiannon Fish) is working toward her PhD in Marine Mammalogy at a university in Miami.  After a misunderstanding with her boyfriend, she agrees to a week-long trip to the Pacific Northwest to study the migratory habits of orcas.  After a long flight, she finds herself in the small town of Cable Cove, where three pods show up to feed during the summer.

However, Chloe is in over her head when it comes to boating or being out on the cold water, period.  Fortunately, she meets Ben (Benjamin Hollingsworth) who makes his living helping tourists see the whales.  As he guides her around, the two begin to become close.  What will this mean when Chloe’s week is up?

Yes, there are some other plot points along the way, and I enjoyed seeing how Chloe and Ben handled them.  Actually, it was Chloe who came up with the ideas on how to handle most of them.  When it came to studying the whales, I get that since it was her area of expertise, at least in the lab.  But I did have to wonder why Ben did not see some of the obvious solutions Chloe did when it came to helping the town.

Either way, I enjoyed watching their relationship grow.  Yes, this is a fairly typical romance, including a meet cute, but it was still charming.  I was happy to root for them to get together.

Which brings us to Chloe’s boyfriend.  I get why he was there – to keep Chloe and Ben apart as long as the movie could.  But really, he felt like a wasted character.  It was easy to see that they would break up and why they would break up early on.  We were just waiting for it to happen.

As a Hallmark movie, this does have the typical low budget aspects you’d expect.  The acting is mostly good, but there are some moments.  And some of those moments are inspired by poor dialogue.

As you’d expect, this movie has some gorgeous shots of whales, mostly orcas.  I loved watching them on the screen.  The setting of Cable Cove was equally gorgeous.  But I had to laugh at Chloe’s reaction to the cold water.  I’d be right there with her.

All told, A Splash of Love is a charming romantic movie.  Fans of Hallmark’s movies will be happy they checked it out.