TV Recap: Once Upon a Time 3-12 - New York City Serenade

Once again tonight, we entered the Once Upon a Time vortex.  I sat down to watch an hour show, and 20 minutes later it was over.  How do they do that?  And since in a lot of ways they were starting a new story up, it's very interesting to see what happened.

And boy did a lot happen.

For one thing, Henry is definitely older.  He really seemed to age from the season finale 3 months ago to now.  And was it just me or was his voice deeper?  But that's not what we're really here to discuss.

There were two storylines going on in the episode - one in the Enchanted Forest of a year ago as our characters were returning home and one in our world of a year later as Hook tries to convince Emma that he is telling the truth.

Let's start in the Enchanted Forest.  We arrive there to find Phillip and Aurora about to have a picnic lunch when they are interrupted by a storm of purple magic.  Yep, it's our characters returning.  Aurora and Snow greet each other, and we find out the Ogres are gone.  The group plans to meet up with others returning from Storybrooke and then travel to Regina's castle to start building their life anew.  Regina protected it from the curse while everything else was destroyed.

As the group sets off, Phillip and Aurora have a private conversation.  "Should we tell them?"  "They'll find out anyway, and if we tell her, maybe she will leave us alone?"

Ornament Review: It's the Easter Beagle - Happiness if Peanuts All Year Long #9 - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun sculpt to make you smile

Cons: Eggs in basket could be better

The Bottom Line:

Hopping down the trail

And leaving eggs in his wake

Easter Beagle fun

Here Comes the Easter Beagle to Deliver Eggs, Charlie Brown

I definitely feel that Snoopy makes too many appearances in the Happiness is Peanuts All Year Long series from Hallmark.  He shows up four times, and it seems like they could have given a couple of those spots to other characters.  However, there are two ornaments I knew would be Snoopy, and It's the Easter Beagle is one of them.

For this ornament, Snoopy is skipping through a grassy field.  He’s got one foot on a small circle painted like grass and the other in the air.  He’s got a blue egg with purple stripes on it in one hand, and a basket in the other.  Inside the basket are a few eggs.  He’s got his head in the air, his ear are up, and there's a grin on his face like he’s having the time of his life.

An interesting note is that this is the first Snoopy ornament I’m aware of that doesn’t include Woodstock.  Just something I noticed while I was looking at it.

The only flaw I can find with the ornament are the eggs in the basket.  They are supposed to be half buried in grass in the basket, so we only see half of them.  Still, they just look small and like an almost forgotten to me.  However, considering the size of the ornament, I don’t think they could have done them any better.  Besides, you’ll probably rarely look inside the basket anyway.

Overall, this ornament makes me smile.  Snoopy looks like he’s having such a great time it’s hard not to enjoy it.

This is the first ornament in the series to feature a background with recognizable Peanuts characters on it.  The background has a field on it with several eggs that Snoopy, I mean the Easter Beagle, has already left behind.  Linus, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Peppermint Patty are racing across the field to pick up the eggs.

Because they planted Snoopy on a nice field of grass in the ornament itself (all the better to tie into the background), there is a nice flat surface, so standing the ornament on a shelf is no problem at all.  The bottom also has the 9 in a Christmas tree, denoting its place in the series.

However, mine once again has the hook turned the proper way for hanging the ornament from the optional display stand.  (I feel like Hallmark listened to fan complaints here or something.)  When you hang him he hangs…actually, with the angle he's skipping at, it's a little hard to tell.  But the ornament looks good standing or hanging.  I certainly plan to hang him from the stand in the future.

And how can you celebrate Easter without the Easter Beagle?  Okay, so I have for most of my life, but it’s something I plan to change now that I have It's the Easter Beagle.

Original Price: $12.95

Book Review: An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette (Key West Food Critic Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery and appealing characters

Cons: A few here and there, but they were minor overall for me.

The Bottom Line:

Food critic debuts

Needing to clear her name from

Culinary death

This Debut Will Satisfy the Cozy Appetite

Back in January, I discovered how much fun this series was when I read an ARC for book #4.  Since I was started with the most recently, I made it my goal to go back and read the previous three volumes this year.  When the author volunteered to send me the first, An Appetite For Murder, I didn’t hesitate to accept.

Hayley Snow has had a rather rough time in the last few months.  After moving down to Key West to move in with her new boyfriend, she found him in bed with another woman, Kristen.  Now living with a friend on a houseboat, Hayley is hoping to land a job as a food critic for a new magazine run by…you guessed it, Kristen.

After a run in with her ex and Kristen at a restaurant, Hayley is surprised the next day when she finds the police on her houseboat.  It seems Kristen was murdered and Hayley is the number one suspect.  Now she has to land her dream job and stay out of jail so she’s not reviewing the cafeteria food.  Can she do it?

I was actually a bit surprised when Hayley wasn’t the person to stumble over the corps at the beginning of the book.  It made for a refreshing change since that’s what happens in most of the books I read. (And I love the books, so I’m definitely not complaining.)  I did feel the pace was a bit uneven at times in the first half, but things evened out in the second half.  The climax was logical, surprising, and suspenseful, three things that I always appreciate.

Hayley herself is an interesting main character.  Overall, I liked her, although she does have some flaws.  There are several times she takes actions without thinking about the consequences to her friends.  She also tends to babble when nervous.  Honestly, I found both of those characters flaws, while they could be annoying, hit a little too close to home.  No, I don’t go to the extreme that Hayley does, but then again, I’ve never been accused of murder.  Who knows what I would do if I were.  And at least she does have the hind sight to realize a mistake when she’s made it.  Based on what I saw in the fourth book, she grows as a character from her start here.  I’m looking forward to seeing how that comes about.  And when you remember she’s only 25, her actions do make a little more sense.

The rest of the cast is good, and I definitely liked them.  They needed more page time to be fully developed, but again I’m judging by first book standards when I’ve already read a later one.  Again, I know they definitely grow.  The suspects were good and helped keep me engaged in the story.

And the book ends with three recipes.  Surprisingly to me, none were for key lime pie, which plays a part in the story.  Still, with all the mouth water food mentioned in the book, you’ll want to try these recipes.

All told, An Appetite For Murder was an appealing debut.  I’ve already bought the second book and am looking forward to watching the characters grow into the people I already met.

If you want to read the series, here’s the Key West Food Critic Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I was sent this book in hopes I would review it.

Week TV Thoughts for March 8th

Even more shows back in the mix this week.  I have a feeling it will be like this until May finales start happening.

The Amazing Race - I hated to see the Cowboys start out so behind like that, but they made go time catching up.  It was crazy how many teams hit the mat all at the same time.  And the Cowboys have already given away their express pass.  I'm glad to see that drama gone so soon.

Survivor - At least the brains figured things out and won a challenge.  You'll notice they didn't put the dumbest person on the maze, which helped.  And beauty was very smart in who they go rid of both in the long term and in the short term.

Arrow - Maybe my problem with the island is that we just don't spend enough time there.  I was actually getting into the story in this episode, although I still prefer the modern stuff.  The ending definitely left me wondering where we'll go from here.

Melissa & Joey - You know, I really like Zander.  Not sure where they are going with that storyline, but it's interesting.  Not too many surprises with the therapy sessions, but it still provided some good laughs.

Big Bang Theory - I was so afraid they were going to send Penny back to waitressing.  That would have been a wasted arc.  The car scene was so incredibly sweet, however.  And the scenes on the plane?  Priceless.

The Crazy Ones - Well, I must admit I wouldn't have minded seeing Owen stick around a bit longer, but they aren't going to get Sydney in a serious relationship yet.  And I loved seeing Morgan Grimes again.  Still miss Chuck.

Suits - I hadn't realized just how much I missed this show.  They killed it tonight with so many great characters moments.  In fact, it's those character moments I've most missed about the show.  However, Louis is on to Mike big time.  That will not end well at all.

Sirens - I really wasn't impressed.  I gave it a try because it is on the USA Network, but I think I may be done already.  The ending of the pilot made me think it had potential, but the second episode wasn't that good at all.

Enlisted - This show never disappoints.  I'll be going along amused and then suddenly something happens and I'll just start laughing.  Some real character moments along the way, but just plain fun the entire time.

TV Recap: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1-9 - Nothing to Fear

I never did have the number of episodes order for Wonderland completely figured out, but it appears that it is going to have a 13 episode run.  At least IMDB is only listed 13 episodes at this point, and the last episode is entitled “And They All Lived….”  That means, after last night, we’ve only got four episodes to wrap things up as much as they are going to wrap things up.

However, last night I figured out how they will end the series.  More on that later.  For now, let’s get into the action.

March 7th's Book Beginning and Friday 56

And we come to the end of another week.  Which means it's time for Book Beginning and Friday 56.

This week, I'm going with a book I hope to finish up today - An Appetite For Murder by Lucy Burdette.  In a rare case of reading out of order, I read an ARC of book 4 in the series back in January, and I liked it enough that I'm going back to the first book now.

So, shall we get down to business?

Here's how the book opens.

Lots of people think they'd love to eat for a living.  Me?  I'd kill for it.

Which is a rather ironic opening considering the main character is the chief suspect in a murder.

Anyway, moving forward to page 56:

My heart sank with a desperate clunk - suddenly the murder felt exquisitely real, and my so-called involvement, very scary.

As I said, my plan as of now is to finish the book today and have the review up on Saturday.  We'll see how I do.

February's Monthly Reading Summary

Yes, I'm a little late getting this up, but here's the summary of what I read this month.  All links take you to my full review.

All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

KILLING CUPID by Laura Levine (Jaine Austen #12) - 5

Jaine's latest freelance writing assignment is for Joy Amoroso, founder of matchmaking service Dates of Joy.  However, Joy is a liar and a cheat, and that's putting it politely.  When Joy dies at the company's annual Valentine's Day party, Jaine has to figure out who of the many people Joy cheated had finally had enough.

This series is always funny, and this book is no exception.  The characters are good and the plot has some good twists, but the humor is the biggest star.  I laughed, chuckled, and smiled my way through to the ending.  If you want a light mystery, I can't recommend this series highly enough.

MORIARTY RETURNS A LETTER by Michael Robertson (Baker Street #4) - 5

The latest case for brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath solves a mystery 100 years in the making.  When Reggie goes to set up a display of the some the letters written to Holmes over the years, he accidentally lets out a secret people will kill to keep quiet.  Can he figure out what it is?

While playing with the Holmes lore, this series is different from the famous stories.  Still, it's very fun.  We know most of what is going on early, but watching to see if our heroes can figure it out kept the pages turning.  I love the characters, too, which helps.

While book 4, this one heavily follows book 2 and spoils much of that one, so make sure you've read it before jumping in here.

MAYHEM AT THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Kylie Logan (League of Literary Ladies #1) - 4

After being forced to form a book club with her feuding neighbors, Bea is shocked to find the owner of the local Chinese restaurant dead behind his cash register.  With events that are mirroring their first book, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, Bea and the reading group must figure out what the clues mean to find the killer.

The pace seemed off at times, although part of that was setting up the characters and the series.  There was still plenty of time for some great twists that would have made Christie herself proud.  Throw in some good characters and a nice dose of humor and you've got a winning series debut.

FAIREST OF ALL by Sarah Mlynowski (Whatever After #1) - 5

Abby and her brother Jonah make a shocking discovery when the mirror in the basement of their new house sucks them through and they find themselves in the woods.  When they keep Snow White from eating the poisoned apple, they must find a way to fix her story and make it home.

This was a short but delightful story that anyone looking for an early chapter book will appreciate.  A twist or two along the way even surprised me.  I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

NOTE: I won this book in a contest.

CITY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT by Rhys Bowen (Molly Murphy #13) - 5

When a case Daniel is working on turns dangerous, Molly and Liam leave New York to join Sid and Gus in Paris.  But when her reception is not what she expected, is Molly in more danger now than she was before?

More than any other book in the series, I felt this one had a large number of real people popping up in Molly's fictional world.  The plot was good with some twists I didn't expect and the characters are so real by this point I just love visiting them.  All told, it was a great trip back to 1905.

NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

MURDER PAST DUE by Miranda James (Cat in the Stacks #1) - 5

When Charlie's high school rival, successful novelist Godfrey Priest, comes to down, Charlie isn't too thrilled.  Godfrey was always an ego driven jerk, and time and success hasn't changed any of that.  But when Godfrey is killed and Charlie finds the body, he starts poking around trying to figure out who did it.

This series debut had lots of twists to the plot, even in the first 100 pages.  The characters were real and fresh right out of the gate as well.  I truly felt for them.  I can't wait to visit them with the next book in the series.

TV Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1-14 - T.A.H.I.T.I.

So after so long saying they needed to focus on the other characters and give Skye a break, they finally did it last night.  She spent the episode in that medical tube trying not to die while the rest of the characters attempted to save her.

Music Review: Love Will Have the Final Word by Jason Gray

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: More lyrics to encourage and challenge

Cons: None worth dwelling on

The Bottom Line:

These thoughtful lyrics

Encased in soft rock music

Make for winning disc

Encouragement, Challenge, Hope - Jason Gray Still Has It All

Over the last couple of years, Jason Gray has become one of my favorite artists.  I don't think a month goes by without me pulling out one of his CD's for multiple days (possibly a week) in my car as the truths of the lyrics once again sink into my heart.  So you can imagine how excited I was to get his new CD, Love Will Have the Final Word.  It is exactly what I was expecting and hoping for.

The disc opens with a couple of lighter anthems.  "Laugh Out Loud" just celebrates the joy we get when we stop to marvel at God saving us.  It's got a fun beat to it and is sure to make you smile.  Next up is "With Every Act of Love."  While this song still has a fun beat to it, the message is more serious as we are reminded that God is showing His love to others through us.  Definitely a challenging reminder.

Things slow down for the next song, "Not Right Now."  Co-written with Josh Wilson, another of my current favorite artists, it is written from the point of view of someone going facing a trail so fresh that it hurts.  The idea behind the song?  Don't offer words of comfort, just pray, listen, and be there.  While the words you speak might be true, if the wounds are too deep, they will still hurt worse than nothing.  Later, we can discuss those truths.

Which brings us to the title track.  "Love Will Have the Final Word" is a triumphant anthem that God's love and forgiveness are the ultimate measure in our lives.  Yes, I did listen carefully after the controversy in the last couple of years with Rob Bell's book Love Win, but that's not what Jason is saying here.  This song is written more from the point of view of someone who is living with the pain of a past they've confessed but won't forgive themselves over.  And just look at these lyrics:

Of all the things I've ever heard

Let me remember when it hurts

That love wil have the final word

As long as God is on His throne

I am carried by the hope

That love will have the final word.

Put that together with a triumphant melody, and you've got a great song.  The theme is carried over to the next song, "Love's Not Done with You."

"Begin Again" is a nice mid-tempo number that encourages us to turn to God and start again when faced with life's disappointments.  I love how he manages to get a reference to a previous CD of his in the lyrics here.  The line fits perfectly, but it also makes me smile.

Confession is a regular part of Jason's songs, and this time around we get "I Don't Know How."  It lists all the things we are supposed to do, but Jason confesses he just doesn't know how to do them all.  You know, things like walking by faith, leaving the past behind, loving his wife like Christ loved the church - that kind of stuff.  Again, it's a fun, upbeat song that makes you want to sing along.

Slowing things down is "If You Want to Love Someone," a song about how to truly minister to those who need it.

"Even This Will Be Made Beautiful" was co-written with Nichole Nordeman (which gives me an opening to once again say I'd love some new music from her).  It takes the promise of the title track from Romans 8:28 with a reminder that God will use everything for His glory.

"The Best Days of My Life" is written around the idea that "I won't fear my story's end because the author is my friend."  Yes, through good and bad times, God is working to make them the best days.  Another simple reminder that is just powerfully delivered.

Closing out the disc is "As I Am."  No, this isn't a modern version of the hymn, but it is written around a similar idea, that God loves us and forgives us just as we are, even when we have run away from Him.  It's a great way to close out the disc.

If I had one criticism, it's that the songs can begin to sound the same at a couple of points.  There are lots of upbeat songs with a similar mix of instruments.  There is just enough of a mix that it doesn’t blend together for me.  Of course, the fact that I caught so many of these lyrics early on definitely helps.

And once again, Jason has delivered a disc filled with great lyrics and melodies that are fun to sing along to.  I can already predict that Love Will Have the Final Word will get as much play time as his previous discs continue to get.

(And since my birthday is Saturday, I'm counting this as an early birthday present from Jason.  Thanks so much!  I love it!)

CD Length: 41:29

Tracks:

1. Laugh Out Loud

2. With Every Act of Love

3. Not Right Now

4. Love Will Have the Final Word

5. Love's Not Done with You

6. Begin Again

7. I Don't Know How

8. If You Want to Love Someone

9. Even This Will be Made Beautiful

10. The Best Days of My Life

11. As I Am

March 5th's Waiting (Impatiently) on Wednesday

It's time for this week's Waiting on Wednesday.  This week, I've got a book I just found out about a couple days ago, but I am already counting the days.

That's right, an all new mystery based on the TV show Veronica Mars entitled The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line.

Yes, I loved the show a decade ago when it was on TV, and I spent January doing a monster marathon rewatching session to get ready for the movie that comes out in a week and a half.  I'd heard a rumor that they were thinking about putting out some books as well, and I stumbled on this at Amazon over the weekend.  I will be ready to read it when it comes out.

I am trying to stay away from too much info about the book (and the movie), so I just know it sounds like many of the series regulars are in the book.

I won't have long to wait since the book will be out in just three weeks on March 25th.