April 13th's Weekly TV Thoughts

I can't believe how light this week was.  But this is my last light TV week until the regular season ends in May, so I enjoyed it while I could.

Legends of Tomorrow – So what is that creature at the end?  I’m guessing that Hank isn’t really dead if we can find his spirit and put it back in his body.  At least for Nate’s sake, I hope so.  And either I’ve watched the wrong clips of Nixon over the years or that actor was a very, very bad impersonator.

Survivor – They weren’t kidding in their previews.  What a wild and wacky tribal!  I thought with how early we got to the immunity challenge, they were going to do two tribals tonight, but clearly they needed the time for one we got.  I wonder if they didn’t have a reward challenge of it they cut it for time.

The Orville – I really do love how the show is episodic but keeps bring things back.  I’m definitely wondering where they intend to take this particular storyline eventually.  And I couldn’t believe they got all their commanders back for this episode, too.  Most of them were just in a couple of scenes, but it was still fun.

Abby’s – Well, that was uncomfortable.  Yes, there were some fun storylines, but the storyline with Bill was cringe worthy.  Then again, that seems to be the main point of his character.  I hope they change that soon.

April 12th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

Welcome to this week's Book Beginnings and Friday 56.

This week I am featuring With a Kiss I Die, the second Theater Cop Mystery from J. A. Hennrikus.


                                                     

I just finished this book a couple of hours ago, and I loved it!  I'll have my full review up on Thursday, so I hope you'll come back and see why this book is so great.
Right now, I believe you are looking for the book's beginning:

What happens when your late father's best friend owns a restaurant/bar, and you hate to cook?  Especially when the bar has Wi-Fi, more heat than your office, and someone to talk to?  You gain weight.

Moving on to page 56, we get this:

"Sounds like you've all had quite the ride these past few weeks."
"That's one way to put it.  Babs promises we'll laugh about it all before the year is out, but right now, I don't see how."

Hope you have a fun weekend planned.  Me?  I'll be spending both days at the LA Times Festival of Books.

Book Review: Dyeing Season by Karen MacInerney (Dewberry Farm #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, good mystery

Cons: A few repetitions that can be easily edited out

The Bottom Line:

Murder, tornado

Start this delightful cozy

That’s a fun, fast read

Spring Tornado Leaves Behind a Murder Victim

With spring finally here, I was happy to pick up Dyeing Season, the latest Dewberry Farm mystery from Karen MacInerney.  The book takes place during the weeks leading up to Easter, so it was perfect timing.

Spring is a busy time for farmer Lucy Resnick.  She’s got her new crops in the ground, there are new kids on her farm (goats, that is), and she is getting ready for the Easter market in town, creating specialty items, including packets of natural dyes for eggs.

However, a sudden spring tornado finds Lucy scrambling to protect her property.  When she goes to her elderly neighbor’s place, she finds Dottie alone with no idea where her home health aid is.  This isn’t like Eva, so the women are worried.  It’s only after the storm has passed that they get an answer when Lucy finds Eva’s body.  Even with the tornado having just passed, it is very clear that Eva was murdered.  The tornado left behind destruction to Lucy’s crops, so she needs to replant, but she can’t help begin to investigate what happened to Eva.  Will she uncover the truth?

Being a California native and someone who hates the wind, tornados are not my thing at all.  So you can imagine how the opening couple of chapters hit me.  I’m not kidding when I say that this book grabbed me from the very beginning as Lucy has to deal with this unexpected storm.

Of course, the storm is just the set up for another great mystery.  As the story unfolds, we get several viable suspects and very strong movies.  The book doesn’t adhere to a standard cozy formula, but I was still hooked waiting to see how Lucy would prove what she was sure had happened and who the killer would turn out to be.

Also helping draw us in are a couple of strong sub-plots.  I enjoyed those and seeing how they wove in and out of the main mystery.

Since this is book five, the regular characters are definitely old friends, and I enjoyed getting to see them again.  We get to learn a bit more about them as the story unfolds.  The book does introduce a few new characters, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of them pop up again in the future.  In fact, I suspect some of them will be featured in future books, although that is just a guess on my part.

Unfortunately, there are a few minor editing issues in this book, mainly consisting of people asking for the same information just a few pages apart.  There’s nothing here that affects the story; it’s just a minor annoyance worth noting in passing, especially since they vanish as we get into the second half of the book.

Naturally, we get a few recipes at the end of this book, including shrimp and goat cheese quesadillas and pecan pie.  If you are interested in learning more about natural dyes, there are suggestions for making red, yellow, and blue dyes you can use for your eggs this Easter and Easters going forward.

Karen MacInerney knows how to weave the elements together for a fun cozy mystery, and she’s proven that again here.  Dyeing Season is a fast, fun read that will leave fans old and new anxious for more.

Looking for more?  Here are the Dewberry Farm Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Movie Review: Shazam!

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Laughs; superhero fun

Cons: A few issues, but still fun overall

The Bottom Line:

New superhero

Captures screen with laughs, action

Is plenty of fun

“Say My Name So My Powers May Flow Through You.”

I don’t believe I’d heard of Shazam until the previews for the new movie started heating up at the end of last year.  Now, obviously, I enjoyed superhero movies and TV shows, however, there was one reason I was excited to watch this movie – Zachary Levi.  I’ve been a fan since he starred in Chuck, and this movie looked like it would be perfect for him.  A few things from the previews made me a little concerned, but it turned out the previews pretty much got this movie correct.

When we meet Billy Batson (Asher Angel), he is a fourteen-year-old runaway trying to find his mother.  He’d gotten lost as a kid at a fair, and has been running away from foster homes ever since.  After his latest exploits on the street, he’s placed in his latest home, one run by a couple who are former foster kids themselves.  He is sharing a room with Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), a disabled foster kid obsessed with all things superhero.  Still, Billy isn’t planning to stay long; he just needs some fresh leads on his real mother.

After protecting Freddy from a couple school bullies, Billy escapes to the subway.  But there, something strange happens, and he finds himself in a cave with an old wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who names Billy his champion.  After saying this wizard’s name, he finds himself as an adult with superpowers (Zachary Levi).  With only Freddy to guide him, he has to figure out what his powers are.

Unfortunately, he won’t have much time since Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) has unleashed the seven deadly sins in an attempt to gain power and take over the world himself.  Only Billy is standing in his way.  Can Billy figure out how to stop this man?

While this movie is quite obviously a superhero movie, it is also part comedy.  They play up Billy dealing with his mysterious transformation into being an adult for plenty of laughs.  For the most part, this worked, although some of the jokes were a bit immature for my tastes.  This is what I was referring to in my opening paragraph – I suspected I wouldn’t enjoy all the jokes from the previews, and I was right.  Still, there were plenty of laughs along the way.

But it is still a superhero movie, and that means action.  We get plenty of action sequences, some of them with comedy.  Considering all the powers that Billy has as Shazam, the effects are an important part of the movie as well, and they almost all work.  Some of the deadly sins look like what they are, computer effects, but it is a minor complaint.

However, those deadly sins could be frightening for young kids.  The previews make this look like a fairly family friendly film, but take the PG-13 rating seriously.  Not only do we get the demons (that’s what the sins look like), but we get a smattering of language appropriate for this rating.  This is definitely a case of know your kids before you take them.

I was a bit concerned when I learned that Billy was a foster kid about how that aspect would play out.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I loved the characters in the foster home.  We only see his current foster family, but I thought they were fantastic.  The parents are obviously loving, and the kids, who range in age from a high school senior down to I’m guessing elementary age, all are great.  The characters are exaggerated for the comedy, but they form a loving family.  It seems that foster families tend to be portrayed negatively in pop culture more often than not, and I know that can certainly be the case.  But it was wonderful to see such a happy foster family, which I know is also the case in real life.  Yes, this does lead to a predictable story arc for Billy’s character, but I didn’t mind too much.

While the cast is uniformly good, I do have to praise the stars.  Asher Angel is fantastic as Billy, who goes through quite a bit here as his teenaged self.  Jack Dylan Grazer steals every scene he is in as Freddy.  I expect to see him have a long career.  Mark Strong is great as the villain.  And yes, Zachary Levi shines as Shazam.  The role calls for some great comedy as well as action, and he nails everything.  However, as a friend pointed out, I feel like he and Asher weren’t always playing the same character.  Billy is much more serious than Billy as Shazam is.  I blame this on the script more than the actors.

As a trivia note, John Glover has a small role here as Dr. Sivana’s dad.  This isn’t the first time he’s played the father of a major DC villain.  I know him best as Lex’s father Lionel Luther during several seasons of the show Smallville.

Watching the movie, I couldn’t help but be surprised that it came out now.  It is set at Christmas, and could have easily been released during the November and December window.  Of course, with Aquaman ready to go last year during the holiday movie period, it seems that the powers that be made the right choice.

Be sure to stay all the way through the credits for a couple of fun bonus scenes, including one that possibly sets up the sequel.

Shazam! may not break any new ground as far as superheroes go, but it is a very fun film.  This is a movie that will leave you smiling.

Death Waits in the Dark Winner

I know, I know, I need to go to bed.  But before I do, I wanted to pull the winner of Death Waits in the Dark.  And the lucky reader is...

...Carolyn!

I just sent you an e-mail.  Please get back to me and I'll be sure to connect you with your prize.

Book Review: A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Kate Hamilton #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, strong mystery, great atmosphere

Cons: None strong enough to mention

The Bottom Line:

Kate returns to isle

Faces past and present crime

In this strong debut

Don’t Miss This Debut

I keep saying I am going to cut back on accepting books to review so I have time to read books I’ve bought, and then I keep accepting books by new authors like Connie Berry.  However, with as enjoyable as her debut, A Dream of Death, is, I don’t mind in the least.

Kate Hamilton has returned to the Isle of Glenroth off the coast of Scotland, something she swore she would never do after the death of her husband three years ago.  However, a plea from her sister-in-law, Elenor, draws her back to her husband’s family home, how a hotel.  Elenor says she needs help of some kind, but she won’t say more until after the Tartan Ball she is hosting for the island’s residents the night that Kate arrives.

In the middle of the ball, Elenor makes a couple of announcements that shock the other residents of the island.  And the next morning, she is dead.  It is obviously murder, and Kate sees the parallels to a 200-year-old crime on the island, one that had recently been brought back to prominence thanks to a bestselling novel.  The police dismiss the similarity as a coincidence, but is Kate on to something?

This book takes place in late October, and you can feel the cold weather on every page of the book.  In fact, the cold weather combined with the old house where Kate is staying combine to give the book a bit of a Gothic feeling.  Add to that a possible ghost or two, and you’ve got plenty of atmosphere to pull you into the book.

That feeling is only intensified by the fact that Kate doesn’t feel she can trust anyone.  And as events unfold, she finds motives for just about everyone she’s met, most of whom she didn’t know before this trip.  That gives us lots of suspects to consider, and they are all well developed.  Kate herself is strong, and I feel like I got to know her well as she worked through not only this plot but the feelings that being back on the island brought up in her.

As you might have gathered, there is a lot going on in this book, yet all that is balanced perfectly.  The pace is excellent with something always happening to move the plot forward.  My life was conspiring to keep me from reading, and it was frustrating because I wanted to get back to Kate to find out what was going on.  The climax surprised me yet wrapped things up perfectly.

While this book takes Kate away from her home in Ohio, we get a sense of her family life as the book unfolds.  Kate runs an antique shop, and her knowledge of antiques comes into play in the book in a way that kept my interest.  Meanwhile, I’d love to get to meet her mom and her children in future books.

While it might not help cut down the books I’ve bought and haven’t read, I’m glad I read A Dream of Death.  This is a strong, atmospheric debut that will have you turning pages late into the night.

Enjoy the rest of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Ornament Review: Superman - 2017 Hallmark Miniature Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great looking mini ornament

Cons: Only if you are expecting a full-sized ornament

The Bottom Line:

Mini Superman

Looks great, just in smaller size

Great for mini tree

Superman Fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way on a Miniature Scale

When I started collecting Hallmark’s miniature ornaments with their latest wave, I was thinking I needed to get some pop culture ornaments to include on my miniature tree.  Still, I passed on Superman when he was released in 2017, only getting him the next year.

I want to start by being clear – this is a miniature ornament.  He is less than two inches long, and that’s the biggest dimension.

However, given the size, the ornament looks great.  Superman is obviously in flight, heading off to fight a villain.  He’s got just a bit of hair on his forehead and a determined expression on his face.  He’s wearing his classic red, white, and yellow costume with his red cape flying out behind him.

Yes, you can see these details on him even though he is small, which is what makes these miniature ornaments so impressive.  Personally, I prefer to hang them on a miniature tree, and he looks great there.

I don’t have a lot of superhero ornaments, which was one reason I held off on getting this ornament.  But, when I realized that Hallmark was releasing several over a number of years, I couldn’t resist and when back and got him.  I’m quite happy I did because I have always enjoyed Superman.  Okay, so my knowledge of superheroes comes from movies and TV shows, but I do like what I know of him.

Since Superman is in action, you can’t set him out anywhere, not that you’d probably want to since he’s so small.  However, you can easily hang him on a tree, and you’ll find he hangs at the perfect angle to look like he’s flying into action.

It may have taken me extra time to decide to get this ornament, but I’m glad I did.  Superman is a big addition to my miniature collection.

Original Price: $7.95

Game Review: Five Crowns

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun, creative take on Rummy

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

This twist on Rummy

Is creative, addicting

Fun for family

I Crown This Game a Winner

Several years ago, my family was introduced to the game Five Crowns.  We all immediately fell in love with it as it is a fun and creative game.

The game consists of two decks of cards, but there is a twist.  Instead of the traditional four suits, there is a fifth – stars.  They do not stick to the two traditional colors either, with diamond becoming blue, clubs becoming green, and the stars being yellow.  Honestly, this does help make it easier to see what is in your hand for this game, although I think trying to play a regular game like this would drive me crazy.  The cards run 3 through King, with six Jokers in the deck.

This game is really a variation on Rummy.  Each round, you are dealt a set number of cards.  You draw a card or take the top card from the discard pile and then discard a card.  Your goal is to make all the cards in your hand into runs in the same suit or sets of the same type.  So, for example, a 6, 7, 8 of clubs or three Jacks of any suit.  Once all the cards in your hand are in one or more groupings of at least three cards, you lay your hand down and discard your final card.  Then, the rest of the players have one final turn to lay down as much of their hand as they can.  Any cards they can’t put into sets count against them.  Once the game is over, the person with the smallest score wins.

Yes, the cards come with Jokers, but they aren’t your only wild card.  Each round, a different card is wild in addition to the Jokers.  In the first round, you are dealt three cards, and threes are wild.  In the next round, you are dealt four cards and fours are wild.  It keeps building from there.  You play until you are dealt 13 cards, or, as the box says, “The game isn’t over until the Kings go wild.”

The game is a lot of fun.  The increased card count adds to the fun of the game, as does the ever-changing wild card.  If the thought of accidentally throwing away a wild card because you forget what round it is, don’t worry about it.  Everybody does it at some point.  (Or maybe that isn’t reassuring.)

Yes, there is a game you can play with regular cards that is very similar, so you don’t absolutely have to buy these cards to play this game.  However, the added suit makes the game a lot of fun.  It’s not super expensive, so I think it is worth it.

The recommended age for this game is ages 8 and up.  I suspect many kids younger than 8 can probably pick this game up.  Their biggest challenge might be fitting all the cards for the later rounds in their hands.  My six-year-old nephew does just find with this game.  They recommend the game for 2-7 players.  More than that, and you’ll have problems having enough cards to make the final rounds work.

Five Crowns has become a regular in my family’s game rotation.  Pick it up today, and you’ll soon be addicted as well.

April 6th's Weekly TV Thoughts

The first season finale from the traditional TV networks this week.  Yes, most of my shows will go until May, but I'll have another one coming up in a couple of weeks.

Supergirl – Kara knows she has a double now.  At least the right people believe what is happening, including the head of the DEO.  I found that interesting.  And it looks like Lena, at least for now, is staying on the side of the good guys, which makes me happy.  I’m glad James is willing to admit he needs help.  Not that I’m surprised since I knew his sister would be sticking around.

God Friended Me – I knew the project was something other than the God account.  That was just going to be too obvious.  I’m not convenience any of our three suspects are behind it.  I like how Miles is talking like he has faith now.  I hope his faith eventually turns to God, but I doubt it.  Still, it makes his conversations with his father interesting as a result.

Legends of Tomorrow – So glad to have this show back!  I can sort of see Ava’s side.  Not that she’s really right, but I can understand where she is coming from.  I’ve got to admit, I’ve lost a bit of the story thread thanks to the long break.  It will take me a couple of weeks to remember who these men in black are working for, if we even knew.  And I really want a copy of that Heroes in Time card game.

This is Us – I’m glad that Randall and Beth worked things out, but come on.  Did it really take this long to even discuss a move?  (And I still say he should have had to live there before he ran.)  It’s funny, but until the last few weeks, I’m not sure I would have seen Kevin as a father, but I like the idea.  And I hope that Rebecca and Kate have good boundaries.  I’m not sure if I will be around to see them, however.  With the soap opera they are giving us for the future time line, I’m kind of over the show.

Survivor – They pulled off a blindside.  At least enough of the people have seen the show to realize when you need to make big moves, although it does seem like we get more big moves than normal moves any more.  I almost think a non-blindside would be a twist at this point in the show’s life.

The Big Bang Theory – Should have seen Amy’s end of episode reaction coming, but I liked it better that I didn’t.  I hope they figure out a way to prove what is really go on there.  Not that I expect either duo to get the Nobel.  Meanwhile, I do feel sorry for Howard with the book.

Abby’s – Fun second episode.  I’m still not completely sold on the show, but I am enjoying it.  I’ll hang around, but if it gets canceled, I don’t think I’ll be too disappointed.

April 5th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

Welcome to Friday.  That must mean it is time for Book Beginnings and Friday 56.

This week, I am featuring A Dream of Death by Connie Berry.

                                                         


This debut is due out on Tuesday.  I finished it up and loved it!  I hope you'll come back for my review on release day.

Here's how the book begins:

I never wanted to return to Glenroth.

And yes, the entire book does take place on Glenroth.

Meanwhile, on page 56, we find this:

"Were you concerned about Mrs. Spurgeon's safety?"
"I should have been.  Elenor told me something was scaring her.  Her exact words."

That's it for this week.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.