TV Recap: Once Upon a Time 4-17 - Heart of Gold

They still get me on this show.  Tonight’s twist?  I never saw that coming.  And it is definitely going to change the rest of this season.

The episode starts off with the hunt for the Author.  Mary Margaret and David try to make Emma see that what they did in the past was a onetime mistake.  Yes, a huge one, but not a normal pattern, but she’s not willing to listen.  Still, she is willing to work with them to find the Author before Gold does.

Unfortunately, they are too late.  Gold find the Author trying to form a new quill from a branch of a tree in the forest.  However, since it is from our world, it doesn’t have the magic needed to create the stories.  Gold offers the Author a pen from the Enchanted Forest with the magic needed if he will work with Gold.  The Author agrees, and they disappear in smoke.

Meanwhile, a chained Regina awakes in her vault with Gold standing over her, and we are about to learn what it is that will make her do Gold’s bidding.  But to learn that, we need two flashbacks.

April 11th's Weekly TV Thoughts

You'd think Sunday was a holiday and this week was Spring Break for lots of people or something with how many shows took breaks.  At one point, I thought I'd get more done away from the TV, but that didn't seem to happen.  Not quite sure why.  Anyway, here's what I thought about what did air.

Dancing with the Stars – I guess I’m too much of a guy, I just never find this night as moving as the female judges do.  Don’t get me wrong, stories night is okay, but I didn’t see anything in it to get that emotional over.  But you know I’m looking forward to next week.  Disney songs again!  I’m curious to see what they do since many of the obvious songs were used last time.

Agents of SHIELD – Coulson going to Ward?  Skye with her mother but not knowing it?  Both hold interesting possibilities for next week.  I think I’m most excited about seeing Fitz and Simmons working together, however.  But what is in that box?  And where is Fitz going?

Survivor – Well, that was curious.  I wonder where the new alliance broke down.  Part of me is glad because every time they get an alliance of women, it bugs me, probably because there has never been an alliance of men that has made it.  But I certainly would like to see both Dan and Rodney gone.  They are driving me up the wall.  Plus, with his comment about math, I would have loved to see him go out.  Oh well, there’s always next week, right?

Big Bang Theory – I like that fort!  I so want to visit, too.  I wonder where they are going with Howard’s brother.  Is that just to give him a relative/storyline?  I hope not.  But I think I liked Penny playing Leonard like she did.  I wonder if she really is making that much more money than he is now.  I figured they’d bring her a choice between her new job and acting at some point.  For some reason, I figured it would be next season, but it looks like they will be finishing out the season with that arc.

Odd Couple – I don’t know why I didn’t see Oscar become so obsessed with disease, but that was fairly obvious.  However, I never saw how the chair would play in to the main plot.  That was brilliant and so funny.

The Amazing Race – Wow!  Might the doctor/nurse couple have figured out how to get along?  I sure hope so.  That other blind date couple definitely took over for most fighting couple this week.  Sorry to see the one blind date couple that was truly getting along leave.  I liked them.

Book Review: The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio (Book Club Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Wonderful characters and a strong, fun plot

Cons: Too many characters introduced early on, but easy to distinguish as we get to know them

The Bottom Line:

Reading mysteries

Can lead you to mystery

With this fun debut

Hi, I’m Mark, and I’m a Readaholics Fan

It is always a pleasure to try the first book in a new series and just know you will love the series.  That was definitely the case for me with The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco.  I completely loved this debut and am already looking forward to book two in the series.

Amy-Faye Johnson’s life in Heaven, Colorado, is going very well.  Her event planning business is really beginning to take off, and she’s just bought her first house.  She’s hit a snag recently on the personal front when ask to coordinate her on-again, off-again boyfriend’s wedding, but she will get through it.

Another part of her life that she loves is the Readaholics, a group of six women who have formed a book club.  The morning after the group gets together to discuss The Maltese Falcon, Amy-Faye goes to visit one of the members only to find that member sick on the floor.  A few hours later, that member dies in the hospital.  The police are quick to rule it a suicide, but Amy-Faye is certain it was murder.  With the help of the other Readaholics, she begins trying to find out what really happened to their friend.  What secrets will they uncover in the process?

As much as I love mysteries, I must confess I’m not as up on some of the classics as I should be.  I might use this series as an excuse to fix that.  In any case, I had read The Maltese Falcon, although it has been a number of years (my review is right here in fact).  That really isn’t an issue because author Laura DiSilvero works any references to that classic you need to know into the book.  There are spoilers for this classic, but we are pretty much past the warning date for this book, right?

Anyway, the modern day mystery is completely engaging no matter how familiar you are with The Maltese Falcon.  The plot starts off quickly and gets stronger as it goes along.  A couple of sub-plots only add to the fun.  I never wanted to put this book down because I wanted to see what twist Amy-Faye would have to deal with next.  The climax was suspenseful and logical with a final scene that left me wanting more.

I will admit I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of characters at first.  We are introduced to the Readaholics in a group scene, and while they showed up one at a time, it was still a little hard to keep them all straight.  However, as the book progressed, their personalities made it much easier to remember who everyone was.  The same is true for the rest of the cast, be they suspects, potential recurring characters, or both.  I loved spending time with them and that is definitely something that will draw me back in future books.  I was also impressed with how each member of the Readaholics were able to contribute something to the plot.

All this is held together with a dash of humor that just added to the fun.  I grinned at a few of the lines and scenes.  Amy-Faye’s first person narration is also wonderful.

Since I have enjoyed previous books by Laura DiSilvero, I’m not surprised at how much I enjoyed The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco.  Still, I am counting the days until my next meeting with the Readaholics, and I hope the series lasts just as long as the list of potential books they could read.

NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, I have one physical copy to give away to a lucky commentor.  Just leave your name and e-mail so I can get in touch with you if you win.  Sorry, US addresses only.

The contest will close at midnight California time on April 17th.

Good luck!

April 10th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

Before we get to this week's Book Beginnings and Friday 56, a brief bit of Blatant Self Promotion.  I just set up a page on Facebook for this blog.  If you would be so inclined, I'd love it if you'd check it out and like it.  Thanks.

And now, on with The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward.

Yes, this is a Middle Grade book about a family that does nothing but break world records and the middle son who can't seem to break a single record.  There's some great comedy in it.  I was aiming to have it read in time for this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, but I don't quite see that happening.  I'm not quite half way through yet, and I don't think I'll have the time to finish it up.  So I'll just hold it a week.

So, shall we get to some quotes?  Here's how it begins.

All the members of the Whipple family had managed to be born in the same month on the same day: March the first.  All, of course, but one.

Moving ahead to page 56, we find:

Though the Crosley estate was horribly overgrown with gnarled trees and twisting vines, it was - at least so far - surprisingly ghost free.  This, of course, was no small comfort to Arthur.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's bed time.

Movie Review: Maleficent

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Special effects, interesting twist on the story

Cons: Never felt drawn into story, slow pacing

The Bottom Line:

Twist on tale you know

Could have been better but it

Keeps you at arms length

Good Idea Poorly Executed

Fairy tale retellings are in right now.  Sometimes it’s a mash up of characters from various stories and other times it’s twisting a story and focusing on a different character.  That second option is what we get with Maleficent, which tells the story of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the person we all know as the villain.  Unfortunately, it’s not nearly as good as it could be.

We actually first meet Maleficent as a young fairy (Isobelle Molloy) as she meets a boy of about her age (Michael Higgins) who has wandered into the land where all the fairies live.  The neighboring kingdom of humans and Mal’s kingdom don’t get along, but an unlikely friendship forms between the young Mal and this young man, Stefan.

Unfortunately, Stefan’s (played as an adult by Sharlton Copley) desire for power destroys their friendship when they become adults as he completely betrays Maleficent (now played by Angelina Jolie).  The result of this betrayal is Stefan marrying the princess and Maleficent showing up to curse his new baby.  But what will happen next?

I will admit as I started watching the movie, I was thinking that we don’t really know what drives Maleficent to be as evil as she is.  I mean, cursing someone to die (or at least sleep) at the age of sixteen is pretty drastic.  I actually felt the movie did a fairly good job of setting that part up, and I could certainly understand why she did what she did.  It doesn’t justify her actions, but they are understandable.

Sadly, the movie overall just isn’t that great.  I found it all fairly slow as I kept waiting for the next plot point to hit.  I mean, we ultimately know where the story is heading, but the twists they tried to tell for this movie aren’t interesting enough to keep us engaged.  We've seen this kind of twist on a story before, and it just felt too familiar overall with no real fresh ideas to make it interesting.

Since this film sets up a different villain and big swings in Maleficent, we need to really get to know the characters to get behind the changes to the story.  Again, this movie just didn’t quite pull it off.  I always felt like I was an outsider looking in on the story instead of an active participant.  The narration certainly doesn’t help.  I think if they had abandoned that, I might have gotten more into the story.

And yes, part of the problem might be me.  I have a hard time when they work to recast a villain as the hero.  You’ve got to really make me believe the new version of events you are telling, and I just didn’t think the needed character development was there.

Plus don’t get me started on the fairies that raised Aurora.  They are so stupid it is almost painful to watch them.

I do think part of it was the acting.  I’m not saying the acting was bad, but many of the performances seemed withdrawn, like they were holding back.  This was especially true for Angelina Jolie, who was great when she had to menace but didn’t quite seem to have the more emotional parts of the story down.

The special effects are outstanding.  This story calls for a lot of them, and they never disappoint.  It truly is a feast for the eyes.

While I know I’ve been harsh on the film, it’s not that it is bad.  It’s just average overall.  In the future, I’ll be sticking with Disney’s animated Sleeping Beauty over this live action Maleficent.

Icing on the Corpse Winner!

I forgot to do the drawing yesterday for the copy of The Icing on the Corpse that I was giving away.  But I did it tonight, and the winner is...

Bookwomen!

I've sent you an e-mail, so please get back to me so I can get you the prize.

Ornament Review: A Drink from Daisy - A Year of Disney Magic #10 - 2015 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Perfect springtime ornament

Cons: Daisy’s left arm looks a little weird, but it’s minor

The Bottom Line:

Making flowers grow

Daisy a great gardener

Ornament shouts spring

Daisy is Making Sure that May Flowers Get Their Showers

You know spring is in the air when the flowers start to bloom.  Even here in Southern California where we don’t have drastically bad winters, flowers bloom at their best in the spring.  That’s why A Drink From Daisy is such a perfect ornament for the May entry in Hallmark’s Year of Disney Magic ornament series.

As the title of the ornament suggests, this ornament features Daisy.  She’s holding a blue watering can in her right hand and ready to water the flower, a daisy, that is on the ground in front of her.  Her left hand is stretched out to the side.

Honestly, the colors also help with the spring idea.  Daisy is wearing light purple and pink, which are her typical colors, but somehow it looks even more spring like.  She’s also wearing a yellow gardening hat with a pink bow on it.  I can’t imagine this ornament shouting spring any louder if it tried.

And that’s the great thing about this ornament.  In a series that is supposed to be tied to specific months (or at the very least seasons), this is great.  The colors and the flower in the grass at Daisy’s feet so strongly evoke spring you can’t think of anything else when you look at the ornament.

My only real criticism is Daisy’s left hand.  It just looks odd sticking out like it does.  But that’s a minor issue.

As with the rest of the series, Daisy is anchored to a nice oval base (which includes the flower she is watering and the grass she is standing on).  On the bottom of the base, you’ll find the 10 in a Christmas tree series marker, and you can use that base to set it out to display anywhere that needs a little more decoration.

The hook for hanging this ornament is located on the top of the hat Daisy is wearing.  I’m happy to report that this ornament hangs perfectly straight, which is the first time in months this has been true for the series.

Even with my allergies, I do love flowers.  Daisy making sure we get them for many months ahead really makes me smile, so I really like A Drink From Daisy.

What could be more magical than the entire Year of Disney Magic?

Original Price: $12.95

Book Review: Grave on Grand Avenue by Naomi Hirahara (Ellie Rush #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Compelling characters that make you care about the story

Cons: Mysteries a tad underdeveloped, but book always page turning

The Bottom Line:

Ellie gets involved

Case with international

Ramifications

Rare Cellos are Murder

I was surprised by just how much I loved the first book about Ellie Rush when I read it last year, so I was looking forward to reading Grave on Grand Avenue.  Unfortunately, I now have to wait to learn more about this compelling character.  However, the great news is this is another good book.

Ellie Rush is not your typical heroine, at least for the books I read.  She is a bicycle cop with the LAPD who normally works events in and around downtown.  While she is not currently a detective, she wants to rise in the ranks to that job, and she is getting practice with the cases she stumbles upon.

Bicycle cop Ellie Rush is stationed outside the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  World renown Chinese cellist Xu is scheduled to participate in the next concert and he is arriving for a rehearsal.  While she is distracted for a moment, there is a struggle with a gardener working in the area over Xu’s rare cello, and the gardener gets pushed down the stairs.  Suddenly, Ellie is caught up in what could turn into an international incident.

Meanwhile, a series of bank robberies have been taking place in LA, and the person caught on camera is an old woman.  She’s just killed someone at the most recent robbery and that’s added to the pressure to find and arrest her.  However, Ellie gets a tip from an unexpected source.  Is this information true?  What will this source mean for her personally?

Even with two mysteries, I felt that they sometimes took a back seat to other things.  Those other things included the fallout of Ellie’s involvement in these cases in both her professional and personal life.  While it did seem like the mysteries suffered a bit as a result, I still found this book a compelling read.  Watching everything unfold was actually very interesting and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

That’s because Ellie is a real person.  You can’t help but root for her as she deals with the problems she is facing.  Her family and friends are just as real and they make up quite a varied lot of personalities.  This makes the stakes of what Ellie is facing mean something to us since we can understand where the other characters are coming from.  Her half-Japanese ancestry adds another layer to her character and her family and the story that I really appreciated.

The book is written in first person present tense, which isn’t the most common choice out there.  Whenever I run across a book written like this, it takes a bit to adjust my brain to the style, but once I do I enjoy it.

This is not the typical cozy that I read, and I appreciate that change of pace.  Grave on Grand Avenue is an enjoyable book with characters that will bring the reader back for more.

NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway:

I'm also hosting a giveaway of this book.  If you'd like to win a copy, simply leave me a comment that includes your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.  The contest will run until midnight California time on 4/13, and I will contact the winner on 4/14.

The prize is one copy, either paperback or ebook.  Paperback winner must be in the US, but the ebook winner can be international.

Good luck.

Weekly TV Thoughts for April 4th

Here's this week's Weekly TV Recap

Once Upon a Time – Wow, so many answers and developments.  They really do know how to give us answers but leave us with questions about what those answers mean for the characters we love.  Can’t wait to see how this all plays out next week.  You can read my full recap here.

Dancing with the Stars – It is always hard to get rid of those that seem to be trying, but she was near the bottom of the leader board all three weeks.  Honestly, the eliminating things is the hardest part since it is rare I am rooting for anyone to go.

Castle – This felt like a classic episode of the show, especially with the sub-plot involving the talent show.  Overall, a very fun episode.  You can read my full recap here.

The Flash – That was a twist I did not see coming.  Wells is not Wells?  Wow!  What does that mean for the future?  That’s what I want to know.  Meanwhile, how great was it to see Mark Hamill as Trickster again (he played the part of the 90’s version of The Flash).  Plus he got a scene with the original TV Flash to boot.  And they gave him the line “I am your father.”  Couldn’t have asked for a geeker storyline for him.

Agents of SHIELD – So this splinter group’s problem with Coulson is the alien blood in him?  Does this really come down to discrimination yet again?  If this is going to turn preachy, I’m going to be less than impressed, especially since this was looking so promising with Skye off on her own again in the wrong hands and everyone else in chaos.  Oh, and how did Coulson meet up with that guy at the end?  Not that I’m going to obsess over that detail.

Arrow – Wow, so much great drama.  And it’s such good writing when you can fully see where the characters are coming from and understand their motives even if it is wrong.  But I think Roy’s sacrifice at the end was the biggest shocker for me.  Can’t wait to see where they go from here.

The Big Bang Theory – I kept having to tell myself that this was TV time so it was okay because Sheldon and Leonard actually went at least one hour one way (probably longer with traffic) out of their way to go to Skywalker Ranch.  Still, their story was fun, although the ping pong battle was amazing and so hilarious.

The Odd Couple – A mini-farce for a little while there, and I was laughing pretty hard at it.  Overall, I do think the show is beginning to find the characters, although I wish Oscar weren’t quite such of a jerk looking to hook up with anyone who would have him.

The Amazing Race – You get on the race?  You learn to drive a stick.  It’s that simple.  Oh, and you also don’t lie and hide things from other teams, although that’s just because it is mean to do.

Book Review: The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter/Barsoom #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and adventure in fast moving story

Cons: Weaknesses of an action story (weak characters and easily overcoming overwhelming odds)

The Bottom Line:

A race across Mars

As John tries to rescue wife

Page turning action

John Carter Races to Save His Wife

I was blindly listening to the second of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom Chronicles (you know, his books set on Mars), when it suddenly ended with a major cliffhanger.  I vowed I would move on to The Warlord of Mars soon to find out what would happen next.

So why am I just now listening to it a year and a half later?  Because it took me that long to find a copy on audio I could borrow and I never could make the time in my reading schedule to sit down and read a print copy in the meantime.  However, the wait was worth it.

If you are new to the story, the good news is there is enough of a recap at the beginning of the book to fill you in on what has come before.  You won’t get all the nuances of the plot, but you’ll be able to follow the story.  I was thankful for that recap since it helped remind me of things from the second book that had become hazy.

We rejoin John Carter six months after the last book ends – six months after the cliffhanger which left him separated from his wife Dejah Thoris as she was locked in a revolving prison with two other women, one of whom has promised to kill her.  It will be another six months before the prison opens and John Carter learns what has happened during that time.

He has taken to standing watch in the shadows around the temple, and that is how he spots Thurid leaving the temple under cover of darkness.  Intrigued and concerned, he follows Thurid only to find him meeting up with Matai Shang.  Both are mortal enemies of John Carter and all that he loves.  An overheard conversation about a secret way into the prison holding Dejah Thoris and the others sparks John on a quest that will take him all over Mars in an attempt to be reunited with his beloved wife.  Will he overcome incredible odds to do so?

Like the two books that had come before, this book was filled with action.  John Carter travels from one battle and dangerous situation to another often facing overwhelming odds.  Honestly, that is one thing I roll my eyes at – he is constantly overcoming those odds with ease.  This is a book like many action movies today where you have to leave your ideas about reality behind when it comes to what John can do in a tight situation.

Also like in many action movies, the characters are thin.  They don’t get much beyond good or bad as far as character development goes.  Even John Carter, our narrator, isn’t super nuanced although he turns out better than many of the others.  Still, we know enough about them to care about the outcome of the story.

And care we do.  While I recognized the flaws, I was still pulled into the story and cheered or groaned at times.  (Really, I do seem to interact with audio books more than I do the written page, don’t I?)  The action pulled me in and a few times I found myself anxious to see just how John would get out of the latest tight spot he was in.

The audio book I listened to was narrated by William Dufris, and he did a great job with the story.  He kept just the right amount of drama in his voice without overwhelming the action or taking me out of the book.  His voices for the characters, while not super distinct, were helpful in following the dialogue.

I don’t know that I would rush back to reread this book, but I’m glad I finally got to find out what happens to John Carter in The Warlord of Mars.  It’s a fun and imaginative adventure despite its flaws.