Talkie Tuesday: Mary

 

"Love will cost you dearly. It will pierce your heart.

But in the end, love will save the world."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Something a little different from me to you tonight.

 

I don't usually watch or consider movies with any type of religious message, although granted I suppose Quo Vadis could definitely land on that list ... but I digress.

 

This one kind of fell into my lap completely by accident because I thought the trailer screenshot looked nice.

 

Then I watched the trailer and decided, hey, I could watch this.

 

This weekend was the time I decided I was actually going to watch, and I have to say I enjoyed it, as a casual viewer who only has the most basic knowledge of religious tenements, and who was never brought up religious. 

Without further ado, then, let's have a look at Netflix's version of Mary.

 

Tome Thursday: Addie and the AI Boyfriend

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back to the blog for another interesting ride tonight.

 

I first stumbled over this author on BookSirens when I randomly chose a book of theirs that talked about vampires - I know, cliche, right?

 

But I ended up liking their writing style so I figured, when I got the notification that they had another ARC up to choose from, I could take a second look.

 

Turns out, their contemporary stuff is even better than their historic fiction one!

 

And I'm not even joking.

 

You might look at the title and think to yourself: oh this is some Avengers stuff. You'd be right, too, BUT it's still a fun thing to read through and you have tons of fun while trying to figure out what's going on.

 

So without further ado, let's hop right in and see what exactly Sarah Saponiara has to say in Addie and the AI Boyfriend.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Beauty and the Beast

 

"Tale as old as time ..."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I honestly can't believe I've never put this one on my blog. I'm not ENTIRELY sure what happened here, but I've pretty much covered about a dozen other topics that are somehow connected to this, and yet never touched the OG.

 

Or, the OG as my generation knows it, at least.

 

This past weekend, I was playing Dreamlight Valley and working my butt off to get the two main characters from tonight's movie choice to my village. After succeeding, I felt so inspired and nostalgic that I had to pull up Disney+ just to watch the movie.

 

... I did then follow it with the live-action from 2017 as well, but who's counting?

 

In any event, make sure you have your tissues ready, that you've locked the doors from any and all silly suitors, and that you're prepared for adventure that you can't find anywhere else but in this story.

 

Because we're headed to an enchanted castle to meet a beast, and free him from his curse. Beauty and the Beast a la 1991, everyone!

 

Tome Thursday: Crusader Gold

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back.

 

Tonight's blog post is a bit of a return to my roots, in a sense, because this particular book series was what got me "re-hooked" or, hooked again, on REALLY reading, seriously and furiously.

 

I can still remember randomly picking up the first one at a store, thinking it was going to be some la-la land thing, and ending up devouring it because of how vividly and realistically it was written.

 

Then I hunted down the rest of the then-translated books (I think the first five or six were translated into my language) in my local library and gobbled those, too.

 

After finding out that the author had written more, I got them for my e-reader in English, and am now pretty much almost caught up with the series, but I figured, before I dive into the last few, I'd start it all from the beginning. And every first step is always followed by a second one, so here we are with that tonight!

 

Jack Howard dives again, and honestly? David Gibbins knows what he's doing with these.

 

Crusader Gold is up next.

 

Tome Thursday: Rise of the Fae King

 

Hello everyone!

 

Look at us going, making it almost all the way through January already.

 

However, 2025 has been ... a lot, already. And it's difficult to put into words the feelings that come along with such a realization.

 

I think that, if this is just the beginning, we better buckle up, because DAMN the year's going to be BRUTAL.

 

On the other hand, my copy of Onyx Storm is in the mail and on the way to me, so there's at least a spark of hope somewhere down the road.

 

In the meantime, I'm working my way backwards through my read pile, having finished most of these before the Christmas season started, and then I put them on the back burner to keep handy when I needed to write a review.

 

So we're going back to see some cute little dragons this time! They're actually cute, and called fliers, while they're at it. Make sure you don't call them anything else, and hop along through the Veil with me in Rise of the Fae King.

 

Talkie Tuesday: A Sprinkle of Deceit

 

"Not again."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I seem to be in a rather mysterious mood at the moment. Or, at the very least, in a mood to solve a whole lot of mysteries, judging by the book blog from last week and this week's choice of movie review.

 

Yes, yes, I know, the inauguration was yesterday, blablabla.

 

Not really in the mood. I'd prefer something a lot more drama-friendly!

 

So here we are, returning to one of my usual favourite sleuthers that I kind of tucked away by the wayside to return to at some point or other. The movie I watched this weekend actually aired, er, well, in autumn of last year. They're releasing the newest installment this February so I thought to myself, you know what? Maybe I should catch up!

 

So I did.

 

And honestly, I keep forgetting how much I enjoy this light-hearted kind of thing where you don't have to use so much brain energy and just have fun.

 

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries serves a lot of that in A Sprinkle of Deceit.

 

Tome Thusday: Ghost Writer

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to another fun, cozy mystery review.

 

I like me some of those, particularly when the weather turns a little bit foul in some aspects. There's something so NICE about curling up with a book that deals with, say, crime of some sort, or even Jane Austen (completely other end of the spectrum, I know), as opposed to action and adventure when it's all sunny and nice outside.

 

But I digress.

 

I'm actually working through a backlog of my book list, because I'd been reading these voraciously as last year was drawing to a close, and then of course December happened and I always only do Christmas-themed reviews at that time.

 

And so, more typing fodder now!

 

So hop along for the ride as we return to Salem and a really fun author, Dina Marie, takes us along for a ride with her character, Clara. She's renovating an old house and running into spirits of the deceased, because apparently the renovation is a hobby, and the investigation is her main job now! As you'll see in Ghost Writer.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Gladiator II

 

"What is the dream of Rome if her people are not free?"

 

Hello everyone!

 

And yes, once again, welcome back.

 

You didn't think I was actually going to leave you hanging and NOT drop a review of this movie, did you?

 

Considering I pretty much promised to watch and review it last week, it should be obvious by now that I try to keep my promises, as many as I possibly can in any event.

 

However circumstances were just a little bit different than how it was initially planned.

 

See, supposedly, I was supposed to go watch this in the cinema, but alas, that didn't happen, and I got to watch it on my big-ass home screen TV instead.

 

Either way.

 

It's time to head back to Ancient Rome and see what happens when you try to make a sequel to one of the best movies of all time. Back to the Colosseum, baby, in Gladiator II.

 

Tome Thursday: Obsession Under the Southern Stars

 

Hello everyone!

 

We're well underway into 2025 now, and I feel as though I have a pretty good grasp on how this year is going to unfold (spoiler alert: it's going to be busy, LOL), which hopefully means that everyone else is settling into their paces as well.

This ALSO means that, considering I'm now out of my Christmas blogging, I can focus on all the stuff that I had to push to the side while that was happening, and catch up with all that I read prior to December hitting with full force.

And it gives me the perfect excuse to start the yearly book blogs with my favourite contemporary romance author, Serenity Woods.

Not only is she a fantastic writer, but she's also just a lovely person in general, so if you ever get the chance to read any of her books, give them a go! She writes strong heroines who nevertheless don't act like witches (another word rhymes with this one ...) and heroes who sweep them off their feet, but who always brighten your day and don't just flash their money and expect things to be solved.

Tonight we're continuing with her Southern Stars series, the end of which is coming sometime in the beginning of this year, and I'm excited! But first, the bridge book if you will, the second of the lot leading the way to the finale, Obsession Under the Southern Stars.

Talkie Tuesday: Gladiator

 

"Are you not entertained?"

 

Hello everyone!

 

Happy New Year!

 

I hope you said goodbye to the last one in good spirits, and that you're ready to take on all new challenges in this brand sparkly new one.

 

At least, I'm telling myself that. As well as trying to set reachable goals that won't break my spirit if I can't manage to achieve them! I've learned (a little bit the hard way) that I need to set more short-term ones, smaller ones, than try for the big guns all blazing because I'm less likely to be disappointed this way.

 

Or, well, that's my take on it!

 

Anyway, back to the show, which is to say, back to the regular reviews that have nothing to do with the holidays.

 

And I decided to start it off with a right banger.

 

So strap on your armour and hold on to your butts, because we're headed back to Ancient Rome, baby. It's time for Gladiator!