Tuesday 29 September 2020

Talkie Tuesday: Enola Holmes


"To be a Holmes, you must find your own path."

 
Hello everyone!
 
So my original plan for this week's blog post for Tuesday was to follow up the previous one about Mulan with our all-time favourite, the 1998 version, but something else happened and the plan went right off the rails.
 
Kind of like jumping off a train!
 
Here's the thing.
 
I forgot Netflix was premiering their new movie about Sherlock Holmes' younger sister last week.
 
I know, I know, I should have ACTUALLY been paying attention, but sadly my mind's been all over the place, so while I clocked into the trailer and the date, I didn't realize the date was REALLY just around the corner!
 
And there you have it. Paying attention is everything, kids.
 
Which means that the Mulan cartoon is unfortunately getting bumped right along. Because without further ado, allow me to introduce yet another member of the prodigiously talented Holmes family: Enola Holmes.
 

Saturday 26 September 2020

Tuesday 22 September 2020

Talkie Tuesday: Mulan 2020

 

"Loyal, brave and true."

 
Hello everyone!
 
So every little chick and their mother are chirping about this movie. 
 
And when I say everyone, mind you, I mean EVERYONE.
 
Everywhere you turn you can see some sort of commentary on this, from good to bad (mostly bad though). There are a couple of positive reviews but, unfortunately, most of this is as negative as it comes, and I do believe only one other got such a bad reception from audiences.
 
The Disney company used to have a good heading and knew where they were going. I'm starting to believe that might not be the case anymore. 
 
After the Star Wars debacle (still hotly debated all around the internet), the live-action remakes of beloved cartoons was always going to be a dicey proposition.
 
But I liked two of those. I haven't seen the rest yet, but I'm planning on it.
 
This one I was unsure about going in, and it turns out I was right. Mulan is one of those things you'd think they couldn't get wrong - but they did. 
 

Thursday 17 September 2020

Tome Thursday: A Queen's Pride

 
Hello everyone!
 
I come to you with an offering.
 
And a FANTASTIC one at that!
 
As you all know by now, or if you don't you're about to, I'm a member of a site called BookSirens, where you can get a lot of ARCs for free, the only stipulation being there are some time crunches to when you have to finish reading them.
 
Don't worry though, most of them are around the three month mark.
 
So because of this, I often get emails telling me about all the new ARCs or books that would generally fit the genre I prefer reading, and a little bit ago I opened said email up to find one that REALLY captured my interest.
 
It may have taken me just a little to get started, but once I did, hooooo boy!
 
I gobbled this up in mostly one sitting. I think I only left a very small portion of the book for another day, so that makes it two days, a whole lot of enjoyment, and excitement for the second book.
 
I'm talking about A Queen's Pride written by best-selling author N.D. Jones.
 

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Talkie Tuesday: Just Desserts

 

"I really am not one for coincidences."

 
Hello everyone!
 
This is it.
 
We made it.
 
If you've been following this blog then you'll know that the last month or so has been dedicated to the Hallmark Channel series Murder, She Baked.
 
Or well, the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel to be exact.
 
Either way, it's five movies that explore the world of a fictional little town called Eden Lake where Hannah Swenson, the local baker, tries to figure out who committed some murder or other along the way of finding true love.
 
But as the course of said true love never did run smooth, you know there's bound to be trouble when you're least expecting it.
 
And as I keep saying, this isn't necessarily Agatha Christie, but it's certainly enough to keep you occupied for the ninety or so minutes each part runs, and from what I gather there's an entire book series this was based off of, which means I have some exploring to do.
 
Gotta keep current with the books and all that!
 
However for right now, the grand finale, let's take one last stroll through Eden Lake in Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts.
 

Thursday 10 September 2020

Tome Thursday: Her Wedding Knight


Hello everyone!

You know what they say - when you find something that works, stick to it!

As you may or may not have noticed, Serenity Woods has been publishing some cozy mysteries for the last little while under the name Hermione Moon, and her main characters are Gwen and Arthur.

If those names ring any bells at all for you, well, I'm here to tell you why.

It's because they're ACTUALLY King Arthur and Guinevere.

Well, okay, he's not the king - he says so himself - but that's how we modern folk know him.

But there's one more book int this series to look at now and here I am with the review of it for tonight - I haven't had the chance to read it a second time yet because of some real life issues, HOWEVER, I can honestly say that if you've enjoyed the series so far, this one won't disappoint either.

It has our favourite crime-solving duo, stunning locations, more than enough intrigue to keep you going, and a little unveiling at the end that had me grinning like a Jack-o-Lantern.

So, without further ado: Her Wedding Knight!

Tuesday 8 September 2020

Talkie Tuesday: A Deadly Recipe


 "What if's aren't evidence."


Hello everyone!

Look at us go, we're on the second-to-last movie of this franchise, and this now makes me want to go back and rewatch some other Hallmark series that I thoroughly enjoyed so that I can review them on here.

But alas, while the dogs are barking and the caravan passes on, there's also a bunch of new movies that I've yet to have a look at, which means Hallmark might take a backseat for a short while.

Returning to the topic at hand, we are once again in Eden Lake this week with Hannah Swenson who just can't keep her nose out of trouble, no matter whether either of her boyfriends wants it to be so, and it's kind of funny because apparently she's the person everything happens around.

So naturally if you like mystery, mayhem, and a touch of romance in any of your movies or series, I think this is the one for you. Like I've said before, it may not be top of its class in terms of mystery solving to begin with, but it's highly entertaining if nothing else.

Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe tells us that basically no one is safe, no matter how much they might think they are!

Thursday 3 September 2020

Tome Thursday: Lord John and the Succubus


Hello everyone!

When in doubt, go with something you know.

Or in this case, someone.

I've been playing catch-up with some of my other books and haven't been able to finish them yet because of some personal reasons, but thankfully there's always some old faithfuls to lean back on, and tonight's one is no exception.

I mean, when I tell you it has Lord John in it, you'll probably agree with me that you should have seen this one coming.

Lord John Grey is one of those characters that just really, really grows on you, and this isn't just because of David Berry's stellar performance in the Outlander series (I'm still over here in the fanclub camp that's begging for a Lord John spin-off!).

He's just the kind of person you can't help but love, no matter what, honestly!

So here we go. What does he think about succubi, we wonder? Read on for Lord John Grey and the Succubus.

Tuesday 1 September 2020

Talkie Tuesday: A Peach Cobbler Mystery


"How could I have known that a simple choice would lead to disaster?"


Hello everyone!

We're continuing with our Murder, She Baked mystery series on this blog, since, you know, we're still missing three out of the five movie line-up that Hallmark Movies & Mysteries rolled out about five years ago.

Aren't I on top of things?!?

I do have one or two more recent movies that I'd like to watch and review from them, but for the time being I'm sticking to this because, well, I like finishing one thing first and then moving on to the next one.

Besides, we have yet to see just who Hannah Swenson ends up with!

Not that it's the most important bit of the series, but, it kinda is. Why else would you watch anything from Hallmark to begin with?

And since the weather has turned sufficiently cool over here, I'd say it's pretty safe to go with Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery.