Talkie Tuesday: WHC A Country Christmas

"There's no journey like a shared one."

Hello everyone!

Can you believe we made it to the end? This is the last Talkie post of this calendar year, because starting next week we're already in 2022!

And boy, do I have some goooood posts planned for that one.

But first, one has to go out with a bang, right? So that's why for this particular blog post, we're returning to the fictional, or semi-fictional world of rural Canada back in the day when it was still basically building itself from the ground up, when cars were a novelty and not everyone had them, and when it was the kindness of people that fueled it, not necessarily fuel.

Okay, I'm maudlin now.

For a long time, I did When Calls the Heart specials reviews here on the blog, but this year that one didn't happen because of reasons, however, it's spin-off finally got picked up!

That's right, remember When Hope Calls? Well, it moved to a different production company and is returning for a second season, but first we need to have A Country Christmas.

Tome Thursday: When Hope Springs New

 

Hello everyone!

 

It's a one last time kind of thing for the Canadian north, as we take a look at the fourth book in Janette Oke's saga this week.

 

Now granted, there ARE two more, but as I said in a previous blog post, I won't be reviewing them for this blog because I never enjoyed them all that much in the first place since the characters didn't grab me quite so well as Elizabeth and Wynn.

 

Jack and Elizabeth filled that spot on the television show, but even that's changed somewhat now.

 

But I digress!

 

We've been trudging through the wilderness for the past few books, so it's really high time to find out just how Elizabeth's story concludes.

 

Does the fashionable teacher from Toronto manage to completely overcome her own prejudices and become the woman Wynn could see was a possibility when he fell in love with her? And do they find happiness in the north?

 

All that, and more, will be answered in When Hope Springs New.

 

Tome Thursday: When Breaks the Dawn

 

Hello everyone!

 

And here we are, continuing with the Canadian West saga, returning to the wild North with Elizabeth and Wynn Delaney.

 

We're actually halfway through now, since I've already said I won't be taking a look at the last two books in the series.

 

And boy, does the action pick up in this one!

 

To be clear, none of it is ACTUAL action - this is not an action book, it's a Christian one, historic fiction, and romance - but there is definitely a lot going on at the same time, not to mention a lot of challenges for our heroes to face.

 

What I've always enjoyed about these specific books was the fact that they showed a married couple going through trials and tribulations, and coming out stronger on the other side.

 

... it also helps that I've always seen Stephen Amell as Wynn, after the movie he starred in.

 

So without further ado, let's have a look at When Breaks the Dawn, shall we?

 

Tome Thursday: When Comes the Spring

 

Hello everyone!

 

I return with another Canadian West novel review because I've just been going through them recently one more time (I blame Hallmark entirely).

 

I'll hopefully be able to get all four of the first books up sooner rather than later. I know there are six, there were two other books added to the series which cover a time I think twenty years after the originals are set, but I was never a big fan of those and prefer the main group which focuses on Elizabeth and Wynn.

 

After all, at its core and as an underlying message, these books are about a schoolteacher and a Mountie.

 

It's what made me fall in love with them in the first place!

 

I will say, though, that reading them again certainly does bring different things in perspective now that I'm a bit older ... and I wanted to smack the main character every once in a while.

 

Maybe I'm just too hasty though, you never know.

 

In any event, let's stop my babbling and have a look at exactly what I'm talking about.

 

When Comes the Spring is up next.

 

Tome Thursday: When Calls the Heart

 

Hello everyone!

 

In response to this last Sunday's season finale of the Hallmark channel hit series, When Calls the Heart (which I have reviewed frequently enough on this blog, actually, and the current ending of which I'm not entirely happy with), I decided I had to go back and give the original book another re-read, as I hadn't done it in a while.

 

For those of you who don't know, this is a series of Christian books about a schoolteacher in the Canadian West around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, who meets and falls in love with a member of the Royal North West Mounted Police.

 

That was its title at the time, though nowadays they are called Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

 

I first found the books because I was looking for the author's original series, Love Comes Softly, but ended up getting the others instead, because, Canada.

 

And since for some reason Hallmark has decided to deviate so strongly away from the original premise, it felt really good to go back in and remind myself why I fell in love with the story in the first place.

 

After all, a teacher and a Mountie on the frontier sounds like an adventure, doesn't it?

 

When Calls the Heart has that and a whole lot more.

 

Talkie Tuesday: It Was Always You

 

"You don't regret the things you do - you regret the things you don't do."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I'm taking a mini break from what our two favourite Scotsmen were doing this weekend (hint: it has to do with sheep) because I kind of haven't had the time to catch up on the show yet.

 

Sorry Men in Kilts!

 

BUT.

 

I did actually watch a movie not too long ago, another Hallmark production as a matter of fact, which I thought could be an interesting topic for discussion.

 

To be fair, however, Hallmark hasn't exactly vowed me this calendar year yet, which is kind of funny and sad at the same time since I usually find at least one or two movies up until this point which I genuinely enjoy and giggle over.

 

Alas, not in 2021, it seems.

 

It Was Always You promised a heck of a lot, but to me personally didn't deliver.

 

Talkie Tuesday: WCTH Home for Christmas

"Home is truly where the heart is."

Hello everyone!

And so with my final Christmas-themed movie review, we say farewell not only to December, but to 2019.

Hopefully the year has treated you well, and you've made all the plans you need for 2020. Fingers crossed they all work out for you!

In the meantime, it's time to make a Christmas pit-stop one last time with our movies.

Come January it's back to Hogwarts (or not Hogwarts, as may be the case with the final stages of Mr. Potter's journey), so let's try and soak up all that's left of this Christmas spirit, shall we? After all, it'll be a full year before we can get into it again.

What better way to say goodbye than with When Calls the Heart?

The show that captured hearts around the globe with its message and persevering spirit, and which keeps going despite every obstacle and hurdle thrown its way.

Because even and especially in When Calls the heart, it's time to come Home for Christmas.

Talkie Tuesday: My One and Only

"Love is not about making sense."

Hello everyone!

Well, it's official I think.

Sure we have to wait just a little bit longer for it to actually be calendar autumn, but the weather is definitely not pulling any punches, it's been raining since mid-afternoon yesterday and it doesn't seem like it'll stop any time soon!

This is basically autumn weather; it's autumn, y'all.

Not that I'm complaining. I've had enough of summer for the time being. I love the heat and the sun and all that, but I equally enjoy the transition between seasons, and spring and autumn are lovely when the weather starts to shift again.

To say goodbye to summer, I watched what is I think labelled as the last movie in Hallmark Channel's Summer Nights series, although I was mildly disappointed.

Still, what's done is one. My One and Only, right here on the blog.

Talkie Tuesday: WCTH The Greatest Christmas Blessing

"Love is the greatest gift of all."

Hello everyone!

New year, new blog posts, and I'm back with the very first after taking a little bit of a break just to clear my head and reassess everything.  

I'll admit, I was debating giving up blogging, at least for a while, but somehow or other this has gotten under my skin and I can't just let it go without some sort of a really good reason, of which I have none at the moment.

Besides, it kind of feels weird to think I wouldn't be typing this up twice a week, I'll admit.

I've gotten used to it!

But anyway, I digress.

On New Year's Eve, because I'd been kind of busy over Christmas, I finally sat down and watched the movie I knew would bring me to tears. How could it not, when viewers around the globe are still hissing at Hallmark for what happened with Jack Thornton?

When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Christmas Blessing was only a small consolation.

Talkie Tuesday: The Perfect Bride

"There's no such thing."

Hello everyone!

So while our powerplant is sending out smoke signals into outer space - because why the heck else wold there be such a big cone of smoke there? - I'm sitting here watching the monstrosity and typing up my blog post. 

As it's October, I figured I could probably do something autumn-related, but instead I found this cutesy movie review I'd done a little bit ago.

I'll be doing a Halloween themed post, I promise, but I'm waiting for the premiere of Good Witch for that one.

In the meantime, though, Hallmark does indeed provide a viewer with HEAPS to watch even when you think there may be nothing.

You may think so, but they'll prove you wrong.

As they did with The Perfect Bride.

Talkie Tuesday: When Calls the Heart

"Captures your heart - and never lets go."

Hello everyone!

So I was debating whether or not to write about this tonight, but then decided that this is probably one of the hottest topics on the internet at the moment next to the new Royal Baby (congratulations to the Duke and Duchess!).  

Of course you'll know, if you follow my blog, that I will occasionally wrap up a season I'd been watching by reviewing it in one blog post and then moving along afterwards, so this should be no surprise.

I'm talking, of course, about When Calls the Heart.

Now if you have no idea what this is, I might enlighten you through the blog post, or I might not if you're not interested. In any event, it is a Hallmark Channel series which just wrapped up its fifth season, and BOY, was it an EXPLOSIVE wrap-up.

I suppose I better stop blabbering and get to it, right?

Talkie Tuesday: When Calls the Heart Christmas Wishing Tree

"Maybe miracles do happen."

Hello everyone!

Hope you've all had a very merry Christmas, and that there's an even better New Year on the way!

Last year around this time, I watched and then blogged about the When Calls the Heart Christmas special. So when news broke that this year would ALSO mark another two-hour episode (or one hour and a half sans commercials) for the Hallmark Channel's hit series, well, I couldn't just ignore it now, could I?

The answer to that would be no, especially since I absolutely LOVE the Canadian West saga by Janette Oke which this show is based off on. Of course there are quite a few changes (and even the Return to Canadian West books aren't exactly the same) but that doesn't mean I haven't fallen in love with the show, because I have. There's something about stories from the frontier, from a different time, when life seemed to be simpler in a lot of ways, that always gets me going.

So here we go, another year almost done, another Christmas episode to review, which means that without further ado we are moving directly into When Calls the Heart: The Christmas Wishing Tree!

Talkie Tuesday: When Calls the Heart Christmas

"Christmas comes but once a year."

Hello everyone!

So it took more than just one day which it usually does for me to finally find a good working link where I could watch the Christmas special When Calls the Heart put up for this holiday season. 

Now I've already written about the show and the books, I think, but in any event I shall check and link all my older posts down below as is my custom when I'm trying to make sense of everything that's come before (and at this point, trust me, it looks as though the only way for me to keep track is by using keywords all around).

In any event, however, I managed to watch the hour and a half special which I had honestly thought would be shorter, but luckily for me it wasn't!

I've missed these characters and their everyday problems, because the thing that initially drew me to the show wasn't the drama or anything of the sort, but what a person would have to get through in an average day on the Canadian frontier.

Plus, I will admit that I have a bit of a crush on Constable Thornton.

Tome Thursday: Where Trust Lies

Hello everyone!

I've been so busy these past couple of days I almost forgot I'm supposed to throw a book blog up tonight. Let me tell you, this whole daylight saving time threw me for a loop because I'm consistently bad at trying to stay awake long or even just getting out of bed in the morning. They should absolutely just erase this from existence. Why do we need it again?!

I'm reading quite a bunch of things at the moment, mostly because I can't really stick to one book only - yeah, tell me about it - and I've also been trying to watch some movies I'm behind with, which isn't quite working either.

But.

I luckily have some stuff to fall back on when desperate times call for desperate measures, and of course one of these are my book reviews from when I was actually doing them diligently enough back in the day.

So because I needed something fairly easygoing, I picked Where Trust Lies.

Talkie Tuesday: When Calls the Heart

Hello everyone!

Back to series this week, and I think I'm going to be doing a lot of those as the show seasons race towards their final episodes; I may actually dedicate a whole week-blog session to the finales to the series I watch, but I'm still debating on that. What do you think? In any event, this show season has seen some others come and go with being shorter in production sense (only eight or ten episodes, which is definitely a far cry from the usual twenty-two or twenty-three episode orders the shows normally get), but the one that premiered this Sunday on Hallmark channel has come close to my heart during its first season last year when I accidentally stumbled upon it: When Call the Heart. 

Now, you may remember a blog post I did way back when I first started this, and I talked about a book series of the same name, written by author Janette Oke. I liked the books and was quite happy to hear they were developing a TV series, especially since Hallmark had already produced the movies of Love Comes Softly and other titles of the same sequence, which they did beautifully (I do admire Hallmark for the family-oriented productions). I was confused with the season one premiere episode, however, since it was heavily based on the first novel, but didn't give us much of a conclusion (or Stephen Amell in a Mountie uniform, dang it!). The continuation, however, was worth the watch.

Tome Thursday: Janette Oke

Hey everyone!

It's Tome Thursday again, and that means talking about some more books that I've read. For some reason, these first two blogs were/are actually about a book series, but I think I'll be moving away from it next week and just do one book per blog. For this week, however, I'm sticking to the series bit, and I'm going to talk about Janette Oke's 'Canadian West'.

Janette Oke is a Canadian author and I first heard about her through the movie 'Love Comes Sotfly' (starring Katherine Heigl and Dale Midkiff), but that's an entirely different series which did, however, launch me into her world. But after doing some research on the matter, I found another one about a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a school teacher at a time when pioneers were still establishing communities and outposts through the Canadian wilderness.

Stephen Amell and Maggie Grace, When Calls the Heart