Death on the Nile Book Review.

Title: Death on the Nile.

Author: Agatha Christie.

Genre: Mystery, Classic, Series.

Plot: Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is feeling rather down at the beginning of this classic murder mystery. He decides to take a holiday in Egypt; a decision which will prove invaluable as the tale progresses. Also deciding to take a holiday in Egypt at the same time are several very key figures: the often sarcastic but humorous Tim Allerton and his loveable mother Mrs. Allerton, the reserved Rosalie Otterbourne and her frightful writer mother Mrs. Otterbourne, the plain but loving Cornelia Robson with her cold but wealthy cousin Miss Van Schuyler and her nurse Miss Bowers, Mr. Andrew Pennington who is an American trustee for the wealthy Miss Linnet Ridgeway, Mr. Jim Fanthorp who is the nephew of Miss Ridgeway’s English trustee, Miss Jacqueline de Bellefort, Mr. Simon Doyle and Miss Ridgeway herself.

The complex story begins in England as the talented Mrs. Christie introduces us to all her colorful characters. We learn very swiftly that Miss Ridgeway is a spoiled but very wealthy young lady of twenty years who is best friends with the poor but kindhearted Miss de Bellefort. When Miss de Bellefort asks Ridgeway for a job for her fiancé, the trouble begins for Ridgeway immediately covets the simpleminded man and lures him away. The now Mr. and Mrs. Doyle head to Egypt for their honeymoon, unaware that a wounded Miss de Bellefort has followed them, intending to ruin their happiness with her presence. Poirot, ever watchful and shrewd, notices what others miss and speaks with all the persons concerned in this bizarre love triangle, hoping to avoid the unhappy conclusion to the path upon which they have all stepped.

When these key figures in addition to Italian archeologist Richetti, a mysterious young man named Ferguson who has a violent mindset, German doctor Bessner and Colonel Race, a good friend of Poirot’s who is on the hunt of a ruthless killer all take the same boat trip up the Nile, things become very interesting indeed. Particularly so when a drunk and enraged Miss de Bellefort shoots Doyle in the leg and Mrs. Doyle is discovered shot dead the next morning.

Who could have done such a dreadful thing? And when will they strike again?

Likes/Dislikes: This, I must admit, is my first Agatha Christie novel although I am quite familiar with her famous characters Poirot and Miss Marple thanks to the Masterpiece Theater productions. I began this book also familiar with the story for the same reasons; however, I was pleasantly wrapped up in all the wonderful characters and how the plot was played out in such a flowing engaging manner that I quite forgot that I already knew who the bad guy was. It was a real treat for me and it certainly won’t be the last for I intend to read more Agatha Christie novels in the very near future. I highly recommend this novel!

Rating: PG-14 and up for content {obviously it’s a murder mystery though nothing graphic is depicted and Mrs. Otterbourne really is quite frightful!} and reading level.

Date Report Written: July 21, 2011.

An Interesting Poem.

"Here was old Rome that stretch'd her Empire far,
In Peace was fear'd, triumphant was in War:
Here 'twas, for now its place is only found,
All that was Rome lyes buried under Ground.

These Ruines hid in Weeds, on which Man treads,
Were Structures which to Heav'n rais'd their proud Heads:
Rome that subdu'd the World, to Time now yields,
With Rubbish swells the Plains, and strews the Fields.

Think not to see what so Renown'd has been,
Nothing of Rome, in Rome is to be seen;
Vulcan and Mars, those wasting gods, have come,
And ta'en Romes Greatness utterly from Rome.

They spoil'd with Malice, e're they would depart,
What e'er was rare of Nature or of Art:
Its greatest Trophies they destory'd and burn'd;
She that o'erturn'd the World, to Dust is turn'd.

Well might she fall, 'gainst whom such Foes conspire,
Old Time, Revengeful Man, and Sword and Fire:
Now all we see of the Great Empress Rome,
Are but the Sacred Reliques of her Tomb."
                                                        ~ Philip Ayres.

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 10.

Aha! It may be late at night but it is still Tuesday! Here ya are folks; links to all the posts that caught my attention this week. Enjoy!

Over at Austenesque Reviews we’ve got an animated book review:

http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/weekend-with-mr-darcy-victoria-connelly.html

The Inkpen Authoress introduces us to her favorite writing companions:

http://inkpenauthoress.blogspot.com/2011/07/best-of-writing-buddies.html

Ruth at Booktalk and More has a cool review on the second episode of Zen:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/zen-cabal.html

Tarissa over at In The Bookcase has a neat quote to share:

http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com/2011/07/impossible-is-potential.html

Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One has a cool book review:

http://enjoyingthewritingcraft.blogspot.com/2011/07/hopeless-romantic-click-here-never.html

Amber over at Seasons of Humility has a grand book/movie comparison post:

http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/2011/07/sherlock-double-feature-study-in.html

Carrie over at A Writing Maiden has a thoughtful post to share:

http://awritingmaiden.blogspot.com/2011/06/thoughtful-thoughts-from-thoughtful.html

Charles over at Strictly Speaking has a few interesting things to say on the NIV Bible:

http://charles-thorell.blogspot.com/2011/07/niv-bible.html

Kathleen on at Shield Maiden of God needs help finding a name for her story:

http://shieldmaidenofgod.blogspot.com/2011/07/whats-in-name.html

Svea over at Muse in the Fog Book Review has a grand book review:

http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-mary-of-carisbrooke-by.html

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has an awesome review on the new movie Captain America:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/captain-america-first-avenger.html

Ellie over at The Beggar Who Gives Alms has a fun post on her cats:

http://thebeggarsalms.blogspot.com/2011/07/kittehs.html

Jane over at Reviews by Jane has a great book review:

http://reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/2011/07/secrets-of-heart-by-jillian-kent.html

The Authoress over at Maria Shiphrah Dalton Publications has shared with us a beautiful song she wrote:

http://mariashiphrahdaltonpublications.blogspot.com/2011/07/covenanter-song.html

Over at Young ladies Christian Fellowship the gals share with us some thoughts on purity:

http://ylcf.org/2011/07/walking-in-purity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ylcf+%28Young+Ladies+Christian+Fellowship%29

Charles over at Strictly Speaking has the last laugh for us:

http://charles-thorell.blogspot.com/2011/07/letter-from-college.html

And as always, keep blogging!

Monday Blurbs ~ Second Edition.

All right gals and guys, well, mostly gals anyway. ;) Let's see what my family and I watched over the weekend!

On Friday evening we watched The Lost World. No, not the Jurassic Park one, the other one based on the Arthur Conan Doyle book. This mini-series was made in 2001 and it's pretty epic, complete with T-Rexes of course. Like all things Hollywood they had to throw in a girl for the goofy but lovable Malone to fall for and the film-makers did this in a fairly clever, understandable way by having them meet up with a lonely missionary who has a lovely jungle-wise niece who tags along on the adventure. It's really very good and better than the 1925 movie. Other versions of this classic adventure story include a 1992 film and a TV show, neither of which I've seen nor probably entirely want to see. Lord Roxton, needless to say, was my favorite character in both book and movie but especially in the movie. ;)

When that was over we watched the hilarious but classic black and white version of Pride and Prejudice. While it does stick to the book as far as Mrs. Bennett, Lydia and Kitty's outrageous behavior is concerned and all the other primary characters {save for Darcy who comes across as more lovable than the other film versions portray him as; bet ya you didn't know he actually smiles in the book!} are fairly close to their classic roles in both other film versions and the book, this movie doesn't follow the book too closely. For one thing, the gals' costumes are just plain hilarious! Elizabeth makes quite a few animated facial expressions which was obviously what Kiera Knightly modeled in her take on the classic heroine but her manner and speech pattern are so....unreal that I just crack up every time I watch this movie! I like it well enough though. ;)

On Saturday morning my brothers watched the cartoon movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars while I had breakfast and tried to figure out what to do with myself. While I'm familiar with the characters in that movie from the other Star Wars films we've seen and from the books I've read, the cartoon film doesn't really flow well with the other Star Wars stuff out there. It's also the pilot of the TV show so it ends with a TV episode cliffhanger. I do, however, like how Anakin is obviously haunted by what he did the last time he was visiting his home-planet {if you've seen Star Wars Episode 2 then you what I'm talking about}. It was originally made in 2008. Ugh, now I feel old. *rolls eyes and grins*

We also watched Inception for the second time since getting it from the library a couple weeks ago. Made in 2010, the award-winning film is mind-blowing, to say the least. It certainly makes one think about dreams differently. I liked seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in something other than Titanic and The Quick and The Dead {the only movies I can remember last seeing him in} and in a more grown-up mature role, even if his character's heart is broken. The other characters - architect Ariadne, best pal/side-kick Arthur, the humorous Eames, the client Saito, that other guy and Robert who is the guy whose head they're trying to get into - are all very well drawn and colorful. I think I liked Ariadne, Arthur and Eames the best; especially the last two guys who provide most of the laughs this film gave my family and I. I haven't decided if I'm gonna write a review on it or not.

We also watched MI5. Typical that the character I liked went bad and died. Ah well. I'll find another spy thriller to keep me occupied eventually. Also watched the NASCAR Nationwide race which Carl Edwards won. Go Carl!

On Sunday after church and a fun but tiring potluck afterward my mom and I watched the second episode of Masterpiece Mystery's new show Zen after dinner while my siblings watched Ice Age 3 which they've already seen before and are quite delighted with. But first things first. This second episode of Zen, while entertaining and interesting, just wasn't as good as the first episode. Which was a little disappointing for me. Hopefully the next episode will be better. ;) I still really don't like all those mushy kisses and what was up with the girl changing her clothes while Zen was trying to ask her some questions concerning the case?! So didn't need that or the end scene either. *rolls eyes* Ah well, what I can I do about it now? Still, it was fun to watch and hang out with my mom.

Ice Age 3 err, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, was originally made {or released rather since animated movies take longer to produce than live action ones} in 2009 and featured Manny, Sid, Diego, that silly squirrel Scrat, Ellie and those two weasels or whatever those things are all heading off into another adventure. Manny and Ellie, the mammoths, are expecting their first child and Diego is feeling lonesome while Sid just wants to be part of a family. He gets everyone into trouble by adopting three T-Rex hatchlings and then getting kidnapped by the mama dinosaur who drags him down into a subterranean tropical world. Intent on rescuing their wayward buddy the gang follows him down and meet this crazy guy who provides a lot of laughs. Just so you know I get all of the Ice Age movies mixed up and Diego is my favorite character. ;)

That about sums up my weekend, as far as watching things on the television is concerned. Tune in tomorrow for my weekly Round of Interesting Blog Posts. Catch ya all later!

Too Rich for a Bride Book Review.

Title: Too Rich for a Bride.

Author: Mona Hodgson.

Genre: Romance, Christian, Historical Fiction, Sequel.

Plot: In this sequel to Two Brides Too Many, we are introduced to Ida Sinclair, the business-minded firstborn of the four Sinclair sisters. Ida finishes her business courses two weeks early in 1896 Portland, Maine and heads out to Cripple Creek, Colorado to join her two younger sisters Kat and Nell with their husbands in the booming little mining town. With her sights set on becoming a successful businesswoman, Ida gets a job working for the notorious Miss Mollie O’Brian and does her best to ignore her sisters’ and landlady’s attempts at matchmaking.

But with two men, one the successful lawyer Colin Wagner and the other the traveling preacher turned ice man Tucker Raines, both vying for her attention, Ida soon finds herself stuck at a crossroads. When her job is put on the line after a supposedly wealthy stock investment backfires, Ida’s big plans spin out of control and she realizes she must trust God or lose everything. Meanwhile Tucker is still trying to pick up the pieces of his broken past and mend issues with his ailing parents; he certainly doesn’t have time for a whirlwind courtship with the intriguing Miss Sinclair.

Likes/Dislikes: This wasn’t a “heavy read” but it was certainly an enjoyable “easy read” for a warm summer afternoon and I really rather enjoyed it. The plot concerning which young man Ida would fall for was totally predictable but I was very intrigued with Tucker Raines’ past which kept me interested after the telltale second chapter flew by. The ending reminded me of a Jane Austen novel with the good guy, the bad guy and the poor girl stuck in the middle. There were a couple references to the first book in this series but not enough to get the reader hopelessly confused. All in all, a fun read.

Rating: PG-13 and up for reading level and brief suggested suggestive content. {If that makes any sense.}

Date Report Written: July 23, 2011.

I received this book free from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

The Eagle Movie Review.

Title: The Eagle.

Starring: Channing Tatum {Marcus Aquila}, Jamie Bell {Esca}, Donald Sutherland {Uncle Aquila} and Tahar Rahim {Seal Prince}.

Year of Release: 2011.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Drama, Action/Adventure, Epic, Instant Classic.

Plot: Rome was once a mighty empire that stretched across the map of the known world and conquered a great many countries and scattered tribes, uniting them, willingly or not, under one ruler. Capturing Britain was probably the hardest struggle the fierce Romans had ever endured. Set in the midst of this conquest is the epic story of Marcus and Esca. Marcus is a young Roman commander in Southern Britain. Rumors concerning his father, the commander of the Ninth Legion that disappeared twenty years before, abound and cast their dark shadow on the ambitious young man as he takes up his first command. Not even a week after his arrival Marcus awakens in the night and rouses the whole garrison; an action which ultimately saves their lives but ends his military career.

Badly wounded, Marcus is sent to his uncle’s house to recover. While doing so he accompanies his uncle to a miniature version of one of the infamous sporting events so well known when thinking of Rome. When a gladiator faces off with a slender Britain slave, interest in the match perks up for the audience while Marcus looks disgusted; that is, until the slave throws down his weapons. Curious, Marcus watches the grueling unequal fight and then does the most surprising thing. He saves the slave’s life. His uncle then buys the slave for Marcus who really does need someone to help him as he undergoes surgery on his bad leg. Esca, despite his intense dislike for all things Rome, knows he owes his life to Marcus and vows never to abandon him.

This vow comes into play when Marcus, thoroughly tired of everyone bad-mouthing his family name, decides to reclaim his family’s honor by tracking down the golden eagle which was lost along with his father’s legion so many years ago. A wall had since been built separating the conquered portion of Britain from the wild untamed northern portion. Once beyond this wall, Marcus and Esca are on their own and their lives depend upon each as they embark on an epic quest.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved this movie from beginning to ending. It has a wonderful pace, not too fast and not too slow, good plot, strong characters and beautiful scenery. The two main characters work wonderfully well together and it’s exciting to watch as the tension in their relationship relaxes and turns into friendship. The music is also wonderful. There is, of course, several fight scenes and some blood. A young boy is killed in one scene and another boy has his throat slit though thankfully there is no blood or nasty squelching sound effects in any of the battle or death scenes. Marcus takes a beating throughout most of the film which was fine with me but other, more sensitive viewers might not like this. An enjoyable bonus to the movie is that there is no romance at all! And it’s based off a book by Rosemary Sutcliff and you know that a movie based off a book is often better than just any old movie somebody thought up. ;)

Rating: PG-13. My personal rating is PG-15 and up based on content and audience maturity. Highly recommended nonetheless!

Date Report Written: July 22, 2011.

Music Review: Ocean Eyes by Owl City.

Okay, since this is my first music review bear with me please. ;)

Now, a little history. Owl City was recently recommended to me by a good friend; that recommdendation plus the fact that one of my best friends really likes this group and that someone at a forum I'm part of said they have "good sound" made me prepared to like the music. Obviously I did or I probably wouldn't be writing a review on it while listening to the album. ;) I did some research on Owl City {granted, not until after I'd listened to the CD twice} and here's a summary of what I learned. First, Owl City is a recent thing and a one-man project unless on tour. Adam Young, the guy who created Owl City, is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who began experimenting with electronica music in his parents' basement around the year 2007 and would upload his songs to MySpace. In the {apparently} music boom between 2005 and 2009 Owl City became popular. Due to his "viral popularity" Young signed up with Universal Records in 2008. An extended play entitled In June was released in 2007, followed in 2008 by the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. The third release and second full length album, Ocean Eyes, was released in July 2009 and became a chart-topper with three major singles entitled Umbrella Beach, Vanilla Twilight and Fireflies. Tidal Wave became a hit with Christians particularly. The song Fireflies was the most downloaded song on iTunes in America and the 20th most downloaded song in the UK in January 2011.

When on tour {a.k.a. live} Adam Young is joined by Breanne Düren {background vocals/keyboard}, Matthew Decker {drums}, Laura Musten {violin}, Hannah Schroeder {cello}, and Daniel Jorgensen {guitar/vibraphone}. Miss Düren's lovely voice is most noted in the song The Saltwater Room. Relient K has also collaborated with Owl City and vocalist Matt Thiessen from that band can be heard doing the backup vocals in Fireflies. A fourth album entitled All Things Bright and Beautiful was released to iTunes June 2011. Young's Christian faith is evident in his songs, particularly in Galaxies in the above mentioned newly released album. When explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix, Young said, "I feel like if I were ever to hide the fact that that’s what’s so important to me, it would be a crime, that I should probably be put in jail for that."

In April 2010 Young was interviewed by Christianity Today; below is a link to the interview which is definitely worth reading:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2010/adamyoung-april10.html

Now, onto the actual music side of this err, thing I'm writing. ;) Upon recieving the recommendation {and then being reminded of it} I punched Owl City into the search box at my local library and placed a hold on the only CD there: Ocean Eyes. The album has a total of twelve songs: Cave In {4:02}, The Bird and The Worm {3:28}, Hello Seattle {2:47}, Umbrella Beach {3:51}, The Saltwater Room {4:03}, Dental Care {3:11}, Meteor Shower {2:14}, On The Wing {5:01}, Fireflies {3:48}, The Tip of the Iceberg {3:23}, Vanilla Twilight {3:52} and Tidal Wave {3:10}. The songs, particularly Cave In and Dental Care, have a humorous look on life; all have fun lyrics and bouncing beats that make the listener want to dance. Plus, Cave In is a good opening song for the album; it's always a good sign if the album has a good, fun, energetic but not overpowering, attention-grabbing song to open with. Now, while Fireflies is the hit song it isn't my favorite; The Tip of the Iceberg and Tidal Wave are my favorites. The first because it's all about winter and who doesn't love winter with all the snow, ice, storms and such? The second because it is a totally Christian song and so true. About the only song I probably didn't like on the album was Hello Seattle mainly because the beginning notes remind me of a video game I once played a long time ago with my siblings and never really enjoyed.

At Youtube I found a music video for my two favorite songs from the album and decided to share them with you. ;) Enjoy!

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 9.

Hello all; it's Tuesday! Let's check out all the posts that have caught my eye this week.

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has an awesome review on a cool new show:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/zen-vendetta.html

Lady Elenatintil has a cool picture of Thorin Oakenshield from the highly anticipated movie The Hobbit:

http://elenatintil.blogspot.com/2011/07/thorin-oakenshield-revealed.html

Charles over at Strictly Speaking always has something good up:

http://charles-thorell.blogspot.com/2011/07/winning-business-slogan.html

Jody over at The Corner Book Blog has a neat book review:

http://thecornerbookblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/treasuring-emma.html

The Inkpen Authoress has a good point and several good ideas also:

http://inkpenauthoress.blogspot.com/2011/07/vexing-inspiration.html

Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One has great new book covers to share with us:

http://enjoyingthewritingcraft.blogspot.com/2011/07/eye-candy-for-socially-book-worm.html

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has an awesome book review:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-clocks-by-agatha-christie.html

Ellie over at The Beggar Who Gives Alms has a fun movie review:

http://thebeggarsalms.blogspot.com/2011/05/best.html

Awesome. Keep blogging everyone!

Aha! Monday Blurbs!

Sometimes I'm so smart I scare myself. *grins* I figured out what to post on Mondays! Blurbs of what I watched over the weekend {with an especial look at whatever my family and I watched on Masterpiece Theater Sunday evening of course *winks*}. So, what did I watch this weekend?

On Saturday I watched Little Women {1994} starring Winona Rider as Jo and Christian Bale as Laurie. This particular version of the classic book by Lousia May Alcott sticks fairly close to the story in some scenes, such as Amy's near death experience falling through the ice, Meg's trial at Vanity Fair, and such. However, it does take a certain amount of liberties concerning the dialoge and sequence of scenes {Jo didn't learn that Aunt March was taking Amy with her to Europe until she was already in New York, not before} and there are several Hollywood kisses {a.k.a. long and unwanted} but I still rather enjoy it every time I watch it. *grins*

In the evening after the NASCAR Nationwide race {which was very exciting in that Steven Wallace, one of the young hotheads in my opinion but son of legendary Rusty Wallace, kept crashing everyone; Kyle Bush won}, my siblings and I watched TRON: Legacy {2010} starring Jeff Bridges as Kevon Flynn and Clu {the obvious bad guy} and some guy named Garret Hedlund as Sam Flynn. So, while my siblings and I have yet to see the ground-breaking predesecer, this movie was deemed "interesting" by all of us. My brothers liked it because it was similar to the video games they enjoy playing; my sister liked all the action scenes, and I liked Sam Flynn. *grins and winks* However, none of us liked the ridiculous costumes at all; they just look so uncomfortable and stupid, even for a video game movie! Haven't decided if I'm writing a review or not.

And in the evening we watched the next episode in the PBS show MI5 which we've only recently started watching. I'm not entirely sure which episode we watched exactly nor do I know how it all fits together chronilogically. I do know that I don't like Richard Armitage's character's girlfriend or all the kissing scenes. However, I do like Armitage's character, Lucas North, and since Saturday's episode ended on a major cliffhanger conecerning him I'm keen to see what happens to him next week. *winks*

On Sunday - err, yesterday - we watched the NASCAR Sprint Cup race which was fairly uneventful and won by Ryan Newman which was cool. In the afternoon my sister, one of our brothers and I watched The Eagle {2011} starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland for about the fifth or sixth time since we got it a couple weeks ago. That movie is AWESOME! Marcus {Tatum's character} is totally cool and definitely my favorite character while Esca {Bell's character} is the perfect best friend for him and Sutherland was grand as the uncle. I shan't tell you any more however since I'm planning on writing a review on this grand movie. *winks*

And in the evening we tuned in for the debut episode of PBS' new mystery/action-adventure/drama show called Zen which is way cool! Starring Rufus Sewell as Italian detectiove Aurelio Zen who, unfortunately for his career but fortunately for us *winks*, has the reputation of being honest. Zen is awesome and totally stylish while still coming across as sweet and human {like, banging his head on the steering wheel after dropping off the girl he likes only to see her leave the destination in the company of a man whom he immedately assumes is her boyfriend}. About the only thing I really didn't like was a kissing scene near the end, some conversation essential to the plot but still not very appropreate and the fact that both Zen and his love-interest begin a relationship while still technically married to tehir respective spouses. *sighs and shakes head* Ah well. You'll have to double-check back here tomorrow for a link to Ruth over at Booktalk and More's awesome review on the episode. *winks*

Note: This was suppose to have been posted yesterday but my internet died on me. :(

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 8.

Yes, yes, I know this was suppose to have been posted two days ago on Tuesday but I've been rather busy of late and my poor blog has suffered because of it. Never worry however, busyness comes and goes in seasons and I shall certainly have more time on my hands than is good for me soon, especially when school starts back up {for my siblings not me, haha}, the garden is all harvested and winter, beloved beautiful wonderfully cold winter, rolls round again. :) Till then, bear with me in patience.

Okay, so around the blog block we have all these delightful blog posts! {Yes, most of them are book reviews.}

Ruth, over at Booktalk and More, has a grand review on a Miss Marple mystery:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/miss-marple-pale-horse.html

Casey, over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One, has a fun book review:

http://enjoyingthewritingcraft.blogspot.com/2011/07/fun-funny-enjoyable-her-best-catch-by.html

Ashley, over at The Epic Reader, has a grand book review on one of my all-time favorite classics:

http://theepicreader.blogspot.com/2011/07/scarlet-pimpernel.html

Lady Elenatintil over at her blog has a grand picture of the awesome dwarves from The Hobbit movie which everyone is keen to see of course. ;) Check it out: http://elenatintil.blogspot.com/2011/07/who-knew-that-dwarves-could-be-so.html

Charles, over at Strictly Speaking, has a fine post with a strong message to it: http://charles-thorell.blogspot.com/2011/07/wholl-take-son.html

Holly over at In the Bookshelf has a wonderful book review: http://bookshelfreviews-holly.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-foolish-heart.html

Over at Austenesque Reviews, there is more info on the exciting month-long celebration of Austen’s wonderful books and sequels/retellings: http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/more-about-austenesque-extravaganza.html

Adelii, over at The Letters of Askpen blog, has a special post for us all: http://lettersofaskpen.blogspot.com/2011/07/special-post.html

Look to the East Book Review.

Title: Look to the East.

Author: Maureen Lang.

Genre: Christian, Romance, Historical Fiction.

Plot: Stuck in a tree, Julitte Toussaint finds herself meeting the handsome Charles in a very awkward way when her tin box goes crashing down on his head. The wealthy young man, half American and half Belgium, is intent on going the Belgium army as World War One begins but when his car is commandeered, Charles wanders around the forested countryside of France, eventually befriending a French officer named Pepin and getting it into his head to take refuge in the village where he meet the pretty girl in the tree. Meanwhile, Julitte soon finds her hands full when her village is taken over by the Germans and the squabbling Toussaints and de Colvilles are forced to temporarily set aside their quarrels.

Born on a distant island to an American father and a Greek mother, and then adopted by Narcisse Toussaint, Julitte feels the de Colvilles’ contempt. She is isolated in the little isolated village and rumors fly about the village concerning her, all more or less false. When Julitte finds Charles hiding in the church basement, the whole situation dramatically alters.

Likes/Dislikes: While this is Christian and the characters do all pray which is nice, and while it is set in France during the First World War, this book came across to me more as a glorified romance than a historical fiction. When I read historical fiction, I read it for the historical portion written in an engaging style; if I wanted romance or plain old fiction I could get that anywhere. I also didn’t feel a connection with the characters: Charles spent the first half of the book a crowd and bemoaning his cowardice while I never felt the least connection to Julitte. In all her scenes, she just seemed so out of it. The plot also dragged a little and I lost interest halfway through it. All in all, a disappointing book and waste of my time.

Rating: PG-15 and up for content {none of which was graphic thankfully, only suggestive of violence} and reading level.

Date Report Written: July 8, 2011.

I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 7.

Hey, guess what? It's Tuesday again! It is Tuesday, isn't it? *looks around* Yep, it's Tuesday so let's check out what everyone's been posting about this past week, shall we?

A book review on an Austen sequel that looks hilarious by Austenesque Reviews:

http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/there-must-be-murder-margaret-c.html

A book review by Holly over at The Bookshelf:

http://bookshelfreviews-holly.blogspot.com/2011/07/gray-matter.html

A very cool song of liberty over at Maria Shiphrah Dalton Publications: http://mariashiphrahdaltonpublications.blogspot.com/2011/07/liberty-song.html

The gals over at Young Ladies Christian Fellowship have a good point to make on locally grown food: http://ylcf.org/2011/07/five-reasons-to-buying-locally-grown-food/

A book review by Casey over at Writing for Christ – The Audience of One: http://enjoyingthewritingcraft.blogspot.com/2011/07/youll-find-home-one-day-muir-house-by.html

An amusing conversation is recorded over at Whispers of the Wind:

http://arries-whispersofthewind.blogspot.com/2011/07/conversations-with-my-antagonist.html

The gals over at Bloom! have a few interesting things to say on grace: http://www.bloomthemagazine.com/2011/07/gospel-of-grace.html

A book review on an Agatha Christie novel by Ruth over at Booktalk and More: http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-secret-of-chimneys-by-agatha.html

My friend Ella has some good advice on sewing machine repair over at Legend of a Seamstress: http://legendofaseamstress.blogspot.com/2011/07/ten-sewing-machine-repair-dos-and-donts.html

Head over to Strictly Speaking for a touching short story on prayer:

 http://charles-thorell.blogspot.com/2011/06/daddys-empty-chair.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fstrictlyspeaking+%28Strictly+Speaking%29

A movie trailer posted by Ruth over at Booktalk and More on a spy thriller: http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/06/tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-trailer.html

And how many of you are interested in the new Three Musketeers movie? Check out the latest trailer: http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/06/three-musketeers-new-trailer.html

Keep blogging everyone and God bless!

The Hidden Flame Book Review.

Title: The Hidden Flame.

Author: Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Biblical, Romance, Sequel.

Plot: In this second installment of the Acts of Faith trilogy, the center of attention shifts to Abigail, the merry hearted but crippled beautiful young woman. Recently reunited with her brother Jacob whom she’d long thought dead, Abigail finds a new chapter in her life opening, beginning with the hurried departure of her dear friends Leah and Alban. An important new task is given Abigail within the growing community of believers that serves to occupy her hands and heart but not her increasing worries over Jacob and the rumors whispered on the streets of Jerusalem. Unbeknown to Abigail, she is about to face a loss so great it will shake her world and cause her to lean even more on the loving arms of God.

Two years after the events of The Centurion’s Wife take place two men enter the scene and both desire Abigail for themselves.  One is a wealthy merchant named Ezra who wants a mother for his two young children and someone to take the place of his departed beloved wife. The other is Alban’s friend Linux who soon finds himself in a battle he never anticipated. Carrying new orders from Rome and hatred in his heart for his pompous older brother Castor, Linux will do anything to get back at Castor. But with threats against the growing community of believers increasing, from the Sanhedrin as well as the new governor, and Abigail’s worries over Jacob beginning to hit home, the Roman officer finds his world being torn in half.

And when tragedy unexpected strikes, will the believers’ faith be enough to see them through the times of peril and persecution ahead or will they break?

Likes/Dislikes: This was a very well written novel. It flowed well from all three main characters’ viewpoints and had just enough description to give you the setting without bogging down the whole book. The conversations between the characters were all very interesting as well. And it was a real treat to see Biblical figures I’ve long been familiar with, such as Stephan, Saul, Gamaliel, Sapphira and her husband, introduced and “fleshed out.” It was also nice to have Peter in several more scenes than in the prequel. I think Linux was my favorite character as he struggled with all his burdens. The tragedy is so sad but I admit I was too excited to see how all the characters reacted to cry with them.

Rating: PG-12 and up for reading level and a violent death though not graphic at all, thankfully.

Date Report Written: July 1, 2011.

I recieved a free review copy from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above reveiw are my own.

The Tenth Kingdom Movie Review.

Title: The Tenth Kingdom.

Starring: Kimberly Williams {Virginia Lewis}, Scott Cohen {Wolf}, John Larroquette {Tony Lewis}, Dianne Weist {Evil Queen}, Daniel Lapaine {Prince Wendell}, Ed O'Neill {Relish the Troll King}, Rutger Hauer {Huntsman}, Dawnn Lewis {Bladderwort the Troll}, Hugh O'Gorman {Burly the Troll}, Jeremiah Birkett {Blue Bell the Troll}, Warwick Davis {Acorn the Dwarf}, and Camryn Manheim {Snow White}.

Year of Release: 1999.

Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Action/Adventure, Romance, Humorous, Miniseries.

Plot: Virginia Lewis, unmarried and in her mid-twenties, lives with her father, Tony Lewis, who is a janitor in an apartment overlooking Central Park, New York. Thinking her life is going nowhere, Virginia has built a shell around herself and goes through her mundane life as a waitress daydreaming of someday meeting a man who is into food and opening a restaurant with him. Her father, meanwhile, complains about his job and his boss and doesn't seem to take notice of much else that happens outside his own little bubble of a world. When Virginia hits a stray dog with her bicycle one evening on her way to work, a series of events is set into motion that changes everything Virginia and Tony have ever known.

The dog which Virginia takes in after her little run-in with him is actually Prince Wendell who was turned into a dog by his evil stepmother who was released from prison by an ugly troll and his three stupid children. Fleeing in terror from the witch, the prince had jumped through a magical mirror that is actually a portal to the Tenth Kingdom {Central Park}. Knowing that the trolls are practically useless, the witch releases one of the prison inmates, an amusing yet rather confusing character named Wolf, and sends him through the portal to track the dog down. When he learns that the dog is with Virginia he tracks the girl down and instantly falls in love with her {she hits him over the head with a flower vase and runs away}. Virginia, Tony, the dog and Wolf all meet up again in the park and plunge through the portal; once on the other side, Virginia is captured by the idiotic trolls and Tony is locked up in the prison. Seemingly to have completely forgotten about his agreement with the witch, Wolf goes dashing off to rescue Virginia and then her father and the dog before agreeing to help them look for the mirror so they can get back home.

While they scamper about two of the nine kingdoms looking for the mirror and having several exciting adventures along the way, the witch tries to track them down and keep the troll king under control. Wolf falls deeper in love with Virginia as each trial is encountered and overcome yet he is torn as to which side of the impending battle he is on while Virginia focuses on returning home though she begins to trust and then like Wolf as her protective wall slowly crumbles around her. Each of the three main characters is tempted and tested in an area where they are weak with Wolf's test being the most dramatic by far and each come out with unique and varying results. But the hardest test has yet to be met and it is doubtful whether anyone, particularly Virginia, will be able to survive the blow.

Likes/Dislikes: There were about four or five comments that made my parents and I cringe yet which seemed to have gone over my youngest brothers' heads {thankfully} that really didn't need to be in the movie. It is implied that Virginia is pregnant at the end of the movie although she and Wolf are not married. There is also a section of the movie that takes place in a village inhabited with several shepherdesses who were very provoking and scantily clad {for a shepherdess}. Virginia has an argument with her father toward the middle of the movie and says she hates him yet they make up shortly afterward and at the beginning Tony is very selfish and the whole sequence in the apartment with him trying to deal with the six wishes he was granted via the trickster Wolf really wasn't necessary to the plot. There is also a good bit of magic though that was sadly expected {it is a retelling of fairy tales after all}. However, I found it to be a pretty good movie overall and enjoyed it a lot; Wolf was particularly hilarious!

Rating: PG-12 and up although I strongly advise parents to view this before their children if they or the children are sensitive to some of the above mentioned issues.

Date Report Written: April 8, 2011.