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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Oct 21, 2022  
The special guest author on my blog today is DiAnn Mills with a list of ways to survive stress. Check out her Christian mystery thriller novel CONCRETE EVIDENCE while you're there, and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card - four winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/10/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-concrete.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
On the family’s Brazos River Ranch in Texas, Avery Elliott helps run her grandfather’s commercial construction business. Raised by Senator Elliott, Avery has never doubted her grandfather is the man of integrity and faith she’s always believed him to be …. until the day she finds him standing with a gun over the body of a dead man. To make matters worse, Avery’ just discovered a billing discrepancy for materials supposedly purchased for construction of the Lago de Cobre Dam.

Desperate for answers, Avery contacts FBI Special Agent Marc Wilkins for help. As Marc works to identify the dead man Avery saw, threats toward Avery create a fresh sense of urgency to pinpoint why someone wants to silence her. With a hurricane approaching the Texas coast and the structural integrity of the Lago de Cobre Dam called into question, time is running out to get to the bottom of a sinister plot that could be endangering the lives of not only Avery and her loved ones but the entire community.
     
The Brides of the Big Valley
The Brides of the Big Valley
Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jean Brunstetter, Richelle Brunstetter | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Deanna's Determination By Wanda E. Brunstetter:

This story is really compelling. I really like the fact that this story is about to main characters and they it centers somewhat around being blind. What would happen if you lost your sight? We get to experience this though the eyes of Elmer.

Though we see how strong Deanna's faith is? How she handles her self and her child needs is something special of it. Will Deanna's determination help or hurt her love. Will her love find out that she loves him for him and not his sight? Wanda can make you feel like you are a part of the family when reading her stories or books. This story plot is really something and refreshing to read.

 Rose Mary's Resolve By Jean Brunstetter:

Rose Mary seem to get quite a few things about what she is doing. Though she seems smart enough to figure it out. Though she seem to need a little help from her friend and family. He current boyfriend seem to be pushing Rosemary and trying to go English? Will Rosemary keep her resolve or will she be tempted?

She meet an Englisher that befriends her who is a pilot? What will she decide to do? Her mother is worried she will leave the faith? Her mother can not figure out why he husband his so calm about their daughter Rosemary? We meet Kevin. Kevin seem to be interested in Amish way of life, and Rosemary? Will get figure out what he wants and needs in his life?
 
Leila's Longing By Richelle Brunstetter:

Leila has some struggles we all seem to have growing up. Leila is helping out her mother. Leila seem to struggle with making friends. Don't we all. Though she does not know that her friend reason for treating her badly.

She seem to think she is cause to all her friends and community problem. Though maybe she not. The way she over thinks things. Mollie finds her when she in the store. Will Mollie help her and be friends with Leila.

Aden seems to find that Leila is a catch but he want to get to know her for himself. His friend Samuel seem to see her at singing and cause hurt to Leila. Leila seem to doubt herself once more and fall into not trusting her friends or herself. Can she let go of the past and trust god? Will she hold on to that past? Can she learn from her past and forgive those that hurt her?

The author tell a story about a girl that want to control everything and worrying about things may be hurting her more then helping her move on. The way the author does this helps show us everyone deal with some of the same issues as everyone else does. It may just be a bit different in the way they live and how they deal with their struggles.
  
The Furnace (2019)
The Furnace (2019)
2019 |
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Mary starts this film married and about to go on a honeymoon the pair had been dreaming off, this goes in an instant, leaving her needing an oxygen tank to get through the day, with any hopes of running dashed. Angry at the world, she starts to close off, finding any attempts at returning to her passion ending in hospital trips, until she meets Coffin, here she learns about faith and new technology to overcome her odds to compete in the race that was her honeymoon plan, one that is a test for even the toughest runners in the world. Coffin is a gravedigger in America, even though he is trained as a doctor back in Africa, he offers to help Mary get back to her former self, teaching her to pace herself, preparing her for the impossible sounding race. He must watch from the side lines, with hope that she will make it through each stage of the race. Raphaella is a fellow runner that Mary meets along the way, one to help support her over the course of the journey.

Performances – Jamie Bernadette steps away from the action horror roles we have seen her in recently for a much more serious role, one that does play into her strengths, she deals with the athletic demand of the performance with ease, while bringing the emotional impact of her character’s journey through the film. Luthuli Dlamini does a wonderful job in his role too bringing the calmness to help make Mary strong through the film.

Story – The story here follows one woman that loses everything she had a dreamt off until she finds her faith and pushes herself to get back on the track and complete the race she was meant to do with her husband. This is a story that shows the inspiration of wanting to overcome tragedy and finding a way to achieve this in a world you wouldn’t normal consider. We do get a normal montage of training, while a large part of the story follows the race being competed in. we do get to see just how much needed to be overcome, though it could have given us more of a time frame and just what the injury Mary had, like how likely it is to overcome, or would it be something she was meant to be living with for the rest of her life.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show us just how her life changes in America, while it does get the beauty shots of the African wild reserve seeing the different animals around area.


Scene of the Movie – The race final leg.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not getting a full look at the time frame.

Final Thoughts – This is an inspiring story of overcoming tragedy to get back to the former strength, with powerful performances throughout.

Overall: Inspiring Throughout.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Exorcist - Season 1 in TV

Oct 30, 2017 (Updated Oct 30, 2017)  
The Exorcist  - Season 1
The Exorcist - Season 1
2016 | Horror
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
The issue with remakes is that it tries too hard to connect itself to the original while putting its own stamp as something new. This is no different.

Here we see a young woman becoming possessed with a demon said to be the same as the one before. But it has spread and gathered followers across Chicago. The priests involved include Father Tomas, flawed by temptations and questioning his faith, and Father Marcus, a known exorcist, who feels guilty about the death of one of his charges. So it's a similar setup as before, but their backstories are explored in detail unlike the first film.

The whole possession culminates up to a bigger conspiracy - a plot to kill the Pope visiting the city. There is a twist in between which reveals the connection between the film and the series.

While it's an easy watch, and the make up on the woman while possessed is pretty graphic, it finishes quite quickly all in the last episode. The build up takes a while, you have to get to the third episode for it to start getting interesting. And to be honest some of the episodes in between were quite boring and tried too hard to be dramatic. The most important part of the film was the subtletly of the story and the series is the opposite. Overall, watchable but not if you keep comparing it to the film which was a masterpiece.
  
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Lee Nightingales (73 KP) Aug 9, 2019

The show never positioned itself as a remake. It's set in the same universe and the timelines interlink, but it's not a remake.

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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) Aug 10, 2019

It's still no reason to recycle a plotline.

Now I am normally not a big fan of "self help" books so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. With that being said this is not the typical book you think of when you hear self help. The book is a combination fairy tale & self help book.
It tells the story of Morgan who has a complete break down in her faith of herself. That break down climaxes with her artist boyfriend tossing her designer duds out the window of their apartment onto a rain soaked street. This causes Morgan to take a step back and analyze the way she was presenting herself to the world.
The story of itself was okay. Morgan was an interesting character that had many layers to her. However, I found it fairly predictable which surprised me. I expected to enjoy the story more than the self help suggsestions at the end of each chapter, however I found myself more engrossed in them than the story itself.
This was an okay read. It put many interesting points out there for you to consider and look at in your own life. The writing left something to be desired however. If I took one thing from it, it is a renewed passion for journaling. I'd done it in the past but kind of let it fall by the wayside. This book makes me want to pull it back out & use it to help me sort through my own life.
  
Oh my goodness! I absolutely loved everything about this book. Roseanna M. White has been a long time favorite of mine and I was so excited to see what she had in store for her fans this time. I have to say that she did a wonderful job, yet again, and filled this book with wonderful pieces of history, Godly messages of love and hope, and characters that are beautifully created.

I loved Rosemary and Peter's characters. They instantly captured my heart and kept me hooked til the last page. Following Rosemary and her thiefing ways, and Peter's writing ways, Ms. White really took me on a whirlwind ride. Seeing Peter struggling with his stuttering really brought out the mama in me! 

I definitely recommend this book with the highest of 5 stars! Filled with faith, love, friendship, and wit, you absolutely do not want to miss this fantabulous start to a new series by the talented hands of Ms. White. You'll be taken to a place in history that will cacoon you in all the feels and keep you there until you reach the end. Then you'll be desperately waiting until the next book releases! Well done, Ms. White! I can't wait for the next one. <a href="https://cafinatedreads.com/tlc-book-tours-review-a-name-unknown-by-roseanna-m-white/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Cafinated Reads</a>