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Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna takes on some clients planning a Napa County wedding a month before their big day. While Babs, the wedding planner they had been using, is very professional about these clients leaving, her assistant, Stefan, isn’t. Still, Kelsey is shocked to find a dead body in the office when she comes to pick up her new client’s file. With her reputation on the line, Kelsey has to find a way to clear her name.

I loved the first in this series, and this book is just as wonderful. Kelsey, her friend Brody, and her assistant Laurel, make a wonderful trio, and their friendship and banter is a pure delight. The suspects introduced here are just as strong, and make it hard to distinguish clue from red herring until Kelsey figures it all out at the end. This is a wedding you’ll be glad you crashed.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-dying-on-vine-by-marla.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Mamma Mia! (2008) in Movies

Feb 16, 2018 (Updated Feb 16, 2018)  
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
2008 | Comedy, Musical, Romance
7
7.9 (35 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Licensed to Kill Songs
Massively successful Swedish power-pop jukebox musical. Proof that, when it comes to musicals, high-quality songs and music more than make up for dubious plotting, general cheesiness, and stars who can't actually sing or dance. Greek-island-hotelier's daughter is about to get wed, as a result she discovers her promiscuous youth coming back to haunt her - meanwhile a wounded howler monkey takes up residence in the hotel... oh, sorry, my mistake, that's just what Pierce Brosnan's vocals sound like.

Screenplay is sort of admirable for crossword-setter-like ability to crowbar in as many Abba songs as possible, no matter how tenuous their connection to the plot; cast hurl themselves into the spirit of proceedings with considerable courage. You do come away reminded of what brilliant songwriters Benny and Bjorn are; actual movie is more reminiscent of arriving late at office party and finding everyone else is much more drunk than you. Long-threatened sequel arrives this year; fingers crossed they find a way to include 'The Day Before You Came' and 'Dum Dum Diddle'.
  
I is for Innocent (Kinsey Millhone #9)
I is for Innocent (Kinsey Millhone #9)
Sue Grafton | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Five years ago, Isabelle Barney was murdered on the day after Christmas. While her estranged husband was acquitted of the crime, her ex-husband is now suing him in civil court in a wrongful death case. Kinsey has been hired to help the lawyer win the case, taking over from a PI who just died. His notes were a mess, so she is completely retracing his steps. But as she goes, she begins to wonder just who committed the murder. Is she helping the court case, or hurting it?

Kinsey is back in top form in this book. The plot twists all over the place before coming to a perfectly logical climax. Henry and Rosie are involved in a very fun sub-plot that provides some laughs. The suspects are strong, and we meet a couple of new supporting characters since Kinsey has had to move her office.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/11/book-review-i-is-for-innocent-by-sue.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Dans ma peau (2002)
Dans ma peau (2002)
2002 | Drama, Horror
"Dans ma peau" is a film that got me into French cinema (along with Martyrs, but this is a different breed of film). It's both horrific and real. An allegory about the pressure of life, specifically as a woman, protagonist Esther injures her leg at a party and develops a fixation on the wound. She begins to mutilate the wound further, using the pain as a distraction from office politics and a hard decision in her romantic life.

Brief interlude: if you struggle with self harm, do yourself a favor and either avoid this film, or watch when you're in a good frame of mind.

This movie is filmed in an innocuous way. That is to say, it doesn't FEEL like a horror movie. In fact, it's hard to even call it that, despite the horrific content. There are scenes which stretch on to the point where the audience is horribly uncomfortable. But they're also REAL. How many times have you felt inadequate or embarrassed and wished you could disappear? That's what this film embodies.
  
My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel
My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel
Sophie Kinsella | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.7 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great romance book (0 more)
Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie's life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle--from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she's trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.

Then, just as she's finding her feet--not to mention a possible new romance--the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family's farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away--until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie's future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.
  
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