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MaryAnn (14 KP) rated A Tale of Two Hearts (Once Upon a Dickens Christmas, #2) in Books

Mar 5, 2019

Innkeeper’s daughter Mina Scott will do anything to escape the drudgery of her life. She saves every penny to attend a finishing school, dreaming of the day she’ll become a real lady—and catch the eye of William Barlow, a frequent guest at the inn. William is a gentleman’s son, a charming rogue but penniless. However, his bachelor uncle will soon name an heir—either him or his puritanical cousin. In an effort to secure the inheritance, William gives his uncle the impression he’s married, which works until he’s invited to bring his wife for a visit. William asks Mina to be his pretend bride, only until his uncle names an heir on Christmas Day. Mina is flattered and frustrated by the offer, for she wants a true relationship with William. Yet, she agrees. . .then wishes she hadn’t as she comes to love the old man. And when the truth is finally discovered, more than just money is lost. Can two hearts survive such a deception?

My Thoughts: Mina has had her eye on Will since the first time she served him at her father's inn; so when Will asks her to help him by pretending to be his bride, she jumps at the chance. But as Mina and Will find out, deception brings on worries and more deception. They soon learn that as the Bible says that truth will set you free. There are many lessons in this novel. One is to not lie, to be truthful in all things. It's never good to keep secrets. It's never a good thing to play with another's affections. It is also a story of forgiveness and second chances.

This was a fun book to read. This is the second book in the series "Once Upon a Dickens Christmas" and even though I haven't read the first one, it was easy to read and follow along. The characters were fun, Mina being the main character is a sweet young woman who loves to read. The readers are instantly drawn to her. Then there are Will's cousins, which I found to be very comical and in some ways true to life.

Michelle Griep is a wonderful writer, who holds the reader's attention and adds a little whimsy to the characters and story-line.

I truly enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading more from Michelle Griep.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Tammy (2014) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019

Tammy (2014)

2014 | Comedy

4.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Life for Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is a struggle in frustration. She is an outspoken individual who is not shy about speaking her mind and acting out which is often as trouble seems to follow her everywhere.

Following one particularly bad morning, Tammy decides to move away from Illinois once and for all and when her mother offers her no real encouragement, Tammy takes to the road with her grandmother (Susan Sarandon).

Despite her health issues and love for the bottle, Tammy is happy to have the company as she admires the free spirit of her grandmother who wants to have an adventure and live life to the fullest at all times.

Of course trouble seems to find Tammy and before long she has to deal with a slew of problems as well as the increasingly self destructive behavior of her grandmother.

Complications arise when a farmer named Bobby (Mark Duplass), and his father Earl (Gary Cole), enter into the picture to provide distractions to the ladies and to make them start to see the consequences of their action.

Throw in short but solid supporting work from Kathy Bates and Dan Aykroyd, and this film should have been a laugh filled riot. Instead it stays in the bittersweet range far more than it does comedy, as many of the best jokes in the film were shown in the trailer.

I credit McCarthy, who along with Ben Falcone wrote the film, for trying to move beyond the manic comedies that she has done prior. The film is marketed as more of the same but it is not. The film drags in places as you keep waiting for the laughs to come and when they do it is very sporadic. Instead the focus in on emotions, life, and being accountable as well as other heady topics it is just a shame that McCarthy keeps having to play the lovable loser parts as to be honest they are starting to get old. I joked to my wife that a prison in the film looked much like the one in “Identity Thief”.

The film attempts to combine a buddy road trip with some deeper human issues but this is not “Thelma and Louise”, and it does seem that despite the best efforts of all involved, we have seen this trip many times before and it is one that did not need to be taken again.

http://sknr.net/2014/07/02/tammy/

Kudos

Micah Ulibarri (79 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of STAR WARS Battlefront II in Video Games

Apr 3, 2018

Battlefront II had a lot to contend with this last year. Besides, Battlefront I being a very critically reviewed release, there was a large discussion created that could almost be referred to as a scandal concerning the loot crate system. I'm not here to talk about that. I want to review this game based on what we got.

First off, it's Star Wars. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and as such, I am always willing to buy in to anything no matter what the surrounding conversation may be. I did not buy the original game however due to it not containing a campaign or story mode. I'm usually not a big third person online shooter player so Battlefront I had nothing for me.

The story mode: I absolutely loved the story mode. The characters were originally introduced in the Battlefront: Inferno Squad novel so I was already invested in them. It involved following the continuing story of Iden Version through the end of Return of the Jedi, the 6th movie in the saga.

The plot was fun and engaging and involved not just the main character, but also scenarios in which you play as Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Kylo Ren. Thise were particularly fun because they change up the possible monotony of playing the same character, and also because they are beloved Star Wars characters.

There are also a number of different scenarios besides the basic run and gun you would expect from a third person shooter game. Sometimes there's a lightsaber involved. Also, and a particular favorite of mine: flight simulator in beloved spacecraft. The Millennium Falcon? Xwing? Bespin Cloud Car? You betcha.

The single player is what I bought the game for and I won't lie, that alone was worth my $60. I enjoyed it, it was properly challenging and it paid off even more when the additional chapters were added in December (free of charge).

The multiplayer wasn't as fun for me. I'm not very good against other players and I learned that quickly. I still jump on from time to time and play starfighters, but otherwise, my time with the game has been spent.

If it was just the single player I'd give it a 9. Total game is dropped due to me not enjoying the multiplayer so much.