Author: Rebekahrox

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love

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by isthisselfcare

Granger caught Draco watching her as the house-elf vanished. “What?” she asked. “I await your Manifesto,” said Draco. Granger sniffed. “I’ve come to terms with the fact that there are some parts of wizarding society I shall never understand.” “But you accept them?” “No,” said Granger. “I tolerate them.” “Hm.” “Don’t worry, I shan’t begin a house-elf revolution within your halls.”

I didn’t realize that the last book I read (Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle) had started its life as Draco/Hermione fanfiction when I got it from Netgalley. If I had, I probably would not have put my name down for it. I had never heard the term “Dramione” which is fiction that imagines a love story between the two enemies of the original series. I’ve never “shipped” the pair, though I’ve been aware that some yearn for that love story. Mostly this is because Ron is my favorite character and I love him. The first book threw me into a bit of a Harry Potter fan fiction rabbit hole and I emerged with this book. The reviews were wonderful across the board, and I was intrigued. 15 % into it, I was completely charmed and thoroughly hooked. I was thrilled that it measured up to the hype. As I got deeper into it, I was lost in admiration of the writing and the way J.K. Rowling’s world was expanded on, altered a bit, and picked up 15 years later. I was emersed in that world, and in awe of author’s take on Rowling’s creation. It recalled how I felt while reading the original series. It made me happy like that.

15 years on from the 2nd Wizarding War, Hermione Granger has straddled the Muggle and the Wizarding World. She is a respected surgeon, professor, and scientist at Cambridge University and in the Magical World she is a renowned “Healer.” She is as famous as Harry Potter and even has her own Chocolate Frog Card. I think that gives you an idea of her status. Draco Malfoy hasn’t changed a bit except that he is more mature and has rejected his former racist attitudes toward non-purebloods and deeply regrets his involvement with the Death Eaters.

…vivid memory returned, of Bellatrix’s handiwork, stark against Granger’s skin. Of Granger, limp and wrought-out, lying like a dead thing on the drawing room floor. Of the blood oozing out of the fresh-carved letters. Draco had never used the word Mudblood again, after that. Draco hid his own inner arm shame from the world, but he would’ve thought that Granger, of all people, would’ve been able to heal hers away. Clearly, she still bore the mark of Bellatrix’s knife.

He is considered, along with “Pothead” and “Weasel” One of the foremost Aurors in the country. For this reason, much to his irritation, he is assigned to protect Hermione Granger who is working on a secret medical project so important, the current minister of magic (Shacklebolt) fears that her life may be in danger. What Hermione is working on is an ongoing mystery in the novel and the reveal is worth the wait.

The book is told from Draco’s point of view. His feelings for Hermione progress from bored irritation to utter devotion, as Draco must stay handy and on the look out for any potential dangers she may face as she works on her project. It is very “two steps forward one step back” as their relationship develops. Despite their personality conflict however, their mutual respect, almost from the beginning, is never in doubt. Though it is very well hidden. The snark is top-tier.

The book is part romantasy, part rom-com and part swashbuckling adventure and quest. With a little horror and thriller thrown in. It is the whole package as far as plot, and is also rich in wit and dialogue. The author takes great care to bring in people and elements from the original series, but not too much. This is the love story that never was between the bossy insufferable swot and the shallow, morally questionable, and bad-tempered womanizer (as they see each other.) Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, for example, are still great friends with Hermione, but they are definitely peripheral to the action. They have moved on and academia-loving Hermione frankly doesn’t have that much in common with them (as we already knew anyway.)

When’s the last time Pot and Wheeze even read a book?” “Is that a rhetorical question?” asked Granger. “No. Answer me.” “Damn it.” Granger lapsed into silence….

The two share a grudging if respectful professional rapport with Draco.

The author sticks close to canon while imagining the future but sometimes she diverges from it pretty significantly. But it was good. Both of the Weasley twins are still alive, as are Nymphadora Tonks and Lupin. In fact, Tonks is the Head of the Auror Office and Draco’s boss. Poignantly, Hermione was never able to reunite with her parents.

However, Granger continued. “I Obliviated both of them during the war. Sent them to Australia to keep them safe. By the time I’d found them again, it was too late to reverse the spell without risking damage to their minds. They’re living quite happily in Adelaide and have no idea that they ever had a daughter.”

As a mother, that killed me. Some of the departures are a little strange. Ron is now in a serious relationship with Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom is with Pansy Parkinson and part of Draco’s social circle. (I’d liked to know how that happened!) Also, in this book, Wizards and Witches are limited as to how much magic they can use at once, and often have to wait to recover their full strength if engaged in lengthy and challenging confrontations or undertakings.

Wizardkind is still (kind of endearingly) clueless about much of the Muggle world, although Owls have now been pretty much replaced with “Jotters”, a kind of text message machine. (Distributed by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes) and even embraced by Draco’s traditional and old fashioned mother. Draco wants to learn the computer.

The internet was a thing that Draco was not quite certain he understood, but Granger could write things like ‘cat’ or ‘house’ or ‘oncology’ in a box, and information about the things came up, and pictures, too. It seemed extraordinarily useful. An instant encyclopaedia. Granger said that the entire contents of libraries were on it…Granger…explained the cloud and Hackers. The cloud was interesting, conceptually. The Hackers’ lack of axes or other violent weaponry disappointed him. Granger confirmed that there was usually no bloodshed involved. Anticlimactic, overall.

The book is over 700 pages so this review barely scratches the surface. It seemed so authentic. I was in a state of constant awe while I was reading it. It was a great love story. When Draco and Hermione finally come together it got a little too spicy for me, but the author (who injects her own voice periodically) thoughtfully and courteously gives the reader an Adult Content Warning. “Please scroll down to the tilde (~) if you prefer to skip to softer things.”
And bonus! It has pictures! This book is available for free (per one of J.K. Rowling’s requirements for fan fiction based on her books) on a website called Archive of Our Own and can be downloaded to e-readers. If you love Harry Potter and can’t get enough, I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Absolutely Devoted to You

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Sustad to the Rescue

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**Sigh of Relief** Thank you, Kimberly Sustad for coming to Hallmark’s rescue after a string of sub-par movies (in my opinion). She is a treasure that can transform a plain throwaway line like “I’m Leaving” into part of a witty repartee that not only makes you laugh, but gives the viewer another layer to her character, already bursting with charm and likability. When she is in a Hallmark movie you know that she will make a good movie pretty great and a so-so movie pretty good. What can I say? She is just a terrific actress. She gives any character she plays charisma and authenticity. And that is hard to come by.

She plays Kaitlin, a segment producer for a morning show whose executive producer is retiring. Kaitlin wants the job not only because she is an ambitious go-getter, but because if they bring in someone from the outside he or she will bring their own team, jobs will be lost, and her little behind-the-scenes family will be broken up. Her promotion depends on the show’s end of summer big bash being a big success and beating the other morning show in the ratings. To that end, Kaitlin latches on to the can’t miss idea of bringing back a boy’s band who had a massive hit in the 1990s, but strangely disappeared from the music scene after their first album. The band, and particularly the lead singer, Derrick (Jesse Metcalfe), is beloved by Merrie, the influential co-host. If Kaitlin can reunite the band to perform on her show, Kaitlin’s promotion is assured. While 3 of the 4 members of the band prove easy to find, friendly, and obliging, Derrick, the linchpin, does not. Kaitlin finally tracks him down in a small Long Island community center where he serves as the director while fiercely protecting his hard-won anonymity. It was he that was responsible for breaking up the fledging promising band in the first place as he could not handle the fame, pressure, and huge venues which broke the connection he felt with his audience. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for Kaitlin, the community center is struggling. To raise money, they are putting on a variety show featuring a talented band of 4 teens that Derrick is mentoring. This didn’t make a lot of sense. He is coaching them to be good but not so good as to be successful. Because their lives will be ruined like his was. Oh well. Unfortunately (or fortunately) sales are slow and Derrick agrees that he will “think about” joining his former bandmates on the morning show, if Kaitlin can take the variety show in hand and make it a financial success. 

** Spoilers**

While a romance built around a struggling community center is not exactly an original idea for a Hallmark (insert sardonic laughter), the rest of the plot elements added new wrinkles and had more than the usual entertainment value. The 4 teens were talented and their musical number was cute once it was whipped into shape by the “world famous choreographer” that Kaitlin brings in to help. One of the boys is sad because his military father can’t get leave to come home for his and his wife’s 25th anniversary party until Kaitlin intervenes. Her assistant Sara, played by the talented and likable Meghan Heffern and TJ, one of the old band members, fall into insta-love. Of course we have the mystery and angst of Derrick’s anxiety at possibly being dragged back into the spotlight and his old friends and Kaitlin trying to help with amateur therapy and lecturing. Not surprisingly,  the big secret of his idetity he thought he was hiding was no big secret after all. Everyone was just being polite. Under pressure from her sponsors, Merrie, the giddy co-host and resident loose cannon, announces prematurely and behind Kaitlin’s back that the reclusive mystery-man, Derrick, will definitely take part in the reunion show and perform. This is the “going to hell in a hand basket” part because despite his promise to “think about it”, Derrick never had any intention of joining his bandmates on the TV show. Of course, under Kaitlin’s guidance, the community center variety show is a sell-out. Despite this, in a low point for his character, Derrick weakly refuses to change his mind and help a girl out. I guess technically, he never made a promise to appear, but as all parents know, when you say “I’ll think about it” it means you will. They definitely had a deal. I was pretty disgusted with him but will draw a curtain so as not to be too spoilery about the last 5 minutes of the movie. LOL.

All, and I mean all, of the actors in this effort did a great job and really pushed what could have been a fairly pedestrian Hallmark into “really quite good” territory. In addition to Kimberly Sustad, Lynda Boyd, who played the tough but amiable gatekeeper to the community center and Derrick’s loyal friend, made a nothing part a highlight. Tetiana Ostapowych who played Merry was over-the-top irritating and silly, but that was what her role needed to be. The young teens were great, and the former band members a pleasant and sensible port in a storm. Despite an unnecessary apology and some cheesiness at the very end, Hallmark is back in my good graces. **7 1/2 stars**

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Toast to Italy

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It’s Toast

**Spoilers**

A perfectly pleasant Torrey DeVitto and Will Kemp star in this agreeable but bland “quest” movie set in the small towns and countryside of the Umbria region of Italy. The scenery was indeed a big plus and was nicely photographed and presented as the background to the story, such as it was. Let’s just say the scenery did the heavy lifting in this movie.

Torrey plays Jenny, one of two sisters who are planning the wedding of their youngest third sister. Unfortunately, 5 days before the ceremony the two discover that the bottle of wine they have been saving to toast the marriage at the reception has been drunk. It has been a long standing tradition that the brides of the family have had their official toast using one these bottles that their grandfather brought with him when he emigrated from Italy. Thanks to one rogue bride who chose a white over this particular vintage of red and whose marriage ended in divorce, it is considered a curse on the marriage if a bottle of this wine is not used. A curtain is drawn over the story behind how that last bottle was drunk despite its importance to the happy marriages in the family. It must have been a hell of a reception. 

It turns out that the wine (a 1968 Farrazelli Rosso) is very rare and has reached legendary status in the old country. It is known as “The Love Wine,” and a couple that drinks it together will be blessed with true love. Or something like that. As it happens, the only bottle around is set to be auctioned off and Jenny is dispatched to Italy to snag it. On the way to the auction, Jenny meets Arrigo (Will) who is actually English despite his name, but his mother was Italian and he speaks the language fluently. He is a journalist who is also after the bottle because he is writing an article about it for his magazine’s “Love Issue” and it will be the grand prize in a contest. Their dueling bids for the bottle are trumped by a guy in the back of the room who outbids both of them. It ends up going for 4000 euros which is about 4600 dollars. Not unreasonable for a rare bottle of almost 60-year-old wine with a legend attached but certainly more than Jenny was hoping to spend to replace that final bottle that was so carelessly drunk at the last family wedding. They  squabble over who was to blame for the eminent and famous wine collector outbidding them. Clearly, it was neither one’s fault, but that is irrelevant: squabble they must, to start the pair off on their romantic journey. They team up to track down another bottle. Enter the beautiful scenery of Umbria. Arrigo assures Jenny that if it turns out they only find one bottle, she can have it because ladies first. One senses that he really doesn’t care that much and the same could be said for Jenny. I didn’t get the idea that she really believed her sister’s marriage would be cursed because of that traditional  bottle of wine. As is demonstrated throughout their journey, she knows next to nothing about her grandfather-who-raised-her’s sad history. Even Arrigo knows more about her family than she does. Her ignorance did not endear me to her.  As she and Arrigo follow the trail to the last of the wine, which is rumored to be a whole cache, Jenny meets and communes with various members of her Italian family, which is nice. The couple’s relationship progresses, even surviving the dreaded misunderstanding-due-to-hearing-half-a-conversation. At last, the trail leads to the owner of what turns out to be the last bottle. The rest were destroyed by a warehouse fire. We learn that the last guy was in love with Jenny’s great aunt she had met previously and was saving the bottle to drink with her if they were ever re-united. She tells the older man that her aunt is now widowed and still loves him. She refuses to accept the gift of the bottle in return for his promise that he will go to her. I would have liked to leave Jenny and Arrigo by the wayside and followed that story, TBH. Arrigo and Jenny part in Rome because they live in two different time zones. But don’t worry, yadda yadda yadda. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t the last bottle after all.

Will Kemp is a very popular Hallmark leading man and I have a feeling that people will probably really like this one mainly because of his presence, as well as the on location filming in beautiful Italy. Especially compared to the disaster that was this year’s “Christmas in July.” Hallmark movie watchers haven’t seen Torrey DeVitto in quite some time, but as always, she fills the bill. There just was not a whole lot for her to work with in the role she was playing. Both Will and Torrey’s characters just seemed to be going through the motions. The stakes seemed low in their relationship and their search for the bottle.  At one point at the door of the last hope to secure a bottle, Jenny just starts to walk away, afraid of perhaps missing her flight, not even waiting for him to answer the knock on the door. As it turns out, she actually had plenty of time to spare.  So I guess it turns out whole thing was worthy of just one big shrug from her, as was the movie, for me. I did welcome the return of Hallmark’s magical suitcase, which contained at least 5 beautiful ensembles complete with matching shoes, 2 different jackets, and 4 bags. No traipsing about Rome and Umbria in a pair of jeans, nice wash and wear tops, and a backpack  for Jenny.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Love Under the Mistletoe (a.k.a. Operation Mistletoe)

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Hair and Holly

Last night’s (07/25/2026) Christmas in July premiere, the last of them for this year, thankfully, did not disappoint. It met my expectations, set up by the 3 preceding offerings in the series, as basic and only minimally entertaining at best. And it was not so bad as to be deliciously awful. Even the presence of Jen Lilley, my least favorite Hallmark actress, could not push it that low. Like the others, this is one that could not quite cut the fruitcake as a bona fide Hallmark premiere as an original new movie. Like the first in the series, Christmas Under Construction, this is a movie that Hallmark purchased from Hulu and is still being aired there. The other two C in J movies were ones that were wrapped up and sitting on the shelf for two years until Hallmark rescued them and put them on the air.

Ryan (Nick Bateman), a successful financier, returns to his hometown to sell his beloved deceased Grandmother’s (Nan’s) house. He becomes reacquainted with his former high-school crush, Grace (Jen Lilley), an interior decorator. Yes, it was just basic. Plot-wise it was as routine as Snowbound for The Holidays without the talents and appeal of Vanessa Lengies or real snow.  The Christmas decorations were scene stealing and a little tacky but not as over-the-top as Christmas Under Construction. The decorations in that one were so bad they actually constituted a highlight. This one featured a real estate guy that wanted to tear down “Nan’s” home, but he was not evil or powerful enough like in O Little Christmas Market, to be a focus of hissing and booing. This guy is kind of pitiful and ineffectual. When he was trying to get Ryan to sign on the dotted line, he turns around and disrespects and insults him to our heroine while he is standing right there. Yeah, that’ll work. We find out later that our hero (shocker!) didn’t sell to this bozo, but we are deprived of the pleasure of seeing the poor sap getting his comeuppance or even a telling off. (followed by the standard Hallmark change of heart/first step to redemption, of course)

Most of the negativity towards this movie in its first incarnation on Hulu seems to be focused on Nick Bateman’s hair style and whether the eponymous plant is actually mistletoe. Nick Bateman is very handsome and likable in this movie and he has always combed his hair that way, so I am not going to jump on that train. As for whether the plant that Jen Lilley’s best friend is randomly attaching to the ceilings of the town in hopes that Ryan and Grace will kiss, is really mistletoe, I think that the jury is out. It is certainly not holly, as some critics claim. In some scenes it does look like mistletoe, and really, why would they risk not using mistletoe in a movie that mistletoe is such an integral part of the plot? Can you imagine? “The Mistletoe” is played by…”Holly” ? I think it is mistletoe in most scenes albeit probably plastic. As for my main prejudice against this movie, the lead actress, she was a non-issue. Her character was neither despicable nor TSTL* and her portrayal was just fine. Although she and her best friend acted like giddy high-schoolers rather than mature adults, that is just par for the course. Her hair was firmly under control in this one. She still talks too fast and I needed the closed captions when she put more than two sentences together. To end on a positive note, I did like Lisa Michelle Cornelius as “Mayor Sami”.

*Too Stupid to Live

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Love Across the Aisle

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By Todd McGee

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I make a point of not reading books that are not from “real publishers”. With all of the choices out there, I have to have a few filters. But I was asked to read this one by a friend and review it if I felt like it, so I shrugged and said “OK”. After the first couple of chapters Todd McGee’s good writing, intriguing premise and amusing dialogue soon made me forget my prejudices and I started to get involved in the story and care about the characters.

Romances between odd couples have always attracted me. Opposite stations in life, physical attractiveness or personalities all make for reliable sources of comedy or drama. This one features a take I have not personally ever run across in a book: a romance between a conservative republican and a liberal democrat set on the political stage. Milly is a very attractive and charismatic former athlete running for the Pennsylvania state senate as a Republican. Mark is a political operative working for the incumbent, a liberal but stodgy democrat with a comb over, “who talked— mumbled, really— like he had a mouthful of loose teeth and was afraid one might fall out.” Newcomer Millie Blair is very much the underdog who shocked the good ole boy network by winning their party’s primary. Her small team is on a shoe string budget as they run a grass roots campaign going to any venue they can get. But from one church basement and school auditorium to the next their campaign is slowly and surely building momentum on the strength of Millie’s eloquent and rousing speeches, charisma, and photogenic appeal. Mark is covering her semi-covertly to uncover missteps and weaknesses his side can exploit. As Millie starts whittling down what started as a huge gap in the polling numbers, Mark’s candidate, Senator Phil Cooper is getting antsy. Mark has yet to expose Milly doing “anything stupid.”


She’s a saint… Highschool valedictorian, Tennis scholarship to Penn State. Academic all-american…The closest thing I’ve found is a speeding ticket. The judge ordered her to perform twenty hours of community service for a local non- profit. She worked more than one hundred, wrote a business plan and held the organization’s most successful fundraiser ever. After she finished her service, they elected her to the Board of Directors and named an award after her.” “Geez, this woman is like a nun.” “With the body of a swimsuit model. You stare at her and think all these impure thoughts and then feel guilty about it and ask for absolution.”

But one day, during a campaign stop Mark inadvertently films a wardrobe malfunction that might possibly provide that one loose thread that could unravel her campaign. But instead of sharing it with his bosses who would probably use it to their advantage, he stops filming and warns her in time to prevent her from embarrassing herself. Mark is a good guy, and he has sisters. He deletes it in front of her (at the police station-because in the confusion her security guys call the cops) and Millie is grateful and impressed. Mutual crushes and growing feelings are not far behind.

The growth of the romance is well done and, well, romantic. It is a slow burn because they both struggle with their personal admiration and feelings for each other in the face of their adversarial professional relationship and political differences. Their attraction is of the heart and head rather than involuntary physical chemistry. That is there too, but unlike so many romances these days, it is not boringly dwelt on ad nauseum. It is complicated by Milly’s relationship with her campaign manager which had been getting romantic, and the recent death of Mark’s fiancée in a car accident. He was deeply in love with her and she was wonderful. Usually a past relationship that the main character is recovering from has some flaw or other to make the romance at hand shine all the brighter. This is one of the many cliches that the author avoids falling into and boy did it make for a refreshing read.

In addition to the romance there was plenty more in the story to keep my interest. Will Milly’s inexperience trip her up eventually? Will Mark play a part in it? A debate between the two candidates is agreed to. How will that go? Milly finally has the attention of the national Republican power brokers. Can she stay true to herself? Will Milly and Mark’s developing feelings for each other be exposed? That would not end well. Finally, we are introduced to Mark’s sister Carolyn who turned out to be the strongest character in the book and very funny. I loved her. The main crisis occurs when the video that Mark deleted somehow makes an appearance online and goes viral. How did that happen and who is responsible? Mark is innocent, but of course he is blamed. How will the fallout affect Milly’s growing momentum? Or will it backfire and derail her opponent’s campaign? Will his good name be cleared? Whoo. That’s a lot of questions. But I was there for it and it really kept me turning the pages.

Amazingly, despite the political backdrop, the author managed to avoid revealing a personal political agenda. Both sides were gently skewered. Liberal Democrat or conservative Republican readers alike should find nothing here to offend them unless you are one of those who think all Democrats or all Republicans are inherently either evil or saintly. It reminded me of some of the best of the old category romances back in the day, but I certainly see why the political dynamic is rarely tackled in light rom-coms. Especially these days. If you’re looking for a light old fashioned romance that does not follow the usual tired beats, you couldn’t do better than this one. There is no spice, just two people falling in love. After reading it I turned to a best selling chick-lit romance by a top author in the genre. After 17%, I put it aside. I wonder if I would have had more patience with it if I hadn’t picked it up so soon after enjoying this one.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Snowbound for the Holidays

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The Ski Lodge One

This was the one about the Ski Lodge. You know, the struggling old fashioned family one which is about to be taken over by the multinational resort developer, which will erase everything that made it special with its hateful updates? Like Wi-Fi and indoor plumbing? Haha, I kid. But you get the idea. My goodness this year’s “Christmas in July” offerings have been lame and run-of-the-the-mill. Have they always been like that? Or is it just me? This one starred Vanessa Lengies who has been in some very good Hallmarks which were very good mainly because of her. She plays Cassie Evergreen (last name is Christmas-y instead of first, for a change of pace. The only.) She is  the daughter of the owner of a small chain of boutique hotels who is visiting from the big city to assess the value of Linden Lodge to determine its fair market value. Her mother is an old friend of the owner and if Cassidy does a good job, she will give her a big promotion. She hates the cold. The original owner’s widowed son-in-law, Trey, has equal shares in the lodge which is interesting. He is trying to fight off his father-in-law’s plans to sell. He is a single Dad and technology averse. He still listens to his music on a Sony Walkman and “Could you print that out for me?” All hopes rest on “The Christmas Fest” which will benefit from Cassidy’s computer skills while she drags Trey (Marcus Rosner) kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The big deadline of Christmas Eve (of course) looms, but they do everything but worry about the deadline.

I had a glimmer of hope for this one because of the talents of Vanessa Lengies and a cute scene in the preview with Skywalker Hughes, who plays Lily, Marcus Rosner’s daughter. But not even Vanessa could raise this one above the mundane. I was not surprised to learn that this one is also a movie that has been sitting on the shelf for two years, waiting for Hallmark or someone else to air it. I’m giving it a generous 6 because there wasn’t anything blatantly dumb about it and didn’t make me too mad. It also had real snow (I think). To answer my original question posed in the previous paragraph, Yes, Hallmark “Christmas in July” movies have been pretty much second stringers, at least for the last two years. Last year was the unremarkable “Unwrapping Christmas” quartet. And before that, the only one that rose above the fray was the delightful Rescuing Christmas, which was actually featured on the Hallmark streaming service prior to the Network premiere. So. Next Week’s offering does not look promising either “for reasons.”

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Once, Again, Always

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By Amanda Gayle

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The amnesia trope in books and movies has always intrigued me and resulted in some favorite, (or at least greatly enjoyed) reads and watches. I recently finished re-reading Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella and liked it very much (again.) What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty is a favorite and definitely on my re-read soon list. The old movies Love Letters with Jennifer Jones and Random Harvest with Greer Garson are both favorite movies. This book was very romance forward and very much slow burn. Usually like the latter, but not the former. So take my review in that context.

Briefly, Molly awakes in the hospital with the past 6 years of her life a blank. She finds herself married to a man she last knew as a mean bully, but is now a good guy and a devoted husband. She has the same friends as she did, and some new ones as well. She reluctantly goes back to their apartment with him and starts to try to get acclimated to her “new” life and her marriage, hoping that her memory will return.
A good portion of the book was flashbacks to “Before” detailing Molly’s toxic teenage relationship with Aster before they got together. Every flashback to “before” piles on how nasty the now nice Aster used to be. There was no slow reveal of his character beneath the surface, explanation, or development. He was just stuck as a nasty piece of work from the first flashback to the last. This is how she remembers him. It was not a good choice because it was so limiting. We are given the facts, in the present day, of the beginnings of how the Molly-Aster romance started, but we do not see it first hand on the page at all. This would have made some good reading, but there was no payoff to all of the anticipation. I would have loved to see the stories of how the friends of Aster and Molly reacted to the change in their feelings for each other, and became friends themselves. It was just a strange choice for a romance and a book about relationships. A lot of opportunity for comedy and drama unrealized. Speaking of relationships, where is the story of that fateful and disastrous Christmas Dinner with Aster’s parents? Aster’s mother seems to be wanting to reach out, but is apparently under the thumb of her husband. Where’s that story? At the end, we are again fed hope and anticipation for another possible plot development I would have liked to read about, but again it comes to nothing.

This is a review of an advanced reading copy for Netgalley so I don’t want to get into too many details because of spoilers. But so many questions. The only Aster Molly has ever known is as a spoiled super-wealthy snob. They now live in an average apartment where the smell of the dumpsters permeate their living space. But Molly never thinks to ask, “Where did all your money go, Aster?” “Why do we live like this?” I was certainly curious! But not Molly. She never asks what he does for a living. Or what she does for a living. WTF? One of the first things Aster does is to “curate” the photos, conversations, and contacts in her phone, hiding large swaths of information about her life from her. He locks the door of their extra room and won’t let her in. He is trying to “protect” her, he claims. He acts like he is hiding something nefarious and unspeakable. But this is not a Domestic Thriller or Horror story. So no, it’s not a murder, cheating, or any other unforgivable act by either one of them. It is very guessable from the very beginning but I thought it couldn’t be that because Aster was being just so weird and controlling. And Molly acts like the infant he is treating her like by not putting her foot down. Attempts to justify were made, like the author knew something was off, but it just wasn’t enough.

The romantic parts were well done and the writing overall was good. I liked the friends, what we know of their lives and personalities, and their contributions. The way Molly’s favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo, was incorporated into the end was a nice touch. It kept my interest and the parts were all there. Unfortunately aspects that would have been most engaging and interesting to me were strangely not written about. When I found out this book started its life as Fan Fiction shipping Draco and Hermione, it made me thing back about it. As such it was kind of brilliant. But as a novel standing on its own, not quite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/ Harper Voyager for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

O Little Christmas Market

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Rinky Dink

“Christmas in July” does seem to be the season for unambitious efforts and not breaking out of the tried and true. This one was made in 2024 and I guess has been on the shelf until Hallmark pulled it out this year for their “Poor Man’s Countdown to Christmas”. This one features Katherine Barrell, who has given some nice performances, going for it. She is stars with Hallmark mainstay, Stephen Huzsar. Their pairing was OK. I didn’t have a problem with it.

 I’m not going to go over the plot in detail. Suffice it to say it’s about saving a small town Christmas Market from a big city developer. He was as “bad guy” as these characters usually are, putting the demands of “the board”, and profits ahead of everything, including his son Grayson (Huszar). Unlike his father, Grayson yearns to be creative and to use his architect skills for good to bring communities together and to go outside of the box with his building designs. Unfortunately he is firmly under his father’s thumb and won’t stand up to him or just leave. Katherine Barrell plays Olivia, who is still grieving her Dead Father. Her first priority is saving the Christmas Market he founded as a way to hold on to him. Her hobby is making miniature scenes or dioramas. This plays a pretty big part of the plot as it turns out to be the key to selling the solution that will make Grayson’s father happy and save the market at the same time. Also, she must learn to spend more time with the hobby that she loves, and make her “art” a serious business. She does nothing with her creations when she could be selling her work online or in her own shop. Instead she busies herself with prioritizing everyone else’s business over herself. 

There were a quite few things about this movie that I couldn’t buy into. First of all, I am sorry to say that Olivia’s miniatures seemed pretty rinky dink to me. Other than painting a rock a strange shade of blue (for a rock) and putting teeny tiny little miniature Christmas ornaments on a pre-fabricated tree, we do not see her actually doing any art. At one point, she goes to a hobby shop to buy the little miniature accessories which she arranges on the base. We  should have seen her actually making her miniature buildings from raw materials, or her making the molds of the real people she puts in there. I mean my late mother-in-law put a Hallmark miniature Christmas scene on her mantel every year but that did not make her an artist. She would have hooted at that idea. And it looked much better than these creations.

The merchants or vendors we see selling stuff at the market seem to be very uninvested in doing anything to help themselves or in keeping the (also rinky dink) market afloat. We are never given a good reason why they don’t have the market all year round to make more money. Something about the stalls being old and decrepit? Well, couldn’t they invest a little of their own time and money to fix them up? For their own good? And what’s wrong with a tent and a table? That’s what the food, farm, and craft vendors in our city do at our “Soda City Market”. It takes up 2 to 3 blocks on our Main Street every Saturday all year long. 200+ dealers every week. It’s quite the draw. It looked like there were about 12 at this market. I didn’t see anything that needed any “infrastructure” to sell, except for some guy selling hot soup along with his homemade fudge (!). “Infrastructure” being an electrical outlet. At end they do rally, starting with with a jar for their customers to put change in. Way to go all out, guys! They come through with a huge wad of cash from somewhere to pay for the transport of free metal shipping containers some company was trying to off load. These containers were to be the new stalls for the vendors and my goodness were they ugly. This whole idea seemed pretty spurious to me.

My sympathies were all with the guy wanting to sell the vacant lot to the developer. He was an old guy with grandchildren and all of his money was tied up in that property. He had to sell. But he had to endure the scowls and guilt trips that everyone (especially Olivia) were trying to lay on him. When you’re rooting for the opposition, that’s not a good sign.

Lastly, our hero, Grayson, came across as pretty weak for not standing up to his father or striking out on his own as their values and philosophies were so diametrically opposed. He finally did at the end (about 15 years too late), but before Olivia had to pitch her solution for his development to his scary father, he actually left town! Without a word to her. Olivia had to chase after him. Not a good look. 

One of the themes of this movie is the importance of creativity and willingness to go outside of the box rather than resisting change at every turn. This movie’s showrunners could certainly have taken a page out of their own book because in every aspect, this effort was firmly stuck right there in that Hallmark box.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

The Other Bennet Sister

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By Janice Hadlow

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In the midst of so large a family, she was utterly alone.


I am attracted to Jane Austen reimaginings, sequels etc. and have read many of them (and seen all of the movies I know about). I picked this one up because I read the BBC was making a 10 part series based on it. It was a good book and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well done, and our beloved P&P characters all seemed authentic to the original creations. Except Mrs. Bennet who was very unsympathetic but not in a humorous way. There is no humor or wit in this book at all, which mostly accounts for my rating. But there are many thoughtful and insightful passages.

There was something distancing in Jane’s benevolence, bestowed as it was equally upon both those who deserved it and those who did not. It was an admirable quality, but spread so generally that Mary knew it implied no special warmth for her. Jane’s strongest affections were reserved for Mr. Bingley and Lizzy; only they were granted access to her private heart, and Mary knew she would never be invited to join them.

When she was silent, she merely confirmed his opinion of her dullness. When she sought to entertain, she always struck the wrong note. Then Elizabeth would intervene, smoothing everything away with a joke or a laugh. Under Lizzy’s tender, amused gaze, her husband became another man, warm, smiling, taken by surprise at his own happiness.

However, I am flummoxed as to how they are going to squeeze a ten part series out of this! A movie, maybe. So much of the book is Mary’s inner life and thoughts. She is a loner (not her choice) and everyone mostly ignores her. So there is not a whole lot of dynamic interaction with other characters. It is the definition of slow moving leisurely pace.

** a little addendum after seeing the wonderful adaptation last night. Stretching the book out to a 10 part series was certainly helped by the individual episodes being only 30 minutes long! I was curious as to how they were going to wrest a whole TV series out of this book. They did so quite faithfully although I was disappointed in what they cut out. They left off Mary’s visit to Jane, and more importantly, Longbourne, after the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte. That was, to me, the most eye-opening and surprising portion of the book. It was very sad although we are left with a little hope for the marriage, I guess.

But as Mary finally drifted off to sleep, she remembered Charlotte’s refusal to meet her husband’s eyes, the bleak impression of Mr. Collins staring into his wine as she and Charlotte left the room.

In a book light on actual character study of anyone but Mary, that the treatment of Mr. Collins was a stand-out. The adaptation was excellent. Better than the book, I thought. And I loved that they circled back to John Sparrow in the movie.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

November 6, 2024

Emerald

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by Elizabeth Luard

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I don’t think I’ve ever tried harder to like a book more than this one. But at the 72% mark when the long anticipated meeting of the sibling/lovers finally happened, I just gave up. Oh it is quite the yarn, I’ll give it that. I finished it, so that says something. Published in 1995, It is very reminiscent of the old jet-setting Judith Krantz/Jackie Collins/Jilly Cooper potboilers of 1980s and 90s. Except the sex is sweet and idealized and mostly closed door. I heard about it from a glowing review on YouTube. The concept intrigued me to no end. The possibilities! I went to extraordinary lengths to get this book, finally getting a trade paperback from an inter-library loan. Prior to this, I actually emailed the author to alert her to a prominent reviewer’s praise for the book and my displeasure that the book was not readily available in the U.S. It was a major wrench for me to have to forgo my Kindle and read an unwieldy paperback. I really missed the search and highlighting function. There were a lot of minor characters in this book to keep straight and I love the Kindle for the ability to quickly get me back up to speed after a short break in reading. Not to mention the ability to read in the dark without a lamp. Poor me. But I digress.

**spoilers**

Here is the plot. Hang on tight. Born in secret and out of wedlock to Wallis Simpson and HRH the Duke of Windsor, Emerald is farmed out to one of his loyal former lovers, now happily married with a young son, to be temporarily taken care of. After the now married Duke and Duchess are banished to the Bahamas and after the heroic war time deaths of her foster parents, the powers that be, a.k.a. Anthony Anstruther, a main character and royal fixer extraordinaire, decides it is time for them to take responsibility for their daughter, whom they want nothing to do with. Luckily, the ship she and her adoring foster brother Callum are on wrecks off the coast of Callum’s grandfather, The Laird’s, remote Scottish island so 3-year-old Emerald doesn’t have to deal with the hateful couple. They are raised together (sort of) until they are wrenched apart 5 years later by Emerald being bundled off to Mexico to live with Anstruther’s mother to be raised like a lady and keep her under the radar. Meanwhile, her letters to her 12-year-old foster brother, whose heart has been “broken clean in two” by their parting, are intercepted for her own good. She grows up prowling the jungles of Mexico with her bosom buddy “Nacho”, who, like all males of all ages, are smitten with her. At 15-years-old, Emerald’s beauty, despite being so thin and gangly, promises success in the marriage arena, despite her predilection for cock fights and knifing alligators to death. It turns out that her figure is perfect for runway modeling which is discovered by her next door neighbor who happens to be a former toast of the Paris fashion scene. She has the connections necessary to pave Emerald’s way in New York and Paris and save her from a marriage of convenience while still a teenager. Emerald runs away from Lady Molly’s benign but stiflingly conventional care. Good thing she kept that alligator hide which she uses to bribe her way out of Mexico. At 16 years old, Emerald soon becomes the toast of the New York, London, and Paris fashion scene and even runs in the same New York and Paris circles as the Windsors. Uh Oh. The resemblance is soon noticed and Wallis and David, uncomfortable with that, try to get Anthony Anstruther to get rid of her but Anthony finally puts his foot down. Anthony is an interesting character. He is written as a good guy, but really does some terrible things to protect the Royal House of Windsor.

Callum, now around 23 (?) and an aspiring photographer, finally tracks now 19-year-old Emerald down and the transition from protective adoring foster brother to besotted lover is head-swiveling if inevitable. Especially since the same night they meet Emerald is raped by another childhood admirer from the remote Scottish Island. Jack is now an aspiring gossip columnist and her nemesis going forward. So when she falls pregnant there is a brief doubt as to whom the father is. (It’s Callum, of course.) She is forced to find a husband since an abortion is out of the question. Callum has disappeared to be a war photojournalist because he thinks Emerald is dead due to his house exploding. Through some behind the scenes manipulations from our friend Anthony, she meets charming, handsome, noble, and impoverished Tom Sherwood. Luckily he is gay and the marriage is never consummated. Unluckily, he is an inveterate gambler and only married her for her dowry, wrested from the wealthy Duke and Duchess. Emerald’s letters to Callum about their son are intercepted by guess who. You’d think she would have learned the first time. The world just continues to conspire against the star-crossed lovers. So far. 

My disaffection for this book was not caused by the writing or the plot, but the characters. We follow the heroine’s life from toddlerhood to young womanhood. I have never before accused a female character of being a “Mary Sue” because before this book, this kind of character never bothered me. But OMG. This girl. This Emerald. She was so over the top, it was grating and laughable. Every male in the book is absolutely captivated by her practically at first sight. Callum the love interest, from when she was 6 weeks old. A villainous character when he was 10 and she was 5. Nacho, her Mexican “best friend” and protector to whom she gifts her virginity, the same. Equally at home with both the peasants in Mexico and the glitterati of Europe, she leads a charmed life. She wears haute couture on the runway but prefers bulky sweaters and jeans in private. She saves her profligate husband’s estate from ruin on the strength of her homemade soap, candles and potpourri from her old Scottish Nan’s recipes. Before she is 26 she has turned her little business into a flourishing boutique cosmetic and gardening enterprise and building success upon success. Which she sacrifices to save her irresponsible and mostly absent husband from his criminal gambling creditors. But don’t worry, she builds it up from from scratch again after finally re-uniting with strong, handsome and devoted Callum. Those are the broad brush strokes, but we are met with something meant to be appealing, admirable, or sympathetic about Emerald on virtually every page. It was exhausting. I can’t really call it a love story at all, because Emerald and Callum spend very little time together on the page. He really only serves to give our heroine a happy ending. We spend only enough time with him to show how worthy he is. Poor Nacho is left in Mexico never to be heard of again. I really thought he would show up again in Europe, somehow coming in handy for Emerald, possibly as a powerful international drug dealer. Some things came full circle, but there were also quite a few loose ends. The main thing was that although the book was very readable and kept my interest for the most part, I just could not empathize or become invested in the main characters. Except Bertha, Tom’s mother. She was great. I hate to give such a monumental effort less than 3 stars, but there you go. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.