Misty realize that she had spent a good deal of her life ready to ward off some terrible low blow. She did not believe that most people were decent or kind. She had never believed that life went along smoothly. She did not believe that life left you alone to be happy in this world. Vincent believed all these things. He thought that his happy vistas and Misty’s grim vision fused into one full-balanced picture of the world
That was what a moral system was: it helped you be good when you weren’t very nice. From Vincent, Misty learned that goodness and stupidity were not necessarily linked. You could be good and smart.
I read this book many many years ago in my twenties. I have no idea why I picked it up. Probably the title. At the time it was out of my comfort zone, but I remember I enjoyed it very much. I’ve recently seen this title by Laurie Colwin mentioned and raved about by some of my favorite reviewers, so I decided to re-read it. I really didn’t remember a thing about it. It was a sheer delight.
Set in 1970’s Manhattan, and positively reeking with the vibe and atmosphere of privilege, we follow two life-long friends, themselves fairly normal guys though very different, and their love for, courtship, and marriage to two very unusual women. Unusual for them, and just unusual period. I wish I could encapsulate them in words, but words fail. They are quirky to the point of being peculiar. But maybe they weren’t so unusual for the times and their milieu. I don’t know. They were certainly outside my experience. Endlessly unpredictable, loveable, and entertaining, I felt like I was, with them, on the edge of my seat constantly. They are not hilarious women, quite the contrary, but I was constantly chuckling and shaking my head at them in wonderment.
We meet Guido’s Holly first. Guido is smitten at first sight, but Holly is unimpressed.
“Are you still working on your thesis? I’m almost finished,’ said Guido. I can never remember what it’s on,” said Paula. “Medieval property law and its relationship to courtly love,” said Guido. Holly Sturgis snickered.
Yet, despite her lack of warmth and cool self-possessed detachment, Holly loves him and they get married. She is very accomplished.
Holly had no ambitions to speak of, except to live nicely from day to day. It amazed Guido that she knew so much and did so little with it
… [insert a very long list of a smattering of Holly’s talents and skills]
Guido had once recited this list to Vincent, including the fact that Holly spoke French and Italian. “Does she fly on commercial airlines?” Vincent had asked. “Of course she does. Why?” “Anything short of a transport carrier would crash under the weight of those accomplishments,” Vincent had said.
She is a domestic goddess and creates a beautiful home and life for Guido, despite his constant state of bewilderment over what is going on in her head. The reader is also very intrigued about and interested in Holly. She keeps Guido and us on our toes. But with Guido, it is more that just curiosity. “…when Holly came back from so little as a trip around the corner to buy a bunch of parsley, Guido felt his life had been saved.”
We are still trying to get a handle on Holly when Vincent meets Misty. Another largely closed book.
One morning, Vincent had discovered a girl named Misty Berkowitz. He found her sitting in her office, slumped over her old-fashioned calculator stirring her coffee with a fountain pen. She had amber-colored hair that fell into her eyes and small gold spectacles that slipped down her nose. She looked bored and misanthropic. The sight of her caused Vincent’s heart to leap in an unexpected manner
“I see,” said Vincent. “Why can’t I simply take you out for lunch?”… I don’t permit myself to be taken out for lunch.” “Is that some sort of militant stand?” “No,” said Misty. “I’m just not that sort of girl. I don’t go in for all that adorable socializing. I think it’s stupid and disgusting.” “I see,” said Vincent. “You’re not very nice, are you?” “No,” said Misty.
“Well, now, said Vincent “is Misty your real name, or is it short for something?”…:It’s real said Misty. “How did you get a name like that?” “Because my mother is a jerk,” she snarled.”
And like Holly with Guido, Misty improbably falls in love with Vincent who is her opposite in everyway. Like Guido, Vincent is equally at sea with Misty. But despite her difficult ways, as Misty reflects one day, “How happy Vincent would have been to know how often she thought of him, how secretly she doted on him.”
We follow the two couples’ married lives. There is drama in the workplace, we meet the families, Holly gets pregnant, Holly disappears for awhile. Twice. Once to a nunnery. Holly has a baby. We meet some of their off-beat friends and acquaintances,
“Is Sybel a runaway slave?” said Vincent. “Or is there something wrong with her feet? She seemed to have some sort of shackles on her ankles.” “Those are her leg weights,” said Misty. “She says they keep her calf muscles clear and full of physical intelligence.” “She ought to try wrapping one around her head,” said Vincent.
Towards the end, we meet a cousin of Holly’s whom Misty realizes should have been Vincent’s perfect match, at least on paper.
Gem stood for a part of Vincent that was not second nature to Misty—the part that was sporty and larky and on cheerful terms with the world, the part that had grown up sailing and fishing. Suppose Vincent got tired of someone who was not second nature to him?
It turns out this is one of those “slice of life” novels that I seem to gravitate to on a regular basis except for the setting, which is not early or mid-century England. Also, it’s funnier. I was reminded of another recently-discovered-by-me author, Amy Poeppel. So A Comedy of Manners, if it must be categorized. I see that this review is full of quotes. If you were the least entertained, interested, or amused by these samples of Laurie Colwin’s writing. I highly recommend this book. Because there are literally gems and nuggets like this on every single page.
This one requires a complicated set up so I’ll get right to it. Bea (Ashley Williams) is a successful television director who has returned to her mother’s annual Shakespeare Festival to direct the last play staged for that summer, The Taming of the Shrew. Her mother tells her this is her last season heading the Festival which is the impetus for Bea (Bee-a) confessing that she has been wanting to take over for her mother once she retired. They learn that not only does her contract to do that rest on whether her Taming of the Shrew turns out to be a critical and financial success, but that the continuation of the festival itself is at stake. Someone wants to buy it and the board is willing to sell it unless Bea can show she can successfully take over from her mother and insure its continued success. Bea and company are not too worried because Bea is an experienced director and she has gotten a famous award winning television actress, Hannah Michaels, to play Kate. Hannah wants to boost her acting cred by doing Shakespeare on the stage and there has been a lot of publicity about it already. As for Bea’s love interest, to Bea’s dismay, the actor her mother has already hired to play Petruchio is well-known actor Benny Gersten (Niall Matter) with whom Bea had a romance 20 years ago while they were young actors playing Romeo and Juliet. Benny returns to the festival every year to recharge. It has been awhile since he and Bea have met but their relationship has always been rocky stemming not only from their break-up but their differing approaches to Shakespeare. They bicker a lot. Kind of like…well, you know. Before rehearsals begin, Benny tells Bea that he thinks it would be better for all concerned if he played a smaller role and let another actor, Clay, have the leading role. This seems to be because he can’t tolerate Bea’s non-traditional approach to Shakespeare but didn’t make a lot of sense. It did have the benefit of making the Kate/Petruchio pairing more age appropriate as Niall Matter is old enough to be Lindura’s (the actress playing Hannah/Kate’s) father. It also sets up the secondary romance between Clay and Hannah (Claudio and Hero).
I liked this one quite a lot. Hallmarks based on great works of literature always have a head start with me. And this features two of them! Niall Matter and Ashley Williams worked well together and their romantic pairing was believable and engaging. We get a lot of The Taming of the Shrew during Bea’s directing and rehearsals, and a bit of the contentious relationship between Kate and Petruchio is reflected in Benny and Bea. I appreciated that the modern troubles staging this play, which, after all, is based on domestic abuse, were addressed. Bea’s reading is not an unusual one, to get around the dilemma. As far as the play this movie is supposedly based on, Much Ado About Nothing, there are almost enough connections for it to be called a modern retelling. Barely. The names are similar (Bea/Beatrice and Benny/Benedict). Both couples relationship is contentious based on their history. Also, the company, recognizing that beneath their snarky banter, the two are actually a perfect match, trick them into believing that each are hiding romantic feelings for the other. This leads to a truce between the two which gives them room to develop a relationship. Also there was a masquerade ball.
But I didn’t feel the connections between the Shakespeare play and this movie really shone through in this story. The tropes in “Much Ado” are now all too common and oft repeated. There were too many differences and it was kind of confused by the other Shakespeare play which was more a part of the story. Why couldn’t the play they were putting on be “Much Ado” and not “Taming”? There was too much other unrelated stuff going on, including Hannah’s surprising ineptness in her role. Though likable, she was kind of a flake. Was Hero a flake in the Shakespeare play? I’m afraid I don’t know. She is having trouble learning her lines and is more interested in flirting with Clay than focusing on the play. Bea is concerned because she sees her own experience playing Juliet to Benny’s Romeo 20 years prior. She had let her feelings for him override her focus on her role resulting in bad reviews which caused her to quit acting and focus on directing. And then we have the big crisis of Hannah quitting the play and running off when she finds out the whole future of the festival rests on her being a success as Kate. I mean, really? She is supposed to be a professional. The whole episode was dumb, including why she came back. But despite the distractions, this was pretty entertaining thanks to the jam-packed plot and bright script. I should probably watch it again to look for more shout outs to “Much Ado.” I’m sure I must have missed some. I love the way “William Shakespeare” is credited as a writer of this movie on IMDb. The Bard can rest easy now.
I went ahead and purchased this hard-to-find early Rosamunde Pilcher title when it came my way at a good price. It was part of Harlequin’s Golden Library collection. It was her second to the last book she wrote under “Jane Fraser”, the name she used to publish her Mills and Boon romances. It would be 4 years before she published The Sleeping Tiger, the first book I read by one of my favorite authors and still a favorite of her “little” books. When I first started reading, I had high hopes that this would turn out to be one of the best of the Jane Frasers I have read. I liked our “not pretty” heroine pretty well, and I liked the hero too, thanks to his being introduced with a good bit of his backstory, before the heart of the novel started. The book turned out to be a pretty good one, but a bit below my favorites. I did feel that it was very close in quality to many of her Pilcher titles. In a few cases, better, as far as the character of the heroine. Some of her young ladies can be very weak, lazy, and not too bright.
The book opens with 20-year-old Amabel on the last day of a ski vacation in Europe. She meets Jeremy, a Major, and a former underling of her retired military father there by chance, whom we know from his description is not destined to be her love interest though he is a perfectly nice guy. He has a bristly blonde mustache and a receding chin. As usual, Pilcher’s leisurely pace is full of background and detail which established an atmosphere that drew me right in. As with her more acclaimed novels, the smallest detail conveys atmosphere, nuance of character and paints a whole picture. She makes everything interesting no matter how seemingly inconsequential.
Unfortunately, upon Amabel’s return home to England she is met with the devastating news of her 49 year-old single father’s death. She, her two young siblings, Emma and Adrian, and their Nanny are forced to move from their large farm to a much smaller cottage on the property, the Keeper’s House. Their former estate has been rented for two years to Bill Hopper, a very rich Canadian rancher. We met 26-year-old Bill in New York City in the process of his being dumped by his beautiful model fiance. Because of this abrupt change in his plans he has decided to turn a quick purchase of a prize bull into an extended stay in Scotland. He hears about Kilgenny being available and rents it for two years, planning to spend his time raising cattle for his father’s huge cattle concern.
Although Amabel takes a dislike to Bill thanks to her resentment of his occupation of her beloved home and his amusement of catching her in an embarrassing situation (under the piano with flour on her face) at their first meeting, she pretty much behaves herself. She is not rude or petulant, and though they have a few unpleasant run-ins after their initial meeting, she even apologizes for her fractious behavior. Bill is a very likable guy, making friends with whomever he meets, besides being very large, tall, and very good looking. He takes fatherless young Emma and Adrian under his wing and they make themselves right at home at Kilgenny, spending most of their time there “helping” him with the farm. It isn’t long before Bill and Amabel also make friends and are well on their way to falling in love with each other. Things eventually come to a head when Jeremy makes a re-appearance and Bill goes rushing off to London after an unexpected phone call from his ex-fiancé.
I liked this one quite well. The plot did kind of flag in the middle once Bill and Amabel became friends and started to fall for each other. Everything was proceeding a little too predictably with seemingly no trouble on the horizon to shake things up a bit. When things did start to perk up, Amabel behaved like a really stupid idiot, actually putting her and her family’s whole future happiness on the line by a knee jerk reaction. Luckily she ran into a brick wall (rather amusingly). Also, a highly anticipated confrontation on another front happened off stage which is one of my pet peeves. One aspect which was distracting and bothersome was Bill’s constant smoking. It seemed like he was buying a carton of “Players” at every opportunity. I know, it was usual for the times, but I don’t have to like it. It’s one of those old-fashioned aspects of vintage novels that is not a bit charming. As far as the happy ending, thank goodness for Nanny, who pokes her nose in and saves the day. Those crazy kids.
Although there were some good things about this movie, it was pretty much sabotaged by the premise, which was contrived and absurd. It’s like the writers had the idea for the male and female to fall in love on a delivery truck while on a quest for the owner of a mysterious package who is someone on the driver’s route. But since they couldn’t think of a reason to get her on the truck, they decided to put fantasy and magic in there so no one would question how the plot didn’t make sense because it had fantasy and magic in it. It’s magic. It’s fantasy. It isn’t reality. So it does not have to make sense. Right? Wrong. Magic always makes sense, even in a Hallmark. Magic is the doing of a magical person like Santa Claus, or an elf, an angel, or a ghost of a loved one. Or it comes from a magical object, like a magic dreidel, or lemon drop, or comet, or baked goods (so, so many). There are probably others, but the point is, it always has a reason for being. Not in this one. All we get is a musical chord one time, a bar code scanner that is behaving mysteriously, and some shout outs to “fate” and “destiny ” to try to explain the unexplainable.
Alex Brown (Aimee Teagarden) is a Jewelry Designer who has a knack for customizing jewelry to reflect in some way the personality and history of her clients. They or the loved one fills out a questionnaire about themselves or the giftee and she designs a piece that is exactly right. She also has had a string of unhappy love affairs which we hear all about. Thanks to one of her best friends, she has too much wine and does a new age type ceremony that is going viral, called “Fire and Aspire.” This involves burning the artifacts left by old boyfriends (Alex conveniently has a whole box full) and saying out loud or “manifesting” the qualities she really wants in a boyfriend. The next day, she receives a purple box delivered by Jack, her regular delivery guy (Chris McNally) who is a grumpy curmudgeon who also has an unhappy romantic history. Alex has been unable to befriend him with her cutesy post-it notes and cupcakes. She does not have a romantic interest in him per se, she just wanted to be friendly and get him to unbend a little because she is the perky sunshine type. It’s the “Grumpy-Sunshine” trope. He only cares about delivering his packages in good condition and on time and has no interest in “customer service,” i.e. being friendly and pleasant. He is also one of two top runners in a contest his employer is having, the prize being enough money to pay off the remainder of his sister’s college loan.
Back to the purple package. When Alex opens it, every item in there reflects an aspect of every quality she wished for in a man during the ceremony the night before. So the other “Alex Brown” this package is meant for must be her soulmate. She and her friends confront Jack with the package that was delivered to her by mistake but won’t give it back to him because they want to find and meet the Alex Brown it was meant for. They force Jack’s hand, but when Jack scans the barcode on the label, no address comes up. The scanner is being spooky. To make a long and annoying episode short, this is how Alex gets to wheedle herself aboard Jack’s delivery truck. Where she procedes to whine, make demands, and stick her nose in his business. There are several other Alex Browns on his route, (what are the chances?) but none of them are the right guy. Meanwhile, Jack displays by his words and actions that he actually possesses all of the qualities she wished for in a man. Alex shows him how being more personable can win him the contest, and they fall in love. The romance wasn’t bad, but other than that, it was just one stupid thing after another.
So what were the good things about this movie I mentioned? I really liked Chris McNally in this. He made a great curmudgeon. Even when he transformed into the typical Hallmark hero (all too soon), he was still good. I thought Aimee Teagarden was kind of miscast as the perky sunshine type, but she ended up being just fine, even though her character was super irritating. The side characters were positives and the pacing was good. Despite the stupidities and the annoyances with the plot elements themselves, the dialogue and conversations were smart and had some wit. Most importantly, it did not rely on the usual Hallmark core plot elements, like saving a beloved institution or the last minute misunderstanding to hang the story on.
**Major Spoilers**
So do we ever get to the bottom of what was behind the appearance of the magical box? Yes we do! It turns out it was all a big coincidence! There really was an Alex Brown who ordered all of the items that pointed to him being the other Alex’s soulmate. And his order was mistakenly delivered to the one and only of the many other Alex Browns in the area who had just “manifested” everything the box contained. It was just that his delivery area was just annexed. Coincidence! But too bad for him, Alex was already in love with Jack, so he ends up with Megan, Alex’s best friend. Also, Jack ends up winning the contest even though he dropped out the day before. So many unanswered “But-What-About???s”. Even though many probably don’t, I didn’t like the way Hallmark just took for granted that their viewership wouldn’t notice or care about so many nonsensical things in this movie. And this includes how Megan is going to navigate having both the love of her life and her best friend having the same name. I guess it’s better than a match between Alex Brown and Alex Brown.
“Well, hello, Dolly,” says Grant, at the head of a table for eight. If I had a nickel.
And what do you do, Dolly?” asks a woman whose name I’ve already forgotten. “I teach kindergarten in Boston.” “Ah,” she says, resting her hand on the golf ball–sized emerald around her neck. “You two are like Charles and Diana!” It’s a grim comparison to say the least. “Well, sort of. Except he cheated and she’s dead,” I say, and look up at Stewart, who winces a bit. I could have just said nothing. Nothing was the thing to say. I feel a little blush creep up my neck.
There were times when I was reading this that I just loved it. I liked the brand of humor and I was actually a little excited about the similarities with at least one of my favorite and most dependable authors. I really liked Dolly and continued to like her throughout the book. I loved the set up of a romance between two socially and financially unequal partners. It is called the “punching up” trope and is one of my favorites. So many humorous and dramatic possibilities as well as opportunities to develop or reveal character. Some of my favorite authors incorporate this dynamic: Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and old timey gothics as well as some great rom-com movies including Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, Sabrina, and Crazy Rich Asians,-book and movie. and lets not forget dramas like Downton Abbey, North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell) and Titanic.
Overall, this one did it well. Dolly is a single mother whose father owns the local fish store in the New England tourist town of Whitfield, Rhode Island. She works as a Kindergarten teacher in Boston, but as the novel begins she has been called home to help her father and her mentally disabled brother when the roof of their beloved family home has to be repaired due to a fire. They do not have the money. Yet. While delivering fish to the local “nobility” she comes across the handsome scion of the family stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. Stewart Whitfield of Whitfield is having a very bad day. His beautiful socialite fiancé has just publicly dumped him and has made him look like a victim in the eyes of his family and society. The timing is particularly bad as he is up for a hotly contested promotion in his family’s real estate firm. When a picture is snapped of Dolly changing his tire for him and goes viral, it is a hit to his image that he can’t afford. Can Dolly can play along and pretend to be his public girlfriend so as to avoid having him look like a helpless rich-guy dumpee? With two side hustles, helping at the family fish store and taking care of her family, Dolly doesn’t have time for such foolishness. But when he offers to pay her, she tells him she will do it for $60,000, enough to fix the roof plus a little extra. Also a clothing allowance for the hoity-toity functions that she will be required to attend.
As the romance progresses, we are treated to a bit of a makeover courtesy of Stewart’s nice sister, a supportive if a little giddy ride-or-die friend, interactions with Stewart’s powerful family where we meet both good people and bad, Dolly’s lonely son, Gus, whom Stewart takes under his wing, and Stewart’s conflicts and challenges with the direction the family business is taking. And that is just a random sampling that just scratches the surface. Lots happens in this book. Being with Dolly helps him enormously and starts to change his priorities from giving everything to his career to carving out time for a personal life and relationships. His mental health has suffered because of the enormous pressure he has put on himself.
And it is somewhat the same with Dolly. Ever since her mother deserted them when she was only 11, Dolly took on the caretaker role in her family, which has led to an estrangement with her younger sister Paula. Reading between the lines of Dolly’s narration, we see that despite her strengths she takes on too much for the sake of her loved ones. This has not been good for her or them.
I really could not have asked for a more likable heroine than Dolly. In addition to her voice and her wry observations, I loved the way she was unapologetic about her rather pedestrian background. She was not defensive or even proud of it either. When snooty people at the various social situations would ask her, she was just very matter-of-fact and up front about things in her life that some might, shall we say, not be able to relate to. And sometimes, she finds some kindred spirits when she didn’t expect to.
*Spoilers*
The romance proceeds smoothly. So smoothly that it started to get a little boring. Of course there is no doubt about Dolly’s feelings. She repetitively spells out her physical and emotional attraction to him for the reader. Not a fan of this tendency in romantic comedies. Stewart’s devotion to Dolly is not in question either, by his words and actions. Which makes it such a shock when does a 180 with a very hurtful and confusing ghosting, betraying everything she and the reader had come to believe about him. Similar to the MMC in the author’sNora Goes Off Script he behaves abominably. But it didn’t bother me as much because it didn’t stem from an idiotic and inexcusable misunderstanding, but from internal psychological issues he had been struggling with. The drama ends up being a good thing for him. As for Dolly, the whole experience ended up giving her insight into how her own behavior had not been helpful to her or to her family. The repair of her relationship with her sister Paula was very satisfying, though I was hoping for an appearance of and confrontation with her much talked about mother. That didn’t happen, but I was mostly satisfied with the way her abandonment was dealt with. Of course, Dolly and Stephen are reconciled in the end, but not without her giving him a piece of her mind first. It was a turning point and I liked that she was ready and willing to move on before he came back hat in hand, though it was a whole year after the initial parting of ways. But maybe it had to be. I believed in their happy ending. After three of Monaghan’s books, this is my favorite so far. I had some reservations, but not nearly to the extent as I had about the other two.
One good thing about these ones that are set in faraway lands is that we almost inevitably avoid the bone tired tent poles that too many Hallmark movies are propped up by. I don’t have to list them, do I? This one is set on a small yacht travelling along the coast of Queensland, Australia. Samara Hughes, an event planner and former lawyer, has been hired by her friend and former colleague to plan the details for her parents’ 40th wedding anniversary celebration Down Under, where they met and married. They will be visiting the places that marked the high spots of their courtship, culminating with a renewal of their vows. The captain of the yacht is also a former colleague and friend, Nate, played by real life Australian Daniel Lissing, who is more famous for playing a Canadian Mountie or an American in other Hallmark and Hallmark-clone productions. At least, that’s how I know him. Samara is played by Rhiannon Fish. I have to admit, I have not been a fan of hers thanks to some of the mannerisms and expressions she uses as an actor that she carries over from movie to movie. They were absent from this movie for some reason, possibly because she was playing a capable mature adult rather than a character with strong gormless nitwit overtones. I liked her just fine in this one and hope she has moved on from her previous affectations.
Anyway, Samara’s friend Liv and her husband were all lawyers at the same firm as Nate and Samara. Nate left Seattle where they all were based, to work with his brother in their Australian Yacht Tour business when his Dad got sick. It is a temporary thing with Nate, but Samara’s switch in profession is a permanent one. Event planning has always been her dream. She is just getting started but is very good at it. She was also excellent at being a lawyer. We know that her leaving that career had something to do with a falling out with Nate, the nature of which is revealed in the course of the movie. Escaping the influence of her overbearing lawyer father was apparently a factor as well.
So we have 3 couples on the yacht, 2 of them deliriously happy: The wise older couple celebrating their courtship and marriage, the younger one, who we learn are pregnant, and Samara and Nate, the estranged couple, who are destined, with the help of the first two couples, to also be a happy couple by the end of the movie. Need I say more? Just a little bit. In this romance, Samara is the well-adjusted one (“The Fish” playing against type) and Nate is the one with the hang-ups and issues that he has to tackle before he can have his happy ending. His issues are all related to each other but are all about control: He is very risk adverse and all about staying on the prescribed path and following the rules. Set against the beautiful Northern Queensland coastline, the unhappy couple work out their problems and fall in love. We learn why they fell out and I must say, if I were Samara, I am not sure I would have forgiven him quite so easily. I almost always have a problem with the big last minute conflict and this one was no exception. Of course it was Nate’s fault, and given all of their talks and what he knew about Samara, it made no sense whatsoever. Let’s just say good ol’ Nate has a lot more work to do on himself (and with a good therapist involved). There was also a big conflict over whether to launch a fireworks display from the stern of their boat which should have been worked out between the two on Day One. Seemed like a no brainer to me (NO!), but whatever. A last minute alternative safer plan ensured the movie ended with the requisite pyrotechnics as the background to the final kiss. This one was pretty standard Hallmark fare: Some good positives, like the scenery, and no deal-breaking problems other than the predictable, if unusually befuddling conflict at the end. And it was a little on the boring side. **6 1/2 stars**
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.
**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**
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.
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 asSnowbound for The Holidayswithout 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”.
