Family Drama

Penny Plain

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by O. Douglas (Anna Masterson Buchan)

I couldn’t take any pleasure in myself if my face were made up.” Pamela swung round on her chair and laid her hands on Jean’s shoulders. “Jean,” she said, “you’re within an ace of being a prig.

“Jean, I’m afraid you’re a chirping optimist. You’ll reduce me to the depths of depression if you insist on being so bright. Rather help me to rail against fate, and so cheer me.”

This started off fairly promisingly with the rich and fashionable but very likable and down-to-earth Miss Pamela Reston retreating to the small Scottish village of Priorsford because she has become bored with the social whirl of London and wants to rest and rediscover herself and the joy of living. Her exotic ways have quite an impact on the villagers there and vice versa. Of particular interest is the very well-read Jean Jardine, her next-door neighbor, and her little family who are genteelly poor, but very happy and delightful. Some of the initial exposition, Pamela’s description of the town and her new neighbors takes place in letters to her brother, Biddy, Lord Bidborough, who is on business in India. The tone reminded me of the letters compromising 2 Jean Webster books, Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy. Of course, we know that Pamela’s description of her new friend and her charming family is going to intrigue Biddy to no end and that he will come to Priorsford the first chance he gets to visit his sister and proceed to quickly fall in love with both Jean and her family. Unfortunately, the letters ceased way too soon. As the book’s focus shifted to Jean and her three brothers, It wasn’t long before it started to remind me of the children’s classic, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.

This book was a mainstay of my childhood reading history. I read it over and over, loving it very much, although I was an adult before I could ever find the longed-for sequels to the original story, in which Polly Pepper and her family (3 brothers, and the youngest little sister Phronsie) grow up into upstanding citizens and get married. I won’t go into all of the parallels, but the main one is the utter and unremitting goodness of both Polly Pepper and Jean Jardine, the two heroines, and their self-sacrificing devotion to their brothers. But I am no longer an innocent and naive little girl appreciative of a stellar role model like Polly Pepper. Jean was just too good for me.

I was led to the author of Penny Plain by her association with a favorite “old-timey” author, D.E. Stevenson. Loving her novels, I am no stranger to lovely, kind, and good heroines. But I am afraid that Jean was just too much. I started to lose touch with her when she gave a bedraggled sad stranger a valuable and treasured book when he confides that it contains a song that his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. She pretty much lost me when she turned down Biddy’s inevitable marriage proposal because “We belong to different worlds” and also,


“My feelings,” said Jean, “don’t matter at all. Even if there was nothing else in the way, what about Davie and Jock and the dear Mhor? I must always stick to them—at least until they don’t need me any longer.”

Girl. But praise be, it turns out that the poor stranger was in fact a very wealthy but dying man who leaves his entire fortune to Jean because of her little act of generosity. Even though Jean and her little family have been living pretty much hand to mouth, she views this windfall not with joy and gratitude, but with suspicion and fear. She doesn’t want it. She is persuaded to see the value of her legacy (she can use the fortune to do good works and give to charity! Yay!) Eventually, she even buys a spiffy car and buys some nice clothes in Glasglow. Another big plus is that now she is worthy of Lord Biddy!

There were enough enjoyable things about this novel that kept me going to the end fairly happily. Most of the character sketches of the Jardines and their neighbors were well done and engaging. Most of the townspeople were very lovable and even the two flies in the ointment the snobby Mrs. Duff-Whalley and her shallow, fashionable, but surprisingly self-aware daughter were entertaining and had a few layers to their personality. I loved the wise and gentle parson and his merry big-hearted wife, Mrs. Macdonald, and their little story. She liked the place kept so tidy that her sons had been wont to say bitterly, as they spent an hour of their precious Saturdays helping, that she dusted the branches and wiped the faces of the flowers with a handkerchief. I was moved by how Jean helps Miss Abbot the dour local seamstress who is going blind but is too proud to ask for help. But sometimes the book took off on short tangents that had nothing to do with anything and added nothing to the plot or character development. Peter the beloved family dog going missing for example. It was further hampered by the use of archaic words and long passages written in the Scottish vernacular and in dialect, which unlike in most books set in Scotland that I have read, was largely indecipherable without a lot of effort and research. In addition, the book is littered with cultural and literary references that were no doubt familiar to readers of the day (World War I era) but which have since been lost to obscurity. (a song called Strathairlie, “Mary Slessor of Calabar”, Mrs. Wishart, Maggie Tulliver, Ethel Newcome, Beatrix Esmond, Clara Middleton, John Splendid, the Scylla of affectation nor the Charybdis of off-handedness, King Cophetua, and on and on. I looked up everything I didn’t “get”, or tried to. As an aside, Mary Slessor needs to have a movie made about her life.

If I had had a daughter, I would have given her this book to read as a child and been very happy if she liked it. But in the future, when I next want to read a wholesome old-fashioned novel, I’ll just stick with D.E. Stevenson or Elizabeth Cadell.
**2 1/2 stars**

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

P.S. In looking up Five Little Peppers for this review, I discovered that there was a series of movies based on their adventures and some of them are available on YouTube. Can’t wait! And I just may re-read the book.

Unexpected Grace

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Past is Prologue

When I read what this was about, I started watching it fully expecting to turn it off.  It is about a mother whose teenage daughter has passed away who befriends the daughter of a single widower. Before she died, Toni, the daughter,  released a balloon in the air with a short letter searching for a best friend. It is found by 13-year-old Grace two years later who was forced to move into their new town by her father because of his job. He didn’t consult her about the move, and she is resentful. Their relationship has suffered over and above normal teenager/parent friction. She is having trouble fitting in at school and making friends. When Grace follows the notes invitation to write back, I thought I saw where this might be going. I was on high alert and expecting to pull the plug as I did not want to get entangled in a maudlin grief fest and a mother trying to replace her dead child with a vulnerable live one.

Well, it didn’t go that way at all. The mother,  Noelle, does respond to Grace’s letter, but under her own name. It is true that she does not tell Grace that Toni has died nor that she is her mother but I felt it was out of empathy and sensitivity and that she did not want to hurt or discomfort Grace. She responds to Grace’s emails a couple of more times, but, realizing that this is heading down a dangerous road, tells Grace the truth about who she is and kindly tells her that there will be no more emails.  She thinks that is the end of it, But to Noelle’s consternation, Grace shows up at Noelle’s door still wanting to be friends with Toni.  Noelle still can’t bear to tell her right then that her daughter has passed away. But shortly thereafter, along with Grace’s dad, Jack (Michael Rady), who she has gotten to know and like thanks to a series of coincidences, does tell her the truth about Toni’s passing. This decision of not to prolong the misunderstanding flies in the face of how things usually go with  Hallmark stories. Grief is to be wallowed in, and open communication is to be avoided at all costs.  So instead of the plot getting stalled over a prolonged deception and lack of truth-telling, the plot explores other aspects of the characters’ progress toward peace and happiness. We follow Grace’s path towards success in school and making friends, Her father’s possible romantic entanglement with a neighbor, Jack and Grace’s continuing frustrations with each other and how they resolve them, and Noelle coming to terms with her imminent divorce.  And of course Noelle and Jack possibly making a romantic connection. There is another crisis later in the story where it looks like Grace and Michael may have to move away again, negating the progress toward healing that, together, all three of the main characters have made. How it is all resolved brings all of the threads together in a touching way.  It hints that it was more than just coincidences that brought these three together for their own good and the good of the community. Perhaps a little celestial magic and angelic guiding hands were at play as well. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” There is a lot of Shakespeare in this as well.

All of the actors did a wonderful job, but special kudos go to  Erica Tremblay, a serious young actress who has appeared in several other Hallmark movies. I’ve always liked Michael Rady. Erica Durance not so much, but she is a good actress.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Winter and Rough Weather (Shoulder the Sky)

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by D. E. Stevenson

“It must be lonely!” she exclaimed. “Loneliness is inside a person,” replied Sutherland. “It is possible to be lonely in a big city. If a person is contented and has enough work to do he will not feel lonely amongst the hills.

I enjoyed this equally as well as the two preceding novels in the trilogy. There was a lot more suspense and drama than in many of the D.E. Stevensons I have read. In between the evocative descriptions of both people and the land, the thoughtful reflections, and entertaining relationships and conversations, there was actually some action-packed adventure and a little bit dark mystery! Of course, of the bucolic gentle Scottish countryside variety. No crime involved. I loved continuing my acquaintance with Mamie and Jock, and James and Rhoda, and meeting the also interesting characters of Flockie, Rhoda’s housekeeper (can I have a Flockie?), and Dr. Henry Ogylvie Smith. The puzzling Lizzie and her son Duggie have important roles in this. Daughter Greta was regrettably left by the wayside, after a promising introduction in Music in the Hills. The odious Sir Andrew and Nestor Heddle each continue to display their deliciously repellent ways in a scene or two, and both get a measure of justice served to them only if just a bit in one case. Still, it was satisfying, even though with one of them, we are just told about what happened after the fact.

After Rhoda gives up her silly notion that she cannot be both an artist and a wife and starts painting again, she discovers Lizzie’s neglected son, Duggie. She uncovers his artistic talent, intelligence, and spirit and begins to mentor him. Her studio, lovingly wrought by lovely James, becomes his second home. He catches the interest of Dr. Henry Ogylvie Smith who is sitting for his portrait as a gift to his charming parents. We also become reacquainted with his friends, Dr. Adam Forrester and his sister Nan.

The main drama of the book is how these two likable siblings achieve future domestic happiness. Dr. Adam is attracted to a woman who would make him miserable. Of course in D.E.Stevenson’s world, if a man and a woman like, or just get along with each other and they are both single and of a certain age, marriage is expected at least by one of them. Even if they spend very little time together. It is very odd. Thank goodness the object of Adam’s desire tells him that any marriage between them is completely off the table. So in Adam’s case, it is more disaster averted than love found. Nan has been suffering from the rejection of a man she is still in love with. It turns out that nice Dr. Henry, Adam’s former boss who paved the way for Adam to practice in Drumberly is the wicked cad. He and Nan seemed to be well on the way to love and marriage until he mysteriously broke it off. When the truth comes out, it is sad and surprising.

This was not a 5-star read for me. I am really frustrated and even confused by how D.E. Stevenson ends many of her books. Sometimes it seems like it is practically in mid-sentence. This one was the worse yet. Genuinely interesting and greatly anticipated doings of characters we have come to be fond of are never gotten to before the book ends. Oh yes, we have every reason to believe everything will work out happily for all, but we are deprived of seeing how exactly they will tackle and be affected by the “rough weather” ahead. We are robbed of the potentially gripping confrontations, joyful revelations, and other hullabaloo that the characters will have to go through in order for happiness and stability to be achieved.

One of the big keys to the story is a certain connection between two previously unrelated characters. When Dr. Henry tells his story, I just didn’t buy it. **spoiler**  It was just totally outlandish that the attractive, well-off, brilliant, and good man could have ever even looked twice at common, dull, stupid (“mental age of 10”), and not even particularly attractive Lizzie. Her only redeeming quality is that she is a good worker. She is not even interested in her own children. Neither could I believe her lack of agency and action in keeping the truth secret. There was no reason for it and it really detracted from the book’s credibility. **end spoiler**

Once the truth is known we see a way forward for Henry and Nan to find happiness at last. Maybe. If everything goes according to plan. But the book is cut off before that is achieved. And unfortunately, this is the last of the trilogy. So no hope of getting a bit of closure in the next book. Because there isn’t one. Would have loved to know more about a certain engagement revealed near the end, as well. Not to mention…but enough.
Up to the ending, or lack thereof, it was shaping up to be my favorite so far. In Vittoria Cottage, Robert Shepperton ponders leaving his tragic past behind him to find love and happiness again in the here and now.

We don’t stand still, thought Robert. We are travellers upon the path of life. No traveller can bathe twice in the same stream. He bathes and goes on his way and, if the road is dusty and hot, he may look back longingly and think of the clear cool water with regret … but presently he may come upon another stream, different of course, but equally delightful to bathe in.”

The author lets the reader experience the cool clear stream and the hot dusty road with her characters. But she leaves us behind too soon when they go on their way and hopefully come to another stream to bathe in. I wish she’d give as much attention to her endings as she so beautifully does to everything that precedes them.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Together, Again

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by Milly Johnson

In a way, this book returns us to Milly’s often-used foundation of three women whose lives intertwine and whose relationship supports one or more of them escaping from a desperate situation and the others finding happiness and fulfillment.

Three sisters born seven years apart meet at their family home upon the death of Eleanor, their mother. And I use that “mother” term loosely. Maybe I should instead say “the woman who gave birth to them.” The two older sisters (around 38 and 45)have only seen each other sporadically and perfunctorily. Neither has seen or heard from the youngest (31) for 15 years since she ran away at age 16. They hardly know each other and aren’t particularly fond of what they do know. Jolene, the oldest, is married to a very bad man and is very unhappy in her marriage. She is also a very successful romance novelist who seems to write the same type of books Milly herself does. Also, they are both on their 20th book. And I hope that’s all their lives have in common, but I suspect not.

Later, in bed, Annis didn’t go to sleep immediately but sat up reading one of Jolene’s books, the only one she hadn’t read. It was about a well-to-do woman who left an abusive husband and had to build up her life from scratch. Jolene wrote a lot about women in need of a renaissance and she wrote about them too well. Annis had met women like them in her own life, so she could sense the ring of truth in her stories and her characters.

Marsha is the owner of a thriving company and is very well-off. She is single and has never had a successful long-term relationship thanks to having unresolved issues from her girlhood platonic affair with the family priest. (It is funny that she apparently once went on a blind date with the same crazy loser that Juliet in An Autumn Crush did!-I love these little threads to her other books Milly always includes.) Annis is something of a mystery, except we know she has had a very rough life. At first homeless, hungry, and going from pillar to post, for the last 7 years she has at least been relatively safe and befriended by a somewhat mysterious group of women who work at a cocktail bar and maybe something else. She is very wise, thanks to her experiences, and is the catalyst for Jolene and Marsha to find their paths forward.

There are a lot of mysteries and questions that run through this book. Why did Annis run away at 16? Why did her parents apparently not try to find her? Why, even when most desperate, did she not ever try to make contact with her family? Especially her sisters? Why does Jolene stay with such a vile man? Exactly how vile is he? Why did Eleanor leave the bulk of her fortune to Annis of all people? What’s with Sally and her extreme reaction to reading “the letter” Eleanor entrusted her to deliver after her death? Eleanor’s letter is revealed bit by bit to the reader throughout the book. The answer to the first question is telegraphed pretty clearly before it is spelled out, others are revealed at various points, and some come only at the end.

Most of the questions and drama involve Annis and Jolene. The three sisters forge strong loving bonds with each other as the book progresses, and each of their lives and challenges are explored. Two of the three sisters are in hopeful romantic relationships by the end of the book. And the other finds freedom. So yes, it has much in common with many of Milly’s books, but it does forge some new ground. It has plenty of funny observations and commentary, but not as much comedy as many of her earlier books. A lot of comedy would be out of place in this one. It deals with some serious and disturbing issues and people. Usually, Milly’s villains are despicable human beings, but they fall short of being mentally ill. In this one, we have 3 really sick people and one that comes pretty darn close. I admire Milly for bravely breaking new ground and forging new paths with each novel, especially lately. But I also love that she is keeping true to many of the aspects that I love and that really work. It’s probably one of her best books, but it’s not a personal favorite. **Spoiler**

I wasn’t too enthralled with either romance. I just could not understand Jolene’s choices even given her childhood. It is certainly not the first time Milly has had a “wet lettuce” as one of her main characters, this one seemed to be less understandable. I felt that the reveal of her husband’s perfidy was a little handy. I would have preferred for her to break free without needing that extra impetus. Sally’s enlightenment seemed to come out of nowhere. I do miss the comedy and although the ending was satisfying, I didn’t find myself wanting to cheer.**End spoiler** 

 Oh well. No book is perfect, and my bar has probably become too high for Milly. I guess that’s on me.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Limelight

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By Amy Poeppel

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this excellent book on Audible. The reader, Carly Robbins, was perfection and I can’t imagine how the personalities could be better portrayed on the page as they were by this actress. She particularly nails the narration of Allison, our estimable heroine, the sulky brattiness of Charlotte, one of her daughters, her wise and very active mother, and our other main character, L’Enfant terrible Carter Reid.

Allison Brinkley is a teacher and married mother of 3 precocious children who is excited to move her family to New York City when her perfectly wonderful attorney husband gets a big promotion. They are leaving Dallas Texas to live the dream in the city that never sleeps! The Culture! The Opportunities! The Restaurants! The Excitement! The Shopping! The Charming Brownstone on the Upper West Side! Cue the rude sound of the needle scratching a vinyl record. Does the reality match the fantasy? Of course not.

Her teaching job(s) fizzle, she misses her dynamo of a mother, the kids are not adjusting well, the schools leave a lot to be desired, the other moms are cliquish and snobby, etc., etc. And trade in that brownstone in a leafy neighborhood for a too-small apartment in a modern high-rise somewhere in Manhattan not near Central Park.

But somehow things start to look up when, through a series of unlikely events, she becomes the Personal Assistant to Carter Reid, a Justin Bieberesque super pop star. Allison is cheerful, nurturing, patient, responsible, intelligent, hardworking, and chock-full of integrity. Carter has never experienced anyone like her. And vice versa. Carter is a rude, ignorant, lazy, hedonistic degenerate with the manners of a feral child. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but just a little. How it turns into a match made in heaven makes for a very entertaining journey. It is by turns frustrating, hopeful, a little scary, funny, and heartwarming. It is one step forward and one step, sometimes two steps, back as Allison assumes responsibility for whipping Carter into shape for the Broadway debut he is bound and determined not to do the work for. But Carter’s whole future is on the line, and though Allison is determined not to fail, it is not until she enlists the help of her teenage daughter Charlotte that we see there just might be some small possibility of saving Carter from himself.

As much as this book is centered around the development of Allison’s relationship with Carter, it is also about her whole family and their adjustment to the city, work, school, and creating a new social circle. By the end of the novel, they are all New Yorkers, even though super smart Charlotte will be moving to the West Coast to attend Cal Tech. And although no, (spoiler alert) Carter does not win a Tony award and thank Allison during his nationally televised acceptance speech in front of the glitterati of Broadway for saving his career, it ends pretty well for him too.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Ghosted

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by Rosie Walsh

“The letters, Tommy, all those letters I sent him via Facebook. Calling his workshop, writing to his friend Alan. What was I thinking?” “A silent phone brings out the very worst in us,” he said. “All of us.”

As I was reading this, I found it to be a real page-turner. I went into it thinking it was going to be a romantic suspense-type novel: a story about a woman whose lover has disappeared and her search for him leading to danger and intrigue. The down-to-earth guy she fell in love with not being what he seemed on the surface. Perhaps involved with organized crime, witness protection, or being a secret agent who disappeared because he was killed or kidnapped? Or perhaps deliberately going out of her life without a trace to protect her from harm? I did not see the twist around the middle coming at all and was blown away by the real story.

But no. Ultimately, I had too many problems and frustrations, particularly with Eddie (did she have to name him Eddie?). I bought the love story and the soulmate connection that happened in a week. I understood Sarah’s obsession with finding him, her terror, and then her pain and bewilderment. I was as bewildered as she was, and I really felt for her. Despite her emotional somewhat unhinged behavior, I didn’t blame her. I wanted her to keep going and find Eddie. 

**Spoiler**

What I didn’t get was the hatred and hostility directed at 17-year-old Sarah for the accident. It. Wasn’t. Her. Fault. I didn’t understand her sister Hannah hating and not speaking to her for 19 years for choosing to save Hannah’s life at the expense of another. And it wasn’t even a choice. It was an involuntary instinct. A reflex in the horror and panic of the moment. If anything, it was Hannah’s own fault for running off and getting in scumbag Bradley’s car to begin with! It was just so unjust and I couldn’t understand. What added to that frustration was she was never blamed for her stupidity and blindness in letting lowlife Bradley into her life at all. In that way, yes, she was indirectly responsible for the tragedy. A more immature, half-witted, and blinder than usual teenager could not be imagined. But she was still only a kid. And Eddie. I lost all patience with him and his cruel ghosting of Sarah when it became obvious that it was a choice, not something forced on him. After the twist, I was initially sympathetic, but ultimately there was no excuse for his cowardly irrational behavior. I just couldn’t forgive him even at the end when he went through so much pain and remorse. He got off way too easy. I felt like his obsession with his sister was a little over the top and, shall we say, off-putting. **end spoiler**

The second twist, I felt, was clever and well done. 

**spoiler**especially given the title of the book . **end spoiler**

It kept me turning the pages, let me tell you! Despite my problems with one of the protagonists and the core motivations, I really liked how it all turned out. So overall, I would recommend this to most people, especially to romantics at heart. But you gotta like melodrama too. I hovered between a 3 and a 4, but the problems I had nagged at me all the way through. So my annoyance rounds it down from a 4.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

October 11, 2022

Moorewood Family Rules

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By Helenkay Dimon

If there is one word to describe this book, it would be “fun.” Right off the bat, I loved the authorial voice: It flowed easily and drew me right in with the funny remarks and quick immersion into the plot. The idea of the story was intriguing and unusual. It set up a lot of anticipation as to who, how, and what was going down. Because make no mistake, our heroine was going to see that the bad guys (her family) were, indeed, going down.

We meet Jillian, fresh from 39 months in prison, ready to literally and spectacularly descend upon her unsuspecting family who put her there. She debarks from her helicopter on the family mansion’s spacious grounds in the midst of a party where they are laying the groundwork to swindle and con their latest victims. They are not happy. But Jillian is less so. They had promised to go straight in return for Jillian taking the fall for them with the FBI. Now she’s back, she has their number, she holds all of the cards, and she’s had 39 months to contemplate her revenge. And maybe, just maybe, set them on the straight and narrow. Nah. Not happening.

It turns out that her family are not only professional grifters and con artists, but that in an emergency they will not stop at murder. And Jillian’s arrival is definitely an emergency. If some may balk at murdering a family member (that would be against the family rules) they won’t hesitate to send her back to prison. Enter Beck, a very grumpy, sexy, and intimidating bodyguard, hired by one of her loyal allies.

Although the romance is nice and provides a topper to the satisfying ending, the main focus is the battle of wits between Jillian and her family. In the process, we also get the occasional point of view of one of her half-sisters. There are, of course, some twists and turns and surprises. Some of her family are revealed to be truly perfidious, others not so bad in spite of themselves. The book did seem to lose a little steam about halfway through as we learn that Jillian is not quite so “together” as she first appeared. Having Jillian gaining insight and having to work on her own issues provided some depth and layers to her character. But it did seem to stall the narrative a bit. I missed the implacable focus of her mission to teach her family the lesson they so richly deserved to learn.

Fortunately, the sensational set-up was matched by a strong conclusion and the book regained most of the momentum it had lost towards the end. All in all, it was light and entertaining and I enjoyed it.

Thank-You to Net Galley and Avon Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

September 28, 2022

Big Sky River

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A Parable for Step-Parents.

This was a low-key pleasant way to pass the time while also serving as a cautionary tale for loving step-parents. There’s not a whole lot of action, but then again it also avoided a lot of tired tent pole scenes and tropes that Hallmark is famous for. This was on Hallmark Murders & Mysteries, and those usually have something a little more to offer than the usual stuff that Hallmark churns out like an assembly line.

Tara is a recent divorcee whose ex-husband wants to distance her from his daughter, her step-daughter, Erin, so she can bond with his new girlfriend without Tara in the way. Tara and Erin love each other dearly. Of course they do. Tara is the only mother Erin has ever known, and Erin has been Tara’s daughter for 10 of her 13 years. But Tara has no rights now that she is divorced from Erin’s father. This is a sad and scary situation for both of them, but being a mature, reasonable woman Tara respects James’ wishes (not that she has much of a choice) and is leaving for the summer. As a young girl, she spent a vacation at a dude ranch in Parable, Montana with her parents and she has always thought back on that time fondly. No, surprisingly, this is not a Dude ranch story. The dude ranch is now defunct but she is renting a house nearby.  

While in her summer home she takes care of the resident chickens, rides horses, makes friends, and dances, but more importantly meets a handsome next-door neighbor who is also the local sheriff, and his two boys. They form a connection right away, but being parents they are cautious and careful. And, as they both know, Tara will be leaving at the end of the summer. Meanwhile, the ex-husband, Hallmark’s longstanding never-the-romantic-lead-and-also-director Peter Benson, is not having a smooth time with his daughter. She has chased off 4 nannies and the agency won’t send anymore. He basically wants to just get rid of her and she won’t go to camp. He calls Tara and asks her to take Erin for the rest of the summer. Both Tara and Erin are thrilled and Erin happily joins her mom and makes herself at home in Parable.

And that’s about it until the big crisis. I won’t go any further, but it results in Tara finally putting her foot down with James and James caving in immediately. It was the highlight of the movie.  By the end, Tara and Erin will be together in Parable with Tara and Boone pursuing their promising relationship and hopefully forming one big happy family.

I appreciated late 30 and 40-somethings dealing with age-appropriate situations. Too often, Hallmark has their 40-year-old actors dealing with life situations more common to twenty-somethings. The moral, or parable, if you will, of this story is, that if you’re the loving parent of a stepchild, better go ahead and adopt them. Marriages are not always forever but parenthood is. Don’t lose your rights to your child.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

August 18, 2022

The Identicals

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By Elin Hilderbrand

I listened to this on audio because I wanted to give this author a shot but my time is always a consideration. I’m always looking for a shining star and her name is always popping up, especially in the summertime, and most people seem to really love her. I chose this one because twin stories always seem to be stuffed with possibilities. Two twins, Tabitha and Harper were separated as children when their parents divorced. Harper won rock paper scissors and stayed with her easygoing fun father on Martha’s Vineyard and Tabitha had to go with her cold controlling mother to Nantucket. Tabitha’s unreasonable resentment of Harper getting to stay with the Dad laid the groundwork for their estrangement. It was taken to another level when Tabitha (again) blamed Harper for a personal tragedy that was not her fault. Though only 11 miles apart, they had not seen each other for 15 years when Billy the father dies and the two sisters, their mother, and Tabitha’s out-of-control teenage daughter meet for his funeral.

Frankly, soon after the drama of the funeral, I was all set to give up on this, which would have been a first for me for an audiobook. Since I always listen while doing something else, it is just so easy to go along with them even if the book isn’t that enjoyable. There was not one likable main character. And the sisters in particular were both pretty contemptible. Harper was an immature, irresponsible underachiever who thinks nothing of carrying on an affair with a married man while two-timing him with another guy who is serious about her. Tabitha is such a bitter woman and “piss-poor parent” to teenage Ainsley, that I really questioned whether she cared about her own daughter at all. Ainsley is a mean girl whose teenage angst was just exhausting.

But soon after the funeral, They decide to change places. Harper will go to Nantucket to look after Ainsley and the family dress shop, and Tabitha will take care of renovating and selling Billy’s ramshackle house on the Vineyard. I thought that maybe this would be the turning point in the story that would result in healing their relationship and the evolution of their characters. In some ways, it did eventually but not before the sisters continued to reveal their awfulness, especially Tabitha. With both of them, every time I started to gain some liking and even respect, they disappointed me. Especially Tabitha. It was very frustrating. The difference between them was that although Harper made awful decisions she was essentially good-hearted and sensible. But towards the end, she did something so heartless that I couldn’t forgive her. Tabitha was just awful. The love interests were weak as well. I don’t even want to get started with those guys. There was one decent man introduced who was a possibility for a while for either of the sisters, but he got kicked to the curb and disappeared. The most positive thread was Ainsley finally maturing and getting herself together after being a horror throughout most of the book. This was thanks to the one nice and admirable character who needed a lot more pages and a story of her own.

The one really enjoyable part of this book was the last chapter in which everything was tied up into a happy ending (no accountability here!) and told from the perspective of Harper’s pet dog, who was the other unobjectionable character in this book.

Hilderbrand is a good writer and most of the book was pretty engaging. I might try another one someday. Surely not all of her protagonists are so flawed. **not quite 3 stars**

Rating: 3 out of 5.

July 24, 2022

Caroline?

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

More Than I Expected

This movie came to my attention thanks (many thanks) to a comment on one of my reviews. Thank-you Sally Silverscreen of https://18cinemalane.com/. In reading the brief synopsis I thought I was in for a juicy soap opera/romance along the lines of The Scapegoat or Barbara Stanwick’s No Man of Her Own. The first scene challenged my preconceived expectations when it opens as two adults are discussing the death of someone who appears to be the eponymous Caroline. The rest of the movie is told in a flashback beginning 2 or 3 decades earlier.

An attractive young woman appears at the door of a mansion and claims to be the long-believed dead daughter of the house. Suspiciously just in time to claim her part of an inheritance. Is she an imposter and a scammer? Seems likely. And yet it isn’t really about that. Whether she is or isn’t it becomes clear as she interacts with the rest of the family that she is a good person and very smart and capable. Further, she seems to be on a mission to improve the lives and futures of her two young possible step-siblings. The young daughter is stricken with cerebral palsy and spoiled and overly protected by her mother. She is treated like a pet or a baby to the point that her parents don’t even know she can read let alone put her own coat on. They expect her brother to be her constant companion. He is destined to be her caretaker when their parents are no longer able to. So he is trapped and isolated as well, with no friends, future prospects, or chance of happiness.

Caroline’s developing relationship with the children and with the other family members, her conflict with the mother’s wrong-headed ignorant notions of how to treat her children, her brave strategies to help the young kids, and the complex relationships among the family members add up to a compelling drama. To add to this we have deeply interesting and complex characters (especially the children) and the overarching mystery of who is Caroline really, and how and why did she come to this family. The answer is revealed near the end in a letter to the boy and it is not shocking but quite touching. The final bookend scene in which all is revealed as to Caroline’s accomplishments up to her death, the impact she made on the 2 children, as well as the entire community and beyond, is poignant and beautiful.

Of course, the whole plot is wildly implausible, and there are certainly some unanswered questions.   There was some drama and suspense created at the expense of common sense and established characterization. There is a whiff of Lifetime Movie Network about this Hallmark Hall of Fame production. But so many positives completely outweigh the flaws and make it very deserving of its 1990 Emmys for Best Direction and Best Made for Television Movie. Not to mention Patricia Neal and Dorothy Macguire adding their considerable cachet in small but key roles. I highly recommend seeking it out. It isn’t hard to find and is free on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

July 11, 2022