Beautiful Days (Bright Young Things Book 2) By: Anna Godbersen

Just finished the second installment of the Bright Young Things series. The first one was incredible, and this one was no different. In some of my film courses I’ve studied the 1920s era and the silent film era, and it all just looks like a glamorous time. This second novel, Beautiful Days follows the three main characters: Cordelia Grey, Astrid Donal, and Letty Larkspur. If you have not read the first novel, it is a must, because this story picks up from the past events and the first book introduces a dazzling era of flappers, singing, luxury living, and new beginnings, so read it! :)

Here in Beautiful Days, Cordelia may have a new romance, but it’s a slow and confusing one. At the same time, in honor of her late father, the famous bootlegger, she and her half brother, Charlie, work to create more business. Letty still tries to become a Star even though she gets discouraged at different times, but her talent is not overshadowed (she gets widely noticed!). Then there is Astrid who is not getting noticed enough by her fiancé Charlie (yes Cordelia’s half brother) but a terrible catastrophe brings an unexpected event. With their different individual stories, there’s the era of the twenties, and it’s just a delightful read!

I read the first novel this past summer, and was intrigued from page one. I love to read different stories of what the Twenties would have been like, and here Godbersen does such a wonderful job describing New York City during that time, and in a way, you’re taken there. It’s a great series, and I believe there’s one more coming later this year, so you have time to catch up!

I have the first book and second one here if you wish to buy it!


My Rating: 4.8/5
My Audience Rating: Between PG & PG-13

My First Giveaway!

Hey all!

To get more involved with my blog, I’ve decided to do my first giveaway!

I have the DVD Wimbledon, and it’s a sweet romantic comedy starring Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany! It’s a great movie, and I hope you will participate!

If you are interested, please leave a comment down below here, and comment on one of my previous posts. I will randomly choose on Mon Feb 27^th so your deadline is Sunday evening (Feb 26^th). For now, I will only ship to one that's in the U.S.!

Thank you,

Marissa  : )

Silent In the Grave (Lady Julia Book 1) By: Deanna Raybourn

Let me just say, Wow! This was my first time reading a Lady Julia Grey novel, and it literally kept me up (I stayed up till almost 2am with this one!)

It starts out when Lady Julia Grey’s husband, Edward, collapses at her feet, and learns later that evening, he had passed away from an illness that was in the family, so in a way he was bound to not live a long life. So, twenty something Lady Grey is a widow with no children. At first she gives up on the fact that Edward might have been murdered since she had learned from Private Investigator, Nicholas Brisbane, that he had received threatening letters before Edward collapsed that night. About a year passes by, and Lady Julia finally has suspicions and wants to know if her childhood friend turned husband was murdered. She and Brisbane investigate together, and find out things Julia had never known about her husband, and she questions if she really did know him, even though they had a twenty year friendship! 

This was definitely a great historical mystery thriller. I loved absolutely every moment. Lady Julia comes from a big family, the March family, and it’s so great that some siblings were introduced here and those chapters were insightful, entertaining, as were the chapters with Brisbane. He just seems like an intriguing character, and I can’t wait to read the next one, which should be in a couple weeks, so I’ll keep you posted on that one! 


My Rating: 5/5
My Audience Rating: PG-13

Another Update!

Hello!

Now, I know it has been such a long while since I’ve posted anything! I have a few reviews coming up: some novels and films, as I’ve noticed I have not posted any film reviews and my site is ‘for the love of film…” so yes I will finally post some reviews. I have seen a few good ones including The Descendants, and hope to see a few more Oscar nominated ones before the Awards, which are on Feb. 26^th! So excited for those :)  I also will be part of another Book Blog Tour, and I will give that info later this week. So in this New Year, I will posting as much as I can. I’m in a new semester at school, taking more credits again like last semester, so keeping busy busy! Hope to get a few more followers, and don’t hesitate, please comment! I can’t wait to see what you all have to say on novels and films I’ve posted about!

* Marissa  

Take A Chance On Me By: Jill Mansell

I finished reading my second Jill Mansell novel, and I now have another favorite author. The first Mansell book I read was Rumour Has It (that review will be coming soon!). What I read recently was, Take A Chance On Me, and it was... really a great read! It revolves around different lovable characters in Channing’s Hill, England. Some of them include late twenty something Cleo Quinn, and her 15 year older sister Abbie. Each have their own complicated situations: Cleo with finally finding the possible ‘one’ but then her former school mate Johnny comes in the picture and moves back into the village, and for some reason she has these different feelings that were definitely not felt when they were in school. Then there’s Abbie, and after twenty years of beautiful and bliss happy marriage to her sweetheart since school, there is an unexpected situation that rises, and won’t go away. This is a delightful story that has twists and turns for not just these two, but for minor characters too, that just fit in perfectly. 

I loved this story, and wanted to read something with good feeling for the Holidays. This was a great and ideal read for the occasion. I loved the characters, especially Cleo as she may seem relatable to other women, from her younger self in school, to her older self and she finds herself in the same spot where she has been for the past few years. She runs into a school mate, Johnny, that made fun of her in class, but for some reason as the story moves along, she almost forgets those hard, embarrassing memories as she has moved on, and moves in a good direction, if I may add. I also liked the character, Johnny, and think you may as well as he turns to be a really kind person, and the scenes between he and Cleo are written perfectly. Yes, this was all just well written, and I enjoyed every page of it :)  

I have a link if you're interested to start reading this novel, so take a chance and buy this magnificent read:

My Rating: 4.8/5
My Audience Rating: PG-13

Remembrance By: Michelle Madow

This is my first book tour, and I am so thrilled to have had Michelle’s Madow’s story as my first novel to proudly praise! 

Madow’s debut novel, Remembrance, was beyond wonderful; I simply couldn’t put it down! The protagonist, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Davenport lives in Pembrooke, New Hampshire, is about 17 years old, and on the first day of school locks eyes with her meant to be love, Drew. The only problem is: she has a steady boyfriend of three years, Jeremy, and a best friend (Chelsea) that also has her eyes on Drew. What a story right? But there’s more! When Drew and Lizzie lock eyes that first moment in first period history class, they had locked eyes before, not in this lifetime, but in early 1800’s England. I told you there was more to this remarkable story :)  I have given some of the important elements that build this story, but you must read, because even though Lizzie and Drew feel like they should be together (but of course have not told each other yet…) they still have hefty obstacles, hurdles to go over, because there is Jeremy and Chelsea in the way. This story is wonderfully written, and you will be reading the first of a series, as I believe there will be a second book coming out soon.

Well, I must say, WOW this was a great read! I just finished it early this morning, and I mean early. I got hooked from chapter 1! I think introducing Drew that early in the story really catches the reader, and it creates more emotions/feelings from Lizzie. Madow has a beautiful gift, and that is her writing style, everything flows very nicely. There was a great amount of action and feelings from the characters that made the story move along, and feel realistic with a mystical twist. I love the comparison of Lizzie and Drew to Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, very brilliant. This was all around a creative idea, and as mentioned in her about page, it was from Taylor Swifts beloved song “Love Story.” Yes, this is truly a novel not to be missed, I encourage you read it, you will most definitely not be disappointed!

I have an amazon link below, where you can purchase this magnificent read, enjoy  :)


My Rating: 4.5/5
My Rating For Audiences: PG

Update Needed!

Hello all,


It has been a while since my last post, I know. I have been so caught up with work at my college. Yes, I'm a college student in my third year. I'm taking more units than usual this semester, and one I must say is Creative Writing: Fiction. This is one course that is prepping me to actually write out one of my many story ideas. I'm happy to say that I'm writing the first chapter, and soon will be critiqued at an upcoming workshop next month. I'm pretty excited! Out of the many ideas I have written since high school, I'm confident on one that came to me this past summer. These past few weeks have been pretty encouraging, and I'm just delighted to continue on this path.


I'm new to blogging (since August) and have really enjoyed my first couple of months. I have always wanted to write my opinion and recommend great novels, films, tv shows, music etc. Now is my opportunity, and thus far, it has been very satisfying. There is more to come!  :)


Another thing I want to mention: I'm participating in a book tour and can't wait! It's for Author Michelle Madow's novel, Remembrance. My date is on November 25, so tune in, and for the other blogs before/after me, as there are many blogs featuring Remembrance. I have a link attached here to her site, so you can check out Michelle's Blog and the tour dates with the different Blogs that will be featured. November will be an eventful month, hope to hear from you!

Link: http://blog.michellemadow.com/

*Marissa

The Good Wife Season One

I just finished watching the first season of The Good Wife, and I wonder: Why have I not seen this show before! It’s such a great idea for TV! This show illustrates to us what happens to the Politicians wife once a scandal has hit public. We see through the media of this situation and some may think: What is going to happen to the wife? How will she deal with this major change in her life and for her family? What is she thinking? Some may or may not think of these questions, but this show gives the answers. It includes the main character, Alicia Florrick, who is the spouse of a popular State Attorney of Illinois, Peter Florrick. He gets intertwined into two separate scandals, and is sent to jail. Alicia is then left with her two teenagers, and is the main figure of the house. She has not been by herself like this for about fifteen years. She goes back to work as a Junior Litigator at Lockhart and Gardner Law Firm. She works with one of her classmates and friend from Georgetown University, WiIl Gardner. This season deals with very interesting and intense cases. Each episode really makes you think along with the characters as they are trying to fight justice for their clients. Some of the episodes deal with Peter, as his own case is gradually being dealt with, and Alicia is wondering if she wants her husband back once he comes back home. All in all, the cast is phenomenal! The actors are all great and play their characters realistically, and you’ll see that from just the first episode. I highly recommend this show, for those have been interested, I’m saying watch it! It’s incredible! I plan to watch the second season soon, and hopefully will catch up on this third season that’s now back on TV. Down below there's a link to where you can purchase the first season. It includes six discs with deleted scenes and a documentary of the making of this show, the casting and everything like that. Hope you enjoy it, as I have! :)