Thursday’s Tale: Cinderella (2015)

Cinderella is a lovely movie. Cinderella is told by her dying mother to have courage and be kind, and that's the motto she lives by, even after her dad dies and her step-mother and step-sisters are just horrible to her. At least her reason for hanging around makes some sense. It's pretty faithful to the 1950s cartoon version, which on the one hand is nice. It's a sweet story with a happy ending, but I would have liked to see a little something different. I guess I've become used to re-tellings that twist the stories a bit. Lily James is a nice choice for Cinderella. She's not a tough girl, but she's strong, she keeps going no matter what life throws at her and tries to be positive. Yes, she talks to animals. And I loved her first meeting with the prince. They were both sweet and kind and smiling. Cate Blanchett is perfect as the evil step-mother. She's nasty, but at...
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Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

I've been having some good luck with light romances lately. Love in a Nutshell is just fun - and guess what, Kate and Matt are actually honest with each other, well more or less. They make a good couple - instant attraction but a few issues keeping them apart, like he's her boss and owns the mortgage on her house, the one he had been planning to foreclose on. Matt is another almost -perfect guy, good business sense, sexy, protective of the people he cares about. Kate is a bit down on herself, but is making a go at starting a new life. Love in a Nutshell has funny moments, a slow courtship between Matt and Kate as far as romances go, and some danger. It's not a wonderful book, but it's enjoyable. It's definitely PG thanks to an overly possessive poodle, one of two dogs who are great characters in and of themselves. The narrator does a good job differentiating the...
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Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy

Really, really enjoyed this romance. It was sweet, sexy and just nice. There was a happy ending and not too much stress getting there. Tamara wants to take it slow, which is totally understandable and Elec might just be the perfect man. It didn't make me cry, it didn't make me want to yell at the couple to just get their act together. For me, it was what a romance should be. Elec and Tamara are both honestly good people. Tamara did annoy me a little at times, especially her harping on about her stretch marks. Granted, Elec couldn't have cared less about it, he thought she was gorgeous, but I felt like her body issues were a little over the top. Other than that, though, they both felt like people I could enjoy hanging out with. Sometimes audios don't work well for romances with sex scenes, but this one was good. It was sexy, but didn't trip over into cheesy and...
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Dead Wrong by Leighann Dobbs

This is a really light mystery with a bit of PG romance. I enjoyed it but there wasn't much to it. I like the sisters and how they all support each other, but I kind of felt like we didn't really know much about them or the other characters. On the one hand, that's good, we're not bogged own with a bunch or back story, but it left me with a few too many questions. I love the house and the shop and can see why the girls will do anything can not to lose it. Oh, and there's a magical cat. There's a bit of a rumor around town that Balckmores may be witches, which they're not, at least they don't seem to be, but they do have this cat that has an uncanny way of being in just the right spot or finding just the thing they need. It's just a hint of paranormal. The mystery is okay. We get...
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Spotlight: Budapest Romance by Rozsa Gaston

Excerpt: How could she not notice being noticed? Floating in a thermal bath pool at a spa hotel in Budapest, Kati discreetly eyed the rugged blond man lounging in the next pool. He had glanced in her direction several times over the past two days. She was mourning the death of her father the month before, and was in no shape to be looking at the opposite sex. But the man's shaggy, blond hair had caught her eye that first evening in the pools; it had wandered down over his shoulders and powerful chest as well. Béla Dunai would have forgiven her, she knew. At that moment, the man lifted his head and looked directly at her. Immediately, she pretended to be studying the clock on the wall behind him. She hoped he was too far away to notice the blush that had sprung onto her face. She wanted to pass for a sophisticated European woman while in Hungary. But here she was, blushing...
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Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

I kinda wished I hadn't wasted an Audible credit on Simply Irresistable. It was okay, but I could have just put a hold on it at the library and waited. It wasn't worth "I need it"-ness of a credit. I was in the mood for a Christmas romance and it did fit the bill. I haven't read anything by Shalvis before, but her name comes up often enough that I felt pretty safe. Really the book had a lot of things I like, besides the nice coastal town setting and the Christmas season. Maddie and Jax are both good, nice people. Yes, she has trouble trusting, which is understandable, but she' trying to reinvent herself. Yes, Jax keeps some crucial information from her, but he doesn't have a choice, really. Maddie's sisters are great characters, both of whom I'm assuming will get their own love stories later in the series. I enjoyed the dynamics between the three of them. I like how everyone in the...
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