Sylvester was just not...? I guess he just wasn't whatever it takes to make a romantic lead for me. He started off very unlikable and haughty, but that Sylvester was just not...? I guess he just wasn't whatever it takes to make a romantic lead for me. He started off very unlikable and haughty, but that was fine because I love those stories where you can't stand the guy at first, so there's this anticipation while you wait for the author to flip the tables and make you fall for him. You know, all of a sudden you're seeing everything from a different angle and you realize things weren't what they seemed, or maybe he has a come-to-Jesus experience and changes his naughty ways. Either way, I'm here for it because there's just nothing like an enemies-to-lovers romance, in my book. Sadly, Sylvester never really achieved true redemption. Or at least, he didn't cross that finish line sufficiently enough for me.
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On the bright side, the plot was wacky enough for me to be sufficiently entertained all the way through this rather short rom-com. The skinny gist is that Sylvester decides it's time to find a wife, has no real preference one way or another for any of the cool chicks he knows, and gets talked into going to meet his godmother's awkward & plain granddaughter. Phoebe, said awkward & plain young lady, while admittedly very unhappy at home with her father & stepmother, has zero interest in marrying an eligible duke. Why? Because she's secretly a novelist who is planning to leave home and live with her elderly governess. She don't need a man.
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Due to a series of bungled communications, she's also under the impression that Sylvester is definitely going to make her an offer of marriage and that she will be forced to marry him. So she convinces her oldest friend (a young man named Thomas) to sneak her out of the house and deliver her to her grandmother's doorstep. To spice it up, her first novel is just about to be (anonymously) published and she based the villain off Sylvester in a very obvious way. Ouch! And to add an extra special layer of crazy on top, Sylvester is in charge of his little nephew now that his twin brother is dead, and he's fighting with the boy's mother over custody. What? Yeah, that's a whole thing but you don't feel bad for the mother because she's kind of terrible at her job.
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Anyway. The story is nuts and really kind of goes off the rails at the end. But in a somewhat enjoyable way, if you know what I mean? At the end of the day, even though I never really liked Sylvester, I'd still recommend it to Georgette Heyer fans just for the batshit plot....more
Fun Wodehouse tale about the pitfalls of producing a play. Cyril Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps (of the Drones Club fame) inherits a nice nest egg from his uFun Wodehouse tale about the pitfalls of producing a play. Cyril Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps (of the Drones Club fame) inherits a nice nest egg from his uncle and gets immediately hoodwinked into investing in a new theater production starring his boozy actor friend, Mervyn Potter.
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The story was a lot better than I initially thought it would be, especially since I know relatively little about the theater - except that it's an iffy market for investment. But apparently, that was more than what poor Barmy knew.
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Of course, it wouldn't be a Wodehouse story if there wasn't a bit of romance and a full cast of wacky characters. It's clever, humorous, entertaining, and one of the better (imho) stand-alone stories that I've read of his. Recommended for fans of P.G. Wodehouse....more
A bit of a misleading name, in my opinion. But still a good lecture.
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The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History sounds like you're goiA bit of a misleading name, in my opinion. But still a good lecture.
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The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History sounds like you're going to hear something about what early church leaders were duking it out over when it came to doctrine, right? Or maybe that was just me. What you actually get is just an interesting look at some (mostly) modern-day questions people ask about early Christianity and its main characters, then Ehrman's answer of what's historically provable, what's not, and why. Almost everything here is something that he's already covered in other books or lectures, but I found this one to be such a nice, concise list of those things that I'll probably end up buying this at some point.
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This isn't a faith-based look at scripture, but it's not an attack on faith, either. It's pretty standard. Faith is faith because you have to suspend a bit of disbelief. And faith and fact are two entirely different things. I wouldn't recommend trying to fit them both in the same lunchbox....more
Magic Mirror on the wall... ohmygod is that a fucking chin hair?!
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Reading this at my age, I see it all in a new light. So the stepmom tries to kilMagic Mirror on the wall... ohmygod is that a fucking chin hair?!
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Reading this at my age, I see it all in a new light. So the stepmom tries to kill Snow White because the kid is getting better looking by the day. And you know what? I can't even hate her for that one. These young women with their taut skin and perky butts? DEATH TO THEM ALL! <--ignore me, I don't mean that, it's just the menopause talking
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But I'm betting Snow was wandering around the castle singing in that squeaky high-pitched voice and talking to animals. And here this perimenopausal queen is just wanting a little freaking peace and quiet. It was only a matter of time before the woman snapped and thought to herself: this weird bitch has to go. I mean, how hard can it be to get rid of one chirpy teenager?
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Well, let me tell you, it's harder than it looks. The poor, beleaguered, middle-aged monarch is first foiled by the lying-ass huntsman who should have had her back, and then by these squirrely dwarves that Snow White takes up with in some hippie commune in the woods. Queen can't catch a break. Or so it seems...
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Because. After narrowly avoiding death twice, Snow White then chokes on a magic apple that she should have damn well known not to eat by that point. And for reasons of plot is subsequently put under glass and on display in the woods by the dwarves. That one always seemed...odd.
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Then along comes true love. Or at least a prince who falls in love with her beauty, and decides to tote her off - causing the apple to fall out of her mouth. She pops up like a daisy and immediately marries the guy. But let's face it, marrying a strange prince who wanted to steal her dead body wasn't even the iffiest thing she'd done up to that point. Yeah. Take a moment to let that one sink in.
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At the end of the day, Snow White is a doofus, the prince is a creep, and my sympathies lie with the hot mess of a witch. The moral of the story? Snow White is the patron saint of women who accept drinks from strangers, eat unverified brownies, and climb into white vans. Do not be a Snow White....more
Murder in the Mews Poirot and Japp investigate a murder that has been made to look like suicide. Badly made tGood collection of Agatha Christie shorts.
Murder in the Mews Poirot and Japp investigate a murder that has been made to look like suicide. Badly made to look like suicide. Poirot has to untangle quite a few knots to unravel a blackmailer's scheme gone wrong. But unravel them he does.
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Keep your eye on the attache case at the golf course. Or not. Could just be a red herring after all.
The Case of the Rich Woman A rich middle-aged woman is bored with life. She comes across an advertisement in that paper that says, Are you happy? If not consult Mr. Parker Pyne., and decides to give it a try. She goes to Pyne's office to see if he can help her find the happiness she used to have before she could afford everything she wanted.
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I'm guessing she thinks Pyne is going to find her some spicy new hobby. That is not what happens. He finds someone who can switch her soul with that of a poor woman and takes over control of her money! Or does he? The conclusion is pretty cool.
While the Light Lasts What if you had the chance to be with your first love again? A woman who married wealth and security after her first husband was killed in the war has the chance to revisit her past. This is something that I think anyone would struggle with so I really felt for her.
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This one turns out to be more complicated than you might think. Because do we really want what we pined for in our youth?
Triangle at Rhodes A love triangle turns deadly in a way I didn't see coming! Poirot and the other guests notice that the resident hotel hottie appears to be quickly stealing a mousy woman's handsome husband, while simultaneously angering her own.
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Poirot sees that there is more going on than meets the eye and tries to warn Mrs. Mousy to leave before... Well, before. I liked this one quite a bit!
Death by Drowning A local girl, rumored to be pregnant by an out-of-town architect, is found drowned. The locals assume it was suicide because her father is known to be an unreasonable man.
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Miss Marple to the rescue!
The Bird with the Broken Wing Suicide or murder? After hearing his friend's name spelled out on a OUJA board, Mr. Satterthwaite decides to accept the invitation to a house party that he had previously thought to decline.
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It's a weird one. I'm not sure anyone is really sympathetic except for the gal who ends up getting murdered.
The Lemesurier Inheritance The cursed inheritance! The story opens with a friend of Hastings & Poirot getting killed almost immediately after he learns of his father's death...and right before he inherits his estate. Supposedly there's a curse attached to the family that (because of some wrongdoing by an ancestor) won't let any firstborn son inherit.
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The House of Lurking Death A proper mystery! A lot of these Tommy & Tuppence shorts are kind of silly. I mean, one of the fun things about this collection is that it's just these two doing goofy stuff, flirt-fussing at each other, and still managing to solve a case or three.
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However, this is a twisty poisoning case worthy of Poirot or Marple.
Tape-Measure Murder Not my favorite Marple. And yet, is any Marple a bad Marple? So. This one deals with a woman whose husband is the main suspect in her murder, mainly because he isn't showing the appropriate amount of emotion.
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The Voice in the Dark Give back what is not yours. Give back what you have stolen. Lady Barbara Stranleigh is a bit of an ass. But she's been Mr. Satterthwaite's acquaintance since they were young, so when she tells him she's worried about her adult daughter hearing voices from beyond, he agrees to go check on her at her family's home.
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You'll have to suspend disbelief quite a bit for this to seem even remotely plausible. But I thought it was a great short.
Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds How important are white teeth? In the grand scheme of life, not very. However, if you're a Belgian detective, you may just be able to solve a murder based on the color of someone's chompers.
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Witness for the Prosecution LOVE THE ENDING! This one is juicy. A rich old lady is found dead and all signs point toward Leonard Vole, a young man who has been paying her special attention, as she had apparently changed her will and he stands to inherit a good deal of money. Did he kill her? All signs point to yes. But his attorney, Mr. Mayhew, isn't convinced that he's actually guilty. Especially once he pays a visit to Leonard's wife, Romaine. <--yes, like the lettuce
This would be a great addition to any Christie lover's library. Recommended.
This was such a disappointment. I was hoping for something cool and twisty and I got slapped upside the head with a wet blanket. Sorry I wasted my time This was such a disappointment. I was hoping for something cool and twisty and I got slapped upside the head with a wet blanket. Sorry I wasted my time (pun intended) with this series.
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Sometimes an entire series can hinge on its ending for me, and this one was a prime example of that. I thought it would take quite a different turn and surprise me, have some twist that would make this fun, or a big reveal that would make the whole thing take on an exciting turn. It did not.
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Bottom line? If you like quasi-sappy stories about life being a predetermined and inescapable journey, you might like this one. Not my cuppa....more
It appears that Kevin and Nadia are stuck in the distant past with a bunch of anti-robot colonists that are now headedNothing is what it seems?
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It appears that Kevin and Nadia are stuck in the distant past with a bunch of anti-robot colonists that are now headed by her mother. What's going on here?
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Things are heating up, I just hope they can bring this whole time travel debacle full circle and give us a cool ending....more
