Thursday, June 30

Book Review: The Marquess

Author: Patricia Rice
Title: The Marquess
Genre: Historical Romance, Mystery
Pages: 380
First Published: 1997
Where I Got It: My Shelf (library free book sale, haha)


"When Dillian Whitnell sought refuge at Arimnede Manor, she never dreamed the price would be her virtue. But someone had already made an attempt on her cousin's life, and Dillian was determined to prevent another. Even if it meant giving herself to Gavin Lawrence, the new Marquess of Arinmede, a seductive, darkly brooding man who made Dillian tremble between dread and desire....

Scarred in a duel over a feckless woman, Gavin left America and set sail for England, vowing never to give his heart again. But a surprise awaited him at his crumbling manor house-an exquisite young woman in terrible danger. It was temptation no man could resist, yet once Gavin tasted the searing heat of Dillian's passion, he knew he was lost and would risk everything for a second, glorious chance at happiness...."

This one may sound like a typical romance novel, but there's way more to it. There's a lot of intrigue, murder, complex situations, and complex relationships. Also all the characters seem like real people. Patricia Rice forces you to believe that all these characters really existed. I love being sucked into a world. Better showed then told I've always been told, and Patricia Rice does good by that.

I hate simple stories like boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl-he-fights-for-her-all-ends-happily-ever-after and stories such as those. This novel reminded me a lot of 'Castle of the Wolf' by Sandra Schwab, because there is a serious Beauty-and-the-Beast feel to it. Gavin was scared horribly in a duel and a beautiful, smart girl doesn't fear him and in the ends falls for him. I love that aspect of the book, because it made their love seem real. However, they just tried to cover it up and just call it 'lust', which you can obviously see through throughout the entire book. 

I loved how it took forever for Gavin and Dillan to realize that they actually cared for each other. It all seemed very realistic. However, I did roll my eyes at some parts because they seemed melodramatic and I just wanted to strangle someone (mostly Gavin or Dillan). Some of the dialogue was a little annoying, but I enjoyed all the wit being tossed around. 

Besides for some of the parts, there's nothing else I can really complain about. I couldn't put this book down! It was a cute book, but it really made you think. Too be honest, I had no clue how it was going to end and I thought I had the bad guy figured out, but I was wrong. I was a little shocked by the ending! I was a little upset at myself, because I was wrong. However, I give a bow to Patricia Rice for keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole book through. She bested me. 

I'm not sure what else to say, except that I really enjoyed this book and I plan to re-read it in the future! It's a cute book to read during lazy summer days. I grant this book five stars. ^.^ I recommend this book to those that like historical romance novels or just a cute book to pass by the time with. I plan to check out more of Patricia Rice's books in the future. 




Favorite Character(s): Michael 'OToole' Lawrence (Gavin's interesting brother) 
Not-so-Favorite Character(s): Neville (Lady Blanche's cousin)
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<3CaroleRae


Wednesday, June 29

Something New? Yes!

Happy Wednesday everyone! The week is half way over, huzzah! ^.^

This week I drew the Joker card...again. When I sat down to think about what I wanted to present this week I haD a CRAZY idea. Instead of posting Wildcard Wednesday posts I want to try a new series of postings. Don't worry Wildcard Wednesday won't be gone forever, but I want to try this. Lately I've been thinking a lot about my childhood. My childhood was far from perfect, but without what I experienced I would not be the person I am today. That's the same with all of us. Without our experiences as kids, we wouldn't be who we are today.

With this new posting series, I want to explore what highly influenced me as a kid. I sort of base this from 'Top Ten Tuesday' and the '30 Day Picture Challenge' from Facebook. I'm not sure how many weeks I want this to last...but I'll just roll with it. Sometimes its best to follow the tide. So this is Part 1 of Childhood Wednesday! Yayy!




To start this off, I would first like to visit the top 3 TV shows that highly influenced me as a kid. Also I would like to give some spotlight to my favorite characters of those show...

I guess you can call little kid me nerdy. I use to obsessed with shows like Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Dragonball Z. There's a picture somewhere of me sitting in room and you can defiantly see my love of Pokemon. I decided to decorate my room with Pokemon stuff because Sailor Moon stuff was too girly and Dragonball Z was too boyish.

My favorite Pokemon characters were Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Ash. What did this show/movie teach me? It taught me it's okay to throw balls at animals...haha just kidding. It taught me to go for my dreams with my whole heart and it taught me the meaning to be a true friend :

Bulbasaur and Charmander

The adorable Ash
One year during Halloween, I went as Sailor Moon. It was a homemade costume. I think I looked more like Sailor Venus though, because I couldn't catch the meatball head look. Oh well, my favorite characters were Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Saturn. This show taught me to fight for what I believed in and never be afraid. It taught me it's okay to be different.:

Sailor Moon. Moon Power!


Sailor Jupiter.


Sailor Saturn!




Next is Dragonball Z. I cried when this show ended. I never seen the last episode for the last two shows, but I watched every minute of DBZ. I loved all the characters from this series, but there is one who was my ultimate favorite. I still liked him when he was a bad guy at the beginning. Who? Vegeta of course! I also really liked Trunks (his son with Bulma). From this show I learned not too be selfish, try to change the world for better, people can be good, and that friends and family are the most important things in life. I also learned that if I dye my hair blonde and get blue eye contacts people will think I was a super saiyan. ^.^ Just kidding:

Vegeta!

Trunks

Vegeta and baby Trunks. I love it


I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of Childhood Wednesday. I can't for next Wednesday! ^.^ Feel free to participate in Childhood Wednesday by either posting your own post or just by commenting below. Any suggestions for Part 2?


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<3CaroleRae

Tuesday, June 28

The Next Movie of the Week is....

Sorry about the delay in this announcement, but I just couldn't decide what I wanted to review. There's just SO many movies out there! It's crazy! Anyways, I've finally gotten off my indecisive pony to announce the next Movie of the Week, which is.....Defiance



I've had this on DVD for a while, but I haven't watched it yet. I just keep forgetting that I have it. However, I'm determined to watch it and review it! Maybe it was fate that I would watch it and review it for this blog. Who knows? Honestly, I can't wait, this looks like such a great movie. Here's a trailer:



I can't wait! ^.^



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<3CR




Monday, June 27

Music Monday



Happy Music Monday! I'm going to cut right to the point, because I completely forgot today is Monday and I have to go to work in a little bit. Darn my memory!

The first video is cute new video by broadwayfanatic124, I love her videos! This one is about Marie Antoinette featuring the song Hurt by Johnny Cash. I would never connect the two together, but it oddly goes very well together. I picked this, because as you know Marie Antoinette is one of my favorite Historical figures AND it's only a couple days old. Enjoy:



Also, here's my new favorite song of the moment (Airplanes by BOB, Hayley Williams, and Eminem):



This one is a very serious issue that holds a deep place in my heart. Every time I see this or think about this video or similar videos, I want to cry. Even though I'm not 100% native and I don't live on a reservation, this issue is a huge deal to me. I may or may not be of Sioux/Lakota blood, but they are a fellow tribe. This speech and history lesson, I guess, is Aaron Huey:



There is no funny video this week. Sorry. This video brings up a huge issue that the United States government just ignores and wants nothing to do with. If people think Detroit is destitute, many reservations are in worse shape. Still to this day the US government doesn't feel for these people, they simply don't care. If they did, they would do something. I wish I had the power to do something. I wish I was rich and powerful and had a voice. I don't. I could be screaming and no politician would care. It's a sad fact.

I apologize for being very serious today. I guess I'm just in one of those moods. I tend to drift into a very serious mood when this issue arises and is forefront in my mind.

Have a great Monday!

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<3CaroleRae
  



Sunday, June 26

Sunday Ketchup...



~'Sunday Ketchup' was inspired by The Muse in the Fog's 'Suddenly Sunday' postings. However, mine are going to be a little bit different. Also when I went to spell 'Catchup' I accidentally spelled it wrong and put 'Ketchup'. I thought it was cute, so I kept it. Also, I'm addicted to ketchup! I want one of those ketchup shirts that says "I <3 Ketchup". Wouldn't that be cute? Every week, or whenever I remember, I'm going to post events that happened this past week, things coming up next week, updates, and news. You can join in and post your own 'Sunday Ketchup' postings, just make sure to mention me...if you want ^.^ ~




Happy Sunday! The week is done, but a new week is on the horizon. It's been a crazy week for me! I worked countless hours, so my free time was limited. Oh well. Besides for that mine was a pretty decent week. How was your week?




Past Week Posts:



What Came in the Mail/Store?:
A million dollars... nah, I wish though! Nothing this week. =(




Tim Horton News:
Nothing. I just felt like I was living there.





Anything New For the Blog?:
Now that you mention it, I might be changing the background and altering the coloring a little bit. I had a sudden urge to mix things up. I get that urge a lot, I love change. I love to move furniture around and color the walls different colors, so I guess I'm just that type of person. But yes, there will probably be a background and coloration change. That's it though...





What's going to posted this week?:
I'm not quite sure. I just have the usual stuff planned out and the announcement of the next Movie of the Week. You might see a book review or two, but the future is uncertain as it is complex. ^.^





Anything Else?:
Yes! Just yesterday I was informed that I won something! And no it wasn't one of those spam messages or phone calls saying I won a free trip to Mexico but I have to pay $100 to become a member first type deals. I legitimately won a something! At Books, Belles, & Beaux I submitted in her giveaway for 'Queen By Right' by Anne Easter and I won it! I was surprised! I can't wait for it to come in the mail, so I can read it. ^.^  Click HERE to go and see the posting of my victory! I guess I maybe a ninja after all. Ha. As you can tell, I'm really excited.  


~~What's new with your blog?~~


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<3 CaroleRae







Friday, June 24

Blog Hop, aka Book Party!




~Blog Hop was created by Crazy-for-Books. It's a weekly event to allow bloggers to "blog hop" to other Bloggers who share a love of books too. It's sort of a weekly Book Party! We all love parties!~


Since I have nothing else scheduled to post until Sunday, I've decided to give this "blog hop" a chance. I didn't even know what it was, but I decided to expand my blogging world.

This week's question is:

“When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?”


My answer: When I was like five or six years-old I would spend the weekend with Kaitlyn and her grandparents. Every night before we went to bed Kaitlyn's grandma or grandpa would read to us Dr. Seus' books. That sparked my love of book, when it became important was when my mom bought me a box full of Mr & Little Miss books (she got them at a garage sale for cheap). I became addicted to reading those and the rest was history. ^.^ My favorite Dr. Suess was Green Eggs and Ham and my favorite Mr & Little Miss book was Mr. Clumsy.






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<3CaroleRae


Wednesday, June 22

Wildcard Wednesday: Random Edition

Happy Wednesday! The week is halfway done!



For this week I drew the Joker card which means I'm going to present something funny or something completely random. I kind of love pulling this card, because I'm not even sure what I'm going to post. I usually have an idea, but in the end I pick something entirely different from the original plan.

 For this week, I'm going to show some of the many funny pictures I discovered on Google or ones that people sent me or pictures that I own and I want to share. Also, at the end, I'm going to post a random video from my 'Favorites' playlist on my YouTube account, cxcarolayxc. Enjoy! ^.^

Can you find the ninja cat? haha


IF I was a cat....


I am the great defender of gerbils!


hahaha



Baby Issac. I don't know why, but this makes me giggle and "awww"


My beloved cousin, her husband, and her kids on Halloween a couple days before her baby was due. This make me chuckle. ^.^

~*~

And here's my random video. c: It's adorably funny. It's by Daneboe:


Well, I hope you enjoyed this week's 'Wildcard Wednesday' posting. I love randomness. It's good for the soul.

Is there any random pictures you can't help but laugh at? Are there any you think I would like? Go ahead and send them to me at: carolerae4488@yahoo.com. Or you could just leave a link below. ^.^

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<3CR




Tuesday, June 21

Top Ten Tuesday: Why I love to blog





~Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.~

This week's topic question is "why do you love to blog". I haven't been blogging on blogger for that long, just a few months. However, I love to blog and I'll give you my top ten reasons on why I love to blog:


1. Whenever I complete a post and click the 'publish post' button I feel a certain happy feeling rush over me. I guess blogging and getting my voice out there just makes me smiles.


2. I love all the new people and chatting with everyone. I love all my fellow bloggers. ^.^


3. I love being able to share my love of books, music, and movies to others. I love chatting about a good book or a bad book.



4. The blogging world is like entering another world. There are so many different types of places to travel. Different types of blogs. It's so diverse here!


5. It's great to be able to find people who share the same interests with me! I always smile when I find another history geek like me.


6.There are giveaways all the time! I don't know why, but I love entering into contests.


7. Blogging allows me not only talk about stuff, but show pictures or videos I'm absolutely in love with.


8. It's just a lot of fun! There's so many things to see and do in the world of blogging.


9. I love all my followers and their comments. I feel loved.


10. Lastly, I just love discovering new books, authors, movies, TV shows, music, and etc. Blogging opens many doors.


I was dieing to do this post this week! I couldn't wait to share my whys on why I love blogging. Why do you all love blogging? If you post this on your blog send me the link so I can see your top ten list.


**PS-I fixed my issue, so 'Music Mondays' has been saved. It was odd. Something in the post editor settings changed on it's own. I'm not sure how or why, but I discovered it an hour or so ago. ^.^ That made my day.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the late posting today, I spent the day with Sarah and we had feathers put our hair. I guess it's a new trend, but they take real feathers and dye them different colors and clip them into your hair. It's odd, but I like it. I got blue and magenta. She got blue, magenta, and purple. It's pretty cool! You can curl them, straigten them, or whatever! I'm absolutely in love with mine. Also, they are NOT permant, you can get them taken out at anytime. Here are a couple pics:**

mine. ^.^

the blue feather is on the other side. 

Do you have a feather in your hair?

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<3CR




Monday, June 20

If There is a Will There is a Way!



Haha, I have a will to get my way, because I am a ninja! I went on google to see if there was a way to add videos onto a post via HTML code. There is! I nearly fell out of my seat because I was so excited! This is a lucky day for some, because there'll be two posts today. I was just going to skip this week, but there is a couple videos I really wanted to share. I was so excited, that when blogger woe struck my account this time, I was generally upset. However, I am in good cheer now, because I found a way to post my 'Music Monday' post! ^.^

Happy Monday Music, by the way.

First, I wanted to show you this one by xMeredith248x; she's a follow history lover! This one features the song Airplanes by BOB. It's in honor of Anne Boleyn:




This one runs in my head sometimes when I'm reading 'Tokaido Road'. I'm not sure though. Sometimes my mind connects things that shouldn't really connect, because Cat (the girl) is out to get revenge on the person who tried to kill her and forced her father to commit suicide. Also, I love this song and band. The lead singer is the person I imagine as Geoff from 'The Deception of the Emerald Ring' by Lauren Willig. It's Mercy by OneRepublic:



I guess I'm on a OneRepublic-kick this week. This is All the Right Moves by OneRepublic, for some reason it reminds me of the Boleyn family. The video is beautifully done; I could just imagine Geoff getting up and singing this to Letty from 'The Deception of the Emerald Ring':



As always, I include a funny video to lighten the mood. This time I picked a Jumbafund video. (every view helps raise money for a charity.) Kevjumba created this account a while back. Well, him and Ryan (nigahiga/HigaTv) were asked to go on a mission by GE to find three GlobalTap fountains. You can go and see Ryan's viewpoint below too...the first is Kevjumba's version:






I hope you enjoyed the double-posting this week!!

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<3CR




Movie Review & Apologies

~~I'm not sure what's going on, but somethings not right with Blogger. I'm not sure you're all having issues, but I'm being forced to use the HTML way to post my post today. It won't let me put videos on my post either. I can only use videos that I uploaded, which I don't make videos that often. This has caused me to not be able to post 'Music Monday' for this week. It may have removed 'Music Monday' forever, if they don't fix this problem. I can't really even edit my text without actually using the HTML codes, which I hate doing. This is really upsetting me. So instead of 'Music Monday' I'm going to prematurely post my movie review of 'Anne of the Thousand Days' Enjoy!!~~


Length: 145 mins
Released: 1969 (USA)
Genre: Drama, History
Rating: no rating
Directed By: Charles Jarrott
Where I Got It: Borrowed it from Library





Anne of the Thousand Days tells the story of the rise, the fall, and how Anne Boleyn changed the world. She started out as a silly girl who was in love with Harry Percy but would became an ambitious woman who held the heart of King Henry VIII. She would use that love to remove the old queen and take her place as Queen of England. However, in doing so she lost her heart to Henry and would forever doom herself to the axman's blade.

This is an oldie, but there was a couple of names and faces I recognized, which made me extremely excited to watch this movie. Genevieve Bujold(The Trojan Women, Tightrope, Finding Home) played the clever and ambitious Anne Boleyn, Richard Burton (1984, Hamlet, Cleopatra) as King Henry VIII, and Michael Hordern (Beauty and the Beast, Gandhi, Were Eagles Fly) as the ambitious Thomas Boleyn.

I'm always very judgmental when it comes to books or movies on Anne Boleyn. I'm very protective over this historical person, I'm not exactly sure why. I have a connection with her that I can't quite explain. I try to keep an open mind in all things, but my opinions and thoughts about her story won't change. However, I force myself to give the movie or book a chance.

To be blunt...I enjoyed this movie. It maybe old, but I loved it. Even though some of the time line was a little off, I didn't care. Odd. I just watched the movie in awe-silenced. I believed that it should have won some sort of award. Maybe not an Oscar, but perhaps a Golden Globe or something.

I loved all the actors in their roles. They all did wonderful. It was odd, I actually really like this version of Henry VIII. Usually actors who play the vengeful king play him to be a complete jerk and a heartless man. However, Richard Burton played him completely different. Henry seemed like a cool guy and he was nice to everyone, except when someone made him mad, then the typical Henry came out. I also enjoyed how Anne was portrayed. She was more cold and hateful towards Henry. She made it perfectly clear that she didn't like him, but Henry kept perusing her until she fell in love with him.

The only negative thing I can think off about this film was a couple of the scenes that should have been edited and changed. A couple times I cringed and was tempted to fast forward at. For example, Anne's execution scene. Really? It was extremely cheesy and just...wrong. They didn't even include her speech. Also, the dancing scenes seemed odd and just thrown together at the last minute. I couldn't stand those scenes.

Besides for a couple of scenes I loathed, I really did love the movie. It was cute and different. It told the story from a different view. A lot of the characters were played in a different light, which I highly enjoyed. it was a different look at an old story. Out of five stars I grant this one five stars. ^.^ I recommend that everyone who loves history, the tudors, or just a good old movie should watch this.

Would I Watch Again?:
Yup. ^.^



favorite character: Anne Boleyn, of course!
Not-so-favorite character: Cromwell the lawyer







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<3Carole Rae of Imlay

Sunday, June 19

Ketchup Sunday and Father's Day


~'Sunday Ketchup' was inspired by The Muse in the Fog's 'Suddenly Sunday' postings. However, mine are going to be a little bit different. Also when I went to spell 'Catchup' I accidentally spelled it wrong and put 'Ketchup'. I thought it was cute, so I kept it. Also, I'm addicted to ketchup! I want one of those ketchup shirts that says "I <3 Ketchup". Wouldn't that be cute? Every week, or whenever I remember, I'm going to post events that happened this past week, things coming up next week, updates, and news. You can join in and post your own 'Sunday Ketchup' postings, just make sure to mention me...if you want ^.^ ~

Welcome to yet another 'Sunday Ketchup'. First, I wanted to say happy Father's Day to everyone who's a dad!!  

I actually couldn't wait to write this up and post it. It's kind of fun to think back on the week. This week has been odd. I didn't have class, but I've been working a lot. When I wasn't working, I tried to keep myself active and get out of the house. Which I accomplished. My week had a lot of up and downs, how was your week?


Past Week Posts:

What Came in the Mail/Store?:
A lot! I actually stopped by this cute little used bookstore in Almont called ReLiteration. Someone suggested this place to me a long while ago, but I never went until this week. I fell in love with the place! It's tiny, but it's quite literally a house filled with books. Every room is filled with a genre of books. It was interesting. If you ever come to Michigan, check this place out. In total I bought six books:




Tim Hortons News:
Nothing fantastic. 


Anything New Coming Up?:
Nope, not that I can think off right now.



What's Going to Be Posted Next Week:
Just the usual stuff. 'Tokaido Road" is a good sized book, so I doubt I'll finish it this week. I will be posting the review for 'Anne of the Thousand Days' this week sometime.


Anything Else?:
Again, happy Father's Day! Especially to my dads!!

My dad, Greg, and his finacee







Dad's in the middle with the yellow flowered necklace. This is my favorite. Wow look how young I use to be!





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<3CR


Saturday, June 18

Book Review: The Two Towers

Author: JRR Tolkien
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2nd in series)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
Pages: 322
First Published: 1954
Where I Got It: My Shelf (box set)


"The Fellowship was scattered. Some were bracing hopelessly for war against the ancient evil of Sauron. Some were contending with the treachery of the wizard Saruman. Only Frodo and Sam were left to take the accursed Ring of Power to be destroyed in Mordor - the dark Kingdom where Sauron was supreme. Their guide was Gollum, deceitful and lust-filled, slave to the corruption of the Ring."


This is probably the millionth time I've read this and I pretty much know the story in and out, but while reading I'm still hanging on each and every word that JRR Tolkien wrote. The way that Mr. Tolkien writes makes it feel like you're reading it for the first time all over again. That's why I can continuously re-read  this trilogy and never bore of it. However, it's been a few years since I actually read this. The last time I read it was when I was 16 years-young, I guess.

This is my favorite movie, but my least favorite of the trilogy. You would think it would be my favorite, because it introduces a couple of my favorite characters and it introduces Rohan, but it's not. I don't really like  quickly things occurred and I feel like some of the chapters should have been saved for the next book or put at the ending in the first book. That's just my personal opinion. Also, there isn't a lot of songs or poetry like in the first and last book. Sometimes I felt that JRR Tolkien just threw this together as a last thought. I don't know, but I just felt like that at certain parts when I was reading.

Other than that, I have no complaints! I really love all the books for different reasons. I love how JRR Tolkien  strongly incorporates that idea of nature into the books, especially in The Two Towers. He gives nature a voice in Middle Earth and place. It's not just a setting or props, it's a character. The Ents embody that and literally give nature a voice (instead of figuratively). Since I'm sort of a big nature protector/lover, I highly appreciate this.

Also, I'm always astounded about the depth that JRR Tolkien goes into with each nation. Every area on the map of Middle Earth seems real! I feel like this really happened and all these places really existed. There's so much history and back-story, that when I start reading I feel like I'm reading a documentary. However, it's not boring, it keeps you entertained fascinated!

All-in-all, I still love this book. It's been a couple of years since I've read this, but I find my love for this book hasn't diminished or weakened. The Two Towers may not be my favorite out of the series, but I still love it. Out of five stars, I'm giving this one 4 stars. It would be 4.4 stars, but I don't give decimals. I recommend that everyone who loves to read should read this trilogy or attempt at it.  ^.^

*Favorite Character(s): Eomer, Faramir, and Pippin
*Not-so-Favorite Character (s): Grima Wormtongue
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<3CR