MAMA ... REALLY?

I would have never believed it if you would have told me how great the movie Mama, was going to be and how much I'd enjoy it. With my daughter knowing how I felt about going to see yet another "scary" movie with her, on the way there she said, "Wouldn’t be funny if you loved the movie and I didn’t.".

“Ha, ha, real funny. Like that’s going to happen.”

The “scary” movies my daughter’s taken me to over the years have been predictable, with a weak storyline, and sorely lacking in scare ability.

As we entered the theater, we soon realized we were the only ones in there. That alone was kind of creepy. Watching Mama, I screamed … at least three or four times. Something I don’t typically do. They did an amazing job with all aspects of the movie, just like a great novel. You need all the elements to make it really great. Not just one or two.

It was amazing! Really, the best horror/scary movie I’ve seen in years since, Cujo. I don’t know why, but Cujo terrified me. That’s since the 80’s people. To say that I was thoroughly impressed, is an understatement.

BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES ... WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

 

After reading SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks, I could hardly wait to see the movie. No surprise there. Whether I read the book years before the movie comes out, or I read it in anticipation of the movie soon being released, the same reaction still holds.

Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait!

But I have to wonder why, when rarely does the movie live up to my expectations after reading the book. Yet I can’t seem to let go of the idea of seeing what I’ve read come alive before my eyes.

Who will they cast?

How will it play out visually?

Will it be all I dreamed it to be?

When the casting is done right - at least in my eyes - it adds to the excitement. When they seem to not get it right, casting actors that don’t seem to be a good fit for the characters in the novel, it can put a quick damper on how I feel towards seeing the movie.

But still I go!

There hasn’t been too many books made into movies that I didn’t walk away wishing they wouldn’t have left out this, or why’d they add that.

But still I went!

To have not gone would have been too much to bear.

If a movie is casted before I’ve read the book, I can’t seem to get them out of my head. I have to wonder what I would have pictured the characters to look like if I had read the book before knowing who was playing the part.

One thing I have learned over the years, don’t go see a movie just days after reading a novel. The story is too fresh in your mind, and it will drive you nuts as you watch, remembering all too well what they did and didn’t have in the movie.

So what's your take on books made into movies?

LOVE JESSE COOPER!

Title: The Cowboy’s Healing Ways

Author: Brenda Minton
Publisher: Love Inspired (January 22, 2013)
Pages: 224

I can’t help it, every time I spot a BRENDA MINTON book at the store I get excited. If I’m currently reading a book, I have to fight not to stop reading that one, and read MS MINTON’S instead.

One thing I can be sure of when I open up to the first page of a BRENDA MINTON book, I’m going to be swept away. Swept away in an amazing story with characters that I will fall in love with and wish I could walk into their world.

Laura White is down on her luck when she’s driven off the road by a sweet, elderly woman. When her handsome grandson comes to the rescue, Laura doesn’t trust him as much as he is leery of her. He may be a doctor, but the caring man has the potential to break her heart. Something she’s experienced one too many times. 

Jesse Cooper isn’t happy that his grandmother is so willing to take in a stranger. One that seems to be hiding something. In time he discovers not only is Laura to be trusted, she just may be the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

I feel like a broken record when reviewing a BRENDA MINTON book. How many ways can I say that I love her writing and the stories she gifts her readers with. Never tired of her novels, as I finish one, I wait with baited breath for the next.

I love Jesse Cooper, just as I have loved the rest of the Cooper men. Sweet and caring come to mind when I think of his character. Laura’s story is refreshingly unique. An ending can make or break a story. THE COWBOY’S HEALING WAYS has one of the sweetest and endearing endings I’ve read.

Bring on another, I’m ready!

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HOME FOR GOOD FOUND A HOME IN MY HEART

Title: Home For Good

Author: Jessica Keller
Publisher: Love Inspired (January 22, 2013)
Pages: 224

If I was only allowed one word to describe HOME FOR GOOD by JESSICA KELLER, I guess that would have to be “WOW”. If I had not been told so, I would not have believed this to be MS KELLER’S first novel.

Ali Silver’s husband took off before she had the chance to tell him she was carrying his child. Raising a child on her own hasn’t been easy. When Jericho Freed returns after eight long years, Ali isn’t so forgiving.

Jericho isn’t proud of deserting the love of his life all those years ago, but it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t the man she deserved. After joining the military and getting his life back on track, Jericho returns to the town he grew up in and the woman he left behind. But will she forgive him enough to allow him back into his life?

At only 224 pages and such a great read, I should have finished HOME FOR GOOD quicker than I did. So why didn’t I? The writing was so rich that I felt the need to take my time to absorb each and every word.

Right from the first page I was sucked in. It began with a POW, but it didn’t stop there. It just kept going. Don’t ask me why, but names are important to me. If the characters name isn’t one that I like, it can hinder my reading. If it is one that I adore, then all the better. All that to say that I loved not only the name Jericho, but his character as well. Maybe the word love is a little strong …Nah.

MS KELLER’S did an amazing job with bringing the characters to life, keeping a wonderful pace, moving the story along in a way that kept you from wanting to put it down. I’m not much into mysteries, suspense or thrillers. I loved the subtleness of the suspense and mystery MS KELLER added. Just enough to spice up the story, yet not enough to take away from the romance.

Will I be looking for more by MS KELLER in the future? You can count on it.