Friday Flicks: We Love You, Sally Carmichael

We Love You, Sally Carmichael 
Rating ★★★


What It's About
Imagine you're a writer with only one published book that got little to no recognition. Imagine that you're talented enough to see what sells and could easily write a whole series of books that would sell but then you'd have no self respect. Imagine you do it anyway and it works. Your (human woman in love with a merman) series is a hit! You have a whole string of the series written, you're making millions and now your publishers are going to make a movie. Thank goodness you wrote under the pseudonym Sally Carmichael! But remember that self respect thing? Yeah, you have none left. You just want "Sally Carmichael to die but your publishers are telling you if you don't finish the series and meet with big movie star Perry Quinn and convince him to take the starring role in the series movie adaption you're going to get sued. Then imagine you fall in love with a local bookstore owner who has read the book you wrote under your real name and loved it.

But she doesn't know you're Sally Carmichael, writer of the siren stories with millions of, dress-up-for-book-club crazed fans.

When the truth comes out, and it will, things are going to get messy.

In honor of Utah book week I thought it would be fun to do a movie review for my new feature, Friday Flicks on this Utah movie. I don't know if this movie is getting released worldwide or not but for now it's in Utah only. I love Christopher Gorham and since he directed and starred in this one I had to see it.

Besides being cute and charming this movie was filmed in Utah and it was so fun seeing all the familiar spots they shot it at. Remember when I talked about one of my favorite used bookstores in the area?  They shot some of the movie there!

Christopher was great, as usual. His self loathing and fear of public speaking was hilarious. The film did have a bit of a independent movie feel to it which might turn some people off but I didn't mind.

This wasn't a deep symbolic film it was just a cute, funny, story that entertained and made me smile.

Lets Talk
Do you like independent films? I find myself inexplicably drawn to them. Sometimes Hollywood's familiar formula and money making schemes bore me and I need a good ol' original story that's out to tell a story rather than earn million at the box office.

Recommendation
I'd say see it in theaters but that's probably not an option for you all. So see it when and how you can. It's cute.

Utah Book Week: Author Events

In honor of Utah Book Week, I wanted to mention all the awesome book events our local libraries and bookstores put on. Since we have some pretty awesome authors from Utah we get to see a lot of them...numerous times. It's awesome!

Provo city library has hosted so many great events. I go to a lot of them but am horrible at taking pictures or posting about it but just last week my friends and I got to go meet Carol Lynch Williams for the first time and her daughter Kyra Leigh who just had her first book published.

That's Carol on the left and her daughter Kyra on the right. They asked each other some fun questions and then let the audience ask questions.  Sometimes the author's do readings...

And there's always fun giveaways too. My friend Kami won a free tarot card reading. We got to sit in on it and it was awesome!

And of course the authors always sign books.

So big shout out to my local libraries and bookstores that bring all the authors to us.

Review: After Hello

Title After Hello
By Lisa Mangum
Genre YA contemporary romance
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Sara is spending the day in New York while her dad attends a business meeting. When she captures a picture of Sam leaving a bookstore there's just something about him that makes her follow him. Thus starts their adventurous day together as they both come to terms with their pasts.

First Sentence
I shouldn't have noticed him.

I've only read the first book of Lisa Mangum's Hourglass series and was not impressed. It came so closely after twilight I felt like it was too closely related...especially the whole romantic part, but when I stumbled upon this one at a thrift store and fell in love with the cover I decided to give it a go. I thought maybe paranormal romance wasn't Mangum's thing and a contemporary romance would be better.  I think I was right.

While some people might find bits and pieces of this story unbelievable, I only found one thing that had me raising an unbelieving eyebrow. Most of the other things were easy for me to suspend my belief and go along with the story.

I liked following the characters through their quest but couldn't quite connect to them.I felt like maybe the things that happened to them in their pasts was supposed to make me have sympathy for them and I sort of felt like the author only threw their pasts in to manipulate us.

But the overall story was cute and easy to read. If I think too long and hard about it I could probably tear this one apart but if this book had one thing going for it, it was that it didn't make me want to dislike it.

The back cover of this book has a small, simple blurb saying, "What if the first day of your relationship was the only day you had?".  I was worried the author would fall into peer pressure and not stick true to that blurb, but she did. Phew!

Should you read it
I think if you read Mangum's other books and disliked them you need to give this one a go. It's different and a much better read.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today's Topic: Ten Hidden Gem Books in X Genre. Since it's Utah Book Week I thought I'd list the top ten books by Utah author's you all need to be reading!

The Hollow City by Dan Wells
This is the number one Utah book I push on people. Why people don't pick it up and read it already is beyond me. It's unique and engaging and just plain entertaining as hell!

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
If you haven't read a Sara Zarr book you need to. But which one? Any of them but I always recommend Once Was Lost. It's issuey and sad but so, so, so beautiful!

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
This author writes a lot of verse novels and they're sad and heartbreaking and REAL. I love them.

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
This Utah author has only given us two books so far but if you love Regency romances and haven't read one of her books you need to! I loved Blackmoore just a titch more so I'm recommending it.

Austenland by Shannon Hale
Speaking of loving Regency romances. Jane, the MC of Austenland, has just a tiny, tiny obsession with them. Watching her obsession play out in this one is a treat.

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
If you love fantasy, this is the fun beginning to a series. I've only read the first one so far so I can't vouch for the whole series.

Elevated by Elana Johnson
This contemporary verse novel blew me away. I thought it was going to be a cute romance and was surprised with a much deeper story that moved me to tears.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
A scifi retelling of Snow White that was both inventive and delightful. If you think Marissa Meyer and her Lunar Chronicles has the monopoly on sci-fi retellings you'd be horribly wrong. Read this one. You'll see.

Transparent (Transparent #1) by Natalie Whipple
I read this one a few years ago for Utah book month and was not expecting anything great. I ended up loving it...and really need to get my hands on book two. What's up with that?

My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions by Becca Willhite
This cute little romance is perfect for anyone who might just have a few too many fanciful, romantic ideas about love.



And that's just some of the lesser known Utah books that I read and loved. There's tons of books by Utah authors that you've probably read and loved and books that I haven't even read yet. Yep, I have to admit it. Utah has some pretty awesome authors. Am I right?!

Review: My Lady Jane

Title My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)
By Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows
Genre Historical Fiction Romance
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
The (not quite true) story of Lady Jane Grey. Queen of England for only nine days.


First Sentence
The King, it turned out, was dying.

I read this one for several different reasons. First: It's Utah Book Week and it's written by three authors, one of which is from Utah, Two: My book club was reading it for August's meeting, and Three: I wanted to. It sounded amusing. I liked the idea of taking a historically sad story and rewriting it to be humorous, romantic, and happily ending.

Somewhere between hearing about this one and buying it and actually reading it, I had gotten the idea it was going to be overly cheesy and badly written. I was  (blessedly) wrong on all accounts. It was written very well. We got three perspectives: Lady Jane, (written by Jodi Meadows) Gifford (written by Utah Author Brodi Ashton) and King Edward (written by Cynthia Hand).

The story was fun and adventurous with lots of romance and nods to pop-culture like The Princess Bride, Monty Python etc. With all that maybe you can see how I thought it was going to be cheesy too? Maybe not but I was worried. It wasn't bad at all, however, the writing was well done and easy to read and I liked the story even if it did end a little too happily? *shrugs*

My only real problem with the book was the length. It was nearly five hundred pages and easily could have been cut down to around 300 and not lost much. That, and it's overly happy ending made this one likable but not lovable for me.

Should you read it
Yeah, I'd recommend it just be ready for that length!

Sundays in Bed With Utah Book:After Hello

It's Sunday again! Day of rest and reading! Thanks to Kate and Kim for this fun prompt.

Today, in honor of Utah Book Week, I'll be scrambling to finish After Hello by Utah author Lisa Mangum so I can get a review up for you! What are you reading today?

It's Here!

Ok, So technically it started yesterday but here we are! It's a week full of all things Bookish and Utah!

So here's what's in store.

I'll be reviewing these books by Utah authors. I've got a fun book event I went to, to talk about and my Friday Flicks post will be about Utah movie, We Love You Sally Carmichael. I might squeeze in a few other posts as well. Stick around! There's lots of fun to come!

Utah Book Week 2017

It's that time of year again! August 25th through the 31st is Utah Book Week! I'm so glad my friends decided to host it this year. I was going to read some Utah author books this month in an unofficial nod to past years because I didn't think anyone was going to host this year but I have awesome friends!

If you want to join in and read books by Utah authors for that week please do. It's so fun! And go check out their blog page to hear more about other exciting things going on.


Here's the books I'm planning on reading.

Yeah, yeah, I'm only reading two but it's only a week. Give me a break!

Review: Hinges of Broams Eld

Title  Hinges of Broams Eld
By Jennifer Cano
Genre Middle Grade Fantasy
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
When elfin warriors escort Livy to Broams Eld, she discovers a world where imagination is power, tadpole soup is what’s for dinner, and trees whisper secret enchantments. There she finds not only friends, a welcome home for her dare-devil antics, and magic, but an astounding destiny to inherit—if she can survive her first night. (From Goodreads)

First Sentence
Livy Hinge's aunt lay dying in the backyard, which Aunt Neala thought was darned inconvenient.



I love this cover but I don't think it says, middle grade, which this book is. Confession time! I don't get along with middle grade books. I just feel like they're over simplified and the characters, of course, are middle grade age and they act it...and I don't see the appeal. However, I wanted to read this book for Utah Book Month. The author lives just down the road from me and so I thought I'd give it a go.

For awhile, at the beginning, I was wondering if I should keep going. It definitely had that middle grade feel going and it kind of jumped right into things, introducing us to this whole new world with weird words and customs that I couldn't quite wrap my head around. While I don't like to be held by the hand through world introductions, I also don't like being slapped in the face with them either. But I stuck with it and am very glad I did.

By about 35% through (I read this on my kindle, not sure what page) I found myself immersed in the world. It had a very, 1st Harry Potter book, feel to it. I don't know if it was intended or if I was just looking for it but there were some similarities for sure.

My favorite thing about the book was the ending. I can't say much without being too spoil-y but I just loved the way all the kids worked together to save their world and the magical world Cano created.

I'm assuming there will be more books to come and I'm good with that. There were a few open ended questions that I'd be interested in knowing the answers to.

Should you read it?
If you can get past the slightly jarring beginning you won't regret reading this delightful little tale.

Review: Not In The Script

Title Not in the Script
By Amy Finnegan
Genre NA contemporary
Pages 392


First sentence "Celebrity Seeker claims that I'm dating Troy again," I say as I skim the pages of the gossip magazine.


Synopsis
When Emma Taylor, famous actress, starts a new TV series and discovers that her new costar is "The Bod", who's real name is Jake, who's also the guy her best friend Rachel has obsessed over for years things might get complicated. Emma's sworn to not get into anymore relationships with costars but there's no denying her growing attraction to Jake. Can Emma hold to her vow to not get into a relationship with a costar? And if she does how will she tell Rachel? Can their friendship survive?

What it has going for it
If you read my Read Along Discussions, you probably can tell this wasn't a favorite book. However, I didn't outright hate the book and there was one good thing about it. The peek behind the scenes of a Hollywood TV series was so fun. Especially since the author's brother has been in the industry for years sharing stories and Amy, herself, has been on the set of the TV shows Parenthood and Parks and Recreation. So you know this glimpse of Hollywood is legit.

What's lacking
Where do I begin? There were just too many things about this one that bothered me. I couldn't get invested in any of the characters. None of them felt real to me. I wanted to like them. I wanted to like the book. All my book club friends loved it. I just couldn't get on board, I guess. The book, while perfectly clean and great to recommend to younger audiences without fear of exposure to "scary" scenes, was almost too clean. Everyone knows Hollywood is far from squeaky clean. The author even omitted swearwords. Now that's fine but it just didn't ring true to me. But my biggest hangup with the book was it's length and lack of plot. 392 pages with only a tiny, minor plot conflict was just too long! And don't believe all those people that tell you that this one had a slow building romance because it simply isn't true. The characters are instantly attracted to each other and admit as much. They even start hanging out almost immediately. But, because of the tiny little plot hiccups, they don't officially become a couple. That's not slow burning romance, people, don't be fooled!

Yea or Nay
This book takes light and fluffy up a notch to cotton candy. Sweet and cute but no substance!

Utah Book Month Read Along

Our read along of Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan is at an end. Now we get to have book club with the author tonight! How exciting is that?!  Here's my answers to the second half discussion questions. 

1. Have your opinions of any of the characters changed from the first half?
Not really. I was hoping Brett might be used in a more clever way.

2. Would you watch Coyote Hills?
I have no idea. That's one of the things that bugged me. I had no idea what it was about. It sounds like a 90210 or something so probably not.

3. Did everything go down like you thought it would?
Oh yes, a little too predictable.

4. If there's a lesson to be learned from this story, what do you think it is?
You can't spend your whole life making everyone else happy. At some point you need to think of yourself. 

5. How do you feel about the portrayal of the parents of these characters?
Emma's mother as her manager and the problems it was causing could have been used in a more exciting, add to the plot, kind of way but that too was smoothed over all sweetly. 

6. What parts felt realistic and what parts felt unrealistic?
I feel bad, I really do but the whole thing just felt too neat and tidy and unrealistic. 

7. What was your favorite part?
I liked when Emma and Jake went stargazing together and finally kissed.

8. Who was your favorite character?
Probably one of Jake's friends. 

9. Do you have a favorite quote from the book?
Not one that comes to mind.

10. If you were in charge of a sequel, what major plot would you include?

I really don't think she left things open for a sequel. The drama of Emma firing her mother could have been something left hanging. Using Brett in the way I wanted her too could have left things more open. Honestly, though. I was fine having this one just be a stand alone. 

Utah Book Month HotSpots

Utah Book Month is almost over! Eeeep! And I've only read one Utah author book so far. Oh well. This weeks theme is Utah Bookish Places. So I thought I's share some fun pictures with you. Enjoy!

Pioneer Book 

Orem  Library

Provo Library

The King's English Book Store

We have such a great selections of  libraries and bookstores in Utah. Jealous yet? No, I tease, but seriously, if you're ever passing through you should check some of these places out!