Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie

From Amazon: Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…

Audience: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Length: 276 pgs.

Rating: **** (Loved it!)

Rating: Last month some friends on Twitter decided to get together to do a Twitter book club, and for October, we chose And Then There Were None to fit the spooky month. Right from the first the voice grabbed me. I am a huge sucker for that cool cucumber 1930s voice. This one was a definite thriller and so much suspense. I never guessed who the murderer would be, although it made total sense at the reveal. The characters were perfectly icky and likable at the same time. Classic! She really was a master.

Content:
Sex - 0
Language - 0 (None that I marked.)
Violence - 3 (It is a murder mystery with a serious psychological twist. Nothing too graphic.)

Try this. Like And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie? Try Rules of Murder by Julianna Deering.

Movie Review: EDGE OF TOMORROW Starring Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise (2014)

From IMDb: A military officer is brought into an alien war against an extraterrestrial enemy who can reset the day and know the future. When this officer is enabled with the same power, he teams up with a Special Forces warrior to try and end the war. Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Audience: Adult (PG-13)

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Length: 113 minutes

Rating: ****+ (Loved it)

Review: I dug the premise of this move from the first time I saw a trailer. All up front, with Cruise in it, I wondered if it would live up to that. I figured Emily Blunt could save it, though. ;) It absolutely lived up to the promise of the premise. Things ran along in an interesting, and at time fun, way. Some of the twists maybe a bit predictable, but still really good. If I had been reading this as a book, I would have marked the end down for being too contrived—but in all honesty it was exactly what I wanted to happen and gives the viewers more resolution than another ending might have.

Content:

Sex – 1 (One soldier fights in the nude under his metal suit. Nothing can be seen except part of his bare behind.)

Language – 1+ (Blunt’s character is often referred to as the Full Metal B*; honestly don’t remember much other language)

Violence – 5 (It’s a military, sci-fi action. It’s basic war violence and at times graphic.)

Read this. If you liked the movie Edge of Tomorrow, you might like the book Erasing Time by C.J. Hill (Janette Rallison). 

Robyn Reviews: TRA SILVER BELLS COLLECTION (Mirror Press, 2014)

Book overview below.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 292 pages

Rating: *****

Review: This collection is just as wonderful (if not more so) as all the other Timeless Collections. The authors have put together some fun and poignant stories. Sarah M. Eden has created another one of her funny, sweet Irish stories in A Christmas Promise. You will love the fun that Patrick and Maeve have together along with her protective older brothers.

Heather B. Moore’s Twelve Months will have you cheering for the true gentleman in Lucien. Cora is a sweet heroine who recognizes her knight in shining armor in Lucien. Their courtship is fun and sweet.

A Fezziwig Christmas by Lu Ann Staheli, is a fun take on the historical romance stories, it’s fun to watch the growth of both Dick and Cilla in the charming short story.

In A Taste of Home by Annette Lyon, you get to relive just how annoying ‘boys’ can be and what happens when they grow up to be men. Sweet and sentimental.

My Modern Girl by Becca White was fun and interesting. I liked that she thought she knew exactly what she wanted, but found out what she thought and what was real were actually two different things.

Lucinda Brant’s Fairy Christmas was really interesting in that there were actually two romances happening in the story. I enjoyed the misunderstandings and the real life things that happened in the story to make the people real. This was a fun Christmas romance.

You will be entertained by all the stories in this collection. The authors do a great job of being real and fun. You and your daughters will enjoys these stories and put you in the mood for romance and Christmas.

Content

Sex - 0

Violence - 0

Language - 0

Overall Content Rating - PG

Source: Review Copy

Robyn suggests...All the Timeless Romance Anthology Collections“Kiss of a Stranger” by Sarah M. Eden; “Edenbrook” by Julianne Donaldson; Actually, anything by these two authors!

****

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Silver Bells. Readers will love this collection of six historical romance novellas, all centered around the Christmas season.

In NY Times & USA Today’s bestselling author Lucinda Brant’s delightful novella, FAIRY CHRISTMAS, Kitty Aldershot is orphaned and forced to live on others’ charity. Offered a home under the generous roof of her relatives, the Earl of Salt Hendon and his countess, Kitty wants for nothing, not even the affections of Mr. Tom Allenby. But when Kitty stumbles across a letter written by Lady Caroline that reveals how Mr. Allenby would be ruined should he marry the likes of Kitty, she realizes she has been fooling herself all along. Kitty’s world crumbles around her as she recognizes she will forever be alone with no prospects at all.

Sarah M. Eden’s charming romance novella A CHRISTMAS PROMISE, Sean Kirkpatrick is trying to get to his new place of employment, Kilkenny Castle, in order to start as the new stablehand. His only requirement is to drive a team of high-spirited nags from Dublin to Kilkenny in a certain amount of time. Unfortunately he winds up in a muddy field, stuck, lost, and running out of time. He’s about to lose the job before he can prove himself capable of finishing his first assignment. When Maeve Butler arrives on the scene, Sean isn’t sure if she’s intent on rescuing him or bent on torturing him with her fiery wit and lovely dark eyes.

In Heather B. Moore’s enchanting novella, TWELVE MONTHS, Lucien Baxter’s best and most incorrigible friend, Will, dies unexpectedly, leaving behind his new bride and unborn child the week before Christmas. Will’s last request is that Lucien watches over Cora, not just as a benefactor, but as a husband. When Lucien does his duty and proposes to Cora, he’s turned down flat. But over the course of the next few days, Lucien discovers that marrying Cora wouldn’t be any sort of duty after all, but a matter of following his heart.

In Lu Ann Staheli’s sweet romance novella, A FEZZIWIG CHRISTMAS, Dick Wilkins and his best friend Ebenezer Scrooge have been looking forward to the annual Fezziwig Christmas dance for weeks. Ebenezer is practically engaged to Annabelle Fezziwig, and Dick hopes to start courting her younger sister, Pricilla. Once the dance starts, and Pricilla arrives, as pretty and charming as ever, Dick discovers that he’s not the only man vying for her attention. His best friend advises Dick that he has to win Pricilla’s heart, as well as her mother’s favor. Losing his heart has suddenly become very complicated.

A TASTE OF HOME, a captivating romance by Annette Lyon, we meet Claire Jennings, who’s on her way to spend Christmas with her family. As she rides the train with William Rhodes, who grew up across the street, memories of Christmases past flood her mind. He may be twenty-one now, but she can’t forget his torturous teasing from their school years. At the rail station, Claire discovers that her home is under quarantine because her little brother has measles. She's stuck in town, away from her family, on her favorite holiday. William stays behind with her, and as Christmas Day approaches and her homesickness deepens, she discovers that perhaps he has changed in more ways than one.

Becca Wilhite’s entrancing novella, MY MODERN GIRL, follows Margie, who lands her dream job as a clerk at Macy’s department store in New York City. Margie might be new in town, but she’s determined to succeed and prove to Henry that moving to the city was the right decision. As the Christmas season approaches, Margie realizes that being a “modern girl” might not be all she had dreamed of and Henry might have more to offer than she ever imagined.