Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux - A Review

The blurb inside the front cover of Lavender Morning (published in 2009) sounded intriguing. It promised to be a romance with a large amount of interesting mystery and surprises to be worked through before coming to a conclusion.
The Prologue confused me. It had one of the characters from the blurb, Miss Edi, intimately conversing with a person called Helen, promising to meet together in the next few days. It went on to mention numerous other characters and it had me wondering how everyone fit together. I even checked the blurb at the front, twice, to confirm to myself what and who the story was supposed to be about. Things became clearer as Chapter One progressed, but I had found that the confusing Prologue had interrupted the flow of my reading initially.
I particularly enjoyed the flashbacks to earlier parts of Miss Edi's life that were revealed in bits and pieces so that the jigsaw started to come together. In some ways her story did overshadow the story of the current characters, but that was okay, as it became clearer how their stories were so intertwined.
What wasn't okay with me, was what I considered to be a significant loose end that didn't get dealt with by the finish of the book. Starting in the Prologue, then all throughout the book as events and connections from the past were revealed, was the mention of Miss Edi and her connection to a man called Alex, who knew certain things about her from her past. Their connection, and what Alex knew about Miss Edi, kept being mentioned, right up to the end of the book. On the second last page of the book, when things were resolved with the current characters, there's the suggestion that we'll discover what the secret was, as one character was going to ask their relative about it. It didn't happen. So, this secret that was alluded to throughout the whole book, didn't end up being revealed. To me, that's an unsatisfactory ending.
Then I discovered that Lavender Morning was actually the first book of the Edilean triology. So I looked up some reviews about the next two books, as I was eager to look into acquiring them so I could continue reading about the story that had been built up. I was disappointed.
The second book, Days of Gold, was about people from a few generations before, and how the township of Edilean came into being. It wasn't going to provide information about Alex and Miss Edi's secret.
The third book, Scarlet Nights, like the first novel, was again set in Edilean in contemporary times. From what I've read about the book, its story was based on what happened between two of the secondary characters from the first novel, and introduced a new main character. So it seemed to be an independent book in its own right, that just happened to be set in the familiar setting of the town of Edilean. It's highly unlikely it would be following up on what didn't get answered in Lavender Morning.
So, despite my confusion with the beginning of the book, I enjoyed Lavender Morning enough to want more of that story. However, that's not what Jude Deveraux provided in the following two books.

Pride and Prejudice (BBC 1995), the Movie (2005) and Lost in Austen (2008) - A Comparison

Pride and Prejudice, the BBC 1995 version, is THE film version of Jane Austen's literary classic. Admittedly, I have watched the BBC version a few more times than once, but all that sticks in my mind from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice movie, is that Keira Knightley was in it. The movie attempting to cover what the BBC took six hours to deliver, was doomed to fail from the start. It didn't stand a chance of coming up to the BBC version's standard.
The BBC series cast its actors exceptionally well.
Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet was just right. She was very attractive without being absolutely beautiful. She masterfully delivered on the dialogue exchanges, especially those she had with Mr Darcy and Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Colin Firth was the quintessential Mr Darcy. He was perfect for the role.
David Bamber as Mr Collins was as creepily distasteful as you'd anticipate Mr Collins to be.
The only character's casting that didn't quite gel with me was that of Jane Bennet. For a girl who was supposed to be the most beautiful of the five daughters, she just wasn't.
It's so long since I read the book, I can't recall exactly how faithful the BBC version was to it, but I do remember that during one episode, I got the book out to compare its dialogue with that of the TV series and it was pretty much word for word in the section I was looking up.
The TV series 'Lost in Austen' was delightful entertainment. To get full value from it, I'd recommend having watched the BBC's Pride and Prejudice first, as it will be much more meaningful.
Lost in Austen was about a contemporary woman, Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper), whose very favorite novel was Pride and Prejudice. Disenchanted with some aspects of her modern life, she dreamed of living back in the times of the book.
Without warning, the fictional Elizabeth Bennet appeared in Amanda's flat, having entered via a doorway in Amanda's bathroom. Amanda went through the door herself, and discovered she was then in the house of the Bennet family. Unable to go back through the door because it wouldn't open, Amanda was forced to live with the Bennets, who just happened to be at the point in time where the Pride and Prejudice novel began.
There were many hilarious moments as Amanda attempted to ensure events still took place as they did in the novel. Obstacles came up in numerous places and ways, such as when Mr Bingley became attracted to herself, rather than to Jane Bennet.
The casting was well done. The Jane in this program, (Morven Christie) was suitably beautiful. This Mr Collins, (Guy Henry) while quite different to the BBC Mr Collins, was equally repulsive. As for Mr Darcy, (Elliot Cowan) while he wasn't Colin Firth, he wasn't meant to be, as, when Amanda reflects on seeing him for the first time, she says, 'He's not Colin Firth.'
Lost in Austen is a hugely enjoyable, laugh-out-loud production. Highly recommended.

Sharpe DVDs Based on the Novels by Bernard Cornwell - Are They Worth Watching?

The Sharpe TV movies are set between 1809 - 1818, where British soldier Richard Sharpe, is a rifleman during the Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars, and then in India. The series follows Sharpe's daring adventures and career promotions during those times, including battles that are both professional and personal. As a general rule, I am not hugely into war movies and battle scenes. The Sharpe series is an exception. I saw one episode from the middle of the series and had to order the rest of them. I was hooked on Sharpe.
The very first episode, Sharpe's Rifles, sets the tone, making us feel empathy for Sharpe's situation in life. He has the brains, brawn and bravado to be just the kind of leader the military needs, but because he wasn't born with pedigree or wealth, he isn't readily accepted by other officers, even after he's promoted, because he's 'come up from the ranks'. And conversely, he isn't readily accepted by his men either, as they consider him to be 'not a proper officer' - again, because he'd been one of them, from the ranks.
Seeing the journey of how he repeatedly proves himself to be courageous, capable and canny, earning the respect of others, preserving men's lives rather than wasting them, and at times refraining from saying aloud what he really thinks, is entertaining viewing.
Sharpe's character reminds me of the Hornblower character from the books by C.S.Forester. This is because they are both men with integrity who put the welfare of their men before their own, particularly when attempting to protect their men from the sometimes stupid, irresponsible orders given by arrogant, incompetent superiors. To me, Hornblower is a more refined and educated character, whereas Sharpe is on the rougher side.
Something that does bug me about the series, though, is Sharpe's speed of recovery from injury. He can be quite incapacitated, yet a few days later, is full on leading his men into battle again.
Some could argue that watching Sean Bean in any role makes something worth watching. I admit, I did appreciate and enjoy watching him play the character of Richard Sharpe, particularly when he smiled. And his accent was pleasant to listen to also.
Other actors in the series include Daragh O'Malley, Brian Cox, Pete Postlethwaite, Elizabeth Hurley, Assumpta Serna, Abigail Cruttenden, Hugh Fraser, and John Tams.
Some of the dialogue is quite clever and witty in places, and it would take me by surprise, making me laugh out loud. I hadn't been expecting that from what are essentially 'war' action movies.
As the episodes went by, I became more familiar with the characters, their words and anticipated actions and I acquired a different level of understanding and reactions to their dramas.
Are the Sharpe DVDs worth watching? Definitely!

Mamma Mia the Movie Is Fantastic Entertainment

Mamma Mia the movie equals energy. That was the overriding impression and feeling I experienced with this movie. I had to refrain from jumping out of my seat and dancing on the spot along with the people on the screen. Of course it helped to be familiar with the ABBA songs, but even if one wasn't, this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie.
I could relate to those local Greek women who, during the song Dancing Queen, threw down their work loads and joined the trail of women singing and skipping their way down to the pier.
There were so many funny moments, both verbally and visually.
The cast, costumes, setting, dialogue and songs were all great, with one exception. One couldn't really say there was anything wrong with Pierce Brosnan's singing in the movie. It was in tune and in time. But there was something I just couldn't put my finger on as to what wasn't right with it. I obviously wasn't alone in perceiving that, as, in the movie theater where I saw it, there were giggles from the audience whenever he sang. Something just wasn't quite gelling with it.
There were a few spots that had sexual references that were perhaps not quite suitable for children. They appeared so suddenly with no warning, and were onto the next thing so fast, that the moments had been and gone before, as an adult, one could do anything about preventing a child from watching those bits, unless they'd known in advance that they'd be coming.
Mamma Mia the movie is fantastic, energizing entertainment.