64. Fields of Corn by Sarah Price

An Amish Christian Romance (believe it or not!!)
read on my iPhone
2010 published
272 pgs.
CRF - I have read that Amish Fiction is now considered a genre on its own
Finished July 18, 2018
Goodreads rating: 4.25 - 641 ratings
My rating:  2.5
Setting:  contemporary Lancaster County, PA

First line/s:  "The horse, a brown Morgan with a thick black mane, trotted down Musser School Lane, effortlessly pulling the black, box-like buggy."

My comments:  There's a fascination and pull towards the simplicity of the Amish life that more-than intrigues me, especially as I know live near numerous Amish communities.  But my sprirtual beliefs and those of the Amish are so very different that it makes books like these particularly difficult to digest.  The last quarter of the book pulled my rating way down, very hard for me to take.  Or understand.

Goodreads synopsis:  Shana Slater doesn't realize that her life is about to change when she pulls into the Lapp farm in Leola, Pennsylvania, to inquire about renting a small apartment over a mule shed. Yet, the price is right and the rolling fields of corn present a peaceful place for her to retreat when she is not working in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
          Her curiosity about the Amish way of life is piqued when she befriends Emanuel Lapp, the son of her landlord. As she learns about the Amish through his eyes, she quickly realizes that the Amish way of life is more than just religion and a plain way of living. She also discovers that the more she learns, the more she is unexpectedly falling for much more than their plain and simple lifestyle. When two worlds collide, which will survive and at what cost?
          Based in part on the author's experience living on an Amish farm, Fields of Corn presents a sweet and authentic love story.

MOVIE - Call Me By Your Name

R (2:10)

Wide release 1/19/18

Viewed February 24, 2018 somewhere in PA
IMBd:   8.0

RT Critic:  95  Audience: 85
Critic's Consensus:  Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Written by James Ivory, and based on the book of the same title

Sony Pictures Classics

Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet

My comments:  How can you go wrong with a lush set and setting in northern Italy; two wonderful, likable protagonists - one adorable and one gorgeous - and a lovely love story?  Then throw in some particularly cool music, a thundering powerful waterfall, a few different romantic languages and you have this great indie movie.  I liked it a lot.  It was so weird that when the movie ended, the entire very-full movie theater was totally silent for quite a few minutes, even as they collected their belongings and got up to leave.  (I wish I could have the script to the father's soliloquy to the son near the very end of the movie.  It was pretty cool.)

RT/ IMDb Summary:  CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. It's the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian, spends his days in his family's 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio's sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart. One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

27. Bellamy and the Brute by Alicia Michaels

read on my iPhone
2017 Clean Teen Publishing
 300 pgs.
YA Ghost Story/Fantasy w/mostly RF
Finished 5/3/17
Goodreads rating: 3.92 - 302 ratings
My rating:  2
Setting: Contemporary Wellhollow Springs

First line/s: "Loose gravel crunched beneath her boots as Special Agent Camila Vasquez navigated the almost-empty parking lot to her car."

My comments:   The first half of the book was quite interesting but, for me, rapidly deteriorated in the second half.  Much too much lovey-dovey, kissy stuff and more telling than showing.  Not enough information about why the bad guys were bad guys.  The ghosts weren't connected enough and could have been tackled in a really interesting way ... but no such luck. All in all, a disappointment.

Goodreads synopsis:   When Bellamy McGuire is offered a summer job babysitting for the wealthy Baldwin family, she’s reluctant to accept. After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The former football star and Golden Boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness that has caused deformity…turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job she must promise to never, ever visit the 3rd floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth being hidden there.
          Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…
          As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head, in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?

16. Kingdom Come by Jane Jensen

#1 Elizabeth Harris
read by Rachel Fulginiti
listened on Audible
2016 Berkley
304 pgs.
Adult Mystery - Police Procedural
Finished 3/14/17
Goodreads rating: 3.74 - 474 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary Lancaster County, PA

First line/s:  ":It's......sensitive, Grady had said on the phone, his voice tight."

My comments: An "English" detective takes on the murder investigation of an Amish girl and her "English" (non-Amish) best friend.  Although you get an idea about whodunit and why as the story progresses, there's also a - spoiler alert - love story element that didn't put me off as much as some other books with this device have.  It's done well, I think, and is quite believable.  I love these fascinating looks into the lives of another religion and culture, particularly the Amish.  I couldn't put this book down and I'm so excited that there is another in the series.

Goodreads synopsis: In Kingdom Come, the first in a new mystery series from Jane Jensen, an ex-NYPD detective seeks escape in Amish country and finds darkness instead.
          When a beautiful, scantily clad "English" girl is found dead in the barn of a prominent Amish family, Detective Elizabeth Harris knows she's uncovered an evil that could shatter the peace of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Even though Elizabeth's boss is convinced this was the work of an "English", as outsiders are called, Elizabeth isn't so sure. Now Elizabeth must track down a killer with deep ties to a community that always protects its own - no matter how deadly the cost.

MOVIE - LA LA Land

PG-13 (2:08)

Limited release 12/9/16

Viewed Tuesday, 1/17/17 at RC Carlisle
IMBd: 8.8/10

RT Critic: 93   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it, but don't get the hype

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Liongate Films

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

My comments: Well, I'm really not sure what everyone is raving about.  The first third of the movie was really slow and I might even say boring.  Some of the singing and dancing were pretty random, some were perfect.  Performances were good...but Academy Award worthy?  It was certainly an homage to Hollywood and its roots.  And an interesting story, but nothing profound.  I was anticipating something really great, but, unfortunately, for me it wasn't.

RT/ IMDb Summary: The story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician, struggling to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts. With modern day Los Angeles as the backdrop, this musical about everyday life explores what is more important: a once-in-a-lifetime love or the spotlight.