Tag: historical
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A House Between Sea and Sky by Beth Cato: Magical and Cozy
Grieving Hollywood writer Fayette Wynne arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1926 to finish her latest project in peace. All alone, save for the preternatural sourdough starter her family has nurtured for years, Fayette is also resentful. The proven healing powers of the bread made with her starter were insufficient to save her beloved mother. For Fayette,…
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The Choral: Poignant and Powerful
I have a soft spot for historical films, add in music and singing, and this made The Choral one that I really wanted to see. With a cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, I had hope that the film would be interesting. After watching it, I found the movie poignant and powerful, full of quirky characters…
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The Last Witch by C.J. Cooke: Compelling Historical
Innsbruck, 1485. Helena Scheuberin should be doing what every other young wife is doing: keeping house, supporting her husband, and bearing his children, but as an outspoken, strong woman, she sometimes has difficulty fitting in. Then she draws the unwanted attention of a malign priest who is just starting his campaign to root out “witches”…
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Hamnet: Breathtaking and Raw
I was excited about seeing Hamnet primarily because I love Shakespeare, both the tragedies and the comedies. This unique look at the origins of one of his greatest tragedies, Hamlet, was something I really wanted to see and coming out of the screening, I felt the film was breathtaking and raw, the performances some of…
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Nuremberg: Brilliant Performances
I’ve always been a student of history so most films that focus on history will be of interest to me but in particular, I wanted to see Nuremberg, not because it would be comfortable to watch but because the timing of the film with current events makes it feel necessary. Add that to a cast…
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Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby: Dark and Chilling
Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the final anatomical Venus in a dangerously intertwined trio. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students to study female anatomy, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore.…
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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale: Touching Conclusion
Since watching the previous film, I’ve grown to truly love the Downton Abbey series. So when the chance to see these wonderful characters one more time arose, I was quick to go see the screening. While the storyline is fairly straightforward, I loved getting to see the familiar faces again. The storyline was intriguing and…
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Mother of Rome by Lauren J. A. Bear: Riveting Reimagining
The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children. But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story. Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it…
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The Wizard and the Welshman by Laura Rayndrop: Magical World
London, December 1886. A woman is gruesomely murdered, a mysterious organ missing from her cracked-open chest. Investigating the case, Kensington’s top inspector, Hal Hawthorne, quickly discovers that the victim wasn’t human—and neither is her killer. When he saves the captivating wizard November from becoming the next target, Hal is thrust into a world of nightmarish…
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The Book of Witching by C. J. Cooke: Chilling and Riveting
A mother must fight for her daughter’s life in this fierce and haunting tale of witchcraft and revenge from the author of A Haunting in the Arctic. Clem gets a call that is every mother’s worst nightmare. Her nineteen-year-old daughter Erin is unconscious in the hospital after a hiking trip with her friends on the…
