I Want Claire Foy Back As the Queen!

 

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We started watching Netflix's The Crown a few weeks ago (I know, I know...so late to that party). At first I had mixed feelings- somewhat slow & dark setting (reminded me of the movie Lincoln, which was a two-hour nap for me).

However, over time the show really grew on me. 

Claire Foy WAS the Queen.

Vanessa Kirby WAS Margaret.

Matt Smith WAS Philip.

And then? The rug was pulled out from under me. 

Season three is a completely new cast. It's like a brand new show. While we've only watched the first episode of the season, I'm not feeling it. 

I had a similar feeling when the character Linda was cut out of the TV drama Blue Bloods. Different in that no one replaced her, but that same annoyed feeling. Needless to say that I basically boycotted Blue Bloods from that point on.. (And it wasn't the show's fault, either, according to what I read. The actress that played Linda wanted to leave. So, I probably shouldn't have taken my annoyance out with her on the whole show.)

I will soldier on with The Crown, however. My sister-in-law said she felt the same but after a few more episodes it was like Claire Foy didn't even exist.

We'll see!

BOOK REVIEWS 2021

Book #30: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

Summary: In the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey, the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce had asked a Gypsy woman to tell her fortune—never expecting to later stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned almost to death in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.

Rating: A. This is the third book in the Flavia de Luce series. If it's possible, I love each book in the series a bit more than the last! If you're looking for a fun series- this is it.

Book #31: Good Harbor by Anita Diamant

Summary: Good Harbor is the long stretch of Cape Ann beach where two women friends walk and talk, sharing their personal histories and learning life's lessons from each other. Kathleen Levine, a longtime resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is maternal and steady, a devoted children's librarian, a convert to Judaism, and mother to two grown sons. When her serene life is thrown into turmoil by a diagnosis of breast cancer at fifty-nine, painful past secrets emerge and she desperately needs a friend. Forty-two-year-old Joyce Tabachnik is a sharp-witted freelance writer who is also at a fragile point in her life. She's come to Gloucester to follow her literary aspirations, but realizes that her husband and young daughter are becoming increasingly distant. Together, Kathleen and Joyce forge a once-in-a-lifetime bond and help each other to confront scars left by old emotional wounds.

Rating: C. This was a disappointment. I've loved Diamant's books and thought I'd like this one since I live a hop, skip & a jump from the real Good Harbor beach. It didn't draw me in and I found it to be just mediocre.

Book #32: Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke

Summary: This collection of holiday whodunits, featuring more than fifteen delectable recipes, includes Joanne Fluke's Candy Cane Murder, in which bakery owner Hannah Swenson, while dressed as an elf, finds murder on the agenda at Lake Eden's annual Christmas gala. 

Rating: B+. This is the tenth book in Fluke's Hannah Swenson mystery series. Maybe I liked it because it was only a novella? 🤣 It was a short, fun little story of Christmas (in June.)

Book #33: Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane

Summary: The tough neighborhood of Dorchester is no place for the innocent or the weak. A territory defined by hard heads and even harder luck, its streets are littered with the detritus of broken families, hearts, dreams. Now, one of its youngest is missing. Private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro don't want the case. But after pleas from the child's aunt, they open an investigation that will ultimately risk everything—their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives—to find a little girl lost.

Rating: C+. This is the fourth in Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro mystery series. This series is somewhat more graphic/hardcore than the usual mysteries I read, but this one in particular was extremely graphic and disturbing, and not one of my favorites. (And I didn't see the movie, so I have nothing to compare it to.)