At the Movies: Bend it Like Bekham

Jess (Parminder Nagra) has one dream: to become a football star like her idol David Beckham and spends most of her free time playing football with her guy-friends in the park near her home. Her parents don't really approve of it but let her be for the most part.

When Juliet (Kiera Knightly) sees Jess playing in the park one day, she decides to approach her and tell her about the girl's soccer team she belongs to, urging Jess to join. Jules also dreams of becoming a football star, maybe even moving to America to play in the Women's league.

The two girls soon strike a friendship and set out to play some bloody good football, under the direction of their super swoony male coach (a young Jonathan Rhys-Meyers looking super hot!).

Bend It Like Beckham is about a lot more than just girls playing football, it's a story about friendship, crushes and family. Most of all, is about going after your dreams even if it's scary or not what your parents hoped they would be.

Over all, it's the kind of movie that always leaves me with warm fuzzies!

And you can see Kiera Knightly before she decided acting meant pursing her lips!!! YAY!

Personal Favorite

Book Blogger Hop #5

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer@Crazy For Books

This week's question:

How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?

Well, let me count them...25 more or less in the immediate TBR pile, the general one is out of control so I don't even try count them but I have an Immediate TBR pile, a general TBR pile, an Audiobook TBL pile, and a Maybe Will Read pile (books I get but not sure I'll read). Plus, my reading cue, a mini-list I put together every couple of weeks, to remind me books I mean to read soon.

Yeah, as you can guess, my life is along, complex, web of lists. I make lists out of my lists. That's the way I roll.

What about you?

Charming the Prince by Teresa Medeiros

Lady Willow hasn't been happy for years, not since her father married Lady Blanche and brought home Blanche's half dozen children. From a tender age, Willow was forced to play unpaid slave and nursemaid to her step-siblings and half-siblings, while her father stood by and did nothing.

When she's finally reaching her breaking point - thanks to her oldest stepbrother, who has been hinting that he wants Willow for his mistress - an uncanny proposal arrives: Bannor the Bold wants to marry her. Happy to know someone, even someone she hasn't met yet, wants her, Willow accepts the proposal and starts her trip north.

Waiting for her at Bannor's home are his 12 unruly children and the real reason why Bannor wanted a wife: to take care of them.

Bannor has been warring the French for years, and he was never around to see to his children's education but now he's home, not a war in sight and he needs to do something to get them under control. He doesn't want an attractive wife -he rather not have more children - but that's what he gets in Willow.

Okay, so Charming the Prince is very enjoyable and funny, Teresa Medeiros is very good at putting humor in her stories and, over all, I would recommend it but I do have to say that I felt there were a lot of characters - just his 12 kids were hard to remember - and Willow and Bannor went around and around in circles a lot, I sort of kept waiting for something to happen and I sort of had a hard time seeing when exactly they fell in love (for most of the book they don't spend lots of time together).

Still, it was fun, but I have read other books by Teresa Medeiros that I've enjoyed more.

At the Movies: Ever After

Ever After is a Cinderella type of story about the life and times of Danielle de Barbarac, a young woman left at the mercy of her step mother after her father's death. It has a few enjoyable twists - like its' take on the stepsisters - and a lovely prince.

It's one of my go-to happy movies and I sort of always relate it to summer because I saw it in the summer with my sister. It reminds me of so many good things of my life - like Prep school and my friends - and it's just a lovely, sweet story.

Danielle is a strong girl that saves herself and gets what she wants, and Henry, the Prince, was a great character - unlike in the Disney's Cinderella, he actually talks and has thoughts! - full of doubts and looking for something he can feel passionate about.

What can I say? I go completely swimfan when it comes to this movie.
Personal Favorite

Wanted by Sara Shepard

WARNING - Review of the LAST book of the Pretty Little Liars Series, might contain spoilers of previous books.

Just when they thought they were done and over with A, and that Ali's killer was finally caught, Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer realize that they don't know the half of it. There are still some very dangerous, twisty secrets hiding in Rosewood. And they still have their own drama to get through.

As per usual, Spencer's family life is less than great, her mother is practically a zombie and her sister lays all the blame on Spencer. Hanna's dad is always taking her evil stepsister's side, and her Mom is so far away she feels a bit forgotten, plus she's sliding down in the Rosewood Day's totem pol of popularity. Emily, I'm not sure what her problem is anymore. And Aria has to juggle her new relationship with Noel Khan - a typical rich Rosewood guy - and living at home with her dad and his pregnant girlfriend while trying to avoid her Mom's sleazy new boyfriend.

Everything grinds to a halt with the arrival of a new girl, Courtney.

And that's all I'm saying about it.

Okay, so I'm not going to spoil you the ending, just say that it was WAY twisted, but sort of fitting for the series. I had a different problem with this Wanted and is that when I say everything grinds to a halt, I mean it. All the girl's problems, which had kept the story going in the last couple of books, suddenly weren't there anymore, it all went to this new story line, and the issues weren't addressed until the very end which felt a lot like an after thought.

So, it's not bad, it's an OK conclusion to the series and all, but it sort of felt rushed and I really wanted to see them solve their problems, not just been told they had.