We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.
Books: Daughters of Daring & Buyer Beware
Today, we recommend Daughters of Daring by Chris Enss. This extremely detailed book provides a look at the lives and careers of some of the greatest cowgirls of cinema and beyond, not cowgirls like Dale Evans who appeared on screen, but the ones who actually performed all of those amazing stunts. In some cases, they were the same person, but not always.
This very comprehensive book covers the period before there were even movies, when these women were performing in live Western shows. It continues through the silent film era, and into the era of talking pictures. It thoroughly covers the lives and careers of at least 16 different women, including Lucille Mulhall, Helen Gibson, and Alice Van Springsteen. The latter was the woman who actually did the stunts for the aforementioned Dale Evans.
A complete overview is provided of each woman's life from birth to death. Plus the highlights of their career are provided. Details include films worked on, major stunts performed, competitions participated in and placement in those competitions, and more. Numerous other stunt cowgirls are mentioned as well, some even more than once. If you are interested in learning about cowgirl stunt women, you are definitely going to want to read this fascinating book.
Today, we are talking about Buyer Beware by Catherine Ryan Howard. Ellie is a woman with secrets. Moving into her new home, she is hoping to keep a low profile and keep her secrets to herself, but her new home has secrets of its own, and someone or something seems to be trying to scare her away.
While the mystery is intriguing, this book is extremely frustrating. Many of the characters are extremely annoying. While Ellie herself is fairly likable, and it is somewhat understandable why she would fall for a man like Jason, it doesn't make any sense why his wife Erin is with him. She is a smart, pretty girl with a potentially great future ahead of her, so it makes no sense that she would stay with a nasty narcissistic dreamer like Jason, especially since for a long time she is the one who is making all the money in their relationship, so she clearly has the means to leave him. There isn't even the excuse that she stays with him for the children because there aren't any children and there's never even a pregnancy scare or some related issue to keep her tied to him. Therefore, it's impossible to feel too sorry for her or even like her after what happens later.
There are no warm found family vibes in this book. In fact, quite the opposite. Ellie's so-called friends drop her at the first hint of scandal, and even her mother is not at all supportive. Ellie's new neighbors are rude, nosy, and/or just downright suspicious. The only nice one is her neighbor, Alex. The book hints at the possibility of romance between Ellie and Alex. However, nothing ever comes of it within the book, so if you're in it mostly for the possibility of romance, you will still be disappointed.
The conclusion to the mystery, while satisfying in some ways, is not completely satisfying. It seems convoluted that so much can happen in one place without anybody finding out about it. Thus, on the whole, this book is not very believable and incredibly annoying.
Today, we are talking about Before Never. This reimagining of Peter Pan is definitely not for the kids. In this version, Wendy barely escapes an abduction attempt, and one of her brothers is in rehab. These are definitely not the characters and situations that we all know and love. Although the film is somewhat intriguing, it is not always clear what is going on. If you aren't interested in a darker version of a childhood classic, you will not enjoy it.
And that's our view. Daughters of Daring was published in February. Buyer Beware published today. Before Never will be available on Video on Demand for purchase or rental starting next Tuesday, August 4.
Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.
The Buyer Beware image is our own. All other images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or PR firms. Address any concerns regarding image usage here.
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