DVD Review: Three Wise Men and a Baby

Three Wise Men and a Baby
(DVD Three)

For the past several years, the Hallmark cable channel has led the charge in terms of producing light-hearted “romance” movies for the Christmas season. They have a stable of recurring actors and actresses, whom regular viewers look forward to seeing in this seasonal films.

 

Three Wise Men and a Baby was a 2022 premiere that teamed up three of the most popular male stars of these lightweight feel-good films. Actors Paul Campbell, Andrew Walker and Tyler Hynes are Stephan, Luke and Taylor Brenner, three brothers all still living with or near their mother, Barbara (played by Margaret Colin – who played the girlfriend in the 1987 film Three Men and a Baby). Stephan is a pet counselor, Luke is a fireman and Taylor is a disgruntled video game designer. When a baby is left on the doorstep of the firehouse he works in, with a note addressed to him, Stephen finds himself taking care of the cute infant, until other arrangements can be made…and he quickly ropes his two brothers into the task, especially when their mom has to leave town to deal with an injured relative.

 

This one was written by Campbell, with Kimberly Sustad (another regular Hallmark actress), and the two actors really know their fellow thespians — the roles of the three brothers fit these specific actors to a “T” and it’s obvious this entire cast had fun working with each other. Though Hallmark does occasionally feature more serious plots, this is definitely one of the silly, goofy ones, with a health side dose of heartfelt sincerity — the three confirmed bachelors’ interactions with the baby boy are adorable. If you’re looking for a good introduction to Hallmark Christmas Movies, you can’t go wrong with this one!

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Audiobook Review: The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert

The Geek Who Saved Christmas
by Annabeth Albert (Hoopla Audiobook)

A cozy, gay holiday romance, between two men in their early 40’s, that should be on the Hallmark Christmas Romance channel. A favorite trope of mine with Neighbor #1, Gideon, who’s totally into all the holidays and decorates his house accordingly. Next door to him is Neighbor #2, Paul, who’s the grumpy guy who doesn’t decorate.

 

During one of their few interactions, Gideon learns that Paul’s brother is arriving for Christmas with his girlfriend, and he hopes to propose to her on Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree. Gideon offers to help Paul decorate and provide the perfect backdrop. They are together nearly every day as Gideon transforms Paul’s barebones house into a homey, comfy, wonderland as they get to know each other.

 

Of course this has a Happy Ever After and we get an epilogue for the following year (I love epilogues). You end up liking both fellows and wish you had next door neighbors just like them. Not to mention, I also approved of a lot of Gideon’s decorating ideas.

 

The reader of this audiobook, Tim Paige, does an excellent job of voicing each character and you have no trouble discerning who’s speaking in the story.

 

A fun, easy listen at only seven hours.

 

( official Annabeth Albert web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: The Nine Lives of Christmas

The Nine Lives of Christmas
based on the novel by Sheila Roberts (Hoopla Movies)

 

Every once in a while, all the elements click to make something even more special than it has any right to be. This was the case with The Nine Lives of Christmas, starring Brandon Routh and Kimberly Sustad — a 2014 Hallmark Christmas movie. Routh had not really appeared in many of the “romantic comedy” films like Hallmark’s holiday fare, and at that time was perhaps best known for portraying Clark Kent/Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns (although he’s appeared in a lot of things since then). Sustad was a frequent face in Hallmark movies (and in more recent years has even written or co-written some of them).

 

Routh plays Zachary Stone, a single firefighter (mocked by his co-workers for being featured in a “fireman calendar” as a beefcake entry). Sustad plays Marilee White, a pet store employee and cat-loving veterinary student. Zach is adopted by a stray cat, and in a series of coincidental meetings, he and Marilee become friendly discussing their respective felines — Ambrose for him and Queenie for her. When Zach’s jealous girlfriend gets Marilee fired from her pet store job when Marilee won’t tolerate her abusive behavior, Zach (feeling guilty) invites Marilee to stay in the house he’s renovating (and living in), while she gets back on her feet. Increased familiarity leads to a quietly-brewing romance.

 

The chemistry between Sustad and Routh is perfect. There are a lot of little misunderstandings that lead to drama. The cats are both adorable. Gregory Harrison is terrific as Zach’s boss at the fire station. And the viewer can’t help but root for a happy ending for these two cat lovers. The “Christmas” elements of this one are present but are very minimal. The Nine Lives of Christmas shows up on a lot of Hallmark fans’ “favorites” lists.

 

Note: Sustad and Routh reunited seven years later in 2021 for a sequel, The Nine Kittens of Christmas, which was notably inferior to this first film.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the sequel The Nine Kittens of Christmas.)

 

(Also available: the novel on which this film was based.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official The Nine Lives of Christmas web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber

The Christmas Spirit

by Debbie Macomber (Macomber)

 

Debbie Macomber is one of the queens of light-hearted romances, which occasionally dip into the spiritual/Christian romance field. She’s also one of those authors who come out with at least one new “Christmas” novel, seemingly every year — many of which have ended up being turned into TV-movies.

 

The Christmas Spirit is her holiday entry for 2022. Pastor Peter Armstrong and bartender Hank Colfax have been best friends for years, despite the dramatic differences in their life paths. They still meet at least once a week for lunch at a diner midway between their two towns, where they compare notes about their lives and share news — Pete about his struggling church, and Hank about the regulars at his dive bar. With just over a week before Christmas, Pete offers the opinion that Hank has a much easier job, and a challenge of temporarily switching jobs in the week before the holiday is accepted by both men.

 

Pete’s spinster sister, who is the administrative assistant at his church, is horrified at this turn of events, as the bartender immediately lets several pastoral duties slide, and Pete himself realizes that Hank’s job is more complicated than he anticipated, and that Hank’s “regular” (including a motorcycle) gang don’t warm to him.

 

As always with Macomber’s novels, there are “happy ever afters” for everyone but there are some fun, touching moments for both men as their eyes are opened to their friend’s world and new ways to think about their own ways of doing things. This is a simple, uncomplicated story, tied up by the end with no loose ends.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Dashing Through the Snow or Mrs. Miracle also by Macomber.)

 

( official The Christmas Spirit page on the official Debbie Macomber web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann

All Through the Night
by Suzanne Brockmann

Ignore the fact that this is Book #12 in the 20+ books in the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann. All of her books end happily so it’s not a spoiler that the couples you’ll meet in this book are together. This was a New York Times best-selling hardcover book and is known as “the wedding” book in this series.

The Troubleshooters series started out as SEAL teams, and we follow them throughout the books as they go on their missions and conduct their personal lives. We also meet the FBI agents who frequently work alongside them on special missions. Some of the SEALs retire and form their own security organization (The Troubleshooters), yet are so highly regarded that they frequently work with the current SEALs and FBI agents on sensitive government missions. Pretty handy so we get to continue following some of our favorite characters. Each book showcases one or more of the couples as they meet and work through their relationship while we’re dealing with the current mystery or villain.

If you are looking for a romance series of alpha men who rescue damsels in distress, this is not the series for you (instead try another military romance series the KGI series by Maya Banks, first book “The Darkest Hour”). The characters in the Troubleshooter series are white, people of color, straight, gay, men, and women who are working as capable, funny, smart people in our military and government.

This particular book, “All Through the Night,” is one of my favorites of this series and tells of the engagement and wedding of FBI agent Jules Cassidy to action-movie hero Robin Chadwick. The whole gang appears in this book, plus a new side-story arc of another couple. Plus a stalker. Plus Jules gets called away unexpectedly on a mission and might not return. You’ll get a feel for the series in general and the family these characters have created among themselves.

This was the first book I read in this series and I got a tad confused with all the characters and how they are related. But I was so impressed with the storyline, Brockmann’s humor, and the people she’d created that I went back and began at Book #01 (“The Unsung Hero”) and read them all in order.

I highly recommend this well-written, humorous, contemporary romance story of two characters you’ll like immensely.

[ official Troubleshooters series page on the official Suzanne Brockmann web site ]

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!