Category Archives: Hallmark Movie Reviews

Christmas At Pemberley Manor

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Okay, can I tell you how much I LOVED this movie? Can I? What was your favorite scene? Have you ever attended a Christmas Festival? If you have, what was it like?

As usual, this discussion will contain spoilers since I’m assuming all have seen the movie already!

Event planner Elizabeth is assigned by her evil boss to arrange the Christmas Festival for the town. When there’s a mishap, the town is left without a venue to hold the event.

She pleads with William Darcy (the owner of Pemberley Manor) to have the town’s Christmas Festival at Pemberley. William is hesitant but eventually agrees to let her do it. Pemberley Manor will have one last Christmas before William sells it to to buyers who want to tear it down to build some condos! How sad is that? Can you imagine tearing down such a beautiful, magical place to build some condos? How awful!

William has fond childhood memories of Christmases at Pemberley Manor. Deep down, he does not want to sell it. He’s making a business decision, a decision with his head instead of his heart. Deep down, he’s loving and generous. He doesn’t always let others see just how kind he is – he appears gruff, just like Scrooge, but it’s just a disguise, if you know what I mean. Elizabeth sees his kind heart and when he tells her of the nice, nostalgic, childhood memories of his Christmases at Pemberley, she’s drawn to him, attracted to him.

I think William and Elizabeth made a fabulous couple. When the movie first started, I’d initially assumed that George, the mayor, would be Elizabeth’s love interest. When she’d mentioned that they’d dated, I’d just made the assumption that they’d be rekindling an old romance or something. Did you think that?

I thought it was so sweet when William’s assistant, Travis, spots Jane (George, the mayor’s assistant), for the first time. It was like love at first sight.

I felt that both Travis and William had something in common. Both of them needed to lighten up. I just wanted to give Travis a cup of eggnog and a few cookies and tell him to chill for awhile. Do you know what I mean?

I was so glad that William baked cookies with Elizabeth. A workaholic, he needs somebody like Elizabeth in his life.

I could not STAND Elizabeth’s boss! I wanted her gone, gone, gone! But, she did have one redeeming quality – near the end when Elizabeth pushed to set things back up for Christmas Eve, for the festival, her boss asked what she could do to help. Elizabeth then handed her the clipboard! I was SO GLAD when her boss asked that one simple question. It showed that she wasn’t totally so cruel and evil.

Sweet…to humor her niece, Elizabeth actually wrote a letter to Santa asking for him for her true love…

Imagine that! I’ll bet Christopher, the employee at Pemberley, who looks just like Santa, and who played Santa during the Festival, received that letter and made sure Elizabeth’s wish came true! What do you think?

I just wish they’d have shown George the mayor falling in love with someone. Wouldn’t you have liked to see George with a love interest? I think they should make a Christmas movie next year starring George. He deserves a nice loving woman in his life. I’d also love to see Travis and Jane get married. They make a great-looking couple and I’m sure their wedding would be lovely.

I loved it when Elizabeth sang Oh Holy Night! It sounded so pretty! I loved the snow and the scenery. Pemberley Manor was so beautiful decked out with all of the Christmas lights, greenery and gifts for the holidays! I just wanted to go visit the place and curl up with a mug of hot cocoa, a plate full of cookies, and some Christmas music. I’ll bet spending Christmas there would be magical, don’t you think?

So what was your favorite scene? Have you ever attended a Christmas Festival? If you have, what was it like? Do you have any favorite characters in this movie?

Oh, I noticed that this movie was loosely based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I’ve never read that book. (I know, since I’m a writer, a romance writer at that, you’d think I’d read all the classics. I admit to reading several, just not all of them). Have you read Pride and Prejudice? If you have, did you see a few similarities between the book and the movie?

Come, share your thoughts with a comment. Answer one or all of my numerous questions! I’m just itching to start a discussion about Christmas At Pemberley Manor!

A Country Wedding

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A Country Wedding Podcast

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like movies such as A Country Wedding, then you MUST read LOVING LUKE by CECELIA DOWDY.

Loving Luke is about Kim Taylor, an unemployed accountant who returns home to assist her dad in their family’s cookie bakery. While in town, she reconnects with Luke, her childhood sweetheart.

Luke remembers how wild Kim used to be and he’s stunned to see her again. Kim mentors Luke’s daughter, showing her how to she runs her cookie bakery.

Luke has a problem and it looks like Kim is the only person who can help him solve his dilemma. READ this wonderful, classic Christmas tale! You will want to read it each Christmas. Find LOVING LUKE on ceceliadowdy.com/books, or, click on the link at the end of this blog post.

Now, let’s talk about A Country Wedding!

Do you know anybody who married his/her childhood friend?

I’ve watched A Country Wedding so many times that I’ve lost count. This is one of my favorite Hallmark movies and I never grow tired of seeing it. I think I like this movie so much because the characters are so real and vivid. I also think there’s a bit of a romantic fantasy thrown into this movie.

Romantic fantasy sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? Let me explain myself. What are the odds of seeing someone, someone whom you’ve not seen since you were a child, and have the strong connection that Bradley and Sarah shared? From what I gathered, they’d not seen one another during their adult lives. I’d imagine that some men would barely remember the females they’d known as children – especially if they’d not seen them for over a decade.

Bradley is afraid to love. He’s never gotten over his parents’ untimely death, so he’s willing to settle on marriage to beautiful Katherine instead of waiting on true love. Bradley is good-looking, too, which is part of the romantic fantasy that I already mentioned. I found it kind of quirky that he didn’t really know Katherine at all. There’s NO WAY Katherine would have wanted to live in Bradley’s hometown. There’s also NO WAY Katherine really wanted to get married there, in spite of what she told Brad! While Bradley was planning his small-town wedding, with Sarah making the bridal decisions, Katherine was planning her elegant European wedding! Oh my!

The disparity between the two weddings was wide as a football field! Can you imagine the elegant Katherine being a regular part of Bradley’s hometown? I think not!

I also thought it was sweet that Bradley and Sarah married as children and Sarah had kept the ring. It was so endearing when she contacted him and sent his engagement ring.

My favorite part of the movie was when Sarah could see Bradley…I mean see him inside….his emotions, his thoughts, his fears. It was almost as if Sarah knew Bradley better than he knew himself! The most powerful part of the movie was when Sarah told Bradley how she felt and told him stuff about himself, stuff that he refused to openly admit. Here’s my favorite scene/dialog from the movie:

Brad: “Hey, what’s goin’ on with you?”

Sara: “You want the truth? ‘Cause like you said, you got a lot of people in your life who tell you what they think you want to hear, so, maybe you like it that way.”

Brad: “I’d rather hear the truth.”

Sarah: “Well, you’re about to marry a woman you barely know. You don’t know her favorite color. You don’t know her favorite flower. You don’t even know if she wants to have a family. I mean it seems to me you don’t know nothing about her at all.”

Brad: “No, I know everything I need to know.”

Sarah: “Why are you here planning her wedding without her? Why am I here making all the decisions she should be making? Where is she?”

Brad: “I told you, she’s busy filming.”

Sarah: “Okay, look, you and I have been friends for a long time. So, I’m gonna shoot you straight.”

Brad: “Alright.”

Sarah: “You can’t marry Katherine Mann. You don’t love her.”

Brad: “I do, I do love her.”

Sarah: “Why did you kiss me?”

Brad: “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I just got caught up in the music and the moment.”

Sarah: “So, that’s all that was? You got caught up in the moment?”

Brad: “Yeah.”

Sarah: “Look, I get that you’re scared. Okay, you got your heart broken as a kid and you are afraid to love too much ever again. Well, you know what? Love is scary. It is terrifying to put your heart out there but you do it anyway. You do it in spite of the fear because a life without love is just half a life! And you don’t get married because you like the same things and ’cause you live similar lifestyles. You get married because you can’t stand the thought of not being together. You get married because you love the other person with your whole heart!”

Brad: “That’s…that’s just a fantasy”

Sarah: “Maybe it is. But I don’t think you should settle for less.”

Brad: “You know just because you knew me as a kid, it doesn’t mean you know me now.”

Sarah: “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But you and me we have a deal. Okay. You help me mend my fences and I’ll help you plan your wedding. So, I guess we’re done!”

Whew! I clapped after that scene. Go on Sarah! Bravo! She saw Bradley’s HEART. She knew his fears and she stood up to him and forced him to see within himself, made him see that he was making a mistake. Of course hard-headed Bradley didn’t admit his mistake to himself…at least not initially.

So much about this movie to love. It’s definitely one of the best Hallmark Movies.

**So, do you know anybody who married his/her childhood friend? Also share your feelings about A Country Wedding. What was your favorite scene? Was there anything in the movie that resonated with you?**

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like movies such as A Country Wedding, then you MUST read LOVING LUKE by CECELIA DOWDY.

Loving Luke is about Kim Taylor, an unemployed accountant who returns home to assist her dad in their family’s cookie bakery. While in town, she reconnects with Luke, her childhood sweetheart.

Luke remembers how wild Kim used to be and he’s stunned to see her again. Kim mentors Luke’s daughter, showing her how to she runs her cookie bakery.

Luke has a problem and it looks like Kim is the only person who can help him solve his dilemma. READ this wonderful, classic Christmas tale! You will want to read it each Christmas. Find LOVING LUKE on ceceliadowdy.com/books, or, click on the link at the end of this blog post.

Enjoy this blog post? Subscribe to CECELIA DOWDY’S Hallmark Movie Blog!

LOVING LUKE BOOK LINK

Love Of Course

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LOVE OF COURSE

Have you ever participated in a Harvest Festival? Did you enjoy it? Did you help to plan the festival?

Love of Course was a nice, sweet autumn movie about Noah and Amy. When widow Amy drops her daughter off for college, she never suspected that she’d be convinced to stay on for six weeks to help her friend plan a Harvest Festival. Noah is a college professor and in charge of the festival. Noah’s idea of a Harvest Festival differs from Amy’s! As they work together planning the festival they grow closer and as you can figure, they fall in love.

Hold on a second. Do you like to read wholesome romances that remind of you Hallmark movies? Hallmark movie viewers love The Bakery Romance Series and The Candy Beach Series. Download today! Tell your friends about my books!

There were several things about this movie that I enjoyed. I really connected with Noah. He had some wanderlust in his system in the past – meaning, he had a hard time staying in one place for a long time. He loved to travel and he attended several universities as a youth. When I was growing up we rarely traveled. We stayed put and only took maybe 2 or 3 road trips while I was growing up. When I graduated from college I started working for a travel agency. I worked there for ten years and one of the perks was FREE or GREATLY REDUCED travel! Since I’d never traveled much before, I went crazy and traveled all over the place. So I can really understand Noah’s wanderlust.

Australia. I’ve never been there, but have traveled to nearby New Zealand. Noah said he’d wanted to go to Sydney, but, I kinda sensed he felt lukewarm about relocating there – even before he fell for Amy. I think deep down he realized his wanderlust had come to an end and he was ready to settle down – just as his friend suggested. On a side note, I’ve been wanting to travel to Australia for awhile now, but, the cost and the time has hindered my travel plans! I’d need to take my hubby and son and that’s a lot of cash for the trip. Maybe we’ll visit one day, though.

Accounting. Amy is/was an accountant and I can totally relate to that profession. I’ve worked as an accountant or financial analyst since I graduated from college with my finance degree. Working with numbers has been a regular part of my life since I was first hired at the travel agency years ago. I no longer work at the agency, I have another job now (still accounting), but, I long for the day when I can leave my day job to pursue my desire of writing books full time. Do you know how hard it is to make a living as a writer? It’s not easy which is why I continue working!

Farming. I loved seeing Noah work with the land. I liked to see him showing Amy all about farming, growing seeds, planting. I also loved to see them work together planning the festival. I loved it when Amy came to rescue Noah when he was stuck in the corn maze. I’ve always been fascinated with farming – growing food for a living. I sometimes wish I had an apple tree in my backyard! Noah’s love for the land resonated with me and I admired that about him.

I thought the chemistry between the two of them was pretty good. It was sad to hear that Amy had lost her husband. She’s young and it was refreshing to see her fall in love again. I thought this was a nice, heartwarming movie.

Oh, forgot to mention – I really wanted to see Gabby Douglas do a few backflips! Oh well! Maybe if she stars in another Hallmark Movie she can show us some of her gymnastics!

So, have you ever participated in a Harvest Festival? If so, did you enjoy it? Did you help to plan for the festival?

Please share your comments about the movie and Harvest Festivals!

An Introduction

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Introduction

#HallmarkChannel #Hallmarkies #Hallmarkmovie #Hallmarkmovies #podcast #Hallmark #romance #happilyeverafter #HEA #CeceliaDowdy #lovestories #romancenovels

Introduction

Hi, I’m Cecelia Dowdy. I write sweet Christian romance novels. My books are wholesome, and I’ve had a lot of Hallmark Channel fans tell me that they enjoy my stories.

I spend a great deal of time watching Hallmark Movies. I also interact with Hallmark fans via Twitter. So, I thought it’d be a fun idea to start a blog where I talk freely about the Hallmark Movies. All of my movie reviews/discussions will have spoilers, so I’m assuming most who want to talk about the movies have already seen them!

Since I work full-time as an accountant/financial analyst and I write romance novels in my spare time, I’ll post movie reviews/discussions as time permits! I’ll be posting reviews about both new and old Hallmark movies, when I am able to do so. Christmas movies are also going to be reviewed! I have so much fun watching those Hallmark Christmas movies!

I also encourage comments and questions! If you have questions about me, my writing, my romance novels, or anything about the Hallmark Movies then just ask me! I’ll do my best to answer!