Ella's television experience includes roles in the historical fantasy Reign (2013) and on the medical drama series Saving Hope. She played a guest starring role in It Takes a Village (2018). Her role as the iconic character of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew (2017) earned Ella her first award, the Canadian Screen Award in 2018. Acting is good. There is chemistry between Mía Maestro and Tom Everett Scott. Despite the separation, Gemma's line that they are hopelessly in love (or just hopeless) is accurate even from the beginning. Emilia's character has been too much taken for granted and she needed far more comfort from her husband through their failed efforts at conceiving a child. That's where Gemma comes in. All of this is laid out fairly early in the story.

I adored Arthur Pepper and imagined coming across him in my travels. Now I feel the same way about Benedict Stone! When Gemma, the teenaged daughter of his estranged brother, arrives unannounced from America and shows up on the doorstep of Benedict's home in a quiet English village, she shakes up his mundane life. He and his wife are separated, his jewelry shop business has declined, and Gemma provides the spark to get things moving again. As Benedict tries to sort things out, his niece Gemma arrives on his doorstep. Benedict is estranged from his brother so he doesn’t know anything about the young woman who walks into his life, but she’s on a mission to save his marriage and rekindle his romance. There are so many good themes in this movie that I wish they were all explored a bit more. While Benedict and Emelia deciding that they are happy without children was a bit rushed, at least that storyline saw a fulfilling end. However, Gemma and Charlie’s respective storylines were a bit unfinished. I would have liked to see Charlie learn to be a bit more understanding of the difficult situation Benedict was in raising his little brother at 18. Benedict Stone is a 44-year-old jeweler who lives in the small English village of Noon Sun. He is a bit overweight, his job is stagnating, and he is not happy for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that his wife, Estelle, just moved out because she needed some space. All in all, Benedict’s life is not going well. But a major shakeup is in the works.As with the first story, a man has reached a crisis point in his life and must now go on a personal journey to recover something that has been lost. Benedict Stone is a caregiver and a provider. He knows no other way and his biggest dream is to have his own children so as a family they can carry on tradition. His parents died hunting their precious gemstones when he was a very young man and he took on the care of his brother and the running of the family jewelry making shop. Now years later he is alone, overweight, pining for the wife that left him because of the pressure from the infertility. He is also yearning for the brother that left him, who also doesn’t want to see Benedict – what happened between these two? He is discontented from his work. Benedict Stone (Tom Everett Scott) is breaking up with his wife (Mía Maestro). One rainy night, his niece Gemma Stone (Ella Ballentine) suddenly shows up. He's been estranged from his brother for 20 years and has never met his niece. She claims to have lost her phone and can't remember her dad's phone number. The interludes with Ella Ballentine narrating the properties of various stones is such a sweet editing touch to the movie. All of the details from the whimsical font to the pleasing (but not oversaturated) warm color palette make this movie seem less cookie-cutter than most other Hallmark movies. Speaking of Ella, she is so sweet and spirited in this role. Tom Everett Scott is equally as adorable in his role. I loved that the main relationship in this movie was that between uncle and niece.

There are some wonderfully endearing hilarious scenes that result from Gemma’s romantic advice. But there’s quite a bit of serious drama as well. It seems that Benedict isn’t the only Stone family member who is good at running away from problems rather than facing them. And sprinkled throughout is a bit of the mythology and meaning of gemstones. Gemma was the one who was helping Benedict change even though Gemma was pretty closed mouth about why she appeared on his doorstep and didn't want to call her father to let him know where she was.

I loved The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and her latest book is another winner. The author has the ability to write about relationships in a heartwarming way that just pulls you into the story and the lives of these characters.

This story is just charming and sweet while it explores relationships, childlessness, family and passion for life in such wonderful ways. You will fall in love with these characters and be cheering them on until the end! In the vein of The Language of Flowers, each chapter is titled with the name of a gemstone along with the meaning behind the power of the stone which I thoroughly enjoyed. Years later, he is slovenly, overweight, pining for the wife who moved out because she feels pressured by their infertility, yearning for the brother who left never wanting to see him again, discontent with his work, and ripe for it all somehow to be made right. We come to learn that Benedict Stone has reached a crisis point in his life and must venture on a personal journey to recover something that has been lost. He has been a caregiver and a provider all his life. He knows nothing else. He had always wanted to have children and a family to carry on traditions. Because his parents died when he was young, he was responsible for the care of his brother and their business of running the family jewelry making shop. I was utterly delighted by the author's debut book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper so when I saw that the author released another book and retained the same wonderful narrator, I had to get it without even looking at the blurb. I thoroughly enjoyed Benedict and felt sorry for him as he worked through living without his wife. His jewelry shop and their love just hadn't been enough for them after they were unable to have children after eight years.

What a heart warming story this is. I have read the authors previous book, The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper and I enjoyed it so much that I could not wait to see what she had in store for us next and I have to say I was not disappointed. The chapters all have gem stones for names and a brief description of what the stone represents. The book is full of likeable characters and it's set in a quaint little village. This book is called Wishes Under The Willow Tree in the UK but it was previously published this year as Rise And Shine Benedict Stone. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a story of broken dreams, fractured family, and the power of belief. One lonely night, Benedict Stone is woken by banging on his door. On the other side is a young woman named Gemma, who claims to be his niece from America. Gemma is traveling alone and says her purse with phone and passport were stolen at the airport. Grudgingly, Benedict lets Gemma stay with him while he attempts to reach his estranged brother, Charlie.