#Review – Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors

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17890123Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors
Authors: Susanna Hoffman and Victoria Wise

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Bold is nourishing. Bold is inspired. Bold is food that means business. And Bold is big as in 250 recipes filled with big flavors to be served in big portions. From the culinary team of Susanna Hoffman and Victoria Wise who between them have authored or coauthored more than fifteen cookbooks including The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook and The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbook Bold brings together the beloved American tradition of delicious, plate-filling meals with the lively global flavors that infuse our culture and cuisine.

MY THOUGHTS

I am always on the lookout for my next favorite cookbook.  I am not a good cook when it comes to using creativity.  I have to have instructions to follow and if it comes in a box then all the better for me!  I love easy to prepare recipes and ones that can be made in big batches for plenty of leftovers or family gatherings.  I am also frugal in my ingredients and would rather use common ones instead of things you have to search all over town for to use one time.

When this book arrived, I couldn’t wait to see what recipes I could try.  I opened it up and was sad to see that there were no photos of the recipes! None whatsoever unless you like looking at sketches of ingredients, bowls and cooking pans.  How are we suppose to drool over a dish and actually have the craving to make the dish without a photo? I am a visual person and what I see is what captures my interest first when it comes to food.

Another thing is there are no dividers in this cookbook. You basically just go from one section to another with no division.  Yes they stick a different colored page in there with yet another sketch of what is to come, but there really isn’t any definite divider between them.

Another thing I found is this cookbook is not kid friendly in my opinion.  What kid wants to eat endives, duck legs, veal,  or leeks? So this is focused more for the adults instead of kid meals.  This also falls into the category that I mentioned above of requiring unusual ingredients to use.  While the basic ingredients are common, the main part of the recipe could be hard to find in smaller towns. I know I can’t find quail or rabbit at my local grocer so those recipes are useless for me.

So for now, I will keep looking for that perfect cookbook and recommend passing on this one if you are a wary cook like me.

MY RATING
[sc:rate2 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

#Review : Ablaze by Morgana Black

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17236443Ablaze
Series: Fireside #1
Author: Morgana Blaze
Release Date: 1/17/2014

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Cheyenne is planning the perfect weekend with her partner to be Collin. But when the weather turns ugly she finds herself trapped in a cabin with dangerously attractive Luke, one of her father’s ranch hands. When the power goes out Luke and Cheyenne make the decision to keep each other warm, in more ways than one.

MY THOUGHTS

First, this is a very short story. It is a novella that is Part One in a series by author Morgana Black.  When I mention short story, I mean “chapter-like” short story.  I can understand it being short for a series or parts, but this could have been one chapter of a novella.  With that being said, you can understand the frustration at the speed and abrupt ending the reader is left with.

Short stories need to tell quite a bit in a short amount of time. I understand that. Really, I do.  Yet as a reader, I still want parts of my story to be full and give me an experience of connection with each character. I know that is a lot to ask for, but with Ablaze, I couldn’t find myself finding the footing needed to ground myself to the two characters of Luke and Cheyenne — At lease not with this small sample of a story.  When the two start to warm each other up during the snow storm, it was rushed and I still didn’t find myself really excited about it.  It was rushed and then we get the big regrets from one of the involved people.  With little background on the characters, it made the connection hard for me.  I am not going to be waiting on pins and needles for the next in the series, but I am still a little curious as to see if the author will bring some background to the characters and see if a spark finally ignites for me.

MY RATING
[sc:rate2 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

Review: A Million Dirty Secrets by C.L. Parker

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17620964

 

A Million Dirty Secrets
Series: Million Dollar Duet #1
Author: C. L. Parker

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Delaine Talbot has a secret. When a matter of life and death threatens to tear apart her family, Delaine makes the ultimate sacrifice. She auctions herself off at Chicago’s most exclusive erotic club. Now she belongs to Noah Crawford, a wealthy mogul who introduces her to a seductive feast of the senses, awakening desires she only dreamed about.  
 
Noah doesn’t know why Delaine sold her body for a cool two mil. But it’s the perfect business arrangement. The inexperienced beauty will learn to satisfy his every sensual need, yet never touch his heart. Almost immediately their relationship generates heat—in more ways than one. When they fight, they take no prisoners. When they love, they show no mercy. When they’re together, they never want to leave each other’s arms. But soon, their intense, physical bond will take an unexpected turn—evolving into something neither has bargained for: the promise of a lasting love.

MY THOUGHTS

This book is the first book in a series by author C. L. Parker.

Let us just sit and reflect about this read for a moment.

Was it deep and emotional? No.
Did it have characters that a reader could connect with? Um, not really.
Did it have a realistic plot? Well…no.
Was it entertaining to this reader? Only if laughter was suppose to be the main emotion with a side of WTH?

I’m sorry but there is no other way to describe this book.  I shook my head so many times while reading it that I have a kink in my neck now.  Not only was it cliched and corny, but the characters flip flopped from being likable to completely the opposite the next moment.

Noah was suppose to be a hard and determined business man with a Dom streak.  While we would get this small glimpse of him sometimes, other times he was a softy and lovable man who happens to be rich.   I ended up liking him better than the heroine of the story.

Delaine was suppose to be offering herself up at an auction to the highest bidder for two years.  She sold herself for two million dollars to Noah so she could have the money to pay for her Mother’s medical bills.  While it seemed like a worthy cause to sell yourself like a prostitute,  it isn’t played up exactly like it should be.  When the parents receive the anonymous donation into their account, they don’t even wonder why really or want to find out who donated such a lump sum. They pass it off as a miracle.

Then we have the inner monologue of the Double Agent Coochie that is in lust with The Wonder Peen.  Yes, you read that correctly and it is mentioned in almost every chapter in the exact same way.  The first time you read it — funny.  The fifteenth time you read it — eye rolling and stop already!

This book is over the top and on the verge of DNF by halfway through.  While I did finish reading the book,  it was not enjoyable by the last half.

MY RATING
[sc:rate2 ]

AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS / AMAZON

Review: Neptune’s Tears by Susan Waggoner

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16059434

 

Neptune’s Tears
Series: Timedance #1
Author: Susan Waggoner

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

London, 2218 A.D. Seventeen-year-old Zee is an intern empath. She’s focused on her job, poised for a great career—until one day an attractive patient undoes her hard-earned calm. As an empath, she cannot afford such distractions, but neither can she stay away from David, even when she discovers he’s one of a mysterious alien race. As London comes under attack by anarchist bombings, and as Zee struggles to get a handle on her unusually strong psychic abilities, David starts pulling away. Although Zee’s sure he’s attracted to her, David has secrets he cannot share. But it’s too late for Zee. She’s losing her heart to the gray-eyed alien boy, and she’s determined to follow him—no matter how far it may take her.

MY THOUGHTS

Neptune’s Tears is the first book in the Timedance series by author Susan Waggoner.

Hmm.
*scratches head*
Think. Think. Think.
How do you write a review on a book that you are still trying to figure out.  A book that leaves you wondering what the heck you just read.

This book is set in the future with dystopian highlights along with science fiction and paranormal.  IT became a mash-up of sub genres that left me confused and wanting to scream.  Yes, this can usually work for some stories, but with this one it did not.  I felt that the book couldn’t settle down long enough to find its place in the right sub genre.

The characters were just okay, not ones that left me wanting more from them by the last page though.  I really wished this story had brought the amazing that the cover did.  Science Fiction enthusiasts will more than likely gobble this story up, but readers who are not accustomed to it as a usual read will more than likely skip over it.

MY RATING
[sc:rate2 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

 

Review: Restore Me by J.L. Mac

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Restore Me
Series: Wrecked #1
Author: J. L. Mac

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Navigating the world alone is all Josephine Geroux has ever known. Life altering tragedy struck early on for her. She endured an admirable struggle through her youth and learned the hard way how to adapt and survive. She managed to arrive at adulthood in one piece in spite of it all. 

After such chaos, maintaining a life free of complications is a priority for her. 
Everything changed when a man with amber eyes came through her door and claimed her heart. She fell hard in more ways than one. The pull between Jo and Damon seemed like fate bringing things full circle.

With another devastating loss looming, Jo fights to hold on to the very thing that brought her to her knees. She finds herself torn between a promising future and clinging to a devastating past.
But that’s not the most worrisome problem on her hands. 

She must convince more than just herself to let the past stay in the past, where it belongs, but on her journey to find closure and resolution, she does the exact opposite. An old wound caused by a heinous act becomes exposed for what it is. The truth is catastrophic and Jo is helpless, watching as the ruins of her fragile world endure more turmoil. 

Can something conceived from tragedy and malice end well? Can something so completely poisoned conquer adversity? Jo is left to make a decision; accept the circumstances she finds herself in or fight with unwavering ferocity to restore what has been damaged.

MY THOUGHTS

Restore Me is the second book in the Wrecked series by author J. L. Mac.

Talk about going from one end of the character personality spectrum to the other!  In the last book, I couldn’t stand Jo’s attitude and I thought Damon was a whipped puppy at times.  With this second book in the series, Damon became a cold man and Jo became the whiny and wimpy girl.  Granted, at times Jo was still bad mouth tough with a chip on her shoulder, but overall she was the one who did most of the begging in this book.

While the writing was much better in this one — with a better pace than the previous one — I still couldn’t connect with the characters.  I think it was mainly the fact that the characters were complete opposites of what they started out to be in the first book.  I will say that Grams might have been even better in this book and I think even though she is a side character, she is still my favorite.

The revelation at the end was kind of predictable only because this character is mentioned and brought into the story much more than in the previous book.  I also have a ‘feeling’ about another side character that could be a problem in the next book.

While I enjoyed this book better than the first one, I am still on the fence about this series as a whole.  I feel that the characters just didn’t ‘speak to me’ and it makes me hesitant on reading the next one.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!