#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 : First Ink by Laura Wright

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19534859First Ink
Series: Wicked Ink Chronicles #1
Author: Laura Wright
Release Date: 12/17/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Rush
Women in his bed, celebs and rockers in his chair and a killer bank account at his disposal, life is pretty freaking swell. Then she walks back into it again. With her mismatched eyes, perfect pink mouth and a laugh that still haunts him, she gave him nothing but marvelous misery. Now she wants his hands on her again. Not for pleasure, but for pain. For Ink. A bleeding heart to match the one she left him with five years ago.

Addison
She can’t forget him. No matter how hard she’s tried. The pain she caused him in the past eats at her daily, and she can’t move on with her life. But she has a plan, a hope for redemption – a way for him to take his revenge out on her flesh. But it’ll only work if he lets her inside his exclusive world, under his famous artist’s needle and into his bed—and heart-once again.

MY THOUGHTS

For it being a quick read, the author made sure to give the reader a small bit of background to help understand the why and the how to the plot and conflict of the couple.  It is pretty easy to imagine through what words we are given to piece together what happened five years ago between Rush and Addison.  Now they need to see if it is able to be fixed, or if it is a mistake to even try. Usually short stories don’t have too much impact to me.  I will say though that I found the characters engaging and intriguing. There were a few minor things that were frustrating like editing and scenes that didn’t flow properly.  With that being said though, I really did enjoy this short story.  I am curious to find out what happens with Vincent and Lisa.  If these books were to expand and become full length novels, I think the author has what it takes to create a perfect novel.

MY RATING
[sc:rate3 ]

AUTHOR WEBSITE / 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 : The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

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18589656The Last Hour of Gann
Author: R. Lee Smith
Release Date: 9/12/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

It was her last chance:

Amber Bierce had nothing left except her sister and two tickets on Earth’s first colony-ship. She entered her Sleeper with a five-year contract and the promise of a better life, but awakened in wreckage on an unknown world. For the survivors, there is no rescue, no way home and no hope until they are found by Meoraq—a holy warrior more deadly than any hungering beast on this hostile new world…but whose eyes show a different sort of hunger when he looks at her.

It was his last year of freedom:

Uyane Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul, God’s own instrument of judgment, victor of hundreds of trials, with a conqueror’s rights over all men. Or at least he was until his father’s death. Now, without divine intervention, he will be forced to assume stewardship over House Uyane and lose the life he has always known. At the legendary temple of Xi’Matezh, Meoraq hopes to find the deliverance he seeks, but the humans he encounters on his pilgrimage may prove too great a test even for him…especially the one called Amber, behind whose monstrous appearance burns a woman’s heart unlike any he has ever known.

WARNING: This book contains graphic violence, strong sexual content and explicit language. It is intended for mature readers only.

MY THOUGHTS

Wow. What the heck? Scales? Lizard men? Wait…this is suppose to have a romance involved? With LIZARD MEN!?

That was my reaction to reading everyone else who left a review of this book.  Every person I talked to told me to have faith in the author and the story. I still could not wrap my head around how humans and lizard men were suppose to fall in love or even attempt to the naughty.   Then I had to come with the realization that this book is long. Not an extra day long, but try an extra week or two long if you have work and kids at home.

I am not going to recap the entire story for you because of length and all the other reviews that are out on this story.  I will say though, Lizard men can be worth reading about.  Meoraq was a good guy/lizard and paired nicely with Amber who was nice and fierce.  Every single woman in this story was weak except for Amber.  She was strong woman and deserving of Meoraq.

I truly enjoyed everything about this book except the ending.  There are rapes scenes in this story, but the author handled them well.  They aren’t just scenes thrown in, they are scenes that are needed to tell the story and way of life of the Lizard men.  The thing that lowered the rating was how some things were left unanswered or left open.  Does the baby turn out okay? Do the Oracles accept what Meoraq has to say? Is the way of life changed enough to accept a different world to begin?  And can someone please find me one of those bots that clean things up daily, because my housework has lacked since reading this book. Be prepared for the long haul when starting this story!

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS / AMAZON

Review: Rule by Jay Crownover

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17866388Rule
Series: A Marked Men Novel #1
Author: Jay Crownover
Release Date: 10/22/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Opposites in every way . . . except the one that matters

Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight-A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn’t want—and the only person she’s never tried to please. She isn’t afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won’t listen.

To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess—and his dead twin brother’s girl. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. He doesn’t have time for a good girl like Shaw—even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is.

But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love . . . or each other.

MY THOUGHTS

I have been seeing good things about the Marked Men Series by author Jay Crownover.  I was anxious to start the series and see what the hype was all about.  The first thing I want to say is that the guy on the cover that is suppose to represent Rule, fits the image in my head except for the lack of piercings he is suppose to have.  With that in mind, I beg that they never change the cover image since it was done perfectly this time!

The two main characters in this story is Shaw Landon and Rule Archer.  Shaw is the typical blond and beautiful virgin heroine.  She comes from money and her parents are paying her tuition for college.  They will use this said bribery of college payments to try and keep her in line and even use it to keep her from Rule.  Oh and they will even push another boy into the picture as her boyfriend whether she wants him or not.  *insert eyeroll*  In case you can’t tell, I was not a fan of Shaw Landon.  I didn’t like her attitude, her behavior, and most of all her better than thou persona.

Then we have Rule Archer.  Rule lost his twin brother, Remy, years ago.  His brother happened to have been best friends with Shaw when he was alive. Everyone believed that Shaw and Remy were a couple even though she told everyone they were just friends.  Come to find out, Remy was believed to be the golden boy even with secrets of his own that were hidden from all of the family including Rule.  Rule was the black sheep of the family.  He is a tattoo artist with his own tattoo’s covering his body.  Throw in a bunch of piercings — including ones in the, uh-hum, private area — and a new hairdo color and cut each week, and you have the typical bad boy.  Plus we can’t forget the revolving door of women each weekend in his bed as well.  I liked Rule in this book.  He didn’t care what people thought of him and didn’t put up with crap from anyone.  Rule has had no clue that Shaw has been in love with him since the first day they met.  Everyone else could see the hearts in Shaw’s eyes except Rule.

When these two finally hook up, not much really happens between the two.  There are a few plot progressions that lead to problems in the relationship, but not too big of ones that the reader is left with their jaw dropped.  I found the story to just be okay and needing an infusion of thrills to make it a real winner.  I am intrigued though by the side characters in the story and will more than likely continue in the series to see how their stories will play out.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE

“Look I have somewhere I have to be and I don’t particularly love that I have to go, but you freaking out and making a scene is not going to do anything other than piss me off. I hope you had a good time last night and you can leave your number but we both know the chances of me calling you are slim to none. If you don’t want to be treated like crap maybe you should stop going home with drunken dudes you don’t know. Trust me we’re really only after one thing and the next morning all we really want is for you to go quietly away. I have a headache and I feel like I’m going to hurl, plus I have to spend the next hour in a car with someone that will be silently loathing me and joyously plotting my death so really can we just save the histrionics and get a move on it?”  —- Rule Archer, page 5

MY RATING
[sc:rate3 ]

AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS / AMAZON