#ReadAlong Visions of Heat #ParanormalRomance

 It's the last Friday of January already!  How are you doing?  Hanging in there? We had some snow this week and I got to try out my YakTrax which work great for walking or running in the snow. I'm still looking forward to the snow melting so I can run without the snow.  In my perfect world, among many amazing advancements; we would have sidewalks and streets that warmed up when it snowed and we'd not have to shovel or trudge through unshoveled sidewalks and we'd have dry streets that didn't turn into sheets of ice. 

Along with the snow has come gloomy grey skies, but since Groundhog Day is around the corner that's when we usually have sunshine to ensure six more weeks of winter!  That sun scares the poor little dude!

 

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Because Nalina Singh had laid a foundation of the Psy-Changeling world in "Slave to Sensation", I was able to appreciate the expanding universe of this book and deepen my understanding of the Psy-Net.

In direct contrast to Sascha and Lucas's relationship, Faith and Vaughn have a slow, slow burn. There is much to be learned about Faith's family and I look forward to knowing more about the F-Psy Clan in the future. This book is almost all Faith and Vaughn with as much DarkRiver interaction as Sascha had in book one. I noticed that Nalini Singh purposefully uses images of heat, fire, gold to describe Vaughn throughout the book, Singh wants us to notice and understand Vaughn is the sun and Faith is the night sky. Vaughn is a passionate being, an artist more at home in the wild and Faith is a logic-driven woman who lives in her mind-- and sees the beauty of the Psy-net. Their approaches to the world are polar opposites and Nalini Singh shows us how perfectly they fit together.

At the end of the book, we get some information on a character and I was pleased to see that character isn't who we thought they were earlier in the book, I look forward to them coming back into the picture and home someone they are related to plays a role in these books as well.

At the end of this book, we have some idea of how the Dark River/Snow Dancer Clans with their adopted Psy members may someday be able to usher in an end to the Silence and I am here for it!

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Time To Announce The Winner! And Roast Pork Recipe!

 First of All, Congrats to Sophia Rose of the blog Delighted Reader you are the winner of the MLK Day Giveaway!!! Thanks to everyone who entered, I hope all of you added The Sound of Stars to your TBR pile! 

Recently the local grocery store had pork roast on sale for only 88 cents per pound so I ordered one and they gave me a 9.5-pound roast.  It's huge!  I decided the best way to cook it would be in the oven since I had some doubts about it fitting in our slow cooker or Instant Pot.  I found a recipe to cook with high heat and then lower the temp for the remainder of the roasting.  

How it started! 

How it's going! As far as the recipe above goes there is a part where you add apple just and I didn't do that. The vegetables I added to the roast were potatoes, carrots and onion.  When the roast was finished the meat was very tender and so some of it will be used for pulled pork or seasoned and used to make tacos. To be determined!  Bowie the dog was extremely interested in the cooking process and was hoping he could make this roast his dinner!

#KillerChardonnay #CozyMysteryBookClub January Book!

Our first read of the new year is Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing and it is a book Santa brought me for Christmas.  Tomorrow is the online meeting of the Cozy Mystery Book Club you can join us on youtube at 7PM EST for the live stream! One lucky person will be getting a copy of the next book in this series A Pairing To Die For which will be released tomorrow as well! 

Quick reminder you can still enter my MLK Giveaway Book Hop just look for the button on the sidebar here!  The winner will be announced on Wednesday! 

Below is my review of this new cozy mystery series and my first experience with a wine-themed cozy!

 

Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I have to describe this book in one word, the word I would choose is clever. The sleuth, the mystery, it's clever. Parker Valentine through one part inheritance and one part hard work opens her own winery--quite a feat for someone under 30. Alas, this being a murder mystery and all, someone is killed at the Grand Opening!

I have a very strong suspicion early on about who the killer was, and that was confirmed. It was enjoyable to watch how things played out. Great use of social media in keeping the tension high as Parker tries to save her new business from falling going under before it's even begun.

This is the first book in a new series and I will be back to see what happens next. "Killer Chardonnay" had a relatively high amount of character growth for a Cozy, there weren't too many subplots hanging opened at the end which was quite alright with me. The setting of Boulder, Colorado was larger than the typical Cozy small town, which I think works well for future murders. Author Kate Lansing does a nice job of keeping the number of characters easy for the reader to keep track of and gives side characters nice depth. One of my favorite book details was that Parker doesn't drive a car and relies on public transportation. The book talks about the craft of winemaking in an accessible way that I found engaging.

There seems to be potential for a love triangle and to be honest; I hope it doesn't happen. To keep it vague for anyone reading this, one potential love interest is a character I have already read many times in many books and I'm not a fan of this character trope. As it stands in this book I really liked the love interest portion of the book and I hope that things work out with Parker and BLANK.

All in all, this is a fresh new cozy mystery series--I'm a fan!

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#TheSundayPost #Giveaways #Book, #BlueApron

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

How was your week?  I'm happy to report here in my neck of the woods, after days and days of cloudy skies, on Wednesday (Coincidence ?) we woke up to sunshine that lasted for a few days. Nothing like sunshine in the winter!  Wednesday was also the day that my bimonthly indulgence of Blue Apron arrived. I should have taken pictures of my meals to share here, but I didn't. The Hubs said they were delicious which was wonderful because he has been known to say things like "I think this food is too flavorful for me." What???? 

If you have ever wanted to try Blue Apron, I have some free meals. If you would like one, just use the contact me form on the right to email me, and then I can send you a link. I don't get any sort of referral money or anything, I just like to get Blue Apron once in a while, and when I do they give me links to give free meals to others. 

I'm happy to report that I finished the last of 5 medical appointments for the month of January and all my fingers and toes are crossed that I need no medical-related contact until the end of March when I have to schedule a follow-up CT Scan for routine surveillance.  It was nice to find out that at each of my appointments the medical staff had already had both doses of the COVID-19 vaccination.  Now I have to make a change to my hope of avoiding all medical stuff until the end of March--if I could get the vaccine--then I'm happy to go to the doctor. :-)  Other than the vaccine, I want to stay away from the land of white coats! 

Coming up this last week of January I will be -

*Reviewing Visions of Heat for the Read-Along I'm doing via the COYER Challenge

*Reviewing Killer Chardonnay our January Book for the Cozy Mystery Book Club

*Talking about Valentine's Day and other days of note in February!

How about you?  Tell me one good thing that has happened to you this week! 

Late January A Great Time to Escape to Palm Beach! #ThePerfect10 #NetGalley

Just a few days left to enter my Giveaway, just click on the MLK Day Giveaway Button on the right side of my blog to read and comment! 

I don't know about you, but I often choose a book to read based on its cover. That is the case with this book by Eric O'Keefe.  I liked the 1960's retro look and the promise of a book set in Palm Beach, Florida. Flurries may be swirling outside my window, but when I open this book I'm transported to palm trees and polo ponies. A perfect escape for late January. 

Going into this book I didn't know anything about polo outside vintage Ralph Lauren commercials.  Now I have a better understanding of the game and now realize that it has a global fandom.  This book is a fast-paced mystery in the style of James Patterson. This book has multiple POV characters and it takes a little while before you, the reader, understand how the different characters fit into the central mystery of who killed Juan Harrington and why. It's like an out of focus picture that slowly becomes sharp.  

As the field of suspects narrows, I had a pretty good idea of motive but I wasn't sure who was the killer before it was revealed. If you like reading thrillers and you enjoy sports, add this book to your TBR pile, and get ready for the high stakes world of the Sport of Kings.

I got this book through Net Galley, all the opinions are mine #ThePerfect10 #Netgalley

Helping me get into the Palm Beach spirit, we finally had a few sunny days here in the land of Lincoln.  I moved our houseplants so they could enjoy the sun as well. 

Cloudy days bum Bowie out

Sunshine Day! 

 

The Midnight Library Book Review and a Chicken Noodle Soup Game Changer! #BookClubBook

 Recently the grocery store had a big sale on Chicken Fryers, and that means one day we had Roasted Chicken, and the next day I made my signature Mama's Soup.  Usually, I use frozen Reames Noodles, but they were $3.99 a bag and that was $1.49 more than I wanted to pay.  

I decided instead to make my own noodles.  I found a recipe that I like at The Spruce Eats and tried it out.  Nestled in this recipe is the best tip for making homemade noodles.  The recipe says you can use a knife to cut the dough into noodles or you can use--a PIZZA CUTTER!  Gamechanger!  Genius!  I'm so glad that someone thought of doing this! A pizza cutter works approximately 40x better for me than using a knife. 

Just a few days left to enter my Giveaway, just click on the MLK Day Giveaway Button on the right side of my blog to read and comment! 

Today's book review is for The Midnight Library this book is the January selection for a book club I belong to where we will be Zooming to discuss what we thought of the book on the last day of January. 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I started reading this book, at first, I thought I would hate it. I even put it down for a few hours. Then I picked it back up for two reasons: 1. I'm reading it for a book club and 2. The title promised me a Midnight Library and I wanted to see what that library was all about.

Once I got inside The Midnight Library, I found out there is a Book of Regrets. A Book of Regrets! That was the hook the reached inside and grabbed me. Now I was all in! I needed to know where this was going to end for Nora.

I have a soft spot in my heart for multiverses, libraries, and Henry David Thoreau. I love what if's and the idea that there are different versions of me out there living different lives having taken different paths and having made different choices. The tale of Nora Seed unfolded in expected and unexpected ways, much like any of our lives would under similar circumstances.

I devoured this book over a weekend, stopping at times to share quotes from the book. Now that the story is over, I think I might read it again someday very soon--and for that reason, it's a 5-star book for me.

I'd like to think there really is a Midnight Library for each of us.

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Breakfast For Dinner Vegetarian Edition and A #Romance Review

 

This is a meal I came up with because I wanted to hold off grocery shopping for one more day.  Slim pickings welcomed me when I opened the refrigerator.  Here is what I came up with- I sliced four potatoes into circles, seasoned them, and threw them in the oven to bake.  Then in a medium-sized iron skillet, I sauteed sliced red bell pepper, a shallot, and the last of a package of mushrooms.   

While that was cooking I minced four cloves of garlic in a large iron skillet with a tbsp of oil.  Then I added a jar of salsa and once that was simmering I cracked six eggs on top of the salsa and then I covered the eggs to cook. When they were poached I turned off the eggs. Then I mixed the potatoes with the vegetables, scooped out eggs and salsa, and topped everything with green onions. It was delicious; a nice meal you could have any time of day.  

After finishing his plate the Hubs said, "That was good, now what's for dinner?" 

I said, "That was dinner."

 He said, "I don't eat eggs for dinner."  

So I said: "You do now."

And now on to a Romance Review!

I got an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of this book from Netgalley and as always the opinions are all mine.  This was my first time reading Amalie Howard and it won't be my last!  In fact, I just found out this is actually the second book in a series.  This does make sense as when you read this book Isobel has a sister named Astrid who is deliriously happy with her beloved husband. The series is called Everleigh Sisters and I am not sure who might be written about in book three but it's a must-read series for me! 

Now on to "The Rakehell of Roth," the book is named in reference to Winter Vance, Marquess of Roth and this is a dual POV book so we do spend plenty of time in his head, but make no mistake this book is Isobel's story. 

I completely enjoyed this book, Isobel is a strong character who doesn't give up even though her Husband has built up some very high walls around his emotions and is really good at self-sabotage.  Even though this is the Regency Period this book is filled with consent and the women are not ashamed about the pleasure sex gives. 

Each chapter of the book begins with a quote from Lady Darcy which is an advice column written for women and read throughout London during the book.  To give you a taste of what those columns are like here is a quote: "Sometimes, Dearest Friend, white knights are overrated. Be the storm in the night and stage your own rescue." *   Wow right?  That's what this book delivers- empowerment and great sex!  

This book is a very satisfying read.  If you like romance, but don't read much Historical Romance, I say give this one a go, I think you'll really enjoy it. 

* The quote I used was from the Advanced Reader Copy so the text might change again before the final publication- but I wanted to share an example of Lady Darcy's advice because it was so delightful. 

#TheRakehellofRoth #NetGalley

MLK Day Giveaway Blog Hop - Enter to Win The Sound of Stars!

The MLK Giveaway hop hosted by The Caffeinated Reviewer and Mocha Girls Read is from January 18 through the 25th.  The purpose is to celebrate Black Authors and shine a light on Black Authors you may not already know. 

Each blog participating is doing their own giveaway with their own means of entry.  To keep things super simple here all you have to do to enter my giveaway is comment on this blog post and you will be entered to win either the E-version or a hardcopy of The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow (Winner picks which kind of book) You can read more about the book below: 

Description

"Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves pop music work together to save humanity? A beautiful and thrilling debut novel for fans of Marie Lu and Veronica Roth.

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world's population.

Today, seventeen-year-old Ellie Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. With humans deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, emotional expression can be grounds for execution. Music, art, and books are illegal, but Ellie still keeps a secret library.

When young Ilori commander M0Rr1S finds Ellie's library, he's duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more.

Humanity's fate rests in the hands of an alien Ellie should fear, but M0Rr1S has a potential solution--thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous journey with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while creating a story and a song of their own that just might save them both."

Good luck! Don't forget to click the link below to enter the other giveaways and read more Black Authors! 

The winner will be picked using the random.org website on 1/27. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Will You Be Having a Three Day Weekend This Week? The Sunday Post is here -

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Over the last week, no only did I finish up taking down the Christmas decorations, it was also warm enough one day that I managed to repot my plants. I am hoping that the plants I repotted enjoy their new spacious digs.  I am a newbie to keeping house plants alive, if you have any recommendations on plant foods and such please comment below! 

Tomorrow is Martin Lurther King, Jr. Day!  This year I am not working for the first time in many years. Because I love to share great books, I am participating in Mocha Girls Read and The Caffeinated Reader's  MLK Giveaway Hop. Tomorrow you can enter to win The Sound of Stars here as well as hop over to other participating blogs to find out about books from Black Authors and enter giveaways. There are so many fantastic mysteries, romance, fantasy, YA, etc, etc that have been published over the last few years and more coming out this year from Black authors!  

How are things in your neck of the woods?  Read any good books or seen any good movies lately?  Have any special plans for the Inauguration on Wednesday?  I will be trying a new meal from Blue Apron! 

Hoping you have a great week- 

Downward Death - A New Cozy Mystery and I Try A New Recipe! #COYERCHALLENGE2021

As you can see here I overcooked the crescents by about 2 minutes. 

 Kraft food sends me recipes all the time and many of them involved crescent rolls which I think I could easily eat a whole batch by myself! They are so light and flaky!  Ham and Pineapple Crescent Rolls I followed the directions on this recipe. I will say if I were to make this in the future I would dice the ham and mix all the ingredients into one spread and spread that on the crescent rolls and then roll them up. Overall it was a good way to use up leftover crushed pineapple!

I received an ARC of Downward Death by Stella Bixby, below is my review and as always the opinions are mine!

Ellie Vanderwick is a bit of a loner. She was raised in foster homes and has lived off and on in her converted VW Bus since she was 17.  Her dream is to help people to be pain-free and more flexible through yoga.  This story begins with Ellie being bequeathed a farm in Iowa courtesy of the grandmother she never knew.  So far so good right?  Ellie will be the outsider coming to a new town. We've all read that before right?

But wait! Ellie has a secret, her hair is a mood ring.  Yes, it changes color and texture based on her mood and feelings.  I thought this was a unique and fun way to add a little magic to a fairly standard cozy.  She also has a pet pig as her cozy companion!  

At the beginning of the book, there is some major corn confusion that made me say out loud-- "Is anyone going to tell her?"  I don't know if I got it because I am a Midwesterner or if it's common knowledge.  (you'll have to read to know what I am talking about, I don't want to spoil you).

Within the first three chapters of this book, I was already invested in Ellie V's life. I wanted good things for her and her Penelope, and I was ready to fight a couple people in the town on her behalf and hug others.  Stella Bixby has done a wonderful job in this book of really pulling the reader into the story.  The mysteries of Ellie's hair, who her parents were, and how will Ellie support herself were enough to keep me turning the pages, even before the murder occurred. 

I read the second half of Downward Death in one sitting,  The mystery keeps you guessing and you aren't sure which of these characters is terrible enough to be a killer. As I have said before, I prefer it when a cozy mystery killer is just an awful person motivated by...well I better not say this killer's motivation- that might help you guess who done it! 

When the book ends, some of the mystery of Ellie's background is solved, but much of who she is is left as an overarching mystery for future books.  I really enjoyed this series and can't wait to read the next book. I am hoping that Ellie's mother is alive and well and will show up in a future book!  I also hope Katie & Earl's daughter features in a future story!