Friday, September 30, 2022
Thank you so much for donating!
Got some great book donations in my Little Free Library this week. (Thank you!) If you see something you’d like to read then come on and get it, but PLEASE don’t take more than three books at a time. Leave some for others to enjoy! If you have books to donate, leave them inside the library and send me a message, so I’ll know to look for them.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Review - The Book of Lost Names
AUTHOR: Kristin Harmel
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.
The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
REVIEW: One thing that has always impressed me about Kristin Harmel’s books is the extensive amount of research she puts into every story. In the end, I’m always learning something new, and with The Book of Lost Names I learned about the brave people who risked their lives to forge documents during World War II to help save thousands of Jews. How cool is that? I also enjoy Kristin’s books because she includes an element of faith in each story that simply does this old heart good. I loved taking a peek into heroine Eva’s life as a forger, and her courage and determination to help those in need was very endearing. I would happily recommend this story to everyone.
Monday, September 26, 2022
Recipe - Creamy Broccoli Potato Soup
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 medium)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- ½ cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound frozen broccoli florets (or 4 cups small steamed broccoli florets)
- 1 large carrot
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
DIRECTIONS: Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized chunks.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth, cashews and potatoes and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer (not a boil), and simmer about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and falling apart when poked with a fork.
Meanwhile, run the frozen broccoli under hot water to thaw it. Chop it into smaller florets as necessary. All packages are different, so make small bite-sized florets the size you’d like for a soup. You can chop the broccoli stems off and keep them in the soup as well. Place the broccoli in a bowl and mix it with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Peel and grate the carrot into long strips.
When the potatoes are tender, use a ladle to transfer everything to a blender. Add the thyme, dill, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and another ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Hold the top tight and blend everything for a minute or two until fully creamy. Pour the creamy soup back into the pot and add the broccoli and carrot. Simmer about 5 more minutes until the broccoli is cooked through. Taste and add additional salt as necessary.
(Recipe and photo courtesy of A Couple Cooks)
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Review - The Bodyguard
AUTHOR: Katherine Center
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): She's got his back. He's got her heart. They've got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she's an elite bodyguard and she's just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.
Jack Stapleton's a Hollywood heartthrob - captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.
When Jack's mom gets sick, he comes home to the family's Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn't want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah - against her will and her better judgment - finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover.
Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That's the hardest thing she's ever done.
REVIEW: I was so excited to get my hands on this book because I’m a huge fan of Katherine Center. First off, the plot really intrigued me. I mean, how often do you find a romance story with the heroine working as a bodyguard instead of the hero? I thought that was so awesome, and I immediately fell in love with Hannah and Jack. Their chemistry and back-and-forth banter made me laugh out loud numerous times. The only gripe I have is Hannah not standing up for herself when people verbally criticized her - repeatedly. As a bodyguard, I expected her to knock them flat on their ass, and I wish she would have. Despite that flaw, the story itself is wonderful. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies then you should definitely add this one to your list.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Recipe - Classic Bean Soup
Another great fall soup recipe! Enjoy!
- 1 medium yellow onion, small diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 15-ounce cans navy beans, drained (or substitute cannellini beans or pinto beans)
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
DIRECTIONS: Dice the onion, carrots and celery. Mince the garlic.
In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the onion, carrots, and celery for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, drained beans, vegetable broth, smoked paprika, cumin, fennel seeds (crushing the fennel seeds with your fingers as you add them), and kosher salt. Simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve warm: leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.
(Recipe and photo courtesy of A Couple Cooks)
Monday, September 19, 2022
Review - The Maid
AUTHOR: Nita Prose
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.
REVIEW: Loved this story! I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started this book, but I was delightfully surprised. First of all, the main character, Molly, reminded me SO much of a female version of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Their mannerisms and personalities are very similar, and you can’t help but root for them in all their quirkiness. There were some parts of the story line that I saw coming from a mile away, but I have to say the ending wasn’t what I expected. Overall, it was well written and held my interest from beginning to end. (I read it in one day!) A wonderful debut novel by Miss Prose. I look forward to reading more of her work in the near future.
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Recipe - Sriracha Shredded Chicken Tacos
- 2 thinly sliced chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp Sriracha
- 6 corn tortillas
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped peppers
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1 lime
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and top with Sriracha. Bake for 30 minutes (or until they're fully cooked).
While the chicken is baking, heat the tortillas up (optional).
Top each tortilla with chopped red cabbage and chopped peppers.
When the chicken has finished baking, shred it and place in the tortillas.
Top each taco with feta cheese and a drizzle of lime. Enjoy!
(Recipe and photo courtesy of Jar of Lemons)
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Review - The Unhoneymooners
AUTHOR: Christina Lauren
RATING: ★★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.
REVIEW: Such a great book! I’ve been in a reading slump the past couple of months, and this was the perfect book to break me out of it. I loved the jabs between Ethan and Olive, and there were MANY times I caught myself laughing out loud at their awesome banter. Truly wonderful writing! This was my first read of Christina and Lauren’s, and I look forward to reading more of their work. If you enjoy enemies to lovers story lines then you’ll definitely get a kick out of this one. Two thumbs up!
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