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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