Review: Coveted by Shawntelle Madison

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: May 2012
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Length: 291 pages
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention

My friend, Sandy, urged me to read this book when I first picked up my copy at an RT Convention (I honestly can't remember which one!) I promised her I would...and of course it's been at least 1 year, but maybe 3 since I've had the book and haven't read it. Well..I'm digging out print books from my TBR and it was this book's time.

I admit, if I'd known this was about an OCD hoarding werewolf, I might have tried it earlier. Because honestly? That's unusual, even in the land of strange. 

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Great Escape

It's been a long time since I've posted a classic movie rec because I've been busily "binge" watching Supernatural. The quotes are because my internet sucks, so I'm binge-ing old school via DVDs. Anyway, I finally got far enough into my queue for some classics to pop back up, and I discovered The Great Escape.

I'm normally not a war movie kind of gal, so it's easy to see how I missed this one. But wowza! That cast! Even if you're not a movie buff, you've likely heard of some of them. Richard Attenborough (Hammond from Jurassic Park), Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, David McCallum (Duckie on NCIS), James Coburn, James Garner, Donald Pleasence (The psychiatrist from Halloween)...

If you're a happy movie only kind of person, this is not the movie for you. There is lots of humor, but there are several sad parts and the ending is not overly optimistic...Of course, it's based on real events, so that is completely to be expected.

My only real issue was how long the movie was. The pacing was excruciating. I'm glad I watched it, though, and if you haven't seen it, you should! 

Review: Too Wicked To Love by Debra Mullins

Format: Mass market
Pub Date: June 2011
Publisher: Avon
Length: 375 pages
FTC: Purchased used but don't remember where

I've read and enjoyed Debra Mullins in the past, but sadly, this book was just not that great. It is the worst sort of wallpaper romance: thin setting, flighty and shallow women characters, and anachronistic language throughout. Worse, though, is that I simply didn't care about the characters.

I'm a character-driven reader.  I like to get in their heads and be shown their emotions. I want to feel their anguish, uncertainty, passion, fear...I got none of that from anyone here. We're told that our hero, John Ready, is anguished about his choices, but we're never shown. Every emotion is told to us in a way that doesn't let us experience it, and that weakens what should have been a fun, memorable story. The author does a little better with the heroine, but we're still very much on the outside looking in...

This was the blandest romance I've read in years, despite the presence of two highwaymen, a surprise duke, and an "outspoken" heroine. There was no tension at all between anyone. Maybe it's because this comes at at the end of several interconnected novels, but the villain is only menacing in a mustache-twirling kind of way, and the hero isn't really all that heroic. Just a big pile of MEH for me, which is disappointing in the first historical romance I've read this year.

My Grade: D

German Chocolate Macaroons

This was a Facebook find, via Pinterest, that my husband insisted I make for Christmas. He's a hard core macaroon fan (not to be confused with macaron). These are sweet, chewy, nutty, and pretty much the perfect coconut macaroon. They aren't difficult to make, but they are very time-consuming. So time consuming that I was way too tired to haul out the real camera and take fussy photos. This is my iPhone. Sorry. :)

The source recipe is from Chef in Training.

Ingredients

5⅓ cups shredded sweetened coconut (two of the smaller size bags)
¾ cup sugar
6 Tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped pecans (Calls for toasted, but they were fine untoasted)

Chocolate topping

Melt 4 ounces sweet chocolate (The Baker's kind)
1 tablespoon shortening

Sweetened condensed milk topping

6 ounces sweetened condensed milk (I just did the whole 14 oz can because I had no use for a partial can.)