TBR Challenge Review: Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: July 2009
Publisher: Avon
Length: 355 pages
FTC: Picked up at RT Convention '10 or '11

This month's TBR Challenge Theme is Lovely RITA. Meaning any book that has won an RWA Rita award or been nominated for one. I had a Rita winner all picked out, weeks ago, but my house ate it. Or I left it in my husband's pick up. Something. It's disappeared. And then, after scouring my TBR, I realized that it was the ONLY book that precisely fit the theme. Oh well.

I had dozens of books written by Rita winners, though. Most either written immediately before after the author's winning book. Figures. So I ended up picking out a Loretta Chase book. I'm a late-comer to Loretta Chase, having only read Lord of Scoundrels (a Rita winner) a year or so ago. And I wanted to see how she handled what can often to be a problematic theme in Regency stories: the Harem Girl.

Trust and the Reader/Author Relationship

I got my ranty-pants on yesterday, but in an unusual turn of events, it wasn't about authors behaving badly regarding reviews or social media. It was about a publishing, writing, and marketing decision made by Sylvia Day and her publisher Berkley (a division of Penguin).

[To be as transparent as possible, I have not read the series in question. I can only gauge the content from the reader reactions I have seen online.]

In contrast to so many reader flame-ups regarding series direction, authorial choice, quality decline etc. this reader rage-fest was caused by a decision to extend a promised trilogy (the Crossfire books) to a (minimum) of 5 books—and in a less-than-transparent way that caught many readers who pre-ordered by surprise when they reached an abrupt ending in book 3. As of this morning, at least 50% of the readers who left reviews on Amazon are feeling taken advantage of, duped, misled... None of which is good for Sylvia Day's reputation.

Long Weekend In the Redwoods

Hard to believe, but our idea of taking a vacation from the woods was...to travel to a different kind of woods. We traveled across California to the Redwoods. They are spectacular, and the boys had never seen them. Nothing deflates your ego like the majesty of nature at its most gigantic.  When people unfamiliar with the diversity of California think of Cali, they think of So Cal beaches or the high desert riddled with joshua trees. But California, especially Northern California, is so much more.

This is my youngest posing by the root cluster of a downed redwood on the Avenue of the Giants.  They truly are enormous, with most tall AND  wide.

The light is very eery in the redwood forests. It has that damp, ancient quality that calls to mind Bigfoot or dinosaurs. You can find both here, as towns celebrating the Bigfoot legend proliferate and one of the Jurassic Park movies was partially filmed in Fern Canyon.

I wish I had taken a picture of the road condition sign we passed, because it was hysterical. In the Sierras, we have a short range broadcast on 1610 am for snow closures. In Humboldt county, they tune to the same station for elk reports. These stately, and LARGE, creatures know they're protected here. They dallied in the roadway for several minutes before ambling over to their rest area.

This is Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, CA. I was surprised by the size of Crescent City, because I'd always heard it was "quaint." It's significantly bigger than our town, though, and smack in the damage zone for tsunamis, having been hit twice before.

The boys were great. No one got carsick, although my youngest did complain that he had a case of terminal travel butt. California is a big, big state, but I'm glad we were able to make the trek to the ocean. Camping, alas, holds no appeal when we live in the woods.

Did you go anywhere on over Memorial Day?

Review: The Importance of Being Wicked by Victoria Alexander

Format: mass market paperback
Publisher: Kensington
Pub Date: February
Length: 358 pages
FTC: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

I used to love Victoria Alexander's books, but something has changed in the last few years. She's changed publishers, for one. And many of her books have been released in hardcover first. Not something I'm a fan of. The Importance of Being Wicked is a mass market original, though. Even if the title is ripping off the classic one The Importance of Being Earnest. (Romance community, I am BEGGING you to stop borrowing titles and tweaking them for your use. I hate hate hate it.)

The last few books she's put out just haven't worked for me. Which is sad, because the The Marriage Lesson and The Wedding Bargain are two of my favorite romance books. But I couldn't even finish this book's predecessor, What Happens At Christmas, after requesting it from Netgalley. I hate abandoning books midway through, but when I do, it's because I've lost interest.  I'd almost rather a truly bad book to one that leaves me indifferent.

Gone Fishin'

It's that time of year. Still cool enough to be outdoors, not warm enough for the bugs to eat you alive. Perfect fishing weather. And by that I mean watching the Hubs and the boys fish while I a) read or b) take pictures.

It's an unusually warm spring here. We normally are still getting snow into May. But the fish seem pretty sure that the warm weather is here to stay. They're a full month early on where they're being caught. At least according to our local newspaper. At this rate, we'll be out of wildflower season by early June. *sad face* Usually we can count on all kinds of flowers straight through until the snow hits in October. I even like the flowery weeds.

While my youngest and I sat quietly waiting for a fish to nibble on the worm-filled hook on his fishing pole, a family of geese swam by. I admit, I'm a little jealous of his sense of wonder. He got nearly as much enjoyment out of watching the geese as he did from catching two small rainbow trout.

TBR Challenge Review: The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: January 2008
Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)
Length: 373 pages
FTC: Purchased at a library booksale years and years ago
Why was it in the TBR?: One of the most recommended romances of the last 5 years.

This month's TBR Challenge theme was "More Than One (An author who has more than one book in your TBR pile)." I had several likely candidates for this one. And it took me a long time to settle on which one to read. Since I've had this particular book sitting on my nightstand for about six months, I decided to find out what all of the fuss was about.

Here We Go Again...New Adult Bandwagon Rambling

I caught a lot of flack about my post-RT rant regarding the Young Adult bandwagon back in 2011.  And now I see the same thing happening all over again with "New Adult".  I have the same reaction to "genre" trends that I do to overly-hyped books. I stay the heck away from them.

I think what upsets me about both Young Adult and New Adult is that it speaks to our laziness as  readers. These trends, which so narrowly focus on specific ages, seem to be less about helping readers find books they can relate to and more about manipulating them into shelling out more cash. And it also speaks to our increasing reliance on publishers and the book industry to tell us what to read.

Spring in the Mountains!

It's finally Spring in the mountains. Although I really shouldn't complain given the fact that two years ago, we still had feet of snow on the ground. But I'm so happy to be able to open the windows and let in that fresh breeze.

I was trying to take some pictures of the flowers in the front yard when this little bee decided he had prior claims. Would not leave me alone, so after snapping his picture, I left him to it.

I planted these anemones last fall. I was so surprised they actually grew, since I'm known in my circles as Ms. Black Thumb. I kill everything. Thank goodness for carefree bulbs!

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Stranger (1946)

I decided it was time to let (force) Oldest watch some film noir with me. After all, he's a bit of an unhappy ending junkie (not really sure how that happened since I tend to be all about HEAs myself). This is his cultural education we're talking about. His grandma has already perverted his film education with Godzilla and Mothra marathons. I've gotta do something!

Enter, a quick Google search of Film Noir classics. Every week, I'm going to torture  treat him to a new-to-him classic movie. I might even let him eat some junk food while we watch. I'm a cool mom, sometimes.

We're starting with The Stranger. Just because. I think we can mock the way nobody in this film is able to follow anyone else with any semblance of stealth. Plus I can sneak in some historical reference points, too.

You can find it on Amazon Prime for free or, if you're not a Prime member, for rent.

Here's the synopsis: The great Orson Welles directed and stars in this tense thriller about as a respected small New England town college professor who will stop at nothing to conceal his shocking and deadly past.

Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Format: Hardcover
Pub Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Ace
Length: 352 pages
Series: Mercy Thompson, Book 7
FTC: Purchased myself

I've been quite vocal about my feelings regarding the last Mercy Thompson book.  It just wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous books for a variety of reasons ranging from plot problems, atmosphere, character isolation... It's a misstep that's only so noticeable because Patricia Briggs is such a solidly good writer. Despite my lackluster feelings about River Marked, I picked up Frost Burned the day it came out.  I did enjoy Fair Game, the Alpha and Omega book set between River Marked and Frost Burned, so I was hopeful I hadn't just thrown away the price of a hardcover book.

I can say with great relief that Patricia Briggs is back in top form! I read this book in a single day after suffering through a months-long reading slump. It was the first book in a long time for me that was addictive, compelling, and just plain good. The biggest issue from River Marked that is "fixed" in this book is that the whole gang is here. RM suffered from the artificial isolation that Mercy and Adam had for most of the book. This book has the familiar cast of characters back with a vengeance. The interplay, the dialogue, the relationships are one of the reasons I read this series, and this book did not disappoint on that front.

TBR Challenge Review: Promises in the Dark by Stephanie Tyler

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: 2010
Publisher: Dell (Random House)
Length: 388
FTC: Purchased myself [during the Borders shutdown clearance :( ]

This month's TBR Challenge theme is designed to whittle away at the long list of authors who elicit the  "You haven't read that author yet?!" incredulous cries from my friends. And also my 'I need to read that author someday' guilt-ridden TBR pile. It's  new-to-you author month at the Challenge, so I decided to do some serious digging into my boxed up TBR for an author I haven't read. (Go me!)

Since I began blogging back in 2009, I've heard nothing but good things about Stephanie Tyler's books. And yet, it took the closing of Borders in 2011 to force me to buy one of her books...which promptly got boxed up when we moved my office around. Sigh. So... *drum roll*

Guess who got a jury duty summons? Yep. I'm in court today. Whoopee!

Recipe: Fresh Apple Walnut Cake

Here is a recipe that's older than I am. It's one of the three cakes my mom has made pretty regularly over the last 30+ years. (The other two are her Black Joe cake and a scrumptious carrot cake.) If you don't look at the ingredients too closely, you might be able to fool yourself into believing this cake is good for you.

It has apples. It has walnuts. And best of all, You Don't Have to Grease and Flour the Pan!!!

*Snoopy Dance*

The ungreased angel food cake pan (You should have the kind with the removable center!) allows the batter to climb.  Yes, that's a lot of vegetable oil. But this is a big cake. And, while I haven't tried it, you could probably sub in a bit of applesauce for some of it. I also use this gizmo to peel, slice and core the apples. I hate to peel anything, but this gadget cuts down the prep time tremendously!

Fresh Apple Walnut Cake

Ingredients


1 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you could probably sub in some applesauce)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups flour
3 cups fresh apples, chopped (I use Granny Smiths)
1 cup nuts, chopped

Combine oil, sugar and eggs; beat well. Add vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda; stir on low. Gradually add flour. Stir in nuts and apples.

Pour batter into an UNGREASED angel food cake/tube pan (preferably one with a removable bottom). Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on wire rack. Gently remove from pan. Store covered.

This is a moist,  yummy cake that is perfect with coffee. I admit it. I've eaten a slice for breakfast before. It's actually better if you let it cool completely, wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or foil, and let it sit overnight. But if you can't wait that long, it's good hot out of the oven, too.

TBR Challenge Review (March): Hunter's Prey by Moira Rogers

Format: ebook
Publisher: Samhain
Pub Date: March 2012
Length: 137 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

March's theme was a series you're behind in. That describes pretty much every series I read (with the exception of Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series and Ilona Andrews's Kate Daniels series).  But since last month was crazy busy with real life obligations, kiddo related craziness, and other time consuming "stuff," I'm just now getting around to posting the review.

I read the first installment in this series when it was an ARC. You can read my review here. I bought the next in the series, intending to read it immediately, but then...life happened. So, yea for this challenge, which guilts me into trimming down the pile.

While I loved the initial installment in this series, this one just didn't click with me. It could be because I had forgotten the details of the previous book, but all that means is that this really isn't a stand-alone story. And it isn't. I liked the atmosphere, the action and everything else, but the characters did not have any emotional depth for me. I wasn't invested at all in either character's story. That could be the result of my reading-slump-from-hell, but I suspect I would have liked this one more if I had gone back and refreshed my memory with Wilder's Mate.

Review: Thrill Ride by Julie Ann Walker

Format: mass market, ebook
Pub Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablance
Length: 352 pages
FTC: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

I have a soft spot for romantic suspense, but it does have its problems.  There are a lot of eyerolling conventions in the genre, and Thrill Ride seems to have used every single one of them. Headstrong heroine heading blithely into danger? Check. Nookie (or some heavy petting) while in immediate danger? Check. Series bait? Check, check, check.

Part of my problem with this book is the hilarious (and heavy-handed) use of military sayings, regional idioms, and clichéd folk sayings. This is a case where even clever language use is weakened by overuse. Too much of it yanked me out of the story on more than one occasion, sometimes even causing me to laugh out loud at the silliness of it.

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Walnut Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

I was given a huge bag of walnuts recently. HUGE. And with my baking funk for the last few months, they're still hanging around the kitchen. My husband—selfless person that he is—suggested that pumpkin walnut cupcakes or cookies would be a great use for them. And if he had to help eat them, well...sacrifices must be made.

I found these cupcakes at a cute blog called The Comfort of Cooking. The original recipe had a yield of 24 cupcakes, which I can only assume was for full-sized ones, despite the post being about minis. I ended up with nearly 60 mini cupcakes! Good thing these are destined for a school PTO meeting.  The frosting is a little on the tart, soft side. Make sure to store these refrigerated, if frosted!

Cupcakes
Makes 50-60 mini cupcakes
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten until frothy
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
 

Audio Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Title: Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Format: Audible download
Length: 8 hrs
Narrator: James Marsters*
Original Release Date (CD): 2002

A few months ago, I asked people on Twitter for audiobook recommendations for my husband. He listens to many of my romance audiobooks, but he really likes Fantasy and Urban Fantasy. The Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher came highly recommended.

Fast forward a few months.  I purchased the first in the series, Storm Front, on Audible. And while my husband has so far not been interested in listening to it, I decided to give it a try.

I was surprised by how much this book read like a detective novel. Not quite Columbo with a magic staff, but close. Told in the first person, we follow along with Harry as he attempts to solve a case as a consultant for the Chicago PD, and as he takes a side job working as a wizard-for-hire.

Review: Sweet Surrender by Cheryl Holt

Format: ebook
Length: 346 pages (per Amazon)
Pub Date: November 2012
Publisher: Self published via CreateSpace
FTC: Purchased myself when it was on sale at Amazon

I couldn't tell you if I have ever read anything by Cheryl Holt before. If I did, it didn't stick with me. And, to be honest, this one won't either.

The historical trappings were very, very thin here. And I say that as someone who likes "wallpaper" romances. I love what is sometimes referred to as light historical: that funny, light-hearted take on the Late Georgian or Victorian periods in English history. But this story lacked depth. It lacked setting. The characters were interesting, although they had some issues, too.  Basically, this is the cotton candy of novels. Fluffy, but dissolves upon consumption.

Romance is Not For Children: Why the Trendy Titles are a Bad Idea

I first noticed it with Kieran Kramer's stories. The cutesy titles that use popular children's book titles as a template for their own. Then it expanded further from "light historical" into the mainstream historical category. Now, they're everywhere.

This trend needs to stop. Right now. And here's why:

It's derivative. I understand that temptation to try something new. To get away from those throw away, easily forgotten titles. The titles are one of the main complaints from within the genre because they are so easily tossed aside. But copying another genre's most popular titles is not the way to show the world you can be original. It's really not. (This applies to copying other bestselling adult novels, too.)

It's infantilizing. We already contend with the snobs looking down on the romance genre as something less than refined. It's a genre written mostly by women for women. It's already marginalized. Do we really need to make it easier for the critics? Women are not children, but this trend seems to perpetuate that idea. By using patterns normally reserved for children's titles, we link romances with children. And that's bad because ...

It's creepy. The sexual content in most romances is one of the reasons  many stay away from the genre. I happen to like that part of romance novels. We're grown ups. We can handle those grown up words and actions. But using a children's book as a starting point for a title just feels skeevy. This isn't a genre for children. We're classier than this.

I'm not a PC crusader by any means. I don't have an agenda to get romance more mainstream respectability. I really don't care all that much. I like the man candy covers. I don't mind the alpha heroes. I don't even care about historical accuracy as long as they get the basics correct. But I really think that the publishing industry is being incredibly foolish to continue blithely along with this trend.

I'm not sure if this bothers romance readers who don't have this familiarity with children's books, but I'm positive it sends a negative message to those who do. And this romance reader is not buying another book, even by a favorite author, that follows this titling trend.

TBR Challenge Review: Fragile by Shiloh Walker

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: February 2009
Publisher: Berkley
Length:346 pages
FTC: Traded through Paperback Swap
Why it was in the TBR: numerous positive recommendations on Twitter

I am a format snob. I rarely ever buy something in trade paperback format.  So it takes a barrage of recommendations to get me to acquire a trade paperback to read. And back in early 2010, this series by Shiloh Walker (Broken, Book 2) was absolutely everywhere on Twitter and the romance blog circuit. Still, cautious little me just let it sit in my Paperback Swap request backlog until one was available. It took over a year. (It's now available in mass market paperback.)

For those looking for solid romantic suspense without dimwitted heroines, paranormal woo woo or inappropriate shacking up, this is for you. Fragile is grounded in the less pretty side of real life—in the ugly truths of child molestation, neglect, and emotional abuse.  Far more of a suspense novel than a romance, the focus shifts away from the central couple quite frequently. Something I know can annoy many hardcore romance readers, but didn't bother me too much.

DNF Review: Vampire Mine by Kerrelyn Sparks

Format: Mass Market
Pub Date: April 2011
Publisher: Avon
FTC: Received at RT 11

 I have really enjoyed this series in the past. There's quite a bit of humor, the characters are well done, and the writing is usually quite good. None of that is really missing from Vampire Mine, but this book just didn't work for me at all.

I probably should have realized going in that the angel romance wasn't going to work for me. I've read angel romances that have worked, but every one of those features angels as supernatural beings rather than spiritual ones. Not so here. In this book, Marielle the angel is every bit the angel of the Christian faith.

For someone who is not in the least bit religious—me— this book was way too full of religion and faith. And it might offend those on the opposite end of the spectrum, too, with the transformation of Marielle from a heavenly to an earthly creature.  For me, the religious references were way too prevalent, burying the romance beneath page after page of "heavenly host" information. I made it about halfway through before giving up.

My Grade: DNF

Review: A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: November 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks
FTC: ARC courtesy of the publisher

I am not a chick lit fan. I didn't like Bridget Jones or any of the other blockbusters of the genre. I'm just not a fan of stories mainly about self discovery. Especially if those stories feature someone painfully awkward, silly  or weak--which has been the norm for most of the chick lit books I've read.

There is, admittedly, some overlap between romance and chick lit. Women's fiction and chick lit often features a love story, and romance often has the heroine experience an emotional arc. But the focus is usually skewed in one direction. Megan Mulry's novel is one of the rare few to balance the expectations of both genres successfully. It works as both chick lit and romance. As a love story and a story about discovering inner strength.

2013 Newbery and Caldecott Medal Winners

I don't normally blog about children's books, but as a mom and a former bookseller, this bit of news seemed worth sharing.

The Newbery and Caldecott winners were announced yesterday. For those who aren't familiar with these two highly prestigious awards, here's the quick and dirty... Newbery (one R!) is for contributions to children's literature in books designed for about grade 3-6th. They're nearly always sad (These are the books that teachers love to assign). The Caldecott Medal is for picture books, and usually the illustrations are the big deal there.

I haven't read either one of this year's winners, but I do have the Newbery Medal winner on its way from Amazon.

Newbery Medal
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Caldecott Medal
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

The ALA's website (linked above) also have lists of the previous winners for both awards as well as the Honor books (runners up).

Review: Shades of Gray by Maya Banks

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Length: 282 pages (includes an additional 100 or so pages of novella)
Pub Date: January 2013
Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)
FTC: Purchased myself

Maya Banks writes in just about every genre out there, but her KGI romantic suspense series is my favorite. Or it was until she left the straight suspense and ventured in the land of woo-woo with the last two books in the series. Don't get me wrong, I like woo-woo. I still read paranormal romance. But I intensely dislike when a series starts out as one thing and morphs into another. Thankfully, the series is back on track with Shades of Gray.

This is the story I've been waiting for. PJ, a trained sniper, and Cole have been dancing around each other for several books now. And this book dives right in with a relationship beginning in the very first few chapters.  The rest of the book isn't so much about them, as dealing with the aftermath of an op gone horribly wrong. And that's where I have some issues with the book.

[Spoilers Ahead]

Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating...

It's still feeling like Antarctica here in the mountains, but today actually warmed up past freezing. Which of course meant the wildlife is out enjoying the sun, too.

Today's "wildlife" is the very domesticated squirrel whose stash of nuts is across the street in the middle of a tree.

He was very busily munching away, minding his own business.

Until I crept across the street to take his picture. Note to self, I need a telephoto lens.

TBR Challenge Review: At Last by Jacquie D'Alessandro

Format: ebook
Pub Date: April 2, 2011
Publisher: Self published
Length: 59 pages (per Amazon)
Why was it in the TBR? Author is an auto-buy

This month's TBR Challenge theme is  We Love Short Stories! Anything from category romance to novella to short story qualifies. Which makes it a perfect theme for my digital TBR.

I'm a big fan of Jacquie D'Alessandro. Especially of her historical novels. Her books are always filled with interesting characters and well crafted prose. While I liked her last book, a contemporary romance, I missed her historical books. Which is why I picked up this self-published novella as soon as I spotted it on Amazon.

 This is one of those books that is enjoyable while you're reading it, but doesn't hold up to a lot of scrutiny once you've finished. The plot is a well-worn one of two strangers hooking up for an affair, lying about their identities, then realizing their feelings are much deeper than they anticipated.

Happy New Year!

The holidays have thrown my usual schedule so off that I'm still trying to find time to read and blog. But I am enjoying our seasonable weather right now. Normally, December and January are chilly and dry, with most of our snow coming in early March. This year, we had a nice storm for Christmas, then a cold spell that actually kept snow on the ground for over two weeks now.

With a fresh dusting of snow last night, I took a drive with my husband around the area to play with the camera.

 Is it just me, or does that piece of ice look like a plucked chicken?

 This one I took from the car, because my fingers were frozen.

 Trains still run through our area, although nearly all of the passenger traffic has moved to run over Donner.

This was Hubs's favorite tree on our mini road trip.

So what has the new year been like for you?

Recipe: Tri-Cornered Cream Cheese Cookies with Jam Filling

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I have approximately a billion cookie cookbooks. This recipe is a variation found in the September 1994 Cookies Galore Pillsbury magazine. These are far more fussy than most of my usual cookies, since I'm more of a  drop cookie/bar cookie fan. But for Christmas, I make these for my husband who adores them. The dough can also be used for a sugar cookie dough that you can cut with cookie cutters. Baking times should be adjusted based on the size of the cookies.

Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 (3oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
jam in various flavors: I use blackberry, seedless raspberry, and apricot
powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir in flour and salt; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours for easier handling. I refrigerate mine overnight. I also put any scraps BACK in the fridge before re-rolling, because this dough gets soft really quickly.

Heat oven to 375F. On lightly floured surface, roll half of dough at a time to 1/8" thickness; refrigerate remaining dough. Cut into 2 1/2" circles with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased sheets. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam onto center of each round. Shape into triangles, folding 3 sides in without covering jam; pinch corners to seal.


Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.


To make cutouts, follow the recipe above, omitting the jam and powdered sugar.  Cut with floured cutters. Bake similar sized cookies together, carefully watching the time. They tend to over bake quickly.  If your cookies have detailed designs, you might consider chilling the cutouts before baking.

Review: Good Earl Hunting by Suzanne Enoch

Format: ebook
Pub Date: November 6, 2012
Size: 211KB
FTC: Purchased myself

A group of well known authors recently launched a site for short stories called Lunch Hour Love Stories. It features stories that are quick and mostly inexpensive,  all in one easy-to-find location. My first purchase was a short story by Suzanne Enoch called Good Earl Hunting.

I'm a long time fan of Ms. Enoch's, so it's no surprise that I bought this on name alone. She's an expert at characterization, which really helps in this shorter format. And it helps that this is one of my favorite themes in all of romance: the overlooked, less beautiful sister.

My only complaints are all largely a result of the short format. While the two main characters are lively and believable, everyone else is a bit thinly sketched. They are there, but don't do very much, and we never really get more than a fleeting description. The romance also happens extremely quickly here.  So quickly, it strains the believability for me just a little. This story would probably have worked better as a novella, with at least another 10-15 pages added on for the romance.

Overall, it's a cute, quick read, with some very memorable moments.

My Grade: B-

The Blurb:

Geoffrey Kerick, the Earl of Vashton, has had marriage-minded ladies flung at him for the past two years—since he inherited his brother’s title and wealth—which is much less amusing than when they were simply flinging themselves into his bed for fun.

However, this particular invitation for a country house party in Devonshire he accepts with alacrity; because this time someone has caught his eye.

Theodora Meacham is resigned to being second; a second daughter, second in beauty, and a distant second in charm. Knowing that the irritating Lord Vashton is coming to Beldath Hall to woo her sister, Theo is, for once, quite happy to remain detached from the silliness. But Lord Vashton isn't precisely the boor she expects. Even more surprising, he seems determined to ignore her sister…in favor of her!

Can two people who are perfectly ill-suited find that two wrongs do make a right?

Hump Day Classic Movie: His Girl Friday

It's pouring rain outside today and the weather experts say it will be raining all week. Time to break out the classics!

His Girl Friday is one of the quintessential romantic screwball comedies. It's famous for its frenetic, witty banter, and rightly so. I've probably watched this movie twenty times, and I catch something new every viewing. You'll need to crank up the volume to hear some of the dialogue.

Something I really love about this movie is how modern it is, even with the telephones and typewriters. It was made in 1940, adapted from a play, but the characters are so edgy. The two main characters are ex-spouses and in the newspaper business.  Hildy is going to be remarried, and Walter, confronted with the permanent loss of a wife he still cares for, sabotages her plans by using her love of the news business against her.

The dialogue is hilarious:

Hildy: "Walter, you're wonderful in a loathesome kind of way"

Walter: "There's been a lamp burning in the window for ya, honey... here."
Hildy: "Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago. "

They remade this movie with Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner, and Christopher Reeve as Switching Channels in 1988, and it was nowhere near as good.

If you're a Prime member, His Girl Friday is free to watch via streaming.

Our Black Friday Tradition

Our family pretty much ignores the Black Friday shopping madness. And the fact that it seems to have overtaken the Thanksgiving holiday makes us extra cranky.  So instead of going shopping, we make a day trip to visit a museum. It's lovely, because most people are out shopping, and we tend to have the places almost completely to ourselves.

Last year, we visited the National Automobile Museum. This year, we visited the Nevada State Museum and the Nevada Railroad Museum.

For a small museum, the firearms exhibit isn't too shabby. Here is a blunderbuss, something that seems to come up quite a bit in historical romance.

The engraving on some of the guns was pretty spectacular.

 I just thought these keys were cool.

The boys had fun at the railroad museum, especially when they got to run a hand car up the rails.  The Carson City museum has several gorgeous steam engines, including the silver screen favorite, the Inyo.

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday, and maybe even got some reading done!

TBR Challenge Review: A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl

Format: Mass Market
Pub Date: August 2010
Publisher: Zebra (Kensington)
Length: 329 pages
FTC: Purchased at RT11 book signing

This month's TBR Challenge theme was, "All About The Hype (a book that created such chatter that it was inescapable)." Normally, that comes in the form of squeeing fangirls, glowing reviews from every single person on Twitter, and the non-stop appearances on various review blogs. My choice is a bit different, as it was the negative attention that made this book omnipresent for a few weeks back in 2010.

There was a lot of hoopla surrounding A Little Bit Wild when it first came out. Those who loved it, and those who...didn't.   If you follow that link, you'll see accusations of the heroine possessing "raging horniness" and being "unapologetically lusty".  Which promptly called forth the backlash against the standard historical models and resulted in a huge internet kerfuffle.  I wanted to find out what the fuss was about and make up my own mind...but of course, was distracted by some newer, shinier book and this book was promptly relegated to my embarrassing TBR.

Victoria Dahl writes unconventional heroines who are, for the most part, not hung up on their sexuality. And that can cause some push back from readers who expect their historical heroines to be either a) virgins or b) widows. But anyone remotely familiar with Victoria Dahl knows that her heroines are naughty, so I went into this with eyes wide open.

Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Sauce

This is an oldie, but goodie. I really love the way the orange mellows the cranberry flavor. My family won't use any other recipe but this one. And forget about that canned stuff. This is super easy to make and tastes great on leftover T-day sandwiches, too. This one is from Pillsbury, although you can find variations just about everywhere. (Pardon last year's photo. I hope to have a more appealing one after this year's holiday!)




1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice or orange flavored liqueur

In nonreactive 4-qt saucepan, mix cranberries, sugar, orange peel, water and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until juices start to flow and sugar is dissolved.

Increase heat to medium; simmer 6 to 8 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop. Stir in liqueur. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until completely cooled.

Hump Day Movie: Batman (1989)

While listening to a new-ish song by Prince the other day, we were trying to explain to my eldest son how influential Prince was (and is) as a musician and songwriter. And talking about that eventually led to the whackadoodle soundtrack he made for the 1989 version of Batman. A movie, we discovered, we no longer owned since donating our VHS collection to charity...to which my darling child replied, " a VH--what?"

*Cue sadness and a feeling of being old*

Anyway, despite Heath Ledger's creepy performance as the Joker in the Dark Night, Jack Nicholson's performance is still a favorite with our family. It's been awhile since we've watched it (clearly) so I'm curious to see how it holds up after 23 years.

Yes, I did the math. It's really been that long. *more sadness*