jbarrett5: 2013

109 books read this month
yearly stats in the next post

By Proxy, Heart of Montana Series by Katy Regency
First I fell in love with her knitted hat and his zippered fair isle sweater. I had read another Christmas story from the author and loved it.
I had never heard of a proxy marriage so it was interesting to read about it and look up other facts online. Love learning new things.
Sam is there in Montana and will be there longer than planned due to his late arrival and the judges early leave. Jenna is there to be the proxy for her friend Ingrid.
I like how each character gets their own chapter to describe things as they see it, after the initial shock has set in.
They agree to start over as they both were on the wrong foot from the beginning. He's left at the B&B and she heads home. He takes a walk outside and the territory is familiar to him. Love the part about the outside and the northern lights and all the detail of the nature.
Once in her familiar town and Yellowstone settings she begins to relax but her brothers hear she and Sam had dinner at a local place and they hound her the next day. All she can think about is Sam and she looks him up online and it seems as if he's got a girl back home-then why is he ogling her?
Love the loop around the area and the nature seen. They get the proxy marriage done and split to go their own ways.
They each suffer and realize in time what has happened and how to fix it..was going to suggest that the author continue the series with each of Jen's brothers getting a book and viola, the next is due out any day!
There was so much I loved about this as described above, so glad I was able to read it!
I received this book from the author in a contest she ran.

Crochet Dynamite: Gifts For Your Besties by Jaime Eads Maraia
Love exploring new things to make for the charities I knit and crochet for.
For the new crocheter there are many links to click on to get to the resources online for help.
Easy bags to make and they even show you with pictures how to sew the seams together and put zippers in, etc.
Pictures for all the items but they are not very bright. Also hats in various sizes.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Simple Delicious Recipe Cook Book With 3 Main Ingredients Chocolate Cakes Cookies Pops and More.... (Cooking With Jane)
Recipes from down under. quite unique. Not sure why they say there are 3 main ingredients because I can count up to 20 on some recipes.
Very fancy looking cake pops and fruit cups.
Eclairs look good, most of the food is very fancy looking for a dinner party to impress others. Very colorful pictures but no nutritional information.
Specialty ingredients you can buy from Amazon links that are provided. Also a basic dough recipe which you can use in many of the recipes is included at the end.

Christmas Cookies: Old Fashion, Home Made Christmas Cookie Recipes (Simply Delicious Cookbooks)
Very happy that this book as the nutritional information for one cookie of the recipe you want to make.
Good old fashioned down home cooking from scratch. I also start early in the year so by the first week of December my cookies are in the mail.
No pictures.
Other recipe books by the author are highlighed at the end.

Christmas on the Farm: A Rhyming Picture Book About Christmas by Beau Blackwell
Illustrated very colorful children's book showing what goes on at the farm at Christmas.
What I really liked is not only the rhyming sentences but the variety of animals and how they share.
Highlighted at the end are other works by the author.

I am good at lots of things by Jessica Arnold
Illustrated colorful children's book about Alex and she can't seem to win anything.
All of her friends and sister win a contest but not her. Her mom takes her shopping and the lady says she's lucky to have curly hair to wear the new bows in.
Alex never thought of that! She notices others who are in a wheelchair and that really gets her to thinking just what she is good at.
The author's other works are highlighted at the end of the book.

100 Scrumptious Christmas Desserts (Scrumptious Cookies, Cupcakes, Pies and Brownies) by Sara Winlet
Love the sound of this book-always look for new recipes to try out.
Recipes from scratch that sound easy and quick to make. No nutritional information nor pictures of the finished products.
Blueberry lemon sounds like a good one to try-different flavors combined.
Chicken vegetable pie also sounds like a keeper.

Christmas Recipes from My Table To Yours
Love cover of this book as I do give more gifts for the holiday that are from my table. Love experimenting also.
Although there is no nutritional information just the list of ingredients of some foods you can tell they would fit well into your meal plan.
I found the recipes to be easy and quick to make and can't wait to try a few of these. My favorites=too many to list here.
Loved that EVERY recipe has a picture.

Christmas Dogs - A Christmas Picture Book For Kids
Very colorful picture book showing dogs with various festive holiday and Christmas decorations.
The pictures with the dogs in them are very festive and adorable. Frames outlining each page appear to be scrapbooking and I know how tedious and patient one has to be to achieve the layout.

Christmas Cats - A Christmas Picture Book For Kids
Very colorful picture book showing cats in various positions with and around holiday decorations.
The pictures with the cats in them are very festive and adorable.
There are 57 pages worth.

Cornish Hedge Patchwork Quilt Design: Use Up your Fabric Scraps!
Another hobby of mine is quilting so always glancing through magazines and books to find just another project to start.
Very detailed and some drawings of her quilt about 'til the cows come home' which gives you an idea of what she is accomplishing.
Misty morning is another example with no instructions but there is an offer of a free book at the end.
Colors are a bit bland for me but I like how it's pieced together and explanation of how to construct it.

The Southern Pie Book by Martha Stone
Always enjoy looking through cookbooks to get more ideas if not new recipes.
Some of the pies you use a prepared crust-from the store so the pies are very quick and easy to make-getting the ingredients assembled.
I noticed the book does not have a picture for the pies nor does it list nutritional information. The pies are Southern style and very rich (as in butter and flavor).
Loved hearing of the combinations of the flavors to try. Particularly like the chocolate ones but I'd be the only one eating the whole thing.
Free bonus cookbooks are also available.

Tongue Twisters for Kids by Riley Weber
Always on the lookout for fun things to teach kids.
Book starts out with many different pages of just 3 words. If you were to say them fast it might not sound right.
Then it moves onto more words together. Each page also has numbers and basic drawings/colorings.
25 is my favorite, about Sally at the seashore. Never knew there was a second verse.
Jokes at the end are hilarious, so cute. Enjoyed reading through this, brought many smiles and laughs to me.
Other books by the author are shown at the back of the book.

Cookbook: 101 Gluten Free Vegan Italian Recipes ( Pizzas, Pastas, Bread & Desserts) (Quick & Easy Vegan Recipes) by Daniel Nadav
Wanted to check out this book to find out what it's all about.
Illustrated very colorful cookbook. There is also a gift from the author for just getting this book.
As long as you do have the ingredients the directions look very straight forward and easy, quick and very nutritious.
Even desserts, lasagnas, pizza and other dishes are included. Although we are not on a gluten free diet this book gives me ideas of what foods to combine to get a different flavor.
The free gift is desserts and with ingredients I do have on my shelf. can't wait to get started on a recipe-or two!

The Murky Shadow and the Special Gift
Few colorful illustrations, children's book about a boy who is no longer afraid of the shadow and monsters that hide under his bed.
The author has also made a gift available to you in helping your child not be afraid also. Explains why the child was scared.
Interesting to learn what Tommy had done to get rid of the murky shadow.
Love what the parents guide Tommy to do on his own to get over his fears. Excerpts from the other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
Love gift IN the book that you can also get.

#SweetRomance SPECIAL DELIVERY now on #Kindle http://tinyurl.com/kwu2sjh + #FREE at SW http://tinyurl.com/kbyudre #HappyNewYear from @ginnybaird!

A Special Delivery by Ginny Baird
Amanda is due any day now. She teaches at the preschool because she just loves kids so much.
She's near a military base as her husband is off flying on a mission-Luke. She has a birthing coach and fears she will deliver very soon.
It's just about Valentine's day and they each write a note to put in the holiday section of the new baby book they have.
She remembers when they first met. The book also follows Luke's story while he's thinking of the birth and he's so far from home.
His boss wants a word with him and before he knows it he's in a neighbor's van on his way home earlier than expected but with the snow and ice they find themselves facing traffic on the wrong side of the road.
...Amanda is now having pains and there is a problem of heavy snow and ice which she hadn't expected and she' can't reach her coach.
Cute story and short but with all the aspects of a larger size book - the author can express herself in fewer words than others where it takes 3x the words.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Somebody to Love by Lori Wilde
Walter McCleary has gotten his book about the town of Cupid, TX on the bestseller list and now there is talk of making a movie.
Zoey and her sister Natalie were raised by other relatives in town when their parents had died. Now that Zoey is 24 the woman talk of everything she's ever done growing up and just know that taking care of a cat is something she will also lose interest in.
Her best friend Jericho part Indian has just broken up with his latest and they are best of friends again but is there more romance there that they don't see yet?
Love the chatter of the town and the letter writing to Cupid and how the volunteers handle the letters.
Jericho Chance is back in town applying for a position to do with archeology. Zoey has also studied that and will have to go to a larger school to continue her studies...
He does get the job to lead the field study but there are stipulations.
Walter was going to let her have the money from her trust for the field study, if she didn't stick with it he'd give all her money to charity.
Now that they have kissed will they be able to live with the stipulations his job puts on them...
Loved learning all about the career/work in this one - so detailed.
Loved all the mystery and action on the actual dig and the findings, how meticulous they are in cleaning of the artifacts.
Excerpt from another book by the author is at the end.
I received this book from the publisher via the author in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hildenbrand
Have read the author's other works and love her style, always a good read. This one is also one of those.
The family will be gathering for the wedding on the island. I found so much of this book to be truly funny as to the things that happen.
With that many people from the same family together there is bound to be some mishaps. Jenna's mother had left a note because she had died and wanted the perfect day for her daughter. She wrote down what tie to wear and every little detail. Now to follow it to the letter.
Each chapter begins with a page from the notebook that Jenna's mother Beth, had written-notes on the wedding. Loved hearing of the different relatives relationships with one another, comparing them to my own.
Everything is planned as time goes on everything seems to go wrong. Love laughing and crying with it all.. Loved all the old music that I grew up on.
Lots of characters but it's easy to keep track of who is who. Touching moments of the past life's.
I received this book from Libbio via the author in exchange for my honest review.

Merry Humbug Christmas by Sandra D. Bricker
This book is actually two stories about the holidays, Joss and Reese are best of friends also, glad each got their own story.
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Once Upon a Jingle Bell
Love holiday tales and this is going to be a good one. Each chapter starts out with 'on the .. day of Christmas Murphy's Law gave to me..'
Merry Christmas Snow was born on Christmas day but when she becomes 26 she gets a name change to Jocelyn Merry Snow. Her bff is named Reese after a candy bar and for the past 5 Christmas' they have spent the time together away from the holiday hoopla. This year Reese is engaged and so Joss will go on a bah humbug cruise by herself to the shores of Mexico.
She and Ryan and Charlotte run the Image Public Relations. together. Nothing goes right when she gets to the cruise line-they cancelled the first trip but booked her on the second ship-much bigger and it's Christmas themed. Without thinking she checked in and is depressed and orders room service. Connie who she had met earlier takes her under her wing and they go to have dinner decked out in Christmas garb.
She meets many on the trip and one family in particular=their company is trying to get their hotel and spa as clients.
Joss also hooks up with Patrick-he's so caring to watch over his mother. Love the events they have planned on the ship-they do sound fun, even for one who's anti-Christmas. They do spend a bit of time together on land doing exciting things together and they are able to talk to one another and discover they live really close to one another in CA.
The client overhears Joss talking and misunderstands what she is saying...it could make them go elsewhere to hire a different company..
The book follows a few others on the ship and it's very easy to keep them straight.
Misunderstandings has them all divided and you wonder if they will ever meet again.

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It Came Upon A Midnight Deer is also included.
This book concentrates on Reese and she was name after a Reese peanut butter cup. Her parents do not eat meat but her and Herscel have and they have finally told their parents after 20 years...
Reese is also Joss friend from the previous book.
This story also has the chapters with the 12 days of Christmas according to Murphy's law...
Damian had proposed to her and that's why she didn't go on the anti-Christmas cruise with Joss.
They are on their way to the family cabin at Sugarloaf Mountain and it's snowing and she's drilling him about the family members, names, ages, etc.
Problem is there are many obstacles keeping them from meeting the family...when they finally arrived she takes in the scene of the home-every room she ventures into is described in detail and you can just picture it all. She feels her life as a doctor is not going to be good enough for his family...
She does not feel like she fits in with any of the family members and she keeps apologizing to the deer...things just are not going as planned....anything that can go wrong does...
Lots of family members to keep track of and it's a bit confusing at times keeping them all straight. Love the scenes and descriptive details, so pretty of a picture it paints in ones mind.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review

Mitchell Parker's Anniversary Gift by Jane Oldaker
Mitchell and his wife Eileeen 40th wedding anniversary.
Nothing is going quite as he had planned. They always got the same table at the same place and then spent the night at the hotel in luxury.
He also noticed a friends' daughter there Molly Malone with a male companion and was glad to see her taste had improved. It had worried Patrick her father and he was a great friend to Mitchell.
It made him realize that after 40 years and their many discoveries together with Eileen it was themselves just first dating as well.
Mitchell realizes with the storm that there is no way Molly would be leaving to go home because he knew where she lived and it's a long way from the hotel. He has a gift for the young couple and makes plans...
Other samples of the author are also included at the back.

I received this book from Library Thing via the author in exchange for my honest review.

A Day at the office or The Bastard by Jane Oldaker
Her boss and the things he does really irk her. She tries to stay calm, rid the pressure but she finds more things as her day goes on...
No matter how bad things get she looks forward to returning home to her husband who cooks for her even when it's her day to cook the meal...
Surprise ending for sure!
Other excerpts from the author's other works are included at the end.
I received this book from Library Thing via the author in exchange for my honest review

Christmas Bliss by Mary kay Andrews
The wedding is planned for Christmas eve. Eloise (wezzie) is having her mother, Marion Foley help her with the dress. redoing one that was her grandmothers.
Daniel works for a restaurant. he's a guest chef, design a menu and run the kitchen for a month at a time. Wezzie had no idea the owner of the place was a female and the photo she sees on the bulletin board throws her off guard.
Wezzie travels around town to set up the food, flowers, the event and she thinks there will be surprises on the day of the wedding.
It was only to be a small family gathering but the others make it sound like a major extravaganza. Love the yard and estate sales she attends and her concept of buy and sell with a profit.
in alternating chapters Beebe has her own story-she is 8 months pregnant, runs a B&B and an old woman is in town about her divorce from Richard who then went to jail 6 years earlier.
Love her nautical Christmas tree. She confides in Weezie when she notices her swollen ankles.
Love hearing of their drama and how Beebe talks Weezie into going to NY to see what's going on.
Loved all the descriptive travel details around the holidays and all the others involved in the wedding and birth.
Weezie and Daniel have a huge decision to make when Carlita asks him to return to NY to run her restaurant.

Summer Light by Luanne Rice
This novel is about May who is a wedding planner with others and their business is in a barn in CT. Her daughter Cali is a clairvoyant and she hears from things that are hurt: animals, angels in a different time.
On a plane she got a vision of a little girl asking her to help her father-the hockey player. When the plane crash lands he is able to help May and Cali and their relationship develops. Each opens up to one another telling of their secrets-not all of them.
As time goes on they spend more time with martin at his hockey games where we learn more about the sport and at different places they travel to. May thinks he must talk to his father who's in prison and forgive him for what he did.
Each of them have hurts and secrets that they must over time learn to share with others to help them heal.
Love the travel and romance and learning new things. Felt right at home with all the technical eye talk as I also am blind.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

30 Healthy Desserts You Can Eat Every Day By Nathalie Lussier
Liked what the author has to offer. The beginning chapter explains about the sweeteners that are alternates to what you are used to having.
As there is no nutritional information listed with each recipe the ingredients that goes into each one seems to be nutritious.
Very colorful pictures with every recipe. Carrot cake would be my favorite to try. Especially loved the story at the end and why the author choose her eating life style!

Circle of Friends Cookbook One-Pot Dinners by Gooseberry Patch
Cookbook where anybody can submit their family favorite recipe-they make it and put it in the next release of the cookbooks they produce.
Always love to glance through them and can usually pick out a dish or two that will work for our family meals.
Loved the shrimp pasta but knowing how much cholesterol is in shrimp we'll be avoiding it but we could make it with chicken or turkey instead.
Country ham and potato pie sounds good. Wish there were pictures to go with the recipes.
With our meal plan we'd not be able to have much of the food in this as they are using cheese, gravies, hamburger that is not lean, etc.

A Lonely Dog on Christmas by Patrick Yearly
This book is from the viewpoint of a dog and how stressed out everybody gets over Christmas.
Starting out with the event of Halloween and then Thanksgiving..
The dog lays out the household and then moves on to how they decorate for the holidays.
He watches as some open their gifts and are astonished when they discover what it is they got-nothing like they expected.
The ages in the family range from an infant to the older adults and more are due to arrive after church. Sounds like grand central station-at our house in the past years.
Beckham the dog despite all the chaos recalls when the girl brought him home to live with them and it's once again a merry Christmas.

Circle of Friends Cookbook Savory Pie Recipes by Gooseberry Patch
As their other cookbooks anybody can submit a family favorite recipe, they make it and put it into their next release of the cookbooks they produce.
From previous books they are not very healthy but you might be able to substitute some things to make them nutritious for everyday meals.
No pictures to go with the recipes. Didn't find one recipe we could eat being on a very low salt, sugar, fat diet. Too many cream of ... soups or cheese is the meals.

ADHD Children: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment by Debra Helton
Wanted to read this book to help out my grandson with his problems. They are dealing with routine in class now and at home so it will be a process to understand it all.
The reason why I like this book is because it's simple and in basic English words it answers the basic : who, what, when, where, why and how of the disease. Patience is key. many helpful suggestions.
Hope with everything the parents, educators and doctors are doing will help him in the long run.
B00D8FNHI6

Her Mistletoe Protector by Laura Scott
Rachel Simon is CEO of the company and they do produce drugs. The latest is one for diabetes and after a few years things turn up that put the company in turmoil.
She had started to get threatening letters and just before her son Joey was kidnapped she had called on the detective that had helped previously with her ex husband's case. Problem was he wasn't there when the accident happened.
The kidnappers demand a millions and it's up to her to get it fast and she learns more things. Many leads arise that have her turning towards the Mafia that want her son but others that are helping say it's someone in her company.
Very action packed and a light romance and danger. Love how Nick is able to help protect her as they both have feelings for one another. Through the whole book there is a lot of faith and hope and praying to God along with talk of always talking to him.
Loved learning of the woods and deer information that is brought up.
I won this book in a facebook holiday bash and giveaway from the author.

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
Love that this book is the story of a baker. Elsa is the baker.
Present day: Reba is a journalist and wants to write a story about Elsa and her journey from Germany to the US and her bakery career.
Story also goes back in time, alternating chapters to when Elsa was a teen.
Such a hard life during the war. Appreciated what the bakery and items baked can do to calm one
Loved how the journalist got the other story as well. Surprise at the ending, so precious and treasured
Loved learning new things, romance and the travel involved.

Merry Christmas Romance By Helen Scott Taylor
Won Merry Christmas Romance by Helen Scott Taylor in a book giveaway.
There are many books included in this one novel. One story is free.
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A Family for Christmas By Helen Scott Taylor
Eve Scott was on her way to a meeting but the little lamb made her brake and the car landed in the ditch. She called to cancel the meeting due to bad weather and got a call into roadside assistance but they coudln't guarantee when they'd get a man out there.
She's in a remote country setting away from main roads but a tractor does come to her rescue-Tom Millington and she's found his lamb. She spends the night at his farm along with his young daughter Polly and the housekeeper. The next day they venture out and discover the car is totaled.
Tom and Polly go about their Christmas chores: getting the tree in the house and decorating it while Eve attends to her business via her phone as the laptop is broken. Polly loves that Eve is there and the female attention as her mother had walked out on them many years ago.
Even though the setting is in the English countryside and the dialect and phrases are English it's easy to follow along. Also with just the three characters it's a very easy going book to read.
Love that Eve wants to pitch in and help around the house with making a meal. Eve grows an attachment to them and they to her but she must leave to get back to her job..
When she's offered a new position she has to think what really is important in her life.
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A Christmas Family Wish By Helen Scott Taylor
Rachel Carne just rescued her son Toby when the house collapsed into his bedroom. She could only think to call her father during the hurricane and he would summon Ian Harper as he'd know what to do..
She's got scrapes and bruises from climbing into Toby's room to rescue him and Ian has come to their rescue with a place to stay as the insurance won't even get to look at her house til after the holidays.
They will stay at his house til then and she must cancel work as an airline stewardess. An airline pilot sent in complaints about her-Gregory Barrett (my real life husbands name) about her and she had only been trying to set up visitation with her ex husband.
Ian runs his own business-fixing houses and he will get to hers til the insurance man stops by. He not only gives her a job at his office but gets her some supplies so she can continue her drawing-her husband had made her stop college and drawing..
Love how he takes care of her needs and she does things in her own way to care for all of them. Complications of his ex wife and their daughter together, Ella and Ian thinks the girl is being mistreated start to complicate Rachel and Ian getting to know one another again...
Love nature and how they use it for Christmas decorations..
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The Army Doctor's Christmas Baby
Kelly Grace had agreed to her friends' Major Cameron Knight request-to sing a happy birthday greeting at the pub.
She was dressed in a swimsuit (it's winter) along with bunny ears and covered in a fur coat.
Colonel Sean Fabian had designed battlefield protocols for treating serious trauma cases and was world known as the best plastic surgeon.
She is an army medic and due to fly to Somalia after the holidays to help less fortunate children.
They become acquainted more at the party and after as he drives her back to the base. He's got twin girls just one year old.
She's agreed to take the job of nanny for 3 weeks til she leaves, by staying at his house and watching the girls rather than him leaving them in day care.
Liked hearing of the doctors work and how it can help others.
The story not only follows Kelly and Sean but Cameron and Olivia's child's birth.
They are able to share their secrets with one another and doubts that their relationship will continue.
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A Christmas Crush
Penny has a shop and is in love with Richard. Even when her sister Izzy married him but then she cheated on him and left.
Penny is confused about why he is in her shop with Madelaine but asking her to spend the day with them.
She calls to thank him for the CD and at the end tells him something and ends the call. After midnight she shows up at her door asking her to clarify what he thought he heard her say.
They both start each taking a turn so you hear both sides together.
So many misunderstandings over the years...
Other works from the author are highlighted at the end.
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What I loved about the whole collection was the locale-I'm not familiar with the English countryside so it was interesting to read about as there are very many details throughout the books.
Also loved the Christmas traditions, some we do here in the USA, others I had not known of. Even the games the children play was a bit different but I can follow along.
Love the light romance and learning new things-words that used in England that made me look them up in the dictionary.
Glad I attended the holiday bash and was able to win these books as a gift.

101 Healthy Vegan Christmas Recipes (Quick & Easy Vegan Recipes)
Like how the book is divided into different categories.
Just glancing through I noticed the use of spices, which we are big fans of.
Some colorful pictures of the food as it's finished. Like how things are divided: raw and cooked foods.
Cabbage rolls look like something we need to try. Desserts look interesting but I will stick to fresh fruits because I wouldn't even know where to find half the ingredients.

Jane and Her Friends Celebrate Christmas
This very colorful children's book is about Jane and her friends and all the things they do together to get ready for Christmas.
Everything from the tree, ornaments, stockings, etc. Love all the rhyming parts and the visit from Santa.
Love how this is turned into a guessing number game at the end and there is also a nice surprise for a child.
There are other free books to get listed at the end.

Basic Knitting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (How To Basics)
As an advanced knitter I am always on the lookout to learn more about my craft-a different technique or just something new.
First section of this book is dedicated to the tools of the trade and a bit of information on how to knit. Many colorful photographs show examples of what is being explained in words.
Feel some of the pictures are better just using diagrams on the next pages as they appear to be dark.
Second section is about the patterns themselves. I find some of the instructions to be confusing. goes from continental to the English style-it's a bit much for a new knitter to comprehend.
There are also at the end a lot of appendixes with useful information.

TOP 10+2 Pizza Recipes: How To Make Homemade Gourmet Pizzas! (Top 10 Recipe Books)
Starts out talking about the history of pizza and how it's the perfect food because of the toppings you can make to suit your meal or dessert.
Tells you ultimately what you should have on hand for pans, bowls, stones, etc.
The basic recipe is given and how to let the dough rise and knead, etc. Variations of the toppings follow the basic dough recipe.
Very detailed instructions for each recipe. I found the recipes, the ingredients is going to take quite some time to prepare. Some an hour easy and I just don't have that kind of time even if the dough is ready.

Home Again by Kristin Hannah
This book is about Madelaine and now that she's grown up with a 16 year old daughter the time has come. The father had walked away from her and their baby but she survived with help from his religious brother, Francis.
Angel is now on his deathbed because of his heart history and drinking, smoking, drugs, etc. Maddy is a transplant doctor-the top of the field and it's up to her to let him attempt to have a heart transplant. Her daughter wants to know who her father is...she starts acting out by stealing and getting caught from a local store.
Many recipients are not good enough or a match til one day a priest is leaving a family session and he gets in trouble on the road...
After the surgery she knows she will never tell him whose heart he has..
Maddie and her daughter Lina for Angelina must stay together and overcome the grief of losing Francis, Angel also. After his hospital release the women take him to a new place where nobody knows of him.
Lina makes new friends and she tells them who her father is and they all think it's a joke.
Maddie is faced with telling Angel the truth about the donor=before the press release the name he has to be told...
Love how the story also follows Angel's story and everything he is faced with..

Tempest's Course Quilts of Love Series by Lynette Sowell
Love that this book is set in New Bedord MA, whaling city within an hours drive from my house.
This book follows Kelly Frosts' path as a textile conservator she is bidding on restoring a quilt that was in Gray House.
The book also follows the story of Tom Silva who is a handyman for the Gray House. He was discharged from the army due to medical problem.
His family gatherings are noisy as most Portuguese family gatherings are (I am Portuguese also)
Love hearing all the New England things in the book, wicked, D&D coffee, clam chowdah, treasures of days gone by.
Quilting itself, loved hearing of the handwritten note with thread in the corner-my mom does something similar with her quilts (an outline of the island where she lives, her name and date).
When the bid comes she has to relocate there to work on the quilt as it can not be moved from the site.
Loved hearing all about her work as she goes through each step of the process, priceless!
Love careers they each have where they use their hands. Sermons help Tom deal and cope with his life and get through it...
Love the mystery surrounding who is paying to have the quilt restored and the whole Gray House complex.
From her background she knows she is never alone, God is with her always. Story flows seamlessly with each twist and turn that comes up.
Really enjoyed this one for the reasons above. Her past will catch up with her...lots of action and adventure and turmoil to come.
Excerpts from the next book in the series, Scraps of Evidence is included.
I received this book from Net Galley via Abingdon Press in exchange for my honest review.

Bittersweet by Danielle Steel
This book is about India who gave up her world traveling and helping others in less fortunate countries with shelter and food and married Doug, he works on Wall Street.
They live in Westport, CT and he commutes to work daily. She gave up her job in the photography field when she had her first child. After others came along and they are grown and teens she wants to get a career back.
On the Cape she met others who have listened to what she's told them and they are behind her to pursue her dreams. The youngest child Sam just loves sailing and it brightens her to see him so happy doing it.
Paul has told her if she does go to work their marriage is over. Love that India is into photography and has always taken pictures. Love how she stands up for what she believes in...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

My 1st Smoothie Recipe Book by Pom Sabra dn the Sabra Sisters
Great cookbook for kids, yes they can help also.
Love the story and how they are now writing down the family recipes and they are healthy because they learned that although they eat healthy and exercise it's not enough.
Love the rhymes as well. Especially love the blueberry smoothies and everything is so easy to make.
Even the vegetable ones have good combinations. Create your own smoothie and you could be featured in next edition of their cookbook.
There are many other books they've written for kids cooking that are highlighted at the end of the book.
Their goal is to get rid of childhood obesity.

Back to Christmas by Dennis Canfield
This story is about the depressing side of the holiday and the author hopes you are not feeling the same.
The labeling committee has to separate the naughty from the nice, which they do and everybody is on the nice list because they can find at least one thing the person is nice about.
Marmel is in charge of the committee and has found that the report for the Krunwerths is this story-they should be on the naughty list.
Strange things happen in their house-the kids don't listen to their parents, nor clean up when asked but this one day Amanada was to clean the kitchen and she sat on the stool and before she knew it the place was spotless and she hadn't done it...
Santa wants Marmel to take one important thing away from the family to see if that will make them be nice to one another again. Marmel is worried his job may end if everyone gets put on the nice list...
If Marmel loses his Christmas spirit he will also lose his magical powers. Santa gives Manuel several ideas to try along with his south pole brother...
Chapters alternate between the family and Marmel as they progress to Christmas day. It's heartwarming and touching to find out the answer that will solve all of their problems....
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Cupcakes for Two by Alex True
Wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it is a cookbook where you can make just two cupcakes-or 4 as some recipes will yield that amount.
Love this book as it's for those of us who are not only watching sodium intake, but cholesterol and sugar and fat intake. Most if not all the recipes call for egg white-not the whole egg.
Also some you can use applesauce instead of butter or a banana mashed or canola oil. So used to having the kids here and I'd bake cupcakes and not end up freezing them as they be eatten. Nowadays with just the two of us I can make just two!
10 recipes but only the front picture is included.

Eric the Medic by Yael Aharoni
Very colorful illustrated children's book about Eric who is a soccer player with his friends.
One day he gets injured and his mom cleans the wound and puts medicine on it and bandages it.
Another day he's out with his sister walking the doll carriage where they had tied the dog leash to and a cat ran by...
The doll gets injured and Eric knows what to do... Eric is put to the test with others...
The authors other works are highlighted at the end.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Kevin Whitlark
Illustrated very colorful children's book that is a great educational tool.
Not only can you use it to count but also the playful things dogs will get into. A take off of the 12 days of Christmas..
Love the ending and the 12th day as each item has their own line.

Leo SuperHero - A Sunday Morning Adventure by The Brothers
Illustrated colorful children's book about Leo and his cat Milkshake and how they spend one morning when everybody else in the house is still asleep.
Love that this gives Leo the adventure his superhero costume helps to create.
They also try to help a mouse find his family. He has an idea what they would eat...
There are surprises at the end of the book also, cute read.

Children's book: My Dad is a great man (Happy bedtime stories children's books... by Zehavit Tzarfati
Illustrated colorful children's book about a little boy who will hang out at his dad's study to find out what he does for work.
wow the things he finds out: he can guess what job he did by what he is wearing...
When he tells his father what he's learned he tells him what his real jobs are...
Author's other works are highlighted at the end..

Quilting Techniques for Beginners: Learn How to Quilt
I was happy to learn that there are ebooks available for quilting. I really wanted to get for my mother the latest in the magazines but I am not sure if we'd be able to enlarge the parts she would need to see.
I have done some quilting, some hand and some sewing machine and prefer the hand method. Always looking to find new things to learn to make things easier.
Lots of tips throughout the book to help even the experienced quilters.
Excellent source of information about how to start the quilt-cutting the fabric, sewing it, etc to putting the batting in. Even the different methods of assembling it together.
Several illustrations to show you how to do certain things are very helpful.

The Twelve Days of Yule A Pagan Children's Activity Book by Shanddaramon
Loved learning about the meaning of the Yule holiday.
Also how others observe it with their prayers and how and why.
I recall doing something similiar for our advent centerpiece.

Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol by Elizabeth Hand
I wanted to read this book because the proceeds will go towards a fund of a special education teacher that died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT a year ago. At that time I was traveling through upstate NY and when I got the call from my brother in RI I couldn't believe the tragedy and so close to Christmas.
Brendan and Teri have split up and their son Peter attends a specialized school. Brendan has Peter many nights and is able to pick him up after school. Tony wants to move in with Brendan til he gets on his feet. The death of Chip has got all of them talking of the death and remembering the episodes on TV.
Very patient to teach his son how to do just the simplest of tasks, repetitious patterned behavior.
Thanksgiving at Kevin and Eileens house..then the drinking started. Things used to be normal til the drinking overtook everything.
Story is based on Chip and how they can resurrect the puppet show of the 60's. The year the doctors figured out what was wrong with Peter, that was the end of Christmas for Brendan.
Christmas morning brings the miracle that ties this whole book together. Authors other works are highlighted at the end.
I myself was too young to remember watching the show but other things I do recall, especially the TV screen after 2am and the countdown to a show broadcasting.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Mert, The Anxious Evergreen by Claire Bowman
Illustrated colorful children's book about how an evergreen tree starts out. The seed, Mert was saved by the mower and now year after year he's getting bigger. He is able to talk to other things along the way that come into his life.
He is finally big enough to be a real Christmas tree for somebody and he is excited about being decorated.
There are many others involved and politics take over in the form of developers that want to destroy the land to make way for buildings...
Love how they all band together to fight...like how the story evolves and what they all have to go through to save what they believe in.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

The Holiday Brides Collection (Books 1-4) by Ginny Baird
This book is a collection of 4 Christmas holiday novels by the same author.
The stories in this book are about Christmas and snow and traditions and finding true love.
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The Christmas Catch
John Steadman is a college professor in a little town near Burlington, VT. He had helped tow Christine and her son Tyler out of the snowdrift along with his dog Mason.
They lived in Chicago but were house sitting for Helen, her boss and best friend. Christine White had lost her husband Dan in the war. She's an artist, graphic doing designs for a card company.
They do meet up again in town, shopping for groceries. John talks to his dog Mason and assures him he will ask her out. They went to the same college in NC. Helen told Christine to check him out online and ask him out...
Love the part where there is no TV and they have to play the old fashioned way, with puzzles, Lincoln logs, and books.
Over cocoa in town at the children's center she tells John of her dreams about work and they also have agreed to go sledding...
The story also follows Helan and her love interests.

The Holiday Bride
Lucy works in a diner and it's Christmas eve, very busy day. Mitch and her are to be married the 31st but when she stops to see him she tells him she'll deliver the gifts for clients so he can finish his other work.
William Kinkaid and his 5 year old daughter Carmella and twelve year old son Justin all live together since his wife Karen had died.
Problem is Lucy falls and hits her head, unconscious she wakes up on Williams' couch and has no memory of why she is there...
Christmas day and his parents show up and with all the excitement some think Eddie planned all this as a joke, that she's a stripper. She can't even recall her name or anything of her past just that she loves chocolate.
They will take her to the doctor the next day. Justin makes a web page and with the sexy elf costume they get a lot of calls and visits about Lucy.
Rather funny in a way that Roger doesn't even realize his to be wife is not even home and finds out from the real Bridget that she's not gotten her Christmas gifts...
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Mistletoe in Maine by Ginny Baird
Carol Baker, divorced lives with her 2 teen kids: Ashley and Will and the kids had wanted to go to Maine for the holidays as their mother is a teacher and had the time off.
Their dad stopped by with her his girl on their way to the islands and gave them gifts and Carol decided then and there that yes they would go to Maine.
Paul Love and his teen son, Daniel who'll be heading to college soon is at his father's inn in Maine when they get company. Family company -Paul's mother and father and a guest they picked up at the airport.
He wants to sell the Inn and move on with his life...
Each one has a special someone they want to spend time with. Ashley is looking out for the Christmas moose and has seen it a few times but can't get anybody to believe her.
Love hearing of the snow skiing lessons...What I really liked was all the romance and friendliest feelings for one another. Easy to keep track of the characters.
So much fun on this journey to Maine, the atmosphere, the snow, the activities, the holiday surprises, the food and the artist.
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Beach Blanket Santa
Matt Salvatore and his brother, Robert, both lawyers agree that Matt needs some time away and he can have the beach house in NC, outer banks to help get over Katya.
Sarah Anderson is friends with Elaine who also owns the beach house and after she gets married again Sarah can use the beach house while Elaine is honeymooning with her new husband.
They both knew one another-having attended Robert and Elaine's wedding 3 years earlier...
The storm leaves them stranded and Matt teaches her how to make from scratch Christmas sugar cookies. Between all the kissing and touching they each find themselves cooling off from all the heat they generated...
Love all the things they find to do with themselves to keep busy, too funny!

I received this book from the author as a gift in exchange for my honest review.

A Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange by Isis Crawford
This story is about the cookie exchange at the Longely Community Center. 8 women are to bring in their baked goods and by judged by Bernie and Libby-owners of A Taste of Heaven and some TV celebrities.
Amber's Aunt Millie has had an accident and now her cookies are missing-nobody has her recipes-she always leaves out some of the ingredients. Amber called Bernie and Libby and they will go to investigate the scene of the accident for clues as to who stole the cookies in the tins.
The women were known for solving crimes and mysteries in their town. Seth, their dad loved helping them solve although he was also a good listener.
Love learning new things: different kinds of cinnamon and plank roads.
Love how other family members and boyfriends also help out with the investigation and what things they find that others have missed. So many clues and so many leads to follow and the full picture develops and more things need to be solved.
Love the bantering the two sisters have with one another but respect for each other as well. Love how they go about solving the crimes...and the recipes at the end!
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review

Christmas Carol Murder by Leslie Meier
This Tinkers Cove, Maine story starts off with a protest due to the bankruptcies and mortgage company run by Jake Marlow and his partner have had to foreclose on many of the houses.
Jake's house, being the hoarder he is loses his house to a fire.
Lucy Stone was one of the first on the scene as she was witnessing the protest with her daughter Sara-who had skipped college class. Lucy worked at the Pennysaver newspaper.
The mail bomb had killed Jake and now Lucy was hot on the trail to find out who had sent the bomb in the mail. Lots of town meetings depending on the day and location where many would meet and just talk. Small town community where everybody knows about everybody.
Things escalate as other events occur around town: ghosts in the Christmas Scrooge play and also in real life to the other owner of the mortgage company...
Every little clue is very important to solving the mystery, even the tiny clues...
The story she was to investigate leads to many more sad facts then what she was prepared for that involved town employees...
There are many uprisings in town as the residents protest with hopes to change things...
Lots of good Christmas traditions and some new ones.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review

A Christmas Collection: Classic Cookies and Fudge by Catherine Leighton
Colorful pages of recipes for the holiday, cookies and candy.
Tried and trusted recipes and each comes with a picture.
10 recipes but well worth it. Different types of cookies, drop, bar, rolled, etc

Quilts! Quilting Techniques from Easy To Advanced
Colorful illustrated step by step process of putting quilts together using different techniques and mediums.
I found this book to be more of a beginner series for most of the items and have done almost all the different techniques myself.
Very easy to understand instructions for one just starting out.
Supplies, instructions, steps and hints are included by individual authors.
There are also many references for the website instructables for further explanation.
Crazy quilt block sounds interesting and the color combinations are appealing.

Christmas Sauna Traditions by Joanne Kaattari
Annual tradition for the people of Finland to have a sauna with a feast as well.
I had no idea what to expect from this book but glad I got a chance to read it because I like to learn new things about others.
What a fun night this sounds like, so glad there are also recipes to share with us.
Several pictures are included and there are tips along the way. Love hearing the sauna rules and especially about the ice candles. Such treasured traditions, thanks so much for sharing them.
Other excerpts by the author are included at the end of her other books.

The old Tree by Tricia Martin
It's summer and Mike has a new neighbor, Mari. He has been to the park many times and has seen something strange with the old tree.
He starts discovering more about it and goes inside the tree where it appears to be huge inside-much larger than the outside depicts. He shares the secret with Mari and she also goes inside to investigate.
An old family friend Bob has come to visit with her father and he's part of the old tree as well. They travel to his world and become acquainted with their ways and how to defend with things they are given.
They meet many others, in different forms and follow their lead to the battle-to rid the world of evil. They are not to despair and must have hope to win all battles..
Mike loved his new adventure and can't wait for the next one...
Loved the descriptions and the action involved.

The Christmas Garland by Anne Perry
India 1837-This story starts out with Lt. Narraway and he's been given an assignment-to be the lawyer for the soldier who's being charged with murder.
He goes to visit him in jail and John Tallis claims he is not guilty of the crime and tells the lt. what happened the night in question.
He then cycles it through his mind and tries to figure out different angles and how things could've been.
He also questions the others and their story is pretty much the same, different words. At the end he goes back to the house where the father lived and meets the little girl and the blue chain she has made with her mother.
He plays with her and has a meal and then must leave-he may have found the answer...

20 Minute Express Recipes for Busy People by Ericka Smits
Love the tips at the very beginning on how to get out of the kitchen preparing quick nutritious meals.
Each chapter/category also has the listings of recipes so you can glance through and find one with the ingredients you have on hand.
Love this book because it also lists the nutrition labels!!!!
French toast wins out for us also as it's 0 cholesterol.
Grilled cauliflower sounds enticing enough to try also as we try to eat healthier.
Pictures of the dishes made are a nice touch.

Against the Edge by Kat Martin
Ben Slocum has fathered a child he didn't know he had and here is Claire the social worker-friend of the mother who's passed away informing him the child's been kidnapped.
Love this series and the meticulous thinking and uncovering clues to find the child. He's an ex-Seal and has friends that are as highly trained as him.
Love catching up with the others in the family and the travel involved as the main focus takes you places you've never been.
Caring story as the father's never known of the 9 year old existence nor death of the woman he knew. Claire tells me of other things as time goes on making that a mystery in itself.
Hot steamy sex as the trail leads them to more places to explore.
The trail leads them to a guy in jail and that leads them to more places...
The story also follows the group that took the child and what they are up against and what happens on their way to escape...
Action really escalates after she tells them some of her secrets.

The Vineyard by Barbara Delinsky
I had read this book before but never reviewed it. What I like is learning new things: about the vineyard and there is a bit of romance and travel which adds up to a really good book for me.
This is set in my back yard so it really makes sense to me. This is a story of a woman who's lost her husband-she runs a vineyard and has workers that do the main work. The grown children don't live nearby but she's sent them a note that she's getting married with the invitation.
During the summer she plans to write her memoirs. She's hired a woman with a disabled child to help with that task. Love learning about the photographer, restoration work, grapes and vineyard, weather that effects their potential success and the n'easters and hurricanes.
Love the different angles of the relationships, the pressures each of them are up against-not due to just the wedding but their lives. This book covers all this and much more.

The irresistible blueberry bakeshop & cafe by Mary Simses
What a very nice surprise. The cover is why I wanted to read this book. Once I got into the book the story line was something very appealing to me on many counts.
The locale of Maine, photography and exploring into the past.
Helen starts out on a journey for her now dead grandmother-to deliver a letter to Mr. Cummings in Maine. When she arrives she ends up falling through a dock and she is rescued by Roy.
She tracks down numerous things along the way about her grandmothers past. Her fiance gets concerned when she doesn't make it back to NYC so he shows up there, and so does her mother for a photography shoot for their upcoming wedding.
Problem is she has choices now-and little does she realize the reason why she was sent here, rather than just mailing the letter sinks in and gives her advice she may follow.
Hoping to find more from this author as I really totally was enthralled reading this.
Before I listened to this via NLS I had bought the hard bound book. Was hoping for a recipe...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
5 stars!

5 Ingredients One Pot Meals: Easy Slow Cooker Recipes for Busy Women by Ericka Smits
Love how each category at the very beginning of the chapter will show the recipe name-easy to find what you want to make in a hurry.
None of the recipes jumped out at me but they do look easy to get together the ingredients for the day baking.
Out of this collection of recipes I want to try the spicy autumy apple cake.

A Wizard for Christmas by Dorothy McFalls
Holly doesn't want the others to know she is always alone for the Christmas holiday.
In town there is a woman who is murdered and the police fear there will be more.
A man had helped Holly cross the icy road and he was kind.
Hadrian Graham, detective lives nearby and has references as he asks her out for coffee-She had just left her apartment, pj's on under a coat and no keys.
It was just one of those days... but she can't stay and hurries back to her apartment. The others in the cafe stare at her and they know she's not ready.
The neighbor will water her plants while she's away and now she has to leave. Not much money and there are no hotel rooms and she's tired and cold and Hadrian comes to her rescue.
They are of a different world and there are others who want to harm them.....
She gets the idea they want her to join a cult and she goes to the police station to file a stalker report. Now she's on the streets and somebody licks her lips and at the same time Hadrian gets a pain and he knows the creature is feeding and is close by.
Now they've had 4 women dead... Like this tale of what happens next...very magical and mystical.
More titles from the author are included at the end.

Farm Girl Country Cooking: Hearty Meals for the Active Family by Karen Jones Gowen
Being raised near a farm I thought this would bring back a lot of memories of the food we grew up on-fresh grown.
Rule of three makes sense to the way we eat now. Love the added suggestions on what other foods could be placed on the menu.
Found the main meals/casseroles to use a lot of meat-something we have maybe once a week now but gave me ideas on combining a few recipes together for a meal.
Love getting back to basics with dry beans. Loved muffins the best and refrigerated dough that can be used for cinnamon rolls and dinner rolls.
Lacking are the pictures of food made but otherwise a good resource for old time cooking.

Wrap with Love: Holiday Gift Giving with Less Stress and More Joy by Lisa Bader
Everything you will need to wrap the perfect gift, even pick out the perfect gift for the perfect person.
Good story about how the girls were raised-their mother would spend a lot of time making sure each got the same value and the same amount of gifts.
I love the part where you start with a list then go shopping...
There are also comparison work sheets available at the author's site to help you along.
There is even a section on regifting. So many topics are shown so you will find the right gift.

A Stranger At Christmas by James McCullough
Illustrated very colorful children's book about Christmas.
Starts out showing how the family is ready for the holiday and they have decorated. Then one night a stranger comes by and starts taking down the lights...
Santa almost missed their town but he did see one house with lights on-they had asked their parents to help with lanterns...
Santa has an idea to help the stranger not be so gloom... The authors other books are highlighted at the end.

The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steel
Liz and Jack are married and work together at their law firm, handling divorces. They compliment one another in their work and home lifes.
They have 2 older children and a younger boy who is handicapped. One Christmas day Jack heads back to work to handle a domestic case and meets with the ex husband as he shoots his wife and then Jack.
Liz is devastated but manages to keep things going for the kids year after year. One summer Peter-the oldest gets seriously hurt and ends up in the hospital that leads Liz to stay overnight many times to be with him.
His doctor Bill is a miracle worker and they talk at times during Peter's stay. She decides to put on a memorial day party when Peter comes home and it's a success although she's not forgotten about Jack.
4 star rating

All is Bright by Sarah Pekkanen
What first attracted me to this book is the cover with snow and a woman just sitting enjoying the quiet of the snow falling.
Have read and enjoyed Sarah's other works.
This one is about Elsie and she's home to tend to her grandmother because her father and his new wife are traveling and it's Christmas and she doesn't want her to be alone.
Griffin and her had dated many times over the years and when they broke up she was more sorry to end it with his mother than him.
She does pay his parents a visit and is there when he calls to inform them of his engagement to Ilse. It breaks her heart even more as she arrives at her grandmother's assisted living facility and
the others in her group help her get over the loss. Best of Us is also featured with a sample at the end.
Loved the story and wanted it to last a lot longer...
4 star rating

Suicide Game by Haidji
I was surprised I was able to read through this whole book, given the name it's not one I would've picked up to read.
There are many rules and many more made as the games go on.
There are many applicants that we learn a bit more about them as the story goes on. Some want the
Didn't quite understand what the connection with the devastation of 911 had to do with the games til I read more.
Liked some parts of the book, update was interesting to learn about. Very detailed description of the stadium. Liked some of the characters and felt they should've had more time in the book, but then again they were jumping to their possible deaths.
Some want the fame of the jump, others have nothing else left to lose so why not jump. Numbers didn't quite add up and you learn why with everything else going on..
Twists along the way with lottery tickets and diamonds. Baby threw me off til we find out why they are there...
Give this a 4 rating as it's not one I would pick out to read but I did make it all the way through.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

True Blue by Luanne Rice
I love all of the authors other books and don't recall having read this, nor had I ever left a review so am reading it.
Starts out at Hubbard Point where Elizabeth and Rumor are raised on the water by their parents. The mother dies and the father continues strongly on with the task.
Rumor likes the boy next door Zeb and we learn of the escapades they go through over the years that draw them closer. Elizabeth ends up marrying him and they all move out to the west coast and have a baby, Michael.
At their beginning Rumor would visit Elizabeth and Michael while Zeb was in TX for work-he studied the stars and the sky. That is what first fascinated her about him. She learns of her sisters drinking problem and informs Zeb she'd take the baby from her if it continued.
They do end up divorced and living where his job takes him. When they all come home 10+ years later the father has bought a boat to sail back to Ireland-his dream. They hate to see him go but he's in love with the idea and he can navigate just using the sky and math and science skills.
He tries to throw Zeb and Rumor together because he knows it should've been them all along. Zeb's house had been sold and the new owner is in town and making drastic changes to the land around it. Michael has his own love interest as he's heading off to college next year.
Rumor is a vet, local and she hates that the new owners want to exterminate the bunnies-it's a big mess with the cops involved.
Upheaval and you can't imagine how things get straightened out... Love this book for the detailed descriptions of the coast and woods and travel involved.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Marmalade Jam and Chocolate Eclairs by Peter Collier
Illustrated colorful children's book about a strange visitor at the door one day.
They are short and furry and carry a library card and that their friend said the one who answered the door would help them.
Great rhymes along the way.
The furry creature would sometimes change shape and sometimes color.
He also reads all day and night long as he searches for marmalade jar tops and eats chocolate eclairs.
and one day he was gone and he sent a thank you card...and he left something behind...
Free kindle ebook

35 Recipes for Comforting Winter Soups - Easy Homemade Soups for Wintertime by Pamela Kazmierczak
Always wanted to know how to make soups from scratch, what a great resource book.
Some combinations of food really sound appealing. Like the ones with beets and asparagus and shrimp.
Be more appealing if pictures were shown of the finished product otherwise this is a great gift.

The Lucky Tale of Two Dogs by Cindy Rosenthal
Illustrated colorful children's book about two dogs. It shows that one dog is lucky to have a loving family and he gets to live inside.
The other dog is left outside and has no to care for him.
One day a woman comes to his rescue and brings him to a shelter to be cared for.
A family comes by one day looking for a dog. It's the family that has the dog called Lucky already.

20 Best Ever Christmas Treat Recipes by Monica Sawyer
Always love browsing through cookbooks and collections.
Very colorful display of Christmas themed recipes. Some the kids can even make. The first one, ornaments and the way they are displayed and only take 10 minutes won me over quickly.
I remember making the corn flakes wreaths also! With these two and the Cheerios Christmas trees you can put on one heck of a display for your table that is all edible!
Marshmallow snowmen can be a good time for the kids to show their imagination. The candy cane sleighs would be a great choice also.
2 cute cookie recipes and also more candy recipes at the very end.
Loved that the recipes are easy enough with supervision for kids to help make and that there are color photos of the items.
Other recipe books by the author are shown at the end.

Best Ever Christmas Dessert Recipes by Lori Burke
Found a lot of old favorites and a few new ones to try: chocolate cranberry bread sounds interesting. the blend of flavors especially.
All kinds of desserts and also holiday drinks to make. Some of these I felt were very involved recipes and would take at least an hour to make.
Some longer, some shorter. The flavor combinations were interesting enough to check out. I thought if the book had pictures of the items I would've rated it a lot higher.
Many ways to stay in contact with the author on social media sites.

From My Kitchen To Yours (Slow Cooker Recipes From Dinner To Dessert) by Sara Winlet
Very colorful book showing the food made from the recipes. The great thing is the prep time is low and the fact that it cooks while you are away is even better.
When you get home it's ready. Love the listings and how you can substitute chicken broth with no sodium in some recipes to make it to meet our dietary needs.
Really fascinated with the dessert recipes especially my favorite: carrot cake.
Author is also on social media sites for more recipe updates.

I Dreamed a Train by William Otel
Illustrated colorful children's book about the life of a train. A little boy is dreaming all about a steam
engine. Love how it all rhymes as well. Lots of train parts and what they all do. Reminds me of the train table we had set up in the basement on the 8 foot piece of plywood.
There were at times over 20 cars on the track.
I had forgotten that each of the cars in a train have names depending on what they are carrying inside.
Love the ending about counting the cars when you see a train it's what we do with our grandson while waiting for sometimes 20 minutes of cars to go by.

The Groovy Green Kitchen: Weeknight Veggie Slow Cooker by Geraldine Helen Hartman
As I have been going through my kindle cookbooks I was glad to review this one also. It shows fresh picked vegetables which speaks hearty to me.
Some of the dishes sound very exotic to me, the flavors and spices needed and even the names of the dishes.
I did learn a lot about dumplings and the making of beans from a dry mix-which I have tried in the cooker before with no success. Glad I know now what I need to do.
Can't wait to try a few of these recipes. With just two of us I try not to have a lot of leftovers. There are few pictures of the dishes made.

Letters from Santa by Katrina Streza
Illustrated very colorful children's book showing the alphabet and things
that can make a Christmas a special time for all.
H for holly to welcome friends to your house is my favorite.
and q for quilt that my grandmother sewed. The thing I don't like about this type of book is you have to read it in your cloud reader-via a browser and the program wants to store things on your pc, 50 mb and I don't care to do that.

The 12 Days of Christmas a counting book by Rachael Poole
Very colorful illustrated children's book showing how Ella and her family are preparing for Christmas and she asks your help to count things on pages.
My favorite is the 12 drummers drumming. This book can be used for other things besides just counting as there are so many things on the pages to look at.
I liked this book even though I had to read it in my cloud reader it didn't prompt me to store data on my pc.

Carolee Sings in the Christmas Choir - A Christmas Story for Children of All Ages (Carolee - Adventures of an Angel) by Janice Limb Myers
Illustrated colorful children's book about Carolee and her singing. She has been singing since she was 6 years old and now she's in an event at school.
She brings her dog Sugar also but the teacher wants the dog to leave. She says the dog can sing.
The dog gets put outside and the choir starts to practice. They stop when they hear a squeak and all get up to look for a mouse, which they can't find.
Now the teacher thinks it might be a chair or maybe even a singer-she will test the choir the next day.
A special person is coming to hear them at the Christmas Eve event and it has to be perfect.
The teacher figures out who it is and the night of the big performance is here and Jesus the son of God shows up and talks to Carolee and he tells her to just do her best.

He's The One by Linda Lael Miller, Lucky Monroe, Jill Shalvis, Kate Angell and Cat Johnson
Love this anthology-5 different authors, some new to me. Each book has hot steamy sex scenes.

Batteries Not Required by Linda Lael Miller
Gayle Hayes is returning to the hometown that she left. She is now a paralegal and she's just back to see to her mother's interest in the tavern-where they used to live and work.
She brought her boyfriend with her-BOB as she's told Lucy her bff in CA. Problem is she runs into an old boyfriend and they split on bad terms. From the time she steps off the airplane nothing has gone right.
Tristin McCoullough blames her for the breakup 10 years ago and she blames him for cheating. She reviews the property and finds him in there. She tries to get back on track with her mission.
They do listen to one another as to why she ran to him for help, saw him with another woman and wrote him a letter. He explains his side and they still have the meeting of the sale to get through...
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Captivated by Jill Shalvis
Ella Scott is a fraud investigator and after the year she's had she's ready to switch to workman's compensation department.
This last one she has figured out the boats that had gone down that the owner wants the insurance money and she's linked it to drug money. Some thugs came into her Mexico hotel and handcuffed her to the shower and told her somebody would be by in a few days time.
She's there with only a towel when her soon to be ex husband walks in. He wants her to tell him that she wants him to sign the divorce papers but he also knows when she is lying...
James knows her and her body and will prove to her they need to be together...
He's a cop and he wants to protect her and get her out of harms way and she wants to finish the case herself.
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Seducing Tabby by Lucy Monroe
Tabitha Payton is hostessing the summer gala. Her parents own the yacht club and marina and restaurant where the gala is. There is some speculation about the man of the hour-Paul Calder. Some think he is royalty, some that he's in the secret service.
While dancing she tries to tell him of her sister Helene's best kept secrets so he will find it easier to court her. Tabby love her job selling books and he's a regular once a week buyer of mystery books.
She experiencing a lot of new things as she finds out he is interested in her and not her perfect size 6 sister. They spend a lot of time together just talking and then other things...
Love the day at the museum and the night after...
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No shirt, no shoes, no service by Kate Angell
Violet Cates is a waitress in Barefoot William, FL at a diner-Molly Malone and one of the patrons is a long lost high school romance,
Brad Davis was a blast from her past... Loved the prior books I've read about the communities and the people in it.
The town is divided into 2 parts: one barefoot william and the other Saunders Shores. The high end is Saunders and the everyday crowds go to Barefoot, it's such a lived in place, the boardwalk.
They had dated 6 years and he felt he had to leave til he could make something of himself and then return...The chef will be gone for 2 weeks and he will take that job and all they can think about are the escapes to the backroom ...
He finds out not much has changed, her sister and kids have used Violet and her house and never even pick up after themselves. All her money goes to them. He wants to change all that..
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A Fish Out of Water by Cat Johnson
Carla Hendricks and Mark Ross are on the camping/fishing trip with their bosses.
Mark has never been but he follows what the others are doing and some words such as noodling has Carla and Mark stripping - down to their bathing suits.
It's also known as other words and Mark is able to catch his first fish ever. Carla makes it so he is not embarrassed and she cooks the fish for him over the camp fire later.
As the others head down to go fishing they stay behind and end up in the lake having sex. When they get back to work she breaks up with him because of his level of education is so much different than hers.
Her boss finds out the real reason why she won't date Mark and goes out of his way to help them out...
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Few excerpts from the authors upcoming works is included at the end.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review

Review-

On the Right Side of a Line by Shandy Kurth
This book is about Valen and how he has had to join the group to get protection for his family and make money.
It's a hard life on the streets and he has many interruptions from others that he once sees as distractions and then something else.
Love the beach scene and how it's described-felt as if I was there..
Love how we hear what he's thinking when he learns that his brother wants him and the family to leave...
Liked how the book is from a gang member and his point of view-I mostly read romance novels so this is a refreshing change once in a while as you can picture the scenes taking place in front of you as the descriptions are so detailed and true to life.
I felt like I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't read it fast enough as the action is fast paced.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Maya and Filippo Make Friends in Auckland by Alinka Rutkowska
Maya and Filippo live on a cruise ship and get to explore many places.
Illustrated very colorful children's book about Maya and Philippo and their adventures.
Everything seems to be going wrong, no chocolate for their breakfast and on the explorer bus two women sit in front of them so they can't view the scenery.
They decided to try something new=pretend to be happy and they'd meet happy people.
Love what happens next. Lots of travel and new things to learn about.
Nine other stories by the author are highlighted at the end of the book.
I received this book from Library Thing via the author in exchange for my honest review.

25 Winter Craft Ideas: Easy Indoor Crafts for Kids by Monica Van Zandt
Illustrated colorful children's book showing how to make holiday crafts.
There are easy to follow: step by step instructions for each one and shows the end result.
My favorite is the snowman ornament and I can just picture my grandson
using the book to do the clay/paper machie recipes.

Knitting for Knitwits: The Quick and Easy Learn to Knit Guide by Monica Van Zandt
Book covers why you might enjoy knitting, the tools of the trade and many other helpful information.
Colorful pictures show the different stitches you can create. Rules are discussed and explained why you should follow them.
6 easy patterns for shawl, beret, slippers, winter cap, scarf and a baby blanket are included. I like this because the patterns can be used also for afghans and other items I make for local charities.
Good book for beginner or seasoned knitter.

34 Cut Out Cookie Recipes by Pamela Kazmierczak
I love baking Christmas cut out cookies and thought I'd enjoy browsing through this recipe book to maybe find something new.
Categories such as Low Calorie sugar cookies among other traditional holiday treats.
My favorite would be chocolate kiss cookies. There are so many flavor combinations to experiment with, such ideas!
Lots of helpful suggestions at the end of most recipes.
No bake potato candy cookies sound too good to be true and I'll be saving this one for the next time i have leftover potatoes.

Dirty Face Liam by Flo Barnett
Illustrated colorful children's book about Liam and he loves to play in the mud and doesn't care if he gets dirty.
He gets even messier with crayons and markers. His mother wants to clean him up and he runs away.
His mom tries to get him close so she can clean up by offering food and he has to stop and think about it...
Fun silly story and there are more highlighted at the end.

Calling All Grammies A Christmas Tale of Friendship (Grammy's Gang Book 3) by Flo Barnett
Illustrated colorful children's book about the morning Santa calls grammy for help. His sleigh is broken and he needs her help.
The elves are busy making toys and grammy is good at baking cookies.
Grammy had an idea and told Santa then went to her laptop and sent out emails to her friends..
That year grammies came to the rescue, learn what they did by reading the rest. Fun silly book.
At the end other books by the author are highlighted.

Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter
Love holiday reads and was happy to learn this one was free on the first few days of it's release.
Harley Diekerhoff works at the Copper Mountain Ranch for the holiday season to keep her distance from her family in CA.
Her gruff Boss Brock Shennan had hired her via a temp agency. They needed a housekeeper that knew the work and did it well.
He had lost his wife after 1 1/2 years and he didn't want a chatty housekeeper. It'd be a perfect fit.
She has had her own tragedy and we learn of it as the story goes along. She is really concerned when the biggest storm of the year hits and her boss is out in it. to track down some lost cattle.
The other ranch hands won't go look for him-the boss would have their heads. Love that she cooks for them all.
She gets the surprise of her life later that night and confronts the boss when he arrives.. is she going to leave or can she stick it out?
Love that their feelings on many topics come out of their shells and how they've kept them hidden so long.

The Sneezing Christmas Tree by Aaron Kerr
Alice recalls one year when they got their Christmas tree Emily. They had driven to many tree farms and finally found the one for them.
Til they get it home and it started sneezing.
Her brother Tommy and her listen as the tree not only sneezes but talks to them. They learn a lot about Emily's life by listening to her.
Alice remembers what happens when the holiday is over and they did cut the tree down, so it must die? The kids question the tree and Emily will tell them more the next time they talk...
The real meaning of Christmas, Christ was born and died for all of us. The story goes on with Emily requesting 3 things from the kids...
Loved how the kids decorated the trees-similar to what we've done in the past with the kids. Good story and meaning to the real holiday.

MY REVIEW:

Heartfelt Letters from Santa by Veronica Steck
I didn't expect to get what I did receive in the mail. Thought I'd just get a book about the meaning of Santa Claus letters.
The main book is for parent and tells how they can start an easy tradition and save the child's Santa's letters. Year after year you can think see what the children wished for and Santa's letter to them. There is also the history of the Santa Claus letters.
In the example in the book the little girl writes about her achievements in school that she didn't think Santa knew about. Cool it can be like a recap of the child's life for the whole year. The book also includes other resources of information and how to keep a journal of important things throughout the year the child has done.
There is also a chapter on praise for the child, different words that can be used.
The other book does actually have spaces for the letters. If they are not written into the book they can taped all in one place every year so they don't get lost.
Maybe let Santa know he can write in the book also along with his plate of cookies and milk.
I received this book from @JKSCommunications in exchange for my honest review. #SteckSanta