Dec 10 books read

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