Books read Feb 9

Against the Grain by Phil M. Williams
Starts out with Matt and his uncle is raising him and homeschooling him. They run a farm and sell crops at the end of the road using honor system.
Emily lives nearby and has a brother who bothers her at times. Now that they are teens she realizes her mother might be having an affair and her father just cares about himself.
Neither parent cares that her brother and friends are harassing her and abusing her mentally.
Inspection is due at the farm and he has to do many things to kill so they will pass. His uncle is very ill.
The county is against him as he doesn't know all the details of the past....so much goes wrong for him but he has to find out more about his mother and make sure others know of how his uncle died.
He also hopes to right all the wrongs done to him and others while in foster care system.
Brutal straight forward descriptions of life events, details as he has flashbacks of what really happened and who was involved.
Love all the parts of gardening, so knowledgeable using his hands. 
I received this book from the author and this is my honest review.

Christmas on My Mind by Janet Dailey
She's just arrived in town, hot on the lead to find her mother who had given her up when she was born.
Francine is in jail for another for being drunk and fighting. Jess will be housed at the sheriffs mothers house til they sort things out.
Ben Marsden knows everybody and likes helping out Francine.
Story follows Jess and the relationship she builds with her mother and story also follows Ben. There is an attraction between the two...
Looks like a predictable story line but it's anything but. Lots of twists and turns and secret pasts that come to the forefront and then more action.
Excerpt from another of the author's stories is included.
I received this book from The Kensington Books in exchange for my honest review

Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes For Beginners: Delicious And Easy Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes For Beginners by Jeremy Smith
Recipes are good, no pictures and no nutritional information.
Major point is the new electric pressure cookers don't have a setting that you can press, you have to turn it off first.
Other functions mentioned also don't work with new ones. Why brown meat in a skillet-my pressure cooker browns/sautes it already in ONE pot.