Review: Bright I Burn

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Now, I am my own creation, and it’s far too late to change me. 

Told in a lyrical and bard style, Bright I Burn breathes historical fiction life into the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland, Alice Kyteler. The story brings readers in when Alice is nine years old in 1279 Kilkenny, Ireland. At this age, Alice learns an important truth of how woman are valued, their ability to give their husbands heirs and to always remember to stay at least one step ahead of the men in her life. Her desirability is a hindrance, first avoiding her father, and a help as it leads to her being able to marry who she wants. I liked how the story did touch on Alice's privilege, class and race, and how that protected her at times. From this important formative year, the story jumps year to year as Alice grows, plotting, planning, and maneuvering to gain riches for herself and her son, knowing this leads to protection and choices. 

Successful women don't always fair well in history, though, and knowing an important part of the historical outcome, each year that goes by, with Alice marrying and playing a part in her widowhood, jealousy, envy, and anger grow among the townspeople and certain men in power, there is a feeling of dread. There are moments, where you want to start to agree with her son, have her be less for safety, but then you rally and know she shouldn't have to. However, Alice isn't portrayed a perfect character, she has pride, desire, and selfishness, making her all the more accessible. She feels stifled by her first husband, has her sexual liberation with her second, grows more centered with her third, and lets some of her rage out on her fourth. 

The story was throughout good with dripping with disdain pointing out the hypocrisy of the church and it's clergymen. When Bishop of Ossory, Richard Ledrede arrives in Kilkenny, you could feel the rising tension and building fervor of him using economic strife and men's fear and want to control women, from the pulpit to slowly poison. Alice in her late fifties/early sixties alluring and intimidating men, them not knowing how to deal with these feelings causing anger, felt like a tale as old as time. While the true historical texts don't know what ultimately happened to Alice, I liked the ending the author imagined. An historical fiction story that took a real life and imagined filled in places, it will make you want to rage and, maybe, wish for a time that poisoning wasn't so detectable.

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Every summer, I have to make some kind of Creamsicle dessert, so what pairs better with a witchy book than whoopie pies? 

It's 13th century Ireland and Alice has managed to build a successful business from scratch. 

We know what that means, "She's a witch!!" 

Inspired by the first recorded person in Ireland to be condemned a witch, this gives a voice to women lost to history and who dared. 

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken preorder (June 6th) link

Orange Creamsicle Whoopie Pies recipes

Review: Pardon My Frenchie

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Thank goodness she had an iron-clad list of reasons why men were off the table, because Mrs. Frances’s grandson had her reconsidering her life choices. 

Pardon My Frenchie was a story about two leads that had a million and one things on their plate. Ashanti is the caregiver for her two highschool twin sisters, her parents both died from separate incidents six years ago, trying to expand her doggy daycare business, and get her newly popular homemade dog treats side business going. Ever since her ex jeopardized her having custody of the twins, her father's aunt is constantly a stress as she wants to get custody of the twins, Ashanti has sworn off men. I get it, with her schedule, I don't see how she would really fit anyone in. However, this was marketed as romance, so the readers have to be thrown a bone, enter Thad, the grandson of one of Ashanti's regular customers and the new caretaker of his gram's poodle, Puddin'. 

It was the freckles. A smattering of freckles on a woman’s nose and cheeks got him every damn time. 

Thad is fresh out of a fifteen year military career and has a business plan with his friend to open up a bar that would cater to active, former, and retired military. He's not a fan of his gram's poodle and really not a fan of how much doggy daycare costs, causing him and Ashanti to oil and water in the beginning, and especially when Thad ends up buying the house Ashanti had planned on buying to expand her business to. However, they get forced together when Puddin' and Ashanti's dog Duchess, go viral for their cute antics on the live daycare feed. Both need the publicity coverage to drum up interest, which will hopefully lead to money, Ashanti's trying to win a business loan venture contest and Thad's trying to get his new business name out there. 

“He’s so annoying,” she said, setting the phone on the counter. Ashanti caught herself grinning and immediately stopped. 

There's slow burn and then there is me checking to make sure this was tagged as romance. The first fifty-percent of this you will get next to zero romance, it's all introducing and hanging on for the ride that is Ashanti and Thad's busy lives. I happen to gel with this author's writing, it's so smooth, draw you in, naturalness between character interactions, and my kind of readable, that I still flew through this first half, but still, where was the romance? There's some thinking the other is hot and a little back and forth, but you won't get much more than that. At the halfway point, Ashanti and Thad finally spend time together as they travel to New York City for a press junket about their dogs and promote their businesses. There we get a kiss and bedroom scenes but I'm not sure I truly felt the connection between these two to really enjoy them. Their talking to get to know one another was a good amount of Ashanti laying out her troubles/trauma from her parents dying, stress of aunt trying to take twins, and one of the twins not talking to her when something is obviously wrong. There was just so much going on in these characters lives that the romance was like number ten on the going to get to list. 

She found him attractive enough when he was being a surly curmudgeon. She would not be able to handle funny and charming. And gorgeous. She couldn’t forget gorgeous. 

When they come back from NY, Thad doesn't let Ashanti have all the other issues cutting in front of the romance fun, the house he and his friend/business partner bought has a slew of issues that is threatening to push back the opening date they wanted and a seemingly innocuous issue that was brought up earlier, really comes into play with Thad learning something about his beloved grandfather, causing some emotional turmoil. You'd think this would all be enough, but oh no, Ashanti comes back in and that drama that was brewing with one of her sisters, bewildering blows up at around the ninety percent mark. Why was there so much added, taking away the vast majority of room for the romance to build and develop? 

She let herself into the room and closed the door, pressing the back of her head against it like the lead actress in a sappy rom-com. 

A last second drama with Ashanti's business has her realizing that she must get things in order and we get a great happily ever after with her business life and then finally a little bit of time with Thad for a good happily for now (the epilogue does expand on this some). If you're someone who wants the romance immediately, you'd probably struggle to hang in there with this one but you do get some payoff in beginning second half, before these two get busy (not the good kind unfortunately) again with their businesses and life issues.

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Book Club meeting later today, so, obviously had to try a slice of the cake I'm bringing!

I'm more of a big dog person but look at that adorable little Frenchie! 

 Ashanti and Thaddeus' dogs have a budding romance that has become a viral sensation but their owners? Thaddeus just bought the building Ashanti wanted to expand her business (Barkingham Palace 😂) into. 

We've got some static, push-pull, 🔥 tension, and adorable doggies! 

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon preorder (June 4th) link

Strawberry Limeade Cake recipe

I cut the recipe in half and still worked out great

Review: Summertime Punchline

Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

For many years, I'd had a single goal in life: never ever move back to Evergreen, New Jersey.

It feels like Delfina is finally getting her big break when she gets a coveted slot at a make you or break you comedy festival. Wanting to really hone her set, she quits her job at a pub and comedy club, only to walk in on her boyfriend of three months with her roommate. Suddenly, Del is jobless and homeless and on her way back to the hometown she never wanted to see again ten years later. 

We disagreed, we argued, we sometimes found ourselves alone and then things happened that were never mean to happen. That was it. 

Told all from Del's point-of-view, Summertime Punchline had all the highs and lows of being late twenties, your friends all in different places in life, coming into who you really want to be in your career and personal life, finally dealing with those pesky childhood traumas, and an added bonus of a second chance romance. Del was raised by her grandmother, her parents were substance abuse addicts, her mother fatally overdosed when she was young and her father was a deadbeat flitting in and out of her life. While this didn't really deal with Del missing her mother (she was very young when her mother died and her grandmother sufficiently filled the role for her), she did have unresolved issues with her dad. Her issues with him not being there for her when she was a child ebbs and flows throughout the book, finally looking at how it effected her and then how she feels and is willing to move forward now that he has been clean and sober for years. It was a little bit of a different take, with Del wanting to forgive him, and while I'm one to lean more sinking into the hurt, pain, and staying behind walls characters, I did enjoy this kind of restoring route of Del's moving on. So, if you're looking for a forgiveness and willing to build daughter-father relationship, this would hit those points for you. 

Flirting on a Ferris wheel was one thing, but sharing bunk beds? 

Pretty early in the beginning, Del runs into Eddie, her high-school nemesis, friend, and crush. There are flashbacks in this that stretch throughout the whole book to show moments in their friendship that lead to them being close and also ending up not talking for ten years. It's basically that high-school relationship of two kids that have strong feelings but don't have the maturity to deal with them yet, along with not the best home-life mucking things up even more for them. We do get more of an insight into who Eddie's character is in the later second half of the book, as Del and him talk, exposing to readers his story. I did feel some chemistry between them and was rooting for them to get together, they at turns had some good by-play and steamy scenes but I still have to lean this is more Del's journey than Del and Eddie together; a good romance but not the main point. 

His next words came out slow, dark eyes burning into mine. “No games.” 

If you remember me being excited about the mention of the tv show “Hacks” in the blurb, well, it was a little less in there than I expected. Del's move back to Evergreen and staying with her grandmother is for her to be able to rewrite her whole set, because it was all about her relationship with her boyfriend and after the breakup she can't do those jokes anymore. The story seemed to constantly want to stay away from Del actually doing or focusing on this, the moment that really only corresponds is the moment she realizes that she's made her set jokes all about her, making the joke on her, and she doesn't want to do that anymore. However, it doesn't seem like she really wants to be a stand-up comedian too much either because then we get how she is a great singer and maybe wants to be a musician too? It felt a little bait and switch, but she ends up morphing into a kind of Bloodhound Gang comedian with writing songs that are funny. (She performs a song about her crappy dad memories and everyone was hooting and hollering in the audience, didn't really tickle my funny bone but, ymmv) 

I felt the ending rushed the resolving of the issues that Del had been wading through, ending up dampening some of those satisfied feelings you get after journeying with the character. This had more of a happily-for-now (an epilogue does expand on this more) but you'll still enjoy how Del and Eddie end up. This was a great beach read that had those summertime vibes (boardwalk ferris wheel!), secondary characters you'll love (Alfonso! I want a Nan and Alfonso romance stat), a romance that was slow in the making but all the better for it, and main character Del coming into her own in the best way. A debut that makes me exited for what comes next from the author, pick it up this summer!

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Delfina couldn't wait to leave her New Jersey hometown in the dust but 10 years later, she suddenly finds herself right back where she started. 

She's lost her apartment and boyfriend but has 45 days to come up with a new comedy set for a big festival, taking that next step she's always dreamed of. 

But an old crush has shown up to complicate things and Delfina is suddenly seeing relationships and home in whole new ways. 

This sounds like a perfect summer read, the Jersey Shore for setting and Max's tv show Hacks was mentioned in the blurb, count me in! 

Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello purchase link

Lemon Basil Chicken Pasta recipe

I loved this one! Perfect for a lighter feeling pasta in the summer.

Review: The Summer Escape

The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

He gave her a small smile. “Keep your friends close...” 

“And your enemies closer.” 

After finding an old gold coin in a box of her father's things, Anna now finds herself on a mission to prove that he didn't steal it, along with a Ruby Red necklace. Owen's been wanting to find his great-aunt's heirloom necklace for her for years and when he sees a news story about a gold coin that could be the first clue in years, he's not going to leave Anna's side. As a private investigator, Anna feels she has it covered but Owen's worried she'll lie to protect her father's reputation, so they find themselves working together and deluding themselves that “Once to get it out of our system!” is the solution for the building chemistry they find between themselves. 

Owen honestly hadn't known he was into sharp, cynical, feisty firecrackers with a side of sweet, but apparently there was a first time for everything. 

The Summer Escape is in the Sunrise Cove series but borrows from the setting, rather than continued character story lines, you could just pick this up. Anna's our late twenties character, who has the more interesting job of private investigator, but other than a grab your attention beginning dealing with the consequences of such a job, I'm not sure it was fully utilized to it's potential. Her father died a year ago and she's still dealing with the grief when she finds the gold coin. With her older sister Wendy pushing her, she takes it to a pawn shop to get appraised, which kicks off the whole chain of events. Wendy plays a decent sized role in this, she's eight months pregnant with triplets and because she's on bed-rest, feels the need to “come along” with Anna on her investigation (Go-Pro and Air Pods). We also get povs from Wendy, which fine, but your enjoyment of this story is going to come down to if you get annoyed with Wendy being “there” in a good portion of Anna and Owen scenes. I fell more on the annoyed side, especially when Anna and Owen were getting to know one another and some chemistry was trying to build, only to be “humorously” interrupted by Wendy. Your mileage may vary. 

“We said this wasn't happening. We're wrong for each other.” She didn't like the desperation in her voice. 

If you're a frequent Shalvis reader, you'll get some of that easy flowing sweet and flirty chemistry that she's known for, but a little less of the fun and light. This had Anna dealing with her grief, and fear that her dad was a thief, tarnishing his halo a bit to her and Owen having some of his own grief with his great-aunt suffering and declining from dementia. These two ruminated in these emotional upheavals, along with Anna not thinking she was good enough for Owen and Owen, faintly, because he seems just about all in pretty quickly, shaking off his playboy demeanor/past. I missed more of the fun falling in love, with some emotional hurdles, that I love Shalvis for, because this was more of rinse and repeat Anna saying a relationship between them would never work. If you like your characters to therapist chair talk to each other (this could be me being a tad dramatic) instead of flirt on, like, a kitchen counter, this would be more for you. 

She met his gave. “We can't get too attached, right?” 

And wasn't that the problem, because he was beginning to realize he was already very attached, and...he wanted more, far more. 

The investigation to find out who stole the coins and necklace, was fairly weak, I kept waiting for our private investigator Anna to do a lot more. She has a police officer friend give her the name of suspects from the original theft case, and there is some going to talk to a few people, but overall, didn't feel super active (which, I guess, real but not real entertaining) A danger blast from the past arrives later in the story to give us some action in the end and answers to the coins and necklace questions. The danger gives Anna a chance to open her eyes and realize what she really wants from life to give us the HEA. 

He was pretty sure her smile made his heart skip a beat. 

If a very pregnant sister cutting in and more emotional rumination than fun flirting, with a little side investigation that delivers some danger sounds good to you, then Shalvis always has that smooth flowing writing that is easy to pick up.

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It's a beautiful day in my neck of the woods, so why not really embrace those summer vibes? 

Plus, bonus floof on the cover! 

🌞📖 

It's back to Sunrise Cove, where it's enemies-to-lovers and missing treasure. 

Anna wants to prove her dad's innocent of stealing a necklace, but she's going to have to work with adventurist Owen, who wants to return the necklace to its owner, his aunt. 

A little adventure with a usually sweet, fun, and sexy Shalvis?! Yes, please! 

The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis preorder (June 11th) link

Vegan Fajita Pasta recipe

Review: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Can I really turn this fake relationship into a real one? 

Emily is now the only unmarried daughter in her family and at thirty-three, she's feeling the pressure from her mother. After going along with her mother's first disastrous matchmaking scheme, Emily wants nothing to do with her mother's latest pick, Mark Chan. Especially after feeling like he was judging her and wouldn't stay off his phone when she first meets him at her younger sister's wedding. However, Emily's mother is caring and devious, tricking Emily into a date with him and there, Emily comes up with a plan to fake date for three months to get her mother off her back, a plan Mark surprisingly goes along with. 

But I concede— in my own mind, not out loud— that Mark has grown on me, and the juxtaposition of his neat clothes and cat named Ms. Muffins is weirdly delightful. 

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie was a cute fake dating story where, oops, my mom was right and I do have chemistry with this guy, that had a lot of women's fiction/chik-lit to it but came in with a surprising second half (truly, I gasped) introducing some chapters with Mark's point-of-view. The first half is all from Emily's pov and focused on how she feels like her mother is disappointed in life choices and job of being a writer and her sisters all sneer at her “I don't have my life together because I don't have a husband, kids, and white picket fence”. If you're a writer and disillusioned by the publishing business, you'd probably do a lot of cathartic commiserating with Emily. I'm not in the business and as a reader, I liked how it gave some life to her character, filling out her make-up and world, but there was a lot repeated and bemoaned over and over, to the point it started to make me want to say, “No career is a picnic”'; but, again, not the target for this aspect. 

Mark Chan is more than a little handsome. 

I lean this more towards women's fiction/chik-lit because it did feel more like Emily's life and getting herself together, with a romance. Along with the job woes, there was also a lot of family dynamics and Emily being comfortable and standing up for herself. There did feel like some chip-on-the-shoulder misunderstanding from Emily, constantly saying/thinking her mother isn't proud of her when there is a good amount of evidence to the contrary and this also carried over to the beginning of the romance with Mark. When Emily first meets Mark, she constantly railroads over him and decides what he means or thinks instead of listening to him. It's a little before the midway point when Emily finally gets out of her own head and then apologizes to Mark for misconceptions and they start to date for real. 

But how, exactly, does he feel about me? 

As I said, the second half brings in Mark pov's, I had a misconception of my own and thought the whole second half was going to be from his take but we only got a few chapters through his eyes. It did help on the romance front some, though, because we see why he went along with Emily's fake dating scheme, and get some of his family dynamic, giving readers an insight into his character and why he's more a little straitlaced. I liked some of the chemistry that developed between the two when Mark got to teasing, taking Emily by surprise because of her thinking he's uptight. The few povs we got from Mark centered around physical attraction a bit more than I would have liked, giving more lust than emotional to me, but I did enjoy the open-door scenes we got (feeling a little forced at times with the du jour “good girl” vibes). So, while this had a stronger romance plot, I still felt it was more Emily's life/romance journey than Emily and Mark's romance genre story. 

And then the unthinkable happens. Mark winks at me. 

The ending had Emily talking things out with her mom and sister for some family resolution, which I liked but then hardly left any time for Emily and Mark to have their own, again, the romance getting a little shafted in favor of chik-lit, in my eyes, but the epilogue padded the HEA, which I enjoyed. Along with if you're a writer struggling in the business, if you're a more heavily online social media person, you'd probably enjoy the many, many references to various dramas and news stories (I feel like this is going to age the book very quickly??). I would have liked some of the writer's business and headline dramas taken out in favor of strengthening the romance but if you're a struggling writer bemoaning work, family issues, and misconstruing what a cute guy in a sweater is saying, this could be enjoyable (and eye-opening!) for you.

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58%

Me at 57% pretty much already knowing what I'm going to say in the review, definitely bringing up the meta moment of talking about how romance is a delight to read because you get different povs and yet, this is written all from FMC's pov. 

Until I turn the page and at 58% it's switching to the MMC!! 

Y'all the way I GASPED! 

Is this going to have more romance than women's fic/chik-lit?!?