Reading Update: Page 1

 

Sad the Rogue to Riches series ends today but so excited for Ned to get his happily ever after 💗 

Lunch time with the boy who was rescued from the slums but will now have to use all his skills to help his lady love. 

Never a Duke by Grace Burrowes purchase link

Spicy Mango Black Bean & Avocado Tacos recipe

These were so easy and good!

Quickie Review: Scandal's Daughter

Scandal's Daughter by Christine Wells
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was kind of a boring mess. The heroine doesn't want to get married because she doesn't want to leave her grandfather's estate that she runs. Grandfather is the hero's godfather and since the grand/godfather thinks he's dying, asks hero to marry heroine. Hero is all rake-y/dad issue-y and not wanting to marry but agrees to get heroine to his estate to try and hook her up with dudes and if he fails at the end of the month(? I can't remember time frame) he has to marry her. 

There's some drama with the heroine's mom being gossiped about as a loose woman and the heroine has tried to live "good" to keep the stain from also falling on her. My eyes glazed over in the middle because it was a lot of back and forth with heroine and hero being attracted, liking each other but "I can't!". There was a very short messy secondary romance between the hero's sister and hero's bf, that actually seemed to have some fun and passion but too much to the side and wrapped up silly quick. 

I came to towards the end because suddenly the who was thought to be the heroine's mother's lover was turned out to be the heroine's brother???? Yeah. I told you it was boring messy. 

Anyway, heroine and hero decide that "I can!" and HEA. I only wrote up this little recap because I wanted to post this quote: 

“Did you tell her, my dear?” 

He could have asked the obvious question, but he knew what she meant. “No. I did not tell her I love her. She does not want my love. She is better off without it.” They stood together in the freshening breeze, as storm clouds rolled over the sun. 

“How do you know?” she said. 

“Pardon?” 

“How do you know she is better off? Your love might make all the difference.” 

This is why I very, very rarely DNF, there can be little hidden gems. Like, YES. "Your love might make all the difference." You might be using your fear to protect yourself but it could in turn hurt the person you love. I thought this was a gorgeous little passage.

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Reading Update: 30%

In addition to the liveried coachman and postilions, three outriders and two Dalmatians made up the entourage. 

Is this heroine's stepmother going to turn out to be Cruella De vil? 

Pongo, that you???

Review: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Unexpectedly finding herself at the helm of her family's distillery had been...difficult. 

Luz Alana Heith-Benzan lost her mother years ago and now with her father passing eighteen months ago, she's responsible for taking care of her little sister, Clarita. A little hurt that her father passed operations of their family distillery in Santo Domingo to his second-in-command, but left her in charge of expansion in Europe, Luz decides to sell most of her shares in Caña Brava back to the people that have worked and shared in the success of the business. She plans on taking 300 casks of rum to the Exposition Universelle in Paris to sell and try to make contacts to start a new business of selling cordials. Planning on settling in Edinburgh, her father's ancestral home, she also is trying to get her inheritance released to her but her father's solicitor in Edinburgh keeps dodging in his letters. With her two bestfriends, Manuela and Aurora, her younger sister Clarita, and chaperone Amaranta, Luz sets off to gain control of her future. 

The distillery could be his...if he married. 

James Evanston Sinclair, Earl of Darnick and heir apparent of the Duke of Annan, is in Paris trying to sell his Braeburn whisky when he tries to move some rum bottles out of the way and gets told what's what by a woman that instantly captures his interest. When they meet again at a salacious nightclub Paris show, he can think of no one else. Evan has his hands full with plotting revenge against his father with his newly discovered brother Apollo but when his late mother's will is finally discovered, he knows a way to help himself and Luz out and keep her in his life at least a little while longer. 

“Luz Alana, I want to offer you a business partnership,” he finally said, surprising her. 

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris is first in the Las Léonas series and brought back all that fun, engaging travel and history of bodice rippers of old but through an updated fresh lens of a character with Luz's life experience, Dominican woman with a Scottish father. The first couple pages introduce us to Luz and the rest of the Las Léonas pride as they travel to Paris. It can seem a little first in a series unloading but, like how old bodice rippers used to do, it becomes more of an Introduction as the book is broken up into sections, Paris is next, followed by Braeburn, and finally Edinburgh. I thought this was a great idea as it suddenly didn't feel like info-dumping but an intro; the section cutting never hurt the flow for me, more helped set me in the place we now were. I did think the Braeburn section felt more like an interlude and kind of slowed the story for me as I felt like it could have been cut and condensed as repetitiveness bogged it down. In fact, I felt like a good amount of the middle slowed. The start in Paris was so engaging and when some of the historical setting details fell away in favor of the romance, my interest wasn't as captured because I found the romance weaker. 

Agua brava. 

Furious water, an undertow that could lift you up and wash you away. That would never leave you quite in the same place it found you. That returned you slightly---but irrevocably---different. So that at night when you lay in your dry bed, you still felt the memory of that wave moving inside you. 

Evan is pretty much all in when he meets Luz, he's instantly attracted to her and mostly likewise for Luz but she has more to lose and therefore has to be more wary. I thought in the beginning the writing prose style, when describing the feelings between Evan and Luz, was very dramatic, sizzling feelings attraction, lush language but even though I was reading the words, I didn't feel it between them. Evan just had those feelings, I'm not sure I was able to see him develop them, which is what I want to read in a romance. These two definitely get hot and heavy, so if you're about those scenes and don't mind insta-love/lust, you'd probably enjoy their romance more. Not feeling their romance as much definitely attributed to my less enjoyment of the second half. 

“[..] Women's lives can be a series of daunting choices. Our freedoms or our peace, our safety or our pride. Every day we negotiate these things.” 

The plot and characters definitely had a lot going on but I loved all the factions going on, it can feel like a lot to pay attention to, probably more of that first in a series because of introducing future main characters, but I just enjoyed a historical that had some meat to it. The story keeps Luz and Evan together by having Evan discovering his mother's will only gifts him his Braeburn distillery as a wedding gift and Luz being able to sidestep her solicitor by marrying because then her inheritance releases to her. So, around 60% we get our marriage of convenience and the issue becomes both of them having deeper feelings but keeping that to themselves as they both think the other only wants to stick to the plan of staying married for ninety days. 

This woman owned him. Every inch of him was hers. 

The historical research, incorporation of cultural issues, and secondary characters that were full and rich in their own right, I enjoyed immensely. Luz was a notable leading lady, she never shied away from who she was and fought to create her place in the world. Evan was great in how he supported Luz and used his power and consequence to always help Luz. Their romance was the weaker component of the story for me, I missed feeling the development of their feelings grow but the historical aspects were wonderful. The beginning in Paris dazzled me, the middle slowed some for me, and then the ending gives us some last minute danger before we get our happily ever after. If you don't mind some insta-lust and been wanting more historical details (shebeens talk! newly constructed Eiffel tower!)/setting in your romance, this was a great intro into a new series. 

“Mademoiselle Caña Brava. Imgaine finding you here.”

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Reading Update: 30%

"I've got my own." Luz lifted the right side of her skirt and fished for the flask pressed to her thigh. She grinned as he choked on a mouthful of whisky when he lowered his gaze to where her hand had gone.

"That's convenient," he said hoarsely, sounding impressed. 

"I have a pistol on the other leg."

That brought on a coughing fit. She unscrewed the slim bottle in her hands, extremely pleased with herself.

"Slainte mhath," she said, tipping the flask in his direction and she watched his jaw tighten, nostrils flaring. She sipped slowly, eyes fastened on him, and from one second to the next his lazy repose turned into something far more predatory.

A hunter ready to pounce. 

"And I thought you were dangerous in Spanish." His brogue was more pronounced now. Every word sinking into her bones like that first drop of rum on the tongue. Scalding and sweet. Luz should've heeded the danger there, but instead she drank deeply, never taking her eyes off him. When she was done she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, then offered Evan her flask.

Reading Update: Page 1

 

Did I go too hard with the cheese on these? 

Trick Question!!! You can never go too hard with the cheese 🧀 💃 

This has been an exhausting week, ready for a rum heiress, a Scot trying to distance himself from his family's dirty money by building a whisky brand, and a possible marriage of convenience to guide me into the weekend. 

A weekend with rum and whisky, who said booklovers don't know how to party! 😉 

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera pre-order (May 31st) link

Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas recipe

Review: The Lotus Palace

The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tldr: Loved this story, first half more murder mystery, romance comes on in second half, a lot of underlining emotion, it's in the subtitles with this one. I could have talked about this story forever and I kept having to go back to talk about things I missed, so this probably comes off rambling :/ 

*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion. 

The earthquake had dredged up all the hidden secrets of the quarter. Two murders, occurring so close together. One was a stranger who meant nothing to anyone except the grim-faced constable who was ruthlessly dedicated to his duties. But Huilan was well-known and beloved. Or at least she had been. 

This month's TBRChallenge theme was Location, Location, Location and I immediately thought of this book that has been on my tbr since 2016. It takes place 847 AD in Tang Dynasty China and with how fascinating this story was, I need to read more books taking place during this time and place and historical romance needs to get with the program and published more. Thank you to the author for including and incorporating so much of this world. As an overall story, this is 5 stars, if I was just rating on romance, I'd probably give it 4 stars. The first half is more about setting up the murder mystery and the romance doesn't really start to get more focus until around 45%. We enter the story when an earthquake has just hit and this dislodges a small boat that has a dead body in it, no one recognizes the body and then Huilan, a favored courtesan, is strangled to death and the mystery is on. 

Her fate had been decided from birth by a bright red birthmark that curved along her left cheek. The stain rendered her unsuitable for the pleasure houses, for who wished to invest time and money to train a courtesan with a ruined face? A prostitute required no such training. 

The emotion in this is more underlining, subtle and not verbally spoken at times. I struggled with feeling like this had the emotions but they weren't quite reaching the depth I wanted; I kept thinking the strength of a Courtney Milan but a more surface Milan, better than the average but not hitting that peak for me. The latter second half delivered on this better for me and maybe this was planned because I started to feel them more as our lead Yue-ying started to warm up too. Yue-ying is the maidservant to Mingyu, one of the Four Beauties of the North Hamlet, also known as Pingkang Li, a pleasure district. I think it was around 40-50% that we learn that Mingyu is actually Yue-ying's older sister and that when Yue-ying was 8yrs old, a man came to their home and said that Mingyu was so gorgeous, that a nobleman would want to marry her and even though Yue-ying has a large red moon-shaped birthmark on her face, he took her too, or rather, her parents sold them to him. The sisters get separated when Mingyu goes to be taught how to be a courtesan (While scholar-gentlemen professed to be enthralled by the courtesans, ultimately these women were slaves. Despite their elevated status and illusion of independence, they were bought and sold as commodities.) and Yue-ying is put in a brothel to be forced to be a prostitute. Mingyu eventually is able to find her and buys her freedom and for the last four years Yue-ying has been her maidservant at Mingyu's place of work, The Lotus Palace. There's some vague flashbacks to this time of Yue-ying's life but it's more about the PTSD she developed, how she's more closed off, and how this affects intimacy between her and Lord Bai Huang. 

Bai Huang was a well-known fixture of the entertainment district. He was a night owl, a flirt, a spendthrift and an eternal student, having failed the imperial exams three times. 

Lord Bai Huang is an often visitor to Lotus and while he makes a good show of trying to win Mingyu's affections, his eyes follow Yue-ying. We kind of come in after his fascination is already developed for her, which I missed a little bit but the getting to know her and the growth with how he treats her once he keeps learning about her, more than makes up for it. Reader's learn (about 30%) before Yue-ying that his jester attitude is a bit of a put-on as he's really spying for his father, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, he's trying to get information about a General Deng (I feel like this was a character that we didn't get a great handle on) and keep a general ear to the ground as there is a new emperor and he has appointed a new magistrate, Li. People accept this role from Huang because he is a gambling addict and a couple years ago, he ran up a huge debt. His father ended up paying it for him but with some tough love, Huang ended up on a naval ship and learning some hard work. The courtesan, Huilan, who ends up being strangled had previously went to Huang and asked for his help, because of his rich nobleman status, in getting out of the North Hamlet in exchange for some important information she had but she ends up dead before he can help her. So we have secretly trying to be redeemed Huang while he is trying to figure out who murdered Huilan, spying for his father, and studying to pass the palace exams because without a jinshi degree, Huang can't hold an imperial appointment, which failure of this would be shaming his family. 

The fool Bai Huang lacked shame or manners, but he made up for it with good looks and money, so he was tolerated. The girl had treated him like a sack of potatoes that night. After that, Huang had made a point of trying to catch her eye, but she couldn’t be charmed. She couldn’t be bribed. He was fascinated. 

Because Yue-ying lives and works in Pingkang-Li, Huang asks for her to work with him to ferret out information and find out what had Huilan scared, wanting to leave, coming to Huang for help, and what important information she wanted to tell him. This is around 15% when they start to work together and you'll feel Huang's fascination for Yue-ying right away, he's the more lighter and open one but because of Yue-ying's past, she doesn't trust in his or her emotions. It hurts in the only way reality can with every thought Yue-ying has about their class differences and how they don't have a future, her shame of her past, and her disbelief in her physical attraction. I think because of her true relationship with Mingyu (remember, sisters) wanting to be a story secret, we don't get a feeling for their relationship in the first half. Mingyu warns Yue-ying in a protective feeling manner to be wary of Huang's feelings, she of course has her own past PTSD and experiences with men's natures but after working slightly to keep them apart, she tells Yue-ying to make her own choices and almost seems to push Yue-ying towards Huang. It begins to look like Mingyu knows something about Huilan's death and now she is scared for her and Yue-ying's safety. 

“An arrest warrant has been issued for Lady Mingyu,” Wu reported. “She is to be brought in on suspicion of murder.” 

After Yue-ying returns to the Lotus after a night with Huang, she discovers Mingyu gone and is obviously worried and Huang reveals that he was attacked, warned to stay out of Huilan's death, and the men threatened Yue-ying but using a nickname she had when she was a prostitute. Yue-ying agrees to stay with Huang and this is when the romance part gets more of a focus. It's hurtful emotional but I liked how the author showed Yue-ying's disconnect in the beginning of her and Huang's intimacy, she doesn't immediately accept sex just because it's Huang but it becomes a process and learning, growth, and connection for both of them (even then I thought there was a little gliding over painful pasts). Around 65% is when Yue-ying starts to be able to connect with herself and Huang in this regard. 

“You’re always trying to hide this.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb and she fought hard not to flinch. People always asked if it hurt. No, it doesn’t, she’d answer. But yes. Yes, it did. 

“That’s the problem with men like you. This sort of thing is a game, as if you had a right to everything in the world for your amusement.” 

“I didn’t mean—” 

“You only meant to tease. You have the privilege of turning everything into a jest when I’ve never had the privilege to even refuse such an act.” She hadn’t intended to become so aggravated. Bai Huang was silent beside her while she tried to calm herself. 

“I didn’t consider it that way,” he said finally. She didn’t acknowledge his words. If it was an apology, and it didn’t sound like one, she wouldn’t accept it. “Have you never—?” To his credit, he continued past her cold stare. “Have you never had a kiss that you actually wanted?”

“Why would I ever want such a thing?” she replied sharply. Any man who had ever touched her had held something over her. Money or status and usually both. And always the threat of his physical strength. They hadn’t all been brutes or drunks. A few were even kind, in their own way. Most were indifferent. In many ways, a kiss was more of an invasion than a body pressing over her. It was the touching of mouths, the exchange of breath. Too much was woven into a kiss; all the senses of touch, taste and sound. There was no way for her to explain how she had been overwhelmed by it all. 

I thought the author did a great job of showcasing the power dynamic between Huang and Yue-ying, this was the emotional and believable plot keeping them apart, and provided lines (the quote above) that brought some watery-eyes emotion. 

The sounds on the other side of the wall had quieted. In the darkness, he touched a hand against the wood, pressing lightly as if he could reach through to the other side. To Yue-ying. 

Mingyu ends up showing back up as the murder mystery starts to get unraveled and reveals are made. I feel like, before I forget, I need to quickly talk about Constable Wu, the talk, dark, man who arrests Mingyu and who she likes to push. After Yue-ying visits Mingyu in jail and then asks Wu Kaifeng to look after Mingyu and he clenches his jaw (I'm a sucker for the restrained emotion represented by a clenched a jaw) I raced to GoodReads to see if they are in the series. THEY ARE! I NEED their book, STAT. Where was I? Oh right, the murder mystery getting unraveled, I'm not going to reveal all, specifically the who, but I am going to reveal that Mingyu was involved because she was recusing a little girl from slavers, the same kind of people who paid for Mingyu and Yue-ying. 

“Mingyu didn’t take a stash of silver from the smugglers,” she concluded. “She took this child. That’s why she’s been so secretive—to protect the girl.” Because the girl was a slave. She was property and Mingyu had killed her owner and stolen her. Yue-ying felt a deep ache within her chest. She knew exactly why Mingyu had done such a thing. 

Y'all, the watery-eyes at the above quote and all out catch sob at Mingyu saying: “I had to rescue her.” It's not all blatant emotion but good god is it here. The murder mystery actually (almost) wraps-up around 80% and while this usually has me complaining about the story having a dearth ending feel, the last 20% gives us Yue-ying and Huang working for their HEA. 

“I was always aware of who you were. I have to be. Look at Taizhu. Even as well respected as he is, he still feared retribution because of where he came from. One never forgets. The world does not let you forget.” 

Yue-ying learns that Huang has been betrothed since childhood, which hammers home even more her belief that they will never be together forever, especially when Huang passes his exams and is about to embark on his future. There's talk of Yue-ying being his concubine but because she loves him too much, she doesn't think she can do it and this gets tied into new information that Huang learns about his mother, father, and his father's concubine; marriage and love, it contains infinite multitudes. This is a romance genre story, so never fear, Yue-ying and Huang do get their happily ever after and even though I would have loved to have seen a conversation between Huang and his mother, I liked how it all came about. 

Bai Huang, the most beautiful man in the Pingkang li, was watching her and asking her with his eyes to kiss him. 

There was a last second, in the last ten minutes of the story, reveal involving the murder mystery to give this a completed wrap-up feeling but I was still coasting a little high on Yue-ying getting the love she deserved to care too much. Huang was the more light-hearted of the two, obviously because of life experiences but I loved how he learned to grow in how he loved Yue-ying and I loved how the author had him understanding Yue-ying by tying it back to his father and how Huang understood “tough love”. (Some quotes: - Her eyes were alight with mischief. Huang had the sudden urge to take hold of the trailing end of that red ribbon around her waist and reel her in close. 

- He had thought he was finally getting close to Yue-ying, when he was never further away. 

- He pressed a hand to his chest, looking on in wonder as she disappeared.) 

Yue-ying is the one that will crack your heart and give you that hurt-emotion that romance genre masochists like me love to read; watery-eyes, heart-clenching, but ultimately uplifting in the endurance of humans and love. (Some quotes: - Yue-ying had no reputation to protect and her virtue was long gone. And she had given up so much more to men who had meant so much less to her. Why not someone who was well mannered and well-spoken? Who was handsome and strong and who she was growing fond of? On some tomorrow, she would be old. Bai Huang would be just a name and a memory. Mingyu had so many admirers, yet she cared little for them. Yue-ying, the girl once cruelly called Half-Moon because of her ruined face, had no such admirers. So let me have this one, she thought with an air of defiance as she returned to the Lotus Palace. Even if it is just a game to him. 

- Whereas Mingyu was considered ji, an artist and entertainer, Yue-ying had been chang, nothing more than a vessel, a whore. 

- “It’s your decision,” Mingyu said quietly. 

“You know that’s not true. There is no decision to make.” A wealthy patron occasionally offered to pay off a courtesan’s debts to her foster mother. But Yue-ying was already free, or as free as a woman without family or means could be. Mingyu had bought her debt from the brothel to bring her here, something that a nobleman like Bai Huang would never have considered. 

- “Is this love?” he asked simply. His voice was low and sensual. 

“Scholars and their romantic notions,” she chided, though her heart was hammering inside her. 

Magistrate Li - the young new appointee, Constable Wu (that clenched jaw currently lives rent free in my mind), Mingyu (“I had to rescue her.” SOB), Wei-wei – Huang's sister who seems headstrong and adventuress, Gao – works for a money-lender, the one who stabbed Huang when he didn't pay his gambling debt but now helps gather/works for him during the murder-mystery solving, and Zhou Dan – the Bai's manservant, were all secondary characters that I demand get their own books. 

And because I'm thirsty af for their stories, I went and spoiled myself with who future books are about. 

- Constable Wu and Mingyu – I NEED 

- Wei-wei and Gao – The f-ing way I Gasped. Y'ALL. The privileged headstrong daughter and the guy from the wrong side of the tracks that once stabbed her older brother. WANT 

- Magistrate Li and Song Yi – I don't think we meet Song Yi in this? Or wait, was she the one who took Huilan's place? 

Anyway, sorry to my book club because the way I'm going to keep nominating these books until we've all read them.

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Reading Update: 50%

“Why—?” She paused to swallow. “Why did you offer to redeem me?” 

He approached her, watching every emotion that flickered over her face. Color rose to her cheeks as he neared. “Why can’t you be my concubine?” 

She gave a sharp laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? Look at you and look at me.” 

He caught her gaze and held it. “I’m looking.” 

Yue-ying tilted her chin upward in challenge. Not only to him, but to everyone who had ever stared at her. “Why would anyone pay for a concubine whose face was ruined like this?” 

“This face isn’t ruined.” He cupped her face in his hands and she flinched. He could see the tremor in her lower lip and how hard she fought to maintain her composure. She wanted to look away and hide herself, but she didn’t. And he fell a little bit more for her because of it. 

The mystery plot eclipses the romance in the first half but oof, the underlining emotion is heart clench hurt.

Review: Pregnant with the Billionaire's Baby

Pregnant with the Billionaire's Baby by Carole Mortimer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

‘You can’t just kidnap someone against their will!’ 

You sweet summer child, first time in Harlequin Presents? 

Do you! like! exclamation points? It's time! to feast! my friend!

 

Jacob Sinclair, but he's known as Sin (I love HP) becomes the rescuer outside a restaurant when Luccy (I'll never let go of how it's two Cs) clings to him and pretends they know each other as she's trying to get away from a potential client turned sexual harasser. They end up going to Sin's room and having a night of wild HP sex. Luccy leaves in the morning not sure of her feelings and Sin gets in his feefees over how much he liked her and how could she just slink away?(!) 

Again, because this is HP, turns out Sin is a billionaire grandson who's LLC owns the cosmetic company Luccy has a photography contract with, one that is about up. Sin also owns the hotel that Luccy was having a business meeting at and gets the name of the people who were having dinner, goes to the sexual harasser to find out more about Luccy and gets told that, well, actually, Luccy was trying to hit on him and blackmail him by saying she would tell his wife they slept together unless he hired Luccy. Sin believes this and when he finds out about Luccy's contract almost up, thinks she is going to try and blackmail him with their sleeping together to get a renewed contract with his cosmetic company. Meanwhile, Luccy doesn't even know Sin's identity. The boy needs to majorly check himself. Of course, Luccy finds herself pregnant after their first night together and Sin demands they get married because she carries The Sinclair Heir. 

Anyway, typical HP squabbling, purposeful misunderstandings, and Drama and Emotion. The exclamation point usage, though, was wilding.(!) 

‘Semi-skimmed milk would be healthier than full-fat, Wallace,’ Sin put in decisively. ‘And perhaps you could add some of your wholesome home-made biscuits, too. Anything else you would like, Luccy?’ he asked lightly. 

As an afterthought, Luccy felt sure! ‘No, you seem to have it pretty well covered,’ she answered tartly. 

‘What did I do this time?’ Sin asked once the two of them were outside seated at the green marble table on the terrace, the view incredible, the air warm and clear. 

Her eyes flashed as she looked across at him. ‘You are going to be one of those overprotective prospective fathers!’ 

He gave an unapologetic shrug. ‘I just thought you should eat healthily.’ 

‘I know what I have to do, Sin!’ 

‘Then why are we arguing about it?’ he pointed out mildly. 

Luccy almost growled in frustration. ‘I thought I had already made it plain that I don’t like being told what to do.’ 

‘Even when it’s in your own best interests?’ 

‘Even then!’ 

You might say, now Whiskey, maybe one or two seem a bit unnecessary, why the pointing out? Imagine the whole story like this though!(!) I was exhausted reading this because of all the ! .(!) I eventually gave up and just deadpanned whenever the characters spoke, even if there was a ! .(!) 

It takes until around the 85% mark until Sin realizes/believes that Luccy wasn't trying to blackmail him and the sexual harasser maybe wasn't a stand-up truth telling dude. Luccy also comes to the conclusion that just because her sister got pregnant young and married because of it and her marriage was bad, that Luccy isn't quite in the same situation and because she loves Sin (why tho'?(!)) it's ok to marry him. A truly all's well that ends well .(!)

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Review: A Wedding on Sunshine Corner

A Wedding on Sunshine Corner by Phoebe Mills
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Months of even more interaction with the one man who seemed to drive her out of her ever-loving mind, all while being entrenched in the most romantic ventures possible? What could go wrong? 

The youngest in the family with four older brothers, Savannah has always been protected and coddled, which has made her self-conscious in her own abilities. When her bestfriend hands over the responsibility of running her daycare's new preschool, Savannah isn't sure if she can handle the job and then her brother wants her to help do the legwork on planning his wedding with his bestfriend Noah, the oil to her water. Noah is barely keeping his head above water as a single parent, his ex-wife has moved to Texas, and his EMT job is becoming a struggle to keep because of the hours. Growing up with a single mother, he learned to take care of things himself, making him hate asking for help. He can't refuse his bestfriend though, when he asks for help planning his wedding, even if he has to work with the princess. As they are forced to spend more time together, Savannah and Noah begin to see that preconceived notions were maybe wrong and their chemistry has never felt so right. 

He hated this. Hated feeling like he was always dropping the ball, now that he was the one juggling them all. 

A Wedding on Sunshine Corner is second in the series but you'll have no problem jumping in here. Savannah is the bestfriend from the heroine in book one and here we get a deeper look into what could first come off as her flighty personality because of her previous starting educations and hobbies but never fully committing to them long term. Savannah comes from a big loving family and as the youngest, it was easy to see how Noah was annoyed with how everyone babied her, making him think she leaned into her spoiledness but in actuality, Savannah at twenty-nine was straining to prove that she could do things on her own. Since this dynamic was so central to Savannah's character struggles, I could have read even more one-on-one scenes with her brothers and parents, we get some group scenes but I missed more of that connection with her family. 

So she matched his stance and raised an eyebrow in defiance, ignoring the flip of her stomach when those whiskey-colored eyes bored into hers, the intensity enough to make her toes curl. 

For his part, you'll really feel Noah's stress as he tries to figure out how to keep his dream job as an EMT but make the hours work as he solely tries to be responsible for his daughter Rosie's childcare and help plan his bestfriend Caleb's wedding with Savannah. Was the the whole plot of Savannah and Noah doing the legwork for Caleb and his fiancée's wedding a bit forced? Yes, but it got our two together and since they did have readable chemistry, I went along with it. Around 30% these two start to soften towards each other and sleeping together follows not too long after. I can't say I really felt the snap of knowing each other for twenty years and then finally giving into the always there underlining attraction but even if that more angsty tension was missing, I believed in their liking each other and wanting to sleep together because of attraction. This had more of the softer, hopeful spring feel, which would make it a good comfort vacation read. 

He didn't know if Savannah Lowe was his girlfriend, but he was starting to think he might want her to be. 

At 80% we get our third act break-up and they say hurtful things to each other in the way only someone who has known you for most of your life can, attacking insecurities, and then an ending romantic apology scene that visually hit the mark but missed a little in the emotional punch for me. I didn't get a total sense of the small town but I enjoyed the cast of characters, especially the scene where Savannah and her group of friends, which includes women of all ages, get together for their ladies night. This wasn't full of angsty passion but it did feel real with some sweet, and characters that have future main couples written all over them. If looking to relax and escape, Savannah's dreamy and Noah's practical had some layers and feelings that will take you away for a few hours.

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Review: The Dimple of Doom

The Dimple of Doom by Lucy Woodhull
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Why hadn't I run to the coppers? Because his eyes made me wet.
There were worse reasons.

This book kind of ran me over like a Mack truck; it was frenetic, wild, manic, funny, sexy, and at times, only seemed to be held together with a wing and a prayer. The characters, story, and tone is in the same vein as Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Spotless by Camilla Monk. Although, those books had a bit tighter plot, this one's ending got pretty convoluted with some characters getting extra criminal-ly towards the end.

"Did you just say to me that you kidnapped me as a favour because evil men were after me because you caused them to be after me?"

The story is from our heroine Samantha's point of view and her stream of conscious is full of innuendos, pop culture, and overall screwball comedy. I definitely missed insight from our hero Sam (oh yes, your main couple is Sam and Samantha) but he still showed up strong from his interactions with Samantha. Their back and forth was delightful but you're going to have to like your humor a bit left of center to enjoy the ride, old curmudgeon me even guffawed a few times.

As I mentioned, the tone and pace is a bit frenetic and manic as our couple runs from police and criminals alike which keeps the pages flipping by but it also got a bit wearying a little over half-way through. Have you ever ridden the Sizzler at a carnival? It was a bit like that, "Wee! This is wild and fun, feel the air rush by me!" and then you go on it for one too many times, banging against the sides of your seat and it's like "Ouch! $%*%! I'm going to throw up!", as the wind isn't so much whipping in your hair as you're getting neck breaking whiplash. Some of the middle and maybe one extra criminal could have been left out to streamline the story and cut it short.

This is also book one in a trilogy about Sam and Samantha, so while I wouldn't call it a complete cliffhanger, you get more of a happy for now and clearly their story isn't over ending. I was hugely pleasantly surprised by this one, the humor won't be for everyone but I'll definitely be gearing up to strap myself in for another wild ride with these two.


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Taco Thursday 🌮🥳 because why should Tuesday have all the fun 

It's cold and blustery outside, so I'm snuggling in with a small town romance with a preschool teacher and single father paramedic. They've been trying to ignore their chemistry but lucky for me, I think that's about to become impossible 😉 

Happy Thursday! 

A Wedding on Sunshine Corner by Phoebe Mills purchase link 

Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tacos recipe

These were pretty easy to make and I liked the sweet and spicy combo. Also easy to adjust sweet and spicy to own tastebuds.

Review: A Daring Pursuit

A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

She could see no end in sight. 

Lady Carys Davies is being blackmailed by the man she thought she was going to marry and had one youthful indiscretion with. Unless he gets his payments of fifty pounds, Christopher Howe threatens to ruin Carys reputation. With three loving and protective older brothers, Carys doesn't want them getting hotheaded and challenging Howe to a duel, so she keeps paying the blackmail. When childhood and family nemesis Tristan Montgomery at first misunderstands why Carys is in Howe's carriage, he thinks she's carrying on affair with Howe, he offers to show her a better time in the bedroom. When truths are revealed, Carys and Tristan begin to better understand those childhood nemesis feelings were really masking something else. 

This was the Carys Davies who appeared in public: carefree and delightful, a girl who cared for nobody’s opinion but her own. No one could guess that on the inside she was besieged by panic and uncertainty. Not even her brothers. Especially not them. 

Second in the Ruthless Rivals series, A Daring Pursuit focuses on Carys and Tristan, siblings of the couple in the first book (A Reckless Match). The first introduced readers to the Davis and Montgomery feud, started, possibly, over a pig and more pranks and teasing in the current generation. You could pick up here as the family feud isn't really discussed and siblings don't make too much of an appearance. In fact, I missed the siblings having more of a presence, along with Tristan's aunts who when they do appear in the very latter half enlivened the story, and disappointingly, we never get to see Tristan with his dad. Carys has a friend Frances that is the beginning but she faded off and while having the focus all on Carys and Tristan was nice, I'm not sure they were a strong enough couple to shoulder the whole story. A stronger presence of the fun secondary characters we got to know some in the first would have bolstered this world and in turn the story. 

“You smile at other men, but with Tristan you glow. It’s like you come alive in his presence. You’re the fire to his ice.” 

This was a pretty low angst story, Carys is being blackmailed but there isn't really a sense of danger from it and the focus is more on Carys and Tristan sexually warming up to each other. Carys is described as being the outgoing one, she wears daring outfits but mostly to bolster her confidence and keep men at bay, she fully understands the consequences of her not being a virgin. Tristan is described as being more self-contained and proper, Carys always wants to muss him up and he is drawn to her vitality. I didn't get as much a sense of enemies-to-lovers here as I did with the first, it seemed as if these two were more teasing friends when they were young and with adulthood came the feelings of attraction. I felt like I missed their emotional growing attraction as this focused on Tristan giving Carys a better bedroom experience; he gives her a couple chapters one, in fact. 

“Well, then. Why can’t we be enemies with . . . benefits?” 

By 35% Tristan knows the truth about Carys blackmail situation and they come to their agreement that Tristan show Carys what true seduction is. The setting moves from London to Carys family home in Wales and I thought the story slowed some as I was missing that emotional growing as the physical was more of the focus. Emotional can grow from physical but here I thought both characters had already developed their love and were only denying it to themselves. That was probably the biggest aspect that didn't work for me and what slowed the story, I didn't understand or believe in the denying. Tristan is looking to get married, why would he have such a mental block in thinking about Carys? Their family feud is, for all intents and purposes, over with their siblings marriage. It just didn't ring true and felt pretty weak. 

She kindled a fire inside him, and he wasn’t sure it would ever burn out. 

Howe ends up at the houseparty and we get a treasonous plot around the 80% mark that felt a little out of place but does work to give a wrapped up ending. I liked the beginning, thought the beginning second half slowed, and felt the ending was a little haphazard. I missed some secondary relationships, more of a seeing Carys and Tristan developing their feelings of love instead of feeling they were already there and the story was weak in just having them denying them, and an ending that was, somewhat, slipshod. Tristan's aunts do make a great appearance that gave the story some life in the latter second half and I did love, what I'm calling, Chekhov's Ravens. Bateman is an author that consistently adds little details and tidbits that bring interesting and amusing charm to the story for me. The emotional relationship wasn't completely fulfilling for me in this one but I adore these two families and am definitely ready to see a possible Morgan (Carys brother) and Harriet (Montgomery cousin) romance. 

“[...] Let me be your favorite enemy.”

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Reading Update: Page 1

This probably is my most asked about and told "hurry up and read it!" historical arc for the first half of 2022. 

Well, I'm reading it! 

The first in the series was full of fun adventure and romance. 

"But kissing each other is almost as much fun as arguing," 

Ooooh, can't wait to read about these two❣ 

A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman preorder (May 24) link

Crockpot Chicken Quinoa Soup recipe

Review: Ten Thousand I Love Yous

Ten Thousand I Love Yous by Lisa Slabach
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

“I'm not in love with you anymore.” 

The day after their daughter's high school graduation, Kim's husband of eighteen years tells her he doesn't love her anymore and blindsides her with wanting a divorce and walking out. After a year of depression and waiting for Jay to come back, Kim decides it's time to start living her life. Ten Thousand I Love Yous is a story told in first person point-of-view from Kim and will have you wincing in sympathy for all her heartache, cheering her on as she takes control of her life, and either will leave you happy satisfied with how things ultimately work out or vastly disappointed in ending decisions. 

The first chapter is an emotional doozy with how blindsided Kim was with her husband's decision of leaving her, he says some very harsh things in his desire to get out the door as Kim tries to keep him there. We then jump a year forward for chapter two and Kim is starting to come out of her depression. She gets in shape to feel better about herself, starts to dip her toe into the dating world, is thinking about changes she needs to make to get her life in order, contemplative about her how her life has went, and reflective on how there were warning signs in her marriage. Kim and Jay got pregnant when they were seventeen and ended up marrying young, now at thirty-seven, Jay says his reason for wanting a divorce is because they never got to be young and try new things. When he starts dating twenty-something cocktail waitresses it can't help but feel like the guy is going through a mid-life crisis and/or just wanted to sleep with other younger women. When Kim begins dating, specifically a hot fireman, Jay starts to creep back into the picture and his jealousy is obvious. There's a great revenge scene that I thought Kim should have enjoyed more when they bump into Jay with a young woman who recognizes Kim's fireman from a calendar and drools over him in front of Jay. 

I shouldn't ever have to worry about loving my husband too much. 

I cheered Kim on when she decides to move to San Francisco and live on her own and begins writing a regular advice column for dating single and divorced women. It's clear that she is thriving and starting to come into her own. Jay wasn't controlling and seemed like a good husband but Kim fell into that supportive wife role and withered in the town and group of friends they had. While in San Fran, Kim reconnects with a guy who she had a crush on but after a quick kiss, never acted on because she thought he was so much younger than her and he was the check-out guy at her grocery store. Turns out that Joshua is twenty-seven, ten years younger than Kim and now a sous chef and their chemistry is still there. A lot of readers are going to like Joshua for Kim as they playfully bring out the best in each other. However, the age issue is a tough one for Kim to get over, she has a nineteen year old daughter and after a Thanksgiving together with their friends, Kim felt so much older than Joshua's group of friends. It's easy to see why Kim feels this insecurity but also easy to feel, with given time, this would ease away. 

This book had an immensely smooth reading flow, I finished it in a day, but my personal feelings on the ending gave me more of a dejected feeling, rather than a satisfied happy sigh. It's clear as the story goes on that Jay is starting to have misgivings about his decision to divorce Kim. Since this is first pov from Kim, it's hard to really get a feel for Jay, it honestly came off to me that he'd had his fun, slept around, and realized how supportive Kim was and wanted that easy comfort back. With twenty pages to go, Jay makes his big move, right when Kim and Joshua are getting extremely close, and Kim has to make the decision of what she really wants out of life. She does show some growth and strength, taking a stance on things she now expects out of life, but I think she also went back to the easier answer, because there is comfort in the known. It felt disappointing because the journey I went on with Kim, mostly, ended up feeling wasted.

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The MN Twins season opener was postponed, so I'm getting in some extra reading today with my turkey burger 📚🍔 

A woman on her own for the first time in 20yrs , finding her way in life, and deciding between new and old loves. 

Ten Thousand I Love Yous by Lisa Slabach purchase link

Stuffed Southwest Turkey Burger with Pepper Jack and Guacamole recipe

Review: The Small Stuff

The Small Stuff by Paul Davidson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

“It takes a village,” someone at a wedding once said. 

The Small Stuff tells the story of how circumstance, fate, and all those little choices, we and others make, work and conspire to bring together Josh Allen (no, not that one Bills fans) and Maggie Mills. We start off getting introduced to a young 4yr old Josh and the moment his childhood innocence is killed off when his mother tells him just because he wants something, doesn't mean he'll get it and not to have unrealistic expectations out of life. This, along with a kindergarten friendship gone awry will become Josh's baggage that he takes through life and keeps him working at the same job for years when he is first rejected from his dream job. Maggie's upbringing is different with a father that is more supportive and she has a personality that has her wide-eyed asking “What, I was just being honest?” because she hasn't learned that sometimes honesty needs tact. We don't fully learn the big piece of Maggie's baggage until later in the book but her philosophy regarding love is that soulmates don't exist so why bother looking. 

The small stuff, it seemed after the fact, wasn't so small after all. 

The first half had a beat that was a little tough to get into, after we're introduced to Josh, the second chapter jumps to his parents and we get an abridgment of their lives, giving us that trail of all the little choices that bring Josh and Maggie together that is the theme of the story, and this jumping to secondary/side character synopses continues throughout the book, heavier in the first half. This ended up giving the first half more of an uneven beat as it kept breaking up the connection I was trying to build with Josh, Maggie, and their relationship starting to build. I know numerous flashbacks can be tough for some, but since I kept in mind the underlining theme of the book, I worked harder to stay engage with these seemingly intrusive side-characters, looking for how they could be connected and/or help Maggie and Josh come together in the future (I also had fun flipping back to the cover to see if I could find if the illustrated characters on front to match who I was reading about, A+ cover art connection). 

They had been simply waiting for each other. 

I thought the story hit it's stride around the 45% mark and the jumping around beat smoothed out as the focus settles more on Maggie and Josh. As far as their romance, they get a meet-cute at the most romantic of places, an auto-body repair shop, numerous teasing fun moments, Easter egg past moments, fade-to-black bedroom scene, that third act angst moment, and ultimately their HEA. They were a couple that showed how finding that certain someone can support and give you the strength and courage to go after what you want in life, in this case their dream jobs. It takes a little while for them to emerge from some of the side-character synopses that seem a little butt-in unless you keep in mind the underlining theme and numerous Gen X pop culture references that were at turns fun, nostalgic, (I'm of the wonderfully named elder millennial group so I could bond with vast majority of them) but also too much. I missed some of the emotional thoughts and feelings that lead to romantic leads picking each other because, at the end, they had that easy fall back to physically be able to point to the signs that, yes, the universe obviously wanted them to be together and I felt like some of the work was missing at that ending moment. 

If you're a linear reader, this would probably feel like an ADHD nightmare but if you can handle time jumps (the latter half has a couple paged chapter that jumps 31yrs into the future only to return to present in next chapter) and off-shoots that have some Easter eggs, then this would be a fun off-beat romance beach read to pick up.

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I just cleared up a month backlog of my book reviewing email! 💃 

Time to treat myself to some afternoon snacks. I feel like shenanigans will be afoot in this romantic comedy where it takes a village and helping hand of fate to get this couple together. 

(If you're wondering, yes, I've already managed to get some cream cheese on the book. Finger food and reading, booklovers know the struggle🤣)

The Small Stuff by Paul Davidson preorder (Apr 12) link

Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups recipe

I mostly made these for my partner, it was his half birthday food week. They were good but I made mine with turkey bacon, partner got the "real" bacon, so I'll default to his judgement which was "Yum!"

Review: With Love From Rose Bend

With Love From Rose Bend by Naima Simone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

After going through a traumatic experience alone in college and too brittle to share the pain with her friends and family, Leo Dennison strictly follows her own personal rules. Leo always plans, sticks to the plans, and has put all her focus and energy on working to make her family's Inn the new destination for weddings. This doesn't leave room for love but that's too unpredictable for her. When her mother breaks her ankle, Leo is suddenly in charge of getting the new town hermit to guest judge a chili contest. 

When Owen opens his front door a crack and sees the year ago one night stand that left without saying goodbye in the morning, he immediately pretends that he doesn't recognize her. He doesn't want to see pity replace the passion that was once in her eyes when she see's how scarred the side of his face is now. Once a Super Bowl winning QB, Owen has been hiding out in his friend's small hometown to get away from the prying eyes of the press and public and the questions of his return to football after a car accident left him with a torn ACL and numerous injuries. 

Leo and Owen have plenty of pain but the feelings from their first meeting still strike a chord. 

This was her fault for not following the rules. For letting her guard down. 

Third in the Rose Bend series, I thought the author did a great job of bringing in new readers while also revisiting past couples. I was new to Rose Bend and instantly felt welcomed in and a part of the world. If you read Jill Shalvis and Lori Foster, you'll definitely want to give Naima Simone a try. There's a wide cast of characters with the Dennison family members, Leo has 6 siblings, giving us good family feels. I would have liked more descriptions of the town, perhaps done in previous books, but I loved the emotional feel, if not the physical, of the setting. 

What if Leo Dennison became a hard habit to break? 

The first half gives readers more about Leo and her emotional baggage, we don't get the specifically said reason for her pain and anxiety attacks but it's alluded to enough that you'll know before it is revealed around the 80% mark. Since it's alluded to in the first half, I don't consider it a spoiler but I'm going to put it in tags anyway but also want to state it because it's a content warning (Leo had a miscarriage in college). The second half gets into Owen's issues with the fallout of the car accident he was in and the emotional pain from his relationship with his parents. The author gives us very full characters and this lead to a more gradual coming together, the back-end of the book flips the whole not in deed but thought and car hoods get disrespected. 

“Focus on me, Leo. Focus. You're not alone. Listen to my heartbeat. Feel it. And breathe with me.” 

I thought the Spring Honeybee Festival was a cute additive, especially with this book releasing in late March, A+ planning, but we don't actually get too much of it and I was a little disappointed. We get more of the beauty pageant that Leo gets forced into, which works to bring out her anxiety and gives opportunity for her to deal with it but I still missed some festival vibe. I enjoyed the welcoming in feeling of the gradual paced beginning, thought 50-60% dragged a smidgen, and then the latter second half had too much of a jumping from emotional baggage to emotional baggage between Leo and Owen. With the care, thought, and time going into laying out Leo and Owen's characters, I wanted a little more time to sit with them in their healing. 

“Let's be fearless together.” 

This was a fairly low angst vibe, that small town setting readers will find reading comfort in with it's calm and loving relationships between the romantic lead couple, family, and friendships. There was a scene between Leo and Owen that had Leo on a tree swing and Owen pushing her with them talking that seemed quiet but had that emotion that will have it lingering in my mind, more tree swing scenes! Family and friend secondary characters filled out the world beautifully and I'm definitely going to go back and see how some couple's came together and looking forward to seeing others get their happily ever after. This was a great coming out of winter thaw to the spring transition heat toned story.

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