Reading Update: 15%

She opened her eyes, and he wanted her to eat more cake. Hell, he wanted to buy her a whole cake and feed it to her, have her lick lemon and cream from his fingers.

HE WANTS TO BUY HER CAKE TO WATCH HER EAT IT AND LICK OFF HIS FINGERS

Review: Wrong to Need You

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

She was a mother, a widow. To a lot of people, she’d discovered, those two titles took precedence over being a woman.

It is no secret I loved the heck out of the first in this series and with a pairing I was worried/not feeling (sister-in-law/brother-in-law), this was always going to have a hard time measuring up.
The writing is superb, no problems there, but the components just weren't to my personal liking.
This is, by my guess, 30-40ish% our main couple Jackson and Sadia and 70-60ish% family issues/drama; for a very long time it feels way more contemporary fiction romance instead of what I was anticipating for romance contemporary fiction.

The lusting from Sadia starts right away and the comments she makes in the first 20% felt almost immature (when she realizes the mystery man is Jackson) because of the issues/relationship between them. It was hard for me to move from the emotional pain and relationship complexities to Sadia saying hot Jackson's butt was. After the 20% those kind of comments and tone kind of fade off, to the betterment, I think.

As with Livvy (we get snippets of her and Nicholas here!), I thought Sadia was a great complex, multi-faceted heroine. Her inner family stresses along with grief, motherhood, money, and sexual desires are laid out so bare and real. It feels weird to wax poetic about a "normal" woman character as if other heroines aren't "normal", because what is normal and all that but dang it, I feel like I don't read a lot of normal heroines. Sadia is all of it, a mother, stressed, a daughter, horny, a sister, a list maker, bisexual, a widower, hurt, and etc. Loved her character.

I love me some broody, quiet, and strong types and while Jackson was all of that and a muscle tattooed bag of chips, he felt too closed off to me as the reader; I selfishly like to be let in, as the reader, before or more than the other book characters. His shyness for being such a big dude was refreshing and endearing but I never reached a solid place of "knowing" his character.

This line had me primal screaming/giddy/high:
There was a reason he’d never gotten along with many men—these absurd power plays were too foolish.
How bleeping amazing to have men relationships/dynamics called into the spotlight instead of the tired "women can't be friends because of jealously and/or competitiveness". I don't know, some justice was served for me with this line, lol.

It was a little tough to wade through the family drama and dynamics that steal the time and show from Sadia and Jackson. Tough because I wanted more romance/relationship from them but if I had gone in with the expectation of more contemp fiction, the writing and characterization is amazing. At around the 55% mark Sadia and Jackson's relationship heats up with some voyeurism and it is sexually on from there. It felt a little packed in (get your mind out of the gutter) with the sex scenes so grouped together but the emotional baggage of the sis/bro-in-law probably required the wait, I just would have liked them to have more talking/together scenes before.

Anyway, if looking for a fantastically written family drama with some explicit sex scenes this should be your next purchase. There were some Gabe and Eve appearances in this and I'm dying to see them together in the next book.

“It’s hard to make your peace with someone who isn’t around anymore. Or more accurately, to make your peace with never making your peace.” She smiled sadly. “But sometimes it’s the only thing you can do.”

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Reading Update: 60%

Now that he knew she wanted him? Now that he could finally, finally voice his desire for her, even if only in his own head?

He’d have her.

Menu Monday

No Bake Monster Cookie Granola Bar Bites

Before you run screaming or get too excited, these aren't cookie dough. It's peanut butter and oats with some m&ms. They were addictive and I ate more in a day than I should have but also, no regrets. Because it is not cookie dough, you feel like you're being "good". Obviously, ridiculously easy to make (half hour) and obviously, ridiculously easy to eat

Lasagna Soup

I must have been in tune with BrokenTune because I made a soup too. The last two days were blustery as all get out and with our last snow fall, I figured it called for one last soup hoorah. I used ground turkey and thought the Italian seasoning with others gave it a pretty good taste. I think it only took around an hour to make and I'd put it slightly above or right at average.

Quinoa salad with spinach, strawberries, and blueberries

I loved this one and surprisingly, so did the bf. I was very leery of the dressing, but don't skip it! I didn't put a lot on my salad but drizzled it here and there and loved how the flavoring brought all the fruit out, such a great taste. Super easy to make and not time consuming and surprisingly filling. Would be a great thing to bring to a summer picnic/bbq for a side dish. Loved it.

One Pan Cheesy Jalapeno Chicken

Look, I love me some cheese, some corn, and some jalapeno, so I kind of naturally LOVED this one. This is one that after I made it and "presented" it on the plate, I felt like a f*ing chef (and not a Boyardee one either!). With the limes cut up on top, the chicken smothered, peaking out of the cheese, and the jalapeno popping, it looks like restaurant quality. The super duper thing about this also? Not only does it look good, it tastes restaurant quality, seriously. I loved all the flavoring coming together. Again, it could be my cheesy heart but this is a top meal for me. Took probably around an hour but worth it. Make this one :)

Salmon Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This freaking recipe. First off, I didn't make any damn homemade breadcrumbs for it. Panko. I thought I'd be cool and make the red pepper sauce though. ABOVE MY PAY GRADE. I've never roasted peppers before to make a sauce. I will probably NEVER do so again. I have a gas stove. With grilling clamp thingies I held the peppers above the flames. They liked to tumble out of the grip one to two, four million times. I dutifully put them in a zip lock bag. I don't know wtf I did wrong but the outer skin did NOT BY ANY MEANS just easily, dreamily fall off. I gave up. There is outer skin in my red pepper sauce. Do not care. Didn't notice the salmon had to sit in the fridge for at least 30mins. Twiddled thumbs while waiting because I had already cooked the noodles. Did this recipe take forever to make? I can't give a no or yes answer. Am I still making this recipe? I can not give a no or yes answer. I'm living in a salmon cake red pepper sauce Tide ad like world. Everything is this recipe. 

Here's the kicker, it tasted amazing. The combo of everything was so yummy, brought tears to my eyes. Amount of time to make and difficulty: a solid three years off my life. Would I make again? NO. YES. 

Any recipe (war) stories to share?

Review: A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I wanted you to do it all for me. I wanted everything to be all easy and simple. . . . So I tried to pretend that it was all your fault . . . because I was scared, and I didn’t want to have to do anything myself—”
“But I wanted to do it for you,” Mr. Murry said. “That’s what every parent wants.”

Still love the first half (maybe nostalgia at work) and struggled a little bit with the ending. I can't wait to see how the movie visually gives us these scenes. The beginning with the sense of adventure and all the fun characters we get introduced to and the second half with a little bit of darkness and horror provide some great overt and covert messages and questions about life, relationships, and what it means to be human.
I thought the ending was a bit rushed, especially with Meg and the showdown with the red-eyed thing but still greatly enjoyed a challenging and daring girl with glasses leading an adventure.

For more comprehensive view of my thoughts, comments, and quotes - A Wrinkle in Time buddy read

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Review: Deeper Than Midnight

Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

You absolutely can't read this as a stand-alone; the continuing fight of the Order against Dragos comes to ahead here.

The main couple of Hunter and Corinne are honestly only 10-15% of the story, the majority is bringing the Order and Dragos to ahead. This is done through many different POVs, with Lucan and Sterling Chase being the majority. Sterling Chase fighting going Rogue, is a good 30% of this with him almost feeling like the main character (his book is next).

I love the world building and was completely into all the arcs and threads coming together and weaving in and out. I was pretty disappointed in this as Hunter's story though. As I said, we barely see his and Corinne's romance, and I don't think we got to really delve into his character.

So yeah, read this as just a world-building bridge in the series and the continuing war against Dragos and definitely not for the romance.

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70%

“No!” she cried triumphantly. “Like and equal are not the same thing at all!”

Like how the tone changes to creepy/horror feel in these chs, a lot of rooted questions about what it means to be human.
More quotes/comments - Buddy Read A Wrinkle in Time

50%

“Oh, we don’t travel at the speed of anything,” Mrs Whatsit explained earnestly. “We tesser. Or you might say, we wrinkle.”

Read some scenes that I've seen in the movie trailer. Doubly excited now for it! 
More quotes/thoughts - Buddy Read A Wrinkle in Time

Reading Update: 15%

“Do you think things always have an explanation?”
“Yes. I believe that they do. But I think that with our human limitations we’re not always able to understand the explanations. But you see, Meg, just because we don’t understand doesn’t mean that the explanation doesn’t exist.”

Yep, still loving this story :)

More comments/thoughts - Buddy Read A Wrinkle in Time

Review: A Rogue of Her Own

A Rogue of Her Own by Grace Burrowes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.3 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.

Charlotte Windham is tough and brash but she still is turning down offers of aristocrats looking to get in good with the Windham clan. With new debutantes wanting her out of the way, Charlotte decides it is time to do just that and decides a little ruination could go a long way to freeing her.
Lucas Sherbourne has had a lifetime of dealing with the arrogant aristocracy but he still can't help but be drawn to Charlotte.
A little scandal, a rushed trip to the altar, and rainy days in Wales soon becomes the best recipe for a marriage.

“I like you,” she said. “Somewhat. A little. I don’t dislike you.”

The fourth and last book in the Windham brides series, focuses on Charlotte with her sister and husband (heroine and hero of book three) playing big roles too. Lucas and Charlotte do appear in book three, you'd get the understanding why Lucas and Charlotte's brother-in-law have some animosity, but if focusing solely on Charlotte and Lucas' relationship, you could comfortably dive in here.

Lucas is a commoner but a fairly rich one, so he went to schools with titled boys who punished him various ways for being "lesser" than them and he never really had a sense of family or friends. I thought the author did a wonderful job showcasing how Lucas' personality was formed because of how he grew up and why he strives for achievement, is very self-contained, and wanting to do best by his home and the surrounding people. Charlotte, on the other hand, grew up in a very large family but also got a little bit lost in it, especially as everyone gets married. At first glance, these two may seem opposites attract but their desires, fears, and wants are very similar once you see below their surfaces. Burrowes is a master at nuances and subtleties, whether it's emotion or humor.

This is very much a story of marriage, how jobs, money, relationships, and two individual personalities come together and love. The tone is mild and you'd want to look elsewhere for drama or escapades but a stripped to its bones of marriage and love journey are found in the pages. Burrowes' artful use of secondary characters can also be found with previously introduced characters and even a simple relationship between the hero and his valet, enrich the depth of the hero and heroine. The villain of the piece provides a bit of a crescendo moment throughout the story, but makes our heroine seem a bit too stubborn for angst sake.

“You torrid very well, Mr. Sherbourne. May I prevail on you to ruin me?”

If looking for a mellower read with a thoroughly delved into look at marriage and relationships or just wanting to visit the Windhams again, Burrowes provides an endearing story.

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