End of the Month Roundup - May 2014

What I'm reading:
Geek with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir
So cute, but at the moment I'm not as convinced of the people romance as I am about the cat/person romance. I love Sam the cat even more than I love the humans.

Serafina and the Psycho Sous-Chef by Marie Treanor
I read book 1 in the series. This is book 4. I'm not confused even though I'm sure there are things I'm missing. This is such an interesting series and really good writing. Not as much in terms of romance, but there's a lot of action, fun, and some psychic/paranormal/telepathy.

What I've been cooking:
Healthier Pancakes
It's the same recipe I've been using for ages, but I've adjusted it now to remove all sugar. I also re-proportioned to use a whole container of buttermilk because who wants to waste that last cup each time you make them. Today's batch turned out almost more muffin-ish but I really liked them.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
So far just with licking the spoon, the verdict is it's a little weird. It's got peanut butter too, so I was hoping for a peanut butter cup flavor. But my lick was more grassy tasting. Not necessarily bad, although we'll see when I try to have a little bowl of it.

Granola Bars/Clif Bars
Although I put in no processed sugar, these turned out SUPER sweet. Coconut sugar, maple syrup, and some chopped up dates. Next time I'll do less of those because this much sweet is just not necessary. But they are yummy and pretty filling even with only a little bit.
Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream - Coconut milk and almond milk. This batch turned out the best so far. I've tried approximately this same recipe three times and this is by far the yummiest.

What I've been working on:
Putting more words into a short (maybe) story of a hamster shifter. It's going to be crazy and I hope people find it silly and fun. And fair warning: there will be magic. I'm finding it's really hard to sit staring at a blank page each day. Luckily with the end of school almost here, I should have two days a week where I actually get to write something regularly.

Eyes and Ears:
We watched The Lightning Thief since my son finished reading the book. We fast forwarded through almost all the monsters. The plot was so different from the book. They took out huge chunks and changed the characters' motivations completely. The Small Person had some scary night times after watching. The Oldest was ok as long as we fast forwarded and now he wants to watch it again to keep absorbing...then see Sea of Monsters.

Nemo by Nightwish
I love this song

Obligatory sky picture:

Backwoods by Jill Sorenson

Backwoods
by Jill Sorenson
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
When I started this book, I got snuggled in for a nice, calm romance. Maybe even two romances, if you count what's going on between the college kids. A little older-child-matchmaking-single-mom, some angst from the ex-husband, and some character growth and emotional issues to overcome. But then pieces started falling into place for this heroine and we get indications that things are going to get heavy and a bit creepy. I don't really read a lot of romantic suspense, but a book like this could make me a convert. It was well written with a solid plot. We get just enough idea of what's going on that the twists are not too shocking, but still on the creepy, not-sure-if-I-can-go-to-sleep-now scale. Each of the characters had their weak points and throughout the course of the story, they were able to overcome and prove their strength. The romance was sweet and angsty, but the bulk of the story was an adventure.

I was pulled into this story for the fast pace and compelling storyline. Things were happening and it felt like a good dramatic movie. The romantic emotions were there, but they didn't take over the story. They were a more muted background thread that wove through everything. The main characters were attracted to each other, but they derived comfort from each other when the danger amped up, instead of trying to squeeze in some sexytimes.

There were mentions of rapes, torture, and murder, so it could be disturbing to some. The situations were handled in a slightly farther-off way, so it wasn't a lot of overt, on-screen violence. But there were threats and kidnapping and lots of close calls. It was creepy enough to leave me slightly squicked and freaked out, but disengaged enough that I still wanted to keep reading and see what happened next.

I thought Jill Sorensen handled the emotional connections well and let each character grow in natural, compassionate ways. There were one or two instances where I cringed at phrases like <he reacted a certain way> “because he was a man”, but most of the time no one was pigeonholed and everyone was treated well by the other main characters.

I'm not sure that I'll read this one again, but I will definitely look for more book by Jill Sorenson. Her style was action-packed and engaging and when you're looking for a solid adventure with a happy ending, this book is a good choice.


*I received a complementary ARC of this book through netgalley in exchange for my honest review

Hiding In The Spotlight by Karen Booth

Hiding In The Spotlight
by Karen Booth
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
If you're looking for a fast-paced, poignant story of second chances, here's a great book for you. On the one hand, I was hesitant to read this book because I'm normally so-so about the celebrity angles. But at the same time, bands and music pushed me over the edge to give it a try. This story was about a past-their-fame band who might get a second chance; just as one marriage was breaking up and making way for a different kind of second chance.

Alex's marriage to Glenn was pretty much over since it got started 13+ years ago. She stayed with jim for the kids' sake and because she thought so little of herself. But when Glenn took off again, she was finally ready to get angry. She took charge for a little while and made some decisions for herself. She moved on and slowly found that life was bigger than she thought – or at least, she didn't have to settle for Glenn because he was the only one attracted to her.

The relationship between David and Alex developed during the divorce proceedings and I did have some awkward feelings about a new romance happening while one character was still married. But things between Glenn and Alex had been over for a long time and there was no chance of them getting back together. I love, love, loved the emotional connection between David and Alex. They were believable and sweet and gave me lots of good feelings. This was a non-explicit, almost closed-door book, but the attraction and tension was top notch.

Alex was the heroine that didn't rock the boat. She made a couple decisions but then really left everything else up to others. I didn't feel like she took control or “found herself” in the story; she found a relationship that was worth having, but I didn't think she grew out of her dependent tendencies. She didn't treat herself like she was worth much and she tended to give control over to the men in her life. I could relate to her, but there were a bunch of times I wanted to slap her and tell her to stop being a doormat.

David was a typical nice guy. I liked him. He was great family-man material and like some of the best romance movies, he held a flame for Alex through all these years (although, also like some movies, he sowed his wild oats in between that flame). He wasn't afraid of a relationship and he didn't need to be hit over the head to see what was in front of him. There were places where both David and Glenn veered to the sexist, women-as-possessions mentality. It fit with how Alex looked at herself, but I really wished someone (like Alex) would have smacked them both instead of brushing it off that since David cared about Alex it was ok for him to be possessive.

Now, the part that bothered me was the lack of honesty throughout the book. If I understood the timeline correctly, the book happened over the course of months. With Glenn being gone and Alex filing for divorce, she didn't tell the kids anything. Her teenager was all angsty and nasty to her and she still didn't say anything or stand up for herself. Her and David tried to hide their relationship from everyone as well. I understood where they were coming from and it did add tension, but I wanted to yell at them every time they brushed someone off and kept quiet instead of just being honest.

There was quite a lot of telling versus showing in the story. We'd get a really great tension filled scene, someone would make a statement about doing something awesome and then the scene would end. We'd get an update of what happened right after that, but the timeline would jump by days or weeks at a page turn. It wasn't as frustrating as it could have been, but a lot of character development happened off-screen.

All that to say, the relationship tension was awesome and broke me out of a reading slump. I had trouble putting the book down and finished in record time. But I had hoped for a little more girl-power. And with the number of events happening, I didn't feel there was enough connection to the characters' growth to make me care about their lives outside the romance.

I received a complementary ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review.

**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine

What I'm Working On - May 2014

What am I working on? The end of the school year. Seriously. I'm running one part of the big end-of-year fundraiser and all free time has been spent picking up items, going to meetings, making phone calls and trying to be organized. Finally, the fundraiser is this Friday. I'll be out until probably at least 10pm, but after that I think I'm done.

Unfortunately, the end of school also means...the end of school. I know. Crazy how that works. I haven't been capable of writing while my children are at home, so I'm not sure what I'm going to manage over the summer. I've got the boys in camp at least two days a week, so my fingers are crossed but we'll see what happens.

I've tried really hard to spend time with my younger son for the month of May. It's his last few weeks home with just me before he starts Kindergarten. Then both boys will come and go at the same time. It's been hard to let so much fall behind while I sit and play, but it's such an important thing for him. I've stayed back a little bit because let's face it, I really didn't want to make Secret Cement. Yeah, I'll just sit here and watch you stir the mud around. Thanks. But today we painted and drove toy trucks around. I think he had a fun time.

With all the excitement, I feel like I've barely read any books too. Not totally true. I finished an ARC book and have the review mostly done for later this month. I read the Lightning Thief alongside my older son. That's been fun. I finished the Rosie Project too. I mostly enjoyed it but I have some thoughts to think about it before I write a review.

Then there's also a little crazy story I'm supposed to be working on. I haven't gotten too far out of the idea stage, but hopefully it'll turn out all crazy and fun in the near future. At some point, I know I just have to sit down and get it written then worry about making it better later. But with all the crazy real-life stuff, I haven't had a free brain cell to motivate myself.

And finally, I signed up with a bunch of friends to run the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey. It's the huge, crazy relay "race" all the way around Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas. The course is 178 miles and they estimate about 27 hours of time to complete it. I'll be running 14.9 miles of that, broken up into 3 legs. Since I've only ever run 6 miles at a time, I'm only getting through this thing on pure adrenaline, especially when you factor in the lack of sleep. I'm totally nervous about it...actually I'm more terrified of being in a car with the same people for 27 hours. Trying to eat and drink and rest is going to be really tough. The running part won't be easy, but I tend to walk if I feel like it...so again, not as nervous to do the run so much as the expectation people might have of how hard I should be running.

Keep an eye out for my reviews to start up again later this month and we'll see what else I can fit in.

What crazy do you have scheduled for the end of the school year?