My Review:
This was my very first Nicole Helm book and let me tell you, she
can really write the socially awkward heroine. It was an excellent
glance into growing out of embarrassment and finding a place of
confidence. The heroine was strong and powerful, even as she had
remnants of her self-conscious, frumpy self.
I loved both hero and heroine in this book. They were tough and
vulnerable and had some real problems to work through. There were
times they acted stubborn and childish, but never to a point where
they got annoying. Occasionally I wanted to smack one or two of them,
but only in a good book way, not in the frustrated-throw-the-book
way.
Their parents were a different matter. I didn't feel like there
was a solid resolution over the way the parents were treating the
children. Not that one normally gets that resolution in real life,
but in my fiction I like having a powerful confrontation where the
parents accept that the kids have grown up. That didn't really happen
here, but the main characters showed a good amount of emotional
growth in the rest of their lives and moved on from trying to please
their parents by the end of the book.
The story was sweet and touching and the banter was lots of fun. I
will definitely look for more books by this author.
I received this book as a gift with no review obligations.
**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine
Having Her
By Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
Ok, so I started this book ages ago. I love Jackie Ashenden's
writing. Her style is awesome and when you need angst, this is the
place to be. But...I over angsted myself right before I started this
book. I got about half way through, saw a certain plot twist, and
nearly threw my kindle against the wall. I had to take a break. But I
knew I'd finish it eventually so I just put it aside for a while.
And it's true. I got back in the mood and I picked it right back
up. There were tears and feelings and so much caring and angst. I
liked the story a lot, even if you need the right mood for angst. It's so
rare to have a book that allow the heroine to dress however she
likes, even if it's out of the norm, without trying to change her.
Vin doesn't LIKE her clothes and makeup, but he's completely
attracted to her even with all of it. He never asks her to change it
even when he thinks it's weird. The two
of them were into BSDM a little bit, but it wasn't a “this is the
only way we do it”, it was just “this is fun”. In some cases,
it was letting each character hide behind a facade, but I never felt
like it went into unhealthy territory. Both
characters grew and changed, even if it was a quick turn around. They
tugged on my heartstrings and I really wanted them to work out. I'm
still of the rational mind that “changing your attitude” or “true
love” will not magically solve all your emotional issues, but I
enjoy having an angsty book where everything is perfect in the end. **This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine
I didn't go full Paleo on this recipe. Frankly, I didn't want to spend the money on all the extra almond flour if it ended up tasting nasty. But this one has whole wheat flour, almond flour, no refined sugar, and coconut oil. I rank it as quite a lot better for you than just plain carrot cake - healthy enough to eat for breakfast :) And if it always turns out the same way this batch did...slightly crunchy top with a nice, moist inside, it won't last long in this house. It's a slightly more nutty taste, and one child didn't care for the difference, but I though it was pretty darn perfect.
(Healthier) Carrot Cake
6-8 cups of baby carrots
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 cups almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups coconut sugar
1 cup coconut oil
9 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a little bit of coconut oil to grease five large aluminum foil loaf pans.
Use your Vita-Mix to wet chop the carrots: put half of them at a time in the Vita-Mix, cover with water, turn on and increase to level 6, and process until they're all chopped up. Pour into a sieve to let the water drain out.
In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and coconut sugar. When it's all uniformly mixed, add in the coconut oil. You can use a wooden spoon, mixer, or pastry knife thing to squish it all up until it's distributed evenly with very small chunks (like when you're making pie crust).
Add in the eggs and the maple syrup and stir until the batter is all the same consistency. Fold in the chopped carrots. Divide up the batter into the five loaf pans (approximately two cups of batter each). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Here at a higher altitude, that turned out to be about 55 minutes. It could be as little as 30 minutes for you.
-- This recipe is loosely based off the Carrot Cake recipe in my Better Home and Gardens Cookbook.
August is back to school month. This is the first time ever that both of my children are at the same school with the same schedule. Hypothetically, that means I only need to drop off and pick up my kids (all at the same time) and then be free the rest of the day. Realistically, that hasn't happened yet. With all of the back to school activities, I ended up at the school all day yesterday, 9am-8pm, with three stops back at home for things like lunch and kid drop offs. The kids and I are doing well with the schedule, but it's been busy these first couple weeks.
What I've been reading:
With the start of school, I feel like I haven't read much this month. Like I'm a bit out of the reading groove while I try to adjust to the boys' school schedules and get all the initial back-to-school stuff done. I managed a couple books, but I've also been writing more. I crossed 14K words on my current project, so it's getting more exciting; like something I'm actually doing instead of just messing around.
When The Lights Go Down by Amy Jo Cousins
Sweet, sexy and very witty. It was a good solid story, with characters that leap off the page and dance. Maxie was so varied and it was fun to see how she could put on any persona she wanted to. Underneath that, there were times she still seemed really young, but the rest of the time she was very no-nonsense. It was a great story with an engaging plot; some funny moments, some sweet feels, and a lot of hotness. It was a perfect story to read while I was running the boys around to after school events. (Released September 2nd in a Harlequin E Contemporary Set, so be sure to get it while it's a great deal.)
Tempting Her Best Friend by Gina Maxwell
This one was a little late night indulgence for me. I really do like the friends-to-lovers trope and since I've never been to a romance conference, this was a double-whammy. I loved seeing some of the silly situations and this book gave me a couple good laughs in addition to being really hot. It's short and sweet without a lot of external conflict, but I felt like the sexual stereotypes were a little high a couple times.
Animal Attraction
I read Maizey Yates' story a while ago, but I never got around to the other stories. Since I'm not having much reading luck anyway, I figured I'd try these ones. Each story includes pets of some kind. They're all contemporary. Not super short, but not full novels either. I liked Maisey's story when I read it, but I found the other ones so cliched. Lori Foster's story had a guy who's known the heroine for years and years, but really had to sow his wild oats before he was capable of settling down. The heroine has low self-esteem, no mentioned previous relationships, and has been pining for the hero all along. Heidi Betts' story kept the characters on more equal footing, but throws in so many overused phrases that I tended to roll my eyes. Jules Bennett's story felt like it emotionally jumped a lot. One minute they're not okay with something and the next minute it's not a big deal. Overall I'd probably rate the book a solid four stars with the caveat that you have to be in the right headspace for Harlequin-esque, cliched, alpha-light stories.
Second Chance by Audra North
Cute and short. The story is about an hour of reading and it was a very enjoyable hour. A little bit of paranormal, but with a small town feel. I wanted to know a bit more about everyone, but this was like a single snapshot into their lives. There was a time or two when the timeline got confusing, but the emotions were solid and I truly enjoyed the writing.
What I'm Watching:
The boys were out of town just before school started, so I re-watched My Best Friend's Girl. It's been one of my favorite movies of the last few years. My DH just shakes his head because it's so dirty, but it's really sweet too. Dane Cook is pretty hot and obnoxious, but he's so vulnerable and jaded.
DH and I got a date afternoon to see Guardians of the Galaxy. It was an amusing movie, but I was disappointed with the lack of world-building and character development. I laughed a couple times, in a snicker-y way, but they didn't include enough information about why each character mattered, what the point of all of it was, and there was way too much gratuitous death for my taste.
The movie I really want to see (coming out maybe in October?) is Kingsman. That one looks very awesome. Colin Firth, British accents, zany silliness in an action movie. Yes, please.
What I'm Listening To:
I've listened to this one a lot this month. Stay With Me by Nemesea. Her voice is just so awesome. I think I like the studio version a little better; there's just so much power behind it.
As an added bonus, I've been having trouble getting into other songs because I'm being lazy and I haven't bought this song yet. I really need it.
All I Have
