One Pot Cooking for Two by Linda Kurmiadi

4 Stars

Just kidding. My life is pretty aiiiiiight. But my kids are super active and also of the age where . . . . .



So every now and again I channel my inner Fantine. One pot cooking I can do. Cooking for two? More like cooking for eight even though there are only four of us. And leftovers? Never heard of her!

I love Rockridge Press cookbooks. They are all the same size so they look real purrrrrty in my hoard the rolling cart I have in my kitchen. Sidenote: Actual footage of me running to Michael’s when everyone started posting pictures of these carts on Instagram . . . .



And, despite not having a bunch of pictures – which is always my preference, this was full of recipes I would actually eat and that were simple to make so it still gets 4 Stars.

Just in case you think I don’t actually cook from the books I receive, here you go . . . .



Underneath all of that Mexican slaw and guac-y goodness you will find one pot pulled pork. Maybe next time I’ll remember to assemble the dinner so the main thing actually shows. But probably not.

Full disclosure here: I receive cookbooks occasionally from Callisto Publisher’s Club in exchange for my honest review. This is one of them.

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke

4 Stars

Since I’m currently reading my second continuation of a series for 2019, despite my never-ending-commentary that . . . . .



I figured it was well past time to finally write something up about this. (Still 40 reviews behind, though, so go me!) As soon as I heard there was going to be a sequel to Bluebird, Bluebird I wanted it. I will say that is not a selection that works well as a standalone, so if you are like me and kind of allergic to staying with the same folks for too long this might not be a winner for you. I will also admit that due to there being so much continuation of the first book’s storyline into the second the rating took a hit for me too. I don’t have a great memory, I read A LOT of books and I don’t re-read. That doesn’t always make for a winning recipe when it comes to books two, three and so-on (which is why I avoid them like the black plague). So why the exception here??? Well, mainly because . . . . .



Attica Locke is simply one of the best when it comes to putting you in a place. She is from the locale she writes about and you can tell. She knows where the bend is in the river and she knows who is going to live down yonder on any such spot of land – even if they are fictional. Her words aren’t wasted. They get you where she wants to take you and they do it efficiently. And the stories? Well, I knew nothing going in to this aside from it was going to be about a missing child and . . . .



My mind immediately assumed the child was black since I couldn’t figure out why Texas Ranger Darren Matthews would be sent down Highway 59 to deal with the Aryan Brotherhood . . . .



But then I discovered the child was white and Darren was sent to deal with the older residents of town (who were black) and that there was a whooooooooooooooooole lotta stuff going on back in the sticks.

The best compliment I can give to Attica Locke is that she reminds me a bit of Dennis Lehane. She writes a good mystery, she fills it with memorable characters, she’s not unwilling to get dark, no one is a saint - and most of all, she takes you there.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

4 Stars

Here's the story of a lovely lady. Who was bringing up three very lovely girls . . . .



Sadly, said mother is on her deathbed and this story focuses on her final wish – for her three daughters to make a pilgrimage to India with her ashes. A strict itinerary is to be followed and it matters not that Rajni, Jezmeen and Shirina have little in common – they are to follow orders. Which they do . . . sorta . . . . while dealing with their own personal issues. Rajni must come to terms with how to deal with her son’s much older (and now pregnant) girlfriend. Jezmeen must deal with the aftermath of a tantrum going viral and potentially ruining her chance at becoming a star. And Shirina? Her story is the one that will make you have the feels.

A backdrop like this . . . . .



Full of culture and heritage made this author two for two for me. There’s something about sibling stories that really resonates with me and I’m all about books that tackle not only secrets from the past, but also crises in the present and offer hope for the future as the characters remember . . . .



Combine that with a driver called . . . . .



And that’s the recipe for an auto-request for any future releases.

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

4 Stars

After seeing a couple of low-ratings from my Goodreads’ friends I opted to put The Cactus on the backburner and made my request to the library when I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down the wait list – despite the fact that . . . . .



God am I a sucker for famous people telling me what to read.

I think the main issue people have with this book (and soooooooo many others that are using #ifyoulikedeleanoroliphant as their main selling feature), is that the reason books like Eleanor Oliphant fly off the shelves and receive such an enormous response from the book community is they stand out because THEY ARE DIFFERENT. It’s great to be the first - just ask Gillian Flynn and her Gone Girl. The timing of this release after eleventy thousand other Eleanors had already come out probably didn’t help. And while there are similarities – mainly in the form of . . . .



The two characters aren’t really all that much alike. While “the spectrum” can be pinpointed in a lot of Eleanor-compared stories, in this case Susan’s personality was much more easily blamed on nurture rather than nature. The main point of the story is regarding Susan’s plan to fight for her half of the inheritance her mother (per the aforementioned issues) left to her brother upon her death. Because of her upbringing, Susan doesn’t have much time for interpersonal relationships, her sense of humor is dry and she has a pretty matter-of-fact way of looking at things. Basically . . . . .



Exceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeept for the whoopsie baby she just so happens to find herself pregnant with. Good lord, if I found out at 45 I was going to have an accidental baby????



That right there is the stuff of nightmares.

Bottom line, if you don’t like Susan’s voice, you won’t like this book. I kind of loved her. And of course all the good feely feels end up coming out and the ending is just great and I am a big ol’ sap deep down despite having a grizzly bear exterior so 4 Stars it is.

P.S. Am I the only one who sees Tori Spelling every time I look at the thumbnail of this cover????

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

4 Stars

“If you’re looking for a story about nice people doing nice things, this isn’t for you.”

Or if you’re more into the sparkly types of vampires (trust me no hate here – even though I am #teamjacob), this probably isn’t for you either. Buuuuuuuuut, if you have been following me and the Great ‘Salem’s Lot Wrongread of 2019 . . . .



You’ll know that this was exactly what I needed to fix my doldrums and definitely made me know when it comes to vampire stories . . . .



And yes, that’s a real thing. Unfortunately, I work with losers so no one got the joke, but I was informed the following probably wasn’t appropriate for the Annual Ugly Sweater Contest and I had to get a back-up . . . .



Where was I???? Oh yeah, this book I liked.

The story here is narrated by young (sorta) Joseph. Turned at 14, Jacob has made his tenure as a vampire successful by posing as a lost wittle soccer player some of the time and charming the pants (sometimes quite literally) as someone a bit older (therefore less child rapey) the remainder. But his favorite method of passing the time, while simultaneously filling his belly, is when he drops in on the Baker family every Tuesday night at 9:30 where they all gather around the tube to watch their favorite show . . . .



Did I fail to mention this story takes place in 1978? Whoops. Well, it does. In the best way possible too. You don’t get beaten over the head (like me going Gangnam Style on that poor horse above), but are reminded ocassionally in the best possible way. Like 13 cent Valley Forge stamps are the preferred method to send correspondence (eeek, written letters – DARK AGES!), the hottest new release in fiction was The Thorn Birds (be still my blaspheming Father Ralph lovin’ heart), the end all be all place to be on a Friday night was . . . .



And . . . .

“Just thinking about sticking my nose in that big, honey-colored shag of hair on Robert Plant made me pop a boner. A really hard, uncomfortable one, and in my tight jeans, too. I tried to pretend it was for the foxy, spaced-out Mexican girl hip-grinding near me in her midriff shirt and turquoise rings, slinky and stinking of patchouli, but no dice. My dead pecker was hard for Robert Plant.”


Joseph lives in the depths of the subway tunnels with fellow vamps Margaret, Old Boy, Baldy, Luna, Ruth, Cvetko, Billy Bang – but there are some new kids in town known as the Penny Dreadfuls . . . .



Who live in a different part of NYC . . . .



They are H.U.N.G.R.Y - and something’s gonna have to be done about them . . . .

“I have always felt that whoever turns anyone less than thirteen needs to be taken sunbathing.”

This had something for every horror lover. Gore, great characters, humor, action, ORIGIN STORY (that’s like seeing a fucking unicorn in real life), and on and on and on. 4 Solid Stars – maybe even 4.5.

Mile 81 by Stephen King

1 Star

I give up. After having a very not-so-great time with ‘salem’s Lot last week I thought the easiest way to turn my frown upside down was with a newer Stephen King and a nice little shorty that’s been popping up on my recommendations list ever since I enjoyed (definitely not the right word – can you truly enjoy something that makes you dry-heave??? – so let’s change that to “high starred”) In the Tall Grass.

To say I did not enjoy this would be a severe understatement. It was so bad it was nearly embarrassing. It was also very apparent that poor Uncle Stevie might have grown a little out of touch when it comes to . . . I was gonna say kids/what they like to do/how they talk, but then I remembered he also included an adult character who advertised her gayness in the form of a big ol’ pink gay bumper sticker so he might just not be awake period . . . . .



Whatever the case may be – me having back-to-back negative reactions to The King has been awkward to say the least . . . .



I’m all for a gory good time and 80 pages of bodycount, but the car thing has been beaten to death by you Stephen. And the big “alien” reveal? I can only assume this happened sometime in your past for it to be your preferred fallback crutch . . . .

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

5 Stars

“This place is dark.”

“Some of us like the dark. It’s what we know.”
Me immediately prior to reading this book . . . .



If you follow my reviews, you know I’ve been kind of in a book slump – especially when it comes to wrongreading giant hits that everyone else all over the intertubes have been loving. I attempted to lower my expectations before starting this one (I didn’t fall head-over-heels for The Broken Girls so I was trying to be realistic), but damn the cover alone had me like “Hey Girl.” In fact, that was the only thing I knew about this before starting. What I found upon opening her up???

Mysteries that take place in dual timelines. The then is told from Viv back in 1982. Viv left home in hopes of becoming a famous actress in NYC, but ended up as the night watchperson at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York instead. The now is told by Viv’s niece Carly. Carly is a hobbyist with a focus on true crime. The fact that her own aunt went poof in the night never to be heard from again is fuel to her websleuthing nature and she has traveled to Fell in hopes of finding some answers regarding Viv’s disappearance.

Then there’s the motel . . . .



With lights that turn on and off, locked doors that randomly get thrown open, yelling and pounding in rooms with no checked-in guests, a little boy who appears sans parents and the occasional smell of cigarettes despite the place being no smoking was just what Momma needed. After all . . . .



(Which leads me to – WHY THE EFF DOES THIS NOT COME OUT UNTIL FEBRUARY???? It’s the perfect October mystery.)

The entire time I was reading this I couldn’t wait to call my real-life book buddies and tell them . . . . .



It didn’t matter that I figured out the twist behind the whodunit . . . .



It didn’t matter that there was a moment of . . . .



It didn’t matter that regular civilians were trying to solve this old shit themselves . . . .



Mainly because the snooping in both the past and the present made sense and it wasn’t like either timeline had a bunch of inside knowledge or outside help. They used things like newspaper clippings, the internet and a dang phone book to link clues together.

Bottom line is I loved every thing about this. It was the perfect book at the perfect time. I read it in about 14 seconds and was pretty bummed when it was over so it gets every star. And today I shall bask in the glory that . . . .



I DO NOT SUCK A TURTLE!!!!

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.