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Friday, December 31, 2010

'2010 in Review'



Final Total for 2010- 179 books, 10 less than last year

Where the Books came from-
ARCS/Author/Publisher: 100
Books From My Shelves: too embarrassed to tell you
Books from the Library: 79 down by 50% from last year

Favorite Books read in 2010 in order that the book was read:
Challenges Completed:
100+ Reading Challenge
All About the Brontes
Graphic Novel Challenge
Historical Reading Challenge
Jane Austen Reading Challenge
Japanese Challenge
The Pub 2010

Challenges that I didn't complete:
2010 States Challenge - only hit 31 states
Support Your Local Library Challenge- 79/100
GLBT Challenge
All Things Alcott- only read 1
Terry Pratchett 2010- didn't read a one
Gilmore Girls- doing this one again in 2011
2010 Reading From My Shelves- this was a disaster for me
Random Reading Challenge- only completed 3
Sookie Stackhouse-read 1

Reading Resolutions for 2010 and how I actually did with them!
  • will only accept 1 ARC per month- HA! I accepted wayyyy too many ARCs again this year!
  • continue to do book tours- stuck with this one and TLC book tours.
  • try to keep my library check out to 10 books and less so that I can get all of them read! Accomplished
  • will not buy any "new" books from stores for the first 6 months of the year- accomplished
  • will READ my own books!!! FAILED BIG TIME
  • will try to get through all of the ARCs just sitting on my shelves right now. Or if I don't read them I will give them all away!!!!!!!! DIDN'T GET THEM ALL READ- TOOK A BUNCH TO THE LIBRARY
  • keep my reviews short and sweet!! DID PRETTY GOOD ON THIS
  • Continue on with Six Sentence Saturdays YES..KEPT THIS GOING
  • read deliberately!! I love that! TRIED HARD TO DO THIS
My resolutions for 2011:
  • I will continue to stay true to who I am as a writer. I'm not a professional reviewer, nor do I claim to be one. Heck, I can't guarantee grammar, but I do my best to convey to my fellow readers the reasons why I liked or didn't like a particular book. I will never give away spoilers,  never tell you too much, and most importantly I will never ever try to dissect a book!! That's not why I do my blog. I will continue to read and review for the pure love of reading and sharing with others my thoughts. I like to share why a book moved me to tears or to boredom. I hope that when you spend time reading my blog you've enjoyed what you've read and maybe left with a book suggestion. 
  • I've decided to accept review books from Sourcebooks, and the occasional request that intrigues me. I will no longer visit Shelf Awareness as it has become more of a hindrance to my goals of trying to read my own books. I need to get my ARC addiction under control!!
  • I will still accept tour books from TLC- I love this company and they always deliver stellar reads to my hands. I did get a bit carried away and have booked myself solid for January and February, but I have claimed March and April for myself and will work really hard to keep it that way!
  • Signed up for less challenges but still just having fun with them. NO STRESS FOR 2011 !!
I would like to thank each and every person who visits my blog and leaves me comments. Let's face it, it's nice to have someone interested in what you have to say and those comments really make me feel great!


As I ring in the New Year tonight I will be toasting and wishing all of the best to each and every one of you!!!!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

'The Mischief of the Mistletoe' by Lauren Willig

Lauren Willig is the author of this historical fiction/romance book published in November, 2010.  It's about Arabella Dempsey who becomes a teacher at a Young Ladies Seminary. Her aunt marries which leaves Arabella out of the inheritance, so in order to take care of her family she goes into teaching. While there she becomes involved in a mystery filled with intrigue and espionage, that begins with a cryptic message wrapped up in a Christmas pudding. She meets "Turnip" Fitzhugh, a brother to one of her students, who helps her find out what the message means and puts a bit of romance into Arabella's life too. Overall I thought this was a splendid book. I loved the characters immediately and of course, I am a sucker for the time period (early 1800's England). I'm also just getting started with the Pink Carnation series, so this book kicked that desire to read book two into overdrive!  I liked how the author wove Jane Austen into the story. It was entirely plausible and it fit perfectly. The Yuletide adventure was sheer fun and  I didn't like that I had to say goodbye to the characters when this book ended!! I got this book from Dutton Publishing. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction and a well-written book that engages the reader from the very first page!!! If you haven't read any of the books from the Pink Carnation series, not to fear, this can be a stand-alone read without any problems. Especially because the author fills you in on the characters with a little guide in the back. This doesn't have to be read during the holidays either....it's pure fun during Christmas or not!!!!
I rated it 4/5
**Reviews Cruise Format by Lynne's Book Reviews

Source: Dutton-Penguin Group
Author: Lauren Willig
Published: November, 2010
Publisher:  Dutton
Pages:339
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance...pure magic!
ISBN: 9780525951872
 © 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

'The Winter Sea' by Susanna Kearsley

Genre: Historical Fiction that captures the time-period wonderfully and pulls you into the story!
Author: Susanna Kearsley
About (from Sourcebooks)
Carrie McClelland came to Scotland to research her next book. Renting a cottage in the same town where her story takes place, Carrie embarks not only on her novel, but on a romance with her landlord's handsome son, Keith Graham. When the boundary between past and present begins to blur, Carrie finds herself channeling memories not her own. Pulled deeper and deeper into the memories of the past, Carrie realizes these visions are more than the means to another bestselling novel, but also way to right the wrongs of the past and create a future with the man whose love is her destiny.



My thoughts:
This book literally pulled me in from the very first chapter. I was enthralled with the setting and the main character is someone I wanted to be friends with. I envied her ability to be able to travel for her work and to actually visit the places that appeared within her novel. I loved the whole concept of genetic memory....this is something that I believe can actually occur. The way the author wrote the story kept me very much involved in the current day and also in the past. She wove the two story lines together seamlessly and I was sad to see the story end, especially because I realized that I was a little bit "in love" with two of the male characters and I really didn't want them to leave. This book had it all: romance, intrigue, mystery, historical fiction, kick-ass location, and a storyline that made me not want to put the book down. 'The Winter Sea' is on my top reads list for 2010 !

P.S. Before you read this or are thinking of reading this one..visit Susanna's website and look at her pictures from Scotland. These are the places that sparked her writing!!!

Rating: 5/5
* I will be reading Susanna Kearsley's other books for sure in 2011.




Thank you to Danielle @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review.
My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.
They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.
SourceDanielle @ Sourcebooks, Inc Publicity
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Published: December, 2010
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Landmark
Pages: 576
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9781402241376
 
  © 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

'Heart with Joy' by Steve Cushman

Genre: YA but appeals to older adults
About the book (from author) :
In Heart With Joy, fifteen year old Julian Hale’s life is turned upside down when his mother suddenly moves from North Carolina to Florida under the pretense of running her parents’ motel and finishing the novel she has been writing for years.  While Julian has always been closer to his mother and wants to go with her, she tells him he has to stay with his father until the end of the school year. Six weeks after his mother leaves, Julian’s father decides to run a marathon.  Once Julian agrees to help him train, the two develop the sort of close relationship they’ve never had before.  Also, with the help of an elderly neighbor, who loves to spend her days bird-watching, Julian learns that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart.  And Julian’s heart leads him to a passion for cooking and a young cashier at the local grocery store even as his own parents drift apart.  By the end of the novel, Julian is forced to choose between staying with his father and going to live with his mother.

Heart With Joy is an uplifting coming of age novel about the importance of following your heart and trusting that it will take you where you need to go.



Why I wanted to read this book: I read a wonderful review of this book on Jan's blog, Eating Y.A. Books,and just knew that I wanted to get my hands on this one. A week later I received an email from the author asking if I would like to review a copy and I had to say yes. I love YA books where the main character is a young man...just not enough of those out there!!!
 
What worked for me:

  • I absolutely adored Julian. This is a kid who came out of nowhere and just stole my heart. I wanted to protect him, feed him, shelter him, listen to him, and tuck him under my wing to keep him safe from hurt.
  • I liked Julian's dad...at first though I wasn't so sure. he does come across as someone who doesn't have time for others. But as Julian gets to know his dad better, so does the reader. I understood him as a parent and rejoiced when he finally decided to let his son know who he really was as a person, not just as a parent. It's not often that an author highlights and delves into the complexities of a father/son relationship. I found this to be one of my favorite aspects of the story.
  • I've known many women like Julian's mom. Those that think they need to get away from it all and find themselves. She didn't mean to break her husband and son's hearts, and even though I honestly felt that she didn't see any other options for herself at the moment, I'm still on the fence with how I feel about her.
  • Julian's next door neighbor was an absolute godsend. She was exactly what Julian needed in his life and I love the relationship that developed between the two of them. Julian became a much wiser and more thoughtful young man under Mrs. Peters' gentle guidance.
  • As Julian's cooking really blossoms so did my interest in each of the recipes he tried out on his dad. I felt like I could cook also...he inspired me to try something new each day in the new year! His growing love for cooking was beautiful to watch unfold.
Recommend?  YES! YES! YES! The story is all about communication and having real conversations with each other. Too many families are busy with life and nonsensical things. We've forgotten how to just be in the moment and relish the birds singing or to be really in the moment when a loved one is talking to us. Julian was able to make some "real" connections with people in this story and it touched something within me that has made me refocus my attention on my son's when they're talking to me. They deserve to have me there....really aware and fully alive. This is easily one of my favorite books of the year!

My Rating: 5/5


Thank you to Steve Cushman for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.




© 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What are you Reading?

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Jenny Q. @ Let Them Read Books (December Host)
We share what books that we found 
in our mailboxes last week.


By Fire, By Water- review request from author, Mitchell James Kaplan
Beautiful Disaster- review request from author, Laura Spinella
----------------------------------------------------------------



Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.


Tentative reviews for this week:
Heart with Joy (YA)- Tuesday
The Winter Sea- Wednesday
The Mischief of the Mistletoe-Thursday
Six Sentence Saturday:
The Christmas Letters
The Snow Globe

Books on the nightstand

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas Friends!


Merry Christmas
to my friends near and far..may the day be filled
with wonderment and pure joy!!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

How the Trees Kept Christmas



A Christmas Story
One Christmas Eve the trees in a wood were very unhappy. They wished very much to keep Christmas, but they did not know how to do so. "We look so brown," said one.
"And so bare," said another.
"If we only had our pretty green summer dresses," said a third, "then we should be decorated and could keep Christmas."
"Hush, children, hush!" whispered North Wind in quite a gentle voice for such a rough fellow. "Make haste and go to sleep."
"Hush! children, hush!" softly murmured a sleepy little bird. He was roosting on one of the branches of the unhappy trees.
So the trees dropped off to sleep, one by one, while a little star twinkled peacefully overhead.
But while they slept something happened. And when the trees awoke they found that someone, perhaps North Wind, had, during the night, cast over each of them a lovely soft cloak of spotless feathery white.
"How beautiful we are!" said the trees. "Now we can keep our Christmas!"

Monday, December 20, 2010

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday....What are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Jenny Q. @ Let Them Read Books (December Host)
We share what books that we found 
in our mailboxes last week.

 

Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook- review copy from Sourcebooks
Vixen (Flappers #1)- Shelf Awareness
Nocturne- unexpected copy from Vanguard Press ( I love this author!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.


Read and reviewed last week:
Queen Hereafter- wonderfully descriptive historical fiction 4/5
Pemberley Ranch- refreshingly original take on P&P 4.5/5
The Perfect Christmas- cute Christmas story 3/5
The Perfect Love Song- not a bad way to spend a few hours 3/5

Tentative reviews for this week:
The Winter Sea- Wed


Books on the Nightstand:
still working on getting to these!!!


Life in the Thumb will be silent for the holidays 
December 23-December 26

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Holiday Tag!


I was tagged for this by Lisa at Lit and Life"
Check out her blog where she will be hosting the Gilmore Girl Challenge 2011 and Fairy Tale Fridays.

When do you usually know and feel that it's finally the holidays?
After the first big snow, the lights are up and the Christmas songs are on 24/7.

What do you want for Christmas this year?

A phone call from my son Mitch who is at boot camp in San Diego.


Do you go all out with decorations?
Not really...my tree has blue/red bulbs with bows as hangers and white lights.
To top it off there is a blue star. I lost most of my decorations when our basement flooded
earlier this year...will have to replenish my garland and lights!

What are you doing Christmas Eve?
I usually make snack foods and then we watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

What are you doing Christmas Day?
Opening presents and having dinner. Our extended family lives over 3.5 hours
away so it will be just the three of us.

It's Christmas time. What are you reading?
Various Christmas books that I downloaded on my son's Kindle and a few
review books that I need to finish.

Favorite movie to watch during the holidays?
"It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Carol" plus any cute movies that may be
on. I love Elf too so we'll probably watch that one too.

Favorite Christmas song?
I love my entire CD of Christmas songs by Straight No Chaser.

Favorite holiday drink?
New Year's Eve vodka shots!
 
How is your Christmas shopping going?
Everything is done!! Now I just need to wrap!

If you could spend Christmas Day anywhere else, where would you spend it?
London, England

Any holiday traditions?
Watching It's a Wonderful Life and then my traditional dinner on Christmas.

Favorite thing about the Holidays.
Being with my family.
 
Please play along if you wish to!!!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.
Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Happy that I read it...a good read.

2 of Hearts- Just O.K but nothing to write home about.
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)

The Perfect Christmas - Debbie Macomber
All Cassie wants for Christmas is the perfect match and she's willing to spend a lot of money to make this happen.She enlists the help of a matchmaker- Simon Dodson who analyzes her with a cold, discerning eye and leaves her questioning why she started any of this in the first place. I found this story to be a sweet, sentimental, and yes, very predictable read. But I knew it going in and I didn't have any high expectations for this book. By doing that I was able to enjoy it for what it was...a romantic Christmas read that made me smile from time to time.
My Rating:






The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story - Patti Callahan Henry
source: Vanguard Press
I started this book in November and felt very disconnected from the point-of-view so I put it back on the shelves to read later. I'm glad that I finally picked it up as it was an enjoyable light Christmas read. The story is very predictable once again and I absolutely knew how it was all going to end, but that was okay with me once I accepted this book for what it was. I liked the female characters in the book a lot, and I even enjoyed Jimmy's rise to fame and how singers are manipulated by their handlers and lose control of their lives. I did in fact, fall in love with the wedding being held in Ireland and of course, my heart did a bit of a pitter-patter over that because I just think being married in another country would be so exciting! Overall, this was a good read and a pleasant way to spend a cold, snowy day!
My Rating:






  © 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

'Pemberley Ranch' by Jack Caldwell

Genre: Jane Austen Variation/Historical Romance Fiction
Author: Jack Caldwell- let's hear it for a man writing Austen variations!!!
About (from Sourcebooks)
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Bennet family has just moved from Ohio to the town of Rosings, Texas, set on creating a fresh start. But their daughter Beth still prefers the familiarity of Ohio to the plains of Texas-that is, until she encounters Will Darcy, the reclusive owner of Pemberley Ranch. Will and Beth are instantly smitten, but pride, prejudice, and a gang of villains determined to take over Rosings threaten to keep them apart. This fresh idea in the world of Jane Austen re-tellings brings together the world of Pride and Prejudice with the struggles of the antebellum South.











1.) Reasons you chose this book

It's no secret...I love Jane Austen and never turn up the opportunity to rediscover her characters in an unique and original story.  Plus, I think Sourcebooks pretty much rocks when it comes to Austen re-tellings and they've rarely have steered me wrong.

2.) Reasons you liked or disliked this book

  • This was an absolute refreshing and original take on Pride and Prejudice. Who would have thought that I would totally fall for it hook, line, and sinker? Especially because it takes place in the United States and after the Civil War. Not exactly my romanticized England, but let me tell you it WORKS!!!
  • I found that I actually liked his pairing of couples more than the original ones from Pride and Prejudice. 
  • The plot of the story was very well thought out. There was nothing contrite or predictable . 
  • I was very impressed with Caldwell's steamy romantic scenes...loved them!!!
  • The only thing I found that I didn't like was the way Fitzwilliam came across...he sounded a bit dumb and just a tad stereotypical of southern talk.
3.) Reasons for recommending
  • It's so original....and fresh! You get to see a different side of some characters and the setting really blew me away. I loved the way Caldwell blended in the Civil War, the grievances of the North and the South, the truly evil bad guys, and of course, the wonderful romance of  Will (Darcy) and Beth (Elizabeth).
Rating: 4.5/5 



Thank you to Danielle @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review.
My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.
They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.SourceDanielle @ Sourcebooks, Inc Publicity
Author: Jack Caldwell
Published: December, 2010
Publisher:  Sourcebooks
Pages: 384
Genre: Jane Austen Variation/Historical Romance
ISBN: 9781402241284
 
  © 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Special offer from Sourcebooks in honor of Jane Austen's 235th Birthday

I wanted to post this special offer from Sourcebooks that will be effective on Thursday, December 16, 2010.
If you want to add some free Jane Austen variations to your Kindle, Nook, or other reading devices now is the time to do it!! I've already checked out the entire list and can not wait to download these books to my iTouch and my son's Kindle (he'll really love me when he sees all of these on his Kindle won't he??).


Thursday, December 16th is Jane Austen’s 235th birthday!

Sourcebooks, the world’s leading publisher of Jane Austen fiction, is offering a unique deal to readers who want to celebrate Jane by reading special editions of all six of Austen’s beloved novels in a 21st century format.

Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park will be available for free for one day only. These celebratory editions include the full novels, plus the legendary color illustrations of the Brock brothers, originally created to accompany the books in 1898.

In addition to the Jane Austen classics, readers can also enjoy these bestselling Austen-inspired novels. The following bestselling e-books will be free on December 16th in honor of her birthday:

Eliza’s Daughter by Joan Aiken
The Darcys & the Bingleys by Marsha Altman
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins
The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview
Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
Lydia Bennet’s Story by Jane Odiwe
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds

Available wherever eBooks are sold.

Monday, December 13, 2010

'Queen Hereafter' by Susan Fraser King (TLC Tour Stop)

Genre: Historical Fiction
About the book (from TLC) :

Queen Hereafter chronicles the life of Margaret of Scotland, a contemporary of the infamous Lady Macbeth, and a woman destined for sainthood.
Margaret, a young Saxon princess, is shipwrecked with her family on the coast of Scotland and forced to accept sanctuary from the recently widowed warrior-king Malcolm Canmore of Scotland.  Malcolm sees a political prize in Margaret, and promises to help her brother, the outlawed rebel Edgar of England, in return for his sister’s hand in marriage. When Malcolm brings a female bard, Eva, to court as a hostage to ensure good behavior of her kinswoman, his conniving enemy Lady Macbeth, Margaret, and Eva expect to resent one another.  Instead, they discover an unlikely bond as outcasts of a sort–Eva a wild Celtic spirit captive among her enemies, Margaret suppressing her passions as she endures increasing pressure as a queen and a mother of princes.



Why I wanted to read this book: I am very fond of historical fiction and once again I knew absolutely nothing about Queen Margaret of Scotland.
 
What worked for me:

  • Margaret found herself in a very bad situation. She felt her calling was to be nun and instead she finds herself as a pawn for her brother's desire to win back the throne of England. She was a very complex and unusual woman. I admired her piety, but at times I thought she went too far with her devotion to God and her prayers. If she were to be alive in present days I would consider her an anorexic. She ate very little and actually felt bad about the nourishment that she did intake. She felt the need to pray constantly and to pray for hours. She did however do many good deeds. She fed the hungry, clothed the poor, and educated the girls. She was a huge asset for King Malcolm and even though they were not a "love match" at the beginning, I truly feel that she loved Malcolm and he loved her.
  • I finally understood why Queens were often portrayed as cold-hearted towards their children. Margaret's mother advised her not to get too close to the babies as they most often died. Margaret finally found out that her own mother lost two children and she felt such an overwhelming amount of love and sympathy for her mother. But even though she knew her children could die at any time, she never put them second and amazingly enough she had eight children and all of them survived into adulthood!!!
  • I really enjoyed that the book took place in Scotland and it inspired me to look up some of the buildings that were talked about within the story.
  • Even though Eva was not a true character I absolutely loved the way the author wove her story into the plot. It worked and added another dimension to all of the characters. I especially enjoyed learning more about bards. I truly find them fascinating!
Recommend?  A resounding YES! If you are a fan of historical fiction you will enjoy this one and if you're interest includes learning about medieval queens then add this book to your list! Queen Margaret was canonised as a saint in 1250. I found her to be a remarkable and very interesting woman.

My Rating: 4/5


Thank you to TLC Book Tours. for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

About Susan Fraser King

With graduate degrees in art and art history, former college lecturer SUSAN FRASER KING is the author of several bestselling novels praised for lyrical style and historical accuracy. Raised in upstate New York and a frequent visitor to Scotland, she lives in Maryland with her family.
For more info on Susan Fraser King, please visit her website.

 
Please visit the other tour stops HERE.

© 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Jenny Q. @ Let Them Read Books (December Host)
We share what books that we found 
in our mailboxes last week.


The Weird Sisters- for TLC Tour Feb. 9th
The Lotus Eaters- for TLC Tour Jan. 10th
Fierce Eden- review book (Feb) from Sourcebooks
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.


Read and reviewed last week:
Salting Roses- great southern fiction 4/5
A Darcy Christmas- a nice read for the holidays 3/5
Dating Mr. December- a delightful and charming romance 4/5

Tentative reviews for this week:
Queen Hereafter- TLC Tour stop Tuesday
Pemberley Ranch- Wednesday
Heart with Joy- Thursday
Six Sentence Saturday:
The Perfect Christmas
Hide in Plain Sight

On my nightstand:

Guest Author Post: How to Make Saturnalia Cookies from Stephanie Dray



How to Make Saturnalia Cookies
by
Stephanie Dray

In my debut novel, Lily of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra’s Daughter, my heroine’s first Saturnalia is a thing of wonder. Though her father was Mark Antony, the famed Roman general, Selene had been raised a Princess of Egypt, which meant that many ancient Roman traditions would have been as unusual to her as they are to us. In the book, Saturnalia is the first time since being taken as an orphaned prisoner of war that Selene starts to find her place with her new Roman family.

It’s the scents and the sounds of the Saturnalia festival that allow Selene to bond with the emperor’s daughter, Julia, and of course the food. We can’t forget the food. The holiday feasts we all enjoy today are but a pale mimicry of ancient Roman banquets.

Part of the enjoyment I get out of researching ancient times is discovering the way they ate and celebrated. One Saturnalia tradition that figures into the novel is when all the guests take a Saturnalia pastry and the guest whose pastry has a bean hidden inside of it is named the King of the Saturnalia or the Lord of Misrule. I thought it might be fun to reproduce this tradition for the holiday season.

The Romans did have pastries and they enjoyed sweet deserts, but they were different from those we enjoy now because the Romans didn’t use butter or sugar, and they didn’t have baking soda or baking powder. They did, however, have other substitutes. For butter, they often substituted a sweet creamy cheese. For sugar, they used honey. For leavening they sometimes used eggs. This led them to create hearty and rustic pastries with flours, seeds, fruit, oil.

To make a Saturnalia cookie, one might take any sort of modern oatmeal cookie and hide a raisin inside one of them. That’s the easy way, and given the Roman penchant for practicality, they would approve wholeheartedly.

However, if you want to go the old fashioned route, try this recipe:

Roman Globuli Pastries

½ Cup Flour
½ Cup Ricotta Cheese (Whole Milk)
¼ Cup Honey
⅓ Cup Olive Oil
1 Raisin

Mix the Flour and Ricotta Cheese in a bowl with a fork until it forms a stiff dough. With wet fingers, roll dough into 1 inch balls. Inside one of those balls, hide a raisin. Heat oil in a pan on high, then lightly fry the dough balls until golden brown. When the dough balls are cooked through, roll them in honey. Chill and Serve.

I made these tonight and they result in a light doughy pastry, perfect with marsala wine!

BIO
Stephanie Dray is the author of a forthcoming trilogy of historical fiction novels set in the Augustan Age, starting with Lily of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra's Daughter. Before she wrote novels, Stephanie was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Roman or Egyptian and has–to the consternation of her devoted husband–collected a house full of cats and ancient artifacts.
 
 She is currently sponsoring the Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women, the deadline for which is March 1, 2011, but join her newsletter now for updates and a chance to win a free copy of Lily of the Nile and additional prizes.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR TOUR STOPS
 

Thursday, December 9, 2010

'Dating Mr. December'- by Philippa Ashley

Philippa Ashley is the author of this British based romance book published in November, 2010 .  It's about Emma Tremayne who leaves a high-powered PR job and ends up in a slow paced community. She's hoping to mend her broken heart and to move on with her life. Little does she know that life is just starting to get good when she meets Will Tennant. Overall I thought this was a very fun, sexy, and believable romantic book.  I liked Emma and a few times wanted her job. I found myself daydreaming over what Will Tennant might look like in the "tasteful" nude calendar that Emma convinced him to pose for and I thought he was completely adorable!!!  I didn't like that the book ended!! I loved this little book of pure sweetness. I got this book from Danielle at Sourcebooks. I love reviewing books for this company because they have so many wonderful titles to choose from and I am able to read authors I may have never picked up otherwise, this being one of them.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun, romantic, escapade that takes place in the rugged Lake District of England. An extra bonus is that  Lifetime TV is currently showing the movie, 12 Men of Christmas, right now!! Do yourself a favor and read the book AND watch the movie....I have it dvr'd just waiting for me to lay my eyes on Will Tennant!!
I rated it 4/5
**Reviews Cruise Format by Lynne's Book Reviews

SourceDanielle @ Sourcebooks, Inc Publicity
Author: Philippa Ashley
Published: November, 2010
Publisher:  Sourcebooks
Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary British Women's Fiction
ISBN: 9781402241420
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