The Fatal Gift of Beauty is not all that interesting.

    I was very excited to see this book as an option to review so I eagerly tried to order it.  I discovered that I was unable to do so as there were no further review copies available so I emailed Blogging for Books and more copies became available.


   I received my copy and started to read it right away.  I remember the Amanda Knox case and followed the news coverage of the trials so I did know something about this story.  I fully expected to learn more about the murder and her story.  I must say as much as I wanted to like this book--I just did not. 

  I do not enjoy the author's style of writing.  She brings all sorts of  background information that I am not interested in and goes way too in depth into some of the characters. There did not seem to be a logical flow to the story either.  In summary I can't say that I learned much more than I already knew.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.









    
  

I love The Tea Planters Wife

  The Tea Planters Wife is the best book I have had the pleasure of reviewing!  It takes place in British Ceylon in the 1920's and gives a good historical perspective as to how the British people viewed the native peoples and the events that led up to the eventual independence. 

  Young wife Gwen Hooper travels alone from England to her new home in Ceylon.  She finds the man that she married in England, Lawrence Hooper, who is a much older widower, to have become oddly distant since their marriage.  She battles loneliness as well as learning to manage a large household and trying to make friends.  Was this marriage to Lawrence a good decision or not?

   This book has wonderful descriptions of Ceylon and what the large tea plantations looked like-probably very similar to what cotton plantations looked like in the southern United States prior to the Civil War. The characters are well developed  and the writing is superb.  This book was a true joy to read! I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

                                                    
  

Great historical mystery!

   Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read.  I am not usually a mystery reader at all so when I started to read this story I was pleasantly surprised.  This is a great historical mystery that is also a love story.  It is also about a period of history that I know very little about.

   This novel is set in the Panama Canal in 1909.  We learn about some of the construction and the workers of this world wonder.  I definitely recommend this book.  It is fast paced, exciting, and hard to put down.  I will also be looking for more to read from this author, Sigmund Brouwer.  I received this book from "Blogging for Books" for this review.

 


                                                                 

World War II story with an Italian twist

   This book was a complete surprise to me!  When I saw the title, I assumed it was a typical romance story set during World War II.  I was completely wrong. 
   Antonio, an Italian singer and Olivia, a dance hostess meet in an uncertain time in London.  Over time they are gradually drawn together but not before they affect many other family and friends. 
   The surprise for me is what I learned about what happened to Italian people that were British citizens during this time.  I had no idea that many of the men were arrested for simply being Italian and put in prison camps.  This is similar to what happened to American Japanese citizens in the United States during this same time.
   What happens to all the characters in this story makes for a real page turner.  This book is an easy read and was very hard for me to put down!  There were twists and turns you did not expect constantly.  I really enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading more books from the author Alison Love. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Great Historical Egyptian Novel "The Pharoah's Daughter."

                                                                        



   I really enjoyed this recent novel by Mesu Andrews.  Historical fiction is probably one of my favorite kinds of books to read.  This is a story that goes back into biblical times as far as the time of Moses and King Tut.  It is well written and easy to follow and read.  It is also very believable despite the fact it is not necessarily historically accurate.

   The story follows a young Egyptian woman of royal blood as she grows up and becomes a wife and mother.  It explores her relationships with her siblings, parents, husband, and slaves in a time of war and violence. We are at times cheering for her and at other times concerned about the choices she makes. This all makes for a book that is difficult to put down.

   I would very definitely recommend this book.  It is a true "page turner." I will be reading book 2 from The Treasures of the Nile series. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.


  






















"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

   What a great new cookbook this is!  I am very impressed by the latest book that I am reviewing.  Lately I haven't been very wowed by the cookbooks I've reviewed but this is a definite exception.

   The book is organized into the 4 seasons of the year according to the kinds of ingredients that are available to make your salad. The author, David Bez, decided to challenge himself to create one new salad every day using seasonal and healthy ingredients.  He wanted to eat more vegetables for lunch and this is the result. 

  What I particularly like about this book is that all the salads seem to be very easy to make. He also makes his own dressings.  I did not do that, but it is a nice touch.  My favorite part of the book is that he includes pictures of all the salads!  It's great to know how your salad will look when you are done.

   If you are looking for some new ideas to eat healthy and simple then try this book.  I think you will love it!  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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   Great Big Pressure Cooker Book is a Great Big Flop!

    I am reviewing another cookbook.  This time it is about a specific appliance and way to cook--the pressure cooker.  I remember my mom having one of these and her cautioning my siblings and myself to be careful around it.  She would even have us leave the room the first few times she would take  the pressure out of it so we were always kind of scared around it. 

   I had purchased one a few years ago, used it a few times, and haven't used it for a while so I thought some new recipes might be just the thing to liven up my weeknight meals.  Pressure cookers are great when you want a fast meal as they hardly take any time at all to cook so they really are a good thing to use when time is tight.

   This cookbook however has a lot to be desired.  It does indeed have 500 recipes but it is very uninteresting.  From the cover to the last page it is very plain and ordinary.  There is a small section in the middle of the book with some pictures of the completed dishes.  The lack of a picture for each recipe is a major flaw as far as I'm concerned.  Had I realized how few pictures are in this book, I would never have even been interested in reviewing it.  To me, a picture of what the dish will look like when completed is a must.

   The book discusses the safety issues I spoke of earlier and helps to reassure new cooks to the pressure cooker.  It is nicely divided into different types of foods and has more simple and more complex recipes.  It also has recipes that use more simple ingredients and more exotic ones.  If you don't mind very few pictures in your cookbooks than this is for you.  If you like pictures like me, then you probably will want to pass on this one.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review


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