Book Giveaway

How would you like to win a copy of this wonderful cookbook? All you have to do is fill out the information below. It is a very nice hard covered cookbook with many wonderful recipes.

The contest starts on July 31, 2014 at 6:00am EST and ends on August 20th, 2014 at 11:59pm. One winner will be chosen at random on August 21st, 2014 and will be alerted by email. For a complete listing of the rules, please see below.

The BTC Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

The B.T.C. Old Fashioned Grocery Cookbook is absolutely beautiful. I haven’t had the opportunity to prepare any of the recipes in the book yet but there are a lot that I really want to try. This cookbook is beautifully laid out with a lot of different recipes. It is also chocked full of stories. I especially like the chicken story at the end it made me giggle. I’m from the south so the recipes were familiar to me with some twists. I will say that the recipes use a lot of spices but all are relatively easy to find at the grocery store.

The book is also full of small town photographs that are done very well. I’m a little bit of a photography nut so I really loved looking at them.  The section on soups is divided in subsections based on seasons of the year when the vegetables will be fresh and available. I can’t wait to try the fried pies that aren’t really fried but oven baked. We always fry them in oil so this recipe looks a tad bit healthier if you can call a fired pie healthy, haha. I wouldn’t say this book is a “healthy” cookbook if that is what you are looking for but I believe if you love good southern cooking you will love this cookbook. It would also make a nice gift for a new cook going out on their own. The recipes are clear and easy to follow and many include photos of what the final product should look like.

I received this book at no charge from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase this book here.

June Bride

 

I wish there were a little more to June Bride. I’m afraid Marybeth Whalen’s idea “It was good to wonder” may leave something a little flat in the ending. I enjoyed the storyline. Wynne the main character had been rejected by her high school sweetheart and fiancé. Her friend convinced her to send in a tape to “The Rejection Connection” and she got on the show. She chose to marry Andy but is she really in love with him and is she over Callum?

I believe the author was trying to make this novella a little less predictable but in the end I’m not sure it works. When one is reading this novella they expect a happy ending. Not that there is or isn’t a happy ending in this book. It is all in the way it is perceived. It just feels unfinished. I would also have liked to have gotten to know Wynne’s family and friend a little better. The characters were there but I just didn’t feel like I learned much about them and that maybe they were just a filler in the story.

I wouldn’t say this novella was awful by no means but it wasn’t my favorite. If you are looking for a story like previous ones in this series you may be a little disappointed but overall I think you can still enjoy it.

I received this book at no charge from www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

A Table by the Window

I enjoyed A table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge. I’m not particularly a person who absolutely loves food. I do enjoy eating but usually only eat because I need to.  This book has several recipes peppered throughout the chapters and they do look very good. It’s a story about a family who have been in the restaurant business all of their lives. With several story lines you really don’t get bored at all. The family has been really fun to get to know. There is a little romance, family health issues, and family mystery.  I love the family being close with one another even though they can get on each other’s nerves.

The story is centered around food writer Juliette D’Alisa who is dealing with her job, her mother’s illness, her siblings, her guilt from a love gone wrong, and her grandmothers death. And now she is trying to decide if an online relationship that is also a long distance one is worth it.

This book is obviously going to be a series and ends with a “cliffhanger” I don’t really like the way it ended leaving so many loose ends but for the most part I really liked reading. If you are a person who really loves food this book is for you. Even if you aren’t there is enough going on that it will hold your interest. I’m looking forward to the next book just to see what happens next. Be warned it will make you hungry Juliette’s life is centered around food and food is mentioned a lot.

I received this book from bloggingforbooks.com at no charge in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase a copy of it here.

May Bride

I’ve read the other Bride series and was really looking forward to reading May Bride by Meg Moseley. I have loved everything I have read by her and was not disappointed by this one. Once again as I have stated in my earlier reviews of these series of books I enjoyed this one also. If you are looking for a quick, short read you’ll like this one. There isn’t much that isn’t predictable in this book just like the others.

Ellie, a real estate broker, who enjoys gardening at a local church even though no one knows she is there doing it. It is her way of relaxing. Then one early morning while on her secret gardening mission she accidently gets mixed up in a “guerrilla wedding” on the church grounds. She tries to hide to keep from being notice but in the end she is noticed by Graham Witby better known as Gray. Their story proceeds from there.

This is a short romantic novella that is great for an afternoon or evening read and only takes a few hours to complete. If you have read and enjoyed other novellas in this series you will love this one. The characters are believable and Ms. Moseley does a great job introducing them to us.

I received this book at no charge from Booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.