Ruby Red (trilogy) by Kerstin Gier

5 Stars
Age: 15 and up

Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, Emerald Green

Usually I do a rating for books separately, but this time I'm going to lump them all together.

I love these books!  They are full of intrigue and suspense and mystery, the plot is wonderfully thought out and each book is a page turner.

I love the fact that it centers around secret society's and time travel without pulling in religious themes.  I have a hard time when people write stories that turn religion into fiction, my sense of sacrilege is higher than most.

All three are entertaining, funny, and based on a solid foundation.  I found next to no inconsistency's and the ending was one of complete surprise.  I have read this trilogy several times and each time I try and look for the clues that I missed before. 

Overall a clean read.  There is a love story, a few make out scenes, and a fair bit of fighting.  Only a handful of swear words; I would be fine with my children reading them.

Highly, highly recommend!

Hydrangea and Peony Burlap Wreath with Butterfly's

 

Sometimes it's nice to step out of the kitchen (although I made this on my kitchen counter...) and pull my nose out of a book and do something crafty.

 

I don't have true instructions for this, I you-tubed how to do the burlap and then I just found flowers I liked and wired them in.  I thought the butterfly clips gave it a bit of whimsy.  Wreath making is truly an individual thing, there is so much room for creativity, but sometimes it's nice to base a wreath off of someone else's and then make it your own.  Happy Crafting!

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

3 stars
Age: Adult

To tell you thee honest truth, I didn't even finish it.  I first downloaded the sample from Amazon, I'm hesitant on romances.  The beginning started out so sweet and sad!  It probably wasn't a good thing for me to read about someone dying from cancer just two weeks after losing my dad to that battle.

It started out all sweet and innocent and morphed into a little bit of manageable smut.  Then he moves away and things change when he comes back.

Then it turned into a sappy mess!  There was a lot of swearing that felt forced and underage smoking that everyone was oddly OK with, and a ton of kissing, which I knew there would be from the title, and I'm OK with, but there was so much confessing of love, and the chapters were super long.  There was another scene of light smut and that is when I decided I was done.  It has a sweet story line, but it's just not for me.

It's not one I would knowingly let my daughters read.  I'm not OK with a lot of the behaviors it portrayed.

Perfect Potato Salad

 

Perfect Potato Salad

Prep time: Give yourself an afternoon to get it made, it's not labor intensive, but it does take time for things to cook and then cool.
Cook time: 45-ish minutes

With summer just around the corner, for me that means grilling and eating fresh, cold, potato salad!  I can't have a hamburger without it!  If you like food with a lot of texture and bold flavor, this is the perfect side dish to any picnic, potluck, or summer meal!

*Potato Salad is fraught with food born issues if not handled properly.  Please make sure you keep things refrigerated!*

Ingredients:

8-9 medium red potato's
3 hard boiled eggs
Dill Pickles (I use 2 4inch pickles, you can use more or less depending on how chunky you want it.)
2-3 TBSP Pickle Juice
1/3 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Miracle Whip
1-2 TBSP Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
Pepper to taste.
Paprika and Chives or Parsley for garnish

Boil red potato's whole until soft (usually around 40 minutes.) drain and set aside to cool to almost room temperature or until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, boil 3 eggs, cool. 

Slice eggs through the middle, leaving 6-8 slices for garnish (cover and refrigerate these until later) Chop remaining eggs, pickles, and onion add to a bowl.  Add Mayo, MW, 1TBSP Vinegar, 2TBSP Pickle juice, salt and pepper.  Mix well. Add more pickle juice and/or vinegar until it becomes a smooth, thick dressing consistency.  It will be very salty- if it's not, add more salt.  (My mother says that if you taste it you should dry up and blow away from all the salt -Maybe not quite to that point, but you want a lot of salt because the potato's will balance it out.)  Refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile, peel the skins off the potato's.  In a medium sized bowl (here comes the fun part!) Squish your potato's....Yes, grab them in your fist and squeeze...Kids love this!  This will give you parts that are mashed and parts that are still chunky.  If it needs to cool a little longer, let it, otherwise add your dressing and mix well.

Add the egg slices on top and sprinkle with paprika and chives. Steal a bite or two while it's fresh, then cover and promptly put it in the fridge so the flavors can blend and it can get cold.

The Iron Butterfly, (trilogy) by Chandra Hahn

Book 1: The Iron Butterfly
4.5 Stars
Age: High School and up

Chanda Hahn is really one of my favorite authors, despite her numerous editing errors.  Her stories are strong enough to overlook some of the wording problems.

Book 1 builds a strong foundation of characters and gives them mostly believable obstacles in a fantasy world.  Her relationships are strong and her character reactions have a touch of selfishness that makes them seem like real people

There is torture and violence, but without it, the story would fall flat.  There is a clean romantic thread and no foul language.

Book 2: The Steel Wolf
4.5 Stars

This one is actually my favorite of the three.  This is the book where Thalia discovers what she can do and figures out where her heart lies, even though she doesn't know it.  The characters are just as strong and the story is full of action.

There is a continuation of violence, but still clean.

Book 3: The Silver Siren
3.5 Stars

This is my second time reading this, and I will say that it was better this time than the first.  My main docking of stars comes from one inconsistency with Kael and the bond they have, he disappears for half the book.  Its redeeming factor is that it wraps up well.

There is war and romance, but nothing I wouldn't let my children read when they are old enough to understand.

All in all, I would recommend this series to anyone, they are fun, entertaining, and clean.  As long as your mind can fill in a few missing words.

Flood Rising (The Water Keepers. Book 4) by Christie Anderson

Three Stars
Age Range: High School and up.

Let me start off by saying that I actually enjoyed the other three books in this saga.  The Idea she has of the Water Keepers is different and fun to read because it is different.  She works a whole other world in wonderfully along with a clean love story to match.

However, I think it should have ended with three.  Book four didn't do it for me, it felt like it was just a place holder.  The whole book I kept thinking it felt more like an explanation rather than a continuation of the story. 

There is a book five that is coming in the future, I'll probably read it, just for the hopes that it turns out better since I loved the first three books.  Her writing style is easy to read, and there are no typo's.  I did feel that there was some redundancies in a few sections, like there was a good idea and it just needed to be said 3 different ways. 

There is some squeaky clean romance and no foul language of any kind.  There is a touch of violence, but nothing I wouldn't let my children read. 

Feijoada

Feijoada (Black Beans and Rice)

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 20 Minutes

This is a mock recipe for Brazilian Beans and Rice, I found a shortcut and it takes a fraction of the time to make and my husband loves it!  This meal is perfect on a stormy day when you need something fast, filling, and with a burst of flavor.  Not to mention it is a budget saver on your grocery list!

Recipe:

1 Pound Steak cut into bite sized pieces
1 Can of Black Beans, undrained, divided.
1 1/2 Cups of Water
1/3 Cup chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Italian Dressing
3/4 Cup Instant Brown Rice
Sour Cream and something green for garnish.

Brown steak and onions in a medium sized sauce pan.  Pour 3/4 can of beans and juice into a blender and puree, adding to the steak.  Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for around 20 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Top with Sour cream and cilantro or chives.

This feeds my family of two adults and two children perfectly!