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The Seekers (Amish Cooking Class, #1)
The Seekers (Amish Cooking Class, #1)
Wanda E. Brunstetter | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fall in love with the characters (0 more)
Showing Amish culture
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Seekers is the first installment to Wanda Brunstetter's newest series, Amish Cooking Class. I really enjoyed this book. In The Seekers, Heidi starts an Amish cooking class. I loved all the different individuals and their own stories and what bought each one to the cooking class held by Heidi.

This book revolves around a woman named Heidi Troyer and her Amish cooking class.Heidi Troyer and her husband of eight years, Lyle, have no children yet. She loves her Lyle and their life together but desires children, also. Lyle refuses to adopt, believing that if it is God’s will, Heidi will be able to conceive a child. Heidi considers giving cooking classes since cooking has come naturally to her and classes won’t take time away from her husband. Heidi will lead six lessons over the next three months.

The Lord prepares students for her first class. The students come with different problems to the classes and through out the book, they find solutions. First is Loretta, a widow and single mother of two little kids that just wants to learn a more simpler way of life. She wants to know more about being Amish, so learning Amish cooking in an Amish home sounds beneficial.
Second, Charlene is engaged to a wonderful man, but has no experience in the kitchen. Her financé has a mother who is an expert cook and doesn’t like Charlene. She doesn’t want her future mother-in-law to know she can’t cook.

Third is Eli, is a young widowed man who is part of the Amish community and also doesn't know how to cook much of anything. His wife had been killed by a hit-and-run driver. He couldn’t cook, and eats out frequently after work.

Fourth, Kendra is a young lady who got pregnant out of wedlock and was kicked out of her home by her dad so he wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of church or social friends. The young man also left her.

Last but not least is Ron. He pulls his older RV into the Troyer’s yard, hungry and broke. He tells Heidi and Lyle the first lie, that his rig needs repairs and he needs a place to park until he can repair it. He ends up in the cooking class without planning to be there. The Troyers share their food and time, but he holds his secrets close. A Viet Nam vet with PTSD, Ron always finds ways to justify what he does.

Most of the characters are very likable. We see Heidi as a three-dimensional woman of faith, and get to know her students through their everyday lives. I love how this book focuses so much on God. I also love the recipes and how after each class she gives a notecard with the recipe and a verse on the back.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated My Dirty Detour in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
MD
My Dirty Detour
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is not my normal read (mafia/gangster/etc.) But the author personally contacted me, and I have a hard time saying no. I figure if the author can go out of her way to personally ask me, I can take time to read it and give my honest opinion especially since I feel that, despite having my preferences, I can usually look beyond my biases to give it a fair review. I did not accept the author's offer of a complimentary copy, though, and instead bought it from Amazon.

First of all, whoa. I wasn’t not expecting this. At first, I felt the writing was a bit long winded. The first couple pages seemed filled with endless descriptions that I didn’t care about. That stopped there. Once Violet meets Rocky (within the first couple pages) it only gets better and the writer flows smoothly.

I loved Violet. I honestly related with her a lot on multiple levels from her love of organization to her wanting to try new things but not really follow through to her hesitance with Rocky. Omg their interactions are just the best! At first, Rocky is a raging d***, but that changes. Honestly, Violet’s interactions and dialogue with him mirrored my own and how I would have done it. She is such a strong character but different from what other typically consider strong. What others would see as giving up, I saw as the strength to walk away, from abuse she didn’t need and a situation that made her unhappy. Staying didn’t make her strong, walking away did. And Rocky truly redeems himself on multiple counts.

I don’t want to ruin any of the story for you because it is one of the best I have read in this genre. You can truly feel the blood, sweat, and tears the author put into this novel. It is such an intense powerful read both plot wise and erotically, that I had to put it down a couple times to pull myself together. The cast of characters is amazing. The steamy scenes full of fire. And the writing is spot on. Risata is clearly a skilled writer and story teller who knows how to bring everything together to make an entertaining story. So if you are looking for a powerful yet hot and hilarious Alpha male romance featuring a strong female, look no further!
  
American Hippo (River of Teeth, #1-2)
American Hippo (River of Teeth, #1-2)
Sarah Gailey | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I actually read these volumes as separate books, so I have two separate reviews here.

River of Teeth (Part 1):
I somehow missed that this was a novella, every time I looked at it online. It wasn't until I checked it out from the library and was shocked at how small it was that I made that discovery. It was a welcome one, since I checked out seven other books that day, and finding something short was a relief!

And I AM SO GLAD I finally read this, because it's AMAZING. It opens on Winslow seducing a federal agent, and quickly moves to him gathering up a crew to drive feral hippos out of a marsh in Louisiana. I was expected a fun hippo-cowboy romp, and I got that - what I wasn't expected was strong, deadly women, a bisexual male hero, a nonbinary love interest, and hippo steeds. I don't know why hippo steeds didn't occur to me - it's not like they could wrangle hippos from atop horses! There is so much goodness packed into this little volume.

River of Teeth: short and sweet, action-packed with amazing characters and a fascinating, bizarre, but historical premise.

Taste of Marrow (Part 2):
Another quick novella, Taste of Marrow is the sequel to the bizarre alternate history novella River of Teeth. It picks up a few months after the ending of the first - people have had a chance to heal their injuries from the explosive ending of the first book, and hippos have begun to spread to previously safe waterways. The cast of this book consists of the surviving characters from the first, plus only one more semi-important character.

It's not quite as good as the first - no explosions and it's less of a rollercoaster - but there is some character development, and a deeper exploration of a few characters than we saw in the first book. I wish my library had the omnibus edition, because it includes two short stories set in the same world, and I'm very curious which aspects of the world she explored in those.

But this is a fun pair of books, very quick, easy reads, and it's just fun to say you're reading a book about hippos and cowboys!

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
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BethZ (6 KP) rated The Orphan's Tale in Books

Dec 25, 2017  
The Orphan's Tale
The Orphan's Tale
Pam Jenoff | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
storyline (0 more)
Absolutely Must Read
I found this story to be very touching. Noa is a 16 year girl who was impregnated by a Nazi Officer and then thrown out by her father and forced to give up her baby. She finds herself living at a train station and working there cleaning when she discovers a railcar filled with Jewish babies. She decides to take one and runs into the woods with him, where she comes across a traveling circus who agrees to take her in as one of their aerialists. She meets Astrid, a rival at first, but bound by the secrets they each keep, forge an unforgettable friendship.

It is a beautiful story of loss, love, friendship, and loyalty set in a time when life was dangerous and difficult.
  
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV
2016 | Role-Playing
Epic
This is the first Final Fantasy I've played since X-2, and I was worried it had changed too much for me to like it anymore, but my worries were unfounded.

This is a fantastic game. Not for people who don't like RPGs, but if you love side quests and epic stories, then this is a great game to play. The world itself is immense, the effects are brilliant and the game play time is very worth the money. Although I've finished the main story, I still haven't finished all of the side quests!

My only negatives about this game is the dialogue and the ending. Playing lots of side quests etc means the talking gets very repetitive. And without giving anything away, the ending was just beyond depressing.
  
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Maddie (37 KP) Nov 16, 2017

Ugh, I'm about two chapters away from finishing this game and I am SO not ready for the end. The story has emotionally damaged me enough as it is! The game is super fun to play though, so kudos to Square for at least making it worth the many year wait.

Marvel's The Defenders  - Season 1
Marvel's The Defenders - Season 1
2017 | Action
I love the cinematography in this series! The color schemes, the camera work, the choices that are made throughout are great. The story likewise, though it is quite slow through the first couple of eps as the team is re-introduced and brought together. Jessica Jones' snark is great, Luke Cage is strong and thoughtful as always, Matt Murdock steeps in his angst a bit more than I'd really prefer, and Danny Rand...is a spoiled, immature child playacting at being a superhero as before but everyone else's reactions to him make him a bit more palatable. The discussion between Cage and Rand in episode 2 was great.

Overall this is a good addition to Marvel canon. It's only as strong as its story and its weakest link, but still an enjoyable show.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Night School in Books

Sep 18, 2017  
Night School
Night School
Lee Child | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
4
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
All Reacher'd out
I've read pretty much every Jack Reacher book out there, and it gets to a point where enough is enough. And this book was it for me. When I first started reading them, the Reacher books were fun, interesting thrillers. 20+ books later, they're just getting tedious, predictable and uninteresting. Specifically in this book, there is no character development with Reacher, he's exactly the same in this as in every other book to the point where you can virtually predict his every move. The plot itself is also lacklustre and holds no real interest or intrigue. If you're a die hard Reacher fan then I'm sure you'll love this, but for me the only thing going for it is the fact that it was a quick easy read.
  
KC
Kiss Crush Collide
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was hoping for something a little more unique and individual from this book. As I started reading it, the main character's voice was nearly invisible: it was like she didn't have any character. I couldn't tell if she was haughty or shy, proud or embarrassed, or anything really.

In the first two chapters, stuff happened—but I couldn't tell you what, or why, or in what order, or how it was all related. Her thoughts and memories intertwined with her current experiences, but I couldn't keep track of what was what.

And really, the plot itself is very typical: girl has everything, boy is a mess, they fall in love and create a disaster but the sex is so good that it's worth it.

really?

No thanks.
  
When I first saw this book I wasn't sure, a book written from the dog's point of view and a Dachshund's point of view at that, hmmm, how wrong could I have been. The author, Kathleen Chamberlin, captures the spirit and character of doxies totally. Showing how it is their home and life and we should be honoured to be allowed to share it with them. Marcy's disdain for the visitor is clearly felt and when the story takes a twist the reader eagerly follows Marcy, cheering on the family and generally revelling in the feeling of euphoria by the end.
A real, feel-good book for dog or pet owners, but a true treasure for anyone who has ever spent time with a doxie. I love it.