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Lucy Berberian is back in her hometown of Ocean Crest, New Jersey, while she tries to figure out what to do next in her life. While she is reconnecting with family and friends, she is also working at her parent’s restaurant, Kebab Kitchen. Her high school nemesis, Heather Banks, is now the health inspector, and goes out of her way to make trouble for Lucy. However, after eating at the restaurant’s hummus bar, Heather dies in the parking lot. With business declining and Lucy the prime suspect, Lucy begins to search for answers. What happened to Heather?

This series is off to a good start. Lucy has a great collection of family and friends, although I did feel that her parents could be better fleshed out. We see hints of more here, something I hope is developed further as the series progresses. The mystery is solid with several believable suspects and plenty of secrets. The ending surprised me and kept me turning pages.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2018/02/book-review-hummus-and-homicide-by-tina.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
RR
Resisting Redemption
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Resisting Redemption by Amabel Daniels

Four Stars

This is the first story I’ve read from this author and I can say without a doubt that I am hooked. I felt like I was right there with the action and could feel every emotion the characters felt. The characters were flawed and perfect. Roxie has become my favorite character. She is a single mom doing what’s best for her daughter. She gives off this sassy vibe when truly she is just going with the flow. Through the book I expected her to become less sassy and more damsel in distress. But the author didn’t disappoint me. She stayed true to her personality and only gave on things concerning her daughter. The way they portray Grant you would think he was a sexist old man who thought women belonged in the kitchen. Oh no Grant is so much more and down right sexy. He blows me away with his personality and determination to get justice. Some characters I could do without because blah. But these two were just right and baby Lucy too cute. A red head baby if only.
  
A Souffle of Suspicion
A Souffle of Suspicion
Daryl Wood Gerber | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Crush Week, Sweets Fest, and Murder
Things are hopping at Bistro and Maison Rousseau. Tourists have flocked to the Napa Valley for Crush Week and the first Sweet Treat festival is being hosted on the grounds of the hotel. Mimi is thrilled that both hotel and restaurant are booked solid for the week. Things take a deadly turn when Renee, the festival organizer and sister of Mimi’s head chef Camille, is found murdered in Camille’s kitchen. Who had a reason to murder the woman?

It was nice to return to the Napa Valley with Mimi as our host. The book starts out strongly. While I did feel the pace lagged a time or two, these were minor issues. The puzzle was very good with some clues coming into play late in the mystery that I had completely missed, yet they helped make the resolution completely believable. I did have trouble buying Mimi’s relationship with her friend and police chief Tyson, but the rest of the characters were great. The food left me drooling, so the recipes are the back are a welcome addition to this fun mystery.
  
Wish - Shopping Made Fun
Wish - Shopping Made Fun
Lifestyle, Shopping
7
6.4 (56 Ratings)
App Rating
Tons of cheap jewelry, tech, shoes, toys--you name, they probably have it! Stocking stuffers!! (0 more)
As my folks used to say--you get what you pay for. It may not be US or European quality. But a lot is in pretty good shape. The shipping cost varies--if you pay for faster shipping it could get a lityle painful . (0 more)
It is not bad
They have so many little neat things, my nephews and nieces love getting presents and Christmas stockings from us. We have about 30 kids we buy for, so this little jem makes showering them with gifts affordable. It has great stuff for grownups too, just remember--this is an Asian based country-- smaller bodies all the way around, including feet. The clothes are sometimes not the best quality and judging sizes(especially for curvy or plus)is rough. And as I said--sometimes you get exactly what you pay for -- a 3 dollar dress is probably not going to look like red carpet fashion. So buyer beware. They have electronics, tech, kitchen ware, craft supplies, curtains, rugs, bedding etc. Just remember to use your best judgement.
  
Eat Locals (2017)
Eat Locals (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Horror
5
5.8 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Strong cast (0 more)
Doesn't live up to its billing (0 more)
One of those can't decide good or bad movies
Every now and then a movie comes along that you don't really know what to say or think about it... This is one of those films, a strong cast that wouldn't have been out of place in an early Guy Ritchie film, fills you with promise, but it feels very rushed in its storytelling, not really giving you time to work out who the characters are and what the significance of their meeting in a remote farmhouse is and to that point why and how the "Vampire hunting elite squad" knows where this meeting is yet not how many there are, other than they have one target they are after...
Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it, I'm just not quite sure why! if you like comedy horror Cockneys vs Zombies does it better, but the sight of Victor Meldrew's wife (Annette Crosbie) going from knitting in the kitchen to wielding an automatic weapon does leave you somewhat satisfied...

I think this is one that people would really need to make up their own mind on.
  
Faith comes home after living in the English world. She has her daughter in tow with her. What happen to Faith Stutzman Andrews and her daughter. Faith is widowed but what happen to her husband and what makes her to come home.

Noah is enjoying with doing things in the kitchen rather then work in the fields. Noah seem to like help other out and make them feel better. Will Noah be able to help Faith? Their seem to be rules that Faith must follow when she returns back to her parents home.

Will Faith decide to stay or will she leave once again. Noah seem like he likes Faith and her daughter. The author does well with this story. It show that it okay to return back home. Will Faith and Noah find love with each other? It seem that Wanda does this. I remember bit and parts about this story when I read it about seven years ago. I would love to reread it in audio book if I ever get the chance.

This book is worth reading. If you are a fan of christian fiction or even Amish fiction. Wanda is a really good storyteller and this story is no different.
  
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
2005 | Comedy, Romance

"Vince Vaughn made me laugh like all the way through this film. There’s plenty of dialogue, but the part where he’s sitting at the dinner table and he’s getting the rub-and-tug under table is just… He’s doing everything with his face, like, he’s not really saying anything. What’s coming out of him is awesome, pardon the pun. Will Ferrell is great too, but just watch Vince Vaughn in that entire movie where he gets strapped down to the bed and they want to play tummy sticks and stuff. “No, no tummy sticks.” The scene where he goes into the kitchen and he’s angry, and he’s like “We’re not talking,” but he’s loading up on carbs and stuff and announces he’s going to “sit over here,” dumping syrup on top of everything. It’s slapsticky and over the top, but there’s room on everyone’s queue for something big that has celebrities in it but a great score, and it looked great, they’re taking the boat out, there’s big weddings. It’s a big movie, but it didn’t feel big and overpowering; it felt intimate. There was a direction, there was a sense, and they went. And they didn’t deviate, and it also has such a sweetness and lessons learned and all that kind of stuff."

Source
  
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Book
The Secrets of Primrose Square (book 1)
By Claudia Carroll
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's late at night and the rain is pouring down on the Dublin city streets. A mother is grieving for her dead child. She stands silently outside the home of the teenage boy she believes responsible. She watches . . .

In a kitchen on the same square, a girl waits anxiously for her mum to come home. She knows exactly where she is, but she knows she cannot reach her.

A few doors down, and a widow sits alone in her room. She has just delivered a bombshell to her family during dinner and her life is about to change forever.

And an aspiring theatre director has just moved in to a flat across the street. Her landlord is absent, but there are already things about him that don't quite add up . . .

Welcome to Primrose Square.

What a genuinely lovely book to read. It was so heartfelt and touching. It showed the struggles of grief and the amazing friendships that come from it. There’s nothing worse than losing a child and this book showed the struggle of dealing with it. I think we all need a Primrose Square in our lives.
  
Restaurant Weeks are Murder
Restaurant Weeks are Murder
Libby Klein | 2019 | Mystery
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder & Mayhem In The Kitchen
“Restaurant Weeks Are Murder” is Libby Klein’s very enjoyable third novel, chock full of madness and mayhem in the ‘Poppy McAllister Mystery’ series. The first book is ‘Class Reunions Are Murder,’ followed by book two which is ‘Midnight Snacks Are Murder.’
 
I haven’t read these other books in this series yet, however, I don’t think that this spoilt my enjoyment of this novel. That said, there is nothing more exciting than picking up a book which is the first in a new series.
Poppy McAllister is opening a new Bed & Breakfast in Cape May, New Jersey, but working in a professional kitchen has always been her passion. Now she’s realising her dream, at least briefly, as she is teaming up with her former fiancée Tim and his partner, Gigi, during a high-profile Restaurant Week challenge. Poppy’s speciality is pastries and if anyone can make glorious gluten-free goodies, it’s Poppy.
 
As it might be expected, things start to go badly wrong very quickly, especially when some ingredients get switched and Tim is accused of sabotage. Relatively harmless pranks soon escalate into real hazards, including an exploding deep fat fryer. Then one of the judges dies after taking a bite of Poppy’s limoncello cannoli, making her one of the prime suspects . . .

Forty-odd-year-old, pastry chef, Poppy, the protagonist, lives with her elderly Aunt Ginny and Figaro, her mischievous cat. I found Poppy and many of the other characters very funny and likeable, so much so that I felt as though I would like to spend some time in their company myself! As someone who has read several cozies, Poppy’s Aunt Ginny has become one of my favourite cozy characters. She provided plenty of humour in this book from her choice of outlandish outfits to her zaniness and zest for life. I couldn’t help but adore her and look forward to her mischievous antics.

I liked that the opening chapters drew me into the story and captured my attention immediately. Although I had to wait a while before an actual murder took place, there was never a dull moment with such a lot going on. The mystery itself was well thought out with plenty of twists and turns as I puzzled over the clues to discover the perpetrator.

The book had a natural, steady pace, and even though the murder occurred towards the end of the first half of the book I was kept guessing until the surprising reveal. Delightful and entertaining “Restaurant Weeks Are Murder” is a highly recommended, quick, light read for all cozy mystery fans.

{Thank you to #NetGalley and Kensington Books for the free copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.}
  
TI
The I Hate to Cook Book
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The I Hate to Cook Book starts off like this:

Some women, it is said, love to cook.
This book is not for them.

Basically, this book is for me.

The I Hate To Cook Book has tons of great recipes sorted in to simplistic chapters, each focusing on another important aspect of the chore of cooking: how to use leftovers, soups, salads, fancy meals for guests, last minute meals, cooking tips etc.

I loved the recipes in this book, and I actually (almost) want to get into a kitchen and try some of them out (usually I hand cookbooks to my mom and say “here, make this pretty please!!”). This one will stay on my shelf for… well in all honesty, I don’t ever intend to part with it. I mean, if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I’d better learn how to make something edible, right?

riiight.

The only reason I don’t give it five stars… there aren’t any pictures. And I really need pictures… because I can’t cook. Still, the recipes are easy enough that I’d probably survive just fine. As well as any man I might attempt to feed.

I recommend The I Hate To Cook Book for anyone who… well, hates to cook but is stuck with the job.