Home » Posts tagged 'family' (Page 10)
Tag Archives: family
Cajun Kiss of Death–competing Cajun restaurants
Cajun Kiss of Death
by Ellen Byron
Pelican, Louisiana, is home to some Creole/Cajun good food and party loving locals including the Crozat family who own the Crozat Plantation B&B. Cajun Kiss of Death opens with daughter Maggie’s New Year’s Eve wedding to Detective Bo Durand. The pair are saying their vows along with two other couples. Even the family basset Gopher gets some spotlight as he strolls down the aisle.
Maggie helps out at the B&B and works as a restorer and curator at a museum across the Mississippi River at Doucet Plantation. Things get tricky when the connecting bridge sustains structural damage, a celebrity chef tries to expand his restaurant empire to Pelican driving local restaurants out of business, a murder occurs, and Maggie has a stalker. There are even more threads to complicate this cozy mystery. Some focus on the close knit group of family and friends. Others are related to the murder investigation and the many employees of the dead chef who are staying at the B&B. For Maggie and Bo, it gets personal.
This cozy mystery is a page turner with new complications throughout. I particularly liked the emphasis on Maggie and her art. In this book, she has a major breakthrough as an artist, and her attention to detail plays a critical role in solving the crime. When all seems nicely tied up, there is yet another major twist which is well plotted and well written by author Ellen Byron. The Louisiana setting is replete with Cajun ambiance from the food and festivities to language unique to the area.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. # 7 in the Cajun Country Mystery Series. Although this is the last book in the series, it could be read as a standalone.
- There is a helpful list of the people in this book.
- It ends with an Epilogue that summarizes the characters’ status 20 years later. It was a nice touch for the finale.
- There are recipes at the end of the book. One recipe that was mentioned often that you won’t find there is “Sugar High Pie.” It was featured in another book in the series, but you can find Byron’s recipe on YouTube.
- There are three animals in this book, but they really don’t have much of a role in the plot.
Publication: August 10, 2021—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
She closed her eyes and scrunched her face to keep from bursting into tears. Gopher, as if sensing his human’s pain, released a sympathetic basset howl.
Vi picked up the bottle of bourbon. “Lets drink to that.” She handed Maggie a tumbler. “It’s not even noon,” Maggie said. “Honey, it’s New Orleans. We should be on our second drink by now.”
Pelican didn’t need a 5G network for news to travel fast.
Murder Most Fair–grief
Murder Most Fair
by Anna Lee Huber
What is the best way to grieve? Murder Most Fair weaves that theme throughout a captivating mystery by Anna Lee Huber. This novel has its basis in the spy and undercover operations of the Great War (WWI). The espionage secrets of that period are held close by those involved because of the Official Secrets Act which binds them through honor and legalities. It is in this atmosphere that Verity Kent, a spy, and her husband Sidney Kent, a war hero also engaged in undercover work, pursue what appears to be the frivolous, carefree lifestyle of the young rich.
In reality, like so many of that period, Verity and Sidney are working through grief—for Verity, the personal loss of her beloved brother Rob and for both of them, the witnessing of many soldiers and civilians killed or maimed in the conflicts. The couple is also struggling to avoid the clutches of the evil Lord Ardmore in a different type of war fallout. Meanwhile, we get a first hand view of the hatred many in England felt for all Germans. Verity’s great-aunt Ilse manages to obtain legal entry to Great Britain along with her German maid. Ilse is but a shell of her former self after surviving the war in a country where even if you had money, there was nothing to buy. Malnutrition and starvation were rampant.
The mystery becomes deadly as it progresses. Sidney and Verity are asked to investigate on the side as the local law officer has never handled a murder case. Verity’s relationship with her family is highly stressed as she has not been home in five years, including for her brother’s funeral. Her absence was quite painful for her mother.
Huber’s descriptions are outstanding, evoking a visual and emotional picture. She places the reader in the middle of the setting along with the characters. Her plot is intricately crafted with threads that seem to go nowhere…until they do. This is a good historical novel with suspense to keep you turning pages.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Verity Kent Mystery Series. I haven’t read all the books in this series, but Huber provides needed background information, so this book could be read as a standalone.
Publication: August 3, 2021—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
I wrapped my juniper-green woolen jumper tighter around me and breathed deeply of the air tinted with the smoke from the hearths burning inside, the earthy aroma of autumn decay, and a faint tinge of saltiness from the sea a short distance away. The breeze sawed gently through the trees overhead, rustling the leaves like castanets…
“Well, the Jerries weren’t happy to sit in their mudholes and cesspits any more than we were. We were both just cogs caught up in the higher-ups’ wheels of madness.”
Most of the war dead, of course, had not been repatriated, instead being buried in France, Belgium, Gallipoli, Palestine, and other far-flung places on the globe. But nonetheless I could feel their absence like the missing notes of a song or the lost verse of a poem.
Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café–a lost dog brings hope
Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café
by Jessica Redland
In the first part of Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café, the reader really gets to know the characters in this book and the story behind each one of them. Hollie and Jake are the main characters; both of them have pasts immersed in tragedies. Those two tell the story in their points of view. The timeframe bounces around between the present and various times in their pasts slowly revealing the details of the personal disasters that they don’t seem to be able to overcome. The changes in timeframes and narrators are clearly delineated and never confusing. There are a lot of supportive friends and a few you would like to kick to the curb. “Mr. Pickles” is a tiny homeless shih tzu who plays a huge role in this romance, but will he be big enough to bring Hollie and Jake together and help overcome their issues?
All of the action occurs in or near Whitsborough Bay on the North Yorkshire coast. The book is filled with Britishisms that I enjoyed immensely such as references to wearing their “waterproofs” or shops displaying bags of “candyfloss.” I also learned a lot about the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) with its amazing volunteers.
As frequently occurs in romance novels, Jake and Hollie inch towards resolution and a happily ever after. Then suddenly there is a twist that neither Jake, Hollie, nor the reader could have predicted. It seems they may be forced to retreat into isolation abandoning what they had together.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Romance
Publication: August 31, 2021—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
Angry waves snatched at the deserted beach, spitting spray over the railings, while ominous grey clouds threatened rain.
“People can still be in love but not like each other very much and sometimes they can like each other but not be in love.”
“Then he’s not right for you, but one day you’ll meet someone who is. Someone who makes you laugh every day, hugs you simply because it’s Tuesday, holds you when you cry, and dances in the rain with you.”
Food Triggers–a Godly approach to healthy eating
Food Triggers
by Amber Lia
Amber Lia writes Food Triggers from the perspective of a certified health coach and a Christian. She began her journey to develop healthy eating habits when she was sixty pounds overweight. She views the journey to health as both a physical and a spiritual battle. She began her personal changes with a “medically designed plan” in consultation with a health coach for accountability. She combined that with examining her food triggers one at a time. This book does not tell you what to eat although she clearly avoids sugars and excessive carbs. She intends her book to be read one chapter per day for 31 days. Each chapter addresses a specific motivation or food trigger, some external and some internal.
Lia backs up the information with research and with Scriptures. She encourages the reader to “exchange unhealthy patterns for God-honoring habits.” Some of her chapters resonated with me and others did not apply. She addresses how others can try to sabotage your healthy eating plan and the temptations that may arise when you are in community settings that involve food. There are many difficult areas she addresses including travel, portion control, and boredom. Food Triggers is not a diet plan, but is another tool with insights and practical tips that those struggling with weight loss and/or healthy eating can add to their toolbox.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Nonfiction, Christian
Notes: Although I am in support of portion control, I did not agree with the author’s emphasis on following the serving sizes indicated on packaging. I have always viewed those as the food industry’s efforts to simplify the nutritional labeling. The FDA, however, says that the goal for their newly revised labels is to “bring serving sizes closer to what people actually eat so that when they look at calories and nutrients on the label, these numbers more closely match what they are consuming.” In other words, the serving size is not what people should eat, but what the “average” person consumes. These revised figures have gone up for ice cream, but decreased for yogurt. The government in this case is not leading consumers to healthier eating. You know the old saying, “just because he jumps off a cliff, doesn’t mean you should too.” A good example of that is the marketing of soda in huge cups. Along with that we have a huge increase in obesity and diabetes.
Publication: January 4, 2022—Bethany House (Baker Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
In many ways, our culture has brainwashed us with massive portions and helpings that are, well, NOT helping.
Your health journey will present you with hard choices, and it won’t just be saying no to onion rings—but saying no to people or jobs or places that are not moving you toward God’s best for us.
[part of a prayer from the chapter on holidays] Transform my thinking so that I learn to focus on the people and meaningfulness behind times of celebration, instead of all the things to put in my mouth.
I Capture the Castle–class structure in mid-20th century England
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
To label I Capture the Castle as a “coming of age” story is true, but the novel is so much more. It is related in her journal by Cassandra who lives in poverty under the leaky roof of a crumbling castle. Her father Mortmain is a writer with one successful book to his credit before he hit a writing desert. He secured a forty-year lease on the castle on a whim. The other residents are his son, another daughter, a boy taken in when his servant mother passed, and Topaz, the children’s stepmother. All in the family realize that the only way out of their financial straits is for at least one of the girls to marry into a rich family.
Author Dodie Smith has gifted us with a book full of nonconventional characters, a beautiful romantic background, and moral dilemmas. The plot begins with touches reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice but deviates fairly quickly. There is a similar theme of class differences, but without Austen’s use of satire. Two of the potential romantic interests grew up in America, one in the East and one in the West. Their backgrounds add another layer of social and cultural differences. Cassandra’s family is caught in the middle. They clearly had money in the past, but they have sold off most of their belongings and are reduced to very meager meals and one or two threadbare outfits per person. They have to be very creative to be acceptable in the social milieu to which they aspire.
I Capture the Castle has the depth necessary for a book to stand the test of time and appeal to a wide audience. It includes topics like women’s roles, art and sexuality, depression, literary criticism, and the laws of inheritance in Great Britain. While it addresses these issues, it remains an interesting and well-told tale with an ending that does not tie everything up neatly. Instead, it gives the reader the opportunity to speculate on the characters’ future decisions and actions which is a good way for this novel to conclude.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, General Fiction
Notes: 1. There are discussion questions at the end.
2. The book has been made into a movie.
Publication: 1948—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
I am writing this journal partly to practice my newly acquired speed-writing and partly to teach myself how to write a novel—I intend to capture all our characters and put in conversations. It ought to be good for my style to dash along without much thought, as up to now my stories have been very stiff and self-conscious.
The taxi drew up at a wonderful shop—the sort of shop I would never dare to walk through without a reason. We went in by way of the glove and stocking department, but there were things from other departments just dotted about; bottles of scent and a little glass tree with cherries on it and a piece of white branched coral on a sea-green chiffon scarf. Oh, it was an artful place—it must make people who have money want to spend it madly!
In the end, Topaz got Stephen to take the hen-house door off its hinges and make some rough trestles to put it on, and we pushed it close to the window-seat, which saved us three chairs. We used the grey brocade curtains from the hall as a table-cloth—they looked magnificent though the join showed a bit and they got in the way of our feet. All our silver and good china and glass went long ago, but the Vicar lent us his, including his silver candelabra.
Murder with Darjeeling Tea–the man no one liked
Murder with Darjeeling Tea
by Karen Rose Smith
Daisy, owner of a tearoom in Willow Creek, sets out to buy a dog statue for her boyfriend Jonas’ birthday. Unfortunately, the odd man she bought it from is murdered soon after. While trying to keep her business running successfully, she is drawn into the investigation because she has an easy way with people and they find themselves confiding in her. She and the reader are drawn into the world of local secrets, teenage mistakes, catering for the wealthy, rescue dogs, homeless shelters, and Amish customs. It is a wild ride whenever Daisy is around whether she’s on her bike or driving an Amish buggy for her friend. On the side, she is dealing with the deepening of her relationship with Jonas and the realization that her children are moving closer to leaving the nest.
If you are new to this series, you really could jump into it with the eighth book. Author Karen Rose Smith has your back, serving up needed background information as you dive into the story. She is also talented in providing detailed descriptions of the characters and what they are wearing. From the pen of a less skilled writer, this might seem like overkill, but Smith does it in such a way that the characters stand out. Because the background is the tearoom, there is a lot of food talk but it is never repetitive or seems like it is included just to increase the word count. There are many plot threads and a number of suspects. The conclusion of Murder with Darjeeling Tea is dramatic, and the identity of the murderer is a surprise.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #8 in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series, but can be read as a standalone.
2. Recipes are included: Chicken Chili, Cheese Biscuits, and Mild Peach Salsa.
Publication: May 24, 2022—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
Fiona already had more color in her cheeks and a smile on her face. That’s what the tea garden could do for Daisy’s customers. That’s what her customers could do for her.
Amish buggies in Lancaster County taught everyone in the community an important lesson—slow down and enjoy the scenery.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked. “You look preoccupied.” “Too much to sort out, I’m afraid. Mainly, that life is one big succession of changes. At my age, you’d think I’d be used to it.” “I’m not sure we’re ever used to change.”
Under the Italian Sun–looking for family
Under the Italian Sun
by Sue Moorcroft
Zia is a young English woman in search of a family after her grandparents pass away and she finds herself without a job. She knows her father, who is not listed on her birth certificate, was from Italy. She does some sleuthing and decides to go to Italy to hopefully discover some family ties and perhaps persuade her father to legally acknowledge her, thus easing the pathway to Italian citizenship.
Along her journey, Zia uncovers long buried secrets, meets some family, and falls in love. The road to happiness even under the Italian sun and overlooking a vineyard and winery is not an easy one. Not everyone is welcoming in Montelibertá, and Zia’s ex-boyfriend morphs from an insulting cheater into a vengeful stalker.
Sue Moorcroft’s Under the Italian Sun is an interesting romance with a great setting. Zia’s past is dismal as she gradually loses those close to her, but she is an intelligent young woman, a good friend, and full of hope. She falls quickly and hard for her handsome Italian neighbor. Can they really settle for a summer fling knowing Zia can not legally stay in the country indefinitely?
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: General Fiction (Adult), Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: Rather disappointing for me, this really nice story has an “open door” bedroom scene and a lot of expletives.
Publication: May 13, 2021—Harper Collins (Avon Books)
Memorable Lines:
The oven timer continued to ping in counterpoint to the gull’s plaintive calls but Zia heard the shush-shush of her heartbeat louder than both. As spooked as a child at a horror film, she had to force her breathing to be even.
Church steeples poked up between terracotta-tiled roofs, buildings were painted cream, ochre or apricot, the major structures gracing the town centre while houses huddled on the slopes like children hatching mischief.
At some point this afternoon she’d made the decision never to identify herself to Gerardo. It had come from an instinct to protect herself from disappointment rather than from structured reasoning but the decision was a relief. Couldn’t trust him. Could do without him.
Under the Magnolias–a darkness of the mind
Under the Magnolias
by T. I. Lowe
Dave Foster is a tobacco farmer and the pastor of the church he fondly refers to as the First Riffraff of Magnolia. He has a large family including two sets of twins, a mentally challenged son, and another who is physically disabled. His wife Edith is a loving mother who somehow manages her husband’s dark times and keeps the family happy. The main character is the oldest daughter Austin, and the story is related from her point of view as she finds herself at the age of fourteen having to become a mother to her six siblings and walk the fine line of respect for her father while acting as a buffer between him and the other children. She works to maintain his standing in the community and keep the tobacco farm running.
Under the Magnolias is very much a character driven story as Austin struggles and sacrifices for others. She is a very intelligent young lady who puts aside her dreams to help her family survive. Unfortunately her father’s dark times become deeper and more frequent and his outbursts more violent. A teenager, Austin doesn’t really know how to deal with her father’s mental issues or get assistance.
Help does come in the form of the mayor’s handsome son. Although Austin won’t let him get close because she is driven to maintain family secrets, he continues to stand by her. Others in their little church and her siblings are important to the story as they all suffer from the occasions when Dave’s mental illness surfaces and bubbles over.
This book is very well-written. In terms of emotional impact, it is hard at times to read. The author, T. I. Lowe, puts the reader right in the middle of the struggles waiting, as Austin does, in the good times for the other shoe to drop. “It was too good. Too shiny. Too normal. No matter how much I wished, prayed, begged, I knew this season wouldn’t last.”
The story takes place from 1980 through 1988. There is a final chapter that relates how life works out for all of the characters. It makes a fitting conclusion because over the course of the book the reader has gotten to know each of them, understanding why they are the way they are. The pacing is excellent with about two chapters per year presenting cumulative snapshots rather than blow-by-blow descriptions. There is an authentic South Carolina flavor in both plot and language. I highly recommend Under the Magnolias as a tale whose characters resonate and linger long after the final page.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction (Adult), Women’s Fiction
Notes: Clean—no inappropriate language, sex, or violence
Publication: May 4, 2021—Tyndale House Publishers
Memorable Lines:
Looking through the innocent lens of adolescence, those happier days were perfection. Sadly, they had an expiration date just like those snack cakes. Happiness staled and nothing was pleasing after that. But just like the expired cakes in a meager season, we had no other choice but to stomach whatever life tossed our way next.
I figured it was a blessing that she could pretend something didn’t happen, but we would both learn later in life that pretending something away was no better than constantly dwelling on it. Both produced impactful wounds that tended to fester in other parts of living.
“Honey, the living creep me out. Not the dead.” He picked up a cosmetic brush and touched it to Mrs. Fannie’s pink cheek. “The living can be cruel, judgmental, quick to complain, and slow to please. The dead never yell or cuss you out. Or call you ugly names.” There was such a sadness to his gentle voice.
Mulberry Hollow–obstacles to love
Mulberry Hollow
by Denise Hunter
Denise Hunter continues her Riverbend Romance Series with the Robinson family at the center of the stories. Mulberry Hollow focuses on Avery, the youngest child of three and the only daughter in the merged family. Avery is high achieving and operates her own medical clinic in the little town of Riverbend Gap that is an oasis of relief and comfort for weary hikers from the Appalachian Trail. Avery’s family handles her with kid gloves because she has a 50% chance of having a fatal, degenerative disease. She has resigned herself to a love life with the clinic and the community and rejects the possibility of having children.
One evening she finds Wes Garrett, dehydrated, with a high fever, on the clinic’s doorstep. He was formerly a worker in Columbia for Emergency Shelter International, but is currently a thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail in honor of a deceased friend. Wes’ background was tough growing up, and as an adult he is saddled with paying off his father’s debts. Wes is a man of his word and a man of honor. While the handsome guy’s qualities are admirable, they also cause obstacles in any romantic relationship that might develop.
I loved this story and its characters. These are people that fight hard to do the right things putting others above themselves. It’s hard not to keep turning the pages in hopes that good things will happen for Avery and Wes. There are a lot of twists in the plot that will have you groaning at the unfairness of life, but the characters continue to trust in God and pray for others. The religious element is not dominant; instead it reflects the way these characters live out their lives through good times and bad and when the right choices are not the easy ones.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: 1. Discussion questions are included.
2. This is #2 in the Riverbend Romance Series, a trilogy. It could be read as a standalone, but the characters continue from the first book, Riverbend Gap, so you would probably enjoy it more if you read them in order.
3. Clean romance.
Publication: April 19, 2022—Thomas Nelson Fiction
Memorable Lines:
“He was a hustler?” “He could’ve sold mosquitos to a backpacker—and he would’ve if he hadn’t been so lazy. Such as it was, he made do with home improvement scams.”
She took in the now-familiar angles and planes of his face. He was pretty to look at, no doubt, but he was even more attractive on the inside. A man who put aside his plans to help another was a man who could be counted on. A man who spent months on the trail to honor a friend was a man to be admired.
She considered all he’d been through. His difficult childhood, the loss of a dear friend. And yet he’d somehow flourished as a human being. Emerged from his trials a good and caring man. She was thankful God had brought him to Riverbend just when she’d needed him.
Riverbend Gap–looking for love
Riverbend Gap
by Denise Hunter
I didn’t think a romance could be an actual page-turner for me, but Riverbend Gap surely was. Although there are a few dangerous, dramatic scenes, that was not the cause of my reluctance to put the book down. It was the characters!
All of the main characters are seeking love, stability, and trust. Katie, who spent most of her life in the foster care system, moves to Riverbend Gap in search of her biological mother. After the death of her brother, she needs a new start. She needs the love of a family. When Cooper, a deputy, finds her in a precariously balanced car on a cliff after a near-miss with a deer, they make an emotional connection. Unbeknownst to Cooper, Katie is dating his brother Gavin. The brothers have tried to live above the reputation of their alcoholic father all their lives, but it is not easy in a small town. Gavin has other personal issues that are devastating. No one wants to see him hurt even more. Clearly, there is romantic conflict as Katie and Cooper try to stamp out the sparks in their relationship while Gavin is initially oblivious to their attraction.
The Robinson family was blended when Cooper and Gavin’s mom remarried giving the brothers a sister Avery. Avery is a doctor who is also Katie’s boss in Avery’s medical clinic where Katie works as a nurse. The Robinsons are fiercely loyal to each other and well-respected in the community. Problems pile on as Cooper runs for sheriff, and the rumor mill in Riverbend Gap operates at full speed. The community is challenged when part of the Appalachian Trail is closed for repairs. Many businesses in the area depend on thru-hikers who stop to rest up, enjoy a good meal, and restock their packs.
The plot is well played out. I really wanted good things for Cooper, Gavin, and Katie, but it was like watching a train wreck and being unable to predict anything except a collision. Afterwards, how will they pick up the pieces? Will the Robinson family survive betrayal? Will Katie experience rejection once more by her mother? Can Cooper’s campaign for sheriff be salvaged at the ninth hour? The answers are all delightfully found in Riverbend Gap.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: 1. Discussion questions are included.
2. This is #1 in the Riverbend Romance Series, a trilogy.
3. My next review will be on #2, and (sneak peak) I really liked it too!
4. Clean romance.
Publication: October 19, 2021—Thomas Nelson Fiction
Memorable Lines:
He stared into blue eyes that were as convincing as any he’d seen. But he also had an alcoholic dad, and he knew they were capable of lying to themselves—not to mention others—quite convincingly.
He sank deeper into the sofa cushions, wishing he could disappear into the crack with the Doritos crumbs.
Feeling like something a cat coughed up, she locked the door and turned off the light. Her chest was heavy with the crushing weight of Gavin’s pain. The hollow ache of guilt.
education pathways 