Herbivore Thursday #1

Me and my guy are vegetarians.... so these are an all time favorite in my house!

Portobello Burgers

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 15 mins

Idle Wait Time: 1-4 hours

Cook Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 Hamburger Bun Sized Portobello Caps
• 1-2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
• 2-4 Tablespoons Vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce (without anchovies)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Oregano (dried)
• 1 Teaspoon Basil (dried)
• Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola Cheese (amount to taste - can be subbed with other cheese)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to broil on high.
2. Clean Portobello Caps, remove gills (if desired) and stems. Make several punctures with a fork on the topside of the cap.
3. While the oven is preheating, combine Worcestershire Sauce, Olive Oil, minced Garlic, Oregano, and Basil in a large enough dish for both Portobello Caps to lay flat.
4. Put cleaned Portobello Caps in Worcestershire mixture and spoon mixture over both caps. Allow the caps to marinate top side down in mixture for a minimum of 1 hour. Keep the mixture that is left over once they are done marinating.
5. Broil Portobello Caps top side down for 5 mins.
6. Flip Caps and broil for another 5 mins.
7. Flip Caps once more and fill "stem side" of Caps with cheese (use as much cheese as you would like!) - broil on LOW until cheese is melty to your liking. 
8. Dress your burger how ever you would like. I recommend tomato, lettuce and onion.

Tips:

Keep and eye on the caps while they are in the oven. Make sure they don't dry out. If you notice them drying out, use the reserved marinating mixture to moisten the caps. 

Maybe Monday #1

So... I was traipsing through Amazon.com's Kindle Store and found a few interesting free books.

These are books neither of us have read but are contenders for our Maybe pile.

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Song of the Fairy Queen
Written by Valerie Douglas

Publication Date: June 22, 2009

Amazon Description:

It's said of Fairy that if you're in dire need and you call their name they'll come. With his castle under siege and young son in his arms, High King Oryan couldn't be in more dire need. With only his High Marshal, Morgan, and a handful of Morgan's men at his back, he has only one direction left to run...up. And only one ally to whom he can turn. Kyriay, the Queen of the Fairy. 

*****

"Laughed, worried and cried at the last battle scene. A pleasure to read. The struggles and triumphs as the The Fairy and the Crown come together to battle and survive. A touching story that will have the most hardened individuals believing in the power of The Fairy and in the power of sacrifice and love.
Read this story.This is definitely a keeper on my Kindle." The Blue Lady

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The Dark God's Bride (Book 1)
Written by Dahlia Lu

Publication Date: July 19, 2012

Amazon Description:

An ancient god on a destructive path of vengeance...


Imprisoned by the Archangel Lucifer ages ago, Summit, the Dark God, wanted nothing less than equivalent retribution. After breaking free and successfully retaining some splintered shards of his sanity, Summit set out to confront Lucifer. The Archangel was nowhere to be found. He has, however, left behind his most coveted mortal bride. The Dark God stormed into Hell to capture Lucifer's one and only weakness, but inadvertently abducted the wrong female - his own.
A reluctant heroine...
As a mortal raised among the demons inside a floating castle in Hell, Amara's life is not exactly what you would call normal. When she finds herself abducted by a half-mad god, who mistook her for the woman who brought her up, Amara chooses to hide her identity to protect her foster mother at the risk of her own life.

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To Kill a Warlock (Dulcie O'Neil #1)
Written by H.P. Mallory

Publication Date: July 3, 2010

Amazon Description:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, HP Mallory, Comes: To Kill A Warlock:

The murder of a dark arts warlock. 
A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose.
A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. 
Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.

Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. 

When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. 

Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. 

Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. 

As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals. 

If you enjoyed this book, consider signing up for my email distribution list to learn when new books are released! Just visit my website: www.hpmallory.com and click the "contact" tab.

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Crux (Southern Arcana #1)
Written by Moira Rogers

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

Amazon Description:

To find her destiny, she must trust him with her life…and her heart.

Southern Arcana, Book 1

Jackson Holt makes a decent living as a private investigator in New Orleans, home of one of the largest underground supernatural populations in the United States. He and his partners have never met a case they couldn’t crack…until a local bar owner asks him to do a little digging on her newest hire.

New Orleans is the fourth destination in as many months for Mackenzie Brooks, a woman on the run from a deranged stalker. After all, any man who shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her destined lover has more than a few screws loose. But crazy doesn’t explain why he always finds her no matter how far she runs.

When her well-meaning boss puts a PI on her case, Mackenzie comes face to face with the incredible truth: magic is real, and whatever spell has kept her hidden and separate from the paranormal world is rapidly deteriorating.

With time running out, she has no choice but to trust Jackson as he struggles to uncover the truth of her past—and her destiny.

Line Up #1

So - we've taken a short break to get our heads on straight after a hectic couple of weeks for the both of us. In that time, we've also gotten ourselves a little more organized. We've set some weekly goals, the main one being - We want to post at least two reviews per week. Sunday will be our Weekly Line Up.

Here's what we've got going on this week:

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Deception (The Vedeine Saga #1)

Written by Ashley Strachan
Reading Source: Author 

Book Description:

With such a fine line between good and evil, how can Amelia find her way in a world that she knows so little about?

After a near death experience, nineteen year old Amelia Powell was changed into a Vedeine. A demon.

Leaving the only home she has ever known in Canada, she is sent to live with others of her kind, in Portland, Oregon. 

Once there, she discovers that things are completely different - absolutely nothing like the woman explained.

And as she uncovers the lies and deception, Amelia begins to truly understand what she has become… and the amazing abilities that she now possesses.

DECEPTION takes you deep into the world of Vedeines (pronounced Ved-EEns), building up the relationships between those in the upper echelon.

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The Coffee Shop
Written by Lauren Hunter
Reading Source: Author

Book Description:

If Derrick thought experiencing alternate timelines and glimpses into the future was strange, then he had no idea it was about to get a whole lot more strange.

When Derrick Sloane meets Annie Maddock and falls madly in love, he believes he's met the girl of his dreams. Only he then awakes to discover she is exactly that...nothing more than a dream. Disheartened, he goes to the first coffee shop he can find. There he meets Annie. She is at the same table, reading the same book, and he fast realizes his dream has shown him his own future. But when a misstep alters that perfect future he tries to fix it, every attempt only making it worse. 

Dreaming the future can be a nightmare when you see what's coming...but should you still try to change it?

Small Hiatus - But We're Back!!!

As you may have noticed, we took a small hiatus from the blog. I just finished up a grueling summer semester of college, and Rio, well Rio is newly married... can you really blame her for taking some time off when the opportunity presents itself?

So here are some updates:

Reviews Requested and Upcoming:

1. Deception (The Vedeine Saga #1) by Ashley Strachan
2. The Coffee Shop by Lauren Hunter
3. The Visitor's Room by E.H. James
4. Laura by E.H. James
5. Daughter of Hope (Siaris Quartet #1) by Joanna Fay

Shadow Sight Giveaway:

Winners:

Shadow Sight e-book: Katherine A.

Signed Post Card: Tim G.

Private Eye Sticker: Barbara B.

Blog Tour and Upcoming Giveaway:

I'm participating in the Jennifer L. Armentrout Summer Blog Tour - hosted by K-Books

For that I'll be reviewing and gifting a copy of Tempting the Best Man by J. Lynn to the winner of a giveaway. The contest is open to those of you who have the ability to receive gifted e-books from Barnes and Noble (Nook) or Amazon (Kindle). 

Check back soon for my review and details on the giveaway.

We've Got a Winner!!!

Congratulations to Tim G. of Indiana!

Tim won the Signed Shadow Sight Post Card!

Corralled by Lorelei James

Corralled
Written by Lorelei James

Reading Source: Library
Series: Black Top Cowboys
Book #: 1
Genre: Adult, Erotica, Romance
Rating:


Lanie Capshaw has been working the rodeo circuit as a med tech. Not only has she been working out sore muscles for a couple of cowboys, but she's been rubbing out some stiff joints for two cowboys in particular: bullfighter, Hank Lawson and bull rider, Kyle Gilchrist. Caught two timing the unknown to her, best friends, Hank and Kyle approach Lanie with an offer that is too good to refuse.

Hank and Kyle are both unwilling to give up Lanie Capshaw without a fight. When they find out that Lanie has been hitting the sheets with both men, the come up with a plan to see which man Lanie will ultimately choose. They propose to share her, in every way possible. Through this wild ride, Lanie learns which man can really satisfy all her desires.

This book is erotic gold. You get one on one, two on one, vanilla sex, rough sex, sweet gentle love and tender, heartfelt moments. This is the female equivalent to the infamous male "spank bank." What is surprising that despite all of the hot, raunchy, taboo, yummy, orgasmic sex, the plot is still believable to the extent of the "hey, this could happen, maybe, I hope..." kind of believable. Yes, there is romance and the much enjoyed Happily Ever After ending. I really enjoyed this book, and will probably read it again, if not just for the sex scenes.

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond

Body Movers
Written by Stephanie Bond

Reading Source: Library
Series: Body Movers
Book #: 1
Genre: Murder Mystery, Light Romance
Rating:


Carlotta Wren's life is far from perfect. Abandoned by fugitive parents when she was barely an adult and left to fend for herself and her young brother, she's had a rough go of things. Shortly after her parents jump bail, Carlotta's long-time-boyfriend-future-husband, Peter Ashford, leaves her due to the scandal. For the first time, she is truly alone and struggling to survive.

Fast forward ten years, Carlotta and Wesley (her younger brother), have survived into adulthood and are still struggling to survive. Wesley has not been a saint, despite all that Carlotta has sacrificed to make sure they were able to make it this far. Now, Wesley owes a couple of loan sharks a lot of money, but that's not all. While working for commission at Neiman Marcus, Carlotta learns that Wesley has been arrested for hacking into the court computers. The arresting officer, Jack Terry, has also just re-opened her parents case and is showing signs of a take no prisoners attitude, both socially and professionally.

In an effort to help pay off his debts to loan sharks and now the courts, Wesley gets a job moving bodies to the morgue and funeral home with former Hot-Doctor, Cooper Craft. On a night when Wesley needed a ride to a body moving job, Carlotta gets pulled into the fray buy an untimely death, Peter's wife was murdered, and detective Jack Terry isn't so sure that Carlotta didn't have something to do with it.

Generally, I enjoyed the book. I'm hoping as we go along, Carlotta and Wesley gain some common sense. Some of the hang ups and decisions they made really got under my skin. However, I did enjoy the plot and characterization enough to order the next book in the series from the library. I'm a sucker for "love triangles," or in this case, a "love rectangle."

First Grave of the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right

Written by Darynda Jones

Reading Source: Library
Series: Charley Davidson
Book #: 1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Amazon Book Discription:

Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s  been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.This is a thrilling debut novel from an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.

My Review:

I loved this book. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I am forced to preface my review with an outside fact: I am addicted to Stephanie Plum books. That being said - First Grave on the Right is like Stephanie Plum with paranormal activity and then some.

Charley is special. So special that she remembers the day she was born. Well she is the Grim Reaper, what can you really expect. Her ability to see the departed has led her to live a life of crime solving - that's why she's a Private Eye. Along with the help of her Uncle Bob, a detective, and a league of merry ghosts and side characters, Charley sets out to solve a murder chase involving 3 lawyers who were all killed the same night. Mix in the sultry dreams Charley has of a mysterious shadow showing her what the night is really for, and you've got one snarky, paranormal, mystery, urban fantasy book you won't want to put down.

I loved it. There is not much more I can say. The only thing that kept it from a 5 star review - I wasn't always feeling the humor. Don't get me wrong. This was a great book that made me laugh out loud more than once, I just believe that there is a time and a place for snarky humor. Other than that, it was wonderful. Similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, yet so unique. I'll be reading the entire series as if it were my job.

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Fantasy Lover
Written by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Reading Source: Library

Series: Dark Hunter

Book #: 1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating:

Julian of Macedon was imprisoned in a book for invading Alexandria - that's right, Alexandria... Because of his.... impropriety.... he is destined to live out eternity as a sex slave. He had a difficult "mortal" life, but living in the dark seclusion of the book isn't living at all.

Grace Alexander is a sex therapist... without a sex life. For her birthday, Grace has been gifted with an ancient book that is said to house a Greek Sex Slave - all she has to do is say his name three times, and then all of her pent-up-sex-energy can be expelled.Julian of Macedon has been trapped in a book for over 2,000 years. For one month, he can be released from the book to service the needs of the woman who summons him. Only this time is different. Grace is the one woman who can break the curse that has kept Julian a prisoner. 

I enjoyed this book, but the only reason I have read it more than once is for posterity's sake. When I re-read a book that is in a series, I have to read the whole series. The story itself is unique, and I love Grace and Julian. My favorite part of the book is the supporting characters though. They add to the story and keep it going. Unlike most books, there isn't a lot of world building. My thoughts are, this may have been a stand alone book originally. The books to follow are worth the read.

Shadow Sight by E.J. Stevens

Shadow Sight
Written by E.J. Stevens

Reading Source: Author (ARC)
Series: Ivy Granger
Book #: 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mild Paranormal Romance
Rating:



Ivy Granger is far from average. At a young age, she learned that through her touch she could learn about the person, or people, who have been in contact with that item. These aren't idle visions - these are visceral, bone wrenching visions. To outsiders, it would seem that her ability would be a gift. To Ivy, a life with the 'gift' of psychometry  has been torture. Being able to touch even the simplest item, like a pop-tart wrapper, has caused Ivy to isolate herself. She keeps few close to her, namely Jinx her best friend, and Kaye, a bad-ass warrior witch. In light of her 'gift,' Ivy and Jinx have gone into the Private Eye business.

Approached by the Kelpies to find something very dear to them, Ivy and her marry band of 'others,' are sucked into a major threat against the town of Harborsmouth. It is up to Ivy to find what the Kelpies treasure in order to save her community.

I loved reading this book. There was a lot of detail, but given that it is the first book in a series that can only be expected. With the amount of information that is provided, I can only assume that each book hereafter will be detailed and entertaining. It is difficult for me to go into any great detail about the plot itself without giving away key points. The foreshadowing throughout the book is wonderful. Too often I find myself wondering why I am reading a book at all, when I feel as if I am blind through the majority of the story. Not here. Ivy is a complex character who is still growing up. Because of her gift, she has sheltered herself - locked herself away from personal relationships and friendships. By the end of Shadow Sight, you get the feeling that the next book will be another point in Ivy's life where she will be pitted against her fears once again, and will  be all the stronger for it.

Between the 'creepies' and the dynamic between Ivy and Jinx, I couldn't have been more tickled, but then, at the end we are thrown for a loop - I can't wait to read the next book in the series and see what Ivy does with the strings that are daintily, and quite nicely left open.

I giant THANK YOU to E.J. Stevens for giving me another book with lots of monsters (both scary and cute) to run around in my imagination!