Review: Honey, I'm Homemade Edited by May Berenbaum

            This title I first heard about in May during the Book Expo in NYC, the publisher handed out little postcards with info, a recipe, a little honey drop candy attached. I enjoyed the presentation of this marketing ploy immensely. Then I found out about netGalley and found the same title was available there as well a few months later. Yay!
            Now granted, the first part of this book is a treatise on the historical production and use of honey through the ages to present day but it was well written and not stuffy in nature, thus an enjoyable seventeen page read. Then the sweet part began, first a chapter on cooking with Honey, sort of the do's and don'ts section.
           After that each chapter is devoted to a different type of baked goods with honey as a major ingredient, such as cookies, breads, pies. Interestingly, there is a section on No-Bake recipes which would be very handy for the hot summer months and some boiled and fried options as well for those who can handle the more complicated recipes. I tend to avoid hot oil myself but a friend of mine has the knack so I will be sharing a recipe with her to try it out. I actually got this book to review back in August but I took the extra time to actually try out some of the recipes, otherwise what is the point? No regrets!
This review refers to the netGalley edition.

Review: The Promise by Brenda Joyce

           The Promise book is the 6th in Brenda's series about the Regency Era de Warrene Dynasty so if you have not read the previous books you will be curious about characters mentioned. This installment follows the rocky relationship of Alexi de Warrene and Elysse O'Neill, who as children adored each other and as adults suffered from constant misunderstandings about each other. Complicated by the fact that Alexi is the not the type to stay and work through the hard times, he would rather sail off and hopefully everything will be fixed when he gets back years later.
           Elysse loves Alexi but to maintain her position in society she has to put on a grand production of nonchalance and make them think she is happy with her life, and lovers who are only provide platonic company on her social outings. Alexi takes this at face value and is furious which leads him to stay and confront his wife for once rather than sailing off to China.
         The beginning of the story is short pieces of time spaced over years and leaves much of the relationship between Elysse and Alexi up the imagination of the reader, but rocky and difficult is a given. However, Alexi does manage to always keep his promise to Elysse, that he would always rescue her from danger even if it meant leaving her forever, not if she has anything to say about it of course.
This review refers to the netGalley edition.

Review: Chains of Fire: The Chosen Ones by Christina Dodd

         Chains of Fire is the story of Isabelle and Samuel who from the first book in the series have been promising to be an interesting read. They have a shared past childhood, two past romances, and a whole lot of issues. Namely, a lack of trust and fear of intimacy deeper than sex.
         Over the course of the book we learn that Samuel once used his mind control on Isabelle, he thought for good reasons, but she felt used and betrayed. So she refuses to allow herself to care for him again because she fears that he will hurt her again. This book throws her and Sam together and gives them no choice but to communicate to survive after an avalanche traps them underground. Sam has a serious ego which gets him nearly killed repeatedly as he tries to escape the situation, this behavior endangers Isabelle because she has to heal him and thus take on his injuries herself and possibly die. He learns to control his tempter in order to protect Isabelle.
           They escape but Isabelle does not stick around and runs out of habit, Sam follows and continues to trap her in small spaces for a little fun. And they continue to work on their trust issues. In the end, it is Isabelle who must take the step to trust Sam again after he faces the Devil himself.
           The book ends with some questions about that prophecy answered and more questions brought as one of the Chosen heads off to his own wedding to someone we have not met yet, and are not sure we should like.

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

           The first Suzanne Collins book I read was Gregor the Overlander and I have been reading her books ever since. When I picked up Hunger Games I was surprised and challenged to figure out what it was about this dystopia that made it so different from the rest. The last book in the series gives me the answer, the Heroine of the piece does not win and take control and become president. In today's modern world, that is unrealistic, rebel leaders rarely keep their position for long, they get killed by the next rebel leader.
           Katniss, topples the Capitol but does kill her enemy, instead she kills the enemy of the people and it is not who you expect. She recognized a danger few do, that one monster dictator is most often replaced with another and safely delivers her people from another dictatorship into the chaos that results in a hasty election, but still an election with a leader who did not expect the job but is perfectly capable.
           Then Katniss has to make her choice, Gale or Peeta. I felt like the choice was made by the men, she is not the type to just let her love go but she decided to wait and see who showed up. After her trial Katness is quietly "exiled" to district 12 and she watches her community begin to rebuild. And she tries to rebuild herself, knowing her family will never be the same. So who appears to help her with her grief, well you have to read it. However, he does the right thing for her even though she does not like it. She hates even the smell of roses but her sister's name was Primrose. He helps her rediscover her love for her sister's namesake and thus recover from a bit from her trauma. Could her other beau have been as understanding of how to force her to heal?

Review: Don't Cry by Beverly Barton

           In this new serial killer thriller Beverly Barton introduces a set of fresh characters to enjoy and new web of interconnected friendships and old family secrets. While the main characters are Special Agent J. D. Cass and his budding relationship with grief counselor Audrey Sherrod, their friends and family are a close second.           The story is more mystery thriller than romance which a change from her other stories. There are short glimpses into the lives of Hart and Tamara that have wondering what will be next. I was still bouncing between the likely suspects for the Rocking Chair Killer until the very end but when the clues came together they fit very well and the story is tight.
          However, the relationship side of things with J. D. and Audrey left me unconvinced, the change in their feeling is too abrupt and they have other issues to work on that were not addressed.
          Luckily, Barton has already stated that there will be another book with these characters in the future so they will have an opportunity to work things out and convince me that there is something more to the relationship besides the mystery they were involved in together.

Review: Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

           The Glass Trilogy concludes with Spy Glass and Opal Carew has to make some serious decisions in this book. After reading it back in June I had to take some time away to think about it because so much happens in this book. Opal flounders around in the beginning trying to understand her new standing in life as a person immune to magic, much like Valek I believe and she has trouble adjusting.
             After some time recovering she ask her friends about the time during captivity and she realizes that something does seem right, something important of hers is missing. Then she goes on a quest, breaks into jail, breaks out of jail, finds something of hers, loses something of hers, gets addicted to something, and makes a hard choice about her life and the lives of others.
            Loose ends having to do with the odd community by the sea from the second book are tied up when she is forced to return there. During her time there her own magic is forced upon her and she becomes addicted enough to begin to understand Devlin's side of his own struggle with his addiction. While she fights her growing attraction to him she also fight keep herself and many others alive.
              This book is very hard to summarize without giving too much away but it is packed with emotional roller coasters and life changing events for Opal, thus it is not to be missed. This review is based on the Galley edition.

Review: Demon Hunts by C. E. Murphy

          Joanne Walker is my favorite character by C. E. Murphy, her other books are very good but the Walker Papers Series is her best. Demon Hunts is book five and takes place a few months after the Walking Dead, which put the setting in late December in Seattle. A series of murders in the surrounding areas lead to whispers of a serial killer but Joanne Walker is called in when the crime scenes are startling lacking in physical evidence and she is puzzled by the unfamiliar magical "tracks" she finds.
          In Murphy's usual writing style the story is fast paced and the reader is in Joanne's head every second as she reacts to the events around her and tries to get one step ahead of the killer. At the same time she also has to stay out of the news, not an easy goal when a smart reporter figures out that Joanne is prime new material if she could just be caught in action on camera.
           There are several interesting surprises in this book such as a past characters unexpected return, a revelation about Gary's spirit animal, and a very interesting magical opponent. All of which make this story a great fast read on a slow day. Make sure you plan for some series uninterrupted reading because you will not want to put it down.