Author: lizellyn

Jennifer Millikin – Full of Fire

lizellyn Books

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Who wouldn’t fall in love after just one first date with Xavier Townsend?  He’s attractive, gracious, sweet, and romantic?  Not exactly what you would expect from the bad boy playboy, which makes him all the more alluring.

Lila is a strong young woman that is not easily impressed by good looking men.  But she can’t deny the chemistry that she feels for Xavier.  It’s too strong for her not to take a chance.

Let’s talk romance.  Romance isn’t all about roses and chocolates, but this book brings the use of roses to an entirely new level.  It all begins with a date to a garden in Las Vegas (unique due to the climate of the area) where Xavier purchases a rose bush for Lila.  I love the use of roses as a continuing theme throughout the story.

While this story fades to black for all the intimate scenes, it is still hot.  The attraction between Lila and Xavier is expressive.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (gluten free)

lizellyn Sweets ,

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What’s your comfort food?

In general, I don’t care to repeat recipes.  I get a lot of pleasure from finding new combinations of flavors and textures.  There’s also a bit of a thrill in finding new desserts that dazzle and impress.

But then there are some days where I find myself craving certain flavors and no new recipe attracts my attention.  Those are the times when I know I need to hit up one of my favorite recipes.  This is the dependable kind of recipe that is guaranteed to satisfy.  It’s also relatively easy to make; a recipe that requires a ton of effort zaps all the comfort.

Here’s my comfort dessert.  They’re not fancy.  They’re easy to make.  And the flavors are perfectly comforting.

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal (not instant oatmeal or quick oats)

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

  1. Cover 2 cookie sheets with wax paper
  2. Place oatmeal and peanut butter in bowl to later add to hot ingredients.
  3. Place butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk in saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.
  4. Immediately add oatmeal, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Stir until completely incorporated
  5. Spoon batter onto cooking sheets covered in wax paper.  Allow to air dry (about 1 hour)

 

Like many, my kids’ comfort food is chocolate chip cookies.  One kid likes the cookie dough and the other one likes the warm cookies.

HAPPY BAKING! 

Samantha Cole – Not Negotiable (Trident Security #3.5)

lizellyn Books ,

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Master Parker makes for an impressive Dom.  His protectiveness is heart-warming.  His patience for vanilla is sweet.

Shelby is a strong woman.  I love how she embraces her circumstances and wears the colorful wigs.

Again, Carter is my favorite character that likes to tease all his friends.  He pushes Parker’s buttons in the best of ways.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I don’t usually include spoilers, but when cancer is involved I feel a need to do so.  It’s a disease that affects many people and can turn lives upside down.  I generally pass on books where someone dies from cancer.  That is not the case in this book.  I would hate for someone like myself to pass on this book because they feared a sad story.

See Related Posts:

Samantha Cole – Leather and Lace

Samantha Cole – His Angel (Trident Security #2)

Samantha Cole – Waiting For Him

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Samantha Young – Valentine (An On Dublin Street Novella)

lizellyn Books

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Book Boyfriends do the BEST, MOST ROMANTIC Valentine’s Day!  From each hot husband (and fiancé) in the On Dublin Street Series ensues a romantic Valentine’s Day.  Braden, Adam, Cameron, Nate, Marco, and Cole each get their own story.  Having them all in one book was brilliant.  While all the married couples have kids, that didn’t stop each of them from having a fiery holiday.

I couldn’t help but compare my favorite characters.  I’m awarding the Best Valentine Line to Nate Sawyer

“Everyday is Valentine’s Day with you.”

New book in the series, available November 3, 2015

stylish young couple together

See Related Posts:

Samantha Young – Echoes of Scotland Street

Samantha Young – Moonlight on Nightingale Way

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Ana Mederios – The Raven Room – Cover Reveal

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This book is intensely sexual and substantially intriguing.  There’s no denying that the book is delightfully erotic, but the fact that it engages the reader on an intellectual level as well makes it truly special.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the book after I finished it.

Julian is a character with a lot of layers and the authors peels them away in such a manner that it makes it very difficult to put the book down.  Julian is a child psychologist and his insight into sex from such a background is enlightening.

“If I showed you a video of a lion and a lioness mating, the chances of you getting wet are much higher than me getting a hard on.   Alas, one the many beautiful things about female sexuality.  I’m deeply envious.”

“You’re the one changing your own existence, Meredith.  I’m just the man who’ll make sure you get home safely.”

“We all fuck people for the strangest reason.  At least you’re aware of yours.”

Meredith starts out as the perfect lover – fun, passionate, and carefree.  Contrary to her selfish nature, later she proves to also be caring  and considerate without jealousy.  She’s also equally as perceptive as Julian.

“You’re ashamed of who you are.  The day you embrace yourself, you’ll be strong.  Until then you’re weak.”

The other characters lead to the mystery involved in the story.  I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series to see how it continues to play out.

As an added bonus, the story takes place in Chicago.  The author included a few notable landmarks but more importantly captured the essence of a Chicago winter.

This book will be published on November 3, 2015.

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Lorraine Loveit – Hard Ball 3rd Quarter: A Contested Possession (Playing the Game #3)

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Finally, a book where the submissive shows some backbone and starts to stand up for herself.  It’s okay to say NO.  It’s okay to use your safe word.  Neither scenario permanently destroys the nature of the D/s relationship.

The tides start to turn in this 3rd book in the series.  Brendon begins to warm up a bit.  In fact, his warmer moments were extremely hot!

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Susie starts to speak up for herself, which is fantastic.  She starts to level the playing field between her and Brendon – pun intended.

Brendon continues to have huge jealousy issues that makes him blind to the important thing in front of him.

See Related Posts about the Playing the Game Series:

Lorraine Loveit – Bounce Down

Lorraine Loveit – Getting Tackled

Lorraine Loveit – Full Time

Lorraine Loveit – Time On

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Emma Chase – Overruled (The Legal Briefs Series)

lizellyn Books

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Crazy-topsy-turvey emotional roller coaster!  Honestly, in the beginning I literally hated the main male character.  Many times the book made me think that he had lost his everliving mind.  I got so angry that I actually had to put the book down during the first evening of reading.  I desperately wanted someone to smack him.  On a few occasions the grandmother threatens to shoot him.  I was a bit disappointed when she held back on her instinct.

Did I hate the book?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  It was great!  I highly recommend reading it.  Any romance book that can stir up that much emotion in a reader, is a good book.

How did I get past my negative feelings for Stanton?

First, I loved how strong the female characters are in this book.  Both Jenny and Sophia were excellent compliments to Stanton’s arrogance and idiocy.

Second, despite his numerous missteps, Stanton was a very sincere father to his daughter Presley.

Third, Emma Chase’s writing is funny and highly entertaining.

Fourth, (I’m a bit ashamed to admit) I read the epilogue before reading the second half of the book.  I couldn’t help myself.  I’m an HEA junkie and Stanton’s antics were stressing me out.  I realize the error of my ways and thoroughly admit that my actions warrant punishment.

Naughty Paddle

Fifth, Stanton does redeem himself.  He grovels well.

I looking forward to reading the next in the series: Sustained.

See Related Post:

Emma Chase – Tied

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Chocolate Banana Bread

lizellyn Sweets

Chocolate Banana Bread

There’s always a recipe to find when you have a few simple ingredients in your house.  This time, I had some left over sour cream from a cake that I made a few days ago and a few bananas that were past their prime.  I wanted a new recipe so I went to one of my favorite sites:

yummly http://www.yummly.com

I really like this site because you can input a few ingredients and it will pull recipes that incorporate them.  That is how I found this recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread.  In addition, you can bookmark favorite recipes by adding them to your “YUM” list.

See Related Posts:

unnamed Banana Crumb Muffins

Healthy Banana MuffinsHealthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (gluten free)

Nutella Banana Bread Nutella Banana Bread

HAPPY BAKING!

Jon Wilde – His Undeniable Desire (The Undeniable #1)

lizellyn Books , ,

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There’s no way to tame a bad boy – you’ll always get burned.  But if you have a taste for bad boys, it’s best to find one that had his run and has already been reformed.

This book starts out with heartbreak.  As a reader you see it coming as clearly as if you were watching a scary movie and the killer is hiding behind a closed door.  I could feel myself wanting to shield my eyes and peer through the small slits between my fingers.

The parallel story telling about young twenty somethings trying to date brings the reader to a state of demoralization.  This is a terrible place for a romance reader that loves a happily-ever-after, but it truly makes for an outstanding emotional rebound.

I like how the author points out how in MMA fighting, the key to winning is finding that one moment of opportunity and taking advantage.  This theme is also true in both love and life, which is reflected in the love story.

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C.D. Taylor – A Fighting Chance (Chances Are #3)

lizellyn Books

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The summer heat in Texas isn’t half as hot as the steamy scenes in this book.  C.D. Taylor nailed it with the third installment of the Chances Are Series.

Tyler is an ex-marine with a body for sin and a mind to get what he wants.  He has a great sense of what is important to him and stands by his convictions.  He’s hot and honorable all at the same time.

Tiffani is a woman with a complicated past that bleeds into a complicated present.  She hasn’t always made the best decisions in the past,  but with the right influences she can open her heart and secure a future.

When Tyler and Tiffani meet, it is an instant inferno of passion.  Both feel the incredible connection and know that the thing between them is more than a singular romp.

If you had the pleasure of reading the first two books in the series, Emily and Jake make a well-incorporated appearance in this book.  No worries if you didn’t read the others in the series, A Fighting Chance can also be read as a stand alone.

See Related Post:

C.D. Taylor – Left to Chance

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