This was an unexpected quirky and fun book. I admit that I thought this book would be more raunchy based on the fact that Lola works at a sex toy company. I don’t think I’m alone in that assumption. Instead, it’s a romance/mystery with a bizarre and interesting mix of characters. Lola is a smart-mouthed, screw-up and trained by her grandma that may possibly be a hit man. Her brother is a Drag Queen and Ob/gyn. Logan is a sexy-hot FBI agent and somewhat prude. Throw in a show girl, an ex-fiance, embezzler, porn star, and ex-boyfriend and you get one crazy cast. I promise this book is anything but boring. Love the twist in the Epilogue as well.
My daughter informed me last weekend that it was National Ice Cream Cream and she decided we needed to make some coffee flavored ice cream. I’m a bit partial to mochas so I decided to throw in some chocolate chips for flavor and texture. However, my son doesn’t like anything coffee flavored. I couldn’t very well do a dessert for only one child. That’s when this idea came to me – brownie a la mode. Seemed like a perfect solution: my son eats the brownie and my daughter enjoys the ice cream. I wasn’t neglecting either one of my kids. The result was beyond all expectations! It was a sensational flavor and texture combination.
ICE CREAM RECIPE
This ice cream is ridiculously easy to make. It doesn’t require an ice cream maker. And, it tastes amazing. I simply added 7 Tbls of vienna coffee power and 1 cup of chocolate chips (chopped to 1/4 original size)
Here’s a video on how to make it …
BROWNIE RECIPE (really any favorite recipe would work)
After recently gifting Bared to You to a relative, I couldn’t help myself and go back and read it again. Well, once I finished it, I continued with the next, Reflected in You. I was enjoying myself too much and I finished the rest of the series. While I don’t choose to actually rate the books I read, I would certainly give this high reviews. It fits the criteria: (1) page-turner/can’t put down (2) want to re-read (3) would gift to a friend.
This series is listed on many sites as something to read after Fifty Shades of Grey. I prefer not to compare books for a number of different reasons. I know a lot of people disliked Fifty and I wouldn’t want people to be hesitant to read this series because they disliked FSOG. I’ll refrain from comparing these two series even though there are a number of similarities. But simply, if you like a book with a lot of seriously steamy scenes – read this series.
Gideon and Eva can’t get enough of each other. If they’re happy, they shag. If they’re angry, they shag. STAMINA – that’s the first word I think of when I think about this book. They go at each other at least 3-4 times per day.
Their couples therapist isn’t certain that their indulgence in sex is actually healthy. They both refuse to try abstinence to address their issues. Gideon and Eva share a similar troubled past and a relatively similar taste for the rich and fancy. They face constant problems as a result of their pasts and can’t seem to catch a break.
In addition, the side characters are fantastic. Cary, Eva’s best and purely platonic friend is great. He’s flawed but lovable none-the-less. Hopefully he’ll get his happily-ever-after in the final installment. Gideon is generally very supportive of Eva’s relationship with Cary. But at one time he suggests that Eva might be better off without Cary in her life.
There is fifth book expected to be released, which I fully intend on reading – One With You. No release date has been set yet.
I love mid-series novellas. This one focuses on Jeremy and Charlie. There is a sincerity and kindness between Jeremy and Charlie that makes this an enjoyable read. Unlike other m/m romance books, there is a lot of consideration between the two men. There’s no presumption about what the other one wants, needs, or considers comfortable. There’s mutual respect for the other’s emotional readiness. It ends up coming off in a very sexy playful manner.
Can I touch you? Anywhere? Please. Can I have you? Are you sure?
As in the other books, the tattoos are significant.
This is last book in this series. Things are tense as ever as the dishonorably discharged group of Navy Seals attempts to clear their records. As in the other novels, extreme situations lead to passion.
Kat is an intelligent and sassy woman that likes to tease Beckett. I love how she’s nick-named him Trigger because he pulled a gun on her when they first met. The funny part is how much it bothers him. The humor continues as Beckett finally announces to his best friend and Kat’s brother that he wants to date Kat. Beckett is all male and extraordinarily fit, which makes for some very hot partially dressed scenes. Fortunately, half-dressed quickies is not the only tricks in his repertoire. “I finally have you all to myself with no need to hurry. I’m taking you to your bed, stripping you down, and spreading you out just like I said I would.”
If you’re a fan of the series, the author, Laura Kaye, is allowing fans to vote for which characters will be included in her next novella (a marriage between two characters). Voting ends July 31, 2015. Go to Laura Kaye’s website to vote.
Here’s another recipe curtesy of my teenage daughter’s inspiration. She absolutely loves studying French and decided that we must celebrate Bastille Day. This French Hot Chocolate is unbelievably decadent. Unlike hot chocolate in America, this drink is very thick. A little goes a long way.
French Hot Chocolate
The most decadent dark hot chocolate recipe that tastes just like the French hot chocolate found in Paris cafes. Intense, rich, and absolute heaven for any chocolate lover. Recipe based off of the famous Cafe Angelina in Paris.
YIELD: 2 large, intense cups of hot chocolate or 4 more reasonably-sized cups
PREP TIME: 3 minutes
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, but delicious. Will intensify chocolate flavor)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, at least 72%, chopped*
Giant bowl of whipped cream, for serving
Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and espresso powder until small bubbles appear around edges. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Remove from saucepan from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted, returning the sauce to low heat if needed for the chocolate to melt completely. Serve warm, topped with lots of whipped cream
*Choose the best quality chocolate you can, as the flavor really carries the drink. I love Guittard for a splurge or Godiva, but the Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% dark bar is quite good too. I do not recommend chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers and do not melt as well.
Leftover French hot chocolate can be cooled to room temperature, then refrigerated in an airtight container (empty mason or jam jars work particularly well). Reheat gently the in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat.
Kristen Ashley’s books are amazingly hot. It’s all about need, passion, desire, living in the moment, and there’s never any doubt how the male feels about the woman.
Ride Steady is about a man named Joker, aka Carson Steele, that was abused as a child and fell in love with a girl named Carissa Teodoro when he was a teenager. Years later, he reconnects with Carissa when he finds her on the side of the road with a flat tire and an infant.
The dialog in the book is infectious. First, it is very funny how Carissa starts charging Joker for every time he curses. Second, while the language used by the Chaos crew may not be clean, the meaning is always clear. Joker is short on words but communicates with certainty. When he speaks I could hear the song “More Than Words” by Extreme in my head. An added bonus in the book, Tack is a substantial side character. He is crass but wise and it was great to see his character again.
I love how the Chaos family champions the relationship between Joker and Carissa. It takes a push from family to make a person find the happiness that they deserve.
This story does have drama caused by a pain-in-the-ass ex-husband of Carissa and there’s always drama with Chaos. But what struck me as unique was how their relationship grew not primarily out of the drama but on the day-to-day life.
Finally, the ending was perfect and Joker and Carissa find their Beautiful Life.
I think Joker should get this tattoo, as he refers to Carissa as Butterfly.
Great romance authors make the reader fall in love with the characters. The descriptions of their build, the way in which they speak, and their prowess in bed electrify the characters and make them hot and desirable. Enjoy these pinterest boards that celebrate some of the most titillating characters and combine both provocative images and amazing quotes.
Everyone knows that make-up sex is hot. Well, Sylvia and Jackson argue, disagree, and have miscommunications throughout this book. The passion that they share when reconnecting is scorching. It doesn’t matter if they’re in public or in private, nothing keeps them from stripping and claiming each other. “This isn’t about sex or love or even passion. It’s about need. It’s about release.” While the they repeat this pattern, each scene is uniquely descriptive, provocative, and mind-racinlgy naughty.
I love that the BDSM relationship that Sylvia and Jackson have established isn’t based soley on kink. Rather, it is based on a deep connection. “Now, though, they could fight their demons together. Yin and yang. Control and submission. Pleasure and pain. And on and on and on until they sent each other spiraling over that invisible line where it all became the same. Where pain gave way to pleasure, and control revealed itself to be nothing more than surrender.”
Rosemary Beach books are serious page turners. I pick one up and can’t put it down. If you haven’t read this series, you should give it a chance. They’re true romances with happily ever afters that are sure to lift the reader’s spirit.
This book is a continuation of the story in When I’m Gone. Reese and Mase’s relationship is going strong down in Texas on his ranch. Mase is clearly over-the-moon for Reese. When seeing Reese after she had been gone for a 22 days, he thinks to himself, “The guy in me wanted to strip her naked and fuck her against the door. But the man who knew what she needed was going to hold her and love her a little while first.” Mase’s desire for Reese is unwavering and palpable throughout the entire story. But all relationships are vulnerable to outside threats. Both Reese and Mase have to fight to ensure that those outside forces don’t come between the two of them. However, thoughtfulness from an outsider can sometimes be more alarming than outright flirtation. While some of the story line is predictable, when Reese meets a young boy I was completely overcome with emotion. That is precisely what I look for in a book. Thus, I fully recommend reading this series.