Review Copy Arrival: The Recipe Club by Andrea Isreal and Nancy Garfinkel

I received this from Caitlin Price at FSB Associates. Thank you Caitlin - I'm looking forward to reading this and trying some of the recipes.

The Recipe Club
A Tale of Food and Friendship
By Andrea Israel & Nancy Garfinkel
Published by Polhemus Press
October 2009;$24.95US/CAN; 978-09823492-0-5

Lilly and Val are lifelong friends, united as much by their differences as by their similarities. Lilly, dramatic and confident, lives in the shadow of her beautiful, wayward mother and craves the attention of her distant, disapproving father. Val, shy and idealistic -- and surprisingly ambitious -- struggles with her desire to break free from her demanding housebound mother and a father whose dreams never seem to come true.

In childhood, "LillyPad" and "Valpal" vow to form an exclusive two-person club. Throughout the decades they write intimate letters in which they share hopes, fears, deepest secrets -- and recipes, from Lilly's "Lovelorn Lasagna" to Valerie's "Forgiveness Tapenade." Readers can cook along as the girls travel through time, facing the challenges of independence; the joys and heartbreaks of first love; and the emotional complexities of family relationships, identity, mortality, and goals deferred.

But no matter what different paths they take or what misunderstandings threaten to break them apart, Lilly and Val always find their way back together through their Recipe Club . . . until the fateful day when an act of kindness becomes an unforgivable betrayal.

Now, decades later, while trying to recapture the trust they've lost, Lilly and Val reunite once more -- only to uncover a shocking secret. Will it destroy their friendship, or bring them ever closer?

Author Bios
Andrea Israel is a producer/writer for ABC's Focus Earth. She was a producer/writer on Anderson Cooper 360, Dateline, and Good Morning America (which garnered her an Emmy Award). Her story In Donald's Eyes was recently optioned for a film. Ms. Israel is the author of Taking Tea. Her writing has appeared in many publications.

Nancy Garfinkel is co-author of The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino (Chronicle Books, 2005). A creative strategist, design consultant, writer, and editor for magazine, corporate, and non-profit clients, she has won a host of graphic arts and editorial merit awards. She has written extensively about food and graphic arts.

For more information please visit http://www.amazon.com/Recipe-Club-Tale-Food-Friendship/dp/0982349203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250694595&sr=8-1

Launching soon http://www.Therecipeclubbook.com/

Book Arrivals from Booksfree.com

Today I received the following from Booksfree.com

Would I Lie to You (Gossip Girl) by Cecily von Ziegesar
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side where my friends and I live, and go to school, and play, and sleep - sometimes with each other. We all live in huge apartments with our own bedrooms and bathrooms and phone lines. We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, we have fantastic clothes, and we know how to party... Continuing the #1 New York Times bestselling series about the provocative lives of New York City's most prestigious private school young adults. Sharp wit, intriguing characters, and high stakes melodrama drive the action of this addictive series that have made Gossip Girl the lit world's coveted "it" girl.


Night Rising (Vampire Babylon Book 1) by Chris Marie Green
In this first book of an all-new trilogy, life proves stranger than the movies when a Hollywood underground coven of vampires comes to light-and gets targeted by the tough-as-nails daughter of a sexy screen siren.

Stuntwoman Dawn Madison hasn't been on the best of terms with her father since her movie star mother died. Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting-caught on film-of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his odd colleagues, she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.

I can't wait to read both of these.

Book Review: Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe (1-ARC Tours)

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe


My rating: 4.5/5.0
I received this through 1-ARC-Tours. It's an entertaining and enjoyable young adult book with a paranormal element.




My Review:

Cass sees ghosts, it started with her sister right after she died and then there were others. After her best friend turned against her she used what the ghosts overheard to right the wrongs that middle school and high school students perpetuate against each other. Because of that she is on the outside of everything that goes on in high school. Everyone is scared of her and what she knows. Not to mention her home life is going down the tubes too, with a mom that is never around and a dead sister who always is.

Then Tim steps into the picture. Tim is the super popular Vice President of the student council. Tim's mother passed away recently and that has caused all of the kids at the school to be super nice to him. When he befriends Cass, she looks for the ways that he is trying to get to her. She doesn't believe anyone at school could want to be her friend and even though he does want something from her he continues to stick around her and confuse Cass even more.

I really enjoyed this book, the interplay between Tim and Cass was great. The ghosts were pretty funny at times and sad at times too. It's a great young adult book that is a quick read, but has some thought provoking moments too. I will gladly pick up the next book Ms. Crewe writes and I am thrilled I got a chance to read and review this one.

September Summary

September has come and gone and I had a great reading month. Those cooler days meant time spent on the front porch swing reading while my boys played on the porch or in the house. It's been a busy month, but a fun one and getting back to routine helps the whole family. The house is clean, we had a get-together with three other couples and their children, and DH and I had a weekend to ourselves. It's been a good month. Now onto the reading summary:

I read a grand total of 25 books this month - my largest total to date and it came out to 7,195 pages (I'm a spreadsheet geek). I also read 15 new author this month - wow - and that is thanks to all of you book bloggers out there who give me new authors to read and love.

Library books read:

1. Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - review
4. Relentless by Dean Koontz
5. The Season by Sarah MacLean
6. Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain - review

Review Books read

1. The Alibi by Terri Woods - review
2. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - review
3. Singing the Songs of Life by Debra Beryl - review
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - review
5. Century: Ring of Fire Book 1 by P.D. Baccalario - review
6. Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson - review
7. Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe - review coming later today
8. Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle - review
9. Silent Killer by Beverly Barton - from bookreporter.com - had to answer questions for them will review soon

Audiobooks listened to with my son:

1. Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve by Mary Pope Osborne
2. Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne
3. Winter of the Ice Wizard by Mary Pope Osborne
4. The Jaguar's Jewels by Ron Roy
5. The Invisible Island by Ron Roy

Audiobooks:

1. True Colors by Kristen Hannah
2. Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Booksfree subscription books read:

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
2. Only In Your Dreams by Cecily Von Ziegesar

I did pretty well with my reviews on review books this month, but not with the rest of my books. As you can see I have a lot of catching up to do!

Win Arrival: The Lost Mission by Athol Dickson

The Lost Mission by Athol Dickson

Won from FictionAddict.com - thank you so much - I can't wait to read this.

What haunting legacy awaits deep beneath the barrios and wealthy enclaves of Southern California?

An idyllic Spanish mission collapses in the eighteenth century atop the supernatural evidence of a shocking crime. Twelve generations later the ground is opened up, the forgotten ruins are disturbed, and rich and poor alike confront the onslaught of resurging hell on earth. Caught up in the catastrophe are...

A humble shopkeeper compelled to leave her tiny village deep in Mexico to preach in America
• A minister wracked with guilt for loving the wrong woman
• An unimaginably wealthy man, blinded to the consequences of his grand plans
• A devoted father and husband driven to a horrible discovery that changes everything

Will the evil that destroyed the Misión de Santa Dolores rise to overwhelm them? Or will they beat back the terrible desires that led to the mission's good Franciscan founder's standing in the midst of flames ignited by his enemies and friends alike more than two centuries ago?

From the high Sierra Madre mountains to the harsh Sonoran desert, from the privileged world of millionaire moguls to the impoverished immigrants who serve them, Athol Dickson once again weaves a gripping story of suspense that spans centuries and cultures to explore the abiding possibility of miracles.