The Big Kahuna Book Review

I love the books by Janet Evanovich and they are always a quick and amusing read.  I requested this new book as soon as I saw it at the library although I was 165 or so down on the list.  I also requested the audio book which had less of a wait because I thought that might be fun if I was in the car by myself to get to listen to an adult book instead of the children's books that we are normally listening to as a family.  I started on the audio book and got through the first disk in one day running errands without my son and I went back to the library and found the book!!  The Big Kahuna (Fox and O'Hare) by Janet Evanovich was sitting right on the library shelf so I grabbed it so that I could read the book.  Now the hard choice to start at the beginning or where I left off in the car!!

Straight arrow FBI Agent Kate O'Hare always plays by the rules.  Charming Con Man Nicholas Fox makes them up as he goes along.  She thinks he's nothing but a scoundrel.  He thinks she just needs to lighten up.  They're working together to tackle the out-of-bounds cases ordinary FBI agents can't touch.  And, their relationship?  Well, there hasn't been so much explosive chemistry since Nitro was introduced to Glycerin.

Next on the docket: The mysterious disappearance of the Silicon Valley billionaire, known as the Big Kahuna.  Kate's been assigned to find him but no one seems particularly keen on helping.  His twenty-six year old adult actress wife-turned Instagram model wife and his shady Czech business partner are more interested in gaining control of his company.  For that they need a dead body not a living Kahuna.

The only lead they have is the Kahuna's drop-out son, who's living the dream in Hawaii - if your dream is starting your day with the perfect wave and ending it with a big bowl of weed.  To get close to the Kahuna's son, Kate and Nick go undercover as a married couple in the big wave, bohemian, surfer community of Paia, Maui.  Living a laid back, hippy-dippy lifestyle isn't exactly in Kate's wheelhouse, but the only thing more horrifying is setting up house with Nick Fox, even if he does look pretty gnarly on a longboard.  If they don't catch a break soon, waves aren't the only thing she's going to be shredding (or bedding).

I thought it was an amusing book.  I have trouble not picturing the actors from Castle as the main characters sometimes but other times it is more of a James Bond look. Either way the books are filled with action and lots going on all the time.  Nick and Kate are headed off on another adventure and this time it is in search of the Big Kahuna.  They are looking for this missing executive and chase down every lead to make sure that he isn't dead.  There are many people that want him dead so it is a rough trip with people shooting at them and others around and there might be damage to more property than you can calculate with cars, boats and helicopters all getting destroyed.  Kate's job is on the line because of the amount of damage that she has racked up but as long as she finds the man, all will be forgiven....or so she hopes.  You have to to pick up the book and find out what happens with this chase and if they find their man.  I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the series of books about Fox and O'Hare.  They are super funny and hard to put down so be ready to read all night....I know that I did.

Good Cheap Eats Dinner in 30 Minutes (Or Less) Book Review

I was excited to see this cookbook when I looked at the library website when I was looking for new cookbooks.  I was even more excited when I read the cover after I got it home to realize that it was the blog that I loved to read!!  Good Cheap Eats Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less: Fresh, Fast, and Flavorful Home-Cooked Meals, with More Than 200 Recipes by Jessica Fisher was a good cookbook that had lots of interesting recipes.

In over 200 recipes, Jessica Fisher shows time-pressed cooks how they can eat remarkably well without breaking the bank. Good Cheap Eats serves up 65 two-course dinners, consisting of a main dish and a substantial side, salad, or soup, all of which take 30 minutes or less to prepare. And as a mother of six and a busy parent, she shows home cooks how to get dinner on the table quickly and inexpensively without relying on heavily processed shortcuts or artificial ingredients. Great for time-pressed couples, families with picky eaters, or singles that need a quick solution to dinner tonight, Jessica's two-course pairings are artfully conceived and perfectly complementary.

The best part of the book are the stories that go with each recipe and along the side.  There is also an amazing beginning with lots of information that is helpful to have meals on the table in 30 minutes.  I think that my favorite ones include Out of the Box Rice Pilaf, Loaded Potato Soup, Garlic Herb Mini Breads, Creamy Mushroom Pilaf (without the mushrooms) and Cilantro Lime Rice.  Although there are many other recipes that I think that I would eat if someone served them to me, I don't know if I would go out of my way to try them for my family.  I hope that you check out this cookbook and see if there are any recipes for things that your family might love and try them for yourselves.

The Cliff House Book Review

I didn't know anything about the book when I put it on reserve but I like the author so I figured that I would like the book.  I wasn't wrong!!  The Cliff House by RaeAnne Thayne was a great book that lived up to the beautiful cover art.

Three women—two sisters and their aunt—and the cliff house on the northern California coast that served as a beacon to them all…

After the death of their mother, sisters Daisy and Beatriz Davenport found a home with their aunt Stella in the beautiful and welcoming town of Cape Sanctuary. They never knew all the dreams that Stella sacrificed to ensure they had everything they’d ever need. Now, with Daisy and Bea grown, it’s time for Stella to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from them—a secret that will change their family forever.

Bea thought she’d sown all her wild oats when she got pregnant far too young. The marriage that followed was rocky and not destined to last, but it gave Bea her wonderful, mature, now eleven-year-old daughter, Marisol. But just as she’s beginning to pursue a new love with an old friend, Bea’s ex-husband resurfaces and turns their lives completely upside down.

Then there’s Daisy—sensible, rational, financially prudent Daisy. She’s never taken a risk in her life—until she meets a man who makes her question everything she thought she knew about life, love and the power of taking chances.  In this heartwarming story, Stella, Bea and Daisy will discover that the path to true happiness is filled with twists and turns, but love always leads them back home.

I hope that you check out this book and enjoy it as much as I have.  It had some serious and some little moments with a little mystery that had you wondering what was going to happen next.  I enjoyed the wonderful characters.  The thing that made this book different was that each chapter was written by a different characters so you got to know them all through the book and a little from each perspective made it interesting.  Sometimes those are hard for me to get into because I like to pull for the main character from the beginning but this had so many characters that you all wanted to come out on top because you were in the middle of their lives so it was like a few books rolled into one.  Daisy and Bea are sisters that came to live with their aunt so they are the main three females and they all have something interesting going on in their lives.  There are three male characters, Shane, Cruz, and Ed, that are also introduced and they all have something different going on in their lives.  I felt like the book followed the women's lives more but there were chapters from almost everyone's perspective which lead to a very different book.  It was unique and I can't wait to read more great writing by this author.

Menu Plan Monday 6/24

Monday- Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and homemade fries
Tuesday- Chicken and Asian Spicy Pasta
Wednesday- Pasta
Thursday-Grilled Chicken and Rice
Friday- Maybe Pizza at the Pool
Saturday- Leftovers
Sunday- Taquitos

Last week started off fine even though I didn't post my menu..oops!!  I did everything that I was planning through the week until Sunday when we just decided to have pasta with my son instead of making another meal for us.  It was a long week but we got dinner on the table every night and used up lots of leftovers!! Here is hoping that this week goes well too!!  I know that I need to do another inventory of the freezer to get things in order and make a plan for the rest of the month...maybe next week!!

Sweet On You Book Review

I was excited to see this in the library because I have read others by this author and missed getting to read this book.  I was excited to get back into it and it quickly reminded me of all the previous books and I was interested to find out what happened with this sister.  Sweet on You (A Bradford Sisters Romance) by Becky Wade is the third book in the series of the Bradford Sisters.

Britt Bradford and Zander Ford have been the best of friends since they met thirteen years ago. Unbeknown to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long.  Independent and adventurous Britt channels her talent into creating chocolates at her hometown shop. Zander is a bestselling author who's spent the past 18 months traveling the world. He's achieved a great deal but still lacks the only thing that ever truly mattered to him--Britt's heart.

When Zander's uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Merryweather, Washington, to investigate, and Britt is immediately there to help. Although this throws them into close proximity, both understand that an attempt at romance could jeopardize their once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But while Britt is determined to resist any change in their relationship, Zander finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden.  As they work together to uncover his uncle's tangled past, will the truth of what lies between them also, finally, come to light?

I was ready to read this book and it got moved to the top of the pile when I accidently left a book in the pool bag in the car.  After starting, I had a hard time putting it down.  I was immediately drawn into the friendship between Britt and Zander and realized that they both had more emotion but didn't want to ruin their close friendship.  Zander has been traveling the world after selling his book and just came home.  He realized that it is harder to be home then he thought because it was painful to watch Britt with other men and his feelings were getting harder to ignore.  There are a lot of things that happen in this book but you have to pick it up to find out for yourself.  I promise that it is a page turner and it will be hard to put back down.  Make sure you read the others in the series as well!!  I hope that you enjoy this as much as I have.

Menu Plan Monday 6/17

Monday- Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and homemade fries
Tuesday- Chicken Parm and Pasta with garlic bread
Wednesday- Grilled Beer Can Chicken with white rice
Thursday-Fried Rice and Egg Rolls with Edamame
Friday- Tacos
Saturday- Leftovers
Sunday- Taquitos

Last week we had my son's favorite dinner on Monday night like we normally do.  We have leftover tacos and other leftovers on Tuesday and some rice to eat with them.  Wednesday was pasta night and I also made a chopped salad.  Thursday was raining so we were going to have pizza at the pool but ended up with chicken and rice at home that my husband got from work from a local restaurant with a ton of leftovers.  Friday was then Pizza Hut take out at the pool.  Saturday we met up with family so it was a busy day and we ate out and got pizza.  Sunday was Grilled Asian Chicken with leftover pasta made into Spicy Asian Noodles.  

Discovering You Book Review

I went online and found that there was one more book in the Whiskey Creek series so I quickly reserved it.  Discovering You (Whiskey Creek) by Brenda Novak came in on my reserve shelf quickly and I got to read it right after finishing the rest of the series. 

Can she ever trust another "bad boy"? India Sommers once had the perfect family—until an ex-boyfriend broke in and shot her husband. Not only did that cost her the man she loved, a respected heart surgeon and the father of her child, but she also feels responsible. Charlie died because of the people she hung out with before she had the strength to change her life.

Just after moving to Whiskey Creek with her little girl, Cassia, to start over, she's learned that her ex-boyfriend's trial ended in a hung jury. He's getting out of jail; he could try to find her again. And that's not all that scares her. She's extremely attracted to her next-door neighbor, but Rod Amos is the handsome "bad boy" type that's given her so much trouble in the past. If she got involved with him, her in-laws would sue for custody of Cassia. India has to keep her distance from Rod—but the more she gets to know him, the more difficult that becomes.

This book was very interesting and a little different then the others because a lot of it happens outside of the small town.  India is trying to get over the death of her husband because it was a brutal murder in front of her eyes.  She did everything to distract the killer from going after her daughter and protect her at all costs.  She is living with the nightmares and fears since then so she moved to a new town and while getting settled in, her daughter is living with her grandparents who India is afraid are going to fight for custody.  In Whiskey Creek she meets Rod who quickly gives her the bad boy image because he is caught fighting and has tattoos but she feels comfortable and protected around him.  They quickly fall into a relationship and he wants to protect her as his feelings grow.  This book has some serious action that keeps you on the edge of your seat so I hope that you pick it up and find out what happens for yourself.  I hope that you check out the book and the rest of the series. I think that you will enjoy them as much as I did.