Hot Number Book Review

I ran out of library books and I had this on my shelf of books that I got for free that I decided I would read before making it back to the library.  Hot Number (Hot Zone) by Carly Phillips is actually the second book in the series so I went to the library to try to find the first after finishing this book but it was not there.  I got the third book in the series and put the first book on hold.  I guess I will start the series from the beginning starting now.

Micki Jordan is a tomboy as much at home on the playing field as in a locker room full of naked guys.  But the star publicist is looking to prove she’s also an irresistible woman in order to get a second shot at professional baseball player and major league playboy, Damian Fuller.  Micki transforms herself into one hot number Damian can’t help but notice and together they burn up the sheets and find themselves falling hard. Until Damian’s past returns, threatening their future.

Micki is living her life with her uncle and sisters running a sports PR and marketing firm.  She is very happy with her life until she realizes that she doesn't have a life outside of work.  She gives herself a makeover to make herself appear more feminine and it attracts the wrong attention from one of the baseball players.  She ended up getting Long Island Ice Tea instead of regular.  She was drunk and Damian stood up to help her and make sure that she was taken care of.  You will have to pick up the book to find out what happens but I promise you won't be disappointed.  I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the books in the series.

Hot Winter Nights Book Review

I saw this in the new release section when I went to the library to find some new reading material.  Hot Winter Nights: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel by Jill Shalvis was a new release and I didn't know where it was in the series.  I looked it up after reading it which is not like me but I figured that if it was good, I would look into the rest of the series.  This was the 6th book in the series.

Who needs mistletoe?  Most people wouldn’t think of a bad Santa case as the perfect Christmas gift. Then again, Molly Malone, office manager at Hunt Investigations, isn’t most people, and she could really use a distraction from the fantasies she’s been having since spending the night with her very secret crush, Lucas Knight. Nothing happened, not that Lucas knows that—but Molly just wants to enjoy being a little naughty for once . . .Whiskey and pain meds for almost-healed bullet wounds don’t mix. Lucas needs to remember that next time he’s shot on the job, which may be sooner rather than later if Molly’s brother, Joe, finds out about them. Lucas can’t believe he’s drawing a blank on his (supposedly) passionate tryst with Molly, who’s the hottest, smartest, strongest woman he’s ever known. Strong enough to kick his butt if she discovers he’s been assigned to babysit her on her first case. And hot enough to melt his cold heart this Christmas.

Molly was running the investigation office but wanted to do more.  All of the men at the firm wanted to protect her and didn't want her to do dangerous work.  Molly went to the bar on a night that Lucas, her co-worker, mixed pain meds with whiskey and she helped him home.  Because he was not doing really well, she decided to stay there but Lucas couldn't remember the night.  Molly used that against him to black mail him into helping her with an off the books case.  Lucas knows that if something happened between them that his best friend who is Molly's brother would kill him.  Molly and Lucas work together to help the older women who are working at the Santa's Village that stop paying them all that they expected.  They decided that something that Molly could help them get their money but they found so much more.  I hope that you pick it up and find out what is going on at Santa's Village.  I thought it was a super fun and quick read that was great to read. I am going to check out others in the series to see if there are some more fun reads.  I hope that you enjoy the series as well.

Monday Menu Plan 11/25

Pasta with garlic bread and sausage sauce
Tacos with white rice
Lasagna with garlic bread
Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls and more
Leftovers or Chinese
Chili with Corn Chips or Fried Rice with Egg Rolls
Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade Fries

Monday we had pasta with leftover spicy sausage sauce.  Tuesday I decided that I wasn't interested in Chicken tacos so I used the same chicken and made Sweet and Sour Chicken over white rice.  It is super easy coated in corn starch and pan fried and coated in some leftover sweet and sour packages from our egg rolls and then Franks Sweet Chili Sauce.  Super tasty and used the same meat that I already defrosted.  Wednesday was Salsa Sloppy Joes but I decided that we would go with hash browns and move mac and cheese to pork chops.  I cut up the hash browns and made the sloppy joe sauce in the morning so that it was easier to make dinner quickly when I needed to. Thursday was Pancakes for dinner and leftovers.  Friday was Ranch Pork Chops with mac and cheese.  Saturday we decided on Pizza Hut Pizza take out.  We had my son's favorite meal on Sunday so Chicken fries, Chicken Wraps and homemade fries.

I hope that you had a great week last week and planned for a great week this week.  I am mostly hoping that I feel better so that I don't have to be exhausted and coughing all the time.

A Cousin's Promise Book Review

I picked this up at the library when I was looking for some new books to read.  A Cousin's Promise (Indiana Cousins) by Wanda E. Brunstetter was on the shelf with others by the author and it said that it was the first in the series so I thought it would be good to start a new series.  The bad part is that I looked up the other books in the series and I couldn't find them in the library so I am going to have to search again.  They changed the catalog and it all looks different so I am hoping that I just missed it.

Willkumm to the lush and lavish Amish country where Wanda Brunstetter’s romantic series, Indiana Cousins, begins.  When a group of eight cousins and friends leaves their Indiana Amish community for a weekend getaway, a horrific accident brings them home forever changed.
Permanently disabled by the accident, Wayne Lambright struggles to take care of himself. He can’t imagine being able to be the kind of husband his fiancée, Loraine Miller, needs. Determined to sacrifice his happiness to give her a better life, he breaks their engagement.  Loraine refuses to believe Wayne doesn’t love her anymore. But when old boyfriend Jake Beechy returns from exploring the English world, Wayne does everything in his power to help Jake regain Loraine’s love.
For better or worse, Loraine wants to be Wayne’s wife, but if he won’t agree, should she promise her love to Jake? Torn between the love of two good men—which man will she pledge her love and loyalty—for better or worse, until death they do part?  Love is a promise—for better or worse.

The Indiana Cousins Series
Book 1: A Cousin's Promisse
Book 2: A Cousin's Prayer
Book 3: A Cousin's Challenge

This book starts off right into the action with a trip to Hershey Park gone wrong with a car crash that kills three people and injuries many more.  The worst thing is that it has changed everyone's lives with the changes to everyone's lives.  Loraine thought that she was going to be married in a month and starting her new life with Wayne but after the accident everything changes.  Wayne decides that loosing his leg made him less of a man and meant that he couldn't make a life for his future wife.  Wayne pushed Loraine away and broke her heart.  Loraine wants to keep her promise to Wayne and tries to make things easier for him even though her mother and his mother are against their continued relationship.  It is heartbreaking that Loraine had to go through so much and felt the weight of the decision to go to the park which changed everyone's lives.  The book has lots of things going on but you have to pick it up to find out what happens.  I hope that you check out this book and enjoy it as much as I did.  I hope that you get to check out the rest of the series and fingers crossed that I will be able to!

More Than Words Can Say Book Review

I picked up this second book in the series and thought it looked good.  I quickly reserved the first one so I could start the series.  More Than Words Can Say by Karen Witemeyer was the second book I go to read right after the other one.

After fulfilling a pledge to a dying friend, Zacharias Hamilton is finally free. No family entanglements. No disappointing those around him. Just the quiet bachelor existence he's always craved. Until fate snatches his freedom away when the baker of his favorite breakfast bun is railroaded by the city council. Despite not wanting to get involved, he can't turn a blind eye to her predicament . . . or her adorable dimples.

Abigail Kemp needs a man's name on her bakery's deed. A marriage of convenience seems the best solution . . . if it involves a man she can control. That person definitely isn't the stoic lumberman who oozes silent confidence whenever he enters her shop. Control Zacharias Hamilton? She can't even control her pulse when she's around him.
When vows are spoken, Abigail's troubles should be over. Yet threats to the bakery worsen, and darker dangers hound her sister. Can she put ever more trust in Zach without losing her dreams of independence?

Zach has moved to a new town and started his life over without his two siblings.  He is living a quiet life working and going home every day.  Things change quickly when he is approached by the baker, Abigail, at his favorite bakery that he stops at every .  She is being thrown out of her family business because there is a law that says no woman can own their own business.  It was an old law that was left on the books and she just inherited it from her father after his death.  Abigail is looking for ways to keep her business that she loves and she decided that the best option was to get married.  Once married, her husband's name would be on the business and solve her problems.  The one thing is that she wanted to make sure that she was going to keep the business and that her husband wouldn't sell it.  Abigail wanted to make sure she didn't loose the business but she didn't know what she was going to gain with the marriage.  Abigail and Zach have a lot of things go on during the beginning of their marriage.  You have to pick up the book to make sure that you find out what they encounter!!  I hope that you check out this book and the great series.  It was super fun to read and hard to put down.

More Then Meets the Eye Book Review

I got this on my reserve shelf and I was able to start this new series after finding the second book in the series first.  More Than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer was the first book in the new series.  I can't wait to find out what it is all about.

Many consider Evangeline Hamilton cursed. Orphaned at a young age and possessing a pair of mismatched eyes--one bright blue, the other dark brown--Eva has fought to find her way in a world that constantly rejects her. Yet the support of even one person can help overcome the world's judgments, and Eva has two--Seth and Zach, two former orphans she now counts as brothers.

Seeking justice against the man who stole his birthright and destroyed his family, Logan Fowler arrives in 1880s Pecan Gap, Texas, to confront Zach Hamilton, the hardened criminal responsible for his father's death. Only instead of finding a solitary ruthless gambler, he discovers a man not much older than himself with an unusual family. When Zach's sister, Evangeline, insists on dousing Logan with sunshine every time their paths cross, Logan finds his quest completely derailed. Who is truly responsible for his lost legacy, and will restoring the past satisfy if it means forfeiting a future with Evangeline?

This was an amazing book that drew me in straight from the beginning.  Evangeline is a cute young girl who was traveling across the country with her brother Hamilton.  They were on the orphan train after they lost their parents.  Evie has two different color eyes and in 1879, that was considered a sign of the devil by many.  Hamilton did not want to be adopted without his sister so he was trying to figure out what to do and he asked another orphan on the train for some help.  Zach was the angry boy on the train that scared away everyone who was trying to adopting them so Hamilton went to him for help.  He had amazing advice that worked and Evie, Hamilton, Zach and Seth weren't adopted so they were headed back on the train when tragity strikes.  The train derails and Hamilton is hurt saving Zach's life.  In the process, Zach promises to watch out for Evie and Seth which he takes to heart and the whole book is how Zach starts supporting tow kids when he was 13 years old.  You have to pick up the book to find out what happens when Zach takes on this challenge but I promise you won't be disappointed.  I hope that you check out this book and stay turned for the next book review!  I hope that you enjoy this wonderful series for yourself.

The Christmas Secret Book Review

I got this book off the shelf at the library. I was out of books to read at home so I was looking around for some authors that I knew I figured that I would bring home a few and see if I read any of them before.  The Christmas Secret: Will an 1880 Christmas Eve Wedding Be Cancelled by Revelations in an Old Diary? by Wanda E. Brunstetter was a great title to get me to stick it in my library bag.  I love Christmas stories and this short read was a perfect book to pick up after the last longer book that I read before. 

A Family Secret May Destroy a Couple’s Hope for Marriage

Beloved, bestselling author of Amish fiction, Wanda E. Brunstetter tells a heartrending story from 1880 Pennsylvania.  Elizabeth Canning discovers an awful secret in her deceased mother’s diary. Believing her chances for a happy marriage are spoiled, she leaves her fiancé a letter and flees town thinking all hope of a marriage to David is lost. Praying that distance will heal her broken heart, she takes refuge in her grandparents’ Pennsylvania home.

Anticipating a Christmas Eve wedding with Elizabeth, David Stinner is confused by her letter and desperate to find her. Can David root out the truth about the past and bring back his bride? Or is the truth destined to bring an ultimate end to their romance?

I thought that this was a great story with the pictures of the evergreen at the bottom of the pages, you were immediately brought into the season.  Very quickly you were pulled into the life of Elizabeth Canning who is excited in planning her wedding and the rest of her life with the man she loves, David.  Everything is ruined when she is cleaning the old cabin her family used to live in when she finds her aunts diary.  In the diary, it tells how Elizabeth's mother had a baby by another man.  The father that was mentioned was the same father of the man that Elizabeth was going to marry.  She realizes that she has to call off the wedding and run away.  She almost married her half brother!!  She trusts her best friend with the truth and goes to stay with family. After a little while there, she decides to go stay in a empty cabin of another family member just to get herself farther away.  David is busy trying to find out what is wrong and then prove that it isn't true.  You need to get the book to find out all of the things that happen along the way but it is a hard book to put down because you want to find out what is going to happen next.  I hope that you check it out for yourself.