Jam!! and coffee and books

I made jam last night!

We're not even huge jam/jelly eaters, but I had apricots, so why not?

I didn't make very much, because, like I said, we are not big jam/jelly eaters.

My friend Karen sent me a link to this recipe--it has wine in it, and since I probably drink more wine than eat  jam in my life, I thought it might be a jam I would love. 

It smelled SO GOOD, while cooking--it included a vanilla bean.

Anyway, I can't wait to try some on an English muffin when I get back from my walk. 

A hot, crispy English muffin with butter and apricot jam dripping down into all those tiny crevices.

YUM!!

I'll let you know how it is. 

While I am enjoying that English muffin, I just might start the 2nd in this series by Nalini Singh.

I read this first book  "Slave to Sensation" and I really liked it.

It is SOOOO out of my box---one of the main characters was a changeling and could--well, change.  Into a Panther.

Yes I know.  No snickers from the cheap seat okay?!

A Panther, yes.

And the other main character was a Psy---someone with no emotion. 

Or so we think.

AHa! or so we think.....

Anyway, it really was a fun read.

And  I really did buy the 2nd in the series...Visions of Heat.

I'm so out of my box here.

But I like it.

from Goodreads:

Nalini Singh dives into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind-and none of the heart.

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabilitation" - the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was...

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion - and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities - or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation.

Good Morning! and yes, I read Never Seduce a Scot

Good morning friends!  I was gone for so long that I have a lot of catching up to do (books, recipes, cooking, etc), but I have to tell you, it felt so good to visit a couple blogs and see what you've all been up to.

Also, it seems like once I've opened my mouth again, I can't shut up--as I posted 4 times yesterday!

I have a question...Western Family brand?  They don't have that on the East Coast, do they?  No, of course, they  don't---silly me, they even change the name of mayonnaise once it crosses the Rocky Mountains!

(Hellman's - Best Foods)

Now...on to my book....one of 8 that I have in my drafts.

Yes, I read a historical romance.

And I liked it!

Don't judge, all you haters.

It was fast, it was fun, it was a great mountain read.

(I go to the mountains, not the beach.  Sit by the river and have a cocktail and read)

From Goodreads:

Eveline Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level, intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival clan makes Graeme Montgomery her husband, Eveline accepts her duty—unprepared for the delights to come. Graeme is a rugged warrior with a voice so deep and powerful that his new bride can hear it, and hands and kisses so tender and skilled that he stirs her deepest passions.

Graeme is intrigued by the mysterious Eveline, whose silent lips are ripe with temptation and whose bright, intelligent eyes can see into his soul. As intimacy deepens, he learns her secret. But when clan rivalries and dark deeds threaten the wife he has only begun to cherish, the Scottish warrior will move heaven and earth to save the woman who has awakened his heart to the beautiful song of a rare and magical love.

From Me:

Scottish warriors--how can you not love them?

Nobody's Baby But Mine

I used to read romance novels way back in the day.

(in the late 1070's - OOPS typo, 1070 would have been REALLY way back  in the day.  How about late 1970's to late 1980's?)

I loved them.

Gothic

Regency

Revolutionary War

Civil War

Western

and on and on and on---

----but my reading evolved, as reading sometimes does and it has been years--over 2 decades-- since I've read a romance novel. 

Lately tho, I've listened to a few podcast on BookRiot and these very smart, bookish people are into all kinds of books, and they give book talks on the merits of reading ANYTHING and how it's okay to love what you love.

And while I would probably not go back to reading romance on a full time basis, I picked up a couple and read them last week.

And they were so much fun!

Why did I chose Nobody's Baby But Mine?  In the Podcast "Reading Lives"  Jeff O'Neal (O'Neil?) was interviewing  romance author Sarah Maclean, (no I haven't read her books, maybe I should) and when he asked her if she could recommend  one great book that was under the radar, what would it be,   she said  'Nobody's Baby But Mine'.  She never even hesitated.

 And wah-la,  that's how I ended up here today, with a couple of great Saturday reads. 

They're fast reads-- you really can't put them down once you start because you have to know what's going to happen!

From Goodreads:

Genius physics professor Dr. Jane Darlington desperately wants a baby. But finding a father won’t be easy. Jane’s super-intelligence made her feel like a freak when she was growing up, and she’s determined to spare her own child that suffering. Which means she must find someone very special to father her child. Someone who’s more comfortable working out his muscles than exercising his brain.

Cal Bonner, the Chicago Stars’ legendary quarterback, seems like the perfect choice. But his champion good looks and down-home ways are deceiving. Dr. Jane is about to learn a little too late that this good ol’ boy is a lot smarter than he lets on—and he’s not about to be used and abandoned by a brainy, baby-mad schemer.

From Me:

It was a fun read--I really enjoyed it.

From Goodreads:

A Desperate Young Mother

Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse. With an empty wallet, a car's that's spilling smoke, and a five-year-old son to support, she's come home to a town that hates her. But this determined young widow with a scandalous past has learned how to be a fighter. And she'll do anything to keep her child safe—even take on. . .

A man With No Heart

Gabe Bonner wants to be left alone, especially by the beautiful outcast who's invaded his property. She has a ton of attitude, a talent for trouble, and a child who brings back bad memories. Yet Rachel's feisty spirit might just be heaven-sent to save a tough, stubborn man.

Dare To Dream

Welcome to Salvation, North Carolina—where a man who's forgotten what tenderness means meets a woman with nothing to lose. here two endearing lovers will set off on a funny, touching journey of the heart. . .to a place where dreams just might come true.

From Me:

I Loved this one!

I will just unabashedly say that.