Coffee Time Romance & More: Coffee Thoughts the Book Blog » maura

Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook, by Kathleen King

maura — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:32:24 +0000

There is a little bakery not too far from here in the village of Southampton, NY that has the most awesome cookies that I have ever eaten. Particularly the chocolate chip ones. They are available through most of the northeast, but better at home. The cupcakes and other stuff are delicious also.

I was so excited when she decided to write a cookbook and my autographed copy never leaves the house. The recipes are not hard to follow and the chocolate chip cookies taste almost as good as Kathleen’s. There are even a few healthy recipes in there. I am not a baker, but this book made me try a few new things and all of them turned out great.

The Irish Pub Cookbook, by Margaret Johnson

maura — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:32:18 +0000

I love potato leek soup. I have about six recipes and am always looking for a better one. This book has the best one yet. It is by no means low fat, but after trying it no less than six of my co workers asked for the recipe, the rest just wanted more soup. That is by no means the only reason I love this book. There are great recipes for soups, stews, starters, main courses and desserts. There are also beautiful pictures of Irish pubs throughout the country and I have even been to a few of them!

So Into You, by Sandra Hill

maura — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:36:21 +0000

I was surprised to read that the woman who writes such funny and sexy romances once considered herself serious and shy. I guess it is true what they say about the quiet ones. She has always loved to write, from the essays assigned in school to the wonderful books we can’t get enough of. She is a graduate of Penn State and a former journalist. She is married to Robert and they have four sons and three grandchildren as well as some pets. I know how it feels to have a German Shepherd as big as a horse. Her writing is always full of humor and sizzling love scenes and I always find myself half in love with her heroes at the end of each story. I love the way her characters always triumph over life’s trials with love and humor and I always look forward to the next novel with anticipation.

I just love this series and am so happy to read another one. Each book just keeps getting better and better, and I will never get tired of Ms. Hill’s Cajun country and its unique inhabitants. Angel and Grace are not members of the family or native to the area, but it is soon apparent that they have been adopted by the family and get roped into all of the bizarre adventures that surround the nonagenarian and her friends and family. The subplots of the Duval family and Andrea Fletcher add much to the story and it is fun to read about the heroes and heroines of the previous books. Thank goodness for big families, it looks like this series will be going on for a while.

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Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta Chase

maura — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:21:46 +0000

Loretta Chase is a New England native who majored in English at Clark University. She says that no one paid her to write until she graduated and her stint as a corporate video writer led to her meeting the future Mr. Chase. Thank goodness for all of us readers that she actually used her degree to write the great historical romances that I can’t get enough of. She has a way of adding humor and unique situations to her books that make them stand out every time. She has won many awards including the RITA and says that writing is almost as good a job as being an English Major.

I just loved this book. As usual, Ms. Chase has put her own original spin on the Regency Era Historical Romance. The heroine has spent the last twelve years in a harem. This has changed her in many ways, but she is still the strong-willed Original that Lucien remembers. Lucien’s care-for-nothing ways in a large part originated in her disappearance, so the love story is inevitable and so enjoyable to read. The senior servants’ animosity, theft, and attempted revenge makes a pretty exciting subplot to the story. The author tells a story with humor, romance and suspense making it impossible to put down until the last page. I just could not get enough of the two main characters.

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Stephanie Laurens Cynsters and Bastion Series

maura — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:59:49 +0000

Hi All,

I started out reading Regencies when I was in high school, but the author that really caught my attention was Stephanie Laurens with her excellent Devil’s Bride. I currently have every one of the Cynster books and reread them often. The Bar Cynster is full of hot alpha men and the stories are exciting as well as having scorching love scenes. The Bastion Series, sequels to the equally great Captain Jack’s Woman are almost as good and I can’t wait for the last one to come out in September!

Maura

Julia Quinn

maura — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:59:26 +0000

I honestly can say that I love all of this author’s books, but I especially love the Bridgerton series! Her characters are real and she tells her stories with humor and empathy for those that are less than perfect.

The Trouble With Valentine’s Day, by Rachel Gibson

maura — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:20:49 +0000

Finally a book with Valentine in the title. It is hard to single out one of this author’s books over the others because they all combine fun and romance so well. In this story, Kate a PI on hiatus-long story why-is on her way to her grandfather’s home in Gospel Idaho. She makes a stop in Sun Valley to pick up a handsome guy for an out of character one night stand. That Guy is Rob Sutter, ex hockey player and owner of Gospel’s sporting goods store. So much for an anonymous pickup hunh? The fun starts when they meet up again and she tries to convince him she isn’t a slut, while the matchmakers of Gospel get busy. This is a fun read for the holiday!!!

Beneath a Rising Moon by Keri Arthur

maura — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:20:27 +0000

I am now a HUGE fan of werewolf romances and the one that set me on the path is this one. It is one of Keri’s older books from Imajinn, before her very successful Riley Jensen series. Neva and Duncan are one very hot couple both in and out of their fur. It is a short work and not as involved as the newer books but well worth reading.

Devil’s Bride, by Stephanie Laurens

maura — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:21:27 +0000

Since we are talking about books about romance and Valentine’s Day today, I thought I would mention the book that got me started reading romance again. I had read alot in high school, but college and after I mostly stuck to non fiction and mysteries until I picked this one up, to this day I have no idea where. Devil and Honoria’s story hooked me right from the beginning and the author added elements of mystery and suspense that kept me reading. And all this from a story in which the hero never actually “tells” the heroine that he loves her. After this, I went out and got all of her backlist items and never miss a new book. Some of them come close, but Devil’s Bride is my favorite. I am now on my third copy. I really should try to get a hard cover version.

Living With the Dead, by Kelley Armstrong

maura — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:13:51 +0000

Kelley Armstrong, author of the Otherworld series is a married mother of three who lives in rural Ontario, Canada. She has a degree in Psychology and another in computer programming and is at present a full time mother and writer. She thinks that her bio makes her sound boring, but any reader of her books knows that someone with her imagination and creativity is anything but. I have been a fan of the series since the first one. My copy of Bitten has been worn out and replaced to my keeper shelf and none of the subsequent novels have disappointed me one bit.

Ms. Armstrong has added another strong novel to the series here. Hope and Karl have appeared in previous stories and their characters have grown. Robyn is a conservative character with a lot of common sense thrown into a situation that she has no idea how to deal with, and Finn finds that he is not the only one with unusual talents. Adele and the kumpania of clairvoyants are positively creepy, a sociopath with paranormal talents and a cult-like community of others. The plot is fast-moving and told in three points of view, very helpful in this case. It stands alone well, but reading the other books would be helpful as well as very enjoyable. This is one paranormal not to be missed.

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All I Want For Christmas is a Vampire, by Kerrelyn Sparks

maura — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:11:36 +0000

The first book of this series was Borders bestselling debut Romance of 2005 and the others have been featured and USA Today’s bestseller’s list. The combination of vampires, romance, and humor is hard to beat. She lives in the Greater Houston area with her husband and children. I have been a longtime fan of this author’s work, her sense of humor is as irresistible as her vampires, and her website lists CTRR as one of her favorite review sites so she has good taste also.

This book is absolutely hilarious at times, especially in regards to Ian’s adventure in online dating. The women he attracts are both aggressive and bizarre, and that only includes the human ones, the vampires are in another league. Vanda’s club, The Horny Devils, is truly unique, complete with vampire strippers and former harem members working the bar. There is more to this story than a vampire’s adventures in dating. Sabrina’s plight and Toni’s efforts to free her have some hair raising moments, as do the frequent attacks by the Malcontents in their effort to get the Stay Awake formula. The characters are vividly written and one particular little boy will steal your heart as well as each and every scene he is in.

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