Sexy dragons are HOT

Stig is a dragon but has a human body most of the time. During certain phases, his body morphed into the dragon form. In an effort to control his inner beast, he chains himself in his basement. Cora is the little sister to Stig’s best friend. Although his friend died, Stig still considers Cora to be off limits for a number of reasons.

With her life in danger because of poor decision making on her part, Cora needs Stig’s help and hides out at his remotely located house. She feels safe with Stig. He is the strong silent loner type. While she is attracted to him, she is also frustrated because she seems to be stuck in the friend zone as his best friend’s “little sister”. Meanwhile, Stig is concerned that having Cora in close proximity will test the boundaries of his human control over his inner beast. It seems to be harder and harder to convince his subconscious that getting with Cora is a bad idea.

I loved this book. It was a steamy novella. The story was full of tastefully done love scenes, real and dream sequenced. That was to be expected considering Cora has the hots for him for years and Stig was in beast mode. The novel’s cover created an expectation that the story delivered (I’m a sucker for six pack abs—yum).

Even though it seems to be the popular thing, I do not like any paranormal story with demons, witches, vampires or werewolves. To me, this story’s genre is more of a fantasy romance than paranormal. That being said, I have not read many romances that deal with other worldly creatures because they can be cheesy. I read an alien-woman romance a while back, and it was painful how corny it was. But I digress… I was thoroughly entertained by this story because of the characters and their love connection. Plus, the story was fun.

I totally recommend Dead Sexy Dragon if you want something outside of the normal romance or if you like fantasy romance. I cannot wait to read more dragon series books from this author.

I received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Best breakfast in Atlanta goes to Ria’s Bluebird Diner

Aug12

Google “best breakfast in Atlanta” and one of the top results will probably be Ria’s Bluebird. This diner in Atlanta was featured on a Travel network show about breakfast places. This restaurant opens 8am-3pm. They do not accept reservations. When you arrive, you sign in and wait outside until your name is called.

The smaller the group the better chance you have of a short wait. When we went, it was hubby and I, so our wait was about 20 minutes.

I ordered the special: almond crusted French toast stuffed with cream cheese sweetened with local honey served with warm maple syrup on the side. This was the best French toast I have ever eaten. Everything about this plate equaled perfection. To drink, I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice. You cannot beat fresh squeezed OJ.

Words that come to mind to describe this restaurant: eclectic, artsy, trendy

The décor has a retro vibe to it. The wait staff is friendly but no nonsense. They make some small talk, but keep it moving because they have a lot of tables to serve and a lot of orders to get to hungry people.

Hipsters were crowding the parking lot waiting for tables in the packed restaurant. Sometimes a restaurant becomes a trendy place to eat but the food is mediocre at best. In the case of Ria’s Bluebird, the food lives up to the hype. I can see why they were featured on TV and are known for have the best breakfast in ATL.

I recommend getting there early and ordering the special (especially if it is almond crusted stuffed French toast). Leave with a happy belly and satisfied smile.

I don’t recommend rebound romances in real life

Aug9

The Rebound Guy (Harlequin Kiss) ♥♥♥

The premise of this story is that a cancer survivor whose ex-husband was a philanderer falls for a guy who is a known player. Kelly is not looking for a relationship because she knows how much she can be hurt. Jason is of the opinion that life is a game. Or at least that is the way it seems from the way he treats his women. While she is trying to protect herself from his charms, he is struggling not to flirt openly with her.

Despite all that she has went through by surviving cancer and getting over the fact that her first husband left her in her moment of need, she still tries to remain positive. And this is part of the reason she entertains a possible fling because her well-intentioned sister-in-law wants her to have a little fun. But this does not mean that she’s going to leave herself open for another man to break her heart. Jason has to convince Kelly that he is worthy of the risk. Because of the seeming similarities between him and her ex-husband, she had every right to be cautious. I was glad she was suspicious of him from the beginning.

For part of the book, Jason had several affairs with nameless women while he casually flirted with her as they worked together. That did little to engender me to his character. Why should love come easy for him? He always had been love-them-and-leave-them. Now that he wants a relationship, everything is supposed to fall into place? I do not think so.

Overall, it was an okay story. For most of the book I did not like Jason too much. I am not used to reading book in which the hero is sleeping around in the time he is talking to his love interest. I have a weird morality that guides what is acceptable behavior for romance novel heroes and heroines. For me, his behavior: NOT ACCEPTABLE. In contrast, I thought that Kelly deserved happiness in her life. I was rooting for her happy ending since she had a hard life with more than her fair share of heartbreak.

I recommend The Rebound Guy (Harlequin Kiss) if you are looking for something to read during a relaxing afternoon or vacation. The book can be finished in a couple of hours.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Its summertime with fried green tomatoes!

Aug6

This is more of a review of my own cooking than anything else. Plus I wanted to share with the blogosphere.

I made fried green tomatoes for the first time in my life. It was recently that I actually tried fried green tomatoes (FGT) and realized that I liked them. I think FGT is one of those Southern style foods that is probably a staple in many households during the summer months. Growing up with an British-bred mother, I was more likely to eat Shepherd’s pie. ***sighing fondly to myself***

Since we have a large garden this year with about 10 different varieties of tomatoes, I was excited for the possibility to be able to make FGT myself. I figured that it could not be too hard. I searched for perfect, plump tomatoes from our bountiful, producing garden. Hubby is a great cultivator of all things green. If I was more organized, I would know the variety of tomato used. But, the operative word in that sentence was "IF".

In any case, I searched the web for suitable recipes that looked easy enough. From those recipe websites, I realized that the common theme was seasoned flour, egg dip, and cornmeal/breadcrumb mixture.
Since I only measure when I am baking, there are no fixed measurements in my recipe of sorts for FGT.

I cut the tomatoes into thick slices and sprinkled with salt. I let that sit while I prepped the rest of the ingredients.
On a plate, I mixed a few spoons of all-purpose flour with a generous heaping of Old Bay (any season salt will do).

In a bowl, I beat one large egg (fresh from our chickens, of course) with a little water (maybe couple tablespoons).
On another plate, I mixed a few spoons of fine white cornmeal with finely crushed Ritz crackers.
In my cast iron skillet, I heated vegetable oil about half an inch deep. Stove temperature should be about mid-range. If 1 is the coldest and 10 is the hottest, set between 5 and 6.
I dredged my tomatoes in the flour, egg dip, and cornmeal mixture and then put into the skillet for a few minutes per side.
Once the FGT were fully cooked, I placed on a rack to drain excess oil and lightly salted.

I was so surprised how good they were! Even though there are several steps, the preparation is simple.
The trick is not to have the oil too hot. Otherwise the outside will burn and the inside will still be raw. The inside should be firm but tender. And I like for the outer crust to be crunchy and slightly salty.

If you have never had a fried green tomato, it is worth trying. I will be doing this again before all our tomatoes ripen and we have Insalata Caprese (salad made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil).

Another fine Westmoreland romance!

Jul30

Canyon (The Westmorelands) – another Westmoreland romance!!! ♥♥♥♥

Canyon is an attorney that is determined to plead his case with his ex-girlfriend Keisha. She caught him in a compromising (very damning) situation with her best friend and was convinced that he was cheating on her. Canyon knows he was not cheating and he wants her to see reason.

Keisha knows what she saw and accepted her friend’s tearful apology. However, she will not tolerate being in love with a man who has been unfaithful. Her distrustful attitude towards men has a lot to do with the grudge she hold against her father for not acknowledging her when her mother told him about the pregnancy with Keisha. To her, it seems that men in her life continue to disappoint her.

Although Canyon would like to try to hate Keisha for not believing him, he cannot. He loved her then and still loves her. If only he could convince her to take him at his word. At some point in the story, I got the impression that he would probably still accept her even if she had those doubts about him. That is not the optimum way he wants the relationship to go, but he was borderline desperate to have her in his life. The attorney in him could not give up on the relationship without a giving closing arguments to wrap up his case.

All the while, Keisha is struggling with her own questions “What is truth?” “Could he be telling the truth?” “If he is, did she overreact?” “Could they have a future together anyway?”

I loved Canyon and tolerated Keisha. Canyon was an overall good guy. Keisha had so many trust issues that she was a little bitter. She is holding so many grudges that it colors her judgment. She made some bad decisions because of that but I am glad that she acknowledged her faults in the end.

Seriousness aside, there is also a lot of funny moments and conversation that add depth to the characters’ personality. The funniest part of this book to me was part where Canyon was trying to explain why following Keisha was not stalking. I was laughing out loud because he was bordering on creeper and trying to justify why it was a good idea. His brothers/cousins/friends were sure he was going to end up in jail. The only reason why I did not get annoyed (because I do not think any guy should force himself on a woman for the sake of a relationship) was that he prevented a crime from being committed and probably saved her life. But he was walking a fine line for a minute there.

I am not usually one to read so many books from the same series. Nevertheless, I have read many of the Westmoreland, Madaris, and Steele series books (15 so far) because Brenda Jackson rarely disappoints with the storyline. My favorite series is Westmoreland. The plots are variations on the same type of scenario but each has its own special twists that keep me entertained. I enjoy all of the books in this series, but I especially like it when the couple has history. The love-at-first-sight scenario can get played out. As in the case with Canyon (The Westmorelands), when the couple has history, one or both of the main characters have trust issues. Good thing there are enough Westmoreland family members around to talk logic and reason into them.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.