A Night To Surrender by Tessa Dare

I added A Night To Surender to my library queue after finding it on a list of good historical romances. I'm glad I did because it was just the kind of romance I like. Smart men and women, great dialogue, and plenty of steamy scenes.

Victor Bramwell is a solider. After an injury, his superiors are reluctant to let him lead an army. But that's all Bram knows how to do. Sir Finch is his last hope. So Bram brings his wayward cousin and his friend, Thorne, to Spindle Cove.

Susanna Finch has built a home for herself and other women like her. Spindle Cove a respite for women who don't fit in, shy maidens, abandoned wives, and girls who fall in love with the wrong men. Susanna gives these women a freedom, freedom to be who they are, freedom to pursue their dreams. Susanna thinks that she has all she could want until she meets Bram.

I adored both Susanna and Bram. They are both headstrong and think they have all they want. Bram thinks the army is the only place he could belong. Susan thinks marriage means giving up who she is. Both are wrong and it was delightful to watch them realize how wrong they were.

Dare also introduces several other characters in Spindle Cove which I know will be the subjects of her later books. I'm looking forward to the next one, A Week To Be Wicked, about Minerva, the geologist. Rocks can be sexy :) Yay for finding a sexy new to me series. Others who shared their thoughts on A Night To Surrender:  The Happily Ever After..., Not Another Romance Blog, Good Books Good Wine, and Reading The Paranormal.
This is my fifth read for the Historical Reading Challenge.

And my second read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

What To Eat This Week

Life interfered with the meal plans this week. On Tuesday my car died. It was in the shop for 3 days. Everything got a little out of whack. We still ate at home but what I made changed a little as I didn't have access to a car. Car's back at home and hopefully this week will be more on track.

Breakfasts: Cereal for Tai and Cloud bread with Paleo strawberry jam for me.

Lunches: Turkey sandwiches and leftovers

Dinners:

Monday: Thai Red Curry Slaw

Tuesday: Take out

Wednesday: Cobb Salad

Thursday: Take out

Friday: Happy 4th of July. Potluck with friends.

Saturday: Slow Cooker Middle Eastern Garlic Chicken on a salad

Sunday: Thai Turkey Zucchini meatballs over pasta or mashed cauliflower

What's on your menu this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

No loot for me this week! My car died last night before I could get to the library. I'm hoping to have it back soon. I have a huge stack of books that need to go back to the library.

Anyhoo, what did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday-Odin's Ravens by KL Armstrong and MA Marr

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"A few moments later, they walked up to a pavilion that looked like it belonged at any number of community parks-at least it did until Fen looked closer and saw that the poles supporting the roof appeared to be made of massive bones. 'Maybe that's what happens to Jotunn who misbehave,' he murmured to Laurie with a nod at the enormous bones."
pg. 30 of KL Armstrong and MA Marr's Odin's Ravens

Party In My Pants

This post is filled with TMI.

Several months ago, I read about Party in My Pants on an Offbeat Home post. I'd been reading a lot about chlorine in pads and how generally not the best thing for your lady garden. I switched to chlorine free pads but they were expensive and hard to locate. I had good luck with the Whole Foods brand but sometimes they were out and it wasn't always convenient to head to Whole Foods. Party In My Pants stuck in the back of my mind. But I felt that was a lot of money to spend on pads and held off buying them.

Fast forward several months and I had a small problem in my lady garden. I decided that it was time to bit the bullet and buy some cloth pads. My health was worth me spending a little more on myself. So I purchased several cloth pads from Party In My Pants. Mostly a mix of Luxe Liners and Super Overnight Pads. I bought them all in cotton with the optional snap.

The Luxe Liners

The optional snap is great for narrower panties like bikinis and boy shorts. I love the patterns.

The Super Overnight Pad

I was super impressed with how quickly they shipped. I thought it would be at least a week for me to get them but they came 2 business days after ordering. 

I'm happy with my purchase and plan to buy more cloth pads in the future.

Have you ever bought cloth pads?

Party in My Pants didn't pay me to say these nice things about them. In fact they don't know me. I bought these pads with my own money. Just a happy customer. 

What To Eat This Week

We mostly followed our meal plan last week. It should be in the 70's this week so not too hot to cook. I went to Costco over the weekend and stocked up on shrimp and their rotisserie chicken. Yum.

Breakfasts: Cereal for Tai and the same yogurt, fruit and granola for me.

Lunches: Leftovers and roasted chicken.

Dinners:

Monday: Baked salmon with mashed cauliflower

Tuesday: Takeout

Wednesday: Juicy Lucys with bacon and sweet potato fries

Thursday: Takeout

Friday: Paleo Bang Bang Shrimp with kale salad

Saturday: Giant Stuffed Mushrooms with roasted brussel sprouts

Sunday: Grilled chicken with quinoa and roasted veggie salad

What's on your menu this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

I went to pick up one book on hold at the library and spent a few minutes looking at the shelves. I walked out with a lot more than one book.

Once Upon A Kiss

Linda posted about this one. It sounded so sweet. I immediately added it to my library queue.

Just One Day

I've heard so many good this about Just One Day. I decided to give it a try.

Tempting Fate

I haven't read Jane Green in years. But the cover on this one caught my eye.

Seraphina

Another one I've heard good things about.

What did you get this week? Claire's got Mr. Linky.

Teaser Tuesday-Everlasting Enchantment by Kathryne Kennedy

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Several women nodded their heads, although a few looked frightened. Millicent mimicked the expression of fear while her mind calculated with truly frightening intensity."

pg 17 Everlasting Enchantment by Kathryne Kennedy

What To Eat This Week

Good week last week. We were mostly on track.

Breakfasts: Cereal for Tai. Granola, yogurt, and fruit for me.

Lunches: Leftovers

Dinners:

Monday: Steak fajitas with homemade guacamole and refried beans

Tuesday: Take out

Wednesday: Pizza with salads

Thursday: Take out

Friday: Hot dogs with salads

Saturday: Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli bake with a salad

Sunday: Dinner out with Taiki

What's on your menu this week?

Beauty Army

For my birthday, Marta gave me a box of beauty samples from Beauty Army. Once I signed on to the website, I was asked a series of questions about my skin type and hair. Then I got to choose my samples. A few days later my box arrived.

Pretty box!

No 7 night and day serums (I'm looking forward to trying those) and Miracle Skin Transformer Acne Control is the smaller package. 

The perfume (lili) is very floral with a hint of musk. I like it. TheraBreath mouthwash and fresh breath lozenges are in the bag.

The top two products are  body wash and a moisturizer from Michael Todd Organics. There are 3 teas from Mighty Leaf (Orange Dulce, Organic Spring Jasmine, and Chamomile Citrus).

Overall a good mix of products. Thank you, Marta, for the lovely birthday gift!

Have you tried Beauty Army?

Victorian Secrets by Sarah A Chrisman

I picked up Victorian Secrets after the author made an appearance at my local library. I had missed her presentation but I was intrigued by her book. I've long been interested in corsets so I was interested to hear about how the corset affected Chrisman. While I enjoyed her research, I couldn't identify with Chrisman. Ultimately, her attitude put me off the book considerably.

For her 29th birthday, Sarah's husband purchases her a corset. Sarah had asked him not to buy her a corset but he did anyway. He chooses a beautiful pre-made corset that Sarah decides to try. That becomes the first of several corset Sarah buys. Sarah has always been interested in Victorian clothing and has several authentically vintage items. Sarah decides to wear her corset all the time and Victorian Secrets is the story of the first year or so of her wearing the corset.

Both Sarah and her husband, Gabriel, collect and wear Victorian clothing. They catch a lot of heat from others in their community about wearing authentic clothing and not replicas. At first I could see why would want to wear pieces of history but when Sarah's antique dress gets caught on a bus, I can see why you might not want to wear the real thing in public. Sarah and Gabriel are disdainful to those who don't wear authentic pieces. Actually, they are disdainful to many other people (overweight people, those who have cell phones, those who wear polyester, shop at Walmart to name a few). While this was a memoir, I had to question why Sarah would include these conversations. They certainly didn't make her more relatable to me.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this memoir to someone who was interested in corset wearing. I imagine there are better resources out there. Although, I do think Sarah's journey from not wearing a corset to transforming her waist to 22 inches was interesting as well as the vanity that came with it. Others who shared their thoughts on Victorian Secrets: Historiann, Not An Odalisque, and The Lingerie Addict.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.


Just a couple this week. I am reading more and posting more reviews. Yay!

A Night To Surrender

After reading a lot of nonfiction, a good romance sounded perfect.

Wild Life

Wild Life was featured on a list of PNW writers. I decided to check it out. 

What did you get this week? Share below!

Teaser Tuesday-Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"The oppressive heat wave followed them as they left Chicago, and it got worse across the Great Plains, clinging to their skin along with the dust. Although transportation and safety had improved since the opening of the West, and there were settlements and farms along the railway, the scenry, if anything, was starker than ever."
pg 7 Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

I don't remember how I heard about Better Off Friends but I'm glad I did. It's a sweet book about friendship and first love.

Macallan is about to start seventh grade. She's looking forward to the routine. But she's less then thrilled when she's asked to show Levi, the new kid around. Levi has long blond hair and doesn't seem to be very interesting until Levi and Macallan discover they love the same quirky British tv show. Then they become instant friends. Neither Macallan nor Levi think it's odd that they become best friends even if they aren't the same gender.

Better Off Friends is told in an alternating format. So Macallan has a chapter, then Levi. They both have these adorable side conversations in the middle of the chapters. We start off with eleven year olds and quickly move to Macallan and Levi being 16, 17. My only gripe with Better Off Friends was that their conversations seemed to be too adult for kids. Also the transitions between them being 11 year olds then going to high school were a bit muddy for me at times.

But I loved both Macallan and Levi. Levi's a fish of water. Wisconsin is a long way from California. He obviously misses California but sees Wisconsin as a fresh start, a place to be different. Macallan's had her share of tragedy. Levi likes her for her, not because her mom died. I liked how Eulberg examined the male/female friendship. Levi and Macallan wanted to be there for each other despite the awkwardness sometimes. Almost like a younger when Harry Met Sally.

I couldn't put Better Off Friends down. I enjoyed it very much and I will be looking for more books by Eulberg. Others who shared their thoughts about Better Off Friends: Nerdy Book Club, Alexa Loves Books, The Book Scout, and Confessions of A Book Addict.

What To Eat This Week

I'm hoping for some cooler temps this week. It's hard being in the kitchen when it's so hot.

Breakfast: Waffles. Tai and I are both taking waffles this week. I like to top mine with peanut butter.

Lunches: Cheeseburgers and leftovers.

Dinners:

Monday: Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps with kale salad

Tuesday: Take out

Wednesday: Baked salmon with butternut squash soup

Thursday: Take out

Friday: Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp with baked zucchini spears

Saturday: Baked Salmon with salad

Sunday: Prime rib with mashed sweet potatoes

What's on your menu this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

A bunch of great books this week.

We Were Liars 

I've heard nothing but good things about We Were Liars. Very excited for this one.

These Broken Stars

The gorgeous cover and the positive reviews I've been reading made it super easy to grab off the shelf.

The One

I'm so excited to finish America's story and find out who she chooses. Yay!

Claire's got the linky this week. Share what you got there.

Teaser Tuesday-Victorian Secrets by Sarah A Chrisman

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I had never learned to walk in any sort of high heel (the only pair I had ever owned was secondhand with broken straps, for playing dress, when I was five), but from the moment I saw those boots, I wanted them as I had wanted no other footwear in my life. Much to my chagrin, I could not afford those lovelies in the Angers shop, but the yearning persisted, and now, years later, I finally had a pair."

pg 22 Victorian Secrets by Sarah Chrisman

May Reading Tally

The Ocean At The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Enchanting The Beast by Kathryne Kennedy

Mercury by Hope Larson

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Caffeinated by Murray Carpenter

Glory vol 1 by Joe Keatinge

Hidden by Loïc Dauvillier

Only eight read this month. I was glad to finish The Ocean At The End of The Lane. I'd been listening to it for ages. 

Stats:

Romance Reading Challenge This month: 3 (What I Thought Was True, Enchanting The Beast, and The Winter Rose) YTD: 9

Historical Reading Challenge  This month: 1 ( The Winter Rose) YTD: 5

What's In A Name Challenge This month: 0 (none this month) YTD: 3

Yearly Total: 58

What To Eat This Week

It didn't feel like I cooked at all last week. I'm ok with it. Especially as it gets warmer, I will be cooking less and less. By fall, I'll be itching to cook a lot.

Breakfasts: Tai's still taking cereal. I'll be taking oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit.

Lunches: Chicken Teriyaki and leftovers.

Dinners:

Monday: Juicy Lucys with sweet potato fries

Tuesday: Takeout

Wednesday: Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp with a salad

Thursday: Take Out

Friday: Pizzas and salad

Saturday: Friend's birthday dinner

Sunday: Beef Stroganoff with salad

What's on your menu this week?