Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

THE PERFECT EGG by Teri Lyn Fisher & Jenny Park

June 27, 2015

Click to purchase

A Fresh Take on Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Eggs, eggs, eggs, and more eggs. Obviously you must like eggs for this cookbook to be in any way appealing. It’s a good thing, then, that we do really like eggs in my household.

Bloggers Terry Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park caught my eye quite some time ago with their fabulous Spoon Fork Bacon blog. Their quirky dishes and fabulous photography are enough to tempt any foodie’s palate and their instructions are easy to follow and explanatory enough for even a less confident home cook. All of this carries over into their latest cookbook.

They begin with basics – egg grading and packaging, and techniques for cooking eggs (frying, poaching, boiling, etc). In other words everything you need to move on to the actual recipes.

While the book does include plenty of standards – deviled eggs, egg salad, and omelets – the authors also focus on ethnic egg dishes appropriate for meals throughout the day. Adventurous eaters can try their hand at Khai Yat Sai – a Thai omelet with a savory pork filling spiked with fish sauce (excellent with Sriracha) -, a Japanese egg custard called Chawanmushi, and Korean bibimbap.

The Perfect Egg is my favorite new cookbook hands down and one I definitely recommend.

6/15 Becky LeJeune

THE PERFECT EGG by Teri Lyn Fisher & Jenny Park. Ten Speed Press (March 3, 2015). ISBN 978-1607746256. 176p.

Comments Off on THE PERFECT EGG by Teri Lyn Fisher & Jenny Park | Book Reviews, Cookbook, Nonfiction | Tagged: Mystery | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

BEAUTIFUL DAY by Elin Hilderbrand

June 25, 2015

Click to purchase

Narrated by Therese Plummer

I am (sort of) patiently waiting for the next Diana Gabaldon book on CD (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) to come in from the library, so I’m listening to other things while I wait. I really like Elin Hilderbrand’s books, at least the few I’ve read so far, so when this audio book became available, I grabbed it.

It is a heart-tugger for sure. The “beautiful day” in question is Jenna’s wedding day. The wedding is set at her family’s home on Nantucket, and the story involves everyone in the family.

Her mother Beth died while Jenna was in college, and she took off a semester to stay home with her. Beth left her a wedding notebook, basically a long letter to Jenna describing every detail of the wedding she would not be around to take part in. So of course, Jenna considers every word to be gospel, from the grassy green bridesmaids dresses to their dyed to match shoes.

Jenna is the youngest of four and the older three are much older, and therefore very close. The oldest is Margaux, whom Beth has decreed should be the maid of honor. Margaux has lots of drama in her life. She is a single mom, having divorced her surf bum of a husband, and is currently involved in a secret relationship with her father’s law partner, a man 30 years older than she.

Nick is single and a player, but nonetheless things get weird when he starts sleeping with Finn, Jenna’s best friend and one of the bridesmaids – who happens to be married but her husband is in Vegas at a bachelor party. The other brother is happily married with kids. They all squish into the Nantucket beach house they summered in all their lives and the drama begins.

There is more drama with Stuart, the groom. His mother Ann is the state senator from North Carolina and his father had left her for another woman several years earlier. They had a child together, but divorced soon after and his parents were married once again. Since his half-brother is in the wedding party, Ann decides to invite her husband’s ex, much to his disappointment. In reality, Ann simply wants to gloat that she got her husband back but of course that plan doesn’t work out exactly the way she wants it to.

I am a hopeless romantic and cry at everything wedding related; TV commercials, crazy wedding dances gone viral, and especially books like this one. I welled up on several occasions, not really a great thing to do while driving!

So much happens over this wedding weekend that the pages just fly by – or they would had I read it. Instead, I listened to it and while I really enjoyed the story, I did not enjoy the reader. I haven’t listened to enough audio books to pinpoint exactly what the problem is, so I’m just throwing that out there. I wished I would have read it instead of listening to it.

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BEAUTIFUL DAY by Elin Hilderbrand. Back Bay Books (March 4, 2014). ISBN 978-0316099769. 432p.

Book on CD

Downloadable audio book (Audible.com)

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Romantic Suspense | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA COOKBOOK ed., Kate White

June 24, 2015

Click to purchase

Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For

Ever wonder what some of your favorite mystery writers (and characters) cook and eat? Well now you can find out. The Mystery Writers of America have put together a cookbook showcasing family recipes and dishes inspired by their books.

The selection includes breakfasts, drinks, entrees, and everything in between. Recipes range from fun entries such as Detective Palace’s Three-Egg Omelet (from Ben H. Winters’s The Last Policeman) and Kinsey Millhone’s Famous Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwich (courtesy of Sue Grafton) to Lee Child’s somewhat tongue in cheek Coffee, Pot of One and Diane Mott Davidson’s updated Fa-La-La Fruitcake Cookies. Fans of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series can try Madame Benoîts’ Tourtière, which will make the perfect accompaniment to her upcoming eleventh installment, The Nature of the Beast, and I can personally attest to the fact that Laura Lippman’s Aunt Effie’s Salmon Ball and Susan M. Boyer’s Mamma’s Pimento Cheese both make great snacks for reading their respective series.

These are not gourmet dishes, for the most part, and they do run the gamut from simple to somewhat involved but The Mystery Writer’s of America Cookbook does make for a great addition to any food loving mystery fan’s collection.

6/15 Becky LeJeune

THE MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA COOKBOOK ed., Kate White. Quirk Books (March 24, 2015). ISBN 978-1594747571. 176p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Cookbook, Nonfiction | Tagged: Mystery | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE by Eloisa James

June 23, 2015

Desperate Duchesses (Book 8)

Eloisa James is my favorite romance writer. She does historical romance, this one set in late 18th century England.

Fifteen-year-old Emilia (Mia) Carrington is in love with her father’s paramour’s son, Vander, the future Duke of Pindar. In her adolescent fantasy, she writes an incredibly sappy love poem that her father decides to share with the boy’s mother. The poem goes further than that, and Mia overhears Vander say some spurious things about her and the poem with his friends.

Fast forward several years and Mia is engaged to be married, but her fiancé strands her at the alter. Mia has lost her parents and her brother, and is guardian to her nephew but her Uncle wants to assume that guardianship and all the wealth that comes with it. The terms of her brother’s will state that she must be married within a year of his death or everything reverts to the Uncle.

Desperate, Mia blackmails Vander into marrying her. He thinks it’s because she is still in love with him and he decides teach her a lesson. He agrees to marry her but makes her sign a contract that he will only bed her four times a year and she must beg for it. And so the games begin until Mia realizes that she really is still in love with him and he slowly understands that he feels more than lust for her.

This is another wonderful romance, filled with likeable characters, enough drama to make the pages fly by and as always, lots of passion. I loved it.

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE by Eloisa James. Avon (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0062223913. 384p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

STYX & STONE by James W. Ziskin

June 22, 2015

Click to purchase

An Ellie Stone Mystery

Ellie Stone and her father have barely spoken since the death of Ellie’s mother. But when Ellie receives word that her father has been attacked and is hanging on by a bare thread, she drops everything to return to him.

It’s 1960. Ellie’s father is a renowned scholar at Columbia, gruff and opinionated but certainly not a target for murder. When another professor in the same department is found dead just days later, Ellie is convinced that her father’s assault has to be more than a simple burglary gone wrong. Vowing to find her father’s attacker, Ellie embarks on her own investigation into the crime.

Who knew academia could be so deadly? Ziskin’s debut and first in the Ellie Stone series is a solid mystery but I found it to be much stronger in terms of character than in plot.

In setting the tone and scene of the times, Ziskin has made Ellie both stubborn and free spirited. (The stubbornness she no doubt inherited from her father.) Obviously 1960 is not the ideal time for an independent woman, much less one investigating an attempted murder, but Ellie is smart and formidable. She is able to tease out details and information even the police can’t.

Styx & Stone sets up Ellie as a series lead, explaining her background and her relationship with her family. The mystery does take a bit of a backseat to all of that, but is still well built and engrossing.

So far there are three books in the Ellie Stone series: Styx & Stone, No Stone Unturned (a 2015 Anthony Award nominee for Best Paperback Original), and Stone Cold Dead, which released just last month.

6/15 Becky LeJeune

STYX & STONE by James W. Ziskin. Seventh Street Books (October 15, 2013). ISBN 978-1616148195. 285p.

Comments Off on STYX & STONE by James W. Ziskin | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Mystery | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

Summer Secrets Beach Bag Giveaway!

June 21, 2015

SummerSecretsPreOrderPrize My friend @Jane Green is getting ready to launch her new book, SUMMER SECRETS on June 23rd and she has offered me the most fantastic summer giveaway for one of you lucky readers!

A large beach bag filled with Jane’s favorite goodies to get you ready for summer! Inside the tote there is a signed copy of SUMMER SECRETS and an exclusive cold carry cup with the Jane Green Summer Secrets logo! There is a fantastic face and body bronzing duo from @Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and hair cleansing cream from @Purely Perfect Products that will revolutionize the way you wash your hair – you’ll never use shampoo again! Factor 35 continuous mist sunscreen from @Hampton Sun is included, and a beautiful orange glass clover pendant from @KZK Jewelry. There is also a delicious chocolate coconut almond snack bar from @Nothin’ But Healthy, and a tube of moisturizing no-bump shave gel from @Completely Bare Products – you never need bumpy legs again!

It’s quite a haul! And I have one of these fantastic bags to offer. Read on for all the details on how to enter.

About the book:

When a shocking family secret is revealed, twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself falling into a dark spiral. Wild, glamorous nights out in London and raging hangovers the next day become her norm, leading to a terrible mistake one night while visiting family in America, on the island of Nantucket. It’s a mistake for which she can’t forgive herself. When she returns home, she confronts the unavoidable reality of her life and knows it’s time to grow up. But she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to earn the forgiveness of the people she hurt.

As the years pass, Cat grows into her forties, a struggling single mother, coping with a new-found sobriety and determined to finally make amends. Traveling back to her past, to the family she left behind on Nantucket all those years ago, she may be able to earn their forgiveness, but in doing so she may risk losing the very people she loves the most.

Told with Jane Green’s keen eye for detailing the emotional landscape of the heart, Summer Secrets is at once a compelling drama and a beautifully rendered portrait of relationships, betrayals, and forgiveness; about accepting the things we cannot change, finding the courage to change the things we can, and being strong enough to weather the storms.

About the author:

Jane Green’s sixteenth novel, Summer Secrets, will be released 6/23; she is the author of fifteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels. Initially known for writing about single thirty-somethings, she has gone on to write mature stories about real women dealing with all the things life throws at them, with her trademark wisdom, wit and warmth.

**To win this fabulous Jane Green Summer Secrets beach bag, please send an email to contest@gmail.com with “SUMMER SECRETS” as the subject.**

You must include your U.S. street address in your email.

All entries must be received by July 4, 2015. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. Your prize will be sent by the publicist.

One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.

More ways to win! For additional chances, make sure you like Jane’s Facebook page, and leave your answer right here below in the comments to this question: What’s the best thing about summer for you?

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

11 Comments | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY by Julie James

June 21, 2015

Click to purchase

I am really enjoying Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series. I’ve read the first one, Something About You, book 3, About that Night, and book 5, It Happened One Wedding. I managed to get my hands on book 4, and I was very happy I did.

This is a terrific series, and one of the things I like best is that they don’t need to be read in order. But if you, there are delicious little nods to the previous books, so it’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned. The series centers around the Chicago U.S. attorneys’ office and the FBI agents that they work with so closely. Love Irresistibly centers around assistant US attorney Cade Morgan.

Cade’s specialty is bringing down dirty politicians, and anyone who knows Chicago politics knows that can be a full time job. He has the goods on the state senator, but knows there will be a meeting at a swanky restaurant, and he wants to get that meeting on tape to cinch the conviction. To do so, he needs permission and assistance from the restaurant.

Enter Brooke Parker, general counsel for the Sterling restaurant group. Brooke and Cade are trading barbed quips from the get go, but with her help, Cade manages to get what he needs. But he owes her and she is soon collecting when her company finds out someone hacked into their account.

I love that James creates characters that we can care about. They are real people with real problems and it’s fun watching them work things out.

I really enjoyed this book and now have to hunt down the last book in the series, which is my case is book 2, A Lot Like Love. Berkley, are you listening? Stay tuned…

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY by Julie James. Berkley; First Printing edition (March 2, 2010). ISBN 978-0425251195. 304p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Romantic Suspense | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

INVASION OF PRIVACY by Christopher Reich

June 20, 2015

Click to purchase

Joe Grant, an FBI agent, meets a confidential informant on a dusty road outside of Austin, Texas. Both are killed and the FBI puts out the story that Joe was the killer and died in the shootout.

This opening scenario begins a high tech version of a conspiracy showcasing Christopher Reich’s command of the world of computers and the technology involved in advancing the field.

Joe’s wife Mary, mother of his two daughters, finds too many holes in the official version of Joe’s death and begins asking questions and pushing for their answers. She is aided by a newspaper reporter who has been fired and considered a has been by his ex supervisors.

The first deviation from the official story put out by the FBI is a call from Joe while in the action that leads to his death. The message, on Mary’s cell phone, is not read and mysteriously disappears. Mary and “Tank,” her reporter associate, are lead into a conspiracy involving the creation of the newest and most terrifying surveillance system yet developed.

Joe and Mary’s oldest daughter, teenaged Jess, is in her own right extremely capable in original work with computers, and on her own searches out a world class computer expert in order to get him to see if the missing call can be recovered. Mary, Tank, and Jess come up against people in positions of great power with vested interests in safeguarding the new surveillance system and retaining control of it to increase their own wealth and power.

The book is gripping and grabs hold of the reader right from the start. It is typical Christopher Reich; intricate, fast moving and utilizing technology descriptions that the reader can relate to. Characterizations of the leading players is a normal Reich talent running all through his novels. An engrossing read.

6/14 Paul Lane

INVASION OF PRIVACY by Christopher Reich. Doubleday (June 16, 2015). ISBN: 978-0385531573. 384p.

Comments Off on INVASION OF PRIVACY by Christopher Reich | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Thriller | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey

June 19, 2015

When Echo stole the music box for the Ala, it was just meant to be a gift. But the box was so much more than a pretty trinket. Inside was a clue to something the Avicen thought was only a myth.

The Firebird is rumored to be the one thing that can stop the fight between the Avicen and the Drakharin, two races that have been warring for as long as they can remember. Both races share the mythology of the Firebird but neither is sure the stories are real, until now. Echo, a human child, holds the key to its hiding place and both the Avicen and the Drakharin will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are the ones who find it first.

Melissa Grey’s debut is a fun teen fantasy and quest story. It’s also the first in a new series, which means a somewhat incomplete tale.

Echo, a human and orphan who has lived among the Avicen – a birdlike race –, has always considered them family. Her willingness to being drawn into a search for the one thing that can help them in their seemingly never-ending battle against the dragon-like Drakharin is never in question. She’s a ready participant, especially if it means saving the ones she loves. But it does mean possibly betraying the people closest to her, especially when she realizes that she must work with the Drakharin.

Grey’s worldbuilding is ok, but maybe not quite as strong as I would have liked for such a unique concept. There’s not much in the way of history on the Avicen or the Drakharin including why they’re at odds. There is, however, great visual detail on both races, their homes, and Echo’s travels, so while I would have liked more of the backstory, there’s enough to make this first tale quite enjoyable. I don’t think that it can stand on its own – it’s obviously the beginning of a broader tale – and I hope the subsequent installment(s) cover more of the history and world. Either way, The Girl at Midnight is engaging enough to keep the reader interested and leave them looking forward to the next piece of the story.

6/15 Becky LeJeune

THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey. Delacorte Press (April 28, 2015). ISBN 978-0385744652. 368p.

Comments Off on THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: Young Adult | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

RADIANT ANGEL by Nelson Demille

June 18, 2015

Click to purchase

A John Corey Novel

After chasing the master terrorist known as the Panther, John Corey leaves his job with the Anti Terrorist Task Force and returns to the U.S. after a harrowing experience in Yemen. He signs on with another agency known as the Diplomatic Surveillance Group based in New York City.

This is thought to be an easier job than his previous one with the FBI. His wife, Kate Mayfield, continues with the bureau and is on a trip to Washington as this story unfolds.

When a Russian diplomat named Vasily Petrov, actually an officer in the Russian Foreign Intelligence service, disappears from a party being held in Southampton Long Island, Corey suspects a lot more than his agency does. He knows that Russia is on the way up again looking to return to it’s former dominant position in world affairs.

He suspects something is up beyond merely leaving the party with a group of prostitutes for outside play. Corey had been ordered to follow Petrov from the U.N. in New York City where Vasily has been assigned as a diplomat, and continues on this assignment with an underlying suspicion that something much bigger is really going on.

What the problem is and what it is aimed for is the theme of this novel. DeMille is a master at creating the nerve racking events that comprise the book and this is one of his best. It is a classic up-all-night read with Corey’s wisecracks being interspersed in the action. The climax is so massive in projected scope that after solution when Corey finds that his wife has taken up with another man, he only finds room to take the news in stride and leave it for later.

Another satisfying novel from Nelson DeMille with the reader quite anxious to get the next one from him.

6/14 Paul Lane

RADIANT ANGEL by Nelson Demille. Grand Central Publishing; First Edition/First Printing edition (May 26, 2015). ISBN: 978-0446580854. 320p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Thriller | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi