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Showing posts from December, 2011

Hoo… Rah! Prepare to sacrifice!

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Six weeks to Skinny Jeans by Amy Cotter DEA Diet, Exercise, Attitude are the author’s 3 basic components of philosophy for weight loss. And I agree but (…she wails, and pummels the nearest cushion) it’s just SO HARD!! The author asks, ‘Do you feel overwhelmed?’ Yes, I do and I’m not even out of the preface. This guide to weight loss certainly presses all the right buttons and uses today terminology touching upon aspects that are being discussed in many venues—from magazines to doctors’ consulting rooms. We have ,(not in any order), BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate and calorie importance, Glycemic Index facts, Insulin levels and clearing the body of such cravings. Those carbs and sugars are so pernicious! I particularly went into alert mode at the little gem that it takes 28 days to change your taste buds—is everything cycled to the monthly calendar? But, I take note and take heart. If I can stay away from sugar (in things like wine, chocolate, Haagen-Dazs and various loved fr

The Bastard

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...'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio! The Shakespeare segue only connects via my head and that because of the battles, lieutenants and the Royal navy, and the improbability of the plot.           When reading The Bastard , (by Brenda Novak) suspend any preconceived ideas about feasibility. Do that and you’ll find yourself in the midst of an amusing and crazy Regency romp.   There’s the young French émigré noblewoman, Jeanette Boucher. She disguises herself as tar boy and hides out on an English warship. Our heroine fortunately runs across an honorable and delicious officer and gentleman—albeit a ‘bastard’.   Against the backdrop of England at the time of the French Revolution and the dawning of the great sea battles, the scenes on the ship conjure a gritty reality of life aboard such vessels—definitely not for the faint hearted. In fact the stark descriptions of seaboard conditions, and even more so, the horrors of war at sea, are some of the book’s stronger po

..... all's well that ends well!

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For an easy read in between the hustle and bustle, the hurdy gurdy of the Christmas Season, this collection of four Regency novellas which comprise A Regency Holiday is timely. Sure, sometimes the resolution of a story came so quickly that I thought surely I’ve missed something … but these are short stories, so, no time to dawdle or extend the plot. Mind you I’m not sure that I really ever liked Deverel Brookfield (I had just finished watching Samuel Richardson’s Clarrisa) but ‘tis Christmas time and even the devil is apparently redeemable. And after all these stories are Regency Romances! In short, a graceful introduction to authors that I didn’t know and a quick read during the holiday season when I’m looking for something light and fluffy other than a meringue parfait, particularly post Christmas turkey.

...walking the Dream, waking In-Deed

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Prior to reading Dreaming of the Wolf (thanks to Netgalley), I decided to start from the beginning of Terry Spear’s Heart of the Wolf series by reading her Wolf Bundle (v.1-3). I am glad I did. Now, having read my way through v.1-7, I have a richer understanding of the relationships between the various lead characters in the series and an entrée into wolf behavior as it translates into werewolf behavior. Each story throws into focus the arresting and often startling journey of discovery—both romantic and mysterious between the lead male and female lupus garou (werewolf).  No you don’t have to start with the first volume. I am glad I did. It deepened my enjoyment of the series as I rode the warp and woof of the Heart of the Wolf tapestry. What can I say? Steamy and sizzling? Definitely!   Filled with personalities who grab your attention? Most definitely?   A series I am now hooked on and will continue to read? Truly and definitely, yes! Journeying through the various stories, the