The Beach House Cookbook - Mary Kay Andrews - Review AND Giveaway

Oh, it wouldn't be summer without a new book from Mary Kay Andrews! This year she's put together a cookbook with all of her favourite recipes! The title? The Beach House Cookbook: Easy, Breezy Recipes with a Southern Accent. And I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader!

Andrews loves to cook and entertain at her beach house.  In the preface, Andrews says...."The whole point of this book? You can do it too. You don't have to have a beach house to have that same easygoing atmosphere. The recipes that follow are designed to let you be creative in the kitchen, yet still spend time relaxing with family and guests."

There are full menus (Drinks, appetizers, mains, sides and desserts) put together for many occasions - or just pick and choose the recipes that appeal to you.  None of Mary Kay's recipes call for 'obscure or hard to find ingredients.' Some also use pre-made ingredients such as pie shells, boxed pudding and ice cream sandwiches. (That last one was fun and easy - decadent but oh so good!) And if  you don't have an ingredient - improvise!

One of the recipes I've tried so far is Edna's Deviled Eggs - never would I have thought to add pickle juice! It added a real zip to the eggs - DH loved it. And I know he'll love Pig Candy - sweetened bacon! I enjoyed the Blueberry Muffins - and found they froze well. Savannah Spinach Squares look really good - a simple appetizer. Same goes for Frozen Key Lime Pie Pops!

There are wonderful stories behind every recipe. The ingredients are easy to see at a glance as they are printed in red. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.Interspersed amongst the recipes are beautiful full colour pictures - of the food, but also the ideas you can use to decorate your table.There are some of Mary Kay's thrifting treasures pictured as well. The Beach House Cookbook is perfect for laid-back, casual summer entertaining! You can connect with Mary Kay Andrews on her website, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

And if you'd like a copy of The Beach House Cookbook, enter to win a copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to US only, no PO boxes please. Ends Jun 30/17.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Lost Ones - Ace Atkins

I first 'discovered' Ace Atkins with last year's release of The Ranger - the first book featuring Quinn Colson. I loved it and have been eagerly awaiting the next in this series. The Lost Ones is newly released and is just as good (or better) as the first one!

After ten years as an Army Ranger, Quinn Colson returned to his home town of Jericho in Tibbehah County, Mississippi. He's now the new sheriff in town. When a local doctor calls him about a child brought in with a head injury, Quinn and his chief deputy Lillie Virgil head out to investigate. What they find is an empty, filthy house. It looks like the residents were running a puppy mill...and a baby trafficking outfit. Donnie Varner, an old friend of Quinn, is doing his own trafficking as well - in guns. As Quinn and Lillie investigate, it looks like the two cases might have something - or someone - in common.

Atkins draws his characters so well. I have a firm picture in my mind of Quinn - a tough, loyal, cagey lawman who knows his county well. And umm, did I mention he's kind of (okay a lot) sexy too. Kind of that holdin' out for a hero vibe. Lillie is firmly planted in my mind as well - she's a female version of Quinn, although we see some vulnerability this time round.  We also get to know some of Quinn's back story with flashbacks to his younger days with his sister Caddy.

 The supporting cast is equally well drawn, with one-armed Boom standing out for me. In fact I found myself rooting for one of the 'bad guys', hoping he would get a break. The dialogue really fleshs out the mental pictures I've created. A lot of it is short and snappy, and quite humourous at times. Anything more involved would detract from the atmosphere Atkins has created. The setting is  just as much of a  character. Stark and gritty, Atkins brings to life a county beset by poverty, abuse and corruption.

The plotting is excellent, zigging just when I thought it would zag. Lots and lots of action, kept me frantically turning pages until I finished the book far too quickly.

So pull up a rocker, grab a glass of sweet tea, put your feet up on the railing and be prepared to set a spell. It's a hell of a read - one you won't want to put down.

Fans of television's Justified and Raylan Givens would enjoy this character, as would Jack Reacher fans. Read an excerpt of The Lost Ones. You can find Ace Atkins on Facebook

Yankee Doodle Dixie - Lisa Patton - Q&A AND Giveaway

I just finished reading Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton, the second book featuring Southern gal Leelee Satterfield. Leelee has just moved back home to Tennessee, following the loss of her husband, her Vermont inn and maybe the new love of her life, detailed in the first book Whistlin`Dixie in a Nor'easter.

Although I hadn't read the first book, I was able to easily catch up and enjoy Leelee's attempts to rebuild her life her life in Tennessee with a new home, new job and new man - all with the assistance of her ever helpful girlfriends. Patton has written an enjoyable sit on the front porch on a sunny day with a mint julep read. One that might have you calling for a girl's night out!

A Bookworm's World was lucky enough to have author Lisa Patton stop by for a few Q&A's. And I have three copies of Yankee Doodle Dixie to giveaway as well!

Are the characters in your book based on anyone from your past ( or present)?

Why yes, what ever in the world gave you that idea! Leelee's three best friends are an amalgamation of several of my own childhood best friends. We all met in kindergarten and spent the next 13 years together. I even went all the way through college with one of them. After spending that much time together, we became family. We watched our childhoods fly into adolescence and we spent our teenage years trying to stay out of trouble! We did everything together from ballroom dancing-school to driver's ed to celebrating our first kisses. We know each other so well. I could even pick their feet out of a line-up! And we're still best friends. While writing I'll call them periodically to reminisce about certain things we did as kids and inevitably I'll come up with something for a new scene.  Like the girls in the book, we've been to a thousand concerts together over the years starting with The Monkeys.  I'm leaving on Saturday to join them in Florida for a girl's trip and I have no doubt that I'll come back with plenty of good material for the next book. My website, www.lisapatton.com, has a short video of three of us together reminiscing about old times. Kissie is based on a black lady who was my second mother. The real Kissie's name is Christine and she passed away in 2000 at the age of 88. It was one of the saddest events of my entire life. I'm still not over it.

Are you a Southern gal yourself? Are the southern accents and attitudes 'real'.

Oh yes, I'm one of the "GRITS" as we say down here - a Girl Raised In The South. I think our attitudes, if nothing else, certainly reflect a southern allegiance. We love living here. We're a quirky bunch, that's for sure,  but we freely admit it! I wrote the accents in the book as I hear them in my head.  It's funny, though, because I've been thinking quite a bit lately about how the the southern accent should be placed on the endangered species list. I raised two children just south of Nashville, Tennessee and you'd never know they were Southern. They don't even have a trace of an accent. When compared to the total population of the state, there are fewer and fewer born and bred Tennesseans in this area. Nashville has become a huge melting pot.

The Help has garnered lots of attention for it's focus on 'black women raisin' white babies'. Kissie plays an important part in your novel. Was there a "Kissie" in your life? What are your thoughts on this subject?

I was raised in the 60s and 70s in Memphis, Tennessee. Many white families, even those living in a less-than-affluent socioeconomic bracket, had a black woman working in the home. She always wore a uniform and usually took the bus to work. I don't remember my family ever treating any of the housekeepers we employed over the years like the way the ladies in THE HELP were treated. We did have a maid's bathroom off the kitchen but I don't remember thinking much about it. My father made the decision to pay off Christine's mortgage when my grandmother died. After all, she had taken impeccable care of his mother and his children. I must say Christine was often more of a mother to me than my own. I loved her with all my heart and because of her I have raised my own children to be color-blind. We don't tolerate racial prejudice in our home - ever.

You've worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. Are the scenes from the book drawn from real life situations?

No, the characters and events are fictitious but I was a promotion director for a Top-40 radio station for several years. It was one of the best, most fun jobs I've ever had. Setting part of the novel inside a radio station, given the "write-what-you-know" adage, seemed like a perfect idea. Deejays are a crazy lot and writing about their daily pranks and the monkey business they create was irresistible. I was able to relive those glory days of working in radio.

I love the covers for your books. Do you have any input into final selection?

Thank you, Luanne, I love my covers, too. I'll never forget when I first saw the cover for WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER. My literary agent, Holly Root, called me while I was at work and asked if I'd seen my email. When I told her that I had not she asked me to look at it with her on the phone. At first I couldn't open the file but when I finally saw the cover for the first time, I burst out crying. It had taken me 13 years to get to that point and it was absolutely perfect. I had no input at all, other than the publisher asking if I liked it. Michael Storrings at St. Martin's is the genius behind both beautiful covers.

What does your writing day look like? Same place/same time?

My writing day is never the same but mornings are my best time. Sometimes I go to the library and other days I'll stay home with my little dog Rosie.  I'll write 18 hours a day when I'm closing in on the end of a book but when I'm eking out the first draft I'm lucky to get in three hours per day. That part makes me crazy!

Is there going to be another chapter in the Leelee Satterfield story?

Oh my goodness, yes. Leelee and her friends are so much fun. I don't think I could leave them at this point. I'm writing the third book in the series now.

Thanks so much for stopping by Lisa - we'll be watching for the next chapter in Leelee's life!

You can find Lisa Patton on Facebook and on Twitter. In the meantime readers, if you think this would be a peach of a read for you, enter to win one of three copies of Yankee Doodle Dixie up for grabs. Open to US and Canada, no po boxes please. Simply leave a comment to be entered, ends Sat. Oct 1st at 6 pm EST. Read an excerpt of Yankee Doodle Dixie.

Men and Dogs - Katie Crouch

Men and Dogs is the second novel from Katie Crouch, following her success with Girls in Trucks.

Hannah is eleven when her father Buzz takes the family dog Tucker and heads out to go fishing in their hometown harbour of Charleston, South Carolina. The dog is found adrift in the boat and Buzz is presumed drowned. A body was never recovered.

Hannah is now thirty five. She is married and loves her husband, but continually cheats on him. On her latest mission of reconciliation she falls from a fire escape. Her husband John and her mother Daisy agree it would be best for all involved if she went home to Charleston to recover. Her older brother Palmer has also stayed on in Charleston.

Their father's disappearance has shaped both Hannah and Palmer's lives in different ways. Hannah cannot accept that he is dead. Her time at home is spent reconnecting with her past and trying to figure out where her father has gone and why. Palmer is also dealing with the past. He cannot commit in his relationships and always keeps his partners at arm's length. Daisy is the only one has accepted Buzz's death and moved on. She married Dewitt and is happy with her life.

Crouch has crafted a mesmerizing story that explores how much a childhood loss or trauma shapes our future path. Her examination of the relationships between Hannah, her brother, her former lover and her stepfather are especially poignant.

Hannah is an interesting character. I found her take on things refreshing, but at the same time didn't really gravitate towards her, despite knowing the reasons for her development. I actually found DeWitt to be the character I liked the most.

Always there is the question of what really happened to Buzz.

I listened to this book in audio format. The reader was Gabra Zackman and she was excellent. Her voice was clear and nicely modulated. She conveyed the emotions of Hannah and Palmer very well. Her southern accent was believable. I don't know if I would have enjoyed reading this book as much as I did listening to it. Sometimes a story translates better vocally and I think this is one of them.

Listen to an excerpt of Men and Dogs. You can find Katie on Facebook.

Want to listen to it yourself? You have until Sunday Jun 27th at 6 pm EST to enter to win a copy!

A Bad Day for Pretty - Sophie Littlefield

A Bad Day for Pretty is the second novel by Sophie Littlefield featuring Stella Hardesty.

In the first book, A Bad Day for Sorry, having dispatched her abusive husband to the great hereafter, Stella decides she will become a force of justice for wronged women.

"When the courts failed, when the restraining order didn't manage to restrain anything , when the man who promised he'd never do it again at ten o'clock forgot his promise by midnight. When a beaten woman finally picked herself up the floor and washed off the blood and took inventory of the latest bruises and something snapped and she decided this time was the last time - when the day came, she knew where to go, and and to see: Stella was ready for the job."

Stella is fifty something, a bit rough around the edges, but with a heart of gold and a soft spot for the underdog. She has taken over the sewing shop her husband ran and is making a new life for herself in Prosper, Missouri. When a tornado uncovers a body beneath the snack shack at the demolition derby track, everything points to local handyman Neb. But Neb and his wife are friends and Stella know he couldn't have done it. To make matters worse, the wife of the local sheriff (who Stella thought was single) has come back to town to claim her man. She manages to stir up a heap of trouble at the same time.

Littlefield has created quite the colourful character in Stella. I loved her turns of phrase and outlook on life.

"Still - cosmetics - an industry she had supported as enthusiastically as anyone in her young years - had certainly changed in the last decade or so while her attention had been elsewhere, and reentry was proving a little more difficult than she'd expected."

The descriptions of small town life and the town smack of realism. (and somewhat remind me of my own small town!) Littlefield herself grew up in rural Missouri.

The mystery isn't what overly drives this series. Instead it is Stella herself who is the draw. She is imminently likable and you can't help but admire her feistiness. She's someone you'd like to sit at the kitchen table with and shoot the breeze. Although the cover mentions this is a crime novel, it's certainly not a serious one. I was somewhat reminded of an older, slightly more violent Stephanie Plum. The supporting character cast is filled with offbeat and eclectic personalities. I think I have a soft spot for Jelloman!

I have not read the first book in this series and felt slightly out of the loop not knowing quite what had gone on before. But I did enjoy this light hearted read. Number three is written and Littlefield is working on the fourth.