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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Aboard The Great Iron Horse Series Reviewed

Continuation of a Steampunk Fantasy Series

Iron Horse Style Engine from Pixabay.com

Aboard The Great Iron Horse is a book series that continues the story line from another series that I introduced to you back in November which began with the book The Tinkerer's Daughter. I so thoroughly enjoyed the story of Breeze the half human and half Tal'mar in the first set of books and was thrilled to find that the story continued in a different series.

I do not normally like to ruin a story for anyone but in the first set of books Breeze eventually has a daughter that she names River. That is as much as I will spoil for you if you have not read the Tinker series of books. I do advise that for the most enjoyment of Aboard The Great Iron Horse series that you first read the first set of books. You wouldn't have to but, you will understand the continuation of the plot if you do.

clockwork aboard great iron horse book cover

The Clockwork God

River (Breeze's daughter) is one of the main characters in the Iron Horse series of books. After, an event in Sanctuary that is certain to have life changing results for this fantasy world; River embarks on an adventure in a great steampunk style train. The expedition is led by Socrates who is a machine of sorts. I find Socrates most fascinating and a wonderful addition to the story line and a most imaginative and mysterious creation by the author.

Socrates is considered an automaton which we would define as a robot or an android. Oh my goodness he is so much more than that! I often think of C-3PO in Star Wars except that Socrates was made to look like a gorilla. There is no other machine in this fantasy world that can compare to the ape with the blue fur. He can function very much like a human. He thinks, reasons and it sometimes appears even feels emotion. He knows the history of the world, has been around for centuries and leads the small crew on a most incredible journey. He runs on steam power along with a mysterious energy source called Starfall. Part of the expedition entails finding more of this energy source or Socrates and the other machines will eventually cease to function.

On the journey Socrates, River and the rest of the crew encounter other civilizations that they were not aware even existed. This makes for a most interesting and entertaining reading adventure.

If you enjoyed the first of the steampunk fantasy set of books by Jamie Sedgwick; I think you will also enjoy reading the continuation of the story in Aboard the Great Iron Horse. I have enjoyed it, myself!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Monday, December 19, 2016

Now You See Her - Book Review

Available on Amazon

Domestic Fiction by Joy Fielding

Marcy Taggart's life is in shambles. She's 50 years old and her husband has left her for another woman. Two years ago her twenty-one year old daughter, Devon, disappeared. They say Devon drowned in a canoeing accident in Canada's Georgian Bay, but her body was never found. Devastated, Marcy continues to see Devon's face in crowds and has even stopped strangers on the street, certain she has finally found her.

Marcy & her husband had originally planned to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to Ireland. Now newly divorced, but with the planned trip already paid for, Marcy decides to take the trip anyway, hoping to heal her heartache. Except, while visiting Cork, Marcy is certain she spots Devon walking down the street. When her daughter disappears into a crowd, she begins a desperate search to find her -- and to uncover the disturbing truth that might, in the end, be her only salvation.

Devon is dead, Marcy.”
“You’re wrong. She’s here.”

Marcy's Search for her Daughter

During her search, Marcy manages to meet two interesting men ~ one her age who is a widower on a trip to learn to cope with his grief; the other a handsome young Irishman working in a local pub. She also has run-ins with the local police (called Garda in Ireland from the term Garda Síochána na hÉireann (Guardians of the Peace of Ireland), and seems to get herself involved in a number of strange happenings, including the possible kidnapping of a baby.

Throughout the story we learn the background information about her ex-husband, her daughter, her bipolar mother, and her sister who has been married 5 times and thinks Marcy is crazy for going on a second honeymoon alone. This information is presented as 'memories' and sometimes as thoughts in Marcy's head, often like dialogues of the time the events took place.

Because of the way the book is written, you often feel as if you are Marcy, experiencing what is happening to her. This makes Now You See Her quite a unique and interesting read. It held my attention throughout the story.

Video Trailer for Joy Fielding's 'Now You See Her'

Author Joy Fielding

Joy Fielding (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Joy Fielding is a Canadian novelist and actress from Toronto, Ontario. Born Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career (see her bio on Wikipedia), then gave it up to write full-time. As a writer, she changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding, an English novelist from the 1700s who was famous for writing Tom Jones).

Her website is JoyFielding.com which contains information about her novels and also has an interesting segment where she writes a fun-to-read monthly letter to her fans about her recent 'happenings'.

Joy has published 27 novels since 1972, with Now Your See Her coming out in 2011. Two of her novels have been made into movies.

Fielding's Latest Book

Available on Amazon

At the time of the writing of this review, Joy Fielding's latest book, published in February of 2018, was "The Bad Daughter". Fielding has written three books since. Each of her books are worth reading if you enjoy suspenseful thrillers.

A gripping thriller of family intrigue and dark secrets.

Have You Read Any Joy Fielding Books?

I enjoyed reading Now You See Her so much that I will now be looking for Joy Fielding's other books. Have you ever read any of her stories? If so, I'd love to hear what you thought of them.

Book Review by Wednesday Elf. For more book reviews, check out ReviewThisBooks.com

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Sunday, December 18, 2016

A Coffee Table Desk - When a Regular Desk is Too Much

Coffee Table Desk, & More Here

When you just don't have the space to incorporate a typical office in your home, or simply want a second place to do your work, a Coffee Table Desk is an ideal solution.

A Review - The Top 10 Benefits of a Coffee Table Desk

1. The obvious benefit is the space saving aspect. A coffee table desk allows you to include a working surface in your living or family room without having to bring in another piece of furniture.

2. You're able to save money by incorporating two pieces of furniture into one.

3. You can also find coffee table desks that include built-in storage thus giving that designated square footage triple use. Store your office supplies inside your coffee table desk.

4. It's not only a desk to do your own work on, it's also a place for the kids to do their homework, or their fun creative projects.

5. The elevated surface gives you a way to have your coffee cup in a more convenient reach AND go ahead and eat dinner in front of the TV without a hassle.

My family room
has space for a desk in the corner.
However, a Coffee Table Desk
is another viable solution.

6. Some designs give you storage, a coffee table, and a desk combined. Despite all of this built-in convenience, the looks are sleek and easily blend with existing decor.

7. Prices range as do quality and design. If you need a more expensive elaborate piece, there are many to choose from. Or if you simply require a basic solution, there are designs with prices that reflect that purpose as well.

8. When you plan to redecorate and no longer require your coffee table desk in the room, its versatility allows you to transfer it to just about any other room in the home. Or go ahead and pass it along to a young adult for their first apartment or dorm.

9. Many designs still offer an open bottom; something that's important in a small room. Closed full bottom coffee tables make a room look smaller. However, if your room is larger, go ahead and choose a fully closed-bottom coffee table desk. Many of the closed-in designs offer numerous built-in drawers.

10. And lastly, life is too short not to decorate your home the way your want!

You can check out additional coffee table desk designs here, where you'll find pieces ranging from traditional to modern.

Happy Funky Decorating :)

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Saturday, December 17, 2016

Sweet Ginger Cheese Muffins - Recipe Review


Sweet Ginger Muffins copyright BuckHawk

Looking for easy, vegan and gluten-free muffin recipes, I came across a delicious looking sweet ginger one. But, it wasn't completely perfect to go with the soup I was planning for dinner. Therefore, I did the conversions needed to end up with Sweet Ginger Cheese Muffins.

Here I'll tell you about the original recipe along with the changes I made to create my new muffin recipe. Although my recipe is both vegan and gluten-free, I've included the easy changes you can make to convert it to standard diet fare.

The Original Muffin Recipe

Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats

One of my favorite vegan and gluten-free cookbooks is Allyson Kramer's Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats from Around the World. In her section titled Tasty Treats from Central and South America, she includes a recipe for Chilean-Style Sweet Ginger Cake. This was the recipe that enticed me into creating my own version.

Sweet Ginger Cake is meant to be a dessert. But, to go with the potato leek soup I was serving, I wanted something a bit less desserty. Ergo, less sugar and sweet ingredients and the addition of vegan cheese shreds and nutritional yeast. The result was a delicious cheesy muffin similar to sponge cake in texture.

Sweet Ginger Cheese Muffins Recipe

Ingredients and directions:

2/3 cup vegan margarine
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream these ingredients together until they form a smooth paste. I used my stand mixer for this. It just goes so much faster.

Then add in:

2 teaspoons dried, ground ginger
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 cups gram flour
1/4 cup honey, agave or other sweetner
1 1/2 cups almond milk

Mix all of this together until you have a smooth batter. Finally fold in 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. I used a combination of Daiya brand mozzarella and cheddar style vegan shreds.

Grease and flour 12 standard muffin cups and divide the mixture among the tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Recipe Notes

For those of you who are not familiar with vegan and gluten free cooking, many of these ingredients will sound foreign. But every single one is available in health food stores and online.

If you want to make these muffins in a more conventional way, you can easily replace the vegan margarine for butter, replace both the tapioca and gram flour with all-purpose flour, skip the xanthan gum and replace the vegan versions of milk and cheese with dairy versions.

Nutritional yeast is not like standard bread yeast. It's deactivated and more similar to brewer's yeast. It adds a cheesy flavor and vitamin B12 to anything it's added to. Nutritional yeast is found in a dried version, either flakes or powder. If you don't have nutritional yeast, you may want to add more cheese shreds.

Either way you want to make this recipe, you will enjoy a combination of flavors. Unexpected combination, I agree, but the result will complement soups and stews wonderfully.

Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

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Friday, December 16, 2016

Christmas in Connecticut Movie Review

Last week I reviewed a fabulous contemporary romantic Christmas movie, The Spirit of Christmas. This week I am shifting the focus back to an old holiday classic. Christmas in Connecticut may be over 70 years old, but it is far from outdated. It is simply a fun movie about a woman who gets caught in her deceptions and tries desperately to cover her tracks, and keep her job!

Barbara Stanwyck takes the lead role as Elizabeth Lane in this Christmas romantic comedy and Dennis Morgan plays the part of the unsuspecting soldier who joins her "family" for Christmas.

For some of you it may matter that this movie is in black and white. It has not been colorized like some of the old classics. For me, I enjoy the step back into a simpler time and a movie that stands on it's own as pure entertainment.

Synopsis of the Christmas in Connecticut Movie Plot

Elizabeth Lane is an extremely popular journalist who claims to be a fabulous cook, a wife, a mother, and the ideal homemaker. She is able to write well enough that no one even suspects she is unmarried and completely clueless about preparing food. Even the publisher has no idea she is a fraud.

Christmas in Connecticut (BD) [Blu-ray]The story takes place during WWII. Jefferson Jones is one of two survivors when his naval warship was torpedoed by a German submarine. He and his fellow survivor spent 18 days in a raft on the ocean. Needless to say, they were literally starving and Jefferson dreamed of a fabulous meal anytime he slept. When they were finally rescued and hospitalized, Jefferson could not eat solid food and was placed on a milk diet. He continued to crave a real meal. He was so desperate to eat, that he even proposed to one of the nurses so she would take sympathy on him and bring him food.

After 6 weeks in the hospital, and many meals, he was no longer anxious to get married. The nurse thought that if he simply experienced a home for Christmas and observed how wonderful it could be to have a wife, that surely he would follow through and marry her. She wrote Alexander Yardley, the publisher of the magazine that employed Elizabeth Lane. She requested that they extend an invitation for Christmas to this soldier who had been through such an ordeal and had no where to go for the holidays. In response to the letter, Mr. Yardley insisted that Elizabeth Lane and her family include Mr. Jones in their Christmas celebration. No only that, Mr. Yardley invites himself to come spend a few days with them for Christmas too.

That is where the fun begins! Elizabeth must find a farm, a husband, a child and learn to cook outstanding meals in a few short days before Mr. Jones and Mr. Yardley show up to join her and her family for a Christmas in Connecticut.

Christmas in Connecticut Trailer

This is an old Hallmark channel trailer. I did check the Hallmark channel schedule for showtimes. At the time of publishing, Christmas in Connecticut was not on this seasons schedule. However, you can continue to check it here:

Hallmark Channel Schedule