Bookreview: A Santa Fe Christmas

 A surprising book

Summary

Evie Hernandez gave up her dream job to help with Mama Irene’s,
the family business. Balancing her modernization plans while respecting
generations of traditions isn’t easy, especially with her nosy, loving family
offering unsolicited advice. That’s never more true than when she meets
Alex—Mr. Tall, Dark and Far Too Handsome. He makes her wonder if
she’s given up on her dreams too quickly, and soon she imagines a much
different future for herself.

Alejandro “Alex” Ortiz is in Santa Fe to do business with Mama Irene’s,
but when he meets the beautiful Evie, he realizes he’ll need a different approach.
Soon he’s playing bartender, serving up horchatas, and sampling tamales,
reminding him of his childhood and beloved Abuelita. Charmed by Evie and
her family, Alex drops his guard and lets himself enjoy Santa Fe’s Christmas
traditions. But he has a deadline to keep and a business to get back to—plus,
Evie will hate him when she learns why he’s really there.

Can the magic of a Santa Fe Christmas help these two find their way?

My Review

First I thought "A Santa Fe Christmas" only was a romantic/feelgood story.

Surprisingly I found the word recipe in the table of content. That made me
curious. It's a fantastic mix of a romantic and feel good story and a cookbook
as well. I liked it a lot!

I'm intrigued by the maels and I'm sure I'll try out some at home. I also liked
the Spanish words in the book very much. Muy bien!

I will recommend this book to people who like to read Christmas stories and
who want to collect recipes too. It's really a wonderful combination!

I give with lots of pleasure a 5 star rating for A Santa Fe Christmas. 

The author

Cecelia Guzman is the writing team of best-selling author Candace Havens
and her daughter-in-law, Crystal Havens, a recovering publishing executive
and mom of five. They live in Texas with their families and pets. They love
all-things holiday, reading, and when they aren’t writing, they can often be
found in the kitchen preparing huge meals. Oh, and they might share an
addiction for all things pink and shiny.

(info on the website of Tule publishing)

The Book

A Santa Fe Christmas is published on 8 November 2021 by Tule Publishing.

Pages: 176

Booktasters

Thank you very much Booktasters for providing me a free copy to read and
review this wonderful book! 

Bookreview: 101 Ways To Fix Oatmeal

 Such a great choice of recipes! 

Summary

Is it possible to find cures for the boring, dreary, ordinary breakfast oatmeal? With
101 Ways to Fix Oatmeal, the answer is a resounding yes. Discover how to fix
memorable oatmeal for ex-spouses. Learn to fix sinfully luscious liquor drenched 

oatmeal etc.... Creative ventures in fixin' oatmeal await you!

My Review

I have to admit something: I'm not a fantastic cook, but I do like to read cookbooks

and I 've enjoyed 101 Ways To Fix Oatmeal. I also liked the cover!

I was amazed by the recipes, what a great choice! I have had new Breakfast inspiration
by reading 101 Ways To Fix Oatmeal.

I would recommend this book to all the readers who love inspirational cookbooks.

You'll certainly find some new ideas. 

Without any doubt, I give this book a 5 star rating! 

 

Booktasters

I want to thank Booktasters and the authors for receiving a free copy. I hope to
read more books from this fantastic author. 

This book is available on Amazon in Paperback and in Kindle Format. 

Bookreview: Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits

 A gangster's Cookbook

written by Frank Cullotta and Dennis N. Griffin 

"Very interesting recepies"

Summary

“I have known Frank Cullotta since he served as a technical consultant
for the movie ‘Casino.’ Frank’s reputation is primarily that of a master
criminal and an enforcer for Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro.
While that is true, he also had a softer side that few people knew about.
He loved to cook. In ‘Frank Cullotta’s Greatest (Kitchen) Hits,’ Frank
swaps his gun and fedora for an apron and chef’s hat and shares the
recipes for some of his favorite dishes. If you like to prepare and eat
delicious meals, this is the book for you.” – 
Nick Pileggi, screenwriter and author of "Casino"

Frank Cullotta was best known for his exploits as an associate of the
Chicago Outfit and his role as Tony Spilotro’s enforcer and street lieutenant
in Las Vegas. However, he had another interest besides crime.
He loved to cook. In this book he shares some of his favorite recipes
for your eating pleasure. Although Frank died on August 20, 2020,
his memory will live on every time you prepare one of these lip-smacking dishes.

"I first met Frank in 2005. Over the years we became close friends and
co-authored a total of four books, including the bestseller The
Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster. As Frank's health failed,
I promised him that I'd see the cookbook through to publication even
if he couldn't be with me. I know that Frank is pleased that our final joint
project is now a reality." - Dennis N. Griffin

My Review

Reviewing a cookbook with Italian dishes looked great! And indeed
the recepies, the pictures were well described.They gave me inspiration
to try them out. I think the ingredients are easy to find. I missed some
structure at the end of the book for example no list of all the ingredients.

Nevertheless this cookbook is a must read for all lovers of the Italian
cuisine! I give it with lots of pleasure a 4 star rating on 5 and I want
to read more books of Dennis N. Griffin.

The Author

Dennis N. Griffin was born in Rome, New York in 1945. He joined the U. S.
Navy in 1962. After being honorably discharged in 1966, he returned to
central New York. He is married and has four adult children.

Mr. Griffin began his career in investigations and law enforcement in
1975, when Pinkerton, Inc. hired ...him as a private investigator.
His duties included insurance fraud, missing persons, financial
and background investigations, as well as undercover operations.

In 1979 the Madison County, New York Department of Social Services
hired him as a Senior Child Support Investigator. He was responsible
for locating and conducting financial investigations of persons failing
to provide legally mandated child support.

In 1981 he joined the Madison County Sheriff's Department, and attained
the rank of sergeant. He was a shift supervisor and public information officer.
During the same time-period, he moonlighted as a part time patrolman for
the Village of Chittenango Police Department.

In 1987 Mr. Griffin was hired by the New York State Department of
Health as Director of Investigations, Wadsworth Center. The primary
mission of his unit was to investigate violations of the Public Health Law
relating to clinical and environmental laboratories, and health care fraud.
He was responsible for hiring and training investigators, case assignments
and general supervision. In addition, he personally handled the more difficult
and complex investigations. Many of these cases received both local and national
media attention. He retired in 1995.

In 1996, Dennis was supposed to be retired, but decided to tell the story of
what he learned while investigating the operation of a medical examiner's office.
It was an eye-opening experience and he felt compelled to share it with others.
Dennis eventually authored a fictionalized account called, The Morgue.
However, readers didn't believe anything in the book could actually happen,
but they liked the story and his style; rough edges and all.
Six more mystery/thriller fictions followed.

The author is an active member of the Police Writers Association.
He attended Onondaga County Community College, Mohawk Valley
Community College and the Central New York Regional Academy for
Police Training. He has three other novels published through 1stBooks.
The first, The Morgue, was published 1999. Red Gold, followed in 2000.

In January 2002, his writing career was at a crossroads. Would he continue
the uphill struggle for recognition in a genre with a number of well-established
authors? Or was it time to find another hobby? The question was answered at
a writers' conference when a lady suggested Dennis try his hand at police-related
non-fiction. That was the turning point. He began writing Policing Las Vegas,
the history of law enforcement in Las Vegas and Clark County from 1905 thru 2004.
Policing was released in April 2005.

Writing that book opened his eyes to some interesting things about Las Vegas
and the mob that he wanted to explore; leading to his second non-fiction book,
The Battle for Las Vegas, the story of the Vegas reign of Chicago mob enforcer
Tony Spilotro. In the movie Casino, actor Joe Pesci played a character based
on Spilotro. The Battle for Las Vegas was released on July 1, 2006.

In writing that book, Dennis relied heavily on resources such as retired FBI
agents and police detectives from that era, and through his conversations with
career criminal and former Spilotro lieutenant Frank Cullotta. Those conversations
led to a third Vegas-based non-fiction, CULLOTTA - The Life of a Chicago
Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness, released nationally
in July 2007.

Since that time, Dennis has written several books on the true stories of the
Las Vegas mob and the era in which they reigned.

In 2007 Denny began hosting his own Internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio.

BookSirens

I received an advance copy for free via BookSirens and I'm leaving 
this review voluntarily.

Source picture: Bookcover

Bookreview: Plant-Based Healthy Eating

Mouth-watering Vegan Meal Plans on a Budget less
than 25 Minutes per Meal. 

Written by Jasmin Walters (2020)

"Excellent guide for a vegan lifestyle"

Summary

It’s not easy, going for a meal plan that you will strictly have to follow
after all everything you do in life only truly matters when you overtake
the setbacks that come hanging to its edges, where we will help you
become more motivated, better equipped to handle every challenge
that comes your way with confidence and of course the bottom line is
that you’ll end up with mind-blowing and mouth-watering recipes to try
out thorough the course of the meals you have daily, not just that thought.
You’ll finally start to see your weight loss dreams come to life without any
harm to your body, but rattler naturally.

My Review

In Europe, Vegan or Vegan meals are less familiar than in the USA.
However a change is coming. 

People are more aware of their health. They know that food is important
for being healthy. 

Therefore it is very interesting to read books as these. Plant-Based Healthy
Eating has brought what I expected of the book and it gives me new inspiration
for healthy vegan meals. 

The book was written very good with clear chapters, paragraphs and even
the letter type was suitable. There also were lovely pictures and the dishes all
looked amazing!

I would certainly recommend this book because it's very interesting for 
food lovers and for people who wanted to know more about vegan meals. 

I give this book a 5 star rating! 

The Author

Jasmin Walters, an inspiring lady with a PhD in Medical Nutrition & Therapy,
based in the USA. Jasmin leads in her field with nutritional health, dietary advice,
natural remedies, healing techniques and alternative medicines. Jasmin's ability
to advocate in natural health, therapies, remedies, dietary balances and healing
has been producing for more than two decades. Jasmin has spent more than
twenty years researching natural approaches to health, healthy living and healing.
Jasmin shares her knowledge, experiences & research to the rest of the world by
guiding people how to live healthier lifestyles. Jasmin in her journeys has also
been an enthusiast of delicious food with homemade recipes. Some of Jasmin's
favorite styles are Plant Based Vegan, Mediterranean and many more. Jasmin's
love for cooking healthy also stemmed from her childhood, her mom whom
she is so thankful to. Jasmin's inspiration for writing came from her experiences
from childhood and developed a keen interest from her father's study of
Nutrition in Humans. 

BookSirens

I received an advance review copy for free, by BookSirens, 

and I'm leaving this review voluntarily. So thank you very much.

Source picture: Book cover