The worst of it

~ RandomLife ~ 2 Comments

I hate not finishing a book. It irritates me in ways that I can’t even explain. I’m a finisher. I am not a live-in-the-moment kind of person. Honestly. I’m a memory-steeper. I very rarely am “I am having so much fun right now!”. I’m usually “We are making a great memory!”. So, I can’t wait until something is done and the memory is there. I don’t know why I’m like that. I’ve always been like that. Maybe that’s why I’ve always had my camera. I’d go to camp as a kid, and take 5 rolls of film. I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures of people, places, and things (yes, all the nouns) that I don’t remember.

Anyway… Finisher.. Yes. I like the checkmark. I did this. I read this. I watched this. I love To-Do Lists. It may be a problem.

Sidetrack City – I’ve had way too much coffee today and nothing to eat, and I feel like I’m about to take flight and my brain is ADD unfocused.

 

You know what is worse than not finishing a book? Finishing a bad book. But as I’ve come to read more and more Indie and Kindle Unlimited books, some stories are not meant to be finished. I don’t write bad reviews very often. I really try hard not too, because some things are very clearly subjective. I don’t like “Daddy” books. ugh. I don’t understand people who like them. But, that is their thing. I’ve read some of one. And it was just a friends older brother book where she started calling him daddy, so it wasn’t a older man/younger woman daddy book. And I couldn’t finish it. Of course, she called him daddy all the damn time and it lost even the remoteness of tabooness, it just turned into a sister’s annoying friend at that point. I wrote a 1* review of it. And the 1* was generous, but I couldn’t leave a review with it.

You know what’s worse than finishing a bad book? Finishing a bad book that the author sent you and knowing you have to email the author and tell them it was bad. Gah. I really like this author, who I’ll call Jenny, and I’ve really like everything I’ve read by her. Then, I get an audio ARC from her, and I’m so excited. So I listen to it. And I sit for 4 days past from when my review was due. Just sit. Because it’s pretty bad. Like. I don’t like either of the main characters (I like the man more than the woman), and although I like the woman’s voice, the man’s voice is crap for the character. So, I had to write her an email. Because I have this arc. I can’t just ignore it. It’s not going to go away. So, instead of leaving a horrible review, I have to email her and let her know that I did not like it. And now, I’m sad that I’m afraid that I’ve hurt her feelings, and I’m scared I’m never going to get another ARC from her. Boo.

You know what is worse than that? Looking at other people’s reviews and seeing that they feel the same way about it that I did. Because now I hate that Jenny has to see all of this, and I wish Jenny was my friend in real life so that I could take her out for some tequila and some crying and move on. Because Jenny is a great author. And I’ve read books that she’s written after this one, and they are great. And I’m glad that I’ve read other things by her, because I would be super sad if I never read anything else by her because of this book.

 

 

 

 

 

Whispered Prayers of a Girl – Alex Grayson

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Whispered Prayers

Find it on Amazon!

Alex Grayson was the 2nd Indie author I discovered when I signed up for Kindle Unlimited earlier this year (maybe last year?! I’m horrible with time.) I read Always Wanting first, and enjoyed it and went looking for other books. I then read The Jaded Series. The Jaded Series fucked me up. Like, that was the first Romance genre books that I’d read that had any kind of darkness to them. I started reading romance novels in 2001. My grandma and mom had always read Harlequin, and then I started reading them. Until Alex, I didn’t know that dark romance was out there. She changed my life. I love both my Rom-Com’s and the Dark Side. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a Libra? hahaha. The Jaded books were some of the ones that I lost my reviews of when Amazon took me out. I wish that I had posted reviews on Goodreads as well, but I hadn’t, so they are lost. I’m sure I’ll read them again, and when I do I’ll do a post about them then.

When I saw the banner for Naughty Nashville, I noticed Alex’s name right away, and that’s why I bought a ticket. I was super excited! So, I got to meet her and fan girl. She’s super nice and listened to me babble. Isn’t that nice, when you want to meet someone and it just goes good? 🙂  — This post is not me reviewing Alex. I wish that was socially acceptable to do. If when you met someone you could type their names in an app and see reviews other people have posted of them. Sort of like a Yelp for people. Pelp? hahaha

I got sidetracked.

Whispered Prayers of a Girl. That’s why we are here. It is such a good book!  – While *I* wouldn’t call this “dark”, based upon some of the stuff I’ve come across lately, it’s not a light story.

Gwendolyn has lost her husband and moved her and her two kids to Cat’s Valley hoping a change of place would be a new start for them. She meets Alexander, who has lost his wife and child, and has significant burns to his body from the accident. Gwen and the kids end up staying with him for a few days, and it opens a path for healing for all of them. This is a story about loss and healing. It is also about forgiveness and the things that we blame ourselves for. It’s much easier to forgive someone else than it is to forgive yourself – even if there’s nothing that could have been done differently.

There is a lot of back and forth from Alexander, which makes me want to smack him sometimes, but that’s him not wanting to get hurt and his fear of hurting someone again. There is also a hot dry-humping scene. I’m not sure why it’s called dry-humping. I’mma have to look that up!

Pick up the book! Read it! It’s so good! Then, you can find Alex on facebook, Amazon,  and Goodreads. You’re gonna want to read all her books!

Possession: Avenues Ink Series, Book 1 – A.M. Johnson

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Possession

 

I’m not even sure where to start this post. This book. Oh, this book!

 

Here is the book on Amazon. Here is A.M. Johnson’s Amazon Author’s Page. I listened to the book on Audible for a group discussion in an Audiobook Group that I am part of on facebook.

Here is my review I posted on Audible.

****This is the first book I’ve “read” by A.M. Johnson, and it was amazing. Declan, sweet Declan. He is now one of my favorite characters ever. It took me some time to warm up to Paige, but I ended up loving her as well.
I hate reviews that give too much away, so I can’t really go into detail how A.M. broke me. This is such an important story to be told, and she did it beautifully. It was gritty and rough, and so bright. I can not say enough good things. I can not wait to read the rest of the series!

Aaron Shedlock was spectacular as Declan. I was really immersed in him. The personality that he gave for all the voices (again, don’t want to give anything away) was amazing!
Some of Tracy Marks’ parts as Paige were somehow a little off, and I think it was a speed issue. Every time her chapters came on, I had to change the speed to 0.75x or the cadence was too fast and had almost robotic feels in some places. I had to put it back to 1.0 when Declan’s chapters returned. To me it sounded like a production issue, not a narrator issue. I haven’t heard anything else that Tracy has done, so I can’t be sure on that. It does not stop me from recommending the audiobook, nor will it deter me from listening to it again. She delivered Paige with feeling and heart, and when Paige was hurting, I was hurting. ****

Now a longer/spoiler-ish review:

Lets pick the things that can and will fuck us up, shall we? Young love, Abortion, Religion, Mental Illness, Abuse.

A.M Johnson covers it all in this book, in such a beautiful way.

 

The abortion. These is the comments I made in our Audiobook group after our listen:

“Okay…. Let me be real. Paige pissed me off, and at the beginning of the book, I was very much anti-Paige and pro-Declan staying away from her. I am very Pro-Life. And I know that is an dirty ugly notion in this world now, but it is what it is. I am also anti the government telling you that you can’t make those decisions for yourself. The heart of a true Libertarian. But man, she broke my heart. 18/19 is such a hard age anyway, But to make a decision that could potentially gut you for the rest of your life?! And to know that their story, in some form, is so many young kids’ truth.”

and

“I don’t think this book could have been without the abortion. What else could tear them apart like that? I mean, really. It’s such an integral part of who they are……”

I don’t know what else I can say about it. I can’t write a review without talking about it though, So Copy and Paste works best for me.

Then we have the mental illness part of the book. Declan is schizophrenic. Now because I listened to the book and didn’t read it, I heard all of his voices in my head from Aaron Shedlock’s amazing portrayal. And it was scary.  A.M. really dove in and gave us a glimpse about what it must be like to have that be a part of your life. Having been an Adult and Children’s Psych nurse, and having a brother who has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia, she has seen how this goes in the real world. And it feels real. Listening to the voices in Declan’s head gave me shivers. Declan is high-functioning and capable of taking care of himself (as long as he’s on his meds, of course) and loving Paige and being accepted by Paige quiets his voices and anxiety. It gives him hope. A.M made the comment that she “wanted to give the illness a little hope if possible”, and I think she does.   Since she made Declan and Paige  both artists, this book really made me think about Neil Hilborn’s poem “Joey” which is in this book.

When I was younger, I read a book by Mary Higgins Clark about people with Multiple Personalities and I wanted to be a Psychiatrist. That was my major in college for awhile. So, the mental illness aspect of this book really captivated me.

 

Religion. Another thing I’m oddly captivated by. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the church. Raised by an evangelist. Maybe it’s because I’m addicted to Leah Rimini: Scientology and the Aftermath on A & E. Paige’s parents gave her up, traded her in for a spot in the front pew and good standing in the church. Pretty much sold her to the asshole of a husband who would never let Paige forget where she came from. And forget she was a sinner. Even if you don’t believe in God and are not religious, we are all products of the choices we’ve made along the way. The guilt Paige had from her choices kept her locked in a church – and marriage- that, despite having a cheating husband, she was never going to be good enough. I think that is important for all of us to remember: We are not just the choices we have made. We are also the choices we are going to make.

Paige and Declan do find themselves back together. Because it’s not a romance without a good Happy Ever After. ❤

 

I can’t wait to read the other books in the Avenue Ink Series!

 

 

 

 

Pot Roast in Slow Cooker or Instant Pot

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My family loves Pot Roast in my Crockpot. I got this recipe from a friend several years ago, and I cook it a couple times a month during the colder months. I have made it with both beef roast and pork roast.  This last 2 times I’ve put it in the Instant Pot, because I wanted to see how the recipe held up with it. It is fantastic!

It’s really simple.

You need:

  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Carrots ( Sometimes I use them if we have them, just for flavor. But no one in my family eats cooked carrots, so I don’t use them very often)
  • Roast
  • Packet each of Ranch Salad Dressing Mix, Italian Salad Dressing Mix, and Brown Gravy

 

 

If you’re using a slow cooker, spray the inside with non-stick spray and layer in onions, potatoes, carrots if you use them, and put the meat on top. Open the packets and pour them directly on the meat. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

 

 

If you’re using the IP, it’s pretty much the same except for adding a 1/2 cup of water or beef stock in before you add in the potatoes, onions, meat, and packets. Put the lid on and make sure the venting is closed. Set the manual for for 30** mins. It is shredding by the time I take it out. I NPR’d (natural pressure release) mine for 30 mins because I made it before I left to take my daughter to dance and so I wasn’t around when it got done.

image7

**This last time,  I put it on 17 mins and NPR’d for 15 or 20 mins – and then cut up the meat and put it back on for another 12 mins. It really got the roast falling apart and because I have braces, I can’t chew meat that isn’t falling apart. ^^ That picture is after 17 mins. I forgot to take a picture after I put it back on.

 

Either the slow cooker or the IP is good, it just depends on what kind of time you have, really. I don’t like rushing around in the morning and cutting onions and potatoes and getting the slow cooker going if I can help it.

Let me know if you make it!

 

 

 

 

Pasta & Meatballs in the Instant Pot

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My family loves spaghetti, or rotini, and meatballs. We have some sort of variation of pasta and marinara every week. After being part of the instant pot community group on facebook, which I talk about here, I decided to give it a try in the IP.  I found out later, that most everyone was basing their recommendations and recipes off of  This Old Gal Soccer Mom Spaghetti.

My first go didn’t do so well. If using spaghetti, it needs to be broken up super small or its still on the uncooked side of al dente. Nobody in my family likes al dente pasta. We like cooked. Really Really Cooked. But not mushy. It’s a science. Ha.

Here is what I use:

image2

I use a family size bag of meatballs because my son doesn’t eat any of the pasta, so we need the extra meatballs. It takes longer for the IP to come to pressure with all those meatballs, but I know that, so I allow for the extra time. I have tried several brands of meatballs, and the Great Value Italian Style is my families favorite. As far as the pasta goes, same thing. I’ve tried all different brands and Barilla (rotini and spaghetti) cooks better and gets soft, without getting mushy.

My Steps:

  • Spray IP with Non-stick Spray
  • Pour in bag of meatballs
  • Pour in box of pasta – rotini stays whole, spaghetti I break in thirds or fourths
  • Pour 2 jars of sauce
  • Add seasonings on top of sauce – Use double what you would use on the stove. The IP seems to weaken spices in my experience.
  • Fill pasta jar 3/4 full of water, shake, pour around the edges of the pasta – just the edges, don’t want to mess with the sauce or spices

It should look like this:

image1

Yes, it looks full (it will be less full with the regular bag of meatballs), and some people will tell you that it may be too full. I’ve never had a problem with it.

  • Put the lid on and make sure the release valve is set to closed
  • Hit Manual and set it for 9 mins – It takes 12 or so if you use Great Value brand Rotini.
  • Do whatever you want while its cooking.

 

It usually takes about 20 mins to come to pressure and then the 9 minutes to cook.  I let it NR (natural release) because I’m usually no where around. A lot of times I’ll make this before I take my daughter to dance. If everyone is bouncing around the kitchen ready to eat, I’ll QR (quick release) by turning the valve. WATCH OUT, STEAM IS HOT!  Take off the lid and stir it up. If you want the pasta more done, just put the lid back on and put it on for another 3 mins. Since it’s hot it will come to pressure quickly, and should only add about 10 minutes more cooking time.

Yum, Just look at that!

image3

This really is the easiest thing to make, and it does make buying the IP worth it for us!

If you give it a try, let me know how yours turned out!

 

Instant Pot

~ RandomLife ~ 1 Comment

Mr. Random got me an Instant Pot for Mother’s Day – or Christmas, or just because, or something – I don’t remember. It’s this one.

Amazon pic

I have no idea the difference in all of them, they just are. I’ve only made a few things in it, though I make those few things often.

There is a facebook page: Instant Pot Community that I’m pretty sure is run by Instant Pot. There are a bunch of good recipes in there, but some of the members are douches, so you have to take them with an “I don’t give a shit if you’re an asshole” attitude. There is no rhyme or reason to the snarkiness. One post one day will ask for help and everyone will be nice; the next time those same folks are mean as shit. Last week some woman asked for recipes to make her husband lunches to take to work, and it was a shit-fire storm that any woman today would make her husband lunch – Men could do it themselves. Gah. But, Fuck, don’t make a post calling members out on that shit, because then all the “I’ve never seen anybody be mean to anyone here” posts come out and it turns into a screenshot war – right up until the admins delete everything. There must be admins in every time zone, because they come out with a quickness to turn off comments and delete shit!

I’m also a member of: Weight Watchers with the Instant Pot, The Paleo Instant Pot, and InstantLoss.com Healthy Recipes for Weightloss.

There are lots of good groups out there. It really just depends on what you want to cook.

The truth about the instant pot: I like it, and the things I cook are easier to cook, but the instant pot does not make them cook any faster!  It’s more the ease of throwing everything in a pot and walking away and doing other things while it’s cooking – instead of standing in front of the stove watching and stirring. I’ve heard (and seen photos) that you can bake breads and cheesecakes in it, but I haven’t ventured that far into it. Maybe one day!

I’m glad we bought it and it has made some things easier, but I’m not a mega fan that feels the need to have 5 of them – yes, those people are out there; Nor do I think that it replaces stove and oven cooking. Maybe as I cook with it more and more I’ll find more meals that will change my mind!

 

Nailed – Alexis Adaire

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Nailed

Stolen from Alexis’ Facebook Page

I loved this story! This was the first book that I’ve read by Alexis Adaire, and I’m going to have to check out her other books as well. From what I can tell from her Amazon Page, I’m going to be adding quite a few books to my TBR list!
It is few and far between that we get a sexy romance that isn’t young kids. As an almost 40 year old myself, it is so nice to read someone that I am today, and not have to think back 18 years ago to when I was in college and had no life experience. And though I do like some Virgin Billionaire Romances (cause who didn’t lose their virginity to a billionaire, I mean really? I don’t know one girl in my freshman dorm that didn’t – all to the same billionaire…. no, that got weird for a minute.. hahahaha), I do like reading the romances that I have something in common with the heroine – like my boobs aren’t where they used to be either!
Dawn is a strong woman who just needs a little push back into the dating world after healing (mostly) from her divorce. I mean, really? We all have an ex-husband who are assholes, don’t we?  No? Well, just another thing Dawn and I have in common. Anyways, who better to help her jump back in than the sexy roofer redoing her neighbor’s roof!?  Zane is fantastic and I loved him from page 1. He’s a good guy and is just who Dawn needs! He’s sweet, attentive, and knows how to fuck her good. And lets face it, if you’re going to start all over with someone new at 37, they need to be able to fuck you good!  If I ever found myself single again, I’d be hunting down a Zane of my own! And Dawn could be my new best friend. We’ll just sit by the pool and watch Zane build stuff. She wouldn’t mind me oogling (I don’t think that’s how you spell oogle. ogle? I’m leaving it, cause I like it!), I’m sure!

And the cover?! I mean, really? Hotness!

Here is the link to pick you up some Ebook Zane and here is Paperback Zane!

Beta-Down

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In the Indie Book world, there are a lot of roles/responsibilities that readers take on to support authors.You can share posts, like pages,  sign up to be a beta or an ARC reader, pimp their promotions, join fan pages, share posts, like everything – did I mention share posts?! An Indie author can not be an indie author without readers. I mean, I guess they could, but why?

Anyway, I have really gotten to see how a lot of sides work in the past 3 months. I enjoy being an active reader. Yes, sometimes it’s hard; but you’re getting paid in free books and interacting with a great group of people (for the most part), so I find it worth it. I am a beta reader for a couple of authors. I’ve done tons of ARC’s – and there are email lists to sign up for where you can do nothing but read and review ARC’s for authors. The difference between Beta and ARC reading is really just the amount of feedback given. If I read a beta book, I take notes while I’m reading and then email or pm the author and  let them know what I like, what I don’t like, what doesn’t make sense, and what works really well! An ARC reading is just reading the book – usually about a week before it comes out – and writing a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or a blog once it goes live. The beta I just finished reading the first go-round of, was done totally different than anything I’ve done before.

The author – hereafter known as Penny- gave us the book link in google docs, so we could read and make notes for changes. For the most part, I really really liked that format. There were only a couple of PMs, but mainly, just notes in the document. Have you ever been reading a book and were like “Damn, that is fantastic!” or “Fuck that, no!”? We all have! With this format, it was just clicking on the ‘add comment’ button and typing that shit in. That part was great – except for I’m an oxford comma user and this author isn’t, so I legit added like 600 commas to her book. hahahaha  The downside of this was that google docs does not work well on my phone, so the 500 pages had to be read on my computer. It took me almost 2 weeks of every time I was sitting at my computer reading some of it. It’s a good thing I liked the book, or I would have dropped that shit with a quickness. Once she’s ready with a hard roll, I can’t wait to do the review of this book.  Penny may be tired of me tho, because I don’t really hold back, and I’m a little scared I won’t get the 2nd book and find out what the cliffhanger of the 1st turns into. Penny, don’t leave me now!

 

 

 

 

 

Naughty Nashville

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So, last weekend I went to my first Author Book Signing event. It was in Nashville at the Millennium Maxwell House – Nashville (where Maxwell House Coffee came from, FYI) . I had only read one author when I bought tickets to the event, but as time led up to the event I read a few more of them.

Since I’m trying to figure out how to start this blog off, I thought Why not review the signing first and then move on to books/authors?! Genius. I am a genius. hahaha

I took the Banner from the Facebook Page : You can check it out here

Naughty Nashville

Like I said, I had never been to an event before, so I didn’t know what to expect beforehand and I was really quite nervous. Everything turned out good, for the most part. My social anxiety got the better of me in some instances, but there is nothing I can do about that but just try to breathe and get through it.

On Friday night there was a mixer at the hotel bar. That turned out to be really good. I met a few fellow readers and got to meet some authors and some of the models as well. For the most part it was good meeting people that I’d heard of/read/ am in their reader groups on fb even though I’ve never actually read anything by them. I mean, the same rules that apply to the world and humans at large apply to small groups of people:

Some people are really nice. Some people turn out to be assholes (Maybe even me!).

Sometimes I rub people the wrong way because of who I am. I tend to be abrasive and speak my mind and very seldom do I consider the consequences of that until later, laying in bed wondering why I word vomit so much. (Unless it comes to my kids and school functions – then I just tend to look like a stuck up bitch because I bite my tongue and don’t really talk at all).

Saturday, after getting back to the hotel and registering, there was brunch with the authors for those of us with VIP tickets. I wish that that had been set up a bit different. I wish that there had been some sort of system in place where it was actually brunch with the authors. As it was, it turned out to be a majority of the authors sat at tables full of authors and readers sat with readers and then late comers kind of filled in where there were chairs. We ended up with 2 (well, 3 but one wasn’t signing) authors at our table. And I quite enjoyed setting and talking to her (and once I read the books of hers that I bought, I’ll do a post on her). After brunch everyone lined up to get into the signing. Next year I may skip the VIP and just get the premium ticket to get in an hour early. It really ended up being $35ish (I’d have to look back at prices to know for sure) to just have some sandwiches and a swag bag -that was $10 to purchase separately.

The actual signing was organized chaos and fantastic! With the exception of I think 3 tables, I went and talked to all of the authors there. Some of them I bought books from (My husband would say too many because I spent way more than my budget was supposed to be), and some of them I just talked to and added more and more books to my TBR! I’m never going to get all the books read that I want to read! Most of the authors were fantastic, some weren’t so fantastic. A couple of them I’m not exactly sure why they were there in the first place, because I heard them speak to other readers in that same tone that they used with me – like they were doing me a favor by talking about their books. I’ve never made a “Do not read these authors List”, but I have one started now. And that makes me  sad, but I refuse to support anyone who acts like they’re bored talking to people at a signing. Luckily it was only a few and I didn’t let them ruin what was overall a very positive experience – especially for my first time!

 

 

Getting Started

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I am not 100% sure where I want to start. I’m not 100% sure that I want to do anything. Do I want people I know knowing who I am? Do I want all that smut-ness and reviews out there? I haven’t decided yet. I know I’ll have to figure that out or the only person who will be reading my reviews is me.

I guess I’ll just review and decide later what I want to do!