Sometimes we’re in need of something light and fresh, to get us through a hard day. Sometimes we need a book that’s light and fresh in between deeper or tougher books. The follow up to The Unhoneymooners was just that. And I decided what better than to pair with a delicious Hibiscus flower 🌺 refresher, perfect for the book setting in Hawaii.
Also, as a bonus, I came up with a delicious Bourbon spiced hibiscus tea, for when you’re in the mood for a cocktail.
If you make it or share it please tag me 🤩
Summary:
Olive & Ethan are getting married, but fearing what she thinks is the Torres family wedding curse, Olive has decided that eloping without her family is the best course. Andres they plan to go to Hawaii, where they fell for each other to do it. In comes Ami, and she’s not having it, just because her wedding was a mess and her marriage a scam, doesn’t mean that her sister can’t have the wedding of her dreams. So she flies to Maui and to surprise Olive & Ethan with an impromtu wedding, and they quickly enlist the help of Brody, Ethan’s old college buddy and best man to help Ami with the planning.
My thoughts:
This is an audio original, meaning there’s no actual book. The narrators did a great job voicing Ami & Brody and they had great chemistry. I’m a sucker for a full cast and sound effects so this was great.
Being a novella, they have to cram things, so there is an element of insta-love that I usually don’t like. Overall it was handled well, and didn’t feel forced.
The story flowed smoothly, and the characters worked well together, aside from Brody, eho is a new character, we get to see again the infamous Torres family with their drama and charm. We get a good dose of humor, romance and spice im the story.
Overall the story while short worked for me, and honestly it was the perfect length, like a satisfying snack to get you feeling all light and happy.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I love my vegetables. I try to have my recommended daily portions as much as possible, and one way I do it is by creating colorful, flavorful and delicious salads.
While I usually add animal protein to mine, this time, I went with plant based to make one that would be Finn Walsh approved.
If you make it or share it please tag me 🤩
“You’re not hopeless,” I tell Finn once the cyclist is out of earshot and we’re relatively alone again.”I have plenty of awkwardness in my past, too. And the fact that you’re not making this about your fragile wounded masculinity is a huge plus.”
Summary:
Chandler Cohen is a ghostwriter, she’s been getting more recognition in her industry and while it’s not her dream job, she’s pretty proud of her most recent book. That is until she attends a signing for saidbook and the “author” doesn’t even recognize her. Seeking to drown her disappointment, she turns to the bar where she meets a sweet and charming guy she immediately connects with. But it ends up a spectacularly unsatisfactory hookup, decides to make a hasty exit and forget about the whole thing. Except she can’t, because her new ghostwriting project is writing a memoir for Finn Walsh, none other than her unfortunate one-night stand.
My thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book! It was laugh-out-loud funny, emotional and relatable in so many ways.
Chandler and Finn had great banter and chemistry from the first moment they meet. I couldn’t help but root for them to find a way forward after their awkward one-night stand.
Even though at times the plot seems far fetched, the characters were absolutely adorable, well fleshed and relatable despite their professions.
There was no wasting time getting to the steam, but at the same time, the author managed to give us this slow and teasing burn as she builds up the relationship between the MCs, in such a way that it feels so natural how they fall for each other.
I loved the way the author encouraged open and honest conversation about sex. And how they were open and communicating about their wants and needs.
I also loved the mental health rep of both OCD and generalized anxiety disorder. She did a great job portraying the characters conditions without making them sound token or cliché.
The twists to the usual tropes made it feel fresh and original.
The audiobook was excellent, the narrator portrayed the characters so well.
This was my first by Rachel Lynn Solomon, and I really need to read more of her backlist now
One of my favorite things to make whe we have company is a cheese and charcuterie board. I think it’s the perfect appetizer for any occasion. They’re beautiful, and delicious and they’re also fun to put together.
Elsie is apparently from my team, and the moment Jack orders her a board for herself I knew this would be the perfect pairing for this review.
If you make it or share it please tag me 🤩
“It’s easier like that, isn’t it? […] Never showing anyone who you really are. […] That way if something goes wrong, if someone rejects you, then it’s not about you, is it? When you’re yourself, that’s when you’re exposed. Vulnerable.”
“I like to see you. When you’re not trying to be someone else”
Summary:
Theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway is an adjunct professor by day, hoping to some day land a tenure. By night, she makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, using her perfected people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs. Until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.
My thoughts:
I will officially read anything Ali writes at this point. She delivers this smart, sexy and witty banter that is on point.
This is her best one yet of her adulr romance books, if I hadn’t already identified some repeat traits from her prior books I’d have rated it higher.
But even if some things feel repetitive, I still find her stories oh so enjoyable
Elsie and Jack are just great together and I loved watching their chemistry turn into more.
Plus, I loved that we get cameos from olive and Adam 😍
She again manages to expose some realities, in this one it’s the plight of the adjunct professors, the fight for fair prescription prices and the insanely high cost of insulin and supplies that are life sustaining for so many people with diabetes. My doctor ❤️ absolutely loves she used her voice to highlight this problem.
I cannot finish this without commeting on the steam, as expected it was, sexy, burning hot and just perfect.
What are your thoughts on cheese and charcuterie boards?
I thought there was no better pair for this book than one of my favorite coffee shop orders, the masala chai latte.
Just like this book, the drink is full of spice. And just like Fizzy had her choice of some very handsome eligible bachelors, you’ll have the choice of 3 versions of this drink.
The Quickie 😏 :with tea bags; The Slow burn 🔥 : with tea made from scratch; and my personal favorite, The Dirty 😈 : with a shot of expresso (of course 😉😉)
If you make it or share it please tag me 🤩
“Romance isn’t gratuitous bodice ripping. It can be, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but in the end, romance isn’t about the fantasy of being wealthy or beautiful or even being tied to the bed.” …. “It’s about elevating stories of joy above stories of pain. It is about seeing yourself as the main character in a very interesting—or maybe even quiet—life that is entirely yours to control.”
Summary:
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached. Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
My thoughts:
From the first moment we met Fizzy in The Soulmate equation I loved her character. I was so happy she got her own story and her own HEA. And bonus we get cameos from Jess, River and Juno.
I’m not a fan of reality tv or dating shows in general but I loved the idea of using the “hero” archetypes for the different men cast on the show, it was so original (specially the Vampire 😂)
The chemistry and banter between Connor and Fizzy was perfect.
Fizzy is so open in discussing her wants and needs, I love how she finds ways to insert funny “dirty jokes” whenever, and when she finally get her mojo back.
This one was steamier than other Christina Lauren books I’ve read, but it was perfect lust to love story, perfect for our Fizz.
The audiobook was fantastic and who can resist Connor’s sexy British accent 🔥
Finally, I love all the truth bombs dropped along the story and how she cleara up misconceptions about romance books and romance readers 💣
I’m so happy to participate in this tour. I mean, this book was literally begging for a recipe and review post 🤭
Karina works in a cookie factory, where all the cookies have fun names like: flirty, perky, mellow and active. Her favorite was The Perky, which is made with expresso, so I decided to make it using the recipes included at the end of the book.
I followed the recipe as the book except I used freshly brewed expresso. After trying it I would make some changes when I make it again. I’d use more sugar as I found it a bit bland, and maybe more expresso so I can highlight the coffee flaver more.
If you make it or share it please tag me 🤩
“They were a part of each other now, and when the connection broke, Karina would always be incomplete, a broken half roaming the earth.”
Summary:
All cookies are made with love—even if twenty-seven-year-old Karina Cortés doesn’t believe in the concept. For her, a simple life with no attachments is a good life. And her life is indeed good—even with her biggest accomplishment being passing the GED exam. Karina is able to secure an incredible and well-paying job at Singular Cookies, Inc., a small family-owned cookie manufacturing plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. And although the founders of the company treat her like family, Karina insists she doesn’t need or want one. Not after her mother chose a man over her own daughter, pushing the young Karina to move out and make it on her own.
Work and play collide when she meets the company’s hot new mechanic, Ian Feliciano, who stirs up feelings she tends to avoid. Karina knows she shouldn’t date him, but she’s strong; she’ll never turn pathetic like her friends or, especially, her mom. And with a looming plant inspection and trying to break up the CEO’s new romance, Karina has enough to distract herself. As the inspection draws near and Karina battles her heart, she’ll have to decide whether to continue holding on to deeply ingrained beliefs that keep everyone at bay, or learn that love is not as dangerous as she fears and in the end, it is our history—our singular recipe—that shapes how we live.
My thoughts:
⁃ Karina was the most unlikeable MC I have ever wanted to really like. From the get go she portrays herself as a tough female, with a I don’t need anyone and I don’t give a sh… attitude, very assertive with her sexual wants and needs. But deep down, you can see the cracks in her armour. The biggest problem I had was that it took too long for me to feel connected to her. You see as it’s revealed where all her trauma comes from, but she’s such a bully to her friends, she keeps lying to her love interest repeatedly, it really grated on me. I did end uo liking her as a character, but it took too long into the book for that to happen.
– Ian, our MMC is the portrait of the perfect man. For reasons I still don’t get, he falls for Karina, despite her insistence of pushing him away. He comes off as clingy, and he doesn’t respect Karinas boundaries, instead he gets pushy sometimes to get her to agree with him. Now, Karina doesn’t explain and constantly lies, so I think they’re both in the wrong anyway.
– I liked the supporting friendship of the MCs group of friends, they really added to the story
– I liked learning the process of the cookie factory, apparently the author has experience in food science so she integrated her knowledge into the story. As someone who enjoys baking, it was interesting to learn how different the process is on a large scale.
– I found the use of the cookies as a way to describe the characters of the book a cute and fun idea.
– Overall the book is good, the chemistry between the characters is there. I’m just not a fan of the miscommunication or lying as main drivers of the story. I understand that was the main characteristic of our MC and the reason for the use and her ultimate growth as a character.
If someone were to name a cookie after you, what would they name it? Mine would probably be named: Smarty pants cookie 🤗
Thanks to Hear our voices book tours and to Alcove press. I received a digital advance copy for review via, all opinions are my own.
Now that the reviews for this book are becoming sparce, I’m happy to share mine with a little treat of a deliciously refreshing drink for your summer parties.
Mojitos are one of my husbands favorite drinks. It’s common to find them with different fruit flavors here, usually passion fruitI, but I wanted to try out making them with a different fruit. I hope you give this one a try.
“It doesn’t matter how busy life’s been, how long the five of us have gone without seeing one another: meeting at the cottage is like pulling on a favourite sweatshirt, worn to perfection.”
Summary:
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
My thoughts:
⁃ Let me start by saying the banter I’ve come to expect from Emily Henry was delivered in this book.
– For me, it took a while to get into the story and feel connected to the main characters, specially because don’t love miscommunication as the main driver of the story and the end was not believable (avoiding spoilers) from my medicine background.
– I loved the chemistry between the secondary characters snd the friendship between them. The reality of how friendships change as we get older and our lives get more complicated. It made me think anout my own friends and how I treasure how we’ve kept our relationships despite time and distance.
– If you’re are looking for a fun summer beach read and are still one of the holdouts, pick this one up.
– While it wasn’t my favorite of her books, she knows how to make a story compelling. I still highly recommend it for fans of her work.
What’s your favorite summer drink? I love Pineapple- cilantro margaritas. Look for my prior Recipe and review to find the recipe if your curious to try it.
I can’t believe this is my first #RecipeandaReview of the year, but alas, It’s been busy. I’m excited for this one to be the first for 2023: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett paired with an Enchanted Fairy Spiced cake
When I think about fairies, I think of magic, woods, secret gardens and storybooks. As I read this one, set in cold Scandinavian region, poor Emily and Wendell traipsing in the snow covered mountains, I wanted to make something delicious that would warm them up for a cold winter night.
I found the perfect Spiced cake recipe and made some adjustments. It’s delicious and moist and not too sweet, that you can have it with your morning coffee (I did without the frosting). I also tried my hand at decorating it and I think it came out lovely.
“The Folk were of another world, with its own rules and customs—and to a child who always felt ill-suited to her own world, the lure was irresistible.”
“I prefer your company, Em.” He said it as if it were obvious. I snorted again, assuming he was teasing me. “Over the company of a tavern filled with a rapt and grateful audience? I’m sure you do.” “Over anyone else’s company.” Again, he said it with some amusement, as if wondering what I was doing speculating about something so evident.
Summary:
Emily Wilde is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people. As journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discover dark fae magic, she ends up finding much more. As an academic, she tried to merely observe and gather information from the community, but this is no ordinary community, and she discovers that it’s only through getting involved and helping them thst she can truly find all that she is looking for.
My thoughts:
⁃ This book was so magical, whitty, cozy and charming. I can’t think of any other book to compare it to. It feels like historical fiction but with these wonderful magical elements of the world of fairies.
⁃ The writting like a field notes diaty, with footnotes included to add on fairy tales of the folk of different aread, it was a wonderful addition to complement the story.
⁃ Like the original fairy tales, it dives into dark fairy lore where stories have dark undertones. Fairies are mostly not good, and while you can make bargains with the wee folk, you have to be careful of the courtly fae, who can be pretty evil.
⁃ I loved the banter between the main characters. There are romatic leanings between them, Emily and Wendell are so very cute together.
⁃ I also enjoyed the side characters from the small village, the little fae she names Poe, and Shadow, the dog that is not just a dog.
I enjoyed this book so much. I’m looking forward to the second and wouldn’t mind if there were more.
This is the last #RecipeandaReview of the hear, closing uo with a bang! I bring you a holiday Romance: Amor Actually and Puertorrican Coquito!
In PR Christmas isn’t Christmas without a glass of cold Coquito. This traditional coconut-based drink is thick, creamy and rich, loaded with spices and rum! It’s sure to warm you up specially if you’re expecting cold weather. And the best part (for me) is that it’s eggless.
Coquito is a Puertorrican tradition. It’s usually made around the holidays from Thanksgiving to Día de Reyes. Most families have their own recipe variations that are passed down. It’s meant to be shared, so make ahead to gift to family and friends or bring to your holiday gatherings.
“Let’s go celebrate with our people and drink some coquito, baby. Make some first memories.”
“I come bearing Nochebuena gifts,- she announced, holding the bottle of coquito”
Summary:
Nochebuena. One party. Nine Happily Ever Afters. It’s Christmas Eve in New York City, when anything is possible. For these couples, it’s the season to find true love. From second-chances, big leaps, missed connections, and reconnections, this charming collection celebrates the spirit of the holidays and delivers nine perfect HEAs.
From seven acclaimed and bestselling Latina authors—Zoey Castile, Alexis Daria, Adriana Herrera, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Priscilla Oliveras, Sabrina Sol, and Mia Sosa—comes a holiday romance collection like never before.
My thoughts:
⁃ I was expecting a sweet holiday romance collection, but this one surprised me with all the heat! There are many stories, and variety in the levels but expect hot and heavy 🔥 in most of them. (Avoid if you’re not a fan of explicit scenes).
⁃ I loved that these female Latinx authors focused on diverse Latinx characters from many countries, backgrounds and inclusive LGBTQI+ rep all surrounding Nochebuena.
⁃ I’m not a fan of instalove, which is a me thing, and I do realize since these are short stories it’s something hard to avoid, I did appreciate most managed to have prior build up.
⁃ I loved the interconnected stories, but I found many of the plots too similar in the basics to the movie. They manage to center them around Lantix culture, customs, food, family.
⁃ I liked how all the storied finally connect and everyone gets together in the final chapter of the last story.
Do you usually read holiday romances? I usually don’t but this was a good collection of stories to read.
Have you ever had Coquito? if you haven’t I highly suggest to try this one some time.
It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview with some quick and easy no-bake energy balls that are Levi and Bee approved. Now that the Love on the Brain fever has died a but down, I’m sharing Chocolate and Peanut butter energy balls along with my review.
“Levi packs snacks. He brings them to work for himself, but he’s lousy at gauging portions and always makes too much… I roll my eyes and sigh heavily, but I comply. Because today he made dark chocolate and peanut butter energy balls, and they were life-shatteringly good.”
“She’s everything I ever wanted and I want to inject her into my veins and also to never see her again. There’s nothing like her and these feelings, they are fucking intolerable. They were half-asleep while she was gone, but now she’s here and my body thinks it’s a fucking teenager and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. There is nothing I can do, so I’ll just . . . not.”
Summary:
Bee Königswasser’s dream just became a reality: leading a team at NASA on a neuroengineering project. Until her dream becomes a nightmare when she finds out her co-lead is her former grad school archenemy, Levi Ward. But, is her really? When things aren’t going well, she starts seeing Levi as an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. Which is making her very confused and wondering what her role model, Marie Curie would do.
My thoughts:
⁃ I enjoyed the science side of the story, it was interesting the mix of engineering and neuroscience
⁃ The burn and the eventual steam was perfect 🔥 I didn’t have to wait until the very end (I’m looking at you TLH) and definitely more than her prior book.
⁃ I thought that the conflict of the story was well done. I loved seeing how Bee’s feelings evolved and that even though there are many miscommunications, they are clarified along the way. Even though I knew a HEA was coming was still anxious and stressed for the characters.
⁃ I loved the secret Twitter identity twist to the story.
⁃ There are some things that have become a bit repetitive in the authors books that I don’t love, like how she likes her men big (they’re all tall and towering and ummm 🍆); and her female characters are always petite and quirky. And no one ever seems to have condoms in hand, the truat me I’m clean is getting old. I hope she starts moving away from this in her next books.
⁃ This one exceeded my expectations and the audiobook narration was great.
It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview with a fun twist on a well loved cocktail. I’m sharing my Whiskey Colada recipe and reviewing A Proposal they can’t refuse to kick off my Hispanic / Latinx Heritage month series of book recommendations.
“I named this whiskey Coquí, because, like the goddess to her love, my heart has always called for you.”
It’s hard not to love this Puerto Rican born drink. It immediately makes me recall wonderful days spent catching the sun and listening to the waves of the sea. As I was listening to this book, with all the foodie references from Kamilah’s delicious cooking to Liam’s amazing descriptions of his whiskey, I knew I had to make this drink.
Former BFs Kamilah and Liam find themselves in a trap. Their meddling grandfathers force them to agree to get engaged, or they risk losing everything both of them have worked so hard for. Kamilah, her family’s Boricua restaurant; Liam, his grandfather’s Irish whiskey distillery. Can they stand to be near each other long enough to get what they both want?
My thoughts:
– Give me all the food! Don’t read this book hungry, everything described sounded so delicious.
– Tropes: I’m not a fan of force tropes, but in this one the forced engagement worked so well. I wouldn’t call this Enemies to lovers as in reality the MCC is already in love, but his distance was believable.
– The one bed trope and the steam: one bed trope had a poor excuse and never addressed further, however the steam was just right for me, right towards the middle so I was not left waiting forever. Open door but not too explicit. I felt the development of their relationship was well done. Both characters had good depth and personality growth and the conflict and how it was resolved played well within the story.
– I wished the conflict with the BFF had also had some resolution, but this is a series, so it may be addressed in future books.
– The author delp perfectly with tough topics such as family trauma, the expectations of children of immigrants and the problems that arise with gentrification.
– Last but not least, the meddling grandfathers. I absolutely loved Papo and Killian. So much so that I named my cocktail for them. These 2 where a hoot and I really enjoyed their shenanigans.
This rom-com was definitely a breath of fresh air and I loved it.
Have you tried a Piña Colada? Do you like them? Have you read this book? What did you think?
And for the bonus, my Homemade Pineapple soda. This is delicious and refreshing. Very easy to make. You can control the amount of sugar you add by adding more or less simple syrup and club soda to the mix.
For the love of Libros 