Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is the theme is books with one word titles!
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett - I have reread this book at Christmas time for the last couple of years. Chances are I will reread it again at the end of this year.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - My first and, so far, only Maggie O'Farrell. I do need to read more!
Sweetheart by Sarah Mayberry - I love Sarah Mayberry's books and this was a fun read.
Jilted by Rachael Johns - Another favourite Aussie author!
Circe by Madeleine Miller - Second week in a row that I have had Circe in my TTT
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - I will always remember reading this while I was in South Africa.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld - Feels like a long time since I read this book.
Eyrie by Tim Winton - I haven't read that many Tim Winton books. I feel like I should read more but I haven't loved the ones that I have read.
Bellagrand by Paullina Simons - I loved The Bronze Horseman. This book is the second prequel. Unfortunately, I didn't love it anywhere near as much.
Floodtide by Judy Nunn - Another Aussie author, and another one I have only read one book by.
Have you read any of these books with one word titles?
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Ten Most Recent Reads.
Snowy Mountains Daughter by Alissa Callen - The first in a series and my first read from this author! Lucky I have lots of back list to explore. (review here)
A New York Secret by Ella Carey - This is the first in a trilogy. Looking forward to reading the next one (review here)
Sweetheart by Sarah Mayberry - Sarah Mayberry is one of my favourite Australian contemporary romance authors. (review here)
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - This is definitely going to be on my list of best books for this year. (review here)
Secrets of the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas - The third book in the Railway Girls series (review here)
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss - I really enjoyed this book. I will be posting a review shortly!
The Love She Finds by Maggie Christensen - This is the fourth book in the Granite Springs series which features older couples finding their happy ever after. I have read all four this year, and still have 3 to read!
The Railway Girls in Love by Maisie Thomas - Before you can read the third book in a series, you need to read the second right? (review here)
The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley - I have been listening to this on audio all year. because I just don't have my audiobook time any more. I finally finished it, just in time for the last book in the series to be released.
The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer - This will also make it to my top reads of 2021.
I am really, really surprised at how many of these I have reviewed already. Now, I just need to write the other couple!
As you read this, we are in transit on our way back from visiting Uluru in Central Australia. It is the first time for the both us to see the world's biggest monolith, and visiting Northern Territory, not to mention the first time leaving our home state of Victoria since the end of 2019! My plan is to post about our visit in next week's Weekend Cooking post.
Yesterday I posted about a book called Sweetheart by Sarah Mayberry which is part of a multi-author series set in a Vermont cafe. As you would imagine there's plenty of food mentions when you read a book set in a cafe, but for this week I thought I would share this quote about coffee and wine!
Part of the reason for choosing these quotes because I am not much of a connoiseur when it comes to wine or coffee. What I do know is when I like or or I don't but that's as far as it gets. I do like the idea of the processes that goes into making both of them. I like the idea that both coffee and wine vary depending on where it is grown and can be influenced by so many things from the makeup of the soil, how rocky it is, whether it was picked under a full moon. That all fascinates me. But yes, give me a glass of wine or a glass of coffee and the most I can probably tell you is if it is smooth or not.
"Come on in to the apartment and meet Larry," Beck said.
"Sounds good," I said, wincing at how bright and chirpy I sounded.
Beck's mouth twitched again, as he led me down a short corridor. After passing his office and the packing room, we walked through a doorway into a large space that run the full width of the building. Two big metal machines were spaced along the far wall, while pallets piled high with burlap sacks filled a corner.
"Are these the roasters?" I asked, forgetting to be nervous for a second as I went to examine the large circular tray attached to the front of one of the machines.
"Yep, these are our babies," Beck said. "That's the cooling tray. Beans go in there, and once we get past first crack, and we're happy with the roast, we pour them out here to cool. " He pointed to a large hopper on top of the machine, then to the tray.
"First crack is when the beans open up in the heat, right?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Bang on the money."
"I did some googling," I admitted. "But Google didn't tell me how you know when you've got first crack."
The space was scrupulously clean, and the delicious smell I'd noted the other day in the packing room was stronger here, a mixture of the baked bread scent and caramelized sweetness he'd just described.
"So this is where the magic happens," I said.
And then a bit later
Beck glanced down at the wine I'd brought and a broad frown crossed his forehead.
"I wasn't sure what we were having and the guy in the store said this was good with almost anything," I said.
"Where'd you go? Hunger Mountain Co-op?"
"How did you know?" I asked, surprised.
Beck stepped over to the fridge and retrieved a familiar bottle.
"We bought the same wine," I said, getting the joke
"From the same manager, I'm thinking, since I got the same spiel."
We both laughed and any residual tension I'd been holding melted away.
"If it sucks, we can go back and complain together," I said.
"Let's give it a shot."
He opened the wine and poured two glasses, handing mine over. We both took an experimental sip.
"I'm tasting wine. I think there's a top note of wine in there, too. And maybe a little wine on the palate afterwards?" I said
"Definitely," Beck said, taking another mouthful and swirling it around his mouth ostentatiously, sucking his cheeks in and out and generally looking ridiculous. "Pretty sure the grapes were picked on a Friday by a redheaded man with big feet and a gambling habit.'
"Insightful," I said.
"It's what I do," Beck said with a casual shrug.
Are you a coffee or wine connoisseur?
Weekly Meals
Saturday: Peri Peri Chicken with chips and salad Sunday: Leftovers Quiche Monday: Leftover Leftovers Quiche Tuesday: Wednesday:
Thursday: Friday:
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
Sarah Mayberry is one of my favourite Australian contemporary romance authors so I am always excited to hear that she has a new book coming out. The interesting thing about this book is that is part of a series that is set in a world created by another author. Let me see if I can explain that a bit better as I found it a very interesting concept which I don't think I have heard of before.
Author Sarina Bowen published the first book in her True North book in 2016 and since then series has continued. The series is set in Vermont and some of the key locations/settings were the local cafe, The Busy Bean, the bar called Speakeasy and there is a sports team as well that has been featured.
Now Bowen has set herself up as a publisher to bring The World of True North to life. Within the World of True North, there are going to be four series/story streams with each book written by different authors who can use the setting as well as some of the existing characters from the series and then they get to tell their own story. There are going to be 46 books all up. 46! The four series are going to be Busy Bean, contemporary romance set in the coffee shop, Moo U which is contemporary sports romance, Vino and Veritas which is going to be LGBTQ romances and Speakeaasy which will be more sexy romance (I think).
This book is set in the Busy Bean which is owned by a couple of friends who have had their own stories in the original series. This book focuses on Haley who has recently started working in the cafe. In addition, she is a talented leather artisan who is trying to buiild her online business up. When the cafe has a drop in customers soon after she starts, Haley needs to be investigate to be sure it isn't about her coffee making skils.
It turns out there are some new coffee roasters in town who are supplying the opposition cafes, one of whom happened to be Haley's sisters ex-boyfriend, Daniel Beck. Haley always had a thing for Beck, but obviously he is out of bounds. Beck is attracted to Haley but his relationship with her sister Jess was volatile, to say the least, so he doesn't want to put himself in a situation where he needs to relive how awful that time in his life was. And yet, they can't seem to stay away from each other.
There are a couple of things that I expect from a Sarah Mayberry book is great chemistry from the characters, and that there is a depth to the story, and this book is no different on both of those fronts. This time she tactfully explores the impact of mental illness and the effect that it can have on whole families.
So given the unusual nature of the series, the question is did I enjoy the world of True North enough to want to read more. I have already bought the first book in the actual series by Sarina Bowen, and I can see myself dipping into the greater series as a whole too. And, of course, I will still be looking for any Sarah Mayberry book I can get hold of, but to be fair, I did already know that even before I started this book.
Tomorrow I am going to be sharing a couple of quotes from this book as part of my Weekend Cooking series!
