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Sweet Love by Iman Osman (Book Review)

Sweet Love is a compilation of classic desserts handed down from one generation to the next. It is the way Iman’s family connect, sharing and making new memories. The intention behind this book is to revive bonding, love, appreciation, and connection throughout generations of families through the love of baking.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

“Sweet Love is a compilation of classic desserts handed down from one generation to the next. The intention behind this book is to revive bonding, love, appreciation, and connection throughout generations of families through the love of baking.” – Iman Osman

The author’s intent with Sweet Love is to bring her kids and her mother together over our shared love for food, for the timeless desserts that her grandmother has passed down to them. I couldn’t wait to see what seasonal and nonseasonal desserts Iman had shared. 

Iman Osman did not only offer recipes; they also shared tips. For starters, they instructed readers on what to use in place of ghee, how to properly cut and store a vanilla bean, and dividing a cake. As a fan of cooking and baking shows, I’ve seen bakers (professionally and home cooks) attempt to do the perfect split. I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it’s time to try it using Iman’s instructions. 

Iman Osman’s family recipes look divine. Oh, how I wish I could reach inside my laptop and pull out the beaters. I bet the chocolate ganache tasted delicious. 

My family loves raspberry jam, so I know they will be thrilled if they see me making fresh jam for them. With only three ingredients, the recipe will be easy on the wallet. Since I have never made fresh jam before, I appreciated all the “Tips and Tricks” and the storing information. 

The “Linzer Cookie” also looked yummy and activated my sweet tooth. I will have to try it this winter. Thank you, Iman, for the “How to assemble a Linzer Cookie.” You took the guesswork out of the process! 

There are numerous mouth-watering recipes in Sweet Love. Chocolatey, fruity, custards, pudding, biscuits, cheesecake, cookies, nutty—Iman has that and much more! 

This book contained recipes for desserts that I have tried before in my home and through travels. It also had desserts I’ve only seen on television and longed to try, such as “Granita” and “Kunafa.” With Iman’s how-to images, tips, and suggestions, I feel empowered to take them all on. My family will thank you; my waistline, not so much. 

Sweet Love is the perfect book for any time of year. So, grab your apron, and let’s serve something sweet for your family tonight! 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

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Gingersnap Snatcher by Vicky Weber (Book Review and Author Interview)

Picture

Abuela made cookies to eat after school.

The gingersnap kind, just the thought made us drool!

We rushed home excited. We opened the door…

…The cookies were missing-just crumbs on the floor!

Can you help the kids crack the case of the Gingersnap Snatcher?

 
 
 
 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 
 

Oh my goodness gracious, I loved everything about Gingersnap Snatcher. 

First, the story was adorable and funny. As an owner of a kitty, I cracked up over the image of Mr. Wiggles, created by Svitlana Liuta, with a mouthful of cookies, and one is his paw. Oh, and the Christmas tree scene is totally relatable. My kitty is either in the tree or lying on the couch, staring at the twinkling lights. 

I think toddlers will love looking at all the bright and bold pictures, while elementary school-age children will love trying to solve the mystery alongside the three siblings. I can practically hear the giggles when they discover who the cookie thief was.

 After the revelation, stick around; Vicky Weber included bonus material.

1.) “Gingersnap Snatcher” song. To be honest, we (my daughter and I) could not find the right rhythm and beat to make it flow effortlessly. Instead, we sang, “Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?”

2.) A way for you to get Abuela’s gingersnap recipe. Most kids love helping out in the cookie-making process, and they also love eating their creations. If you haven’t made these from scratch yet, now’s the time!

I can’t wait to make these with my youngest!  

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: 
 

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Vicky Weber is a musician and an elementary educator with a love for children’s literature. As a Puerto Rican author of Taíno descent, she strives to create picture books that are fun, engaging, and educational. All her current titles are based on her background in music education or her heritage. While she has taught a variety of grade levels, primary level education is where her passion lies. It has long been a dream of hers to teach children through the magic of books and she hopes you love reading her works as much as she loved writing them.

 

 

Do you write every day?

(Vicky) I don’t but I think that’s healthy. With any job, trying to do big projects every single day is a quick way to burn yourself out. I write whenever I can but I also try to spend as much time with my family as I can.

 

As a mom and business owner, how do you find the time to write?

(Vicky) Great question. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. My baby girl is almost five months old, so I try to soak up every snuggle and every laugh because I know that time goes by quickly. Really, it’s all about balance and creativity. Sometimes, I write using the notes app on my phone. Sometimes, I use talk-to-text and send story ideas to my husband. And sometimes, writing doesn’t happen until after my daughter’s bedtime. Every day is a new adventure…both in writing and in parenthood.

 

You have published 6 books with another on the way. Do you have a favorite?

(Vicky) (I actually have more than that!) Rhythm Rescue was my first idea for a story, but it wasn’t the first book I published because I was nervous. Scared, even. I didn’t know if other people would like it and the book was so close to my heart. I feared rejection. But I pushed through, got it published, and now, it is my bestselling title. I frequently get emails and pictures of teachers using it with their music classes or parents reading it to their children. If I had to choose a favorite book, it would be that one.

 

What’s your favorite song/instrument/book?

(Vicky) To be quite honest, my collection of books for my music classroom is quite large because I strongly believe that music and literacy go hand-in-hand. There are so many that I love! One that I always start the school year with is Giraffe’s Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. It is a great way to facilitate a conversation about respecting one another as we create, and we discuss how some things will be easier than others but to never give up. Throughout the year, when students get frustrated, I remind them of the end of the book: “We all can dance…when we find the music that we love.”

 

What does a typical morning look like for you?

(Vicky) Oh, nothing special. I get my daughter ready for the day and then I sit down with my coffee and breakfast. I check my planner (I have to keep one or I’ll have NO idea what day it is!) and then I get to work. I network, market, write, research, answer other author’s questions…it takes up more of the day than you’d think! But I love it.

 
 
connect with the author:  
website ~ twitter ~ facebookGoodreads ~instagram
 
 
 
 
Disclaimer: All questions and answers were constructed by the author and/or their representative. 
 
 

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Bake Believe by Cori Cooper (Book Review)

Can it be real? Or is it bake believe?

All Cat Anderson wants out of life is a circle of friends to giggle with and a few cute boys to flirt with. Her first day of eighth grade is looking perfect—until a scheduling mishap places her in a culinary arts class.

Food, it turns out, is a very big deal. In her family there is a secret, too big to stay hidden any longer. A secret too fantastic to be real. Something happens when Cat bakes. Something impossible.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from R&R Book Tours.
I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

I adored Bake Believe by Cori Cooper. The cute foodie titles weren’t just for show. Nope. Almost every chapter contained a recipe: “Homemade Bread” – “Brownies” – Sugar Cookies” and a dozen more mouth-watering delights. While the recipes were incentive enough to read the book, it also contained drama, humor, and a heaping spoonful of magic.

According to Amazon, Bake Believe is marketed towards teens and young; however, this forty plus woman found it highly entertaining. It reminded me of the teeny-bopper movies I would watch in my younger years. 

I encourage anyone from pre-teen and up to read this book. Then, start baking! Just make sure and cook while happy; you don’t want to chance pulling a Cat. (That will make sense after you read Bake Believe, so read it!) 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

 

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Print Purchase Link

Audiobook Purchase Link

 

About the Author

Cori (2)

Cori Cooper lives in the magical Arizona Mountains, which she’s pretty convinced is the setting for all the fairy tales.

Besides writing stories, she adores hanging out with her family, playing board games, hiking and baking, baking, baking. Like Cat’s family, she’s positive Cinnamon Rolls fix everything.

Cori’s Stories | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Be a Superhero in the Kitchen by Donna Glass (Children’s Book Showcase)

 

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Super Chefs’ Creations!

 

Let your child try their hand with the recipes in this book.

Every kid who becomes the superhero of suppertime is one who eats super well!

 

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Author Links

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The Christmas House Romances by Jennifer Griffith (3 Holiday Books)

The Christmas Cookie House 

Christmas, love, and a batch of cookies.

Leela Miller’s mom passed away last spring. Now, Leela is desperate to fill Mom’s shoes in the Ladies’ Auxiliary by chairing the Cookie House fundraiser. The hitch: mean-eyed Mrs. Coldicott refuses to host the event at her Society Row home as planned.

Leela must find a new venue big enough and fancy enough to draw in customers, or Mom’s event might get canceled. There’s only one perfect place: the Layton Mansion.

New vet school graduate Jay Wilson has been remodeling the Layton Mansion since he inherited it this summer. It’s almost Christmas, and the house is nearly ready to flip!

If he can get a good price for it, he can buy a partnership at a veterinary clinic out of town.

However, by stipulation of the will, Jay can’t sell the house until he cleans out the attic.

Jay needs help completing the enormous task before his deadline. The beautiful Leela will eagerly help—if he agrees to allow her to use the house for her event. But, when Jay learns that the Cookie House event is the same day as his sale deadline, will he sell the house out from under the girl he might just be falling in love with?

The Christmas Cookie House is Book 1 in the Christmas House Romance series by award-winning author Jennifer Griffith. Other books in the series include The Sleigh Bells Chalet and The Holiday Hunting Lodge. Jennifer writes clean, escapist fiction she calls Cotton Candy for the Soul—light, sweet, gone.

 

 

The Sleigh Bells Chalet 

Christmas, sleigh bells, and dashing through the snow—toward love.

Hotel owner Ellery Hart’s business is on the rocks. Rooms are empty, the lobby is ugly, and a huge loan payment is due. Unless she can pay, she will lose her grandpa’s legacy, the Bells Chalet. While her mom would have her marry the rich banker who is holding the hotel’s title ransom, that idea is beyond unacceptable.

Ellery needs brilliant business solution. But how to make one happen fast?

Bing Whitmore has been running the family business, Whitmore Thoroughbred Stables, on his own. But when his heart is broken by two females—horses, that is—he is thrown for an emotional loop, and all he wants to do is quit. Sell the stables. Never look at another horse again.

Instead, his cousin convinces him to take a vacation. They travel nine hours to the quietest hotel he can find—the Bells Chalet. Meeting a beautiful hotel owner makes this escape better than he could have hoped.

When Ellery needs help, Bing wants to do anything to make her smile, even if it means helping her fill the perfectly serene hotel with more guests. But when he learns that her hotel-saving plan involves the very thing he’s traveled so far to avoid, can Bing put aside his pain and help Ellery save her grandpa’s business and the jobs of the employees she loves?

The Sleigh Bells Chalet is Book 2 in the Christmas House Romance series by award-winning author Jennifer Griffith. Other books in the series include The Christmas Cookie House and The Holiday Hunting Lodge. Jennifer Griffith writes clean, escapist fiction she calls Cotton Candy for the Soul—light, sweet, gone.

 

 

The Holiday Hunting Lodge 

Snow, a hunting lodge, and a flight—both to and from—love.

Music composer Jesse Parrish has a dream contract! He’s been signed to write the soundtrack for a film with award potential. This one job could make his whole career. Twelve themes, all due to the producer at Christmas—but he’s completely blocked. He doesn’t have a single theme, let alone twelve.

He needs to get out of Vancouver and somewhere he can think.

Aspiring private pilot Mattie Daines has been crushing on Jesse since before he started dating Mattie’s older sister. His music makes her heart sing—but what kind of creep-o falls in love with her sister’s boyfriend? That’s half the reason she’s been working as an outdoors guide anywhere but Vancouver for the past couple of years.

When Mattie hears that Jesse is desperate for a private plane to take him to a friend’s mountain lodge, she leaps at the chance, if only to prove that she can be around him without her knees going weak.

Mattie whisks Jesse off to the mountains in her plane, but when bad weather threatens the flight, will this dangerous plane ride also threaten Mattie’s firm resolve not to let feelings for Jesse back into her life?

The Holiday Hunting Lodge is Book 3 in the Christmas House Romances series by award-winning author Jennifer Griffith. Other books in the series include The Christmas Cookie House and The Sleigh Bells Chalet. Read all three for a sweet holiday treat.

 

About Jennifer

Finally, a good hair day.

Jennifer Griffith is the award-winning, bestselling author of over twenty novels, both traditionally and independently published. She received a degree in English/Technical Writing and Japanese from Utah State University, and worked as a writer for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives before becoming a mother and switching to writing romantic comedy novels from home. She has done professional editing since 1991 and loves helping novelists take their work to the next level.

Jennifer has written for newspaper, her work appearing locally as well as in The Chicago Tribune and Meridian. Her book Big in Japan has been selected for both high school and college curriculum and has been optioned for film. She’s been a presenter at many workshops and conferences, including Salt Lake ComiCon and the ANWA Conference. She and her husband Gary have five brilliant and hilarious children ranging from ages 18 down to 8, who don’t care if she’s a writer; they just call her Mom.

Jennifer has no plans to write the Great American Novel. She’d rather compose what someone would read on a rainy afternoon with a cup of cocoa, or sitting on a beach chair while the waves crash. Light, frothy, gone.

To learn even more about Jennifer and get a view into her beliefs and what makes her who she is, read her spiritual blog here.

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