Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Infinite by Nicholas MainierInfinite by Nicholas Mainier


When I heard about this book at a webinar with Harper Collins, I knew I had to read it. I have read a couple other Katrina and post-Katrina New Orleans books that I have really enjoyed.  Plus, Infinite also deals with the illegal immigrant issue, a bit, as well as the drug war and violence in Mexico.  Though ‘The Infinite’ is fiction, these are all topics I have interest in so it seemed like it would be a good fit.

After Hurricane Katrina, teenagers, Luz and Jonah are romantically involved. They both come from broken families and come to depend on each other for comfort and respite from their problems. Jonah has virtually no family left and basically has to fend for himself while Luz, who snuck into the U.S. with her father, only has him to look after her.  It is clear that her father loves her but is also struggling to care for her.  He has to line up early in the morning at the hardware store, in hopes of getting work, as an un-documented worker.

When Luz becomes pregnant, Jonah tells her that he lov3es her and will quit high school and join the army to support them.  However, Luz’s father sends her to live with her grandmother in Mexico instead.  This is when the book really heats up.  Stuff happens on her journey to her grandmother’s.  Stuff that no one should have to deal with or experience!

When Jonah doesn’t hear from Luz, he decides to drive to Mexico.  Little does he know that Luz is struggling to save herself and the life of her unborn child!

I had a really hard time getting into this book.  It took about 100 pages for it to finally grab me.  No, I don’t usually need a lot of action and violence to get into a book, but I did with this book.  Once Luz started her journey into Mexico, I really started to warm up to ‘The Infinite’ and I enjoyed it the rest of the way through.  I certainly am glad I read it and can recommend it.  I will defiantly check out more books by Nicholas Mainier.

I received the ebook version via Edelweiss for my honest review.

4/5 Stars

About Nicholas MainierInfinite by Nicholas Mainier


Nicholas Mainieri’s debut novel is The Infinite, published in 2016.

Born in Miami, Florida, in 1983, Nicholas has also lived in Colorado and Indiana. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, he earned his MFA from the University of New Orleans.

His short stories have appeared in the Southern Review, the Southern Humanities Review, and Salamander, among other literary magazines. He currently teaches writing and literature at Nicholls State University, located in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

He resides in New Orleans with his wife and son.

Desert Vegan Box Set 2 in 1: 150+ Ice Cream Vegan and Chocolate Vegan Recipes by Sam KumaDesert Vegan Box Set 2 in 1: 150+ Ice Cream Vegan and Chocolate Vegan Recipes by Sam Kuma


My favorite part of a meal is desert.  When I go to a restaurant, I ask to see the desert menu before I order dinner.  That way I know if I need to save room for desert.  LOL!  In fact, neither my husband, Bill nor I can eat as much as we use to.  When dining out, we often share a main dish and sometimes desert.  At home, I cook full recipes and we eat the leftovers.  We always have vegan deserts on hand, either ones I make or buy already made.  So, I am always happy to try out more desert recipes.

The Vegan Desert Box Set is two desert books.  One is vegan ice cream recipes and the other is vegan chocolate recipes.

Vegan Ice Cream Book


In the Vegan Ice Cream book, not all the recipes are actually ice cream.  It starts out with slush and shaved ice recipes, and then moves on to sorbets, and then ice cream recipes.   Some of the recipes call for an ice cream maker, which I don’t have.  I have made vegan ice cream without one using a special technique with good success so I used that with the recipes I tried.

All the fruit based sorbet recipes I tried worked fine and were quite delicious.  I made both the Lemon and Berry Sorbets. The Chocolate Sorbet was too icy but perhaps the result would have been better with an ice cream maker. I also made the Soft Serve Ice Cream that doesn’t call for an ice cream maker.  It was delicious but not very original.  There are a lot of frozen banana recipes out there. They are a vegan staple when it comes to desert and this is the first recipe I learned when I went vegan over 25 years ago.  There were some really good ideas for ice cream flavors and I look forward to trying more of the ice cream recipes.

There were also some ice Cream topping recipes like a berry sauce and hot fudge. The Peanut Butter Hot Fudge was really good.  It is rich so use sparingly.  Chocolate and peanut butter together is a favorite of mine!

Chocolate Vegan Book


The Chocolate Vegan Recipe Book is not just deserts, in fact, it starts with breakfast.  I don’t eat a big breakfast very often.  I usually just have a super-foods cereal mixed with my home made vegan yogurt and a handful of dried cranberries on top.  I follow that with a glass of my home made kombucha (a fermented healthy drink).  However, about once a month I make a brunch on the weekend for Bill and I.  Sometimes we invite friends over too.  This weekend I made the Chocolate French Toast.  French toast is my favorite comfort food and the cocoa powder and peanut butter made this French toast extra rich and flavorful.

I also made the Raspberry Hot Chocolate.  It’s been unusually cold here the last couple weeks so that really hit the spot.  I haven’t had time to make any of the cakes, cookies, etc but am looking forward to trying some of those recipes as well!

I give the Vegan Boxed Set books 4/5 stars.

I received the ebook version for my review.

About Sam Kuma


Sam Kuma is passionate about sharing his culinary experience to the world. His work involves modernization of healthy diet plans. He is good at vegan, ketogenic, paleo, dash and several ethnic cuisines. His main focus is to make healthy diets like vegan and ketogenic mainstream by producing delicious, appetizing recipes. In his first two books regarding Vegan recipes, he has produced delicious Vegan Chocolate meals, Vegan Desserts, Vegan Ice Creams, Vegan Burgers and Sandwiches. #veganweightloss

Buy Desert Vegan Box Set 2 in 1: 150+ Ice Cream Vegan and Chocolate Vegan Recipes by Sam Kuma 

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Brothers Path by Martha KennedyBrothers Path by Martha Kennedy


In 1524 to 1531 times were tough in a small village near Zürich, in Switzerland.  It was the time of the Protestant Reformation.  Much like the bloody Spanish inquisition and the Christian crusades, it was a struggle for religious freedom.

‘The Brothers Path’ tells the struggles of the Schneebeli family.  The book begins with the birth and death of Rudolf and his mother.  The six brothers are left to navigate the tumultuous times.  We witness each brother’s journey to work and raise their families or take other paths, while also trying to stay alive.  Some embrace the Protestant religion, one becomes a priest, staying in the Catholic religion but none come out unaffected by the Reformation!

I didn’t know about this other religious struggle in history.  I love to read and learn about different places, periods and struggles in history so this book was a great read for me.  Some of this book is hard to read, it’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion however, the characters are well drawn out and you can’t help needing to follow them to their fates.  At times I felt like I was their struggling along side. A very memorable novel that will stay with me. Recommended for historical fiction lovers.

I received the ebook for my honest opinion.

4/5

About Martha KennedyBrothers Path by Martha Kennedy


Award winning author, Martha Kennedy has published three works of historical fiction. Her first novel, Martin of Gfenn, which tells the story of a young fresco painter living in 13th century Zürich, was awarded the Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society Indie Review and the BRAG Medallion from IndieBRAG in 2015.

Her second novel, Savior, also an BRAG Medallion Honoree (2016), tells the story of a young man in the 13th century who fights depression by going on Crusade. Her newest novel, The Brothers Path, a loose sequel to Savior, looks at the same family three hundred years later as they find their way through the Protestant Reformation.

Kennedy has also published many short-stories and articles in a variety of publications from the Denver Post to the Business Communications Quarterly.

Kennedy was born in Denver, Colorado and earned her undergraduate degree in American Literature from University of Colorado, Boulder and her graduate degree in American Literature from the University of Denver. She has taught college and university writing at all levels, business communication, literature and English as a Second Language.

For many years she lived in the San Diego area, most recently in Descanso, a small town in the Cuyamaca Mountains. She has recently returned to Colorado to live in Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley.

Website http://marthakennedy.co
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherspath/
T
witter: https://twitter.com/MarthaKennedy6

To learn more about Kennedy’s award-winning novels, Martin of Gfenn and Savior,check out her Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/martha_ann_kennedy

Buy Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy


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Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy