Giveaway HOP: Books That Need More Attention

Hosted by Stuck in Books

-One winner will get to choose ONE of the below books

-Fill out the form to enter

-Entries must be received by October 14th at 11:59pm

-Winner will be chosen via Random.org

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Plague Town by Dana Fredsti

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater

October Releases

Yet another month with some fabulous releases!

Which are you looking forward to?

October 7

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Night Sky by Suzanne Brockmann

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Unmarked (The Legion #2) by Kami Garcia

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

October 14

Little Dead Riding Hood (Scarily Ever Laughter #2) by Amie and Bethanie Borst

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

As You Wish by Cary Elwes

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

October 21

Seventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson #7) by Charlie Davidson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

October 28

Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Stone Cold Touch (Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Below are some additional authors who have new releases in October but to save some time I’m just going to list them.

In no certain order…

Natalie C. Parker, Martina Boone, Garth Nix, Christina Lauren, Daisy Whitney, Danielle Ellison, Kelsey Macke, Jay Crownover, Jamie McGuire, Jennifer Probst, Jessica Sorensen, Alethea Kontis, Nalini Singh, Maggie Stiefvater, Ilona Andrews, Michelle Madow, CC Hunter, Jocelynn Drake, Lisa Renee Jones, Ann Rice, Christina Henry, Jay Crownover, Liliana Hart, Sophie Kinsella, Jill Shalvis, Lara Adrian, Neil Shusterman, Lauren Kate, Kristin Cast, Terry Spear, Faith Hunter, John Sandford, Erin McCarthy, J.R. Ward, Maya Banks, Rick Riordan, MaryJanice Davidson, Alyxandra Harvey, and Emma Chase

Friday Foodie Affair: Crisp Ham and Egg Cups

Crisp Ham and Egg Cups

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

4 slices black forest or Virginia ham

4 large eggs

salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh basin, scallions or parsley, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly coat 4 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Fit 1 slice of ham into each muffin cup (ham will hang over the edges of cups). Crack 1 egg into each cup. Bake in middle of the oven until whites are cooked but yolks are still runny, about 13 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper  and remove cups carefully. Sprinkle with chopped basin, scallions or parsley.

My Thoughts:

My ham/egg cups didn’t turn out quite the way they should have. I used thicker ham slices and it messed up the cooking time and then I somehow ended up overcooking it a little.  It still tasted good but the yolks weren’t really runny so it was more like a hard boiled egg wrapped in ham, lol.

This is a quick and simple recipe and I look forward to trying it again…just with thinner ham slices.

Recipe Source: wwwthecomfortofcooking.com

Photo Source: Me :)

Cover Love: Sunset Rising

Sunset Rising
By S.M. McEachern

Series: Sunset Rising #1

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Goodreads Summary:

February 2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground and are grudgingly permitted entry. But the price of admission is high.

283 years later…Sunny O’Donnell is a seventeen-year-old slave who has never seen the sun. She was born in the Pit, a subterranean extension of the bio-dome. Though life had never been easy, lately it had become a nightmare. Her mom was killed in the annual Cull, and her dad thought it was a good time to give up on life. Reyes Crowe, her long-time boyfriend, was pressuring her to get marries, even though it would mean abandoning her father.

She didn’t think things could get any worse until she was forced upstairs to the Dome to be a servant-girl at a bachelor party. That’s where she met Leisel Holt, the president’s daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner.

Now Sunny is wanted for treason. If they catch her, she’ll be executed.

She thought Leisel’s betrayal was the end. But it was just the beginning.

Links:

Sunset Rising on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

I don’t know that there’s anything overly exceptional about this cover but I still really like it. I just want to wrap myself in the warm colors! I also really like her dress sleeves, lol.

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

The Summer I Became a Nerd

By Leah Rae Miller

Series: Standalone

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Goodreads Summary:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader – perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl’s body isn’t just unknown, it’s anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Links:

The Summer I Became a Nerd on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Leah Rae Miller’s Website

My Thoughts:

The Summer I Became a Nerd is a sweet read about a girl trying to find her place in life. It also made me wish I were a nerd. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a nerd alright but I never really got into comics, video games, or cosplay. Oh the things I missed out on! Especially the cute nerdy guys like Logan…

Hhmm, at what age does it become unacceptable to pine after a fictional YA character? Because I swear I don’t have cougar tendencies in real life, haha. How about I put it this way…the 16 year old me is nerd crushing on Logan. I’m also very excited that The Summer I Became a Nerd will have a sequel! Yay! I will surely be keeping an eye out for Romancing the Nerd to release so I can nerd crush on Dan too! Um….I mean so I can enjoy another great book by Leah Rae Miller :-P

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Friday Foodie Affair: Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken pieces

1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix

4 tablespoons melted butter (divided)

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 (10 ½ ounce) can cream of chicken soup

8 ounces cream cheese

½ cup chicken broth

Directions:

Place chicken pieces in crock pot and sprinkle Italian seasoning over chicken. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan and sauté onion and garlic. Add Cream of Chicken Soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Stir until smooth.

Add this mixture to crock pot and cook on low for an additional hour.

My Thoughts:

I don’t think I had ever sautéed onions and garlic before making this recipe.  Can you believe that? I guess I’m an onion late bloomer.  And because I’m a late bloomer I also decided to use a lot less than the recipe calls for.

Aside from the amount of onion, I think I only made one other alteration to the recipe. I was reading some of the reviews and a couple people suggested cooking it on high for a shorter amount of time. I’m all for shorter cooking times so I set the crock pot to high for 3.5 hours. The time and temperature changes worked out nicely.  

The chicken was moist and the cream cheese mixture was delicious! I cooked up some pasta to go with it and the two together were damn good.  The leftovers also get a thumbs up.  I may try it over boiled potatoes next time but you better believe I’ll be making it again!

Recipe Source: www.food.com

Photo Source: Me :)