Cheryl's Book Nook

When Jonathan Dixon was thirty eight. Which was just a few years ago, he decided to pursue a new, exciting and somewhat scary challenge. He was going to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Jonathan had shared a love for food. He was a former writer for Martha Stewart Living magazine after all. Though, Mr. Dixon quickly learned that even the simplest of things like buttering meat or cutting fish is harder than you would think. There is an art form to what you are taught at CIA. This book was a very, insightful and fun look into the world of the CIA. Chef Gerard Viverito, the fish instructor was one of my favorite instructors. This is funny as most of the students there will tell you that he is one of the most feared instructors there. He can make a grown man cry. After reading this book, you might have better luck becoming a CIA agent than graduating the Culinary Institute of America and becoming a chef. This school is not as easy as baking a pie. Mr. Dixon did a very, go...

Kelly Jensen had a horrible life growing up. Her mother was murdered when she was little and Kelly was bounced around from foster home to foster home. When she was fifteen, Kelly was a runaway. It was on the streets that she met her husband. She thought, he would e her knight in shining armor and she would live happily ever after. She was quick to learn, he was her worst nightmare. Jake Brooks is an attorney. He was also friends with Porter. So when Porter is found murdered in a hotel room, he will do anything to find justice for his friend. Though, Jake will soon learn that he may not have known Porter as well as he thought he did. What happens when Kelly and Jake’s world collide together? I would say that The Gray Zone is more of a psychological thriller than a suspense/mystery. This book was just what the doctor ordered. I needed to read something like this. The last few books I have read have been fair but nothing that got me overly excited. I was wondering if I would find a book t...

Seventh Star Press is proud to announce the acquisition of The Angelkiller Triad, a provocative new urban fantasy series, as H. David Blalock becomes a member of the publishing company's growing family of authors. The acquisition comes right on the heels of the addition of D.A Adams' fantasy series, The Brotherhood of Dwarves, and follows a strong run of releases that has seen titles such as Jackie Gamber's Redheart (YA fantasy) and Steven Shrewsbury's Thrall (heroic fantasy) meet with a very warm reception from reviewers and readers alike. It is yet another strong testament to Seventh Star Press's committment to releasing quality titles exhibiting many facets of speculative fiction. H. David Blalock commented on his recent partnership with SSP. "I am excited about doing the Angelkiller series with Seventh Star, and honored to be in such talented company. I just hope I can keep up with this high-energy group!" The first book introduces Jonah Mason, the old...

Adam and Eva Langston have come a long way from where they both grown up in the slums of Washington, D.C. They have three children, a nice house, cars and they are being in the money. Well they were bringing in the money. This is until Adam was let go from his job. Now with the recession, they are trying to survive on a one person income. When Eva’s boss, Shay-Shaunte makes an offer to Eva, she must choose whether to make the deal with the devil. What Eva and Adam were going through is what is currently happening to people in the real world. This is what made this book so good. I could relate literally to Eva and Adam’s situation. Of course, I am lucky that I don’t have to make the choice that Eva and Adam had to make with Shay-Shaunte. Though, the devil can appear in many different forms and with many different temptations. This was surprising to me that this book was based around the devil and the Bible somewhat. I was not expecting this. This was a nice surprise. I was rooting for E...

At first I did not recognize the name, Amy Finley but after reading Mrs. Finley’s bio, I realized who she was. Amy was the winner of season three of The Next Food Network Star on the Food Network channel. This is funny as this is probably the last season that I watched of this show. Reading this book made me think of Julia Child. This might have been what she and her husband experienced if they had children but of course Julia Child also embraced France. Amy did embrace France and all the food it had to offer but maybe a little too much or I should say her husband did. For example there was the rouille soup incident at Le Rhul. As much as I did like reading about all the different experiences Amy had in France, I was only mildly interested. For one thing, you could tell that Amy was knowledgeable about French cooking and foods but she was not very good about explaining them to the average person. I vaguely remember the judges criticizing Amy for this same thing while she was a competit...

I received an email from author, Rebecca O'Connor. She wrote Lift. Product Description for Lift The culmination of a ten-year career in falconry, Lift is a memoir that illustrates the journey and life lessons of a woman navigating a man’s ancient sport. Captivated by a chance meeting with a falconer’s peregrine as a child, the indelible memory eventually brings the author’s life full circle to flying a peregrine of her own. Exploring themes of predator and prey, finding tribe, forgiveness and femininity, the memoir asks universal questions through a unique backdrop. Lift illustrates the beauty and meaning the sport of falconry can add to a falconer’s life, echoing the challenges and triumphs of being human. In conjunction with LIFT being available on Kindle starting July1st, an accompanying eBook, RISE will be released. RISE is a collection of essays, short stories and poetry that ties into LIFT with more falconry and backstory. It also includes a stand-alone excerpt of my current ...

Hope McNeill works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is caring for her boyfriend’s pug, Max, while he is gone. Tonight in honor of famous celebrity and philanthropist, Daphne Markham; the museum is hosting “Pugs Night”. This will be the first time that “officially” Hope will get to bring Max to the Met. Though, if it was not for this party and the fact that Hope got to bring Max, she would be at home. Hope is more of a home body. After a disastrous situation involving Max and Daphne’s pug, Hope and Max are excused form the party. On her way out of the Met, Hope uncovers a lost painting. It is up to Hope and Max to solve the mystery of the lost painting. I have not read any of the other pug novels by author Alison Pace. Though, I enjoyed getting to know Hope and Max. I felt that Max is the star and Hope is his sidekick. Hope started out timid but as the story progressed, she emerged out of her shell. She was trying to be a modern date Nancy Drew, only her best friend was a pug. Not...