Tell Me Something Tuesday: Do you like to cook or bake?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

Join in by answering this weeks question in the comments or on your own blog.

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Question: Do you like to cook or bake? What is your favorite thing to make?

Answer: Like is a strong word. I don't enjoy cooking or baking yet I love looking for recipes, reading cookbooks and the idea of replicating them. 

I make a complete mess of my kitchen when I cook - especially when I bake - and the results are usually 50/50 good/bad. I get very stressed and it's not relaxing to me, so I have no idea why I do it lol

I'm not a patient person and I give up on things easily so I think it's some sort of therapeutic device to teach me those lessons. 

Things I love to make (& come out good!) though are Chicken and dumplings, butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot. Those two are my winter go-to's. I also make a great grilled cheese using a few tricks I've learned out here and roasted salmon.

I do enjoy baking sourdough bread. I have a King Arthur no-knead recipe that I use all the time. It's easy and comes out perfect every time.  

I'm really horrible at things like cupcakes, cake, cookies and brownies and pie crust. 

Do you like to cook or bake? DO you have any favorite recipes I should check out?

Reviews: We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado & This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher

Since it seems like I'm actually/for real back(ish), I thought I would go back and review a few books I started in 2024 but finished in January of this year. 

Neither were WOW books - but it will clear them out of my reader brain & keep up my posting momentum lol 

The Other Black Girl meets Midsommar in this spine-chilling, propulsive psychological adult debut from highly acclaimed author Vincent Tirado, in which a married couple moves into a gated “community” that slowly creeps into a pervasive dread akin to the social horror of Jordan Peele and Lovecraft County—We Came to Welcome You cleverly uses the uncanny to illuminate the cultish, shocking nature of systemic racism.

Where beauty lies, secrets are held…ugly ones. ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: Sol and her wife, Alice are accepted into a gated community called Maneless Grove - thanks to a recommendation from Alice's co-worker, who also lives in the exclusive community. 

Sol is on leave from work because of a plagiarism accusation and tensions are thick between her and Alice due to her drinking and keeping Alice at arms length, including not letting Alice join her on visits to her aging, bigoted, father at the nursing home.

We Came to Welcome You touches on a lot of subjects including racism, microaggressions, white washing, assimilation, PTSD from child abuse, alcoholism and just plain old WTF-ery from the Maneless Grove home owners association. They were told that they weren't required to join but it's clear - you need to join. Or else, lol

Without spoiling too much, the community has a Stepford Wives like grip on the residents and Sol and Alice's resistance to joining has consequences. The more they resist, the more something messes with Sol & Alice's minds and relationship.

This book is sufficiently creepy & keeps upping the stakes but ultimately falls flat with an ending that doesn't live up to the tension the author spent so long creating. Tirado wades into interesting waters but never fully immerses herself and the ending felt like, to me, and easy way out with more telling than showing.

Decent read but but the ending didn't fulfill the premise. I read a similar YA story, The Honeys by Ryan Las Sala, and that one really delivered on the ending in a way that I wish this one did. 

And oh - DO NOT sign a homeowners agreement or move into a community without looking a it FIRST lol

The Princess Bride meets People We Meet on Vacation in this cozy quest romantasy about a group of friends who once defended their magical land together but haven’t spoken since, reuniting to attend a royal wedding, and ending up on a new adventure to save the realm—and hopefully themselves. ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: Pardon my brief rant...

Marketing matters. You cannot promote a book as The Princess Bride, "cosy quest" - title it This Will Be FUN, then deliver something entirely different and then be surprised when readers, looking for those every elements, don't like it because this is a totally different book than how it's pitched.

This Will Be Fun is the story of after the heroes save the realm and their lives have gone to shit. The legend of the four lives on in Mythria but the four (minus their now deceased leader, Galdwell) haven't even spoken in a decade. 

When they are summoned by the Queen to attend her wedding, they are forced to face each other again. A new threat to the Queen has them banding together once again to save Mythria. Old wounds don't make this an easy task between their trust issues and squabbling over tactics.

Ok, there is adventure - as in they have banded together to save the realm - stuff happens. They are in a small village with "cosy" elements and magic. Silliness and light adventures surround them. But these four are so far up their own asses in self loathing, self pity and old grudges that this book is draining. I thought at some point they have to clear the air and move on right? Nope. They are stuck in this mode until almost the bitter end and that point I didn't really care what happened to them. 

So why did I keep reading? I kind of liked the concept of what happens to heroes after they save the day and have to go back to reality. The Four had such different personalities and reactions to what happened and I thought that might be interesting. But really, I stuck around for Vandra - the love interest of Elowyn (one of the Four) and a former adversary/assassin turned ally. She was a ray of light and snark in this story.  Otherwise, this was almost 400 pages of wallowing then a completely implausible (yet happy) ending.

If you are looking for a story about processing trauma with a dash of adventure, magic and romance then this might be a good book for you. Just adjust your expectations from the publisher pitch. I also don't recommend the audio version of this one. It's just hours and hours of listening to them whine and it feels so much more intense on audio lol 

Review: Lost & Lassoed (Rebel Blue Ranch #3) by Lyla Sage

She thrives in chaos. He prefers routine. The only thing they have in common? How much they hate each other. From the author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the highly anticipated next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Teddy Andersen doesn't have a plan. She's never needed one before. She's always been more of a go with the flow type of girl, but for some reason, the flow doesn't seem to be going her way this time. Her favorite vintage suede jacket has a hole in it, her sewing machine is broken, and her best friend just got engaged. Suddenly, everything feels like it's starting to change. Teddy's used to being a leader, but now she feels like she's getting left behind, wondering if the life she lives in the small town she loves is enough for her anymore.

Gus Ryder has a lot on his plate. He doesn't know what's taking care of his family's 8,000 acre ranch, or parenting his spunky six-year-old daughter, who is staying with him for the summer. Gus has always been the dependable one, but when his workload starts to overwhelm him, he slips up, and he has to admit that he can't manage everything on his own. He needs help. His little sister's best friend, the woman he can't stand, is not who he had in mind. But when no one else can step in, Teddy's the only option he's got. Teddy decides to use the summer to try and figure out what she wants out of life. Gus, on the other hand, starts to worry that he'll never find what he needs. Tempers flare, tension builds, and for the first time ever, Gus and Teddy start to see each other in a different light. As new feelings start to simmer below the surface, they must decide whether or not to act on them. Can they keep things cool? Or will both of them get burned? ~ Goodreads

Source: Libro.fm ALC in exchange for an honest review - (audiobook) Narrated by Jason Clarke, Samantha Brentmoor

Review: Once my go-to genre, I have struggled with romance the past few years. Not too many have kept my attention past the first one or two chapters but I saw someone I trust give this one a rave review on Instagram and had it pop up on Libro.fm for review at the same time, and thought I'd give it a go. I'm SO glad I did! 

Aside from being off romance the past few years, I really hate romance on audio - yet this one worked for me - even with a growly hero. I usually hate hearing that lol

Gus, the aforementioned growly hero, is drowning under the weight of responsibility. He has his 6 year old daughter, Riley, for the summer, while her mom, Cam is away for work. He runs the family 8000 acre Rebel Blue Ranch and feels the pressure to live up to his dad's legacy as he takes over, while moving the ranch forward to meet modern times.

Gus can't be everywhere at once and he slips up, big time, when he forgets to pick up Riley at an after school practice. His family forms an intervention and proposes a solution in the form of Teddy Anderson - his little sister's best friend and, in the words of Gus, a chaos demon.

Teddy is creative, flirty, bold and yeah - a little chaotic but she's at a crossroads after her best friend, Emmy becomes engaged, she loses her job and she worries about her aging/ailing father.

Gus offers Teddy the job of watching Riley on the days he's working the ranch, which includes staying at their place a few nights a week so she can be with Riley first thing in the morning. 

To say these two are oil and water would be an understatement. Where Teddy is spontaneous and flirty - Gus is measured and controlled. They have fought for years & most of their friends and family - despite suggesting this arrangement in the first place - aren't sure they won't kill each other lol

Hate to lovers is my favorite trope and this one was done so well! They truly don't like each other but slowly come to understand how similar they are. They love big, often sacrificing their own dreams and happiness and neither asks for or accepts help easily. 

There is conflict, but this is, thankfully, pretty low drama. While it starts as hate - it's more of gentle needling on Teddy's part and grumpy grunts from Gus. Neither is actually cruel - they just don't like each other and that's fine. But over time, they start to see the burden the other carries and step up to share some of the load.

I love how once they got past the - oh shit - I actually like this person stage - they never really pulled back. They kept being there for each other and admitted when they were confused or scared. There's also no drama when it comes to Cam, Riley's mom, and I adored that! 

I have not read the first two books in the series but that wasn't necessary - other than missing some of the bonds they share - like Emmy and Teddy's friendship. Emmy came off as selfish to me despite being told they were best friends. I'm sure I would have had better context had I read Emmy's book first. 

Another highlight of Lost & Lassoed was Teddy and her dad's relationship. It's just been the two of them and he has a few health scares that rock Teddy and, as someone who mostly grew up with just my dad, I got that. 

My minor, reader specific nitpick, is the there's a lot of dirty talk for the sex scenes. I'm not a prude, I like a good sex scene lol but I'm, personally, not a fan of explicit dirty talk - but to each their own. I also didn't love the from out of nowhere nickname - Teddy Baby.

All the love for this one and bonus points for an illustrated cover that doesn't blend into the sea of illustrated covers! It's unique and fits the story perfectly.