January 14, 2014
Carolina Gold Review: Bravery, Strength and Romance
Historical fiction is one of my favourite literacy genres to read. I love reading fiction based in historical settings as you get an excellent insight in to the way people lived during those times. When that type of novel can combine romance and the bravery of a young woman – I am in book heaven!
Carolina Gold is written by Dorothy Love and takes place in South Carolina just after the American civil war. We are introduced to Charlotte Fraser who is returning to her father’s once flourishing rice plantation after the war. She is determined to harvest the popular rice called Carolina Gold. She returns to a plantation in ruins, belongings stolen, freed bondsmen and scarce money.
To help make ends meet, she accepts the position of tutor to her neighbouring plantation owner’s two young daughters. The owner, Nick Betancourt, sets out on a course to prove his ownership of not only his plantation but several of the neighbouring ones as well. This sets in motion a journey for Charlotte that opens up many doors to hidden family secrets.
Carolina Gold is based on a true story written by Elizabeth Allston Pringle called A Woman Rice Planter. The novel describes the difficulties rice plantation owners had in keeping workers, the changed relationships with former slaves, decline in the price of rice and the devastation of crops from natural disasters.
My favourite aspect of this novel has to be the fact that it is based on a true story. It is incredible to think that such a brave, young woman could have accomplished this much in a very male dominant society. Dorothy Love remained true to so many details during this time period that you were able to get a complete picture of the daily lives of not only rice plantations owners after the war but a woman’s perspective throughout this time.
Dorothy Love has an incredible way with words that drags you into the story. The romance parts of the novel were not overly drawn out which is perfect! I find that some novels can overplay the romance to the point that the story does not develop enough. She balanced the two perfectly! Not being too familiar with the details during this time period it was extremely interesting to dive into this historical period and learn about their struggles and changes that both sides had to go through during this period.
Dorothy Love is a former freelance writer and college professor. She is the author of the Hickory Ridge novels set in her hometown of Tennessee.
You can find more details on the novel and reviews here. If you would like to purchase a copy of this book you can do so here.
Rating: 5/5
Don’t forget that they are also hosting a fabulous giveaway! Enter now:
The release of Carolina Gold coincides with Dorothy’s birthday. Celebrate with her by entering the Southern Essentials Giveaway and RSVPing to her Facebook party on January 14th!
Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love’s Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don’t have a Facebook account? Enter here.) RSVP today for Dorothy’s Carolina Gold Author Chat Party on Facebook.
During the party Dorothy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills, announcing the winner of the Southern Essentials Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she’ll also be giving party goers an exclusive look at her next book!
So grab your copy of Carolina Gold and help Dorothy celebrate her birthday on the evening of January 14th! (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)
DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE FUN; RSVP TODAY. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 14th!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 14, 2014
Curried Cauliflower
One of my goals this year is to increase my vegetable intake. Now to be very honest with you I am a picky vegetable eater. I have a thing against crunchy vegetables (will not even touch lettuce!). So I like my vegetables cooked, boiled, steamed, roasted and I am sure you get the picture! I was on Pinterest ‘researching’ and I found a whole bunch of pins on curried cauliflower – I thought it was brilliant and tried out my own take on it (most of the recipes called for roasting them and I chose to cook my in water and olive oil to ensure a nice soft crunch).
Ingredients:
One cauliflower head
1-2 tbsp of curry powder (to suit your own taste)
1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (just enough to fry the cauliflower)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cut up the cauliflowers into small pieces.
2. Combine the olive oil and cauliflower in a pot.
3. Top with curry powder, salt and pepper and mix.
4. Add in enough water to almost cover the cauliflower (this will all boil away in the end to allow the cauliflower to fry at the end).
5. On medium heat boil the cauliflower until the water has evaporated.
6. Still on medium heat, fry the cauliflower until golden. This took roughly five minutes.
NOTE: If you are not the biggest fan of spicy food stick with one tbsp of curry powder – I found that 2 tbsp will make it spicier. Also stove top cooking times can vary so please adjust your cooking times and temperatures to your oven.
January 6, 2014
The Dancing Master: Review & Giveaway
I am not shy to admit it – I LOVE historical romances. I am not fussy with certain eras I love them all. There is just something about the magic of centuries long ago, the women in their gowns and the romance. I am constantly downloading one after another on my Kindle for reading.
The Dancing Master written by Julie Klassen follows the story of Alec Valcourt and Julia Midwinter. Alec Valcourt moves to his uncle’s cottage along with his mother and sister in remote Devonshire in the hopes of starting over from his family’s scandalous past in London. He is shocked to learn that the village matriarch has banned all acts of dancing including lessons and balls due to a tragic memory from her past (Alec Valcourt is a Dancing Master who teaches young men and women the fine art of dancing).
Alec Valcourt finds an ally in the matriarch’s daughter Julia Midwinter. Together they help each other learn about the secrets of their past and carve their own future.
The Dancing Master is written from the perspectives of both Alec and Julia allowing us to have a glimpse into both the characters of Alec and Julia – which I really loved as it helped to develop their personalities and get to know the inner workings of their minds. The novel was full of interesting turns and spins – most I would never have guessed! So it really kept me wanting to turn each page and not put it down (to my husband’s dismay!). It had just the perfect amount of romance – nothing overwhelming but simple, innocent first love.
Julie Klassen is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has sixteen years of publishing under her belt. She now writes full time. She is a three time Christy award winner and a 2010 Midwest Book Award Winner.
You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
THE GIVEAWAY!
Best-selling author Julie Klassen will be hosting a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway and a live webcast event (1/23) to celebrate the release of her latest novel, The Dancing Master. Enter and RSVP today!
One winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire HDX
- The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on January 23rd. Winner will be announced at the “All Things Jane (from Austen to Eyre)” Live Webcast Event on January 23rd. Connect with Julie for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Julie will also be taking questions from the audience and giving away books, Jane Austen DVDs, fun “Jane” merchandise, and gift certificates throughout the evening.
So grab your copy of The Dancing Master and join Julie and friends on the evening of January 23rd for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)
Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by signing up for a reminder. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 23rd!
January 6, 2014
Dorothy Love’s “Carolina Gold” Southern Essentials $100 Visa Cash Card Giveaway and 1/14 Facebook Party!
Don’t miss Dorothy Love‘s latest historical novel, Carolina Gold.
Fun news: The release of Carolina Gold coincides with Dorothy’s birthday.
Celebrate with her by entering the Southern Essentials Giveaway and RSVPing to her Facebook party on January 14th!
Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love’s Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don’t have a Facebook account? Enter here.) RSVP today for Dorothy’s Carolina Gold Author Chat Party on Facebook.
During the party Dorothy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills, announcing the winner of the Southern Essentials Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she’ll also be giving partygoers an exclusive look at her next book!
So grab your copy of Carolina Gold and help Dorothy celebrate her birthday on the evening of January 14th! (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)
DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE FUN; RSVP TODAY. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 14th!
January 5, 2014
The Other Bears: Teaching Acceptance and Respect for All
It is so important to teach our youth to accept and respect people that may be different then us whether it is by culture, skin tone, gender, etc. For young children it can be hard to help them understand (to be honest – I can tell my two year old the same thing many times and he will probably still repeat the same action). Books and movies are an excellent avenue to help children learn that we may look or act differently but on the inside we are all the same.
The Other Bears written by Michael Thompson follows the Koala Bear family. The Koala Bear family are taking a trip but the trip is made difficult by Mother and Father Koala Bear who are suspicious of all the other bears. Mother and Father Koala Bear find faults with all the differences the other bears have. All of these feelings melt away when they watch all of the little bears play together.
This children’s book touched on some great topics – acceptance and love for all types of people. I love how it shows the love that children have for all people and how this should be fostered by the adults in their life. Although they did address the topic of acceptance briefly I would have loved to see it expanded a little bit more at the end. It would have been nice to speak more about the Koala Bear parent’s mistakes in misjudging the other bears and how they would accept the other bears.
It did a great job of opening up the conversation with my eldest about his own experiences at school where he is exposed to bullying and racism towards other children (he is not the victim nor the aggressor but has been a witness and has numerous times acted to their defence or told a teacher). I realized we do not have these conversations enough.
Rating: 3.5/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. Opinions expressed are my own.