Exploding Lemon Tart

In celebration for my departure to Sydney on Thursday, I made a lemon tart to take to work.  I must stress - it's a cheats tart.  As per Jamie Oliver's instructions, (and I always do what Jamie says, except for when it comes to iceberg lettuce), I've used a store bought pastry casing.  While it's blind baking, which takes 10 minutes, give or take.  I mix 1 tin of condensed milk and 1 jar of lemon butter together, I used a masterfoods one this time and it was the consistency of jelly, which I wasn't really impressed with, but at the point of quality testing it tasted good.  I prefer to either make my own or buy from the lovely lady at the farmers market.  But time was short and I was lazy!  Once this is thoroughly mixed, place into browned casing, then put it back into oven, I usually put it in for another 10 minutes, but that's because my oven likes to kill things.

So this is where the exploding part of the tart comes in - I often joke with a friend from work about the romance novels I read and how there's lots of 'exploding' at certain times - anyone who reads Lora Leigh will know what I mean!  Anyway, since it's a romance convention I'm going to and there's bound to be a whole weekend of exploding I added the heart shaped 'bomb'.  

These are the things that happen, late at night when I'm bored and have been drinking vodka.  Go with it - it's much safer that way O.o

And while I was waiting for my tart to cook, I decided to decorate these little ginger bread guys.  It was for an earlier post and I wanted a picture.  Anyway, these are kind of fiddly and I've since decided it would be much better to leave these for when I can use enforced child labour.  But until then, I did have to use my boning tweezers.  And vodka - hence the Quasimodo of the gingerbread land below!  Originally, I did tell myself it was to cover up his shame at being all blobby and conjoined together, but then I fessed up that it was more because I was lacking much needed hand eye coordination and plus I  like me some icing and the little choc thingys.

Oh so good n tasty!

C.

Dragon Prime by Lora Leigh

He is a Prime Warrior of the Dragon Clan. An alien on Earth. Fighting a battle that could tip the balance between two separate worlds. But now his greatest mission isn’t the battle, or the blood of the enemy. It’s the love of one woman’s heart. One he’s lost once already and vows he will not lose again.

This is another book I've read for my Erotica Romance Reading Challenge 2010. While I do love me some Lora Leigh, this was definately not my fave. This was a little more science fictioney than her breeds series, (don't ask me the difference between shagging an alien or a man/lion hybrid - I know both options aren't a reality, I can't explain it!).

There are the standard - alpha hero that won't let anything stand in the way of getting the woman and the feisty lady who has been running from him. But for some reason this wasn't doing it for me this time. Maybe if I'd read the Wizard Twins books (which are loosely connected0, I may have liked this more. But over all, while this still had Lora's smexy romps and her witty one liners there was no happy ending for moi - unlike our hero & heroine, they go off like nobodies bid'ness!

I would recommend instead you check out her Breeds series if you like your erotica with a science fictioney edge, or her contempory 'Nauti' series. Which is one of her best in my opinion. Her 'Bound Hearts' is another excellent series, although I would say don't read the last two they were nowhere near as good a the earlier ones written for Ellora's Cave.

Happy endings to one and all!

C.

Please Sir, can I have some more...

Here's another bit that I'm moving from my side bar to a post and again I'm sure that I'll be adding to this, it being books an all :)

Books I'm loving at the moment:

• SEALSs series by Lora Leigh (Dangerous Games, Hidden Agendas, Killer Secrets, Wild
  Card - which was just released and kept me up until 6am finishing it, fantastic, makes me want a dominant alpha SEAL all of my own...sigh *Capren's just gone to a very happy place* :p)
  
• Stray by Rachel Vincent - Still waiting for Rogue, 2nd in the series
  
• Eclipse, New Moon, Twilight & Breaking Dawn (can't wait for the 4th book and the movie!!!!) by Stephenie Meyer
• The SBC series by Lori Foster (Hard to Handle, Simon Says, Causing Havoc - check them out on my LibraryThing link)
  
• Pretty much anything by Sandra Hill, gosh she makes me laugh, her time travelling vikings are particularly funny, I just finished reading Down & Dirty on the weekend, lmao!
• Don't forget the Nauti series (Boy, Nights & Dreams), and next year Nauti Intentions - Isa very cited!! I was very suprised by Nauti Dreams, Natches is the darkest of the 3 cousins, but it was the funniest book, there were a few times when I had to stop reading I was laughing so hard - which usually only happens with Sandra Hill books.
  

Well enough for now, I was supposed to be getting something for uni online and got sidetracked by the allure of mah blog...right on!

Ohhh...and another thing, expect a post tomorrow about 'Dog the Bounty Hunter', it's a new reality TV show that's starting tonight, I'm so excited I could pee myself :) no seriously...

C.

Stray by Rachel Vincent

Okay peeps, the very long awaited, above said review is about to begin...drum roll please...and scene...

Here's the blurb to set to mood:

OKAY, SO CATS DON'T ALWAYS LAND ON THEIR FEET
I know that better than most. Since rejoining the Pride, I've made big decisions and even bigger mistakes: the kind paid for with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove o my father, the Pride, and myself. And with murdered toms turning up in our territory, I'm working harder than ever, though I always find the energy for a little after-hours recreation with Marc, my partner both on and off duty.

But not all my mistakes are behind me. We're beginning to suspect that the dead are connected with a rash of missing human women, and that they can all be laid at my feet--two or four, take your pick. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear....

I'm giving Vincent's debut novel 3.5 stars. While I did enjoy Stray, there were certain aspects of the novel that annoyed me. I thought it was too long (624 pgs) and while this is irrational, (I'm allowed), her overuse of the word 'syncopated', made me crankier than words that I try not to use on here can describe! I would read the word then BAM! Hello, there goes Gloria Estefan in my head, with her 'turn the beat around' song in my head. Faythe (the heroine), as a character was not always likeable - her 'poor little me' rant, did chafe a little towards the end. But she's feisty and I like that, I'm looking forward to seeing how she matures in Rogue. I particulary like the scene were she lures one of the kidnappers into the cell. The interaction with her and Marc (her jilted ex-fiancé), made me giggle which is all good, but they were also annoying sometimes, he was mooning over her, she's being all bitchy. Just have at it already!! - Sorry, my other sexy books are brushing off on me :) On that topic - the jiggy sections aren't all that jiggy with it, so if you like that sort of thing you're not going to find that here, but that's okay, we all like a little vanilla every now and then :) Sides, we have Lora Leigh and her Feline Breeds for that ;)

Overall, I think it was a good first novel, I know it has gotten mixed review, but it's obviously got a lot fans also. After Rogue, comes Pride (available early 2009), and I think that there will be 6 books in the series. So it will be great to see how the story and characters develop - I'm certainly looking forward to and am we speak still waiting ever so patiently for my copy of Rogue to arrive.

C.

Excitement Plus

I'm rather excited today, Rachel Vincent has released the next in her werecat series - Rogue. So now if I'm a good little library chick I might just get a present...what am I saying!!!!! Of course I'm going to get it! Along with the new Lora Leigh SEALs Series - Killer Secrets, still waiting for this to come for my birthday and it's not here yet which is making me cranky :( I've been waiting ever so patiently and I WANT IT NOW!

Okay and 3, 2, 1, and your back in the room, now that I've gotten my tantie over with. Vincent is definately worth taking a look at. I really enjoyed Stray which was the first one, I'll have to get my butt into gear and put a book review up, that will be my mission for the week.

Crap, meeting time, enjoy the rest of the day peeps.

C.