Lisa shares her slightly tweaked recipe for hot, mouth watering dinner rolls! Lisa says, “I made these rolls for Thanksgiving, and people accused me of buying them! They were delicious, and I hope to make them again soon… who says they need to be only made for the holidays?”

Makes 2 Dozen

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups of warm water

½ cup of honey

A pinch of salt

½ cup of butter (softened)+ more for later

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

7+ cups of flour

Directions:

(This recipe is based off of a Dinner Roll Recipe by iwashyoudry.com, but a bit modified!)

1. While I used a stand mixer, my mom made this recipe by hand. So if you don’t have a stand mixer you can still make these delicious rolls, but it will just take a while longer. Both patches tasted yummy, and there was no real difference between the two.
2. In a bowl combine warm water, honey, a shake of salt, and active dry yeast. And let sit for a while until yeast starts to get bubbly.
3. Add your butter, and start mixing in one cup of flour at a time. Mixing after each addition. The dough shouldn’t be sticky when you poke it. If after seven cups your dough is still really sticky add some more flour, but be careful, you don’t want to add too much.
4. Cover your bowl, place it somewhere warm, and allow it to rise. The original recipe said for about an hour, but I gave it one and a half to two hours.
5. After waiting, divide the dough into balls, any size you like, I made mine a little bigger (my size allowed for about two dozen). And lay them out on a baking sheet, that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover these rolls again for an hour or so.
6. Place them in the oven at 350 degree, for about twenty to twenty five minutes. Keep your eyes on the oven, you don’t want to burn them, or they’ll be too dry.
7. As soon as you take them out, brush the tops of the buns with melted butter. Allow to cool, or enjoy them when they’re warm!

I was introduced to Cheryse at Brisbane Supanova in November and was pleased to hear she lives in my home town of Bundaberg. A place normally only famous for Rum and Aviator, Bert Hinkler, thank the heavens it’s gonna be put on the map for something I adore… brilliantly written books.

The first book in Heart Hunters series takes us on a flail-your-arms-worthy trip from Brisbane’s Central Business District to the upper class rooms of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney.

Shahkara and Max aim to save the world, and along the way, discover amazing things about each other. The journey is fast-paced and studded with emotional land mines. When the dust settles, who will be left standing?

I think it’s such a novelty, being able to picture the settings in a book. To actually have them as my stomping grounds makes this book even more special to me. As with most things in and around Brisbane, nothing stays the same for long, so if you read this and things in the book aren’t the way they are in actuality, that’s progress for you. At least the Brisbane stuff I can tell you is about as accurate as you’ll get. Though I wanna see the inspiration for the McCalden’s digs. Must be a seriously large estate!

Shahkara does really well to adapt to a new set of circumstances and Max, though he had a few bad habits in the beginning, is what I’d imagine most 18 year old guys to be like. Kind, cocky and always hungry.

I sincerely believe there has got to be at least a second part to this series and I would love to see how Max would fare in Gorian, Shahkara’s home. Surviving without technology… yep, I wanna see that.

The Blood She Betrayed would make a great gift for anyone who likes a good sci-fi/action/urban fantasy book.

http://cherysedurrant.com/

***For Older Readers 

Paperback, 188 pages

Published July 2013 by Clan Destine Press

ISBN: 9780987553867

Lisa:

Cover

I was asked to review the audio book of The Sea of Tranquility, so I haven’t seen the cover in person. I don’t think it’s far to judge something I haven’t seen with my own eyes.

Characters

The characters in The Sea of Tranquility were real. When I say that I mean they had depth. Both of the main characters have things in their lives that they are dealing with, just like every one of us does. If you’ve gone through something similar, these two characters are easy to relate to. And I liked that.

I didn’t connect with the secondary characters as much but I do have friends and know people from school who were very comparable.

Favorite

I can easily say my favorite characters were Josh and Nastya. Both seem broken, and both seem to be what the other one needs to fix themselves. While the reader doesn’t really know what happened to Nastya throughout most of the book, Josh is dealing with death. The death of his mother and sister, losing his father with them, and even his grandfather during the story.

Least Favorite

At first I thought that my least favorite character would be Josh’s best friend (if you can even call him that), Drew. He seemed like a douche bag, who sleeps with every girl. But throughout the story the reader gets to learn much more about him and that completely changed my mind.

Now that Drew is out of the way, my new least favorite would have to be Nastya’s mom. She just doesn’t seem understanding or supportive of her at all. That’s what being a mom is, and she isn’t doing a very good job at it.

Beginning

Nastya is the new girl, but she isn’t just any new girl. She dresses in short, tight and all black clothes. She doesn’t speak, and no one really knows why. She is now living with her aunt, and trying to start over.

Josh is living on his own now, and would rather be alone than be surround by others or loved ones.

Josh has never had a real conversation with Nastya (not just because she doesn’t speak) because he hasn’t been around her for very long. That is, until Drew drops herat his house intoxicated in the middle of night. Josh is pissed, and has no idea what to do with her.

Middle

Josh is dealing with his feelings for Nastya, he doesn’t really know what to do, or say to her, because he’s never felt this way before.

Nastya is completely embarrassed that Josh had to see and take care of her that night. Things are awkward, and she doesn’t know what to do.

End

Throughout the home stretch of the book, the reader gets to experience Josh and Nastya’s “relationship” grow closer. Just like Josh, we don’t know anything about her past and what event happened that seems to have changed her forever. But the reader does get to see small glimpses of visions Nastya has, reminding her of one of the worst nights in her life. The ending is heart wrenching, and had me in tears! Absolutely lovely and beautiful!

Overall Thoughts

The Sea of Tranquility was given to me for an honest review and that’s exactly what I’m here to give. I’m sad to say that the synopsis for this book does the story absolutely no justice. I fell in love with the characters and all the crap they were dealing with right away. I enjoyed the way both seemed down to earth, didn’t care what others had to say, and didn’t make snap decisions like most teenagers would. The synopsis captures none of this. The synopsis almost makes it seems like a boy who likes to be by himself is bugged by a weird girl, until he falls in love with her. But it’s not like that at all.

Josh is quiet but sweet, and really cares for her. Nastya is silent, calm, and cares a lot for Josh as well. I felt that there were so many great aspects in this story that the synopsis just didn’t explain.

Krista:

Cover

I think that the cover is pretty basic. As the story really focuses on the main characters of Josh and Nastya it does fit the story. I did enjoy the fact that they included the ice cream on the cover.

Characters

Told from two perspectives, Josh and Nastya, both who have experienced different kinds of loss and their emotional reactions to them. When they find each other it becomes a very powerful and emotional story.

Favourite

Josh. He has so much knowledge and for the most part control of his emotions, and extends courtesy to others that is eye opening. I suppose there will be some that consider him boring in comparison to Nastya but I found him comforting.

Least Favourite

Some random characters from her new school that tease her. Not any of the major characters.

Beginning

Nastya has selective mutism. After a life changing experience in her life she has chosen to no longer speak. We learn that she used to have a love for the piano. She hides behind heavy black makeup and skimpy clothes to avoid the other kids at school who find her creepy.

Josh is also quiet, although he does speak aloud, unlike Nastya. But like Nastya he has also experienced the loss of all of his family members and resides alone. He has very few friends and immerses himself in wood-working projects in his garage to pass the time.

Storyline

When Nastya beings to attend the same school as Josh she is immediately noticed by all because of her look.  When she comes across Josh in his garage, she is drawn to his quiet concentration and his place soon becomes a sanctuary for her to escape to. They find a comfort in the fact they just accept each other and don’t ask to many personal questions.

Ending

That comfort eventually becomes stress, the closer they get to each other and as questions do begin to get asked. But Nastya is just not ready to share yet. This will cause several conflicts in the relationships, building into a very powerful and emotional ending.

Thoughts

What I took away from this story was much more than a complicated relationship between Josh and Nastya. They are both very much emotionally broken in their own ways, but they go through a healing process with each other. Each and every character in this book is shown to be broken in some way. Even side characters will eventually have their stories told and will experience growth just by being associated with Josh and Nastya’s story.  I found this a very powerful and emotional story that will stick with me.  A caution for those who may be shocked; there is some sex, drugs, alcohol and strong language.

Quote

“Daylight won’t protect you from anything. Bad things happen all the time; they don’t wait until after dinner”

“There are so many things that can break you if there’s nothing to hold you together.”

How fun is it when you’re handed, not one but two, books in a series for a gift? I had the absolute joy of becoming the proud owner of Slated and Fractured by Teri Terry this November.

I’d been eyeing the books off for quite a while, but as I am an extremely visual person, I didn’t really connect with the cover art. I am pleased to say this is definitely on the ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ list. The journey within both books isn’t given an iota of a clue with the cover.

Could you imagine waking up, unable to walk, talk or remember who you are, or were? Nightmarish right? Now picture the whole reason you can’t remember being because you’ve been wiped clean like a slate, as punishment for criminal activity you can not even remember. But what if you began to remember?

Enter Kyla’s internal nightmare as she learns the crushing truth behind the government’s protocol known as slating, and in book two, Fractured, she discovers the reality of how she got there in the first place.

I ploughed through these two rather large novels in under 4 days. They are completely engrossing and incredibly addictive. Don’t bee too surprised if you find the book leaking into your dreams and has you staring out the window when you’re not reading.

The things I enjoyed the most would have to be the family and friend dynamics, the relationships between the Slated and the non slated, adult to child. We are constantly having to blur the line between what we would consider to be acceptable and what’s beyond not okay.

You’ll have to make up your own mind as to if you think reactions are rational or within believable limits, but I think if I had a consequence like being slated ahead of me I’d become less opinionated pretty damn quick.

Teri Terry has spun an incredible web and her hero has a dangerous sting in her tail.

Book three, Shattered is due in March 2014, and this time I will not hesitate to pick it up.

Slated

Paperback, 448 pages

Published May 3rd 2012 by Orchard Books

ISBN 1408319462 (ISBN13: 9781408319468)

Fractured

Paperback, 432 pages

Published April 4^th 2013 by Orchard Books

ISBN 148319489 (ISBN13: 9781408319482)

Marianne is happy to share with you all the cover of her next novel, PEACEMAKER,  due for release May 1st 2014 in UK and US, and as soon as it ships in Australia.

The cover is by Joey Hi Fi, commissioned by Angry Robot (and partially inspired by Brigitte Sutherland’s graphic novel illustrations) is right up at the top!

What do you think?

The eagle’s shadow behind the main character,Virgin Jackson, has great significance in the story and you can see Nate Sixkiller on Virgin’s shirt. The background is the city and the foreground is the Birrimun Park. The park has hints of purple mulla mulla on it.

Perfect!