Book 1 Weekend Warriors  Fern  Michaels, Series 

Blurb 

Life isn't fair. Most women know it. But what can you do about it? Plenty . . . if you're part of the Sisterhood. On the surface, these seven women are as different as can be - but each has had her share of bad luck, from cheating husbands to sexist colleagues to a legal system that often doesn't do its job. Now, drawn together by tragedy, they're forging a bond that will help them right the wrongs committed against them and discover an inner strength they didn't know they had. Growing bolder with each act of justice, the Sisterhood is learning that when bad things happen, you can roll over and play dead . . . or you can get up fighting . . . 

In the tradition of The First Wives' Club, WEEKEND WARRIORS is a slam-bang, take-no-prisoners tale of survival, sweet revenge, and the healing power of friendship.

"Readers who grow weary of seeing the bad guys get away with their crimes will enjoy seeing what happens when well-funded, very angry women take the law into their own hands." 

Characters: for this book 

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Mrs. Poe

  Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune

When Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money?
   

One thing I was jealous of in a wooden theme was a book counter. And since I couldn't get over it, I made my own:

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With the help of a beloved teacher, she moves to a coastal town and enrolls in the Davenport School of Beauty. Un

der the tutelage of Mrs. Cathcart, she learns the art of fixing hair, and becomes fast friends with the lively Sara Jane Farquhar, a natural hair stylist. She also falls hard for handsome youn

g widower Winston Sawyer, who is drowning his grief in bourbon. She couldn’t save Mama, but maybe she can save him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT'S THE WISDOM OF HAIR AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

 

It’s a very simple observation, one that you innately know, but when the idea is verbalized, you’re amaze

d at how brilliant it is. I’m not saying I’m brilliant, although my Mom would disagree, what

 I am saying is people, particularly women believe if they can change, they can change their lives.

Growing up in a tiny one stop light town in SC, I remember seeing women come into my mom’s little beauty shop, dog tired, some just happy to be there, some with all kinds of problems. My mom listened to them and made them beautiful. There were a lot of elderly women who didn’t drive in our town and she’d lock up the shop and go pick them up so they could have their hair done. Most of those homebound women were so lonely. They were grateful to get out of the house, to be around a bunch of women to talk, gossip a little, laugh a lot. I don’t care what anybody says about the outside of a woman not making a difference, I saw it then and I see it in today in my friends and in myself.

 

 

  REVIEW

Copy Provided By Author

I loved the book cover and the Book trailer.I am also glad that I was told that this reads more as a YA or NA book then Women's Fiction.She did keep me interested the whole time I was reading I wish it had been more about Zora and Sara Jane at Beauty School, Zora's first job, and what the hair dressers really feel about all the gossip they hear.less about her personal life.Kim Boykin has a new fan if she can do this well with her first book I can't wait to see what the next one will be about, hint Zora in her 40's?

A high-powered Manhattan attorney finds love, purpose, and the promise of a simpler life in her grandmother's hometown. 

Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish--to find the hometown boy she once loved, and give him her last letter. Ellen leaves Manhattan and her Kennedy-esque fiance for Beacon, Maine. What should be a one-day trip is quickly complicated when she almost drowns in the chilly bay and is saved by a local carpenter. The rescue turns Ellen into something of a local celebrity, which may or may not help her unravel the past her grandmother labored to keep hidden. As she learns about her grandmother and herself, it becomes clear that a 24-hour visit to Beacon may never be enough. THE IRRESISTIBLE BLUEBERRY BAKESHOP & CAFE is a warm and delicious debut about the power of a simpler life

Review

This was a great example of why sometimes I need to put a book down and then get back to it in a few days. It almost was a DNF.

It is also a great example of "Don't believe the hype'

It started off slow, and I found that I did not like Ellen very much. I am  happy I kept reading after the first 20% of  the book it started to turn into an OK  debut novel and Ellen was not as self-centered as I felt she was in the beginning. I would consider this women's lit or romance and not a foodie book at all. It has no recipes and very little mention of food. 

I may read a few more of Mary Simses books in the future. to see how she is coming along as a writer.

Side note 

I don't know why James Patterson said: 

"If you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, or the Nicholas Sparks novels, you will devour THE IRRESISTIBLE BLUEBERRY BAKESHOP & CAFE. Mary Simses can write evocative detail that puts you right in the scene, with dialogue that always rings true." (James Patterson)

I did not devour this book it also did not remind me at all of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Joy of BakingBlueberry Streusel Muffins

Recipe

2 large eggs

1 cup (240 ml) milk (full or reduced fat)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

2 cups (one dry pint) (275 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, do not thaw)

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin)

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Place rack in center of oven.

Line 14 - 16 muffin cups with paper liners or lightly butter the muffin cups or spray them with a non stick vegetable spray

In a bowl whisk the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.)

Remove one cup (150 grams) of the mixture and set aside in a separate bowl to make the streusel topping.

To the remaining muffin batter, gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.

Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. (Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked.) Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.

Streusel Topping: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter and stir into the reserved one cup (150 grams) of flour mixture until it is crumbly and looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for about 18 - 23 minutes or until firm and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before serving. These muffins are at their best the day they're made, but they can be covered and stored at room temperature for about 2 days. They can also be frozen.joyofbaking.comRead more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/BlueberryStreuselMuffins.htmlMakes about 14 - 16 muffins.http://dianne1964.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-irresistible-blueberry-bakeshop.html