The Chocolate Diaries: Secrets for a Sweeter Journey on the Rocky Road of Life by Karen Scalf Linamen

Book Description:  Ready to Make Some Sweet Changes?

Karen Linamen dishes up a satisfying blend of moxie and mocha, sharing stories from dozens of women who reveal savvy strategies for embracing a sweeter life—even while traveling rocky roads. If you’re hungry for more joy, reasons to laugh again, ideas to help you heal, and reliable hope leading to a sweeter future, this journey will leave you satisfied.

 Funny, transparent, and uplifting, The Chocolate Diaries is like taking a road trip with good friends who are wise about life. And while you’re at it, indulge (just a little) in the quirky recipes for concocting chocolate delights out of whatever ingredients you can round up in your kitch. The road may still be bumpy, but you’ll be having too much fun to care.

My Review:  Anything that has to do with chocolate must be good!  The Chocolate Diaries is definitely "Secrets for a Sweeter Journey on the Rocky Road of Life." (actually this is the subtitle on the front of the book).  

Most women relate to chocolate....we love dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate truffles, chocolate coffee cream (well, this is my personal favorite) and the list  goes on.  So much chocolate so little time <smile>

Now in The Chocolate Diaries the author, Karen Linamen, shares stories about her family, relationships with other women and how other women have overcome struggles....all involve chocolate! 

One of my favorite chapters is entitled, Sweet Secrets, Because Real Women Don’t Need a Cookbook.  And on page 94 there is a recipe for Fab Fondue~Chocolate, of course!  It's sweet and easy to make in your crockpot!  Then you dip your favorite fruits in this wonderful fondue!  

This is one of those reads that will make your life journey sweeter.  You'll feel that the author is your friend because many of the situations that she talks about are things we all can relate to.  Karen gives sage advice about life and brings us tips on how to deal with these life situations.

My favorite quote from this great read is, "When we're traveling the rocky roads of life, sometimes we need endurance for the long haul ahead.  Sometimes we need healing for whatever it is we've just come through.  Sometimes we need compasses to make sense of the crazy terrain we have to negotiate."  And then right across the page is the recipe for a French Twist:  Slice a croissant in half, fill with chocolate chips, microwave about 20 seconds and viola! instant indulgence! 

Loved this book!  A great-tastic 5 star not.to.be.missed.read!

Read the first chapter HERE! 

About the Author:

No stranger to good chocolate, Karen Scalf Linamen is a popular speaker and the author of fifteen books for women, including Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt and Chocolatherapy: Satisfying the Deepest Cravings of Your Inner Chick. Karen writes, entertains, cooks, and pursues the sweet life with her family in Colorado Springs, Colorado

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

12 oz. shredded cooked chicken breast
2 cans white beans (Navy beans), drained &amp; rinsed and slightly mashed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 (6 oz) containers of Greek plain yogurt
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
3/4 cups cucumber, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper

Mix everything but the tomato together and mix together.  Fold in tomatoes and serve with tortillas and lettuce.

The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister

Book Description:  Russian refugee Bannister (1927–2004) rarely spoke about her brutal experiences under the regimes of Stalin and Hitler, not even to the American she married after the war. In this memoir, she reveals how a privileged childhood in the 1920s and '30s gave way to horror and loss in the 1940s. Although the sound quality of this production is poor (lots of rustling papers), Rebecca Gallagher does reasonably well with the multiple languages and wisely avoids attempting to replicate European accents. What is irritating, however, is the constant interruption in the form of unnecessary editor's notes, which make the narrative choppy and disjointed. More helpful is the seventh disc, which contains an interview with Bannister's husband and son, a precious audio reminiscence from Nonna herself, recorded in 1993, and abundant PDF materials, including maps, photographs and genealogical data. 

My Review: I love to read books that "talk" about World War II.  I really wanted to read this book but put it off for a couple of weeks simply because I was afraid of the sadness that comes with reading about WWII.

However, once I began this read I simply couldn't put it down!  

I like the way the book begins.  It begins with an introduction unlike any other....Nonna has written many diaries and has not told a soul, including her husband and children, what she wrote of her childhood and family.  Maybe, the memories were too painful and speaking of them would bring the pain of all that had transpired?

Nonna tells her husband of fifty years that now is the time and takes him to their attic where she has hidden her hand written diaries from so many years ago.  Now, she tells, him is the time for him to know the past.

And that is what this read is all about.  A time when Hitler and his goons crawled upon the face of the earth.  A time when people betrayed their neighbors simply out of fear, a time when faith was all one could cling to and a time of lost.

At times I simply had to put the book down...too much emotion, too many loves lost, and way too much sadness.

This is a great 5 star read not for the faint of heart but for the heart that seeks truth.  Nonna tells of her family, their struggles and of her own pilgrimage to make it out of the darkness.

Thanks, Nonna!  For being courageous and leaving a legacy for us to follow!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Readers!  

Inspire us for this new year.  

Leave a comment telling us what new books you're reading this year.

The English Son: The Amish Millionaire by Wanda E. Brunstetter (Author), Jean Brunstetter (Author)

Book Description:  Meet businessman Joel Byler who has gotten himself into a financial bind and his eccentric, wealthy Amish father who is done bailing out his spoiled son. When will Joel learn he most pay for his own mistakes—and at what cost to his business, his fiancée, and his Amish siblings?

My Thoughts:  I was so excited to receive this new six part serial novel in the mail.

I have been waiting for this mini novel to make it's appearance on the book shelves.  

Joel Byler has decided that he needs to see the world so he decides to leave his Amish roots and go to the city.  

Much like the prodigal son story in the Bible, Joel too squanders his money and is left with nothing. 

He misses his home and wonders if his father would give another cash loan?  

An interesting beginning to the Amish Millionaire serials.  

My only complaint is that the books are only 124 pages long and then it's another month before the next issue.  

Ahhh! the life of a reader.  {smile}

I love this story....an Amish millionaire?!?!?  

To be honest I have never thought about the Amish bering millionaires.  

I guess the Amish didn't need much money because they grow and can everything or build it by themselves.  But being people I realized they have needs outside of the things they can't make, like tennis shoes or carriages. So, I love the way Wanda and Jean have portrayed a different line of thought in Amish life!  

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{Blog Tour} An Unlikely Amish Match by Vannetta Chapman

Book Description:  Susannah Beiler is determined to protect the other young marriageable Amish women from falling for the new bad boy in town…by pretending to date Micah Fisher herself! Their deal is simple: she’ll keep him company if he stays away from her friends. But she doesn’t count on finding out there’s more to Micah than his reputation…

My Thoughts:  I have fallen in love with Mrs. Chapman's stories from the first time I read one about five years ago.  

In this story Susannah Beiler feels it is her duty to protect other young women from the bad boy in town.  Yes, she is going to date him herself.

As the saying goes, 'No good deed goes unpunished'.  And as Susannah finds out it's always better to let the Lord solve a "problem."

I loved this story and it's quirks and turns.  Even in this cozy romance of Amish life Mrs. Chapman finds a way to surprise the reader with a twist in plot.

A love story like none other.  And such a fun way to let go of life's problems for an afternoon.

*This book was provided for review by the author*

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

Here's another great Pinterest recipe!

Caramel Pecan Apple Bars

Ingredients

• 1 spice cake mix
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together cake mix, egg and butter.
3. Pat into a parchment lined, greased 9×13″ pan.
4. Peel and chop apples.
5. Toss with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
6. Sprinkle chopped apples over the cake batter in the pan.
7. Top with chopped pecans.
8. Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes.