Leslie Keller Books

Before I found this book I was thinking to myself that I hadn't read a really great book in ages.  I don't know what drew me to select this one - certainly not the title. I do enough matchmaking already so I don't need advice on how to fix up my girlfriends. Happily, this book wasn't at all what I expected. It was vastly better!  Warning, there are a few spoilers ahead. The story opens with Blix, a zany older lady with terminal cancer. That doesn't sound fun, and it's certainly not, but Blix will capture your heart.  We meet her when she is attending the engagement party of her nephew, Noah in Virginia. Her wealthy family, ashamed of her flamboyant dress and unusual ways, thinks she practices witchcraft. And maybe she does - a little. But mostly she's just a free spirit who loves life and listens to her intuition. The author completely had me in the early pages with this line from Blix, "I'm about to agree with him when I realize with a start th...

A few zany criminals as reported by The Telegraph Phillip Joseph Smolinsky, 36, was detained after allegedly attacking his girlfriend with a banana. The Florida resident was charged with domestic violence but denied throwing the fruit at his girlfriend. A bridegroom who failed to book his wedding venue decided that making a hoax bomb threat was the best way to cover up his mistake. Neil McArdle, who was jailed for 12 months, told a court he could not face telling his fiancée about his error. A Kansas man was ordered to serve four-and-a-half years behind bars after taking a neighbour’s pet spider hostage in 2012. Bryan Paul Smith originally agreed to look after the arachnid but then threatened to shoot his friend if he could not keep it. Here’s an interesting case of the police working overtime from Listverse.com On 17 August, 1981, Miss Terry Johnson of Chicago was woken at about 2:30 in the morning by two men wearing police uniforms, complete...

This was, and was not, what I expected it to be. First, based on the title I should have known that anything called Buck Me Cowboy wouldn't be a sweet romance but also seeing the word "Romance" in the title I expected more romance, less bucking. A warning to anyone who isn't looking for erotica this book is very graphic. This review will contain some spoilers so stop here if you don't want to know the basic plot. We meet the main character, Maisie who is alone and trying to keep her family ranch from going into foreclosure. She has to tackle every chore on the ranch but the reader is never sure just what that means.  Most working ranches would have livestock (cows and horses) a means of feeding them such as making hay and would require a team of more than one. In this case she is running a 500 hundred acre ranch that used to be a corn farm. Having grown up with chickens, horses, and cows I can tell you that even on a small scale one person couldn't even bein...

In honor of the excessive Arizona heat, I thought it would be nice to have something frosty and delicious by the pool, or even if you are indoors. This recipe comes from the Food Network June 2018 Magazine but I've added some of my own touches to simplify it. 3 1/2 cups blackberries (plus a few for garnish) 3/4 cup silver Tequila 3/4 cup superfine sugar 1/3 cup orange flavored liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec 2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes) Combine the blackberries, 2/3 cup water, the tequila, sugar, orange liqueur, lime zest and lime juice in a blender. Blend until smooth Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or liquid measuring cup, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions until thick and slushy.  If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can simply freeze this for a few minutes. If necessary add mo...

Warning - this review contains a few spoilers: This was a very enjoyable read about Caretta, who loses her high powered job after years of working her way up the corporate ladder only to find herself back in her hometown outside of Charleston, SC.  What she doesn't know when she returns home is that her mother is in ill health and wants to put her affairs in order. Caretta (Cara) is a likeable character who starts out as distant, troubled and angry about her childhood. Staying with her mother Lovie in her beach house with a young pregnant teenager, Toy her mother has taken in, Cara has to make adjustments. She pushes back against her mother, against the Toy's presence and against becoming involved in the sea turtles who lay their eggs on the beach. I enjoyed the slow process in which the author has Cara evolve and grow. As in real life, we sometimes change more slowly than can be accomplished on a few pages. In this case, the changes were forced due to her mother's he...

The temperature has already hit one hundred degrees in Phoenix. Time for some cool summer cocktails to bring reduce that body heat.  This recipe was modified from one I found on the Food Network so don't hesitate to put your own twist on it.  You can switch out the berries for any other flavor but the color looks best when combined with a darker berry such as blackberries or blueberries. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2 1/4 cups peach nectar 3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (from one 12 ounce can), thawed 3/4 cup orange flavored vodka (or if you use regular vodka you can add a splash of Orange Liqueor 1/4 cup peach Schnapps 1 cup raspberries 3 cups seltzer Serves 4 to 6 so plan to make extra for seconds 1.  Make a simple syrup - Bring 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves.  Cool completely. 2.  Combine the cooled syrup, peach nectar, orange juice concentrate, vodka and peach...

Here are some new mysteries released on Amazon in the last thirty days. These are randomly selected and in no particular order. My search included those new mysteries which had an amateur sleuth and were listed as humorous. This doesn't necessarily limit the list to cozy mysteries but it should weed out some of those which are too far out of the genre. Shot in the Dark (A Coffehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle At $13.99 for the Kindle version this better be a great book. Reading the book description leaves me unimpressed. I hope the book is packed with more excitement than it appears.   A new smartphone dating game turns the Village Blend into a hookup hot spot, until one dark night, when a gunshot leaves a dead body behind and the landmark coffeehouse becomes the center of a whole new scene--a crime scene.     As Village Blend manager Clare Cosi attempts to finalize a date for her wedding, her ex-husband becomes addicted to making dates through smartphone swipes...