A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

Where do I begin? OMG, this book was fabulous! It has to be one of the best books I've read. I would say this year but it's only March, but guaranteed, come December, I will still say this was the best book I've read.

Simply put, this is a nice story.

It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It is filled with lOVE.

Meet Ove. He is described as a curmudgeon. While he sees black and white, his wife saw colour. He is the kind of man who will point to people he does not like, as if they were up to no good. He likes routines. He is known as bitter by his neighbours. He drives a Saab. Anything else means you're stupid!

And while you think I'm asking you to read a book about a cranky old man, this book is also filled with saddness. And it's filled with joy.

Ove likes his routine. And he has a plan. And it all gets turned upside down when a young couple and their two little girls move next door. They drive a uHaul (no cars allowed in the residential area) and run his mailbox over. And, a beautiful, yet strange, friendship begins.

All I can really say about this book is you need to read this book!!!!!

Broken Harbor - Tana French

"This case should have gone like clockwork. It should have ended up in the textbooks as a shining example of how to get everything right. By every rule in the book, this should have been the dream case."

Scorcher Kennedy and his rookie partner, Richie are called out to Broken Harbor. A family was attacked in their home. In the middle of the night. The father, and two young children are dead. The wife is rushed to the hospital, and is in intensive care.

At first glance, it looks like the husband/father lost it and killed everyone before killing himself. But according to Jenny's sister, Fiona, they were in love. Everything was perfect.

As Kennedy and Richie continue their investigation, things don't add up. Fiona is too eager to jump to everyone's defence. What is she hiding? When Jenny regains consciousness, she's also hiding something. But what? Why won't she help them find who did this to her family?

If Pat Spain didn't kill his family, then who? The crazy neighbours next door? The mysterious man that was spying on the Spains? And what would the motive be?

And all the time Kennedy spends on this case, he also has his, can I say bi-polar(?), sister to look after.

It should have been easy. But it is not.

Writer's Workshop - Coffee

Write a blog post inspired by the word:

Coffee

Coffee

Latte, Cappuccino

Espresso,

Mocha, Americano

Caffeinated,

Decaf

Half-caf?

Black,

Strong

Double-Double

Caramel,

Vanilla,

Hazelnut

Holiday flavours too.

You wake me up 

in the mornings.

You make me seem more...

human.

You give me that little extra

pep

to keep me going.

Coffee,

Latte, Cappuccino

Hot or cold

I'm sold!

Chocolate

Did you know it's Valentine's Day this weekend? How did it get to be the middle of February already? For the last couple of years, I've made cookies and cupcakes. Ethan decorates them. We have fun. But this year I wasn't as well prepared.

So I thought.

I decided to spend my day, while Ethan's in school, making chocolate.

My ingredients

It was fairly simple. Equal parts of coconut oil and agave and 2 parts cocoa. Mixed together.

Heart molds, since it's Valentines

I placed the pomegranate seeds in the bottom of my mold and poured the chocolate mixture over it. (I forgot to take a picture of that).

Put them in the fridge, then go for coffee with a mate.

My chocolate!

Am hoping Ethan likes them. They were so easy, am thinking of making some more. May try other fillings, like nuts, seeds, dried fruit. Am so excited!

Disappointment

Disappointment

A blow to the ego

Hurt

and feeling betrayed.

Discouraged

A set back

and wondering where you failed.

A letdown

A bummer

and thinking you're a washout.

Is it a misfortune,

a mischance

or a blunder?

But it leaves you feeling

Unappreciated

Unloved

and disliked.

Despondent,

spirit destroyed

and down in the dumps.

Crummy,

bumped-out

and dejected.

Never Never Part Three - Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

Ok, I'll admit, I've been waiting for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two, and could not wait to see how it all ends.

In Part One, we meet Charlie and Silas. At 11:00am, one day at school, they suddenly realize they have no memory. They do not know who they are, where they are, or what's going on. They learn about each other, and learn they are in the same predicament.

In Part Two, Silas "awakes" in his car with no memory but surrounded by notes that tells him he's lost his memory again. He learns about Charlie, but she's gone missing. He needs to find her, and find out what's happening.

So now comes Part Three. Charlie and Silas are together in a motel room when it happens again. Only this time, Silas remembers the last 48 hours. But only the last 48 hours, and Charlie still remembers nothing.

As they continue to learn about their past, Silas decides that this all happened because they are soul mates, and by breaking up, they made this happen. So, not only do they try to learn what they were like before, they need to learn how to fix it, Silas needs to get Charlie to fall in love with him, oh and they have like 48 hours to do this.

While it was fun reading how Silas tried to get Charlie to fall in love with him, there seemed to be more missing. Charlie learns more about herself and her father. But a lot of this seemed to be passed over, and not dealt with.

But, I started my Sunday afternoon feeling overwhelmed with all sorts of things going on. I decided to turn everything off, and read a book. And since this relieved a lot of my stress and made me feel happy, I've decided to focus on the good stuff about the book, and not worry about the unanswered questions.

The Dirt on Ninth Grave - Darynda Jones

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow, New York, where Janey Doer (because Jane Doe is too boring) lives and works as a waitress. She has no memory of who she is or where she came from.

Her best friend, Cookie, is also new there, having recently moved with her husband Robert. Garrett is a wonderful customer that comes into the diner every single day. Reyes is beyond gorgeous and Janey is immediately attracted to him.

But with no memory, Janey isn't away that she's really Charley and these are all her dearest friends, keeping watch over her.

And since she doesn't know who she is, she has no idea why she sees dead people. Or how she can read the emotions of others. But even with her memory loss, she will still go out of her way to help those in need, even if it means nearly getting killed herself.

I loved how, even though she was not Charley, she still was Charley. She has evil demons after her (but has no idea why). She gets herself in all kinds of trouble trying to help a family. She deals with evil baby killing ghosts, and even tries to play matchmaker.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but Darynda Jones does not let you down.