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Food with Attitude: Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot and Bitchin’ Kitchen

17 Dec

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot
by Alexis Hall
Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot is the third LGBTQ Romance novel in Hall’s Winner Bakes All Series about a British cooking competition in the vein of the Great British Baking Show (or Bake-off depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on). I enjoyed books one (Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake) and two (Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble) in the series, but was especially interested in this entry which focuses on a romance between the foul-mouthed producer Jennifer Hallet and a feisty contestant on the latest season of the show. I couldn’t wait to see the grumpy Hallet show some vulnerability and fall in love and Audrey was a charmer. I liked how the experience of Bake Off helped Audrey work through some previous feelings of inadequacy and find a place for herself where she could not only be valued, but also value herself. Each book in the series take place in different seasons so it is not necessary to read them in any particular order though this worked well as a satisfying end to the trilogy. Alexis Hall is being spotlighted on Hoopla this month, where you can checkout many of his great novels!

Bitchin’ Kitchen
Back when the Cooking Channel first spun off of Food Network they would often air original programs that were filmed in Canada. One of the quirkiest of these was Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen which was like if you merged a cooking show with a PG version of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. Besides Nadia, there are three additional over the top actors who play experts and provide information on things like spices and the health benefits of foods. Nadia whose family immigrated from Italy, grew up in Montreal so often her dishes put a twist on Italian food or work in popular French Canadian ingredients like Maple Syrup. Each episode has a theme like Recession Recipes or Childhood Favorites. One of the craziest moments was season 2’s Christmas Special which featured a goofy music video including other foodie personalities such as Andrew Zimmer, the Black Metal Chef and the Epic Meal Time Crew (Nadia is also a musician). Bitchin’ Kitchen ran for three seasons before spinning off to the travel show Bite This with Nadia G. This cult show isn’t for everyone, but if you are looking for a truly unusual, edgy cooking program then this one might be a treat.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Charming Romances: Seas and Greetings & The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

29 Oct

Seas and Greetings
by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Seas and Greetings is part of the Christmas Notch in July Novella series, a spin off from Murphy and Simone’s holiday series, that takes place during the Summer Months and features romance for some of the secondary characters in the main line novel. I had previously reviewed their first book, A Merry Little Meet Cute. Addison Hayes is a former singer/child star who dreams of business success; the first step is a cruise featuring a Twilight Musical. Addison hires a former stunt woman, Krysta Morton to be her body guard on board. At first things seem a bit chilly on Krysta’s side, but they soon heat up on the tropical cruise. Addison is keeping a secret about a stalker though and time is ticking down for her to come clean to Krysta before it kills her budding relationship and possibly her. A lot is packed into this short piece that is only a little over 100 pages; perfect for someone looking for some spicy fun without a huge time commitment.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is the sweet cozy fantasy romance we picked for our October, annual Halloween read, for our Hoboken Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion. Mika Moon is an orphan like all witches. She has stuck to the rules her foster mom, another powerful witch, has taught her over the years which has been to keep to herself and only rarely spend time with other witches. But what she thinks will be a harmless online videos of “pretending” to be a witch draws the attention of a found family with three young witches desperately in need of a magical tutor; her lonely life might finally be over, especially if she can thaw the heart of the young witches’ father figure, a grumpy librarian, with his own secrets. This a book satisfying from beginning to end and should be a hit with fans of TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. You can also check out Mandanna’s latest novel A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. Next month the group will be reading Vaishnavi Patel’s Kaikeyi.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager


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