loopyloulaura

To Snare A Witch by Jay Raven

Laura

Tags: book review book tour witch

I loved this book. My dissertation at university was on the subject of witchcraft in Elizabethan England. This book is set during the reign of Charles I (so about 50 years after the era I studied).

This book has been well researched and the description of the process of locating witches was both accurate and horrific. Witches in England were not burned at the stake: this was the fate of witches in Europe.

My only complaint is the book is too short, I’d have loved it to be longer!

The book begins with the ducking of a suspected witch. This is where a person would be tied up and thrown in a pond. If they sank (and drowned) then they were innocent and if they floated then they was obviously guilty of witchcraft because water (which represented the water of baptism and the love of God) had rejected them due to their pact with the Devil. They would then be executed by hanging.

This event was overseen by 2 Inquisitors who went from town to town rooting out witchery and saving the community. Except they are not real witch hunters: they are actors.

One man knows their secret and threatens them with revealing their true identity if they do not help his scheme to ruin a woman who spurned his advances.

Elizabeth Fiennes has met the love of her life but on her wedding night her new husband is whisked away by the Inquisitors accused of witchcraft. Desperate, she turns to Sir Henry Cruttenden for help and he agrees in exchange for sexual favours.

I won’t spoil the ending but there is a brilliant twist in the book which made me shout out a triumphant ‘ha!’

Here is the official book blurb:

TO SNARE A WITCH by Jay Raven

No female dares spurn the lecherous advances of Sir Henry Cruttendon, 17th Century England’s most reviled nobleman. To do so risks a retribution that would terrify the Devil himself.

But Elizabeth Fiennes is no ordinary woman, blessed with stunning beauty, intelligence and guile. Coming from an influential family, she believes she is safe.

What she doesn’t understand is that the Earl is determined to satisfy his lust and plans to use the wave of witch trials, fear and superstition sweeping the countryside to force her into his clutches.

And as he springs his malicious trap it triggers a chain of unholy events plunging hunter and prey into a maelstrom of deceit, terror and depravity – leaving them both staring into the face of true evil…

AUTHOR BIO

Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men.

He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house on the edge of a 500-acre wood may have something to do with it.

[amazon_link asins=’B07CYTTFD4′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’tiredmummyblog-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’6576ac4d-8d7b-11e8-a171-8dc063f489d3′]

*I received this book for the purpose of the book tour but all opinions are my own.

Categories: Product reviews.

/ 7 Comments

Mocha tarts

Laura

Tags: chocolate food gluten free pastry picnic recipe vegetarian

Last week for Anya’s sports day I needed some picnic food that I could take with me so decided to experiment!

I tweaked my chocolate ganache recipe to include coffee and created these mocha tarts. The coffee taste is quite subtle so the kids also enjoyed them.

Ingredients

4oz plain flour

2oz hard marge or butter

1 egg

125 ml double cream

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

125 g dark chocolate, broken up

2 tbsp strong coffee

Method

1 Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

2 Add the egg and bring together to form a dough. Add a splash of water if required (gluten free flours absorb more liquid)

3. Roll out the pastry and cut out 12 rounds. Place in a tin and lightly prick each base.

4. Bake for 10 minutes at GM5 or until golden brown. Leave to cool.

5. Heat the cream and the sugar in a small pan until it simmers.

6. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt a little, then stir until smooth.

7 Add the coffee to the pan and stir.

8 Pour the chocolate mixture into a jug or carefully spoon into the pastry cases.

9 Chill in the fridge for 2 hours until set.

I had some chocolate coffee beans in the cupboard so pressed them in to the top of the tarts after half an hour of chilling. You could also use chocolate curls, strands or sprinkles.

The filling can be eaten on its own as a dessert or check out my chocolate mousse recipe here.

Categories: food.

/ 4 Comments

Sweet Love at Bayside and Sweet Passions at Bayside

Laura

Tags: book review book tour

Sweet Love at Bayside

Emery and Dean have been building a firm friendship over the past few months. Emery decides to leave her home and move to Bayside to be closer to her best friend Desiree.

I like the introduction of the new characters whilst still maintaining the same feel as the Seaside books. I enjoyed the down to earth nature of the narrative including the need to pee in the opening chapter!

Both Dean and Emery want more from the relationship but don’t know how to approach the issue. The other problem is that Emery is technically an employee and doesn’t want to ruin her career if the relationship fails.

My one complaint is that it did feel a bit repetitive as the characters continually debated their feelings and questioned their decisions. But then I’m guilty of doing that in real life too so perhaps I’m being a little unfair!

Sweet Passions at Bayside

I read these two books in the wrong order! It actually didn’t matter. This is one of my all time favourites from Addison Cole.

Desiree is tricked into visiting her mother. I felt such fury at Lizza for being such an unreliable mother to her daughters and could really identify with Des’ need for order and plans.

I was really hoping for the relationship between Desiree and her sister to become stronger despite the pain of their childhood separation (I won’t reveal if it does…)

Then we have the romance. It started straight away and there was no angst just the beautiful development of love. They knew they were meant to be together. Both of them had family sadness: Desiree because of her mother’s personality and Rick because his father died.

I really loved this book. The romance was just perfect and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling 🙂

Two BRAND NEW Addison Cole sweet romance releases!

NEW RELEASE……..

Fall in love at Bayside, where sandy beaches, good friends, and true love come together in the sweet small towns of Cape Cod. Bayside Summers is a series of standalone romance novels featuring fiercely loyal heroes and sassy, empowered women. They’re fun, flirty, flawed, and easy to relate to.

In Sweet Love at Bayside…
As the co-owner of Bayside Resorts, Rick Savage has a fabulous job working with his best friends and brother, and a thriving business in Washington, DC, which he’ll be returning to at the end of the summer. Spending time with his family is great, but being back on Cape Cod has unearthed painful memories. When sweet, smart, and overly cautious Desiree Cleary moves in next door, Rick is drawn to the sexy preschool teacher, and she just might prove to be the perfect distraction.

Running an art gallery was not in preschool teacher Desiree Cleary’s plans, but after being tricked into coming to her impetuous, unreliable mother’s aid, she’s stuck spending the summer with the rebellious half sister she barely knows and a misbehaving dog. If that’s not frustrating enough, she can’t escape the sparks igniting with her strikingly handsome and pushy neighbor, Rick, who makes all her warning bells go off.

Passion ignites as Desiree and Rick spend long summer nights sharing heartfelt confessions and steamy kisses. For the first time in years Rick is enjoying life again instead of hiding behind mounds of work miles away from his family. Desiree has touched him in a way that makes him want to slow down. Only slowing down means dealing with his demons, and he isn’t sure who he’ll be when he comes out the other side.

About SWEET WITH HEAT novels…
Sweet with Heat books are the sweet editions of the Love in Bloom steamy romance novels by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster. Sweet with Heat books convey all of the passion you expect between two people in love, without any explicit scenes or harsh language.

Available to buy from …
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Barnes and Noble KOBO iBooks GPlay Paperback

In Sweet Passions at Bayside…
When Emery Andrews’s best friend, Desiree, moves away, falls in love, and opens an inn all in one summer, she feels her absence like a missing limb. Until she visits over the holidays and meets sinfully hot Dean Masters, who’s as easy on the eyes as he is to talk to. After returning home, what starts as a flurry of late-night flirtations quickly turns into a deep connection and unexpected friendship. Now, months later, Desiree offers Emery a job teaching yoga at the inn. Adventurous Emery jumps at the chance and heads for Wellfleet, Massachusetts, to reunite with her BFF and her new close friend, Dean.

After months of sharing their lives, and their secrets, over video chats and phone calls, Dean’s ready to move things to the next level. The fact that Emery seems oblivious to the sparks between them and has recently put her foot down about dating friends just means he’ll have to bide his time.

When Emery finds a man in her kitchen the first morning she’s there, Dean doesn’t hesitate to move her into his guest room. Maybe now Emery will see what’s right before her eyes-although that guy she’s got a date with might be a problem.

About SWEET WITH HEAT novels…
Sweet with Heat books are the sweet editions of the Love in Bloom steamy romance novels by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster. Sweet with Heat books convey all of the passion you expect between two people in love, without any explicit scenes or harsh language.

Available to buy from …
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Barnes and Noble KOBO iBooks GPlay Paperback

Also available in the Sweet with Heat: Bayside Summers Series

Sweet Love at Bayside

Sweet Passions at Bayside

Sweet Heat at Bayside (Releasing August 8th)

Sweet Escape at Bayside (Releasing February 6th, 2019)

More from Addison Cole!

Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers Series

About the author

SIGN UP for ADDISON’S Sweet with Heat newsletter. Fun, flirty romance with a dash of heat. www.AddisonCole.com/Newsletter

DOWNLOAD the first book in Addison’s Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers series free: READ, WRITE, LOVE AT SEASIDE

Addison Cole is the sweet alter ego of New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster. She writes humorous and emotional sweet contemporary romance. Her books do not include explicit sex scenes or harsh language. Addison spends her summers on Cape Cod, where she dreams up wonderful love stories in her house overlooking Cape Cod Bay.

Addison is proud to be part of the Main Street Romance family, a partnership with bestselling authors Nancy Naigle, RaeAnne Thayne, and Chris Keniston, bringing sweet happy-ever-after love stories to the Main Street Romance community. Join them at www.MainStreetRomance.com ~ open 24/7 just for you.

Addison enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Addison’s books are available in paperback, digital, and audio formats.

Find Addison on the following sites….

Website Newsletter Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest Goodreads Bookbub Amazon Author Page

Follow the Book Tour

I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

NOW FOR THE AUTHOR’S GIVEAWAY !!

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Ending on Sunday 5th August at 11.59pm EST

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Categories: Product reviews.

/ 2 Comments

Eggy rice muffins

Laura

Tags: gluten free leftovers recipe vegetarian

OK hands up who ALWAYS cooks too much rice. Me too! 🙂

Ingredients

200g cooked rice

75g veg (I used some onion, peas and carrots)

100g grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and red leicester but you could try mozzarella and parmesan too))

2 eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius and grease your muffin tin very well or use cupcake cases.

Chop the vegetables.

Combine the rice and veg and mix well.

Stir in the grated cheese.

Beat the two eggs into the mixture.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs if you fancy. (ooh I wish I’d added a few chilli flakes now!)

Place spoonfuls of mixture into the muffin tray. Press the mixture down firmly to make sure they are well filled.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.

These can be eaten warm from the oven or are perfect for a picnic when cold.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 24 hours.

Categories: food.

/ 3 Comments

Quick and easy (and tasty!) chocolate mousse

Laura

Tags: chocolate gluten free recipes vegetarian

I loved this book. My dissertation at university was on the subject of witchcraft in Elizabethan England. This book is set during the reign of Charles I (so about 50 years after the era I studied).

This book has been well researched and the description of the process of locating witches was both accurate and horrific. Witches in England were not burned at the stake: this was the fate of witches in Europe.

My only complaint is the book is too short, I’d have loved it to be longer!

This event was overseen by 2 Inquisitors who went from town to town rooting out witchery and saving the community. Except they are not real witch hunters: they are actors.

One man knows their secret and threatens them with revealing their true identity if they do not help his scheme to ruin a woman who spurned his advances.

Elizabeth Fiennes has met the love of her life but on her wedding night her new husband is whisked away by the Inquisitors accused of witchcraft. Desperate, she turns to Sir Henry Cruttenden for help and he agrees in exchange for sexual favours.

I won’t spoil the ending but there is a brilliant twist in the book which made me shout out a triumphant ‘ha!’

Here is the official book blurb:

TO SNARE A WITCH by Jay Raven

No female dares spurn the lecherous advances of Sir Henry Cruttendon, 17th Century England’s most reviled nobleman. To do so risks a retribution that would terrify the Devil himself.

But Elizabeth Fiennes is no ordinary woman, blessed with stunning beauty, intelligence and guile. Coming from an influential family, she believes she is safe.

What she doesn’t understand is that the Earl is determined to satisfy his lust and plans to use the wave of witch trials, fear and superstition sweeping the countryside to force her into his clutches.

And as he springs his malicious trap it triggers a chain of unholy events plunging hunter and prey into a maelstrom of deceit, terror and depravity – leaving them both staring into the face of true evil…

AUTHOR BIO

Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men.

He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house on the edge of a 500-acre wood may have something to do with it.

Last week for Anya’s sports day I needed some picnic food that I could take with me so decided to experiment!

I tweaked my chocolate ganache recipe to include coffee and created these mocha tarts. The coffee taste is quite subtle so the kids also enjoyed them.

Ingredients

4oz plain flour

2oz hard marge or butter

1 egg

125 ml double cream

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

125 g dark chocolate, broken up

2 tbsp strong coffee

Method

1 Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

2 Add the egg and bring together to form a dough. Add a splash of water if required (gluten free flours absorb more liquid)

3. Roll out the pastry and cut out 12 rounds. Place in a tin and lightly prick each base.

4. Bake for 10 minutes at GM5 or until golden brown. Leave to cool.

5. Heat the cream and the sugar in a small pan until it simmers.

6. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt a little, then stir until smooth.

7 Add the coffee to the pan and stir.

8 Pour the chocolate mixture into a jug or carefully spoon into the pastry cases.

9 Chill in the fridge for 2 hours until set.

I had some chocolate coffee beans in the cupboard so pressed them in to the top of the tarts after half an hour of chilling. You could also use chocolate curls, strands or sprinkles.

The filling can be eaten on its own as a dessert or check out my chocolate mousse recipe here.

Sweet Love at Bayside

Emery and Dean have been building a firm friendship over the past few months. Emery decides to leave her home and move to Bayside to be closer to her best friend Desiree.

I like the introduction of the new characters whilst still maintaining the same feel as the Seaside books. I enjoyed the down to earth nature of the narrative including the need to pee in the opening chapter!

Both Dean and Emery want more from the relationship but don’t know how to approach the issue. The other problem is that Emery is technically an employee and doesn’t want to ruin her career if the relationship fails.

My one complaint is that it did feel a bit repetitive as the characters continually debated their feelings and questioned their decisions. But then I’m guilty of doing that in real life too so perhaps I’m being a little unfair!

Sweet Passions at Bayside

I read these two books in the wrong order! It actually didn’t matter. This is one of my all time favourites from Addison Cole.

Desiree is tricked into visiting her mother. I felt such fury at Lizza for being such an unreliable mother to her daughters and could really identify with Des’ need for order and plans.

I was really hoping for the relationship between Desiree and her sister to become stronger despite the pain of their childhood separation (I won’t reveal if it does…)

Then we have the romance. It started straight away and there was no angst just the beautiful development of love. They knew they were meant to be together. Both of them had family sadness: Desiree because of her mother’s personality and Rick because his father died.

I really loved this book. The romance was just perfect and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling 🙂

OK hands up who ALWAYS cooks too much rice. Me too! 🙂

Ingredients

200g cooked rice

75g veg (I used some onion, peas and carrots)

100g grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and red leicester but you could try mozzarella and parmesan too))

2 eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius and grease your muffin tin very well or use cupcake cases.

Chop the vegetables.

Combine the rice and veg and mix well.

Stir in the grated cheese.

Beat the two eggs into the mixture.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs if you fancy. (ooh I wish I’d added a few chilli flakes now!)

Place spoonfuls of mixture into the muffin tray. Press the mixture down firmly to make sure they are well filled.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.

These can be eaten warm from the oven or are perfect for a picnic when cold.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 24 hours.

I have always been put off using raw egg in recipes after growing up during the salmonella crisis of the 1980s.

However, I have overcome it (starting with my delicious tiramisu) and wanted to have a go at making a mousse.

With World Chocolate Day coming up on the 7th July, I decided to try a chocolate one!

Ingredients

2oz plain chocolate and a tablespoon of water

2 eggs, separated

These ingredients are so simple to multiply, basically 1 egg and 1 oz of chocolate per person.

Method

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a simmering pan (depending on your preference)

Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Beat the yolks into the melted chocolate.

Carefully fold in the egg whites.

Pour into serving dishes and put in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

If required, sprinkle with grated chocolate, a drizzle of cream or a dusting of icing sugar and enjoy.