Review: Love Unexpected

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

Book 01: Beacons of Hope series

Emma and Ryan Chambers (sister and brother) are on a steamboat when it is attacked by pirates. They are rescued and brought to the small settlement of Burnham's Landing. The lightkeeper, Patrick Garraty, is their rescuer. Their brief contact with each other is soon deepened when Emma and Patrick are wed. Patrick needs a wife to care for his young son and Emma wants an occupation to give her brother freedom from his obligation to care for her.

Love Unexpected is about finding freedom, understanding, healing, hope, and home. Jody Hedlund wrote a very captivating novel. She also included an interesting author's note at the end. She shared her love of lighthouses and a bit of history about Michigan's lighthouses and the real Emma Garraty - Mary Chambers Garraty, "Mother to a Lighthouse Dynasty."

I'm looking forward to the next installment in Beacons of Hope series. Will it feature another lighthouse with new light keepers or will it feature some of the characters from Love Unexpected? I feel this series could go either way!

Time Period: 1859
Location: Presque Isle, Michigan, USA

Reviewed from a library copy.

Review: My Perfect Pantry

My Perfect Pantry: 150 Easy Recipes from 50 Essential Ingredients by Geoffrey Zakarian


Any Chopped fans out there? That's my personal tie to Geoffrey Zakarian. GZ created this cookbook with Amy Stevenson and Margaret Zakarian with photographs by Sara Remington. He dedicated it to Madeline, Anna, and George - "May your pantry always be full."

Zakarian offers a unique look at the pantry. He pares down the essentials to 50 items which does not include spices. If you add spices, it jumps to sixty-nine essentials. It all depends on how you feel about math, spices, and food.

My Perfect Pantry is a beautiful book. The jacket offers photographs for each item listed in the book as well as the cover shot of GZ next to a pantry. It's clean cut and concise. The jacket's theme carries through to the book. Each essential is photographed with a small introduction and a few tips followed by a couple recipes featuring the essential.

Zakarian's essentials might not suite everyone. (I personally do not purchase a couple of his listed essentials.) But that's one of the joys of cooking - trying new things or customizing a recipe to your taste. I might not be ready to chuck out all my purchased goods and start over again with 50 essentials and 19 spices, but it's definitely food for thought.

Thank you, Blogging for Books for this review copy! I enjoyed this beautiful book.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.