The Secret's In The Sauce - Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson

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ISBN: 978080073208
September 2008

The Potluck Catering Club has accepted their first job, and the women are at odds with their own ideas and personal issues. This spin-off from the Potluck Club novels sees the heroines now running a business and handling things that life throws at them from relationships to marriages and difficult parents to skeletons in their closets.

Evangeline Vesey is back from her honeymoon and at odds with Lisa Leann Lambert who makes every effort to be in control of the business. Lisa Leann is rather set in her ways and wants everyone to fall into line. Evangeline isn't quite as willing to cave to Lisa Leann's demands.

Meanwhile, Goldie has her own problems. Her father has a major heart attack and his life is in the balance. Goldie must head home where she learns she didn't make it in time. Her father is dead.

Lizzie's youngest daughter is getting married and you'd think she'd be happy. Unfortunately, her daughter's fiance's mother is determined to take control of everything and not let Lizzie and her daughter enjoy things as thrilling as picking out the wedding dress together. When Lisa Leann sticks her nose in it, Lizzie feels ready to burst. Add to this the fact that Lizzie's mother has Alzheimer's and it becomes clear that Lizzie has a full plate.

Vonnie's son has moved on from Donna and is now dating Donna's obnoxious half-sister. Vonnie is not happy with this situation and wants to get Donna and David reunited. Unfortunately, Donna is seeing someone else. In addition, Vonnie's mother still lives with them and is a major annoyance because she's happy with little Vonnie does.

THE SECRET'S IN THE SAUCE revolves around these main characters, each linked by their common ties as members in the Potluck Club. Unfortunately, I found myself disliking most of the characters. For Christians, they are awfully catty at times and often fall back to juvenile behavior.

My bigger issue involves a formatting error that should have been caught. For whatever reason, any word starting with the letters "f" and "i" failed to print correctly. Instead, those words begin with a box with an "x" through it. This occurs throughout the book and, in my opinion, should have been noticed during editing.

Reader's are treated to a selection of recipes at the end of the book. The Mystery Mocha Cake is amazing. I cut back the sugar because it was too sweet for my liking, but the overall cake is moist, chocolaty and extremely impressive! My family loved it!

Overall, while I didn't enjoy all of the characters, I still found THE SECRET'S IN THE SAUCE to be an enjoyable peek into the women of Summit View, Colorado's lives.

All I Have To Give - Melody Carlson (Christmas)

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ISBN: 9780800718824
September 2008


Melody Carlson is a master at creating engaging, emotional stories. As Christian stories go, I've never found her books to be preachy, something I appreciate. Instead, she spins stories around likeable characters and touching storylines.

In ALL I HAVE TO GIVE, the main character Anna becomes troubled when her husband spends more time at work. After years of trying to conceive and a heartbreaking miscarriage, Anna's ready for a happy holiday season. To revitalize her marriage and spirits, she sells some family china in order to purchase an engine for the car her husband is trying to restore. As events unfold, Anna learns a lot about herself, her husband and the true blessing Christmas provides.

ALL I HAVE TO GIVE is a good story, but it's another spin on the classic O'Henry tale. After starting the book, I realized that was the path the story was taking pretty quickly. I'm a huge fan of O'Henry's "Gift of the Magi," and I suppose I'm just growing tired of the number of books that take that plot and respin it every holiday season. That's why I can't say Carlson's book is my favorite. It's good, but I was hoping for more.