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When we Start this Blog we hoping do this weekly but due fact had move  unexpectedly and use being disabled (one not able help much at all) that took  get point put time in to this please look more review in next week.

Book reviews of Fresh Temptation & Armando Return (Barboza Brothers) by Reeni Austin

Book reviews of Fresh Temptation (Barboza Brothers) by Reeni Austin &  Armando Return (Barboza Brothers) by Reeni Austin

Fresh Temptation (Barboza Brothers) by Reeni Austin
General Romance 
READ a relaxing, fast read 198 pages

This book falls into a category I have dubbed General (sex scenes, no current abuse, may have mild cussing) Romance. A billionaire book that is basically true to form; rich man seeks poor woman. This book is written in third-person mostly, which allow the reader to be able to watch the action as it unfolds from multiple view points. The story is about a male billionaire, Victor, who had broken an engagement sometime prior but the socialite ex-fiancée wants him back. He would rather have a real sized woman, Cara, (think size 10/12 instead of 4) who has a three-year-old son Isaac.

I give this book kudos on having a real sized woman and allowing her to have a past. I disliked having the reason for the female protagonist behavior to be hidden until the end, it made understanding the motivation of the character a little harder.

Armando Return (Barboza Brothers) book 2 by Reeni Austin
General Romance
READ: a relaxing read, 246 pages
 

Good intro with back story into current situation, billionaire Armando is torn from his fiancée Katie at age 18, flash forward ten years. Katie is engaged to a lawyer but Armando wants her back. Victor & Cara, plus her family members make return appearances. This book is still written in third person but while I like knowing what is happening with other family members it seems that about 1/3 the book is about the other family members, not the current couple Armando & Katie. This almost makes it seem like the books are part of a trilogy not a series, so read the first book first.  I read it to find out more about the Big Secret from the past, but this book only put in more clues not answers, so I will have to read the 3^rd book More Than A Maid (coming soon as printed at end of second book) when it is available.

Understanding Book Reviews

I have an eclectic taste in books everything mystery to romance to trivia books to memoirs and more. I am also open to book suggestions. Leave a comment below to suggest a book or put your own perspective on my review below. The first books I am reviewing  are romance I have decided on these sub categories division include:  Clean (all sexual encounters happen off page, little to no cussing), Spiritual (no sex, no cussing and has religious overturns), Teen (under 18), General (sex scenes, no current abuse, may have mild cussing), Supernatural (Vampire, were-creature, ghost, etc.), Paranormal (not supernatural more ESP, or super power based), Fantasy (alternate universe, different planet, future time setting), Historical (past time setting). Notice some categories missing (erotica, BSDM, etc.)? We at Dana’s Great Escapes have decided to keep the all reviews open for most audiences, so some books will not get reviewed at this time. Also please use your own judgment on what you and your family read. Sometimes books may have a combination of categories and I will try to list them. I will just put Read Now, Read or Pass on the book and why.

Hook and Ladder Restaurant Review

Jeremiah and Dana went to a late lunch on Friday about 3:30 pm. We decided to eat the Hook and Ladder located at 1313 California Ave; Salt Lake City, UT 84104 Phone (801) 972-2336. Pricing $ under $10 dollars (American) per combo

 

 

 

This is one of our favorite so-bad-for-you-it-is-good restaurants. We don't usually go because of Jeremiah's bad back and diet.  Ordering is done at the counter; you give them a name, which will be called when ready. Dana, ordered a combo consisting Mushroom Bacon Burger with a large order of fries and large diet coke.  


Jeremiah ordered a steak sandwich and large water.

 

We actually shared the fries. We also each got an ice cream cone.

 

Dana’s perspective: I admit it I love greasy food it is my Achilles’ heel. This is one of my favorite places to eat American foods Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. However, I don’t like pickles and have to try and remember to ask for none on my food. The burger I ate had what looked like canned mushrooms on it, at least they were warmed (canned not my first choice), however the bacon was a thicker cut and had two good sized slices on it cooked perfectly. It came with shredded lettuce, tomato and a little fry sauce on it. I know we ordered fries, we have a picture, but I don’t remember if I even ate any because I don’t have any notes on it. I have liked there fries, not over salted, in the past though. My ice-cream was okay, good for the price. I think the machine’s temperature was off or the speed was set wrong due to the large ice crystals in the ice cream. Over all I give the food a 4.5 stars due to cost, food amount, and astrosphere. The food is good enough to want to eat every week but because it is very high in fat and salt I can only justify it about once a month. I do try to talk my family in eating here as often as I can however that is not always the case.

Jeremiah’s perspective: I got the steak sandwich. It was toast bread, lettuce, tomato and small ground steak patty. I can remember if they put any sauce on it. I was disappointed with the small size of the steak patty and it was ground steak not regular steak.  It taste good still, but I wished I got my wife’s hamburger it look delicious.  I love coming Hook and Latter. The food always good expected the fry sauce due the fact the put pickle juice it and I hate pickles. This is not good place to go if on diet. I was not happy with the drink selection they only had Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke, but no diet caffeine free options. It has small dining area but is ok, with my back problems I hate sitting because the extreme pain. I would go there more but money, back issue and diet stop me from going. I give it 4.5 stars due cost, great food, but small grounded steak patty and fry sauce lost it half of a star.

We agreed on the number of stars 4.5 and cleanliness is at 4 stars because it is an older place and that just makes it harder to keep clean and we love the astrosphere of the interior, see pictures below, we just wish the dining area was a little bigger.



Our review guide approach for restaurants.

The following is a guide to our review approach for restaurants:

1. We give the name, address, and phone number (if possible) of restaurant
2. Pictures of outside (if possible)
3. Our Pricing guide $ under 10, $$ from 10-20, $$$ 20 and over for entrees or combo meals4. What we ordered (and how it was ordered)
5. Review of food and pictures (if possible).
6. Atmosphere/cleanliness (1-5 stars) (1 worst to 5 best) with reason (if possible)

Let us know your feedback on our reviews whether you agree or disagree with us.
If there is several disagreements with our review we will try and re-review and time and cost are factors.

In the following weeks we have already lined up a few reviews and will be posting them as we can. To
start off our reviews we have the following post tomorrow of  a favorite ours,
so-bad-for-you-it-is-good restaurants, the Hook and Ladder. Thanks reading our blog.

Youtube Channel

We have started a YouTube channel it similar to this blog we also post the videos here. please check us out at: https://www.youtube.com/user/Danasgreatescapes. Below is our test video from YouTube. Please subscribe to this blog and our YouTube channel. Thank you for reading.

What this blog is about and who we are!

Three and half years ago we were in a car accident, I, Dana, had a concussion/migraine which resulted in me having a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) causing movement control on my left side, speaking issues, cognitive issues and short-term memory loss. I can remember for about 5 minutes at a time on most days sometimes longer sometimes shorter. I have worked very hard to come back from this injury, but I still have major issues. This accident was the turning point for our family. I was no longer able to work, which means less income; am not able to cook a full meal, so more eating out; not able to handle things like I was able to for my family especially our daughter. We found out a few months later our daughter is NOS-PDD on Autism Spectrum Disorder. She had managed to slip through the cracks on being diagnosed due to series of events so we did not learn until she was 11. On top of this last year Jeremiah, my husband, had a accident that hurt his back and made him unable to sit or stand for more than two hours without uncontrollable pain and unable to work or do things needed to be done for the family.
     This is were needing an escape plan is essential! Whether we escape for a few minutes or for a few weeks, escaping provides us with the ability to handle stress better and be more positive in our out-look and behaviors. An escape can be a mental vacation to a beach or forest or just something fun. this is great for an quick immediate stress reliever and pick me up. Be careful using though, I have ended up agreeing to something I didn't really agree with, while I was on a mental vacation.
     Sometimes the need for escape is greater, I really need a feeling of productivity that does not come from trying (and usually failing) to keep the house clean. So I cross stitch  or read for about ten minute at a time and it sometimes causes problems with my cognitive functions. This can be a big pain for my family. Sometimes the need to escape the house is more important (I don't have a driver's license anymore due to the TBI) so going out to eat is very popular with my family or going to a movie (which is fun, because I usually can't remember the movie well enough to claim I've even seen it).
    This blog is a family effort of all of our ways of staying sane and helping to control our stress levels. Future posts will be from my husband Jeremiah, our daughter Meg (hopefully) and me, Dana, allowing us to share a favorite and not so favorite experiences of escaping our everyday lives. Please join us in our adventures of escaping with reviews, DYIs, Tips, and commentaries on our every day existence.

NEW BLOG

Thank you for visiting our blog.  We will start to add more post soon. Please visit back in a week when have a post  detailing what this blog will be about and much more.