If you’ve been reading on Twitter or read the transcript of the Sizzling Book Chat, which over 7500 people have (whoa!), you know that the February Sizzling Book Club pick is Courtney Milan’s Unveiled.
Ahem. And now, I squee.
OH MY GOD. THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD I WANTED TO PUT IT IN MY MOUTH AND EAT IT.
There, how was that for a blurb? Heh. Here, have some cover copy to whet your appetite:
Ash Turner has waited a lifetime to seek revenge on the man who ruined his family—and now the time for justice has arrived. At Parford Manor, he intends to take his place as the rightful heir to the dukedom and settle an old score with the current duke once and for all. But instead he finds himself drawn to a tempting beauty who has the power to undo all his dreams of vengeance.
Lady Margaret knows she should despise the man who’s stolen her fortune and her father’s legacy—the man she’s been ordered to spy on in the guise of a nurse. Yet the more she learns about the new duke, the less she can resist his smoldering appeal. Soon Margaret and Ash find themselves torn between old loyalties—and the tantalizing promise of passion.
As usual, if you use SBTBARE at checkout, you will get a 50% eBook Bucks Rebate at AllRomance.com, the official sponsor of the Sizzling Book Club. You can also buy a copy at Amazon.com, or Book Depository, or wherever the books in your preferred format are sold.
Want to win a copy? Harlequin’s awesome Amy W. has challenged me, after reading my tweets about wanting to chew on this book, to actually take a few bites out of a paper copy, and she threw 3 extra copies in the package so I have some to give away. WOO! Want one? Just leave a comment and tell me what I should cook my copy in or with. Baked Unveiled? Unveiled sashimi? Braised Unveiled with polenta? I’m actually going to try to cook it so please, give me some pointers. You have 24 hours to make your liter-culinary suggestions!
Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. Winners are chosen by the Random Integer Generator. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Watch for falling ice. Contents may be hot. This giveaway has not be rated by the FDA and has no nutritional value whatsoever. May contain speed, but not velocity. International entries welcome, unless prohibited by your particular country, because they don’t like really good books or something.
If you’ve been watching Downton Abbey, the question of inheritance and Who is Who when One Has a Title will be deliciously familiar. I cannot wait to chat with you about this book, and I so hope you enjoy this smart and decadently rich historical novel. I really enjoyed reading it. It remains to be seen whether I will enjoy eating it.
Unveiled Decadent Brownies
Bake into a brownie and while brownie is hot put on top vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and fresh strawberries!
It’s a giveaway post, so I don’t know if anyone will read this question, but on reading Amazon’s review, I was interested in and a wee bit concerned by the statement that the book is historically inaccurate and based on an inaccurate premise that illegitimate children can inherit.
Truth? Is it a case of mildly historically inaccurate but otherwise so engaging we’re willing to overlook it? I can do this for some accuracy issues, but some just irritate the heck out of me and can make a book unreadable. That being said, if I’m not a winner, I’ll see if the trusty library has it and make my own investigation.
Cook it with spam. The rich saltiness should make the paper and glue go down a bit better. ^_^
Super Bowl weekend – so definitely everything better with Salsa and beer.
Well chickies,
Seeing as it’s good enough to eat, here’s one for ya. The book has over 365 pages, that’s a page a day and extra on the weekends, you could even share. Take and make a list of all your favorite dishes especially desserts and apply 1 of them to a page each day. That way you can make that tasty thing last ya the whole year.
P.S. Wait, if we ate it then we wouldn’t have it anymore. Hmmmmm, i think I’ll just take a lick every now and then, I let you know how many licks it takes to get to the center.
Anything but humble pie.
To Sowce a Pigge (Adapted from The good Huswifes Jewell)
Take white Wine and a little sweet broth, and half a score nutmegs cut into quarters, then take Rosemarie, Baies, Time, and sweet margerum, and shredded pages of Unveiled and let them boyle altogether, skum them very cleane, and when they be boyled, put them in an earthen pan and the syrop also, and when yee serve them, a quarter of a pig in a dish, and the Bays and nutmegs and remaining pages of Unveiled on top.
Sounds like the perfect book for livre erotique en croute to me. Firmly wrap book in tender, flaky phyllo dough (be gentle; it requires a delicate touch). Sweep a pastry brush dipped in herbed, melted butter over the top, but do not allow to drip down the sides. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until rich golden brown. Serve with a bold, hearty red wine with notes of smoky mahogany and handsome, titled aristocrat.
I’d definitely go with shredded pages in brownies. Moist, fudgy brownies. YUM YUM : )
But if you want to go savory, they will need sauce since paper is pretty dry on it’s own. You could crumple, dip in breading, then deep-fry for crispiness, then add a spicy-sweet chinese-style sauce just before serving. YUM : )
Replying to Trix (and hoping Courtney doesn’t mind):
That reviewer is the one who goofed, not Courtney Milan. Unveiled is thoroughly researched and based on an actual historic case. Courtney explained it all here:
http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2010/12/13/things-i-shouldnt-say/
To her credit, the PW review editor did ask the original reviewer to amend the review. But it wasn’t amended nearly enough, IMO. No one knows her legal history better than Courtney, and it’s the most frustrating of ironies that she, of all authors, got slapped with that review.
Sorry, I’m still bitter about it. 🙂
UNVEILED is an utterly wonderful book. I envy all who’ll be reading it for the first time, and I hope I’ll be able to join the discussion! As for culinary experiences, I recommend a reverent licking of each page, to savor Courtney’s delicious prose.
The worst 5 things I’ve ever eaten in my life: sheep eyeball, chicken uterus, jellyfish, durian fruit, and British peas. It’s always the texture that gets you (except durian fruit, where it’s the the unholy melding of some sort of wild allium, gym socks, the most delicious and elusive melon you can imagine rounded off with the stench of human vomit). No matter how you cook it, a book isn’t going to yield an appealing texture. The secret, when confronted with something you know you don’t want to eat is obviously alcohol. This includes turpentine wine if need be (worst 5 drinks of my life is a more complicated issue). You’re going to need to pull out the heavy artillery. I’d go with rye, but then I always do. Take a couple shots, oh, and if you’re not a morning person, you’re better off doing this first thing, before your taste buds wake up.
I think you make a porridge – a book clearly wants to revert to a porridge. Add brown sugar, raisins, plenty of cream, the spices of your choice, which should cover (or veil if you prefer) a multitude of sins. Couple more shots, and you’re ready to start your day.
As long as the internal temperature remains lower than Farenheit 451, your preparation should be delicious and the only thing burning will be the passion. I do recommend rolling it in olive oil and sprinkling generously with coarse salt. That’s how potatoes are best roasted.
Definitely whatever you chew on it with, it must involve chocolate!
use the pages for muffin cups and back chocolate cupcakes in them. Then you can core out of the center of the cupcakes and put ice cream mixed with Frangelica or Amaretto or heck just some rum. Frost them.
Cupcakes!
Or deep fry it and eat it with salsa. Everything is good deep fried
Smother it in NUTELLA and eat it RAW.
mmmm Nutella and a good romance book- perfect!
I think some form of chocolate should be involved in the eating of Unveiled, preferably in brownie form.
Dipped in chocolate is always a good idea, and I would rent a whole chocolate fountain if I had to eat a whole book. Or in pasta sauce. You definitely need sauce.
Unless you rip all the pages into squares, fold them, put them in a box and eat them like popcorn. In which case I recommend butter. and a movie. Have you seen the king’s speech?
ooo.. I just thought of something; go with my popcorn idea and peanuts and caramel and make Unveiled crackerjacks. I would still take it to the movies.
Honestly eating a book does not sound tasty; and yes if I was starving I would consider it. But my dog does not eat books even though he likes tissues.
cute13:My dog is still one of the cutest dogs in the world evn if he is almost 13.
Stir-fried Unveiled with broccoli!
Vegetarian Unveiled Gratin
In a skillet over medium heatl
Sautee 1 lb sliced fresh mushrooms (any variety) in 1 T olive oil with a clove of garlic, chopped.
Remove pages, stack five at a time, roll and chop chiffonade style. Add to skillet and stir. Let cook about 6 minutes. Scoop mixture into a casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs and shredded gruyere cheese.
Bake at 400 for 12 minutes.
Should be served by muscular manly man by candlelight.
Loved the book!
Of course, everything is better in good chocolate but I recommend simmering UNVEILED in maple syrup or honey first. Then drizzle warm chocolate syrup (make your own with really good chocolate, not Hershey’s unless you have to) over it. Add any other flavoring you like with chocolate: raspberry syrup, bourbon vanilla, peppermint schnaps, etc. Top it off with a bit of whipped cream (preferably handmade – just add some honey to heavy cream and whip until peaks form), some more chocolate syrup, and perhaps some fresh raspberries.
How about the traditional British Yorkshire pudding Unveiled!
You can bake it into the mixture and then smother in gravy.
Yum!
I would love it baked and parcelled in phyllo dough and smothered in honey and nuts like a decadent baklava- wow this is making my mouth water just thinking of it. I am looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed Courtney Milan’s novella and her two previous books.
Gluten Free Unveiled. With marinara sauce.
Yay book club! This time I definitely need to get and read the book so I can participate.
Fondue Unveiled sounds like fun. I’d cut the book up into squares and dip it in white and dark chocolate. Then eat it and some similarly treated fresh strawberries.
Hmm, an Unveiled Marsala dish might be nice. Unless you chopped it into strips first and tossed it into a nice salad, or made tortilla soup out of some crispy pages. Oooo, or sushi, if the pages are thin enough.
Unveiled scallopini with spring peas and asparagus (with a glass of chardonnay, natch!)
or
Medallions of Unveiled with mushrooms
And some people are part of the raw food movement, you know!!
Yay for next book club (was sad i missed the last) will definitely try to make it next time but will read the book anyways cos they bring so much yayness.
My suggestion (and appologies if it is a repeat) would be Chocolate Fondue Unveiled.
Unveiled sushi? Use the pages in place of seaweed. Is the seaweed cooked in sushi? The rest of the sushi isn’t. I shall have to investigate this curiosity.
Okay, I’ve got nothing for the cooking, but I do suggest, that – in the grand tradition of romance novels – you have a Screaming Orgasm at the end:
[layer in shot glass]
1/4 oz Kahlua
1/4 oz Bailey’s
1/4 oz Amaretto
1/4 oz Vodka
(why yes, I am taking a bartending class right now, how did you know?)
economic36: yes, the economic meltdown caught me when I was 36, it’s not much better at 37.
I think that your best bet might be to treat the pages like individual sheets of filo pastry – brush with melted butter or spray with olive oil, roll around a filling of your choice (I would suggest feta and mint with a tiny bit of egg to bind, or else ground lamb cooked with onion and spices – think middle eastern) and bake at 350F for maybe 20 minutes.
Alternatively, you could take advantage of the tendency of paper to turn into pulp when wet, and use it as the starchy part of a bread pudding (gluten free!) – soak the pages in water for half an hour, squeeze as much of the moisture out of them as you can and beat until smooth, then add sultanas and currants, mixed peel, spices, an egg, a little sugar and a little butter until you have a thick batter (you might need a little milk if it’s too thick), pour into a greased tin and bake at about 300F for an hour or so, until it passes the skewer test. My recipe for bread pudding is at home, so let me know if you need amounts for your ingredients list – I’m sure I could adapt this.
If you’re having a Superbowl party, try making a hot Unveiled bean dip with tortilla chips on the side. Make sure you mince the book, so there are no large pieces in the dip. This would be completely unappetizing.
I suggest that you cook Unveiled so you can unveil it: either en papillote (encase it in an envelope of parchment paper and whatever flavorings you want and bake it, then tear open the parchment when time comes to unveil Unveiled), or en croute (encase it in pie crust with whatever flavorings you like and bake until crust is done, then cut in and unveil Unveiled).
Alternate suggestion, possibly even edible: tear out a few pages and use them like you’d use phyllo dough and make baklava: slather butter on each page and layer it with ground nuts and honey, then pour honey over the whole thing and bake until the pages are crispy. That has a chance of being tasty.
Everything tastes better with cheese.*
(*Not an official slogan of the National Dairy Council.)
http://www.mygourmetconnection.com/recipes/baking-desserts/other-desserts/veiled-maidens-apple-cream-parfaits.php
That is a recipe for Veiled Maidens apple cream parfaits. I figure you could figure out a cute way to unveil the parfait (which refers to the whipped cream topping as a veil).
Happy cooking!
I cannot cook worth damn or whoa, so I have no insight to offer on how to cook a book.
I am however ALL OVER reading this and shall be purchasing it for my nook shortly. 😀
Hmmm, everything is better with butter…but paper is pretty bland so you may need to spice it up when you saute it.
If you don’t want to taste the paper much, shred the paper into strips and include it in spaghetti. Or just plain shred it into confetti and sprinkle like parmesean.
Side note, that is one of my favorite romance novel covers. Why? I like the shade of blue.
All thought reds and whites and purples are very fab and groovy, but that’s a gorgeous blue thar.
The five year old in me says everything is better with ketchup or chocolate, but probably not both 🙂
If you put it on a rice cake, you won’t notice if the paper is dry and tasteless.
Is anyone else having problems using the SBTBARE rebate at All Romance? I see the rebate posted when I try to buy the book, but once it is in my shopping cart I can’t get the rebate back.
Unveiled alphabet soup!
Passion Fruit Pudding – Unveiled