A few days late, but here it is, the final post in my holiday romance and recipes series. Today I thought I’d go through some of the other romances I’ve read throughout this holiday season. Most of these were on Kindle Unlimited or were free, so they were both enjoyable to read and kind to my bank account, a win-win this time of year.
Werewolf shifters, pregnancy, and a slow burn romance? Yes please! A Christmas Caroling was a delightful short m/m romance by Penelope Peters, whose book Ben’s Bakery and the Holiday Miracle was featured in an earlier review. She knows how to write emotional drama between characters, and that really shines in this book.
Three Men and a Maybe is a short but delightful friends-to-lovers novella by an author I can’t wait to read more of, and a New Years romance to boot! This was a little on the short side for me, but it was a fun, quick read one night before bed, and had the added benefit of introducing me to Katey’s rom-com style of writing.
Oh, did I love Goldilocks and the Bear, both the plot and that beautiful, beautiful cover. I’m really loving the illustrated cover trend going on in romancelandia right now! Jess and Trisha from When in Romance talked about the trend in a previous episode with Rebekah Weatherspoon— check it out if you want to learn the pros and cons of the trend.
Now, onto this book. It was so wonderful. A bear and a cafe owner get cosy during the holidays and bond over Christmas trees, snacks and their attraction to each other. It’s another short one, so it’s perfect for squeezing in when you need a break from the family time.
I LOVED Grumpy Fake Boyfriend, so I was so excited to read this prequel to Jackie Lau’s new series. This is a delightful friends-to-lovers with a forced proximity element and baking! Basically, all of my catnip. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the new Baldwin Village series.
I snapped up Snowed in with the Billionaire for FREE and loved the first story in this duo. The heroine reminded me of Lorelai Gilmore—quirky, hilarious, and unafraid to speak her mind. The second story in here was also good—the sex was way hotter, but I didn’t like the heroine as much. Both of these stories have snowy forced proximity elements, though, which is something I really, really love.
Now, here’s a delectable dairy-free cake that I’ll be serving to my family tomorrow instead of English Christmas Cake because boozy+desserts is my least favourite word combination.
Spiced Milk and Honey Cake
lightly adapted from the recipe by Martha Collison
Ingredients
Cake:
150g vegan butter
100g soft light brown sugar
100ml runny honey
100ml soya or almond milk
2 large eggs
175g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg or 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Icing:
100g icing sugar
1 tablespoon soya or almond milk
1 tablespoon honey
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 20cm round springform cake pan with parchment paper.
- Melt butter, sugar and honey together in a pan until the sugar is no longer grainy and butter is totally melted. Let cool while you make the rest of the cake mix.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
- Add the milk to the butter mixture and beat in the eggs one at a time, then add to the flour mixture and whisk until a smooth cake batter forms.
- Pour cake batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake cool for a few minutes while you make the icing. Then, remove the ring from the cake pan and pour the icing onto the centre of the cake. It will gradually melt toward the sides. Add a few sprinkles on top and eat! Or wait until Christmas like we’re doing.