Bookreview: Prehistoric Cookery

Author: Jane Renfrew
Genre: Non-fiction
Published: 2005
Personal rating: 2/5
Yearly count: 61

Prehistoric Cookery: Recipes & History by Jane Renfrew is exactly as the title suggests. It’s a small, short book about the history of food and food preparation in prehistoric Britain which includes a few recipes. Text is brief and to the point, although parts of it read more as a long list of items than as an actual story. The research seemed solid and the author was honest enough to admit the uncertainty there still is about all of this, all points in favor of this book.

However, I do have two problems with the book. The first one is that the book claims to have adapted the recipes for the modern kitchen. The blurb on the back literally says: “The recipes, which have been adapted for the modern kitchen…” But I don't agree with that. A lot of the ingredients used, especially the herbs, are not easily available and no alternatives are given. Very few of the recipes could be cooked without needing to do some actual foraging in the wild or some complicated cooking method. So adapted for the modern kitchen is not a phrase I would use to describe these recipes.

Another problem I have is more serious, namely that there are no warnings for the use of some ‘uncommon’ herbs. Uncommon in this case means not available in most stores, if available in stores at all. For instance, one recipe calls for tansy, which can be a) toxic in too high substances and you need to know which leaves are safe to harvest to avoid this, and b) it is not safe to use if you are pregnant! No warnings for the use of these herbs, which we do not use today anymore and thus most people know nothing about, is not given at all. The Latin names are mentioned in the text, but not until after the recipes and it’s easy to overlook. Also, nothing is said about how to harvest them or how to deal with them in the kitchen. In contrast, she does warn about picking and eating mushrooms if you are not absolutely sure about what you do – the same goes for herbs, especially those you cannot find in stores (unlike most edible mushrooms which are readily available these days), yet she doesn’t say a word about it. I find this to be a very, very dangerous thing.

So, while the historical portion of this book is fine, if a bit dry at times, I cannot in good conscience recommend this book. The recipes are simply unusable – and believe me, I tried some of the easier ones – without either changing them, leaving things out, or doing very complicated things. And that is without taking into account the possible dangers of the recipes that I find do not fit the ‘adapted to the modern kitchen’ moniker at all. All in all, I do not find this book worth my time – a great disappointment.

Flash Reviews (Part 4)

Identity: Unknown by Suzanne Brockmann (4 stars, nr. 57)

Identity: Unknown is the eight book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. It is not easy to get me to really like a story with amnesiac main character, but this story was good. Probably because as a reader you did know what was going on, at least in part, with the amnesiac. So even though I didn’t expect to like it, I am very glad I gave this one a chance.

Get Lucky by Suzanne Brockmann (4 stars, nr. 58)

Get Lucky is the ninth book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I liked the book, but Lucky was not a character I could easily get attached to. It took me awhile to warm up to him.

Taylor’s Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 59)

Taylor’s Temptation is the tenth book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. This book was brilliant. Bobby being pulled between his love for Colleen and his friendship with Wes was something that really had me rooting for a good ending on both side. I especially liked the fact that Wes was the one who pulled his head out of his ass on his own in the end.

Night Watch by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 60)

Night Watch is the eleventh and final book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. This was a very nice book, which dealt with letting go of the past and going from friendship to romance. A nice ending to this series.

Flash Reviews (Part 3)

Harvard’s Education by Suzanne Brockmann (4 stars, nr. 54)

Harvard’s Education is the fifth book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. It was nice, if somewhat predictable in places. Harvard pleasantly surprised me in the end, which I found to be the highlight of the book.

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 55)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear is the sixth book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I love the mystery in this one, really, I love the whole package. Opposites attract might be a cliché, but it’s a very nicely done cliché in this case.

The Admiral’s Bride by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 56)

The Admiral’s Bride is the seventh book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. This book is a little different than the others in this series, in that it not only has a plot that is much more tense than most, it also has an older character as the male lead. I loved the fact that this book had a May/December romance in it – with all the inherent problems being discussed and not glossed over – without ever even hinting about it being ‘wrong’. The suspense plot itself would have made me read this book, but the romance just added to the situation. Really, really liked this book.

Flash Reviews (Part 2)

Forever Blue by Suzanne Brockmann (4 stars, nr. 51)

Forever Blue is the second book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I liked this plot and I really liked the main characters, but I found the solution a little bit too convenient.

Frisco’s Kid by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 52)

Frisco’s Kid is the third book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I loved this book! Ever since learning about Frisco in Prince Joe I have wanted his story and Suzanne Brockmann really delivers in this book. There’s no magical solution here, no ‘fix-it’ relationship, just a man getting that final push he needs to start living again.

Everyday, Average Jones by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 53)

Everyday, Average Jones is the fourth book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I thought this book was very nice. I love the fact that Jones does give up in the end, only to get a push from his teammate to get back in the game. To me, that showed the closeness of a SEAL team more than any battlefield heroics ever could.

Flash Reviews (Part 1)

Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars, nr. 48)

Prince Joe is the first book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series about Navy SEALs finding love, with a little bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I liked this one a lot, there was a great give and take between the two main characters.

Baby Bling by Elle James (4 stars, nr. 49)

The third book in the Diamonds and Daddies series, and things are really heating up with the over-all plotline. The plotline of this book is pretty good too, although sometimes I had a hard time believing a woman who was pregnant would take such great risks. On the other hand, I could understand as well. All in all, another good addition to this series.

Priceless Newborn Prince by Ann Voss Peterson (4 stars, nr. 50)

The fourth and final book in the Diamonds and Daddies series. A whole new heap of trouble comes to the Aggie Four in this book, in which all the puzzle pieces finally fall into place to reveal what has been going on. While I liked the book, I thought things were wrapped up a little too quickly, especially considering the extra trouble this book brought. But, all in all, a very satisfying end to this series.

Sunday Salon: New To Me Authors: Love At First Sight

I am way, way behind on updating this blog with reviews – no, scratch that, I am way, way behind with writing reviews. And I blame Suzanne Brockmann and Vince Flynn! At the end of September I discovered Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series, and I read almost all of the books in that series in the space of a week. The last two books I finished in the first week of October. I then got sidetracked by real life, and read very little for the rest of the month.

Now, when I should be writing reviews and posting them, I am not. Why? Because of Vince Flynn, another new to me author. His thrillers are awesome, and I am about 400 pages into his first novel Term Limits and loving it!

I will, of course, start reviewing books. The coming week will see four days of flash reviews to catch up a bit, then it’s back to normal reviews. So, a lot to look forward. But first, I’m going to finish Term Limits. And did I mention that I have Vince Flynn’s next novel ready and waiting?

How about you? Do you ever get obsessed with a new to you author? Which authors grabbed you so much that you just had to read (nearly) everything they’d ever written?