Quote-Tastic Monday: A Christmas Vow of Seduction by Maisey Yates and Pie Recipe

 

Quote-tastic is weekly meme Monday meme hosted by the fabulous Anna over @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup. To participate, simply post your favorite quote from a recent read.

 

 

 

“You seem to be in the wrong palace, Princess.”

“I do not,” she said, her tone stiff. “I am a prisoner in my own country, and I was brought here as a gift to King Kairos.”

Andres’s eyebrows shot upward. His older brother wouldn’t even know what to do with a woman as a gift, even if he weren’t bound by marriage vows. “In which case you’re in the wrong room.”

Her expression turned stormy. “He did not wish to keep me. He, in turn, gave me to his brother.”

Andres could not process the absurdity of the statement. This woman, was a gift for him? “Are you telling me that you’ve been regifted?”

She frowned. “I suppose.”

Clearly, she didn’t see the humor in this. But then, if he were the one being passed around like an unwanted gift at a white elephant party, he might be humorless too.

A Christmas present for the man who has everything… 

With one band of gold Prince Andres of Petras can erase his past—albeit pleasurable—sins. But his prospective bride is untamable Princess Zara, so the playboy prince must seduce her into compliance and crown her by Christmas! 

The wayward princess of Tirimia has spent years hiding her untouched heart, and her convenient husband-to-be seems determined to keep it that way. Yet his caresses promise a sensual awakening that's impossible to resist. But once Zara's given him her hand and her body, it won't be long before he has her heart… 

A passionate read for Christmas nights! 

Miniseries: | Publisher: Harlequin Presents | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: MLM Media Relations | Rating: 4

Andres is a notorious playboy with no intentions of settling down. Although when his brother, King Kairos, receives a beautiful woman as a gift, Kairos sees this as an opportunity to not only make Andres settle down but also to atone for the wrong he committed.  Zara isn’t thrilled with being used as a royal pawn and she’s not exactly thrilled with her husband-to-be. She’s determined to rebel and he’s determined to tame her. Attraction and tempers flare but will they manage to get married before Christmas?

 

Okay, so when you pick up a romance from Harlequin’s Presents imprint, you know that characters and the setting are often going to be larger than life and kind of in your face. Yet, Maisey Yates does an amazing job at making A Christmas Vow of Seduction feel realistic and opulent.

 

I felt kind of bad for Zara. Her parents and brother were murdered, she was then raised by gypsies, now she’s being gifted to the King of Petra who in turn forces his brother to wed her. While she could have been a sniveling heap, she’s very wild and unruly. She’s ready and willing to go against any and everything Andres says.

 

I liked Andres but  I also hated him. He can be charming and kind then he can turn around and do something that will earn him a membership to the arsehat hall of fame. He’s very self-destructive. He believes that everything he touches will eventually fall apart, so he does things to cause his relationships to blow up.

 

Andres and Zara had this brilliantly charged chemistry but they also had this whole clash of wills things going on which made their relationship all the more enjoyable. And I really enjoyed watching Andres try to ‘tame’ Zara.

 

The conflict I could see coming from a mile away and I, honestly, just wanted to scream and Andres not to do it. But he did eventually get it right.

 

Overall, this was a fun, spunky, little romance. The plot was very interesting, the characters were intriguing, and the pacing was brilliant. If you like a bit of fight and determination in your heroines, then you should give this one a go.

I would like to thank Maisey Yates for providing us with this lovely pie recipe. I can’t wait to try it!

 

This recipe is special to me for two reasons. First of all, this pie crust is an old family recipe. If done right, it is the best pie crust in the world. My grandma used to make cherry pie with it, and my mom has used it to make every kind of pie you there is.

 

Pie is something that feels very HOLIDAY to me, no matter what you put in it. But I like blackberry pie, and winter is the perfect time to rummage around the freezer and get out the berries you might have frozen from summer. (Or not. I didn’t pick any this year! But it’s a nice idea!)

 

The ingredients to the crust are simple, but following the steps is what gets you flaky crust and not chewy crust.

 

Double 9’ Crust —

 

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Shortening

1/2 tsp salt

 

Mix (press with fork) together until crumbly

 

Step 2 — (1/2 cup water, additional 1/4 cup flour)

 

In a jar mix 1/2 cup COLD water with a 1/4 cup flour, blend well. 

 

Add to flour mixture. Mix gently until blended well. Handle as little as possible. Separate pastry into two balls.

 

Heat oven to 425°F. With floured rolling pin, roll one round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

 

 

Filling —

 

4-6 Cups Blackberries

3/4 Cup sugar (I like a little tartness, so depending on the berries, I sometimes put less. If the berries were really firm you might need more)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1 Tbsp butter

 

 

 

In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon. Add berries and mix until coated (I like to use my hands). Spoon filling into pie pan, dot with butter. Cover with top pastry. Cut slits in the top, seal and flute. Cover the edges with tin foil to prevent excessive browning.

 

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours. (Or cut into it and take your chances…that’s what I do!)