December Tierlist Vlog is up! Click the link to see the video review of all the books read in December!
The Written Review
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Oh look!
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December Tierlist Vlog is up! Click the link to see the video review of all the books read in December!
The Written Review
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Oh look! It's Miranda Reads squirreling away yet another literary themed cookbook...how has her house not collapsed under the weight of all those books?
On a side note, I've discovered once your collection of books grows large enough...people don't really notice when you add one or two more in per week (ha).
As far as this book goes - I would say it's a solid Harry Potter themed cookbook.
Unlike the other cookbooks I've seen for Harry Potter, this one has a distinct Holiday twist.
The author goes through all of the major events in the book - from the Feasts to the Yule Ball to the disastrous Valentine's Date with Cho - and finds recipes to go along with them.
I loved the variety of recipes and the gorgeous full-color pictures that accompany nearly all of them.
I do wish that there were more recipes included in this book.
I realize that the author was probably limited by how many dishes were mentioned but at the same time, I would've been fine with the author including a few other holiday-appropriate recipes for Harry's time and location (1980-90s England).
I also wish that the recipes used in this book were a bit more grounded. While I can easily recognize the dishes from the Valentine's dates, some of the more obscure ones were harder for me to place. A few more sentences to provide context would've been helpful!
But overall, I did really enjoy this book and I am really excited to see what the author writes next.
This is part of Familius Publishing's interactive babbling series - which are designed to help babies and toddl
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Baby reads the book. Say... book.
This is part of Familius Publishing's interactive babbling series - which are designed to help babies and toddlers proceed from babbling to talking.
Each book in the series focuses on a different key aspect of language - this one (obviously) develops the "B" sound by incorporating lots of different words that begin with B.
Along with the various B-themed words, there's lots of little flaps, mirrors and fabrics for the child to interact with.
I loved the illustrations with this one and the colors are bright and engaging.
A lovely little read for the little one!
A huge thank you to Kate from Familius for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review
He's kind, and he's gentle, loyal, and brave, but simply confused about how dogs behave."
This gorgeous little picture book follows an adorable giant of a dog...who thinks he's people!
He wasn't always like that though! Cooper was adopted from a shelter by a loving family.
Annnd, almost immediately, the five children begin treating him like he's human.
He couldn't be bothered with dog food or kibble until we add steak sauce he won't even nibble.
And now Cooper is convinced that he's the 6th child of this wild and rambunctious family!
This book was absolutely adorable.
I have my own dog (Squamish), and I swear, he thinks he's an only child. So many human gestures in the way he asks for belly rubbins or begs for human food (surprisingly, he loves peas!).
So, of course, I really enjoyed reading a book all about how a dog fits in with his human siblings.
I loved, loved, loved the little rhyming couplets - so few words but it completely conveyed the essence of Cooper.
The illustrations are absolutely make-or-break for most (if not all) picture books and the artist for this one was fantastic.
The family members were really entertaining to watch and the little gestures from Cooper really cinched it for me.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book!
With thanks to Michelle Lander Feinberg for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review...more
Mara is the last of the free nations and the Karensa Federation is closing in.
The Karensa have their most potent weapon, Ghosts, and with Mara already bloodied by the years-long war...the soldiers are closing in.
Ghosts used to be humans but through a cruel twist of fate and "science", the Karensas have altered and twisted the human forms until they become giant hunting creatures - determined to maim, injure and kill every last Maran.
Talin is a refugee who fled to Mara with her mother years ago. Though she cannot speak, she has trained and honed her skills until she became one of the strongest Strikers in Mara.
But then, a mission goes horribly wrong and Talin's partner is killed.
Disgraced and humiliated, she returns to the army only to find her position in jeopardy. Determined to not give up on her adoptive homeland, she takes a chance on a newcomer...and quickly finds that he might be the key to winning it all.
So, the science was a little wiggly but other than that, really enjoyed it!
I haven't read many Marie Lu books that I enjoyed but this one worked surprisingly well for me.
I liked the concept (very attack-on-titan minus the walls and with a driving force behind the ghosts) and Talin was (mostly) a great main character. (She did have the tendency to point out the obvious...but it wasn't overtly distracting).
I really adored her mysterious partner - he was the right level of balance for the main character and really cinched the book for me.
I do hesitate at the science. Some of what Marie came up with was plausible and some of it had me shaking my head. I was able to eventually just "let it go" enough to enjoy the story though!!
December Tierlist Vlog is up! Click the link to see the video review of all the books read in December!
The Written Review
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Mary
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December Tierlist Vlog is up! Click the link to see the video review of all the books read in December!
The Written Review
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Mary Porter-Malcolm knows two things:
1) You can literally find any and all answers within the pages of a good book. 2) Any book published in the last century just isn't worth reading.
Mary spent her entire life deep within the pages of old tomes and classic works...but then the unthinkable happens.
She has to go to public school.
Mary's charter/experimental school at the local college is getting shut down and she couldn't be more horrified.
This 18th century girl is shlumped in with the 21st century kids - and nothing will ever be the same.
So. Thoughts on this one.
I do slightly like the concept more than the actual book.
I love the idea of an "old soul" having to swing it with the cool kids. It was fun to watch Mary learn how to navigate high school and try (her best) to fit in.
And I enjoyed quite a few of the side characters and subplots of this book - particularly Mary's hilarious family. They were the absolute standout of the series.
However...it felt like sometimes the author was pushing the narrative of "old-fashioned teenager" too much.
Mary's actions/reactions to events began to get over-the-top for me by the first quarter of the book and by the time I was 3/4 through, I was kinda getting tired of her.
I feel like if she was just toned down a bit more then I could've enjoyed the story more.
I'm not flaunting anything. I'm just existing. This is me. I can't hide myself.
Felix Love is an art student at an incredibly prestigious high school.
He's been through a lot in the past few years - from transitioning to losing his mom (she's not dead...just gone. Moved on.) And he's ready for the next step - college. And to get there, he needs to win a scholarship.
But just as things amp up for him...the unthinkable happened.
Someone found old pictures of Felix (pretransition) and posted it with his deadname as a gallery of sorts.
He's horrified and heartbroken and above all, ready for revenge.
After narrowing down the pool of subjects, he quickly finds who he thinks is the culprit. But the longer he spends trying to figure out the best way to extract revenge...the more he begins to doubt his plan, and himself.
This was a wonderful book. Really, truly.
I loved watching Felix's character grow and change throughout the pages.
I adored the love shown in this story...and while my favorite pairing never happened, I still adored the ones that did.
The way the author unabashedly covers all the hard-hitting topics was admirable.
Just cause they're teens, doesn't mean that they don't have to deal with life's issues and I love the way the author portrayed Felix tackling those head-on.
All in all, this was an absolutely fabulous book. Definitely recommend it.
Just released my Worst 2020 Books Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
The Written Review
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Just released my Worst 2020 Books Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
The Written Review
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Alessandra has a plan - convince the Shadow King to marry her. Then kill him. Then inherit the kingdom.
It's quite a brilliant and flawless plan.
The only problem? She's starting to like him alive more than she wants to see him dead.
So. Essentially this book didn't work for me.
The beginning is CRAZY intense - like 5/5 stars for me.
I loved the idea that she was just going to woo-and-kill the king and I couldn't wait to see what happens after she achieved her plan.
But then she starts drawing things out.
First she needs to do this, then that, then there's suspicion that needs to be diverted...then more problems...and what was originally very easy and straightforward gets dragged on and on and on. Very frustrating.
Eventually I realized that the author was going for the falling-in-love opposed to falling-in-the-grave angle which was alright...but it was disappointing.
It pulled this book away from a fresh, exciting concept into something more mundane and ordinary YA.
Plus...well... maybe it's just me but I would've loved to see an evil YA heroine...and I was disappointed when she was shuffled to a more ordinary pathway.
Young Nickle spent most of his childhood bouncing around in foster homes...however a chance encounter and a particularly green thumb sends him on a path he never would've expected.
Nickle discovers he's a dwarf in the sense that he has dwarvian magic. And from there he begins his adventure.
School, training and eventual graduation - he's ready to go out and prove himself to the world...but then he realizes that he might not be all-dwarf. That there might just be a different type of magic within him too.
I quite liked this story!
I listened to the audiobook and it was FABULOUS. I loved the narrator's voice and the way he conveyed the tone, excitement and so much more in the book.
The concept of this story was unique - we passed through so much time (years!) with Nickle but it worked really well.
I enjoyed the adventures shown and the various characters introduced - especially the kinda-sorta-maybe love interest!
The plot was definitely a wild ride and while I never knew where it was going, I was really excited to find out.
I definitely recommend this one!!
I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
Achlys was once a prosperous town but thanks due the reign of their king, their home has become worse and worse.
Across the continent there's an old man who remembers surprisingly little.
He receives and odd message - despite his age and lack of memory, he decides to head out and go back to the town.
Along the way he meets a motley group and together they set off to change the future.
So this one ended up being a rather fun middle grade read.
I feel like the plot felt a bit fast-paced - lots of characters and events happening - but at the same time, I enjoyed it.
Something different was happening all the time and that really drew me into the story.
I loved Akalina - she was the standout character for me and every time she came into a scene - I loved it!!
One really neat thing about this story is that it's illustrated by the author. I absolutely adored the illustrations - they were so much fun to see and breathed life into the story.
All in all - this was a great book!
With thanks to the author for sending a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Having no teens myself...nor having any little ones at all (unless you count my fur-baby...who...really is convinced that he's a real child at
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Having no teens myself...nor having any little ones at all (unless you count my fur-baby...who...really is convinced that he's a real child at this point), I feel like I don't have a TON of experience parenting.
That being said, as an avid reader and over-preparer, I really like reading books like this.
It provides me with context and informational insights to behaviors I've noticed or that I might run into when I eventually have ankle-biters of my own.
This book provided a lot of really neat observations, scenarios and responses tailored to teenage needs - many of which I recognized from my own teen years.
I liked delving into the psychology of parenting and why the author would advice parents to approach issues in certain ways and directions.
All in all, this was a surprisingly fun book to read and definitely one I'll be holding onto!!
With thanks to Familius for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Oh my gosh. So. The title got me right away - so fun and so zany!
And the content is what sold the book for me.
I love, love, love animal books and this one was no exception. I think what drew me to it was the formatting.
Everyone and their mother has seen the kind of animal books that go fact-fact-fact or the ones that go question-answer-question-answer...but Grossman's book knocks those out of the water.
This book is set up with various multiple choice questions about animal life - from the obscure to the crazy - and then the book answers the questions - but not in the way that you think.
Grossman goes through each multiple choice answer and provides all sorts of information about it and often going into tangents about particularly cool facts and features about the various species.
I love that the book felt like a stream-of-consciousness journey into the wild, weird and wacky animals of our plant.
I also liked the art of this one too - it was a lot of fun to watch all of the illustrations bring this book to life.
All in all, this was a lovely animal book and I'm really excited to see what Grossman writes next!!
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
You never know who's going to hold the keys to the castle.
David Chang burst out onto the culinary scene with Momofuku - a noodle res3.5 stars
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You never know who's going to hold the keys to the castle.
David Chang burst out onto the culinary scene with Momofuku - a noodle restaurant located in Manhattan.
And after a decade and a half of grueling work, it's safe to say that he's "made" it. He owns 15 restaurants, has graced the television over and over, has his own podcast and has 1.2 million followers.
But how?
But for years, my best coping strategy has been work.
Eat a Peach is Chang's memoir - from his childhood balancing a tiger mom and wild golf career to convincing his dad to loan him enough money for restaurant.
He speaks candidly about how his fixation with success has affected both his career and his home life.
The paradox for the workaholic is that rock bottom is the top of whatever profession they’re in.
And he speaks about what the fallout of that was.
But if you've fought depression or know somebody who has, you know that no amount of money can fix it. No amount of fame. No logic.
Overall, this was a lovely memoir.
I hadn't heard of him prior to picking this one up but it was a rather interesting peek into the culinary world.
I loved how Chang spoke about his successes but also the failures - what business plans didn't work and how he worked around that. It was refreshing to read about someone who speaks so candidly about failure.
I also really enjoyed that he pulled no punches when talking about what it takes to get to the top.
It honestly sounds like way more stress than what it's worth and while I'm now 110% sure that I don't even want to get anywhere NEAR the culinary profession - it was still cool to learn about his career path.
So, I've talked about this one on my channel a lot by now. And the long and short of it is that I enjoyed this book immensely.
I really enjoyed just discovering what this book was about without any external influence, so I'll keep my review short.
It's an atmospheric whodunit with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes.
The overall premise is that there's a wedding on a remote Irish island, the weather closes in and the island is cut off from the rest of the world. And then the body is found.
Not knowing the body and having an ever-growing list of potential-killers...you are left wondering who in the world could've done it. And why??
I loved and adored the setting and various atmospheric elements. The characters felt well fleshed out and the plot was intriguing throughout. I definitely recommend it!!
Other BookTube Videos involving this gorgeous book:
"It's always great fun to expect a delivery," said Bear.
Bear and Spider are eagerly awaiting a new teapot to come via the mail.
But when the doorbell rang and the delivery Panda hands over the package...Bear has a decidedly unexpected reaction.
Bear had never met such a charming lady bear. His heart beat fast."
And so...Bear orders another teapot. And another. And another.
His home is overflowing and he hasn't even had a proper conversation.
Oh, what is a bear to do?
Oh. My. Cuteness.
Seriously. This one was SOOO stinking cute.
I loved this storyline - of a smitten bear whose only form of communication is to buy (yet another) teapot and the clueless Panda, who becomes increasingly puzzled by the deliveries.
And the way Spider supported his friend Bear (and eventually taking things into his own hands...many hands) was simply perfection!
And I adored the illustrations.
The way Bear's nervousness and excitement was conveyed - it was so expressive and endearing.
The colors used were so pleasing - loved the way all of the illustrations worked together with the text to give such a pleasant reading experience.
All in all, this was an absolutely fabulous book!
With thanks to Bloomsbury Children's Books and Jacob Grant for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
"I'll create 31 costumes! One for every day in October!" she exclaimed.
It's officially spooky season and Cairo's mommy is so excited.
But...how could she choose just ONE costume?
So, she decides to make 31 costumes - so Cairo can celebrate every day in October!
On the first day of Halloween, Cairo's mommy dressed him as a skunk, because he's so stinking cute!
This story - in a nutshell - was 110% the cutest thing ever.
I loved seeing what new creative costume each day brought, and reading the little backstory behind it.
From a brave fireman to a bottle of hot sauce, Cairo certainly had a costume for every occasion!
I also loved the love - in just a few short words, you can tell so well how much Cairo's mom loves him, and that truly made the book for me.
I absolutely LOVED seeing the creativity put into the illustrations - they were gorgeous.
Not only is each costume totally unique but also the expressions and body language of the characters really gave this picture book an extra edge.
All in all - this was an absolutely FABULOUS children's book and I highly recommend it for the little Halloween fan in your life!
P.s. A really cool note - this book was based off of real life! There's a picture at the end of the real baby-Cairo and a few of his adorable costumes!
A huge thank you to Erica D. Allen for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Other BookTube Videos Starring This Gorgeous Book!!
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