BOOK REVIEW (63): The Werewolf's Wife

BOOK REVIEW:

The Werewolf's Wife

I haven’t read a Harlequin Nocturne since early 2013.

I used to love to read the paranormal category line from the big romance publisher, but it sorta fell by the wayside when I started to pick up more short contemporaries instead (because there was a time where I thought I’d never write contemporary romance… I’d always wonder how conflict could be come about without supernatural shenanigans).

But I knew I’d come back to this category line, I just needed the right book to haul me back. AND I do believe I found it in The Werewolf’s Wife.

Written by author Michele Hauf, this story is part of the larger Beautiful Creatures world (see a full list of the books in their original publication/reading order HERE). And this book is a later one in the series however, other than references to other couples from the other books in the series and the world building I don’t think you have to read the series in order to -- at the very least -- read this one.

What I loved, loved, loved about this book was the way the author brought together the story seamlessly. I read it as a writer, and so the writer in me died a happy death and then revived herself at the end just in time for the well-deserved (if not slightly rom-com cheesy) HFN*.

So The Werewolf’s Wife might have a pretty straight-forward title, the story is much more layered and worth the read. It follows the whirlwind relationship of werewolf Alpha Richard “Ridge” Addison and the wickedest witch of the Midwest, Abigail Rowan. Abigail and Ridge were married thirteen years ago in a quick Las Vegas wedding – a case of marriage at first sight, only the couple went separate ways come the first morning of wedded bliss following a tumultuous honeymoon night.

Fast forward 13 years later and the real story begins: Abigail’s son is kidnapped and being held hostage by a witch from her past and just as she’s headed out, Ridge comes knocking needing Abigail to finally sign the long overdue divorce papers freeing him to begin courting other woman and find a potential mate to round out his new duties as pack Alpha (or ‘principal’ as they call them in this series).

So I don’t really do the story justice here, but trust me when I say that the dialogue and the characterization and internal conflict come to life in the pages. You got to read the pages to know what I’m talking about!

You’ll notice a pattern with my reviews – I find I’m pretty speechless with the books I love. The Werewolf’s Wife left me speechless…

Only one thing turned me off, and it’s a teensy complaint compared to the rest of the story: I didn’t like how quickly the antagonist was disposed of. Especially when there was this big build-up of this antagonist having the same level of strength as Abigail, and being stronger – in some ways – than Ridge. It was a quick death/resolution and Abigail and Ridge wiped their hands clean, mind you there was a lot of fighting with other villains, but I just expected a little more… Mostly more of a struggle and some other twist that combined Ridge and Abigail’s powers. (e.g. Abigail could have distracted the antagonist while Ridge ripped the head off their united enemy).

Overall I do recommend picking up The Werewolf’s Wife whether you’re new to Harlequin’s Nocturne line or a veteran who skipped over this one the first time.

*I say HFN, only because the external conflict with the “blood sport” wasn’t resolved, and appropriately because it’s too large a problem for one story to conclude.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮.5

(4.5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (62): Party Games (New Fear Street #1)

BOOK REVIEW:

Party Games

Let me start this review by going off-track a bit.

The first time I came across R.L. Stine was when my older sister and her friends were watching Goosebumps. I was like 5, so I totally have a reason for freaking out and a ton load of nightmares.

Anyways. Fast forward a few years, and my sister -- now a teen -- gets into the Fear Street books. She brings some home and begins sharing them with me, and being a precocious and VERY curious preteen I started flipping through them.

Suffice to say it was love at first read.
My first books were the Fear Street: Cheerleaders series.
And then I basically devoured any of the books I could get from the library -- which didn't have the complete series of 50+ books, so that sucked.

Fast forward again to late 2014. At this point all I had to show for my love of R.L. Stine's amazing series about a certain infamous street were 6 books from the series (7, but one of my friends never returned The Boyfriend).

Imagine my shock when I learned the king of children and teen horror had returned with a new set of Fear Street titles that Fall. 

My reaction in a nutshell.

But for some strange reason my desire to get the books took a backseat as life sorta screamed "shotgun"!

Anyways, I finally found some time to get the 2 new Fear Street titles currently available to readers (with a 3rd slated for Halloween 2015 and the 4th for April 2016).

So, without further ado, here's the review for book 1, Party Games:

One thing I loved about the Fear Street titles is that a lot of the books, excluding any of the self-contained series like the Fear Street Cheerleaders or the Fear Street: House of Evil, could be read out of order. Like you could pick up book #25: One Evil Summer  and read it before book #5: The Wrong Number.

I did a lot of that in the series, so that was cool. It's the same thing here pretty much. Party Games doesn't require you hunt down the older titles published in the 90s and early 2000s. Party Games follows the story of Rachel Martin who has a huge crush on Brendan Fear, even when she knows the rumors of the Fear family in Shadyside.

But Rachel can't say no when Brendan personally invites her to his 18th birthday bash. Being quite rich, Brendan's parties are exclusive and supposedly wildly fun. Rachel wants to experience first-hand...and suss out Brendan's burgeoning interest in her at the same time.

So on a stormy Saturday afternoon, Rachel, along with the other few partygoers set sail for the Fear family's private property on Fear Island. As soon as Rachel hits the island's beach, the first blood is spilled.

R.L. Stine does not disappoint. Rachel faces chapters-worth of frightening encounters. The mystery of the bloodshed and murders hurtles towards a surprising twist. And I fondly recalled why I loved the stories about Shadyside.

Now technically this story doesn't take place on the legendary Shadyside street named after the purportedly sinister (and ridiculously wealthy) Fear family, but it's definitely scary...or at least scary enough to appeal to your pre-teen spirit. Though given the amount of people watching GoT and the Walking Dead, I have to go ahead and warn that this book won't necessarily induce nightmares if you're a 20-something-plus. BUT then again it probably won't scare any 12-year-olds today either.

In a couple parts of the book some information seemed off, like a change in wall paper (from green to blue) or this...

Not everyone is accounted for in the party. Two kids are missing from everyone sent to the basement...

Despite all these points, Party Games is an entertaining, quick read! And an introduction to the horror fiction beginner at best.

Brendan sounded cute enough for me to crush on through the book.
Rachel wasn't annoying -- nor was she the TSTL female character in horror novels (*ahem*Paris*ahem*).
The plot twist wasn't cheesy.
Great pacing in building up Rachel's horror leading up to the said twist (although sometimes I wished it sped up, it was never in a bad way, but more in the I-can't-wait-to-see-what-happens-next-and-I-just-hope-Brendan-doesn't-die).

I didn't always get along with the dialogue.
Sometimes Brendan didn't sound 18. Or not any 18-year-old in the 21st century.
Maybe I'm getting older, but the scare tactics sometimes fell short.

And SPOILER:

I have to admit though the taxidermy thing freaked me out.
And oddly enough I watched The Haunting 2 right after finishing this book.
Why are the sport of stuffing animals...and people...following me?!
Oh and don't get me started with the tale of the 18th century Fear family hunting party picking off their slaves.
Gaaaaah!

Wrapping this up, I recommend reading Party Games if you can stomach mild horror, some kissing, and...the taxidermy thing is totally intriguing you.

Come on, admit it -- you want to know what I'm talking about.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮

(4 stars)

I'm not in the mood... Or am I? (Big Dreams Blog Update #21)

It’s Update Day!

I’ve been doing this for a while, but if you’re too lazy to scroll back to my previous Update posts, then allow me to tell you what this day means.

Along with 16 other bloggers, I’m part of the Do You Have a Goal? blog hop (a.k.a. the Big Dreams blog hop); hosted by authors Misha Gericke and Beth Fred, this blog hop has been a real kick-in-the-pants for a procrastinator like me.

In order to sign up the only real requirements are having simple keyboard skills, a really crazy dream you’re willing to share with the world, and the drive to regularly update on the last Friday of every month on the deets with said goal!

Still interested? Click on the “Do You Have a Goal?” banner above or right HERE to sign up now and join the crazy good fun.

Still on the fence? Then let me show you how this works…

SOOO my big crazy dream is to write a million words worth of “bad” words in order to write the first “good” one as per the adage. In truth I don’t believe that baloney – most first drafts can do better, but I have yet to hate EVERYTHING about my writing, y’know. So all baloney…

But I liked the idea of challenging myself to a million word-goal and so I started what is now an almost 2-year-long journey.

Last month I mentioned how I cleaned the slate on my word count. Thus far I’d passed the 25% mark for the million words, but I realized I hadn’t read any of the works I was counting towards my goal total.

Ok-aaay. Who DOES that?

Yeah. Seriously. Bad form.

Now I’m remedying that, and so far I’m happy to say I’ve read one of my works and after getting over the initial fear of entirely turning myself off writing in general, I finished my 55K category romance (also my first EVER finished novel) surprisingly pleased with some of what I’d written – although some of it was really atrocious, like never-will-see-daylight-in-this-form atrocious, some of it was pretty good (and you better believe I marked those with a sticky note, just so I can always flip through and find the good parts xD).

Anyways it’s under my bed now while I work out the kinks to an outline for the rewrite, and if anything it’s lit my spirit to get that couple’s story down and in front of an editor by the end of the year!

Until then I’ve got plans to read another of my completed stories soon, but at the moment I’m gearing up for Camp NaNo July edition. On that note, it’s always really surprising how much I’m ready to get going with NaNo and then how much I really hate myself on the first few days of the writing project…but I’m still looking forward to it. Mercurial mood be darned.

Blahblahblah –

In short I’m joining Camp this month. I’ve decided by settling on a writing project. I’m writing another short category romance targeting Harlequin.

I need to do some research and really dig for the heroine and hero’s stakes and obstacles so their motivations don’t fall flat, and thereby the internal conflicts will be stronger.

Since I’m planning to do this Camp thing, I’ll probably do what I did back in April which was a series of weekly vlogs with updates on Camp progress and other writer-ly peeves and maybe random things I want to talk about. I’m still fixing up a schedule for that, but right now it’s looking like vlogs every Thursday starting July 2^nd.

In reading-related goals – because this blog also features some book reviews, and a lot more recently because of the abundance of free time I have on my hands – I’ve completed my 52-book goal for the year, but I don’t really see that as an excuse to stop reading (there’s just several lifetimes-worth of books to read out there). On this front I’ll keep marching on, reading and reviewing through to the end of the year.

That being said I probably won’t have too much reading/review-related updates in the coming Update posts for July forward. Cool?

And that’s about it for June.

Overall this month has been a big fat thumbs down with writing, but I’ve been working on getting my head straight and keep myself above the sea of sadness and anxiety that sometimes suffocates me. For instance I learned I have a problem where I wait for the mood to strike me before I write. What I'm beginning to do is figure out that although there are definite times for breaks, that I can't always wait to be "in the mood" to begin treating my writing as a job (especially when I would love to have the luxury of making a living as a F/T author some day).

Part of that meant I had to make some life decisions that might help improve how I view my time, and not only where writing is concerned. But it does feel like I’m making better decisions. Hopefully with summer here there'll be more days of light than dark, metaphorically speaking as well. :) 
Something about blue skies, greenery as far as the eye wants to see, and people out and about enjoying their leisure time never fails to put a smile on my face and keep it there...

Annnnnnd back to Camp – OMGosh, it’s officially T-minus 5 days you guys!

Who else is joining Camp this summer???

BOOK REVIEW (61): Shadow of a Spout (Teapot Collector Mystery #2)

BOOK REVIEW:

Shadow of a Spout

And here's Book 2 of the Teapot Collector Mystery series from author Amanda Cooper!
I already mentioned how much I loved Book 1 here, and now I'll tell you how much I really liked Book 2 as well.

Shadow of a Spout takes place outside Gracious Grove (or GiGi for short) where the first story took place. Yes, Sophie Taylor, her grandma Rose Freemont, and her grandma's long-time 'frenemy', Thelma Mae Earnshaw, are in Butter Hills, a neighbouring town where a couple new characters are introduced and another murder mystery is giving them a run for their...err, teapots. Also there's more sinister finger-pointing--which will confuse the heck out of you up until the end.

I think I'm more amazed that the author makes some of these killers so sympathetic. She's got a knack for that!

Aside from the murder, I figured out some other relationship connections. Like who likes who, who hates who, etc. So there were some anticlimactic parts, though nothing that seriously made me want to drop the book.

I also liked the pacing. I'm a sucker for time-constrained plots--so think 24 (...only I watched like a season of Jack Bauer before I moved on). In Shadow of a Doubt Sophie, her Nana, Rose and Thelma are stuck in an inn waiting on the homicide detective on the case to give the A-OK and send every visitor on their way home. But Sophie's grandma is a suspect and Sophie is determined to clear her name for good, just in case anyone still doubts the octogenarian.

Sophie is even more nosier in this book. I should be used to amateur sleuths since they're really the core of cozies, but it's always hard to accept of their boldfaced-ness. Mostly because I wouldn't do what they do. Murder usually triggers the flight response in me. Also I mean I would really hate someone like Sophie if I were a killer...or you know equally suspicious about unsavory secrets.

Yeah...especially when they sneak into places to find clues about ghosts, Melinda.

Of course it's hard to hate Sophie because all she wants to do is help her grandma. Still I'm surprised someone didn't flip her off.

Oh and there's more Sophie and her crush, Mr. hottie-old flame-professor Jason. Unfortunately they still haven't acted on a date, let alone confessing their feelings (or at least Sophie's feelings since Jason doesn't get a POV).

But who reads a mystery for a romance...? *blinks innocently*

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (60): I was Sold to My Dead Brother's Best Friend

BOOK REVIEW:

I was Sold to My Dead Brother's Best Friend

I first read this on the online reading/publishing site, Wattpad. This book by author Jaqueline Pearson--her Wattpad username is pcjaclie22--has a cool 14 mil reads last time I checked. It won an award as one of the best paranormal books on the site, which definitely says something (though I'll let you decide whether that's good or bad).

This book above, with a different cover from the Wattpad version, is a slightly longer version of the original. Sadly though this self-published version is riddled with the same spelling errors, grammar mistakes, etc. found in the Wattpad original.

It really is an editor's worst nightmare. And what's really sad is the plot and characterization were quite good, once you can get by the atrocious story structure. Unfortunately it needed a lot of revision before it hit virtual shelves at the exorbitant paperback price of ~$14.

The author DOES explain in her bio she suffered from dyslexia as a child and it continues to affect her written work. Understandable, but then it should have fell on editor(s) to help her out as far as spelling and grammar go (NO editor should help you plot a story; an editor's job is first and foremost to edit--though you can bounce ideas off them if both parties feel comfortable with that).

But the characterization was consistent, and that was a plus.

Told in 1st-person from heroine Annie's POV only, I Was Sold... follows the unfortunate circumstance of Annie's kidnapping by her vampire soul mate, prince Luke.

BTW, no one has a last name in this book as far as I'm aware, which is fine. Just fine. Moving on...

So Annie gets kidnapped and the rest of the plot just details her reaction to her surroundings and the vampire royalty holding her captive and her attempts at escape and reunion with her human fiance, Joel Who-Also-Has-No-Last-Name. (And she likes to rant about her cruel parents and how they basically let Luke carry her to his castle-mansion or whatever. Though I was totally cool about this. Seriously. Bad parents are bad parents should be lynched, or made into mindless vamp slaves.)

In short, Annie is stubborn and super vocal about what she thinks of Luke, his crazy vampire customs where mates are concerned and his kidnapping her and forcing her to love him: and for that I loved her. Even at the end Annie remains pretty much true to who she is; that is she doesn't up and melt into Luke's arms--

*
**
***
****
*****
******
*******
********
*******
******
*****
****
***
**
*

SPOILER!

Annie and Luke get their HEA, and while they're entwined, Annie closes off the story with this final line:

There is no promise I will never have issues with Luke again. I'm pretty stubborn and have a bad tendency to over react. But, at the end of the day, as long as he is by my side everything will be okay. (pg. 382)

*

Cheesy, but I like my pizza that way too.

Of course it helped that I liked Luke, too.
He's nothing like Edward Cullen, Patch (from Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush), Daniel Grigori (from Lauren Kate's Fallen), Francis and Bash (from Reign), Damon-Stefan (from TVD), or any of the rash of "dangerous boys" plaguing PNR.

Luke really loves Annie, even if he REALLY shouldn't have kidnapped her. There should have been a better reason like, ohh, the old "I-had-to-kidnap-you-first-or-those-other-bad-guys-would-kill-you-so-really-I-saved-your-life-now-please-love-me!!!"...

The plot, like I said, shines through here and there. It could be a great story if some of the characters' back stories were fleshed out, the dumb childish pranks were smoothed out, and the world-building (particularly the vampires-humanity coexistence) was explained better instead of being tossed out there and left for the reader to presume.

I would definitely recommend reading the FREE Wattpad version first.

I bought the book because I liked the story, and I wanted to support the author.
I'd also love if she were to consider better editing services the next time she publishes another story for money.

As an aside, here are some random quotes confusing "gently" with "genitally" (lolz, pretty sure it was unintentional on the author's part, but it gave me a good laugh every time it popped up...and I'm not even sure if that was a pun):

My verdict:

✮✮

(2 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (59): Tempest in a Teapot (Teapot Collector Mystery #1)

BOOK REVIEW:

Tempest in a Teapot

Since I'm pretty much all caught up to two of the three mystery series I've been juggling (I'm still hunting down books 2 and 3 of Jenn McKinlay's London Hat Shop mysteries), I decided to start a new series with a new author.

I also particularly searched for a newer series (as in book 1 released in 2014-2015). I found Amanda Cooper's Teapot Collector mysteries. The first two books are out now, and at this rate I'll be grabbing the third when its out in Spring 2016.

So this series is written different from the three cozies I've read from two other authors.
For one Tempest in a Teapot is told from several perspectives, not just MC Sophie Taylor's POV. Her Grandma Rose Freemont, also gets a say from her end of things about the murder that rocks their small quiet town. Rose is the owner of the most popular tearoom in quaint Gracious Grove, New York. She's especially close to Sophie and the reason why the latter leaves her life in Manhattan for the suburban paradise. In addition to Sophie and Rose, Rose's old rival Thelma May Earnshaw also gets bits and pieces from her perspective.

Sounds confusing? Yeah...
But when all these POVs are put together the murder fleshes out beautifully into a well-crafted tale.

Author Amanda Cooper is terrific at giving detail without flooding her readers with purple prose. It worked because I could see Sophie focusing on her surroundings, it suited her critical eye and nosy personality.

For those of you who are interested, there is a love interest for Sophie in Tempest in a Teapot. However there isn't a lot of scenes between Sophie and her romantic interest, college professor Jason.

There's also a recipe in the back of the book and information about the history of tea. Really cool stuff. ^^ Most of the reason I picked this one up is because I've never heard of a tearoom, despite being a long-time fan of black tea (what can I say, I'm simple...that and it's really a cultural thing).

Oh and there are people who collect teapots. So so neat! Though I can see why. This is the only cute teapot we have in the family, and there's not much of an interesting tale behind it.

And as far as guessing 'whodunit', I didn't know until the last possible moment and just because particularly EVERYONE seemed suspicious.

So if I've interested you make sure to pick up the 1st in the Teapot Collectors mysteries!

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (58): Flirting with Forty

BOOK REVIEW:

Flirting with Forty

About a month ago my sister and I were having a chat about our book-related romantic preferences. I brought up a book I happened to be considering in where the heroine is more than a decade younger than the hero. I also shared how I watched the author talk about her preference for an older man-younger woman tale, and how she doesn't care about the negative reviews targeting the large age-gap with her couple.

To my sister I mentioned how weird it was that that happened to bug me when I didn’t have as much a problem with an older woman-younger man situation.

That probably says something about me.

However I wouldn’t drop a book if the male MC had a romance with a younger woman. In fact so long as both partners are legal adults and consenting to the relationship, I could care two hoots about who is getting with whom. Instead as usual I’ll notice and be less forgiving about glaring conflict or characterization problems, etc.

It’s hardly a problem if the 40-y/o hero is dating a 24 y/o. BUT say that 40-y/o MC was being a complete utter jackarse for no plausible reason… Now I’m dealing with the more viable issue of an unlikable character.

Cool?

So going into Jane Porter’s Flirting with Forty, I wasn’t thrown by the romance between heroine Jackie and her 10-years-her-junior surf instructor, Kai of Hawaii.

I liked Kai.

I didn’t like how Kai loved to call Jackie “girl”. 

Really age-aside I think it’s a creepy term regardless. Also rude when you could use the person’s name – tbh the first few times he said it I thought he might have forgotten Jackie’s name. And I was like, ‘oh gee, look at the irony of all this, that poor woman keeps coming back to Hawaii, angering her friends and family by spending her money to keep going back to this mystical beach paradise where everyone’s young, carefree and happy AND the guy she has a thing for doesn’t even remember her name’.

That wasn’t the case. Though I would have totally accepted that or the fact that Kai thought it was appropriate to call her by the not-so endearing pet name and Jackie let him get away with it.

Come on, girrrrrrrrrrrl.

So Jackie’s friends don’t approve of her new passion for Hawaii (and the hot surf instructor who calls the islands his home), but girl power wins out predictably and the truth comes out with most of the other women: everyone seems to be in a rut with their families, careers, etc. Everything is stable, but they envy Jackie her freedom as a divorcee. (And no, I’m not saying this book promotes divorce. It doesn't.)

That being said this book bordered on depressing sometimes. Really.

I wanted to feel bad for Jackie, and I did, but that sympathy turned to pity and then finally it turned to irritation. Because this story is written in 1^st person, it was annoying to read Jackie’s self-doubts, her internal commentary on her friends’ behaviours and reactions, and especially her preoccupation – though it was really more of an obsession by the end of the book – with her age.

It was every little frickin thing with her. She wanted a fulfilling job where she got to choose her clients (not everyone gets that luxury to find a way to pay their bills). And how she wanted so bad to be in her 20s and young and sexy and attractive to Kai, and Kai, bless him, never fed her preoccupation/obsession. He’d just stay mellow and she’d have no soundboard to stage her pity party on.

By the halfway mark in the story the one time I could actually stand Jackie’s complaining was whenever her dumbass of an ex-husband popped his head in. (That jerk deserved more than her internal commentary, he deserved a bunch of tar and feathers to be poured over his head in public).

Still I was happy with the ending. It sounded like Jackie would be complaining a lot less in the future, and that she has finally found what she's been wanting: as close to a fairy tale HEA as possible with her romantic life but also her professional life.

My verdict:

✮✮✮

(3 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (57): A Fatal Slip (A SN Lingerie Mystery #3)

BOOK REVIEW:

A Fatal Slip

Since I started up another cozy mystery binge this spring, I’ve gone back to another series I had forgotten about, Meg London’s A Sweet Nothings Lingerie Mystery series (or trilogy).

I forgot to pick Book Three: A Fatal Slip up since its release last year. I was afraid I might have fallen out of love with the cast (i.e. MC Emma, her aunt Arabella, boyfriend Brian, and co.); thankfully I didn’t, it felt like coming home to Paris, Tennessee. :)

So in this third (hopefully not final) book, Emma is caught up in a murder again – and once more she’s appointed herself an amateur sleuth because a loved one is under the flames of suspicion.

The plotting in this book through me for a loop as to who the killer might be until near the end when it became obvious, and oddly there was a lot of suspects who still weren’t in the clear – it sorta put a bad flavour to my mouth as the author delved a bit more into the subconscious of humans and it wasn’t as black-and-white as the first two books in this series.

I liked the romance between Arabella and her beau, and Emma and Brian! I’m a sucker for love…

Though TBH I didn’t shine to Brian in the first book. He slowly grew on me in the second, and now I was rooting for him and Emma, especially when Emma’s posh mother comes to town and she doesn’t exactly approve of Brian’s down-to-earth homely self.

Overall a great layered mystery – it’s never any fun when you can guess who’s the killer in the first few chapters; a wonderful ensemble of cast, pacing and conflict resolution.

I do have to warn readers though that this third book ends off with a bit of a teaser cliffhanger where Emma and Brian are concerned. (*ahem*ZOMGishegoingtopropose?!*cough, cough*)

If you’re not into cliffies so much, particularly where love is concerned, AND it doesn’t look like there’s a sign of a Book 4 in the Sweet Nothings  series, then keep this in mind.

Otherwise read the book for its main conflict, the mystery, because you’re sure to be pleased by it!

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (56): Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Sea Creatures

BOOK REVIEW:

Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Sea Creatures

Another vlog review. Also another water-themed nonfiction.
Enjoy.

BAKING REVIEW (6): Snickerdoodles

BAKING REVIEW:

Snickerdoodles

Okay, I was truly at a loss as to what to bake this month. I was heading the way of the French Macaron, but as most beginners seem to shy away from that trickier dessert I finally found inspiration in a novel I'm currently reading.

Yes, you read that right. I hate when books describe desserts and my mouth starts to water as I begin to crave them (why do you think there should be a warning where Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery Mystery series is concerned).

There was no recipe for snickerdoodles in the novel, so I had to go find one online. As usual I was on a budget when it came to gathering the ingredients for the recipe. SO I was particularly searching for a recipe without cream of tartar (COT). My search, thankfully, wasn't long. I used this one by blogger Carol Henders.

If you click that link and read Carol's blog you'll understand her sensible reason for not using COT. My reasons were far from the same (and truthfully far less sensible). I was A) too lazy to go out and get COT, the only item on my ingredient list I didn't have in my kitchen, and B) I don't bake a lot. Needless to say I didn't want to buy COT and have it sit around forcing me to bake in order to make proper use of it and my money's worth.

But if you've got COT (haha that rhymed) lying around OR you want to use it and stick to the original snickerdoodle recipe, then by all means do that. I didn't. So keep that in mind when you're reading my review of Carol Henders' version of this funny-named cookie.

So first thing first, the comparison of Carol's snickerdoodles:

Yummy.

And my version of her version of snickerdoodles:

I should make a note here: I didn't add cinnamon to my cookies. Notice mine are lighter -- no peppering of sweet-smelling cinnamon. Mine also don't look as pretty without the indent of the fork tines you see in Ms. Henders' cookies, but... BUT they tasted a-mah-zing!

Too die for. I hope that says enough because I'm munching on one of these as I write this.

Next time though I might reduce the sugar. 1 1/2 cups was a bit too much, even with a cup of black tea...

If you're in the mood for snickerdoodles, for the first time or the fiftieth, try this!
This cream of tartar-free recipe won't make you snicker (unless you're laughing at those saps who think the tangy-taste of tartar makes the cookie) but will make you sigh in pure dessert bliss.

My verdict:

❤❤❤❤.5

(4.5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (55): Weird Sea Creatures

BOOK REVIEW:

Weird Sea Creatures

I swear this took longer than it should have. I've falling behind on reviews -- still reading though, but I'm not sure if that's a plus or not as I read faster than I'm reviewing for some odd reason.

Why is it easier to read 300-odd pages and not get around to a recording a short review. *sigh*

Also on another note I make really weird faces in my vlogs... I mean weird faces. I should consider custom thumbnails.

BOOK REVIEW (54): The Twelve Dancing Princesses

BOOK REVIEW:
The Twelve Dancing Princesses

I love reading fairy tales. I think it’s one of those things I’ll never fully outgrow. They’re not always meant for children, and there’s nothing like analyzing a fairy tale, its theme and archetypes that can get me motivated to write.

One of my favourite fairy tales is ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’.

It also happens to be one of those stories that seem to lack a definite theme* like some other well-known tales (i.e. ‘Cinderella’, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, etc.)

This picture book is not a retelling, and rather a different illustrative take. I know very little about art, but I enjoyed looking at illustrator Dorothee Duntze’s perspective of this fairy tale.

I loved the colours, and the recurrent motif of the shoes (especially the final scene of the big shoe podium in the wedding). The fairy tale is borrowed from the Grimm version, and I know at least that the execution of the unsuccessful princes by the King remains the same.

So same story, different art – and the effect is a short-paged, yet beautifully illustrated book. If you’re as interested in ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses” as I am, pick up Duntze’s artistic take on the folktale.

*My guess at a theme would be the importance of having equal opportunity no matter your background (the solider). OR not necessarily that everyone gets equal opportunity. I probably couldn’t outrun a bear, but someone with parkour skills might be able to. So, the princes who kept trying and dying in their attempt to solve the mystery of the dancing princesses were not cut out for it – but a poor, wounded solider had the right skills (e.g. stopping to chat with the old lady who gave him the invisible cloak) to solve the mystery and win himself a royal wife and a title.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)