Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Anatomy: A Love Story

 

by Dana Schwartz

3.50 out of 5 Stars

 

***Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

 

Anatomy is a gothic historical fiction set in 1817 Edinburgh following Hazel as she seeks to find her way to becoming a surgeon. To get the practical education she needs with cadavers, she works with resurrection man Jack to dig up corpses despite the odd disappearances happening in the city and the return of the Roman Fever.  

Given the premise, I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to love this book so badly. It seemed so wonderfully gothic and perfectly set up to be a creepy ambiance to get me ready for Halloween. But instead, while I enjoyed it, it just didn't deliver in some important ways. Although, this is 1000% a book to buy if you are looking for an aesthetic bookshelf -- I mean, just look at that gorgeousness of a book cover.

Plot: 

I loved the plot and the setting of the story. I don't know how much of Edinburgh specifically was really coming through the pages, so much as general Great Britain vibes, but the time period and the medical understandings for that period were fantastic. It is the perfect opportunity to have a very earnest desire to believe these fantastical beliefs about science -- things that we know today to be wrong, but back then were illusions that could reach tangibility if you could figure it out. Using this foundation, I also loved the story of a young woman trying to become a physician or surgeon. That aspect of the story never once wavered, and I think it was developed wonderfully. We see the build to finding education, the obstacles that organically are put in her path, and how she creatively carves her own way to achieving what she wants. It was excellent. 

Characters: 

Hazel -- Hazel is a rich girl, but incredibly intelligent not just naturally, but through constant and consistent self-education, which I think was a great aspect to her character. We find out how she used to sneak into her dad's study past bedtime to read medical text books, and that tenacity in her pursuant of knowledge is exemplified in her actions throughout the course of the story. She's a bit single-minded when it comes to becoming a physician, but I think that's just par for the course for her. I wouldn't expect anything else, and I think her character was well-developed.

 

Jack -- No idea who Jack was. There are the basic facts about where he comes from, what drives his actions, and what he looks like, but there weren't enough nuances about personality quirks, deeply emotional reveals, or otherwise extended development of his character. Overall, he was kind of just there to serve a purpose to Hazel? Which, if this were a story solely about Hazel, I would still not like it, but I wouldn't mind it as much. As it is, there is a romance between them, and it just feels like Jack is underdeveloped.

Writing: 

Sadly, this is where I think I struggled with the book. The writing overall wasn't bad, but it also was difficult to get through at times because it felt choppy. It wasn't a smooth reading experience. There were moments when the language was flowing really nicely, but it was inconsistent. Because of the evidence that there can be really good passages of writing, I don't know how the book as a whole came to have those choppy parts in them, but it makes me wonder what the entire writing process looked like for the author.

 

Also, I don't think there was any need for there to be actual fantastical elements to this story. Like, at all. This is my biggest pet peeve with the book and why I only gave it three stars on Goodreads. The fantasy piece was so minimally there, that it was a huge distraction when it came up. This should have remained a historical fiction and that's it. I'm not even going to add a "fantasy" label to this review. Like I said earlier, the great thing about this time period is that science and medicine was still so unknown and exciting it already felt fantastical. To try to mix in actual fantasy with that felt so out of place. I don't think it's impossible to fantasy books written in this time period, but I think the presence of fantasy needed to be much, much stronger in order for it to be properly incorporated into the story.

 

Thanks for reading!

The Complete Language of Food by S. Theresa Dietz REVIEW

The Complete Language of Food by S. Theresa Dietz

3.93 out of 5 Stars

 

***Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group -- Wellfeet Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

 

Goodreads Description: Awaken both your inner foodie and your inner yogi as you journey into the consciousness of everyday foods, from their origins in myth to modern interpretations today. 

 

This was a really kinda cool book to check out! It is a very well organized series of quick facts about a very wide variety of herbs and plants with a handful of other guides about foods in dreams at the end. I was expecting some more illustration ~pages~ based on the description, but the ones that were there I thought were gorgeous, and I loved the style of art alongside each plant.

I think what I liked most about the book was that it was incredibly organized. It is indexed and cross-referenced, so you have the ability to look things up by scientific name, common name, or the spiritual property you are looking for. I think without this, I would have thought the book was a lump of dense material that would be impossible to navigate. But, because of how organized it is, it is so very easy to use, which is wonderful.

In terms of what is slightly off about this book for me is that I can't tell who the exact audience is. I imagine if someone wanted to use the book as a legitimate guide as to how these plants are used, there would need to be a little more information for each plant. For example, if plant is denoted as to having medicinal purposes, there could have been some guidance as to how to use said plant for the medicinal purposes. Yet, if it is meant to be more of a coffee table book, I would think there needs to be more pictures and less information. As it is, the book is sort of straddling those two audiences. 

Who would like this book ...  Honestly, I think there's a good amount of people who would like this book. Anyone who is a deeply immersed foodie, people interested in wellness and spiritual connections, people looking to fill out their collection of kitchen books, those who want an interesting centerpiece -- I imagine with enough creativity you could even get this book to mesh into some sort of seasonal decoration. It's pretty cool, and I definitely thought it was interesting. Plus, it looks like it's part of a series, alongside The Complete Language of Flowers, The Complete Language of Herbs, and The Complete Language of Trees  (exp. pub. 2023). So if you really want to get a whole set like this or gift someone a set like this, you could.

Thanks for reading!

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick REVIEW

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick

3.88 out of 5 Stars

 

***Thank you to Andromeda Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

 

From Goodreads: Lush. Dark. Romantic. Introducing a newly reimagined tale written in the vein of Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone. 

 

Honestly, that description is accurate. (Although, I think "written in the vein of" is a syntax sin -- "along the lines of" would be more accurate.) The North Wind is a the kind of story you want to be reading when the weather first starts to turn or snow is right about to fall. The atmosphere of this book is insanely strong: dark, cold, brisk. Because of that, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but hey, to each there own and personally, I love an atmosphere like this. Besides the atmosphere, I think the mash-up description of Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone is a dead on description that was followed through well. 

 

The biggest advice I would give anyone reading this or to anyone considering reading this is that it is not a smut book. So if that's what you're looking for, walk away. There are some new adult scenes mixed in, but this is not high up on the graphic scale of romance books if that makes any sense. I think I'm just throwing that out there because I have seen reviews about the lack of romance or that this is a boring book, and I worry that those people went into this book with the wrong expectations and therefore have given it a bad review. And I just don't think that's fair, because it is a fantasy romance book, and I think it's a pretty damn good one at that.

Plot:

I would say that there were two primary plots in this book: the love story and the issues with the Shade. To the first plot, I don't really have any issues with it. It moves at a pace as needed given the characters, which admittedly is a bit slow. However, I think the root cause is more related to the irritations I have with the characters rather than the development of that plot line. Before the love plotline can be sped up a bit, the characters had to be different or developed faster. So because of that, I actually think the progression of the love plotline is fine. 

 

The plotline with the Shade is only fine. This is where the real interest of the story laid for me because it was the point that made this book unique to any other retellings of Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone. But I think proportionally this plotline not only didn't progress fast enough, but that we didn't see as much of it. I would have loved to have dug into the history of the Shade more, maybe hear some odds and ends tragedies or adventures that the Shade has as its legacy, but the plotline was borderline only a tool to progress the love story plotline, and I just wish it had more opportunity to shine because I thought it was good and I wanted more of it.

Characters:

Wren -- I'm all for an unenjoyable main character, but this was just a step too far for just a bit too long. Her hypocrisy in calling out Boreas for being narrow-minded, and yet never herself trying to understand his motives and accept truths contrary to her beliefs, drove me up the wall. Maybe this is just some sort of pet peeve of mine so it was extra grating, but I really didn't like that. The alcoholism lasted for a bit too long I think, but ultimately, it was addressed and corrected. Likewise, her bullheadedness was also grown out of later on in the book, but I just wish these things happened a little sooner.

 

Boreas -- Very similar to Wren, the traits about him that I didn't like and the development of his character just all needed to be addressed a bit earlier in my opinion. I like the stoicism that he presents. It is a solid characteristic that not only was easy to grasp onto, but heightened the atmosphere of the book. But after awhile, that stoicism led to, not distance, but detachment, which I don't think is ever desired for a book character. Once we dipped into the second half of the book, that's where we got to see more of his background, see more of what he does, and learn about his emotional reactions to things. It just took so long to get there.

 

There are several other sides characters that tended to be a bit predictable, but overall served their purposes and were well written. Nobody else really stood out though. I think there's room for growth, certainly, which will be exciting to see in the second book (**cough clearly Zephyrus given book 2's name cough**) but for the most part, the story centered on Wren and Boreas, which I think is okay for this story.

Writing: 

My biggest complaint of this book is that the first half of it seemed to drag on for far too long, when then as you can tell affects everything. Everything from plotline progression to character development to world building really started to pick up steam only in the second half of the book. Timing seemed to be the biggest flaw when thinking about the book as a whole. Despite the pacing being off, the writing was good. Different character expressions and emotions were well-captured. The description of the world and the matching tonal quality of the writing was very good. And when there was a critical scene, my attention was grabbed for the duration of that scene.

Final word of the day is that I would recommend this book to friends. I feel like I just ragged on it for the entirety of this review, but I don't want people to take away that it is a bad book. On the contrary; it's got some interesting designs to it, is good for a nice break from reality without having to mentally work hard, and is a sweet little fix for anyone craving a Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone hit. Maybe just don't read this in the summer, given how chilly the atmosphere is, but overall, The North Wind was good and I want to read the second book. 

Thanks for reading!

Twist by Martha Collison REVIEW

Twist: Creative Ideas to Reinvent Your Baking by Martha Collison

4.32 out of 5 Stars

 

A Note: I am not a professional chef or baker. I am just the average Plain Jane everyday sort of gal in the kitchen.

 

Welcome to my first review of a cookbook! Buckle in, we don't know what we're doing, it's going to be a great time. I'm going to give this some structure as seen with the three headings below, but in all seriousness, this is my first time trying to review a cookbook, so it may go wrong or there may be something people are looking for that they may not find here. (If so, please let me know what so that I can add it in the future!) I actually read quite a lot of cookbooks and love trying them out. This is just the first time I'm reviewing one because I want to try to grow as a reviewer. And the reason I'm reviewing this one is because I love love love the Great British Bake Off, and Martha's book was the first cookbook that I went out and bought to try the recipes. 

Overall, I adore this cookbook. There are stains and sticky spots all over my copy from how often I've used it, and it is one I regularly check whenever I need a basic recipe for something really common, like a chocolate cake or a simple cookie. I would 100% recommend this book to people as a great basic recipes book, as well as learning how to take something basic and expand on it.

Difficulty:

In my opinion, the recipes weren't too hard to follow. There were a couple of techniques, particularly when it came to handling the sugars and gelatin, that were more challenging to me. But, I think that was more so because I just didn't have the experience at that point, not because it was described poorly. Also, I was definitely not used to the metric measurements. Everything I had been using up to this point were solely American cups, tablespoons, etc. I had to go out and buy a cooking scale because I just had never needed one before and I got sick of trying to convert everything from one measurement system to the next.

Originality:

I really loved how the recipes were simple, basic things, but then there were different ways your could vary them, or "twist" the recipe to make it your own. It makes the recipes much more versatile and multi-purposeful, so each recipe will be more than just a one time creation that is repeated over and over and over again. You can mix it up, and Martha guides you on how to do that while still achieving good results.

Favorite Dish:  

Martha's Lemon and Earl Grey Tea Cakes

Oh my god, this is probably one of my new favorite desserts of all time!!! Especially with the earl grey marshmallow topping, the whole thing was just so perfectly sweet without being overly sugary. It's also a flavor profile that I am just not used to seeing or encountering in my day to day life, so the novelty of it is fun and heightens the enjoyment of this dish. Working with the gelatin in the marshmallow was completely new to me too, but it worked! And I am so glad it worked because it was the best part of the whole thing!

Thanks for reading!

Original Sin by Lydia Michaels REVIEW

 Original Sin by Lydia Michaels

1.48 out of 5 Stars 

 

***Thank you to Bailey Brown Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

In full transparency, I DNF'd this book at 45%. Please keep that in mind when reading this review in case you have a different opinion or are looking to use this review as advice as to whether or not to read this book. For me, it was not my vibe, by really any means. And normally I don't DNF books, even if I don't like them, but there were some persistent themes in this book that I was straight up not comfortable with and I could not see them turning any corners to better (read, "healthier") portrayals by the time I put the book down. I'll get into those problematic themes a little further down, but ultimately, I just don't think this book was the right fit for me.

PLOT

The premise of the story is a vampiric soulmate connection that, when realized within the vampire character, needs to be sought out in order for them to not lose their minds. One of our leads, Adam is vampire, who gets such a call for the other main character, Anna, and a steamy romance ensues. I was very intrigued by this premise because the connection needing to be affirmed in order for the character to survive was so interesting and enticing when wrapped up in a romance novel. However....

The themes I had trouble with overrode any excitement I had about the premise of the plot. Adam is a "gentleman" and won't force himself on Anna, but at the same time, he legitimately kidnaps her, constantly takes away her free will, forces her to completely change her way of life and self-expression, and views his relationship with her as "his right." Many things wrong here. Many, many things, which significantly lowered the rating for me because I just could never in a million years be comfortable recommending such content to someone. To do so would be essentially an endorsement that behaviour such as Adam's and the relationship Adam and Anna fall into is okay and healthy, when it really is not. 

I was waiting for these toxic possessive edges and forceful removals of identity to be recognized and to have those attitudes (as expressed by Adam and his family) corrected. But by 45%, they hadn't started to change at all, and if anything, the attitude of "his right" and "it's necessary for survival" were becoming more ingrained, and I couldn't stand it anymore, so I stopped reading. Really sad, because I think the premise of a soulmate connection having such a strong impact on a person is a great one, but this was so bogged down by these horrible themes that I couldn't see a way out or a way to redeem it.

WRITING

What makes all of this so much sadder is that I actually liked the author's writing! I believe this may have been one of her earlier books, so there is no way I am writing off this author. Her style, while not high-brow literary, had that captivating edge to it that I love. It's the kind of writing that will draw you in and before you realize it you're up past midnight. Excellent writing, I just wish the execution of the story had been vastly different. 

 

So in the end, I can't recommend this book because of its thematic issues. However, I am open to reading more from this author and seeing what else she has created!

Thanks for reading!

On Blogging: A Reintroduction

On Blogging

Reintroducing myself after a very long time away

Oh wow, this feels weird, is the first thought that I have about writing this post. I can't just dive back into posting reviews as if I've been doing it consistently for the past two years; I need to acknowledge this gap in my postings. But it feels so absolutely strange to be writing out a post at all, let alone a post like this which is not the primary ground for content on this blog. At least, content like this wasn't originally the ground for content on this blog. I think over the years, the more stressed or taken over by life events and busyness I became, the more I just posted filler content so that I could feel productive. Originally though, this was always meant to be a place for me to share my thoughts and appreciation for books in the form of reviews. I love the tags and the ships and the TV and movie reviews, but it was always supposed to be about the books and expressing thought-filled opinions on them as a reader. 

I have no regrets about those posts by any means. I loved writing them and sharing them, and I'll probably continue to do so every now and then. However, in the slight rearranging of my blog, and the minor updates I gave the blog aesthetically, I did get rid of a bunch of labels for my posts and changed the upper banner to include only genre labels. These genre labels will take you only to book reviews. The filler content and reviews for other mediums are still present, but I don't want them to share the center stage with the book reviews anymore. As I'm coming back into blogging, I really want to try to revert back to my original love of reading and sharing my love for reading online. Will there still be other content besides book reviews? Yes. But, what I'm sincerely hoping for is that I can build this blog to be a place where people can look toward for genuine book reviews from a fellow reader. 

Luckily, I am getting to a place where I will be able to read and review as voraciously as I once was. Because even though I may not have been posting book reviews, I have most certainly been reading still. I don't think I could picture myself without a book on hand or downloaded on my phone. But as I'm returning to blogging, there may be a handful of posts where I'm getting back into the swing of things and finding my voice again, so please bear with me! I have loved seeing that people have read my posts, and I LOVE when there are comments or engagements with them online. Fortunately, blogging for me has been a wonderful positive hobby, and I am really excited (and a bit nervous) to be coming back to this blog. 

XOXO,

Thanks for reading!

Excerpt from Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield

Excerpt from 

Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield

Blog Tour

COMING MAY 4, 2021

As I slowly start to crawl my way back to the land of blogging, I am thrilled to share this excerpt from Hurricane Summer! This YA coming-of-age takes readers to Jamaica, where the lead protagonist Tilla comes to realizes the more about herself, her father, their relationship, and Jamaica and the world itself. 

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2

We touch down at 1:46 p.m. local time.

Warm air floods the plane as the doors open, and the sweet aroma of fruit wafts in the air. Passengers race to grab their bags as the thick accent comes over the PA once again:

“Ladiez and gentle-mon, welcome to Kingston, Jamaica. It iz a beautiful day here on the island, and we wish you nothing but irie on your travels. It has been our pleasure to have you on board. As always, thank you for flying Air Jamaica.”

I gently shake Mia awake as Patois begins to pour out all around us. I grab our backpacks from the cabin, and we throw them over our shoulders before trudging off the plane.

As we make our way through the busy airport, we are sur- rounded by a sea of rich, dark skin. I feel courageous as we navigate through the brown and black bodies, and I can’t help but wonder if the feeling of belonging is why Dad loves it so much here.

Once we clear at customs, we continue our trek through the massive airport. All around us, people smile and laugh, and there is a mellowness to their pace. Most of the women wear bright colors and intricate braids in their hair, Afros, or long locks down their backs. An array of sandals and flip-flop highlight all the bright painted toenails as Mia and I weave through the crowd.

“Stay close!” I yell, grabbing on to her hand. When we find the exit, I grow nervous knowing what awaits us on the other side. I look to Mia. “You have everything?”

She nods.

“Okay,” I whisper to myself. “Let’s do this.”

With our suitcases lugging behind us, we spill out of the doors and into the hot sun. The heat immediately consumes me, and it is amplified by the chaos and noise that surrounds us. The streets are packed. Loud horns blare, and people yell back and forth in thick, heavy Patois accents. Men argue on the side of the road, their dialect harsh as they negotiate the rates for local shuttle buses. Along the roads, merchants sell colorful beaded jewelry and fruit so ripe that I can taste it in the air. Women wear beautiful head wraps and sell plantains and provisions, bartering back and forth with eager travelers. People spew out of overcrowded taxis, desperate to catch their flights as others hop in, desperate to get home. The sun pierces my skin as the humidity and gas fumes fill my lungs. The ac- tion is overwhelming, and I feel like a fish out of water. As we wait by the curb, there is no sight of our father.

“What if he forgot?” Mia asks.

“He wouldn’t,” I reply. “Mom just talked to him.” “What if he got the time mixed up?”

“He’ll be here.”

But the truth is, when it comes to our father, I can never be sure.

I fight with this idea as five minutes turn into ten, and ten into twenty.

The heat blazes, and sweat drips down my stomach. I check my watch: forty-two minutes.

I pull my pink hoodie over my head to reveal a white tank top, tying the hoodie around my waist to better manage the heat. Without my phone, I have no way of contacting him to see where he is.

But he said he’d be here. He gave us his word.

Fifty-six minutes later, our father is nowhere to be found. My eyes frantically search the crowd as I ponder how much his word is truly worth. Time and time again, he has proven that the answer is not much. I turn to Mia, ready to tell her to head back inside. Worry graces her face for the first time since we left. Her carefree attitude fades as the concern of a nine-year-old takes over. I can’t stand to see her like this, and I’ll do whatever it takes to escape the feeling that is bubbling inside of me.

We’ll take the first plane out.

“Mi, Dad’s not coming. Let’s go back insid—”

“Yow! Tilla!” A deep voice interrupts me mid-sentence. I whip my head around to find my father standing a few

feet away with two freshly sliced pineapple drinks in hand. “Daddy!” Mia screams. She drops her things on the curb

and sprints toward him. My heart does somersaults.

One glimpse of my father and I am a child again.

 

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Thank you to Wednesday Books and Asha Bromfield for letting me be a part of this tour! Review to come!!! 

 

Thanks for reading!