Books Books Books: The Opposite of Maybe

I warn that there are spoilers in my review today!!!! You have been warned!

I hesitated to choose this book when I first saw it on the website, and only picked it after consulting with my roommate that if I didn't like it, she would want to read it as well. However, throughout my experience reading this enthralling novel, I was struck with two competing thoughts: this really isn't my taste, I'm not sure I want to finish and I can't stop reading this deatiled novel. It became harder and harder to put this book down as time continued and ended up completing my reading journey in two days.

Rosie is a unique middle aged woman who is still trying to find her place in this world, finding out she is pregnant is just the cherry on top of the sundae of her complicated life of deciding between tea cup-obsessed Jonathan and separated father Tony, alongside taking care of her stubborn grandmother. While at points I had the desire to reach into the story and smack her or cover her mouth from saying something stupid, I came to realize that this was what made the story seem so real. Each scene was detailed to the extent that I could easily picture what the author was getting at and where her characters were.

Maddie Dawson did an amazing job bringing her characters to life and sucking me into her world. While it did take me a while to get into this book, this book is full of quirky moments as well as scenes that bring you close to tears. Well-written and descriptive, it is a perfect cloudy day read.

What have you all been reading lately? I would love to hear!

Love,

Sara :)

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Books Books Books: Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu

I'm finally getting back into the book reviewing! I'm excited and hopefully you are too! Here goes my first book review back from my time off. :P

When I was in high school, we had a foreign exchange student come and visit from Thailand. Until then, I had never really been exposed to the Thai culture, all I knew was they had elephants and spicy food. My foreign exchange brother, as my sister and I called him, had a dream of someday opening his own restaurant, which of course led to him cooking for us once or twice. He also found a delicious restaurant in Milwaukee where we ended up going several times throughout his stay that served authentic Thai food. I think it was at that point that I fell in love with Thai cuisine. Nearly eight years later, this cookbook has fully renewed that love for Thai food.

Leela Punyaratabandhu has done an amazing job with bringing out the beauty and subtle complexity that Thai food offers. As soon as I opened the book, I was struck by the colorful pictures and ended up paging through the book first just to see the bright colors of the food that I could not wait to cook in my own kitchen. Her descriptions of each dish at the start were funny and felt homey at the same time, with a friendly voice to the narrations and optional American alternatives that make each dish more available to those of us unable to order completely authentic ingredients.

As with many different authentic cuisine books, some of the ingredients were a bit more on the pricy side, so for people on a limited budget it is a bit more difficult. It also is not a cookbook that is friendly towards certain dietary restrictions, just as a forewarning. Another thought to be noted is that this cookbook is not for those looking for a quick meal; the recipes are complicated and require several ingredients that most households would not normally have in order to attain the unique Thai flavors. However, the aroma that filled my apartment as I tried my hand at Leela's recipes is one that will bring your friends and neighbors knocking to try a taste.

I hope that you get the opportunity to try out some of these recipes, which I will be posting a few of my own vegetarian alterations as well as possibly some chicken recipes as soon as I get my act together.

Love,
Sara :)

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Books Books Books: The Rover

I've been searching for a good, light-hearted fantasy book that included all of the classic fantasy components: wizards, magic, dragons, dwarfs, and, of course, lots of history. I finally found one! Being able to travel to this other world really helped out my mental state, which has been consisted of me wandering around like a zombie because I'm so tired lately.

Anyways, here's my review for Mel Odom's The Rover.

"A great, lighthearted story that kept me turning pages all night! While parts reminded me of The Lord of the Rings, it really was very much its own story. Well-written and captivating! A great read for any sword-wielder and dragon believer, a pretty simple read."

Go pick it up and read it fellow knights and adventurers!!

My next read looks to be (finally) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship if the Rings. Yes, I know I'm a bit behind on the times but this is the first time in like years I've had enough time to sit down and actually read something! And on that note I actually have to study :P yes, it never does really end. Beware!

 

Love,

Sara