The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Tahira in Bloom" by Farah Heron

Happy Aloha Friday. I am happy to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for "Tahira in Bloom" by Farah Heron, a new YA novel.  Accompanying my review are two beverage recipes perfect for enjoying with this book.

 

Publisher's Blurb:

Life is full of surprises in a winning novel about a girl dreaming big during one unexpected small-town summer.

When seventeen-year-old aspiring designer Tahira Janmohammad’s coveted fashion internship falls through, her parents have a Plan B. Tahira will work in her aunt’s boutique in the small town of Bakewell, the flower capital of Ontario. It’s only for the summer, and she’ll get the experience she needs for her college application. Plus her best friend is coming along. It won’t be that bad.

But she just can’t deal with Rowan Johnston, the rude, totally obsessive garden-nerd next door with frayed cutoffs and terrible shoes. Not to mention his sharp jawline, smoldering eyes, and soft lips. So irritating. Rowan is also just the plant-boy Tahira needs to help win the Bakewell flower-arranging contest–an event that carries clout in New York City, of all places. And with designers, of all people. Connections that she needs!

No one is more surprised than Tahira to learn that floral design is almost as great as fashion design. And Rowan? Turns out he’s more than ironic shirts and soil under the fingernails. Tahira’s about to find out what she’s really made of–and made for. Because here in the middle of nowhere, Tahira is just beginning to bloom.

Skyscape: November 1, 2021

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

 

 My Review:

Tahira in Bloom was a quick read and a cute and sweet YA novel even if it skewed a little to the younger side of young adult. Tahira is seventeen and going to be a senior in high school in Toronto. She is extremely focused on her career dream of becoming a fashion designer and is already trying to make a name for herself as a social media influencer. It's not enough for Tahira to be a designer, she wants to be the best designer and got to the Fashion Institute of Technology and it's a plan guided and supported by her parents. The family motto is "Janmohammads always succeed." Tahira's best friend, Gia and boyfriend Matteo help her showcase her designs and build her Instagram following and are focused on their own paths to fame. Tahira's excellent opportunity to intern with an up and coming designer over the summer is derailed and instead, her parents talk her into heading to the country with Gia in tow to help her aunt rebrand the clothing store she bought in the small town of Bakewell. Bakewell is all about flowers, and soon Tahira's focus is on an effort to win a local floral design contest as a way to meet a top designer in New York City. She also finds herself caught up with her aunt's neighbor, Rowan, a self-confessed plant nerd about to leave Bakewell to study landscape architecture, and caught between her former priorities and new interests.

Tahira is an overall likable character--a bit shallow and annoying at times, but with a good heart and big dreams. I found myself rooting for her and also for Rowan and his sister Juniper. The floral design and fashion design intersection is interesting, and more so to me than the social media and influencer bits which I didn't relate to much. (I have a quiet little Instagram account I haven't touched in over a month.) There are a lot of positive messages here for young women about finding your passion and what's truly important, and sticking up for yourself and others. I liked the diversity of the characters and while the end was wrapped up a bit too sweetly and neatly, it is in a feel-good, rom-com kind of way. While  I am not the target demographic for the book, I would buy Tahira in Bloom for a teen, and I am sure they would enjoy it. 

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Author Notes: After a childhood filled with Bollywood, Monty Python, and Jane Austen, Farah Heron constantly wove uplifting happily ever afters in her head while pursuing careers in human resources and psychology. She started writing her stories down a few years ago and is thrilled to see her daydreams become books. The author of Accidentally Engaged and The Chai Factor, Farah writes romantic comedies for adults and teens full of huge South Asian families, delectable food, and most importantly, brown people falling stupidly in love. Farah lives in Toronto with her husband and two teens, a rabbit named Strawberry, and two cats who rule the house. She has way too many hobbies, but her thumb is more brown than green. 

For more information visit www.farahheron.com.

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Food Inspiration:

There was a good amount of food in Tahira in Bloom, mentions included chai, beef salami, lasagna, jars of homemade red sauce, chai frappes and flat whites, iced coffee, chicken curry with chapati, chai tea fudge, burgers, kudu paka (East African chicken in coconut gravy) and basmati rice, capers sandwich with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, sparkling lemonade, gelato, pistachio falafel, tortilla chips and green salsa, chocolate chaud (Parisian hot chocolate) and churros, funnel cakes, mini Bakewell tarts, s'mores donuts (fresh mini donuts covered with marshmallow cream, chocolate sauce, and graham cracker crumbs, a donut milkshake, Thanksgiving dinner, and tandoori turkey. 

Work has been exhausting lately and I didn't get a chance to make a dish inspired by the book but here are two beverage recipes I think would fit perfectly depending on your mood and what the weather is like where you are reading the book.  

Cold Awakening: Iced Coffe Cardamon from Drink to Your Health, Anne McIntyre

Easy (3-Ingredient) French Hot Chocolate by the always amazing Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini. All the better if you make some churros to dunk into it. 

Note: A review copy of Tahira in Bloom was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.    

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here. 

   

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Essence of Nathan Biddle" by J. William Lewis, Served with a Recipe for a Fresh Blackberry Milkshake

Aloha. I am happy to be a stop on the TLC Book Tour for The Essence of Nathan Biddle by J William Lewis. Accompanying my review is a Fresh Blackberry Milkshake inspired by my reading.  

Publisher's Blurb:

A subtly wicked, almost Southern Gothic tale of existential angst told by 18-year-old Kit Biddle, an anti-Gumpian southern boy struggling with the complexities of life. The story unfolds against a backdrop of painful chaos: Kit’s revered uncle, Nathaniel Tyler Biddle, Jr., has sacrificed his only son on direct and specific orders, according to Rev. Biddle, from God himself. As Kierkegaard has suggested, the comic and the tragic converge on Kit’s desperate search for meaning in a willy-nilly world of opaque walls and filtered light.

The enigmatic Anna appears with all the attributes of Kit’s yearning and imagination and then, just like that, she disappears like a phantom in a fog, only to be replaced by the enigmatic Sarah who reverses the roles and projects onto Kit all her desires and imaginings. Standing on one leg in the darkness, Death beckons to Kit with a promise of light and comfort but instead leaves him lying in his own blood on hot pavement with neither clarity nor relief. Who is Kit Biddle? He may actually be Nathan Biddle but who in the world is that?

When the fog dissipates—if the clarity he seeks finally appears—does Kit really want the answers he finds? 

Greenleaf Book Group Press (June 1, 2021)

440 Pages  

My Review:

I have mixed feelings about The Essence of Nathan Biddle. On one hand I enjoyed the atmospheric setting of the book in Alabama in the late 1950s and I was empathetic to the main character, Kit Biddle, a very smart and very angsty young man on the cusp of adulthood. On the other hand, I think this book is much more intelligent and intellectual than I ever claim to be and that meant the dialogue between Kit and his friends (and really most everyone in the book as he worked through his existential crisis), felt forced and many times I was wondering what happened and what I missed. The book is told in four sections and I had trouble with some of the jumps and back-tracking to what had taken place as Kit relates it, primarily to his therapist, in the second half of the book. Kit's story is certainly intriguing, especially some of the secrets and mystery surrounding his family, but at the end I was still scratching my head about what was real and what wasn't and feeling like I wanted more answers and closure. 

The writing is beautiful and there were some quotes that I loved and highlighted: "It really is a lot easier to see up when you're lying on your back." (About a calamity making you see the upside of life.) and "Maybe the really beautiful things are like that: little glowing sparks in the mundane darkness of everyday existence." I do think there are those who will love this book, especially fans of coming of age stories like The Catcher in the Rye fans and lovers of Southern Gothic fiction and stories set in the South. For me, I am glad I read it and I'm still thinking about it, but it won't go down as a favorite. 

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Author Notes: Alabama native J. William Lewis is a former lawyer who lives in Shoal Creek, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Born in Chickasaw, Alabama, Lewis grew up in Mobile. He graduated from Spring Hill College (A.B., magna cum laude, English and Philosophy) where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu and recipient of the Merihl Award. While in college, Lewis served as editor-in-chief of the literary magazine The Motley. Lewis received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and served on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review. After a clerkship for the Honorable Walter P. Gewin on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Lewis practiced law in Birmingham for over three and a half decades.Presently, Lewis serves as executive officer of his family’s investment company, Seaman Capital, LLC, and related companies. He has been married to Lorraine Seaman Lewis for more than half a century. The Essence of Nathan Biddle is his debut novel.

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Food Inspiration:

There's not a lot of great, inspiring food in the book but mentions included: orange juice, sandwiches, Coke, beer, pickled boiled eggs in a jar, saltine crackers and beef jerky, Snickers and Milk Duds, Krispy Kreme donut, hotdogs, daiquiris, cookies, cereal, French fries, blackberry vines, cornfields, scrambled eggs, vanilla ice cream, a barbecue restaurant, a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk, donuts and coffee. 

For my bookish dish, I decided to combine a few mentions of blackberry vines in the countryside with some vanilla ice cream that Kit eats while in the hospital. One of my favorite things in life is a Fresh Blackberry Milkshake. If you are ever in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest during blackberry season, I highly recommend local chain Burgerville's fresh blackberry ice cream shakes as a gold standard. But, if you can't make it there while they feature them, you can easily get some fresh (or frozen) blackberries and make it yourself. 

Instead of plain vanilla ice cream, I bought one of my all-time favorites, Tillamook's Marionberry Pie Ice Cream. It is a rich, creamy vanilla base with berries and little chunks of pie crust in it. So good!

Fresh Blackberry Milkshake
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 1 large Milkshake)

1 cup fresh blackberries
sugar, honey or other sweetener of choice as needed depending on blackberry sweetness
2 cups good vanilla ice cream, or berry-flavored ice cream as mentioned above
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half + more as needed

Place the blackberries and sweetener if using into a high-speed blender and puree. Add ice cream and cream or half-and-half and blend until smooth. Add more cream/half-and-half as needed to thin out to desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Results: Sweet, a little tangy, there's few milkshakes I find more delicious that a fresh blackberry milkshake. My berries were sweeter than I expected and so I didn't add any additional sweetener, but definitely taste as you go and add as necessary. Also, if you don't like seeds, you can cook the berries down and strain out the juice and discard the seeds. I don't mind them--along with the bites of crust in the Marionberry Pie ice cream I used, they give it a little texture. I will happily make it again. 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post. 

Note: A review copy of The Essence of Nathan Biddle was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.   
 
You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here. 

 

Honeysuckle Lemonade for Cook the Books April/May Pick: "Honeysuckle Season"

For once, I actually finished our selection for Cook the Books (our bi-monthly virtual foodie book club) a couple of weeks before the deadline. It just took me some time to decide what to make and then to order in some dried honeysuckle tea to make a simple syrup for a summery Honeysuckle Lemonade. But, before we get to the lemonade and syrup, let's talk about the book.

Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor is this round's book pick, selected and hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can see her announcement post here.) It's a great book for the spring into summer months and what I always think of as "fresh start" books, where the main character picks up and moves somewhere (often back home) to start a new chapter in their lives. In Honeysuckle Season, it's Libby who is dealing with miscarriages, a divorce, and her father's recent death, and has come back to her home town to restart a career as a wedding photographer. An important gig shooting a wedding has her connecting with the venue owner, Elaine Grant, who hires Libby to document the restoration of the greenhouse and grounds of Woodmont Estate. There's lots of secrets, both in the estate's history and in Libby's life, and a dual timeline of WWII and present day. The story is told primarily from the perspective of Libby and two characters from the past Sadie (a local girl and daughter of a moonshiner barely, whose family barely scrapes by) and Olivia (the new young British wife of a wealthy local physician). 

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters. Although it was a bit predictable in terms of the story, it was a good journey to get there and untwist all the secrets it the characters' lives. I would have liked to read more about Libby's best friend, Sierra and the cafe and sandwich shop she is opening with Libby's support, but hopefully that will be a follow up book some day. ;-)  

There was plenty of food in Honeysuckle Season. Mentions included coffee, scrambled eggs, strawberries, wedding cake, hibiscus tea, biscuits stuffed with Virginia ham, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, string beans, chardonnay, freshly baked bread, cookies, roasted chicken, pasta noodles, potatoes, salad, iced tea with sliced lemons, cheese and crackers, hummingbird cake, roast turkey, lemon cake, oat cereal and milk, bananas, cinnamon and apples, cinnamon rolls, ginger ale, mint chocolate ice cream, potato salad, corn on the cob, carrots, sans peas, squash, lavender, flour, sugar, and lard, hamburgers, bacon and coffee, vodka, bourbon, wine, sandwiches, barbecue and beer, pepperoni and cheese pizza, Diet Coke, fried chicken with corn bread, cupcakes, lemonade, beans, peanut-butter-and jelly sandwiches, and Popsicles.

For my bookish dish, I decided to combine the lemonade mentioned in the book with the honeysuckle syrup used in the moonshine. Since honeysuckle flowers are not easy to come by here, I ordered some dried honeysuckle flowers from Amazon.  There's a recipe for the syrup in the book but I kind of did my own thing in terms of proportions. I also made a very tart lemonade to mix with the syrup--just so it wasn't over-sweet.

Honeysuckle Syrup

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen with Inspiration from Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor

(Makes About 1 1/2 Cups)

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup dried honeysuckle blossoms

1 cup sugar

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove pan from heat and add the dried honeysuckle blossoms. Steep about 10 minutes then strain out the blossoms. Return pan with honeysuckle tea to stove over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 1 hour, then place in a glass jar in the refrigerator and chill overnight.

Tart Lemonade for Mixing

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes about 6 Cups)

2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 10-12 lemons), strained
4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste

1. 1. Pour the strained lemon juice into a large container. Add water and sugar, then stir until the sugar dissolves. Chill at least 2 hours in refrigerator.

To make Honeysuckle Lemonade: Fill tall glasses with ice. Mix Honeysuckle Syrup and Tart Lemonade to taste. (I used 1/3 syrup to 2/3 lemonade). Garnish with lemon slices and enjoy. 

Notes/Results: I am not normally a huge fan of floral flavors but I liked this much more than I thought I would. It tastes like I imagine a Southern summer day would--sweet, tart, flowery. You can of course adjust it to be sweeter, less sweet, more honeysuckle, etc. I will happily make it again. 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post. 

The deadline for this round is today and Debra will be rounding up the entries for Cook the Books on the website in a day or two. If you missed this round and you like books and food and foodie books, join us for our June/July pick 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman, hosted by Simona of briciole. 

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" by Ann Druyan, Served with a Recipe for Apple-Cranberry Cosmos

Sometimes, when this world we live in gets too crazy, I wonder what other worlds and dimensions are out there. That makes me very happy to be on the TLC Book Tour for Cosmos: Possible Worlds by Ann Druyan, a new book from National Geographic that lets me explore earth and space and civilization from my couch. Accompanying my review is a recipe for a refreshing and fall-flavored cocktail, the Apple-Cranberry Cosmopolitan, Inspired by the book's title.

 

Publisher's Blurb:

This sequel to Carl Sagan’s blockbuster continues the electrifying journey through space and time, connecting with worlds billions of miles away and envisioning a future of science tempered with wisdom.

Based on National Geographic’s internationally-renowned television series, this groundbreaking and visually stunning book explores how science and civilization grew up together. From the emergence of life at deep-sea vents to solar-powered starships sailing through the galaxy, from the Big Bang to the intricacies of intelligence in many life forms, acclaimed author Ann Druyan documents where humanity has been and where it is going, using her unique gift of bringing complex scientific concepts to life. With evocative photographs and vivid illustrations, she recounts momentous discoveries, from the Voyager missions in which she and her husband, Carl Sagan, participated to Cassini-Huygens’s recent insights into Saturn’s moons. This breathtaking sequel to Sagan’s masterpiece explains how we humans can glean a new understanding of consciousness here on Earth and out in the cosmos–again reminding us that our planet is a pale blue dot in an immense universe of possibility.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: National Geographic; Illustrated Edition (February 25, 2020)

 

 My Review:

Cosmos: Possible Worlds is tagged as "The Sequel to Carl Sagan's Beloved Classic", and so it couldn't have a more perfect author than the late Scientist and Astronomer's wife, Ann Druyan. Druyan is an author, producer and director who co-wrote Sagan's 1980 PBS documentary series, Cosmos and married him in 1981. Cosmos: Possible Worlds is the companion book to the National Geographic series and is a gorgeous look at science, explained clearly for the layperson. Full disclosure here--I didn't read Sagan's Cosmos, although I did watch the series, and I am only about half-way through Cosmos: Possible Worlds. (It's been a busy week, month, year and I struggled to find time to read the past couple of weeks.) What I have read, I have enjoyed; Druyan writes passionately and evocatively about space and science in a way that is exciting and explores the philosophies behind it. The book is full of the most gorgeous photographs and it is a treat to pick up and immerse myself in a chapter. I am looking forward to the long Thanksgiving weekend to catch up on my reading, including finishing this book. If you are a science buff you'll enjoy this book and if you know and love a science buff, it would make a great holiday gift!

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Author Notes: ANN DRUYAN is a celebrated writer and producer who co-authored many bestsellers with her late husband, Carl Sagan. She also famously served as creative director of the Voyager Golden Record, sent into space 40 years ago. Druyan continues her work as an interpreter of the most important scientific discoveries, partnering with NASA and the Planetary Society. She has served as Secretary of the Federation of American Scientists and is a laureate of the International Humanist Academy. Most recently, she received both an Emmy and Peabody Award for her work in conceptualizing and writing National Geographic’s first season of Cosmos.

I think there is really only one logical pairing for this book a Cosmopolitan. After all you can't beat cosmos for Cosmos. Since it's fall, I wanted my cosmo to have strong apple vibes, so I made a few substitutions from the usual vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec or Cointreau and lime juice.

This recipe is pretty loose, so add more or less of ingredients based on what you like or have on hand. If you don't have calvados (apple brandy), use the liquor you do have.You can also add more vodka if you want it boozier--I just don't drink alcohol very much these days, so I keep it on the lighter side. ;-)

Apple-Cranberry Cosmos

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen 

(Makes 2 Large Cocktails)

 

3 oz vodka of choice (I used a citrus vodka blend)

3 oz cranberry-apple juice

3 oz apple juice

1 1/2 oz calvados (apple brandy) 

1 1/2 oz lime juice

Combine vodka, cranberry-apple juice, apple juice juice, calvados and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold, about 20 seconds.

Pour into glasses and serve with apple slices if desired. 

Notes/Results: Crisp, refreshing, sweet but not too sweet and nicely apple-flavored, I really like this cosmo! It takes me back to the Sex and the City watch parties I used to have with my friends when cosmos were in their heyday. The only downside of these is that they are a bit too easy to suck down which makes them a little dangerous. ;-)  I will happily make them again.

 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post.

Note: A review copy of "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for my review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 
 
You can see the other stops for this TLC Book Tour and what other bloggers thought of the book here.

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Christmas Ever After" by Karen Schaler, Served with an Iced Cinnamon-Mocha Cocoa

It's only the start of October, it's warm and humid as all get out this week and yet, I am channeling the holidays by being today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for Christmas Ever After by Karen Schaler. It's a Hallmark movie in book form, and while it is set at a snowy Christmas-themed lodge in Colorado where a hot beverage would be most welcome, I am pairing my review with a more Hawaii weather-friendly Iced Cinnamon-Mocha Cocoa inspired by the book.

Publisher's Blurb:

From Karen Schaler, the writer of the Netflix phenomenon A Christmas Prince and Hallmark’s Christmas Camp comes this new heartwarming holiday romance. Mamma Mia meets The Bachelorette in Christmas Ever After…

While promoting her next novel, a Christmas love story, author Riley Reynolds is caught off guard when she’s asked during a live national television interview how she can write about romance when she still hasn’t found “the one” herself. Scrambling for an answer, she quickly answers that she has had great love in her past and that love inspired her novels. Little does she know that this one offhanded remark will turn her world upside down. Three of her ex-boyfriends see the interview, and each, believing she’s talking about him, shows up for her Christmas Camp book event at the Christmas Lake Lodge, determined to rewrite his happily-ever-after with her! Over the festive weekend, Riley’s old boyfriends compete to win her heart, pulling out all the stops while planning the most romantic Christmas dates on the planet. Despite herself, Riley starts falling for each guy- again-but for different reasons. As Riley revisits each relationship and discovers more about herself, she embraces the magic of Christmas and finally finds true love and her own Christmas ever after…

Bonus Content: Christmas Ever After includes delicious original Christmas recipes and fun holiday crafts and activities.

Paperback: 396 pages
Publisher: Hawktale Publishing (September 29, 2020)
 

My Review:

On one hand I am probably not the target for this book as I am not a big romance reader or Hallmark Christmas movie fan, and I tend to be slightly Grinch-ish about the holidays in that like them in small doses andI  don't want holiday music, decorations or festivity until WAY after Thanksgiving. Why jump on this tour then? Honestly, the state of the world has me wanting more simple and happy-ending books right now, my best friend is a Hallmark Channel Super-Fan, and I was promised food and recipes!

Happily Ever After really is like a Hallmark Christmas Movie, not surprising given the author has written several of them for Hallmark, Netflix and Lifetime. So those who love them are pretty well guaranteed to love this book. I liked it. There was clean romance, likable secondary characters, a very appealing hero, an adorable dog, and even some humor. While I didn't immediately like the main character (I found her a tad whiny) she grew on me as the book went along. Our weather this week made the whole winter lodge and holiday-decorated Colorado town with snowstorms setting very appealing--I SO wanted to make snow angels! 

Was it predictable? Yes, but charmingly so. It's why my friend Barb loves these movies--you know going into it that a happy ending is well in sight. I'm going to send it to her and insist she make me the Christmas Lake Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls from the recipes and activities in the back of the book as she's a baker too. (Sometimes our best friends are our antithesis!) There's also a recipe for Christmas Lake Gingerbread XOXO Cookies, two recipes for bird-friendly ornaments and a list of ecofriendly Christmas tips. If you do have the Christmas spirit or need to get some and/or are looking for a lighter read, this is a great curl-up-under-a-blanket-with-a-cup-of-cocoa kind of book. 

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Author Notes: Karen Schaler is a three-time Emmy Award–winning storyteller, screenwriter, author, journalist, and national TV host. Karen has written original Christmas movies for Netflix, Hallmark, and Lifetime, including the Netflix sensation A Christmas Prince, Hallmark’s Christmas Camp, and four books, Christmas Ever After, Finding Christmas, Christmas Camp, and Christmas Camp Wedding, earning her the nickname “Christmas Karen” in the press. Karen has also created a real-life Christmas Camp experience for grown-ups, held around the world, where she carefully curates and hosts magical holiday activities from her movies and books and the show Christmas Karen: Behind the Story. For Karen’s novel Finding Christmas she also wrote the movie. Traveling to more than sixty-five countries, Karen is the creator and host of Travel Therapy TV. All of Karen’s stories are uplifting and filled with heart and hope.

Find out more about Karen at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 Food Inspiration:

I am not going to lie, I thought there would be more food in the book and I wanted it there. I am that weird food-loving reader who likes to read what people ate for breakfast--not just that they had it. Besides the aforementioned recipes, there was still some food inspiration in the book that included, spiked hot cocoa, baking cookies, tapas and wine, mulled wine, Parmesan truffle fries, churros with extra sugar, gingerbread xoxo cookies, coffee and sugar cookies, candy canes, champagne, assorted movie candy treats, granola bars, homemade croissants and fresh fruit, chocolate-covered strawberries, fresh oysters and mussels, steak, lobster and crème brûlée. 

For my book-inspired dish, I decided to go with a combination of all of the hot cocoas consumed in the book, along with all the coffee laced with a lot of cinnamon that the main character Riley drank throughout the story. Since it's so hot and humid here this week, I wanted an icy drink, but you could easily heat up the milk and add the other ingredients (leaving out the ice of course) for a cold-weather treat. 

I used instant coffee (Starbucks Via Italian Roast) to make my iced coffee--simple and no fuss as it dissolves pretty well in cold liquids (running the ingredients through the blender helps mix it and the cinnamon nicely), but you could use any instant coffee or espresso or cold brew coffee. 

Iced Cinnamon-Mocha Cocoa

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 1-2 Servings)

 

1 packet Zia Instant coffee or enough cold-brewed coffee or instant coffee to make up about 1 1/2 cups strong coffee

1 tsp cinnamon or to taste + more for garnish

3 Tbsp chocolate syrup of choice

1 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)

1 heaping cup ice 

whipped cream to garnish 

Put the instant coffee cinnamon, chocolate syrup, almond milk, and ice to a blender jar. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses or mugs and garnish with whipped cream and a light dusting of cinnamon.

Notes/Results:  Coffee, chocolate and cinnamon might seem like one good thing too many to combine into one drink but it works really well together, Riley in the book dumped tons of cinnamon into her coffee, but I kept  it to a normal level. Certainly you can adjust it for your tastes. This hit the spot on a hot afternoon and I would happily make it again!

 I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post.

Note: A review copy of "Christmas Ever After" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for my review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 
 
You can see the other stops for this TLC Book Tour and what other bloggers thought of the book here.

 Happy Weekend!

 

Blog Tour book Review for "Mayhem" by Estelle Laure, Served with a Fruity Green Juice Smoothie Recipe

Happy Aloha Friday! It has been a long week and I am so happy for the weekend. To help take us there, I have a review the new young adult novel, Mayhem by Estelle Laure and accompanying my review is a Fruity Green Juice Smoothie, inspired by the book.

Back Cover Blurb:

The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.

It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy"s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem's own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren't like everyone else. 

But when May's stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. 

But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost. 

From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle
Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of
women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.

                                             Wednesday Books (July 14, 2020) 304 pages

My Review: 

When I first signed up to be on the blog tour for this book it was tagged as a mash up between The Lost Boys (one of my 80s movie favorites) and The Craft (another movie I enjoyed) although now the publisher's blurb is saying The Lost Boys and Wilder Girls (on my TBR list) and a feminist YA novel. Since I have not read Wilder Girls I can't comment on that, but definitely the setting is totally The Lost Boys with the California town of Santa Maria in the book modeled on Santa Clarita in the movie and of course Santa Cruz in real life. There are vampires--although we really manly hear mention of them, a few movie lines sprinkled in, and even the vampire-chasing characters The Frog Brothers--who look, dress and act the same as they do in the movie. They don't play a role in the story so I think it is just mainly a homage to the movie and if there are no copyright issues, I have no beef with them being there and like what they add to the setting. The book is set primarily in 1987, and I love the era and having spent a little time as a tween on vacation in Santa Cruz in the earlier 80s, the California beachy boardwalk setting is perfect for the book and its magic and darkness. 

There are a lot of potential triggers in the story from domestic abuse, drug use and abuse, sexual assault and crimes against women. The author addresses these triggers in her forward and said she wrote it so girls who feel powerless could imagine being invincible and a bit as a healing salve for her own past. The main character, Mayhem, and her mother Roxie return to Santa Maria from Texas after more than a decade of Roxie running away from the pain and life there after her love and Mayhem's father's tragic death. Mayhem knows little about her family, the only father and grandparents she knew were her stepfather, Lyle, and his family and they aren't good experiences. Lyle abused Roxy, and it isn't until he starts on Mayhem that the two flee back to the Brayburn family farm that Mayhem's aunt runs. There Mayhem meets the three foster children her aunt has taken in and is getting ready to adopt, and she begins to learn the family history from a journal started by her great-grandmother and added to over the years by other Brayburn women. The journal, the odd behaviors of the community toward her family (gift baskets at the front gate in tribute), the constant presence of crows, and other weird things begin to put the puzzle pieces in place for Mayhem to discover she comes of a line of very powerful women with supernatural powers. Mixed in with the family drama, there are missing teenage girls in Santa Maria and it is suspected they are the victims of a serial killer, that Mayhem and her new family try to identify. I don't want to go too much into the details of what happens, as if you are going to read this book, it's best to let the story unfold, which it does quickly, picking up pace and tension as it does. 

Overall, Mayhem was a good, dark, nostalgic escape. It's a fast read at just over 300 pages and I would have liked a bit more development for some of the characters and a less abrupt end. There are a couple parts of what happened that I am still unclear about--perhaps left purposefully vague. With the subject matter, I would say it would be better for older teens and young adults rather than younger. If like me you are a Lost Boys fan and love your 80s with a good dose of female empowerment thrown in, you should enjoy it.



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Author Notes: Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults,
and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely
around the world.

You can connect with Estelle on Twitter or Instagram.
 

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Food Inspiration:

There was food to be found in Mayhem and it ran the gamut from convenience foods to healthy, natural foods. Mentions included Cheetos, granola, soft-boiled egg, soup, Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, cake iced with colored sugar, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Coke, donuts, bulgur wheat and nutritional yeast, coffee, frozen yogurt, little cakes with delicate flower icing, roast and potatoes, lettuce, oranges and baskets of fruit, chocolate-covered almonds, rock candies, vegetables, Rockets and Fudgescicles, hot cocoa, tacos, chimichurri sauce, green juices and fruit, green tomatoes, fresh peaches from the orchard, mint iced tea, plums, ice cream cones, rice and beans, with lime juice, a salad of avocado, lettuce, cucumbers, and pumpkin seeds, cheese plate, jelly beans, and tea.

For my bookish dish, I was going to make rice and beans and the salad with avocados, cucumbers and pumpkin seeds or a vegan version of the Barbacoa tacos mentioned in the book using jackfruit. Alas, I have had a small stomach thing this week and it wasn't interested in having any of those things inside it. Instead, I went to the the chapter in the book where Mayhem comes down to a table full of green juice and fruit and decided to make a green juice smoothie full of fruity goodness.

Smoothie recipes are pretty fluid--you can use what you have on hand or what fruit look like best. If you use frozen fruit and banana with cold juice you don't need ice cubes but if your fruit is fresh, ice cues will help thicken your smoothie.   
Fruity Green Juice Smoothie
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 2 Servings)

1 banana, chopped and frozen
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 cup apple juice (if you want less sweetness, use water or unsweetened almond milk)
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp chia seeds, optional 
2 cups baby spinach or greens of choice
about 10 leaves fresh mint

Put ingredients into the container of a high-speed blender. Start blending on low speed and increase to high. Blend on high speed for 50-60 seconds until mixture is smooth.If smoothie is too thick, add additional juice or water until desired consistency. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Notes/Results:  This smoothie is on the sweeter side which was perfect for what my stomach said it wanted or any recalcitrant children unwilling to eat their greens. I added the mint, chia seeds and pineapple juice to make it better for my digestion and it helped. I had one portion when I made it and saved the second for the next day. I will still make the tacos and salad at some point, but I will happily make and drink this again.


I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event that was held at Beth Fish Reads, but is now being hosted with Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. You can see this past week's post here.

Note: A review copy of "Mayhem" was provided to me by the publisher in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.