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The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

YOU’VE GOT MAIL meets HOW TO EAT A CUPCAKE in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.

In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.

Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.

The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?

Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together. – Goodreads

Why have I not heard more about this book?!

I’ll admit, the first chapter or so had me considering DNF’ing it – it’s your typical ‘girl breaks up with boy that is terrible, meets new boy but new boy is actually horrible person but is he really’ story. BUT! I stuck through, mostly because the food descriptions were out of this world and I had to see what else Lou was going to make. And holy cow, did it get good!

First of all, it helped a lot that I’ve been to Wisconsin. You’re talking to a die-hard, life-long Packers fan right here, and I’ve tasted the amazingness that is frozen custard and cheese curds. I didn’t realize they were in Wisconsin until she started talking about the Brewers and squeaky cheese curds, at which point I was fully committed to this story.

Yes, it’s a plot line I’ve seen done over and over. Yes, there is a ‘love triangle’ of sorts (part of that triangle is only one sided though, so does it really count?). But there’s FOOD and PACKERS so I obviously loved it. Reichert has a way with words that makes you truly feel like you’re there, walking through Milwaukee with Lou & Al, or dancing in the rain at the Irish Festival, or eating that scrumptious coconut cake. It’s amazing!

While all of the above is true, I really love how Reichert handled the story. I love that she put a new spin on it, in a different place that isn’t overdone like NYC or California (I feel like everyone’s always in NYC or California… is that just me??) and her writing is truly captivating. I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads & I highly, highly recommend reading this – just make sure you’re not hungry when you do! 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: 11/17

Tuesday

Top Ten Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So

“Too many people say something when they really have nothing to say.” – Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave
“The truth doesn’t matter. It only matters what the people believe.” – Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen
“Fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be.” – Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes
“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.” – Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone
“My soul sees its equal in you.” – Renee Ahdiah, The Wrath and The Dawn
“We all need our quiet, I think. We all have our unspoken wishes, hopes we cannot mention, choices we may yet regret.” – Intisar Khanani, Thorn
“Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense.” – Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project
“I knew from the start that your loyalty would get you killed. I just never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it.” – Susan Ee, Angelfall
“…I like to be around all these books. They’re very good at making you forget your troubles. It’s like having a million friends, wrapped in paper and scrawled in ink” – Melissa Grey, The Girl at Midnight
“I didn’t trust people who forgot to eat.” – Jennifer Weiner, Who Do You Love

Paladin by Sally Slater

Brash, cocky, and unbeatable with a sword (well, almost), Sam of Haywood is the most promising Paladin trainee in the kingdom of Thule… and knows it. The only problem is that Sam is really Lady Samantha, daughter of the seventeenth Duke of Haywood, and if her father has his way, she’ll be marrying a Paladin, not becoming one.

But Sam has never held much interest in playing damsel-in-distress, and so she rescues herself from a lifetime of boredom and matrimonial drudgery. Disguised as a boy, Sam leaves home behind to fight demons-—the most dangerous monsters in Thule—-alongside the kingdom’s elite warriors. Pity that Tristan Lyons, the Paladin assigned to train her, is none other than the hero of her childhood. He hasn’t recognized her–yet–but if he does, he’ll take away her sword and send her packing.

Sam is not the only trainee hiding secrets: Braeden is a half-demon with a dark past that might be unforgivable. Whether he can be trusted is anyone’s guess, including his.

As demons wreak havoc across the land, rebellion stirs in the West, led by a rival faction of warriors.

A war between men is coming, and Sam must pick a side. Will saving the kingdom cost her life–or just her heart? – Goodreads

I took a hell of a long time to write this review—why? Because I loved this sucker so much.

Look, I’m no stranger to the fantasy YA scene. In fact, it’s my poison of choice. Tamora Pierce, JK Rowling, Sarah Maas, Ursula Le Guin…I’m not going to list more because you get the idea. I love them.

Paladin reminded me of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna series—but honestly, only because of the female-posing-as-male-to-kick-ass aspect. The actual concept of the Paladin was new to me, and I appreciated that.

Paladins are demon fighters. That’s pretty much it. They literally train to kill the demons that have infested their land. Throw in some politics and rebellion and boom—you’ve got war and intrigue.

I loved the romance aspect of this book. It was very subtle, no instalove—just love between two friends. It developed slowly and naturally and didn’t overshadow the actual plot. Sam also maintained her badassness, which seems to be a trait that falls away when two characters fall in love.

The character development was fantastic! I felt like I really knew Sam by the end, and I also loved Braedon. I would have liked to get to know more about Tristan, so there was some development left to be desired there.

The worldbuilding was also great, and I felt that I could picture every demon they came in contact with, every pub, every bit of scenery. It was wonderful, and really nailed it.

Overall, I couldn’t put it down and I absolutely loved it. This gem is super cheap on Amazon, so go pick up a copy! You won’t regret it. I rated it a 5/5 and added it to my favorites shelf.

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent story lines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him. – Goodreads

When I was reading the first chapter of this, I was really worried that I was going to hate it. I didn’t click with Hannah right away, and in that first part she seems so… whiny and needy and… terrible. She was not someone I wanted to click with, to be perfectly honest. But then, I kept reading and it clicked and the story got SO GOOD. I’m so glad I stuck with it!

I know I say this a lot, but I really haven’t ever read anything like this before. It’s two separate stories, about the same girl – the only difference is the decision she made one night and how her life played out afterwards. It’s a great reminder of how the littlest things can send your entire life down a completely different track and I love that lesson! Have you ever thought ‘if I had done x instead of x… where would I be right now?’ or ‘if I had taken this job instead of this one… would I have met this person still?’ – it’s crazy to think that all of these seemingly little decisions we make every day of our lives, add up to such big ones!

I will say that I favored one storyline much more than another… the one where Hannah leaves the bar, I think is my favorite. She grows so much because of the incidents that follow, matures and finds someone absolutely perfect for her. On the other hand, I love Hannah and Gabby’s relationship/friendship/being there for eachother in the storyline where she stays at the bar… either way though, I love the book!

I gave Maybe in Another Life 5/5 stars on Goodreads & I definitely say take a chance on this one – stick through the first chapter, stick through until you see the different paths Hannah has in front of her, and I’m betting by then? You’ll be hooked just like I was.

Thursday Things 11/12

Look! My Harry Potter tattoo was featured on Mel Reads Comics last week. My leg is famous. 🙂

I haven’t been quiet about my distaste for all things Twilight, but I saw this post about Stephenie Meyer’s picks for a Life and Death movie… and I kind of like it?! I love Emma Stone & I’d watch anything with her in it.

Personally, I feel like all of the drama over the Starbucks red cup is stupid, and Buzzfeed perfectly summarizes my feelings with this post. Seriously people – plain red “ombre” cups does not equal a war on Christmas!!

Disney princesses + Hogwarts!!!! It’s like someone went into my head and published my dreams on paper (or the internet, same difference). Ursula as Umbridge is GENIUS.

I actually already received The Grownup from this list, and Leah Remini’s book Troublemaker as well as Shonda’s Year of Yes were on my TBR list already, but Khloe Kardashian wrote a book and Richelle Mead’s new one sounds good too so I guess my TBR list will never end. Also, did anyone else have no idea that Mariah Carey came out with a book?! No? Just me? Oh well. #bookbloggerfail

ALL OF THE YES TO THIS POST!!! You should NEVER EVER feel bad or embarrassed about what you’re reading.

Okay… so I’ve taken over Top Ten Tuesday (because I love it) and Kiesha has taken over Thursday Things (because she loves it)…but I’m butting here and sharing these super cute book page pumpkin DIYs for Thanksgiving!

Michael Symon’s 5 in 5 for Every Season: 165 Quick Dinners, Sides, Holiday Dishes, and More

5 fresh ingredients + 5 minutes of heat = 165 recipes

Ridiculously easy from-scratch recipes to get you in and out of the kitchen in a flash every day of the week—now with sides and holiday dishes, too

The follow-up to the bestselling Michael Symon’s 5 in 5, this new book delivers 165 quick, easy, fresh recipes organized by season with an entire section devoted to making the holidays simpler than ever. Each chapter features inspired main courses as well as recipes for sides and 5 fun ways to celebrate the season, including no-bake summer fruit desserts and spiked drinks to warm up with in winter.

I loved the idea of this—five fresh, seasonal ingredients that can be cooked in five minutes. I work eight hours a day (occasionally 10-12) and don’t want to spend my evening cooking. I’d like to make something healthy and fresh in less than thirty minutes.

So, I picked this up and chose three recipes from the fall/winter categories. I chose one “sketchy” sounding one, one I knew HAD to be good, and one I wasn’t sure on.

Pork & Cranberries

I wasn’t sure on this one, but the thought of Thanksgiving cranberries had me like, yeah. The ingredients were easy to find (oranges, jalapeno, ginger, cranberries). Prep took about fifteen minutes to mince the jalapeno, juice and zest the oranges and grate the ginger. The verdict? 2/5. The cranberries were SO bitter that we couldn’t even eat them….we just ate the pork (which was delish).

Pulled Chicken, Rigatoni & Feta Cheese

I had a 12-hour day, so the husband made this one. He says it was super easy and he liked how easy the directions were. The only thing that was off was the serving size—we made a GIANT pot of pasta using these directions and it easily served 8 rather than 4. It tasted alright, though! I think 3tbsp of salt in the pasta is a little much. I’d rate this one 3/5.

Pork & Gingered Plums

This one sounded sketchy, but I think you have to try the sketchy ones to see if a cookbook is all it’s cracked up to be. Believe it or not, this one was my favorite. Husband also prepped and cooked this one. The pork was great, and the plums were weird in a good way. The cilantro really added the final touch it needed to balance out the sweet.

Overall, I wasn’t that happy with this cookbook. I rated it a 3/5. Maybe my tastes aren’t that refined or something, but I wasn’t a huge fan of what I had.

I received this from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Top Ten Tuesday: 11/10

Tuesday

Top Five Book To Movie Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To

The 5th Wave | I really enjoyed the first book, and I think I’ll enjoy the movie, too. I’m not the biggest fan of Chloe Grace Moretz (I feel that she’s the same quiet, angsty character over and over) but I think she’ll be good as Cassie Sullivan.
Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them | Duh. Though annoyed with the constant reshaping and “new” Harry Potter things emerging, I’m excited to see this. Though I am still an avid anti-No-Maj-er.
The Darkest Minds | I enjoyed the books and actually thought while reading them that they would make a great film!
Mockingjay: Part 2 | I definitely love the books more, but I don’t mind watching these. It’s been long enough since I’ve read the books that I don’t notice the little errors and omissions.
Red Queen | YAAAAAS. Release date unknown, but so much yes.

Five Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch

6. Paper Towns | I read this in high school and loved it, but Bret won’t watch this with me.

7. The Martian | I’m still debating on whether or not I’ll read the book first.

8. The Monuments Men | This has been out foreeeever, but I still haven’t seen it!

9. The Book Thief | Now that I think about it, I need to see this one, too.

10. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Well, okay. I own this and have tried watching it—twice—but keep falling asleep. Not because it’s boring, but because I’ve chosen terribly tired times to watch it!

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts

A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings.

The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that’s left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand. – Goodreads

UGHHHHH. I’m just going to get right down to the nitty-gritty & tell you – this was so bad. SO BAD. I had the biggest issue with one particular person’s story line – Sienna. Zan and Caden had story lines that, while not as atrocious as Sienna’s, still did nothing for me. I wish I hadn’t read this. Seriously.

The reason I have such a huge issue with Sienna’s story is because everything is so vague. Her dad comes to pick her up from the House (rehab I’m assuming? It never says right out) and there are a lot of references to her mom ‘being sick’ and ‘getting worse’. From what I understood, after Sienna’s mom passed away, Sienna tried to kill herself. But honestly? I have no idea if that’s really what happened because we never address that issue. Coutts also skirt-tailed around what Sienna’s mom was sick with so…? WTF people. The only thing I could gather is that she was bipolar/manic-depressive and that’s just because Sienna’s dad mentioned her not being ‘manic.’ It’s so stupid! If you’re going to write a book about dealing with mental health, you need to actually explain what it is otherwise no one will understand. Goodness gracious. (sorry for this insane paragraph).

The other thing about Sienna is that she comes home (to their beach house) and out of the damn blue, falls head over heels in love with this random dude she hasn’t seen since she was like 8. NO. Just… no. This just adds to me thinking that she was more going on than just a suicide attempt. She’s SO into Owen, and runs off with him with less than 48 hours until the world is obliterated, leaving her dad & brother with their dad’s new girlfriend/fiance… and then changes her mind totally randomly and goes back home?! WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL PEOPLE.

Zan also annoyed me – her story line was about a missing sister and her boyfriend that died 10 months ago who she ‘talks’ to on a rock every day. And her boyfriend’s best friend taking her on a ‘scavenger hunt’ to figure out if said boyfriend was cheating on her when he died. Come onnnnnn.

The only thing that irked me about Caden’s story was that his dad kidnapped him and then bought him a hooker. What kind of person does that? His dad was the worst.

This book was the worst. Please don’t waste your time. Don’t read it. Forget it exists. I gave it 2/5 stars on Goodreads because I was being nice… and then I switched it to 1/5 because I don’t want anyone to think this is salvageable. I’ve never not liked a book so much and honestly? It’s because of the ‘maybe bipolar/manic depressive/suicidal’ thing… I’ve dealt with bipolar & manic depression a lot in my life and it’s not a subject that should ever be hinted at or skirted around because you don’t want to address it head on… it’s not something to take lightly & I really feel like this is exactly what happened here. Disappointment is not even half of what I’m feeling, especially since this is the first book I’ve read that’s ever even tried to address it (or did it?).

and thus concludes my longest review ever that is mostly ranting but oh well. If you got this far, I’m proud. Until next time!

Two Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother–or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. – Goodreads

I loved this one. Not head-over-heels, shout-it-from-the-rooftops-and-carry-a-boombox kind of love, but I did enjoy it and will be recommending it to others.

For starters, I liked the originality of the alien attacks. I liked the mystery surrounding the aliens. I liked how dark and gritty it was—it was real. There is no such thing as a happy ending when most of the world’s population has been wiped out.

In the first wave, the power grid goes out. Cars, computers, cell phones—zap. Done. In the second wave, the aliens mess with the fault lines and wipe out the coasts. In the third wave, a terrible plague. In the fourth wave, the Silencers—alien assassins sent to pick off the survivors.

It’s now time for the 5th wave.

I was constantly on the edge of my seat for this one—biting my nails for each of the characters that spoke. The book is told from four points-of-view—Cassie, Zombie, Sammy, and Evan. It’s awesome. Usually I would hate that style, but Rick Yancey does it right. It works really, really well.

I loved the character development. I was very attached to all of the main characters—I was rooting for them, worried for them, sad for them. Their personalities are portrayed very well—but it was their emotions that really got me.

In all, I rated this a 4/5 and definitely recommend! There is some talk of sex and limited use of the F word, so I would recommend 15+.

This book was so different than any other dystopian/alien story I’ve ever read and I loved it for that! The characters were all different and it was interesting to see the different takes from each of them throughout the story.

The way the aliens did things – the waves that they sent to Earth – were so real it was creepy. If aliens actually did show up, this is exactly how I’d picture them doing things and that freaks me out. The first wave, when the power grid goes out, was the freakiest because the power in our town kept going out while we were reading it. Lauren & I joked a lot about how the Others had finally arrived but truthfully – it could really happen.

Overall, the story was really good. It was full of suspense and right as something was about to happen, it would jump to another character – normally I hate this, Yancy did it right and kept me interested for the entire book. Seeing how different age groups, genders, etc. viewed the entire situation was also really nice – we were experiencing it from many different points instead of a stagnant single one.

I rated The 5th Wave 4/5 on Goodreads and I DEFINITELY recommend it!

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’s April Genevieve Tucholke.

Each story draws from a classic tale or two—sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not—to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill.

This is a tough one to review because there are so many different short stories, and some of them are very easily given away if you try to summarize them, so bear with me. Overall, I rated the book 4/5 on Goodreads, and I definitely recommend it to EVERYONE. (Unless you have a weak stomach or get scared easily.) It is by far one of the most creepy and psychotic books I’ve ever read, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

That being said, here is how I would rate each story individually:

Nova Ren Suma’s “The Birds of Azalea Street”– 4/5 – Perfect opener! It had just the right amount of twisty/creepiness, especially once the girls got into the neighbor’s house and saw the room with the cage (vague I know, but I don’t want to give anything away!). Not scary really at all.

Carrie Ryan’s “In the Forest Dark and Deep” – 5/5 – SCARY AND CREEPY AND WEIRD AS F***. I loved it though! It had a great twist and really good inspiration (Alice in Wonderland) and was overall really creepy. I tried to describe it to Lauren but I don’t think I did a very good job. I really wish this one was longer or had an actual full story to it, I want to know more!

Cat Winters’ “Emmeline” – 2/5 – I wasn’t a fan of this one and almost DNFd it. It wasn’t creepy, it wasn’t scary, and honestly, it felt like the author was trying too hard – although her world-building was very good!

Leigh Bardugo’s “Verse Chorus Verse” – 2/5 – Not scary. Not creepy. Just weird, and I didn’t like the mom at all so I was more annoyed than anything while reading it. I was very close to DNFing it as well.

Megan Shepherd’s “Hide and Seek” – 3.5/5 – A girl tries to cheat death by playing a game of hide and seek? Definitely a take I’ve never read before! It was interesting but not scary… creepy though, for sure and reminded me of the Final Destination movies a lot. Also, the girl (I don’t remember her name) was super witty and the way it ends was brilliant.

Danielle Paige’s “The Dark, Scary Parts and All” – 1/5 – Least favorite, partly because I barely even remember it and what I do remember reminds me too much of Twilight but with the devil instead of vampires.

April Genevieve Tucholke’s “The Flicker, the Fingers, the Beat, the Sigh”– 2.5/5 – This was way too predictable and too similar to the stories it took inspiration from. While it did have a creepy factor, it just wasn’t done as well as I would have liked, especially compared to some of the others in this book.

Jonathan Maberry’s “Fat Girl with a Knife” – 3.5/5 – ZOMBIES! Love that there was a zombie story, love even more that the girl that everyone bullies ends up being the most badass of them all.

Jay Kristoff’s “Sleepless” – 4.5/5 – This one stuck out to me as the most realistic, as it could actually be happening. It was even creepier because of the way things unfolded and seeing it from a certain point of view. Definitely loved it and the ending was like icing on a cake, totally perfect.

Stefan Bachman’s “M” – 3.5/5 – How in the world did the kids know everything that was happening?! This one was creepy and twisty too, but I wish there had been more to it… it lacked something for me.

Marie Lu’s “The Girl Without a Face” – 4.5/5 – I can’t bring myself to give this 5/5 even though it was SO GOOD, so 4.5 it is. This was scary and creepy and twisty all rolled up into one insane story. At first, I was really skeptical, but the more I read… the more things made sense and I realized what was happening. Love Marie Lu!

McCormick Templeman’s “A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow” – 2.5/5 – This one didn’t ‘mesh’ well with the rest of the stories and stuck out to me because of that – not for good reasons. The writing was really good, and the story was interesting but there wasn’t enough of it to suck me in. I do think it would make a really good book though!

A.G. Howard’s “Stitches” – 5/5 – hands down, 100%, my favorite of the entire bunch. This story has stuck with me since I finished the book and is the one I remember most vividly. Definitely the twistiest in my mind.

Kendare Blake “On the I-5” – 4/5 – CREEPY. It took me much longer than I’d like to admit to piece together what was actually happening and when I did? LOVE. Totally brilliant and new take on getting revenge. Another story that I was wanting more from and wished for it to be longer.

These weren’t all your typical Halloween ‘monster’ stories, there were actually quite a few that played on real-life situations like pedophiles, kidnapping, murder, etc. and that was really surprising but didn’t take away from the stories at all, if anything it made them scarier because they could actually happen.

I’m planning on looking up books by some of these authors so I can keep reading their work. It really is your perfect Halloween read, especially if you’re into scary, twisty stories.

Happy reading & have a great Halloween!