Month: October 2016

Witches of East End Book Review
jacqui_monet
October 25, 2016

witches

Title: Witches of East End

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Series: Witches of East End (book 1)

Genre: SciFi, Fantasy,

Pages: 288

Ok, so my favorite writer for the past few years has been Melissa de la Cruz of the Blue Bloods and the Ashleys series. I have loved almost every book that she has written. I mean, there was one that I got less than a chapter into and pitched it. But this book was great! In keeping with the Halloween theme I read The Witches of East End.

The Witches of East End is the first in her series about a pair of sisters and their mother who try to live quiet lives without magic in a simple cottage in the Hamptons. Now, I feel that I must add that this is not a “pretty, rich, white girls with problems they created” type of book. In fact, not all the problems that come their way are their fault. Trouble tends to come to them because they are a little too generous. You see, they have been banned from using their powers but then one of them does so to help a friend who’s been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. Then they all start helping people. THEN they get accused of being witches. So much for laying low. The story is really interesting and has since become a series on Lifetime which is also pretty good.

Speaking of series: if you have read the Blue Bloods series of the same author (which you should in order to be able to laugh at certain jokes) you will recognize characters that have cameos. I’m not saying that you should read all of those to be able to understand this book, but I am saying that you should read this between Blue Blood books 7 and 8. Mimi talks about some of the action that takes place in this book, therefore it’s crucial for BB fans to read this.

 

Check out the links below to get the book yourself:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Cleo’s Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
jacqui_monet
October 16, 2016

The girls of Monster High are definitely of the “pumpkin spice latte” persuasion. Concerned with friends, fashion, boys and trying to pass their classes the ghouls are basically your average teen aged girls. That being said, grab your apron ‘cuz it’s time to get baking!

You will need:

Flour 1 ½ cup

Ground Cinnamon ½ tsp

Salt ½ Tbsp

Egg White 3

Baking Soda ½ Tbsp

Baking Powder ½ Tbsp

Ground Cloves ¼ tsp

Ground Nutmeg ¼ tsp

Sugar 1 ½ cup

Fat free Vanilla Yogurt ½ cup

Canned Pumpkin 1 cup

2 bowls, 1 oven, sifter, whisk, greased loaf pan

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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg into a bowl.

In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt and egg whites.

Stir in the pumpkin.

Stir the dry ingredients from earlier.

Transfer the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes.

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Once completely cooled I like to top it with a powdered sugar glaze. It’s just about equal parts of water and powdered sugar. It should be smooth and slightly runny.

Alternative:

Instead of a loaf pan, you could use mini Bundt cake pans.

You can also sub the powdered sugar glaze for store bought cream cheese frosting. YUM!

Monster High Book Review
jacqui_monet
October 8, 2016

MH

Title: Monster High

Author: Lisi Harrison

Series: Monster High (book 1)

Genre: YA/ SciFi

Pages: 246

Review:

So I started reading Monster High by Lisi Harrison, and when I say “started” I mean that I’ve inhaled all four of the original books. Ms. Harrison is the woman who brought us The Clique and Alphas. That being said, although I initially loved the idea of famous monsters’ children (or grandchildren) attending a normal high school while reluctantly “hiding with pride” I was afraid that the story would be well, shallow.

Ms. Harrison’s characters in her previous stories have tended to be incredibly one dimensional. I am glad to share that this series has been great. Heck, she even has a mean girl learn her lesson. Unlike Sharpay from High School Musical who has to relearn her lesson over and over and… Done with the rant. Anyway…

I love her decision to use nearly all of the different characters that Universal Studios explored in the 1930s. The books have everything from swamp monsters to mummies and Hyde to the son of Medusa. All of the characters are very different from each other and even though some of them are popular kids at the school, Lisi Harrison does a great job at making sure that they all have different goals and anxieties. Not all of them are popular by the way, some of them are practically invisible to those around them especially Billy (but he actual is invisible).

There is also a good mix of “normies” or normal kids like Melody and her sister Candace who move to Oregon from Beverly Hills at the beginning of the first book.

I say read the books or buy them for a teen girl you know. It’s a great way to introduce SciFi to younger people without being too out there. Another plus is that it’s a series and introducing a series to a young reader is the best way to ensure that they continue reading. Simply put: if they love the characters, they will want to know what happens to them.

Remember, if this book interests you, check out the links below to experience Monster High for yourself.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Audio Books

*Side note: my brother Josh and I plan to be dressing up as Clawd and Clawdeen Wolf, the werewolf siblings at the high school, for Phoenix ComiCon next year. There is also a cartoon for Monster High on youtube, but be aware that it doesn’t follow the story line of the books AT ALL. Think of cartoon as more of an extended epilogue. I still think it’s kinda cute though. They have also released some full length animated features and a live action film is in the works (supposedly).

MIA: A Sad Story and Other Things
jacqui_monet
October 2, 2016

So it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted. I know, I suck.

As you know by day I’m an actress and I’ve started another school tour run which will transfer to a big playhouse in the middle of this month. The  three person show I’m in only rehearsed for 2 week before opening.  We perform anywhere from 10 to 15 times a week at 5 to 10 schools. My day goes a little like this: wake up early, meet the van, drive to the school, unload, build the set, perform, Q and A, tear down the set and drive to the next school. Blah, blah, blah. It’s tough on the body and the brain, but it’s totally worth it.

Last week The Husband and I had our own craziness at home. We got the keys to our new apartment (YAY!), started to move our stuff in (ugh) and last Sunday The Husband and I suffered a miscarriage.

It was scary, and painful and I spent time in the hospital. But, like they say, “the show mus go on”, and it did. Last week I performed 9 shows. It was really hard to be around children, but I did it. I only cried a few times while at the schools, but I made it through. His mom sent me beautiful flowers and gave me her medical wisdom the whole way through and my mother spent the weekend with us to help us during these transitions.

So, that my friends, is what I’ve been up to  these past couple of weeks.

awareness