Impostors

jacqui_monet
March 22, 2019

Title: Impostors

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Series: Uglies: Imposters Saga Book 1

Genre: YA/ Science Fiction

Pages: 405

Being completely honest, while I am a fan of Scott Westerfeld and most of his work, I was a little apprehensive when I heard the he would continue the Uglies series. I LOVED the original 3 but found the fourth, Extras, to be “fine”. Impostors, though, did not disappoint me at all!

I enjoyed the story and it moved very well. I don’t find the new cast of characters in this story to be as dynamic as the those from the original books, but the may be because I’m not as attached to them yet. This new series takes place about 16 years or so after the end of the Extras and only one character remains, literally showing up for one scene. I’m not going to get into the story because doing so could spoil the original four books. Yes (!) you need to read the original four or else you will be terribly confused.

Ratings

Plot: 4/5          Characters: 4/5          Ease of Reading: 5/5

November Book Haul!!

jacqui_monet
November 18, 2016

 

So, I absolutely love to read as you all know. This has lead to some interesting opportunities for me lately. I have been asked by up and coming authors to beta read their manuscripts, sent ARCs to read and I’ve been asked to make videos reviewing books by the authors who wrote them. What?! Starting this blog and actually starting to do what I love has been amazing. So amazing, that I’ve decided to start a Booktube channel!

For some people I’m sure that could have seen it coming, but I didn’t. I had no idea that I would end up here! Anyway, I want to say thank you for supporting my blog and interacting with me on social media. You all are amazing.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my first video and after doing some brainstorming I decided on a book haul video! I went to Barnes and Noble and accidentally spent more that I planned and didn’t even buy what I went in for. Ah, such is the life of a bookaholic.

Check out my first video below:

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).

The Invisible Library Book Review

jacqui_monet
July 15, 2016

Cogman_The-Invisible-Library

Title: The Invisible Library

Author: Genevieve Cogman

Series: The Invisible Library (book 1)

Genre: Sci-Fi; Steampunk; Fantasy

Pages: 351

Review:

I obtained this book as a part of some swag that I received at Phoenix Comiccon this year. I was totally drawn to this book and it was the first one that, based on the blurb on the on the back, I just had to read. The book is about a Librarian named Irene and her new trainee Kai. The pair must locate a book that was owned by a vampire and then stolen when he was beheaded. Unfortunately for them, they aren’t the only ones trying to recover the book. To make matters worse an evil Former-Librarian is on the loose and in the area.

This book contains elements of steampunk, Fae and magic and some supernatural stuff thrown in for good measure. The writing is decent if not a little dry but there is some excellent world building going on and considering that this is a series, it will be exciting to see what comes next for the Librarians.

Ok. So, if you have been following me on social media you know that I’ve been reading this book for what feels like years. Okay, it’s only been a couple of weeks but it feels like forever. I normally read books in days despite their high page count. This book though, was a struggle. It dragged. There would some interesting action going on and then it would drag… again. Getting through it was rough. I’m sure it won’t be that way for everyone. This book and I just didn’t click. Maybe I’ll reread it again in a few years or maybe I’ll just give it way for someone else to enjoy. Oh, well, there are other books out there for me to love.

 

Check out the first few pages of audio below: