Music Monday (92): Tove Lo

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I’m currently listening to Tove Lo’s new album, Sunshine Kitty. It was one of my most anticipated albums of 2019, and it didn't disappoint. One of my favorite songs from it is Are U Gonna Tell Her? featuring MC Zaac.

Sunshine Kitty by Tove Lo

Sunshine Kitty, Tove Lo’s fourth studio album, was released on September 20th. Out of everything I was looking forward to this year, it was my most anticipated album release of 2019 and the one I had the highest expectations for. I mean, the lead singles, Glad He’s Gone and Bad As The Boys, were excellent hints at what to expect from the rest of the album. In that regard, Sunshine Kitty delivered. I loved it. I liked every track from the album, which is a thing I rarely get to say, but in this case it’s true. What I liked most about Sunshine Kitty was the difference in the tone and sound of the music from earlier releases, like Lady Wood (2016) and Blue Lips (2017). However the same quality as the previous albums was also present here. It was electropop through and through, and it was undoubtedly an album by Tove Lo. There were also a number of songs with features on this album with artist like ALMA, Jax Jones, MC Zaac, Kylie Minogue, and Doja Cat. They were all excellent choices, and their collaborations were some of my top favorite songs from Sunshine Kitty—such as Equally Lost featuring Doja Cat, Bad As The Boys featuring ALMA, and Are U Gonna Tell Her? featuring MC Zaac. From start to finish, Sunshine Kitty was great. It was a solid album. And I’m looking forward to Tove Lo’s next project.

Have you listened to music by Tove Lo? Are you planning to listen to Sunshine Kitty?

Quarterly Recap: July-September

Well, it's time for another Quarterly Recap. The year is definitely flying by, and it feels like it hasn’t been that long since I last sat down to compile a list of links for a Quarterly Recap. However, October is here, and I finally have a legitimate excuse to rewatch all of my favorite Halloween themed movies. It's also been hot lately, and I have my fingers crossed that cooler weather is on the way.

July Reviews:

• n/a

August Reviews:

• It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor
• Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor

September Reviews:

• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay
• The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire

Other July Posts:

• Watercolor: Return of the Puffins
• Upcoming Music I'm Waiting For: Second Half of the Year
• Release Day Excerpt & Giveaway: Blastaway by Melissa Landers
• Quarterly Recap: April-June

Other August Posts:

• Let's Talk About Dark Crystal
• The Perks of Watching the Movie and Reading the Book

Other September Posts:

• Favorite Recipe: Waffle Cones/Bowls

Looking ahead, I have some Halloween themed art posts that’ll be up on the blog later in the month. I also have a post about Tove Lo’s new album, Sunshine Kitty. It’ll be on the blog this Friday. As far as books, I had a couple of reviews ready since August, which kept the blog active during September. So I had time to pick up a couple of spooky/horror novels in preparation for October—a book like Dead Voices by Katherine Arden (sequel to Small Spaces)  The review for it will be on the blog later in the month.

Music Monday (91): Charli XCX, Sky Ferreria

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I’m currently listening to Charli XCX’s new album, Charli. One of my favorite songs from it is Cross You Out featuring Sky Ferreria.

The Friday 56 (160) & Book Beginnings: Tithe by Holly Black

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Welcome to the realm of very scary faeries! 

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death...

Beginning: "Kaye spun down the worn, gray planks of the boardwalk."

56: "A few hours later they were sitting on the curb outside the Wiz divvying up their loot."

Comments: I'm not currently reading anything, so I thought I would share a few quotes from one of my favorite books by Holly Black: Tithe. Its been a long time since I read Tithe. It might be time for a reread. The beginning comes from chapter 1 instead of the prologue. What are you reading this week?

Review: The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire

Title: The Unkindest Tide
Series: October Daye #13
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Publisher; Bound ARC
More Details: Urban Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: DAW Books; September 3, 2019

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once. Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong. When the Luidaeg—October "Toby" Daye's oldest and most dangerous ally—tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can't refuse. Literally. The Selkies aren't the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the Luidaeg's price...or face the consequences. Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden's brother appears to arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that's when Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour. Is she going to sink? Or is she going to swim?

I took The Unkindest Tides with me while I had jury duty, and suffice it to say, the story kept me thoroughly entertained during breaks. It’s not the first book I’ve read by Seanan McGuire, but it is the only one I’ve gotten around to reading from the October Daye series. Even though it was the 13th book, I read it anyway—partially because I had no time to get to the other 12 novels in the series before the start of my jury duty. Regardless, I had no trouble following the story, getting invested in the characters, or interested in the world. I loved the story, and it’s probably my favorite book I’ve read by McGuire to date.

The synopsis tells a lot about the book, and the story pretty much delivered on every front. The story starts calmly, but it takes off when the Luidaeg arrived and announced that she intended to collect on debts owed to her. There was mystery, action, and a cast of wonderful characters. The world McGuire has created is probably one of my favorite urban fantasy takes on the fae. It was often a strange and interesting world, particularly with how the everyday side you and I would know met with the magical side. One location that was of interest to me was the Duchy of Ships, which is where the book primarily took place. It was such a creative place to set a story, and I thoroughly like all the details about it from the politics to the architecture, and even some of what local life was like for the people who lived there. Also, I like that there were unique characteristics to each kind of fae and the magic present in the story.

Generally speaking, I liked all of the main characters. October Daye was interesting enough, and I liked the relationship she had with Tybalt. They clashed over certain subjects, but I was a fan of the way they talked it out with one another. The Luidaeg was another one of my favorite characters from the story. Her history and that of her children was long and tragic, and I understood why she would want to be “Cousin Annie” as an escape.

I don’t know everything there is to know about the series, and I probably missed a few references to previous books, but overall The Unkindest Tide was a great story. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to diving into the previous books in the series and other novels by Seanan McGuire. Have you read any books from the October Daye series? If so, are you planning to read The Unkindest Tide?

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher for this review, thank you!

Music Monday (90): Lil Nas X, Pharrell Williams,

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: One of the songs I’ve been listening to lately is Panini by Lil Nas X. It’s one of my favorite songs, and I like the music video for it.

Adri: I'm not sure if this counts, but my pick this Monday is CC The World by Pharrell Williams featuring Cara Delevingne. It was made for the Chanel short film, Reincarnation, by the late Karl Langerfeld. At first I wasn't into the song, but it really grew on me.

• Here's  the link to the video: CLICK HERE

What are some of the songs you've recently listened to? Do you have any new favorites?

Favorite Recipes... Waffle Cones/Bowls

After checking , I realized that our last favorite recipe post was in December... of 2017! And, I thought it would be a perfect time to do another one since we recently got a Koji Waffle Cone Maker.

The first recipe I made was the Waffle Cone Recipe from William Sonoma. For some reason, I thought that my first try was going to turn out horrible, but they were relatively easy. Just a little trial and error. The first four bowls I made came out thick. I wanted thinner batter and decided to add more milk. I did read on different recipe (from Barbara Bakes) that adding more butter is a way to thin it out. Unfortunately, I found this out after I made them.

 

Eventually, Breana suggested we should try chocolate ones, and I am glad I did. The second recipe I partially used was Homemade Chocolate Waffle Cones from Our Best Bites. I didn’t actually use the full recipe this time. The only thing I did was add the amount of chocolate to the first recipe. The bowls came out absolutely delicious. I did think about adding more chocolate; however, after having ice cream I found that the flavor was perfect, and that it would over power the ice cream.

And finally, I really wanted to try the recipe from Our Best Bites on its own. I found that the cones from Our Best Bites were more light and crispy than the other ones I made.

During the process of making cones/bowls three times, I discovered that the order of ingredients is important in terms of texture. Particularly in terms of mixing the egg and sugar.The first time around I kind of threw everything in at once. I felt like this resulted in a fluffy texture. It still tasted good, but that wasn't what I was going for. Additionally, when trying to roll cones I found that it was important to have something under it. I tried rolling it on a plate, but it made it cool too fast. In a lot of videos I watched, people used towels; I found it slightly easier with a paper towel.

Thanks for Reading.

Have you made waffle cones/bowls before?

*FTC: All products mentioned in this post were purchased.* 

ARC Review: Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay

Title: Word to the Wise
Series: Library Lover's Mystery #10
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Source/Format: First to Read; eARC
More Details: Cozy Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Berkley; September 3, 2019

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

It's no-holds-barred murder, in the latest page-turning Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Hitting the Books. 

Lindsey Norris is finally getting married to the man of her dreams--but it's not all roses for Briar Creek's beloved library director, as gardening enthusiast and town newcomer Aaron Grady gives the term "book lover" a whole new meaning. Inappropriate looks and unwelcome late-night visits to Lindsey's house have everyone from the crafternooners to Lindsey's fiancé, Sully, on edge. When Grady's dead body is found staged outside the library and all the clues point to Sully, Lindsey knows it's up to her to dig through the hidden chapters of Grady's previous life to find the real culprit and clear Sully's name. But becoming a thorn in the killer's side is not without its consequences, and the closer Lindsey gets to the truth, the more determined the murderer is to make her just a footnote....

I’ve been looking forward to Jenn McKinlay’s follow-up to Hitting the Books since I read it last year. In Word to the Wise, some of the themes—like harassment and climate change—leaned toward the more timely side. McKinlay nailed the unusual weather patterns, enabling actions of others, the emotional toll, and the disconcerting characterization of characters like Aaron Grady. Because of that, there was an eerie—and sometimes exasperating—feel to the whole story. The mystery was anything but straight forward, and the twists were especially twisty in this one. As such, Word to the Wise was a page-turner. It also turned out to be one of my favorite installments in the Library Lover’s Mystery series.

At first, everything seemed great for Lindsey Norris. She had her job at the library. She was getting married to Sully. And I was happy about the development, because it meant that the romantic subplots of previous books were finally beginning to pay off for the characters. Plus, the stages of wedding preparation were fun, okay. However, once the mystery of who killed Aaron Grady began, some of that happiness evaporated. I liked the mystery here, because the suspects had sufficient motive to want Grady gone. He was a creep who used his reputation as an upstanding citizen as an excuse, a cover, to get away with harassment and stalker behavior. But, just like there was more to Grady, the mystery was also a complex issue. Nothing was as it seemed, and the twists kept coming.

The characters were as great as always. In particular, I liked the library staff who worked for Lindsey, as well as many of the other reoccurring characters. I liked the setting as well. Briar Creek is a small, idyllic coastal town: if you’re familiar with this series, then you know what it’s like, and there isn’t much more to say about it.

Overall, Word to the Wise was an excellent addition to the series. If you’ve read any of the previous books, then this one should be on your TBR List.

About the author...

Jenn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several mystery series and will be debuting a new women's fiction series in June 2017, starting with the title About a Dog. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with kids, pets and her husband's guitars.

Website     Goodreads    Twitter     Instagram

Disclaimer: This copy of the book was provided by First to Read for this review, thank you!

Music Monday (89): Jidenna

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I’m currently listening to Jidenna’s new album, 85 to Africa. One of my favorite songs is Jungle Fever.

What are you listening to this week?