The Friday 56 (90) & Book Beginnings: Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood

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...

Kathryn Littlewood’s culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly magical wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure...

Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, non-magical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun. So Rose and her siblings experiment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke. A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble . . . could they?

Beginning:" It was the summer Rosemary Bliss turned ten that she saw her mother fold a lightning bolt into a bowl of batter and learned--beyond the shadow of a doubt--that her parents made magic in the Bliss bakery."

56:"On her mother's side: no one."

Comments: I really love the beginning of this book. It introduces the type of magic that's found in the story as well as the character, Rosemary. Overall, it was a pretty good book.

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Twistrose key by Tone Almhjell

Title: The Twistrose Key
Author: Tone Almhjell
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Puffin Books; September 2, 2014

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Something is wrong in the house Lin's family rented. The clocks tick too slowly. Frost covers the flowerbed, even in a rain storm. And when a secret key marked "Twistrose" arrives for her, Lin finds in a crack in the cellar and unlocks a gate to the world of Sylveros. This frozen realm is the home of every dead animal who ever loved a child. Lin is overjoyed to be reunited with Rufus, the pet she buried under the rosebush. But together they must find the missing Winter Prince in order to save Sylver from destruction…and they’re not the only ones hunting for the Prince...

I happened to find a copy of The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell by complete accident. I was just out for the day and happened to see it in the store. I wasn't looking for it, and didn't know anything about it or the author. However, once I read the synopsis my immediate reaction was "Yeah, this seems like something I want to read". I do have to admit that the synopsis can sound a bit morbid, but The Twistrose Key was a whimsical tale full of adventure, danger, and friendship.

The Twistrose Key was a fantastic story. There was a lesson, but it was conveyed subtly through prose, dialogue, and all the things Lin experienced. The primary focus of the story was on the task given to Lin and her reunion with Rufus in the world of Sylveros. The majority of this book took place in Sylveros, and it was by far one the best settings I’ve read about. I mean, it was a snow covered land literally populated by beloved pets that were deceased. The rules of Sylveros were pretty straight forward, and I liked how consistent the details were kept.

The characters were wonderful, Lin especially. By far, she wasn’t perfect. She made mistakes, got upset and frustrated. But it was nice to see such a range of emotions. I also liked the friendship between Lin and Rufus.

The story didn’t have that fast of a pace. Instead, it was a combination of slow and quick moving scenes. I honestly didn’t mind all of the details. I liked the early development that went on. The initial chapters introduced a lot of the characters, the magic, and other details that would later become the adventure aspect of the book. The Twistrose Key was simply a good story.

There appears to be another book in this series, and the synopsis also seems pretty interesting for that one too. So, I would definitely be interested in reading another book by Tone Almhjell.

Highly Anticipated Book Releases (2017)

Today, I’m going to be sharing some of the 2017 book releases that I’m really looking forward to. This isn’t going to be the most comprehensive list, because it is the beginning of the year, so realistically I don’t know about every book that’s coming out. However, I will keep an eye out for anything that happens to catch my interest. For now, here is my current list…

• A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed The Star-Touched Queen. It was one of my favorite 2016 reads. So, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is another book I’m really excited about. I’ve been looking forward to this one since I first heard about it last year.

• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

I read the synopsis for this one and liked how it sounded. So, I’m looking forward to it.

• Blueberry Pancakes Forever by Angelica Banks

I absolutely adored the first two books in the series—Finding Serendipity and A Week Without Tuesday. Suffice it to say, I’m definitely looking forward to this one.

What 2017 releases are you looking forward to?

The Friday 56 (89) & Book Beginnings: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

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...

French naturalist Dr. Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, only to discover instead the Nautilus, a remarkable submarine built by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Together Nemo and Aronnax explore the underwater marvels, undergo a transcendent experience amongst the ruins of Atlantis, and plant a black flag at the South Pole. But Nemo's mission is one of revenge-and his methods coldly efficient...

Beginning: "The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten."

56: ""I can understand perfectly, sir, that your nets furnish excellent fish for your table; I can understand also that you hunt aquatic game in your submarine forest; but I cannot understand at all how a particle of meat, no matter how small, can figure into your bill of fare."

Comments: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of the classics I've been meaning to read. It's the first book I tackled in 2017, and I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed it. I also really liked the opening sentence.  

What are you reading this week?

I'm Back + 2017 Blogging Resolutions

Well, I’m finally back and ready to start blogging again. It was kind of nice to take a break what with everything that’s been going on lately. 2016 is officially over and I’m praying for a better year. What I really want to tackle today are my Blogging Resolutions, because it’s that time again. Last year I set some simple goals for myself, and I mostly accomplished them. This year, I’m going to follow the same kind of theme and keep all of my blogging goals relatively simple and manageable. Of course, whether or not I actually accomplish these goals is left up to how 2017 goes for me.

• #1  Expand the topics discussed on the blog.

I don’t want to limit this goal to just exploring the different genres. I’ve always been an avid comic/manga fan, and I would like to incorporate some of the other books I've read onto the blog as well, which is what I ultimately did with nonfiction. Occasionally, I also want to talk about some of the shows I watch. But again, this goal isn’t very specific, which is how I want to keep it. 

• #2 Read more backlist books. 

I’ll still read the 2017 new releases that catch my interest, but I want to get to those books that I’ve wanted to read for a long time too.

• #3 Read more classics. 

This is one goal I want to make progress on, because, no, I haven't read Pride and Prejudice or Fahrenheit 451 either. There are so many classics that I want to get to that reading more of them had to be one of my Blogging Resolutions.

• #4 Post more discussion posts. 

I haven’t done many discussion posts, but I want to do more of them. It does take time to think of a topic worth discussing, and then finding the right words to convey that idea. So, like all my others goals, I won’t stress myself out if I can’t meet this one. 

• #5 Take breaks as needed. 

Last year, I didn’t take as many breaks as I did in 2015. Breaks give me the time to recharge and come back to blogging with renewed enthusiasm. I don’t know when I’ll need them, but I want to take them whenever I don’t feel up to writing posts or reading. Like my other goals, this one also depends on how the year goes.

So, those are my 2017 blogging resolutions. Sometime soon, I’m going to share some of my highly anticipated 2017 releases. Happy reading!