ARC Review: Floriography: An Illustrated Guide To The Victorian Language Of Flowers

Title: Floriography: An Illustrated Guide To The Victorian Language Of Flowers
Series: n/a
Author: Jessica Roux
Source/Format: Publisher; eARC
More Details: Nonfiction
Publisher/Publication Date: Andrews McMeel Publishing; September 15, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

A charming, gorgeously illustrated botanical encyclopedia for your favorite romantic, local witch, bride-to-be, or green-thumbed friend.

The Language of Flowers is a full-color guidebook to the historical uses and secret meanings behind an impressive array of flowers and herbs. The book explores the coded significances associated with various blooms, from flowers for a lover to flowers for an enemy. The language of flowers was historically used as a means of secret communication. It soared in popularity during the 19th century, especially in Victorian England and the U.S., when proper etiquette discouraged open displays of emotion. Mysterious and playful, the language of flowers has roots in everything from the characteristics of the plant to its presence in folklore and history. Researched and illustrated by popular artist Jessica Roux, this book makes a stunning display piece, conversation-starter, or thoughtful gift.

Floriography was a very fascinating read. I’m not too well-versed on flower language, and this book turned out to be a good place to start. This book was arranged in a two page profile style format, with brief definitions to accompany the matching illustration. I do have to note that Roux’s illustrations were gorgeous. The book cover alone is enough of an example of the kind of work put into Floriography, and the overall presentation of the flowers and information was enjoyable to read. It was also cool to find out about all the meanings applied to the flowers and where that sort of came from. I also enjoyed the section on bouquets, as well as the parts that explained what each flower could be paired with and what kind of meaning would come from it.

Floriography was definitely a guidebook. I liked it, and I’m certainly interested in reading more about the subject. If you’ve wanted to learn a little about flower language, or were looking for a place to start—especially in a Victorian era context—then you might want to consider giving this book a try.

About the author....

Jessica Roux is a Nashville-based illustrator and plant and animal enthusiast. She loves exploring in her own backyard and being surrounded by an abundance of nature. Using subdued colors and rhythmic shapes, she renders flora and fauna with intricate detail reminiscent of old-world beauty. 

Disclaimer: This copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Andrews McMeel Publishing) via netgalley for this review, thank you! 

Music Monday (130): Kimbra

   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 my favorite album by Kimbra, Primal Heart. I like all the songs from it. One of my top-favorites is Right Direction. 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (185) & Book Beginnings: Silver In the Wood by Emily Tesh

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...

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads. When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

Beginning: " It was the middle of an autumn downpour when Tobias first met Henry Silver."

56: ""More than that," said Tobias."

Comments: I finally read Silver In the Wood. I liked this story. My 56 comes from page thirty-seven instead (the real page fifty-six is close to the end of the novella). What are you reading this week?

I Listened to Jaguar by Victoria Monét...

 

I’ve listened to music by Victoria Monét in the past, and her latest album, Jaguar, was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. I liked Jaguar a lot. It was a blend of pop and R&B with a 80s nostalgic aesthetic and sound. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Allie X’s Super Sunset, and Ravyn Lenae’s Crush immediately comes to mind for comparisons sake. There were some recognizable samplings, but it was reworked in a way that made the music feel fresh and unique. Jaguar pretty much did its own thing, and I have to say that I’m currently enjoying the recent R&B releases such as this.

Generally speaking, there was nothing bad here, because Jaguar is a solid album. The titular song was a good intro to the album. It’s the kind of song that easily grabbed my interest, and from there, I binged the whole album. It was so good. There were so many tracks that I outright liked such as Dive, Touch Me, and Go There With You just to name a few. The style of the album comes through in its sound as well as the music videos. There’s no clearer example of this than the music video for Experience featuring Khalid & SG Lewis—which is also one of my favorite songs from the album.

At the end of the day, I’m glad to see another album from Monét. Jaguar is one of my favorite albums of 2020, and I look forward to Monét’s next project.

Jaguar was released on August 7, 2020. Have you listened to music by Victoria Monét? If so, do you plan on listening to Jaguar?

ARC Review: Unbirthday by Liz Braswell

Title: Unbirthday
Series: A Twisted Tale
Author: Liz Braswell
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Retelling; Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date: Disney-Hyperion; September 1, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late?
Alice is different than other eighteen-year-old ladies in Kexford, which is perfectly fine with her. She'd rather spend golden afternoons with her trusty camera or in her aunt Vivian's lively salon, ignoring her sister's wishes that she stop all that "nonsense" and become a "respectable" member of society. Alice is happy to meander to Miss. Yao's teashop or to visit the children playing in the Square. She's also interested in learning more about the young lawyer she met there, but just because she's curious, of course, not because he was sweet and charming. But when Alice develops photographs she has recently taken about town, familiar faces of old suddenly appear in the place of her actual subjects-the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar. There's something eerily off about them, even for Wonderland creatures. And as Alice develops a self-portrait, she finds the most disturbing image of all-a badly-injured dark-haired girl asking for Alice's help. Mary Ann.
Returning to the place of nonsense from her childhood, Alice finds herself on a mission to stop the Queen of Hearts' tyrannical rule and to find her place in both worlds. But will she able to do so . . . before the End of Time?

I’m always on the lookout for a good retelling, especially for Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, which is one of my favorite classic stories. I’ve enjoyed a few retellings for it in the past—like L.L. McKinney’s Nightmare-verse series. So I had high expectations for Unbirthday. Unbirthday feels very much like a continuation of Disney’s 1951 film, Alice in Wonderland. The characters—Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and Dodo—have many similar characteristic (namely in appearance and behavior) to the characters of the movie or they could also more closely resemble those from the original story. With the story being set 11 years after Alice’s initial adventures in Wonderland, so there were differences, namely in the contents of the story. And overall I enjoyed Braswell’s take on an older Alice.

Alice is eighteen in this story, remembers Wonderland fondly as a dream, and looks for magic in her every-day surroundings. Overall, I enjoyed Alice’s perspective here. There was a blend between her regular life as well as her fantastical adventures once she returns to Wonderland. The transition between the two settings was done quite well, and I enjoyed many of the new characters introduced early in the story. Wonderland was full of nonsense and whimsy, and it was all-around pretty fun to read about. Due to the story, however, there was a much darker tone to Wonderland as a whole—in fact, it was downright sinister.

There was a part of the story that dealt a lot with politics—elections, rallies, the candidate, and social injustice—and many of those aspects mirrored real issues that are currently happening. In Unbirthday, Alice was involved with it, and it did take over much of the story outside of Wonderland. However, I did enjoy the complicated connections Alice formed with those around her, and some of my favorite characters included her aunt, Vivian, as well as Katz.

Unbirthday was a great Alice retelling. It had the whimsy and the wonder—and the randomness that’s a hallmark of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—but it also didn’t shy away from the more serious aspects of its story.

About the author...

After the sort of introverted childhood you would expect from a writer, Liz earned a degree in Egyptology at Brown University and then promptly spent the next ten years producing video games. Finally she caved into fate and wrote Snow and Rx under the name Tracy Lynn, followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under her real name, because by then the assassins hunting her were all dead. She also has short stories in Geektastic and Who Done It and a new series of reimagined fairy tales coming out, starting with A Whole New World—a retelling of Aladdin. She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, two children, a cat, a part-time dog, three fish and five coffee trees she insists will start producing beans any day. You can email her at me@lizbraswell.com.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Disney-Hyperion) via Netgalley for this review, thank you!