Recent Reads: Kawaii Cafe Bubble Tea: Classic, Fun, and Refreshing Boba Drinks to Make at Home by Stacey Kwong and Beyah del Mundo

Source: From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Kawaii Cafe Bubble Tea: Classic, Fun, and Refreshing Boba Drinks to Make at Home by Stacey Kwong and Beyah del Mundo
Publisher: Rock Point
Publication Date:  January 9, 2024

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Satisfy your bubble tea cravings at home (and affordably)! Kawaii Café  Bubble Tea  includes over 60 easy-to-follow recipes, beautifully illustrated in a fun anime style.

No matter if you call it boba or bubble tea , this addictive drink that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s has taken the world by storm, with shops popping up on every corner and lines out all their doors.

Kawaii Café Bubble Tea covers all the basics, from brewing tea and making your own tapioca balls (aka boba) to handcrafting sweeteners, syrups, toppings, and more with all-natural ingredients and no corn syrup. Each recipe includes exciting anime-style illustrations and instructions for customizing to your preferred level of sweetness.

Learn how to make:

Milk Teas (lactose-free Thai, black milk, and green milk teas)

Fruit Teas (strawberry, mango, watermelon, kiwi, pineapple, pomelo, and cucumber teas)

Specialty Drinks (with special ingredients including coconut milk, almond butter, taro root, and ice cream)

Recipes include:

Pomelo Slushie (green or black tea with Pomelo Jam and Simple Syrup)

Lady Bug (black tea with Strawberry Syrup and Watermelon Syrup)

Area 51 (green tea with Cucumber Syrup and Kiwi Syrup)

Mint Tea Lemon Mojito (mint tea with Lemon Syrup, Simple Syrup, and mint leaves)

Pink Panda (milk, Strawberry Syrup, and cookies-and-cream ice cream)

With yummy recipes, down-to-earth writing, and a delightful design, Kawaii Café  Bubble Tea  is the ultimate guide to this global phenomenon.

Review: 

Such cute aka. kawaii cover art - I was immediately sold and wanted to read all about bubble tea. This is a bubble tea....cook book of sorts. It is so much more than just a bunch of recipes though and it was far more intense than expected. 

'Reading' a cookbook for review is weird - and I haven't made any of the recipes so I cannot to that point. Overall, the book had a lot of seemingly great recipes and a lot of helpful information to share. 

The authors talk about boba, syrups, bases, james, homemade thai tea, and a pink drink variation called a Piglet. The illustration from the cover and its adorable nature continues throughout - watercolor style with detail of the drinks and components.

The notes they include are so thoughtful in the process of bubble tea making and helpful. They also note that pre-made is not the end of the world, which as a non-Bubble tea maker normally, that was a nice touch. Readers could be really intimidated by this cookbook, but they do a good job trying to keep it a little light and giving you a wealth of information.  

So fun, such a happy read and viewing experience. 

Building the Book Pile #442

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

A bit of a late book pile.. happy MONDAY!

Another week into 2024... I spent it reading Empire of the Damned and finished it. SO GOOD. Review coming soon.

I picked up World of Warcraft again and have been playing Dragon Isles a bit. 

I was a little sick at the beginning of the week, the weather has been crazy here - 30/50/20/45... the fluxuations have been very annoying. Otherwise it was a normal week, work home repeat.

Coming up on the Blog

Recent Reads: Kawaii Café Bubble Tea: Classic, Fun, and Refreshing Boba Drinks to Make at Home by Stacey Kwong; Beyah del Mundo (Cookbook)

Recent Reads: New Witch on the Block by Louisa West (Adult)

Books Received Recently...  

  

Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill  - from Netgalley and the publisher for review.

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Adult) -5 stars

Recent Reads: Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller (Adult) -3 stars

Early Reader Review: Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi (Youth) -4 stars

Donating Caffeine is greatly appreciated ... Donate on Ko-fi

What have you been reading?  Leave a comment for me.

Happy Reading!

Early Reader Review: Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi

Source: From the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi  Publisher: NorthSouth Books
Publication Date:  March 5, 2024

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Avocado seeds and slow growing! A young girl’s impatience turns to wonder as she and her avocado tree gradually change and grow in this story inspired by Israeli artist Taltal Levi’s childhood.

Ellie is sulking—she celebrated her birthday yesterday under the old avocado tree. But she’s not even a little bit taller today! Dad tells Ellie a secret. She is like the pit of an avocado, he explains, small and full of magic. Together they put an avocado seed in a glass of water by the window and watch as both Ellie and her avocado plant grow, take root, and eventually bring new life.

In Taltal Levi’s native country Israel, avocados are ubiquitous and plucked straight from the tree. In her third book, Taltal Levi uses warm, earthy colors to tell a personal yet universal story about the magic of growth.

Includes instructions for growing your own avocado tree!

Review: 

A girl named Ellie is upset about not growing fast enough so her dad has her learn about patience through the growth of an avocado seed. They patiently water it and watch it grow - very slowly. 

This was a cute story and picture book, focusing on growing up, patience, and that sometimes things just take time. I liked how it all came together, with teh age progression of Ellie and her avocado seed/plant/ tree. The book was vibrant and fun. Illustraions were flowing and really pretty.

I think that as she ages with the avocado and grows up, some nuance might be lost on some younger readers that she has a lovely tree for her kids... and that she has fully grown up.  Maybe not though. 

The book also included avocado seed instructions and care. 

Recent Reads: Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller

Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller 

Series: Road Trip to Love #1
Publisher: Cat Belly Press
Publication Date:  January 23, 2021 

 

Format: Ebook
Source: Freebie on Kindle, Stuff your Kindle Day, Also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

The only thing worse than being stuck in an RV with your enemy? Having to pretend you're madly in love.

Lance Blakeman is an up-and-coming literary agent with a chance to represent the biggest horror writer since Stephen King. Unfortunately, the client doesn't want to work with a bachelor. Lance needs a fiancée—fast.

Lainey Fredrickson is a struggling artist making ends meet by waitressing at a local diner. Or, she had been, until pretty boy Lance got her fired for accidentally spilling a beer on him. The way he carried on, you'd think she had deliberately doused him with radioactive waste. Now, she has exactly $4.23 to her name—not enough for an iced latte, let alone rent.

When Lance offers Lainey cash to pose as his fiancée, she can't afford to say no, even if it means spending a week in a cramped RV with him. But can they fool the client without fooling themselves? There's a fine line between love and hate. And with kisses this sweet, the line is bound to get blurred.

Not Happy Campers is a laugh-out-loud funny, clean romantic comedy with sizzling chemistry, witty banter, and spine-tingling kisses. If you love a good enemies to lovers or fake relationship story that ends with happy ever after, this book is for you!

Review: 

This cover is adorable and fully pulled me in. Overall it was a fun quick read... but the best part for me was the Corgi. 

Lainey is down on her luck because of a man named Lance. He got her fired from her last job and now she has found herslef in a situation where he will pay her to pretend to be his fiance for a week. Lance is trying to win over an author, to become his agent, and he prefers an agent that has a partner. So for Lance, this was a great ploy. Lainey needs the money, Lance needs a fiance... and now they are stuck in a camper.. with Lainey's corgi too. 

1) Loooooved the dog! throughout this story he was the best part and had characters show more emotion. sadly there was more emotion around the dog than each other. 

2) I appreciated that she was an artist. Lots of books have authors, agents but illusrators are a bit more rare. I actually read a lot of 'book agent' books in January.

3) The banter was fun but not perfect.

4) Felt like it was too-stuffy a start but loosened up as it went, sadly at less tha 200 pages there wasn't much room for them to really get into things and fall fully (at least that is how it felt to me). 

Overall, cute, and I got it for free :)

Recent Reads: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers by Emily Henry  

Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date:  May 3, 2022

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Review: 

I enjoy Emily Henry books, they are cute rom-coms with miscommunication or witholding of truths and they work well.

Nora is emmersed in her work as a book agent and so her love life never turns out to be her happily ever after. Charlie is an editor, who many think is harsh and Nora doesn't particularlu like him all that much because he turned down one of her books. They are brought together in the small town of Sunshine Falls, where Nora was dragged by her sister. 

I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope used in this rom-com. Both Nora and Charlie are adorable together and apart. Libby (the sister) is sneaky but I also adored the sisterly bond that they share throughout the book. There was a lot of miscommunication in this one or witholding of truths from one another and all aroun dit worked well. I was rooting for everyone, even thought we 'hated' Charlie. 

This was just an absolutely perfect rom-com to lighten the to be read pile and I really enjoyed it. It had me laughing and crying and I couldn't put it down.

Building the Book Pile #441

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

It has been a fun week... for reading. I picked up my arc of Empire of the Damned and I am about 350 pages in. The story has all the twist and turns I like and vampires...

This week I also binged Hazbin Hotel on Prime - loved it, but now I have to wait approximately a billion years for season 2 😞

On my switch I have ben alternating between A Little to the Left and Cozy Grove. Enjoying both. I really love A Little to the Left - so simple yet so satisfying.

What have you been getting up to?

Coming up on the Blog

Recent Reads: Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Adult)

Recent Reads: Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller (Adult)

Early Reader Review: Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi (Youth)

Books Received Recently...  

  

Bride by Ali Hazelwood - Bought

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Adult) -4 stars

Recent Reads: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Adult) -5 stars

Early Reader Review: Country Bird by Angela Harrison Vinet (Non-Fiction) -3 stars

Donating Caffeine is greatly appreciated ... Donate on Ko-fi

What have you been reading?  Leave a comment for me.

Happy Reading!

Early Reader Review: Country Bird by Angela Harrison Vinet

Source: From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Country Bird by Angela Harrison Vinet

Publisher: Epic Ink
Publication Date:  February 20, 2024

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Get an informed yet cheeky perspective on the fascinating language of birds in rural areas with this witty twist on a traditional field guide.

City Bird gives birdwatching new meaning by pairing scientific insight on the sounds and songs unique to birds inhabiting rural areas of North America with a light-hearted narrative that reflects the personality and characteristics associated with country life.

As you explore, discover fun facts and jot down your thoughts and observations in the note-taking section for each bird . Vibrant illustrations help you identify the birds you see.

Learn about birding in a whole new, whimsical way. Give birding a go, learn, and listen to the beautiful sound of birds!

The Birds illustrated collection delivers a playful yet informative insight on the sounds and songs unique to birds inhabiting different geographical regions. From rural farmlands to bustling city streets or the salty air of the shore, each book features beautiful portraits and a lighthearted narrative that reflects the personality and characteristics of birds native to each location. Also available from this City Bird . 

Review: 

Such an interesting take on a bird book. This book showcases birds (I didn't count, but I think it is around 50 or so) thought to be "country" birds, from across the U.S. Each bird has an illustration, a quirky southern saying or description, and then the actual description. If you want to learn how to differentiate them from other birds or spot them, this is probably not the best book option - but if you are looking for a creative description this was cute. 

The writing style can be very off-putting and slightly cringey at times but it was creative so I have to give the author credit for that. Each bird had a saying associated with them, akin to "bless her heart" or "a bit much" that have other meanings than stated. There is even a section for defining these at the end of the book. This was entertianing, but could also be too much for those actually looking for information about birds. At times it was even a little frustrating.

I liked learning about the birds, some descriptions were really good along those lines, some were more for enterainment than teaching though.  

Since I was reading an early, ebook copy,  some of the illustrations didn't live up to expectation and were a bit pixelated but I think that in the final copy they will be better - so try to take a look before buying. 

Overall, this was quirky and cute, but more entertainment than educational. 

Recent Reads: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date:   August 9, 2016

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Nemesis (n.)

1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;

2) A person’s undoing;

3) Joshua Templeman. 

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

Review: 

Another grab from the TBR Shelf.

This is rivals to lovers perfection. The banter was swoonworthy and it was a page-turner at its finest. 

Lucy Hutton and Josh Templeton are two complete opposties. Lucy is bright and energetic to Josh's boring and blah. Lucy has to work with Josh but she does not enjoy it. Everyday since the acquisition that put them in the same office, they have been at war.  It all started on that first day, Lucy smiled at him and he coudln't be bothered to return the favor and since then he has been a smug a$$. 

Told from Lucy's POV. The beginning of the book recount their meeting, how it has been going and how they interact... or don't. The realy climax of the book is when Lucy starts to gain the interest of a guy at work and Josh starts to lose his cool around her. Additionally, there is now a promotion available and one of them will get it... the war continues. 

I liked Lucy's go-get-em attitude and was glad that she had support of her boss in this whole situation. I loved the banter and miscommunication aspects of the relationship between Lucy and Josh. Lucy was so oblivious and I love that it was written this way.  Their interaction was cute and dreamy and Josh is so much more caring than he lets on. 

Overall, Adorable.

Recent Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Series: Thursday Murder Club #1
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date:  September 3, 2020

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

Review: 

Another on from the shelf of TBRs.

The Thursday Murder Club is a group of retirees spening time solving cold cases that belong to another member (but who is no longer able to solve crimes with them, she is now in the hospice type area). 

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibraham, and Ron all live at Fairhaven, a cure retirement ciommunity and they 'solve' crimes. Now an actual murder occurs - the owner of  the facility was found dead in his home. Together they are going to solve it. 

Elizabeth is pushy and determined. Joyce is the newest member and a former nurse. She is quiet but we also get her POV from journal entries - the only one we get first person from. Ibraham is also quiet, a former therapist. Ron is loud-mouthed and a former union lead. Together they are a force to be reckoned with.

They work well together but also play off each other knowing the respective strengths each provide to a situation. It was a cozy, sweet, unlikely quad of friends. The mystery part of the stroy was good but I really liked the characters more. Their attempts to sleuth it all out were humorous and creative. 

It took longer to read beacuse I was trying to piece it all together before the end. I thought I had it, but then it all kinda fell apart. Overall, I loved that the book focuse on a group of older main characters - they used their life experiences to play their own little game but also showed that it is never too late to be helpful. 

At some point, I will pick up the next one.

Building the Book Pile #440

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Another week into 2024. I am not behind yet on my GR challenge but it feels like it... my attention gotten taken for a bit there with Little To The Left, a Switch game, very satisfying... to organize things. My husband laughs but it was a comforting game with a few good brain-teasers. I have the DLC now... so I will try to listen to a book while playing.

Coming up on the Blog

Recent Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Adult) 

Recent Reads: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Adult)

Early Reader Review: Country Bird by Angela Harrison Vinet (Non-Fiction)

Books Received Recently...  

  

 

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli - BOTM

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: Hark! A Homicide: A Cozy Mystery Christmas Novella by Tricia L. Sanders (Adult) -3 stars

Recent Reads: Bound by Knighthood by Nicki Chapelway (Adult) -3 stars

Early Reader Review: Freshman Year by Sarah Mai (YA, GN)-3 stars

Recent Reads: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (Adult) -4 stars

Donating Caffeine is greatly appreciated ... Donate on Ko-fi

What have you been reading?  Leave a comment for me.

Happy Reading!

Recent Reads: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Series: Unhoneymooners #1
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date:  May 14, 2019 

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

Review: 

Olive and Ethan are sent on a honeymoon, but they are not married and they actually really don't like each other either. But Olive's very lucky sister wins everything and won a Hawaiian honeymoon. Sadly the entire wedding gets severe food poisoning and the last two standing are Olive and Ethan due to food preference issues that spared them the seafood buffet. This certianly unlocked a new nightmare for me (ew).  While on the trip, they have to pretend to be married to accept it, and realize that there are others at the same resort that result them in playing pretend more than they anticipated. 

I enjoyed the book. It was well paced and Olive and Ethan were funny, I really enjoyed their banter. It was well done.  The chatacters were wonderful really, especially together. Alone they were both a bit self-decricating, but together they played off each other well. The snark was strong and the humor was well placed. I enjoyed the progression, realizations, and relationship growth between them. 

This book has been out for a while, and it has been sitting on my shelf for probably just as long. I didn't realize at the time that this was eventually going to be a series, although I am not sure book 2 is out yet.

Overall, this was a fun romance. It was full of wit and snark and wonderful banter.