Curious Book of Creepy Crochet: 25+ Oddball Amigurumi Creatures by Carolyne Brodie

Curious Book of Creepy Crochet: 25+ Oddball Amigurumi Creatures by Carolyne Brodie

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Landauer Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a good Halloween theme pattern, then this book might be perfect for you! Inside you will find 25+ perfectly spoopy patterns that demonstrate that amigurumi can really be anything you want it to be. You will also find a comprehensive supply list complete with pictures, the basics of crochet, a small assembly guide, and a quick rundown on how to read crochet patterns. Plus, there’s a step-by-step crochet guide with pictures to help guide you as you learn any stitches you may not know.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so of course I had to pick this up! I really liked the variety of patterns included. My favorites are Velvet the Bat, Revna the Raven, Squash the Pumpkin Doll, Rotten Ralph the Zombie, and Patch the Scarecrow. However, all of the patterns are wonderful! I love how each pattern comes with its own story about the character. You’ll also discover that each pattern is rated anywhere from beginner to intermediate, which will help you decide if it’s something you’re ready to make! The fact that there’s so many in-progress photos included with each pattern is excellent as well. It will be a huge help to beginner crocheters or anyone who is new to amigarumi.

All in all, this is an excellent pattern book! There’s a nice variety of patterns and it’s perfect for crocheters of all levels. I really like that there’s photos of some of the more technical aspects of each pattern, and that there are some tips and tricks included early in the book before you get to any of the patterns. Plus, the patterns are pretty straightforward and easy to read. I can’t wait to make some of them!

The World of Jumbo Amigurumi: 30 Easy Crochet Designs for Huggable Plushies by Genna Tatu, Elysa Weitala (photos)

The World of Jumbo Amigurumi: 30 Easy Crochet Designs for Huggable Plushies by Genna Tatu, Elysa Weitala (photos)

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Callisto through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re interested in making amigurumi with bulky to jumbo weight yarn, then this is the book for you! Inside you will find 30 adorable beginner friendly patterns along with a comprehensive supply list. Plus, there is information about how to read patterns, and a short but comprehensive guide on how to crochet in addition to other various skills you may need to learn.

I have some jumbo yarn I want to use, so I decided to check out this pattern book. I can’t wait to make the Sweet Strawberry and Shane the Silly Shark patterns! All of the patterns are absolutely adorable. The patterns are also pretty straight forward and beginner friendly, so I think a lot of people are going to love adding this to their collection. It’s also a great book for beginners because it has a lot of excellent information and the instructions on how to crochet are super clear and easy to follow. The photographs for each pattern are absolutely wonderful as well. I can’t wait to make some of these patterns!

History's Greatest Drinking Games: From the Notorious to the Wisely Forgotten by Elliot Martyn

 
History's Greatest Drinking Games: From the Notorious to the Wisely Forgotten by Elliot Martyn

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Socializing while drinking is not a new pastime. If you’ve ever been interested in learning about the history of drinking games, then this might be the book for you! It’s interesting to learn how far back drinking games go back along with any information available about the types of games people played. Now I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know politics were involved with drinking games throughout time, so I think you’re bound to learn some new things!

I really liked that it didn’t just cover drinking games throughout time, but also covered the culture and political history as well. Context is important, so it was great to read about anything I hadn’t previously known that made the games make even more sense. However, it was so expansive at times that I think it should’ve been marketed differently. The official summary makes this sound like it’s going to be a super light and fun read. What you actually get, at least the time that I received the ARC, is an interesting history book that’s information heavy and with very dry writing. I was expecting something different, but this is something I still would’ve picked up even if it wasn’t presented as a silly and fun non-fiction book on a range of drinking games throughout history.

Juliet and Juliet by Mel V. Vargas

Juliet and Juliet by Mel V. Vargas

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Random House Graphic through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Juliet Montague crashed a Capulet party, she never expected to meet a really sweet and amazing woman… Juliet Capulet! Now the two are running around in secret with the help of their closest friends. When friendships and family relationships are on the line, Juliet and Juliet have to be extremely careful with where they go and who they trust. It’s too bad a Capulet is about to kickstart the drama!

As a Shakespeare girly, I had to pick this up ASAP! I really enjoyed reading this LGBTQ+ retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I also loved that this is a modern take that combines modern clothing with period clothing, which the artwork really brought to life. The cast of characters are wonderful and mostly supportive, and that’s always nice to see. Juliet and Juliet are my favorite characters, but I did really like several of the supporting characters. Plus, almost everyone seemed mostly reasonable and supportive, and that was really nice to see.

That said, I don’t think this book captured the essence of the source material. There was significantly less drama on top of there not being much conflict between the families. Plus, no one remembered why their families were beefing even though they had access to technology and years of tabloid rumors and whatnot. At the end of the day, I think this could’ve easily been its own story because it wasn’t really much of a retelling. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy every second I spent reading it, but as a retelling, it’s loosely inspired by the source material.

Cozy Cottage Cross-Stitch: 25 Charming Patterns to Make You Feel Perfectly at Home by Elle Noonan

 
Cozy Cottage Cross-Stitch: 25 Charming Patterns to Make You Feel Perfectly at Home by Elle Noonan

My Rating: ★★★★★

If you’re a cross stitcher who loves cottage core, then this may be the book for you! Inside, you will find 25 wonderful patterns ranging in size and skill levels. While skill levels aren’t listed on the patterns, it’s pretty easy to spot whether or not you’ll be ready for it if you’re a beginner. There’s also some information on tools, materials, and some stitching basics to help new stitchers understand the stitches and how to read a pattern. Plus, there’s little bonus tips included with the patterns!

All in all, I really love this pattern book. I’ve also been a fan of Elle’s/stitchsprout’s patterns for a while and have been a member of their patreon on and off, so I knew this would be up my alley. I’m so excited to cross stitch some of these patterns. They are just too perfect!

Thunderstruck by Lissa Layland

Thunderstruck by Lissa Layland

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Althea Leos, aka Thea, is extremely family oriented, and choosing to work on her thesis in Norway is something she struggles with. It doesn’t help that her prestigious thesis advisor immediately dumped her onto one of his colleagues. So what’s Thea going to do? Knock her thesis out of the park, join a local activist group, and develop feelings for the leader of the group! Only Thea isn’t sure what she really wants, and what was supposed to be a drunken apology turns into her stumbling into Asgard itself. Now she just has to pass a couple tests and prove that she won’t breathe a word about the gods being real, which is hard to do when she’s got a thing for both Thor and Loki!

I really liked this book, but I wasn’t sold on the romance plot at all. There was zero romantic chemistry unless things were starting to get a little spicy. Thea kept thinking about how she was trying to get her libido under control while it was off having a nice vacation. I do like that Thea, Thor, and Loki developed pretty good friendships. I just wasn’t seeing the romantic energy.

That said, I enjoyed reading the rest of the book. There’s a wonderful cast of characters, strong family bonds, and excellent worldbuilding. I really liked how the author made our climate change impact the Norse gods, which was a really interesting take on things that I hadn’t seen before. I just wish the story leaned more into this and less into the romance plot. I don’t know if this is the first book in a series, but it seemed like a series opener that could be left as a stand alone. If the story does continue, I will definitely check it out.

My Sister Took My Fiance and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince, Vol. 2 Kiduki Hoshikawa (artist), Yū Sakurai (author)

My Sister Took My Fiance and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince, Vol. 2 Kiduki Hoshikawa (artist), Yū Sakurai (author)

My Rating: ★★★★

After accidentally catching Prince Leonhart’s eye, Cordelia’s life is quickly changing now that she finally has someone on her side. Unfortunately for her, her family doesn’t see eye to eye, and she’s about to clash with not only her sister, but also her parents. Meanwhile, Leonhart’s own family troubles are coming to a head as his brother plots against him and tries to drag Cordelia into it!

I really enjoyed the first volume, which had a surprisingly amount of depth. However, this volume is closer to what I was expecting the first time around. So much happened and there were several times that we skipped straight over the believability factor with Cordelia’s responses. I guess this is the start of her healing journey, but in a crazy way since she’s being kept on her toes elsewhere.

That said, I still really enjoyed the volume. It was fast paced, the story was mostly good, and we started to see some justice of sorts in action. I do think we should’ve seen Cordelia’s family begin to face the music at a different time than we see Leonhart’s own brother’s shenanigans rear its ugly head at full force. Everything happening at the same time rather than focusing on one or the other took away from both plots in the end, but that’s just my opinion.

All in all, I did enjoy the book, I just wish it explored the way things impacted Cordelia and Leonhart differently than it did. I also wish that the plot points with the two families came to a head at different times. Otherwise, it was a fast paced read that had me absolutely glued. It’ll be interesting to see how things go from here, especially with the way things ended with Cordelia’s family.