The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story by Marie Kondō, Yuko Uramoto

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story by Marie Kondō, Yuko Uramoto

My Rating: ★★★★

Marie Kondō became a household name in the states after her TV show hit Netflix. I’ve had her show in my Netflix queue, so I haven’t seen it yet, but I saw this book and knew I had to pick it up right away. It’s a cute story that follows a fictional character, Chiaki, who struggles with living in her messy apartment. Overwhelmed by the mess, she hires Kondō to help her declutter and learns the KonMari Method of tidying up that applies to more than just physical spaces. Through these lessons, Chiaki gains control over her apartment and it breathes happiness into her life.

I absolutely love this book. It introduces the KonMari method using a dramatized fictional example in a way that is not scary. Cleaning, or tidying, can be overwhelming and I learned some things from this book. There’s quite a few great tips and cleaning methods here. Of course, there are some things that are a little out there and don’t apply to me, but I think there’s a lot to learn from this book and I can see how her methods work.

I feel inspired to get cleaning using her methods. From experience, I know that cleaning by category is a lot less stressful than cleaning a space. Now I know why that is and I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together because it can get overwhelming to clean a messy space over, say, going through all my clothes and separating everything in my closet and home by category to go through and tidy up. I can see how this can work very well in the long run.

Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

My Rating: ★★★★

I’ve always been interested in history and makeup, so it was only a matter of time for me to start becoming interested in the history of makeup. I was excited when I came across this book, which covers the history of makeup and is written by a well-known makeup artist. Of course, there is only so much history can tell us about makeup depending on the era since it’s based on what was recorded and by who. I do like that Eldridge did talk about this as well as pointed out who was documenting cosmetic use in throughout various eras. It’s an important thing to take into consideration regarding history in general.

What I enjoyed most about this book is that it’s split up into different parts. There’s a bit of a color study, cosmetics through the ages, popular products, brands, idols, and science. Pictures are included every step of the way to give a visual for what she’s talking about. It was pretty neat seeing old ads and how makeup packaging has changed in the last century through visuals.

I found this book both interesting and informative. It’s truly a fun read. I also like that Eldridge dips a little into the history of nail polish and fragrance and how they’re linked to makeup. I thought nail polish was a somewhat recent item, so it was pretty cool to discover it’s been around in different forms for much longer.

Creative Journaling by Renee Day

Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed Media, and Travel Pages by Renee Day

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Quarto Publishing Group and Rock Point through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve loved arts and crafts since I was a small child, and I’ve always found journaling fun, so I love combining the two with my bullet journal. When I saw this book, I thought it sounded like a cool resource for new techniques to use on my bullet journal. What I didn’t expect was to come out wanting to make junk journals. I’m going to have so much fun!

Renee Day covers a lot of information, which makes this a good resource for anyone who is thinking about combining art with any form of journaling. Renee also gives an informative description of what each type of media is and how to make them. These descriptions are also applied to the different art techniques and cool ideas that she includes for things that one can do in each type of journal. If you’re one who likes to have a supply list clearly laid out, you’re going to love reading this book.

There are so many cool ideas and inspiring things throughout this book. There’s also a variety of pictures and clear instructions, which makes it great for anyone who has never tried any of the cool art projects and journal spreads listed. I also like that each spread and art project is broken up into sections based on what type of journal one will be working with. Of course, it can all be mixed and matched based on one’s personal needs and the direction they want to go with their journal, but I thought it was pretty cool.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and I will be using some of the techniques on my bullet journal. There are so many neat things in this book that it’s hard not to get inspired!

Huckleberry Christmas (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill #3) by Jennifer Beckstrand

Huckleberry Christmas by Jennifer Beckstrand

My Rating: ★★★★★

Now that Anna Helmuth has two successful matchmaking schemes under her belt, she’s ready to dip her fingers back into the pie and get her granddaughter, Beth, married off. Unfortunately, Beth is a widow hellbent on never entering another marriage again after the terrible marriage that she’s survived through. Having just escaped her abusive in-laws, she’s staying with her grandparents while she raises her son and gets her dressmaking business off the ground. What she doesn’t know is that Anna is determined to match her up with Tyler Yoder.

One of my friend’s recommended Jennifer Beckstrand’s books and this is the first series that I’ve picked up from her. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in the series, but I was excited that Beckstrand mixed things up a bit and had Anna trying to get one of her granddaughters married off. The previous two books follow two different grandsons and the young ladies Anna thought would be perfect matches for them. This time around, she looked at Tyler Yoder and knew he’d be perfect for her granddaughter, Beth.

Tyler is a character we got to know well in the second book. I like him a lot, so it was great that we got to see him find love again in this installment. We also meet a new character, Beth, who has just moved back home. Her previous marriage wasn’t a happy one, so I felt awful about the things that she had gone through. I do think that she needed more time to heal, but you know Anna. She gets something in her mind and runs with it!

It was great following Beth and watching her rediscover herself, her joys, and figure out what she does want from life now that she has a choice again. Her character development is very realistic, and I felt very invested in her as a character from the start. I think that she might be one of my favorite characters so far, right behind Anna and Felty of course, and I’m looking forward to seeing her pop up in future books in this series.

There’s also a nice touch of Christmas throughout the book. This is a particularly hard Christmas season for me since I lost my grandpa this year and dealing with Christmas music, movies, and such has been difficult. This book was light enough that I felt like I was in a warm and caring embrace while I read. I might’ve gotten misty a few times from my own grief, but I think this is probably the only Christmas media I didn’t run away from this December. This series has a huge heart and I just want to hang out in this world because there’s a lot about both Anna and Felty that reminds me of my grandpa.

Midnight Snacks are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery #2) by Libby Klein

Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein

My Rating: ★★★★

Poppy McAllister is a busy bee. She’s got her budding gluten-free baking business and now a bed and breakfast with Aunt Ginny. The problem? It seems like there’s a new delay in the construction on her aunt’s house almost every day. To top things off, her mother-in-law has turned up and wants to oversee the construction since she’s an investor in the bed and breakfast. Just when Poppy thinks her hands are full, Aunt Ginny gets arrested for murder. Now Poppy has to carefully balance her work life with a new murder investigation since her former bully, Amber, doesn’t want to look at anyone but Aunt Ginny for the crime.

I absolutely loved the first installment in the series, so I had to pick up this book as soon as possible. The stakes are higher now that Aunt Ginny is wrapped up in a murder mystery after her short-lived time as the accidental Snack Bandit. Aunt Ginny is truly a hoot. I couldn’t stop laughing during her short-lived time as the Snack Bandit as well as her many shenanigans that come later in the book. At least her other shenanigans were planned. The poor woman ate some interesting things while she was a snack bandit!

Weirdly enough, Poppy is somehow the least interesting character this time around. Maybe it’s because she’s one of the few normal people in a sea of strange to hilarious characters, but I still enjoyed following her around. I can relate to her in many ways, so I totally understand her insecurities as well as some of her other problems. It was neat to see her continue to develop as well as hone her investigating skills as much as an untrained and green amateur sleuth can.

I was pretty excited to see more of Georgina, Poppy’s mother-in-law. We didn’t see a lot of her in the first book, so it was great to see her out there and in action. She does remind me of a better version of someone in my life, so it was really cool to see how much character development she had throughout the book. I’m excited to see where she goes from here as well as how her relationship with Poppy will continue to develop.

The murder mystery itself was interesting and had so many sides to it. I didn’t catch on to who the killer was until the very end, so Libby Klein really kept me on my toes. It was fun to meet the variety of new characters and watch new and old characters aid Poppy in her investigation. I hope that we see some of the new characters continue to appear in future books, and I’m excited to pick up the third installment soon.

Cobblered to Death (Courtney Archer #1) by Rosemarie Ross, Rose Ross Zediker

Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross, Rose Ross Zediker

My Rating: ★★★★

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

Courtney Archer has made a career out of being a country girl with her cooking show, Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter. The problem? She’s a city girl and the daughter of a pediatrician. Itching to get out of her contract and finally let the world know the truth, she’s left holding a secret that could ruin her career and a gag order to boot. Unfortunately for Courtney, the truth about her background falls into a contestant’s hands on her new show, The American Baking Battle. Just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse, the sneaky contestant turns up dead, and the murder weapon is a cast-iron pan with Courtney’s fingerprints all over it. Courtney suspects judges and contestants alike and finds herself toeing the line of danger to get her name off the suspects list.

I love cozy mysteries, and this one in particular caught my eye because Courtney is a cooking show host. I love watching cooking shows, especially the contest ones, so I knew this book would be up my alley. What I didn’t expect was to love the behind the scenes feel this book gives. It was so much fun to watch Courtney, her co-hosts, and the contestants work on and off the camera for their show. It gave the reality TV show feel that older reality shows gave.

This book also has a great cast of characters. Courtney is the cool, successful cook and TV show host with a big secret that she wants to get out in the open. However, she wants it to come out on her terms since the truth about her background could destroy her career on a good day. I think she means well and didn’t think about how becoming a farmer’s daughter for TV would turn out the way it has.

Like some other amateur sleuths, Courtney gets involved to clear her name but continues her investigation once she’s in the clear. I think that her investigating is realistic because she’s an amateur poking around in the danger zone. Courtney doesn’t happen upon information and scenarios that are totally unrealistic, and I felt that the story and her investigation read as something that could really happen.

I found all of the characters believable, especially the contestants and how they act one way on camera and another once the cameras are turned off. I found the behind the scenes drama very entertaining, and I enjoyed following each of the characters and finding out their personal stories. I’m excited to see some of them return in the next book because I loved so many of them.

All in all, I found this to be an entertaining story and I’m already excited about the next book. I will definitely be returning when that book eventually drops because I want to see what happens next and how the characters will continue to develop.