Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch by Nancy Marchant

Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch by Nancy Marchant

My Rating: ★★★★★

I am an avid knitter and have been knitting for about eight years now, but I have never tried knitting brioche. I saw a brioche pattern that I want to knit late last year, started planning for it, and picked up this book so I can learn about the technique and work my way up to making a two-color brioche shawl. After reading this, I can honestly say that I feel ready to start making practice swatches and refer to the book for guidance when needed.

Marchant has written a comprehensive guide that includes photos, charts, and written instructions so that people can follow her guide in the way that makes the most sense to them. She also includes a list of abbreviations and chart symbols. I never use knitting charts unless I’m knitting a color work pattern because I find regular pattern charts confusing, so I can’t tell you if her charts make sense. However, I can tell you that her written instructions and photos demonstrating those instructions do make a lot of sense. I now feel comfortable with trying the technique and working my way up to knitting brioche with two colors.

In addition to being a guide, Marchant also includes a bit of history about brioche and some tips before she begins to guide her readers. There are also several patterns included for readers to knit based on their comfort level with the technique, which is wonderful, especially when readers move from practicing the technique to knitting a full-fledged project. All in all, this is a great book to have in your collection as you enter the world of brioche knitting.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Montague Siblings #2) by Mackenzi Lee

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

My Rating: ★★★★★

After being turned away from every medical school she’s applied to, Felicity has had enough of being judged by her gender rather than potential skill. Then she gets an unwanted marriage proposal and escapes to Monty and Percy’s place with a plan: get into school and stay with her brother. Things go downhill when Felicity is turned away for being a woman yet again, but there’s a bright spot: her idol might take her under his wing in his latest adventure. The downside? He’s about to marry her former friend and there’s no way a letter will get to him in time, so she needs to go in person. With no money and no other prospects, Felicity accepts the offer of a mysterious young woman, Sim, willing to pay Felicity’s way and finds herself on a dangerous quest that puts her and her new and old friends to the test.

I loved the first book so much that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. Sadly, the opening is boring and it takes a while for the story to get rolling. When it finally picks up, we hit part two and that’s when Lee takes us on an amazing journey. I don’t think there will be a third in the series, but if there is, I will be there in an instant.

The first book focused on Monty and Percy and this one focuses on Monty’s sister, Felicity. I love Felicity, but she is close minded and set in her ways. That said, the book is a journey that helps Felicity grow as a person and realize that she’s closed herself off because she has always been so focused on getting into medical school and becoming a physician. It was great to watch her grow and open her mind as well as learn more about herself and her own character flaws. It was also really interesting to see her meet up with her old friend, Johanna, and discover that Felicity was the main reason that their friendship ended. I loved watching Felicity come to that realization as she is confronted with how she feels and the events that happened in the past.

I loved following her adventures with her old friend, Johanna, as well as her new friend, Sim. Although, she and Sim aren’t friends at first and Felicity is suspicious of her until she realizes that she’s being judgmental and that Sim is a cool and friendly person and not the evil pirate she decided she was when they first met. I loved Sim and I think it would’ve been cool if we had some chapters from her perspective. That said, I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and learning more about Sim’s life.

Johanna was a nice slap in the face for Felicity. She’s a mixture of the frivolous careless woman that Felicity despises and a smart and bright woman that Felicity grew up with. Johanna as a character is really a message that one can be feminine and intelligent with aspirations that is still relevant today. It’s a message that we watch Felicity learn as they become friends again and go on a hilarious but serious mission.

There are so many hilarious lines. One of my favorite lines is in chapter 14 when Sim says, “Felicity Montague, you are a cactus.” There’s also many hilarious moments that are at the expense of old white men who think they know all while Felicity, Sim, and Johanna come by and prove that women are severely undervalued and looked over due to societal prejudices against women. If you were on the fence about reading this book, I strongly urge you to run out and pick it up because you’re going to love going on a hilarious journey and meet up with some old favorites from the first book.

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

My Rating: ★★★★

Julie and the woman of her dreams and fellow werewolf, Selena, go on a date at a mysterious magic show. Things go well until Julie’s close friend, Chet, volunteers as the magician’s assistant and gets turned into a human. Determined to catch the evil magician and return Chet to his former centaur glory before it’s too late, the three hatch a plan to find the magician and teach him a thing or two about using magic for evil purposes.

This is such a cute story! It’s so refreshing to see plus size characters lead the story as well as a story that takes mythology and puts it in a modern setting. I love how rich the story is and how many characters there are without making it seem confusing or character heavy to the point where readers can’t keep up. Plus, the artwork is beautiful. I really wish I could get some of the pages in poster size so I can put them on my wall!

The characters are adorable and relatable as well as hilarious. I think that Chet might be my favorite character at this point. I love Julie, but she seemed to get angry or upset at every turn, which threw the story off a little at some point. I understand that she’s insecure, but it was really pushing it when she and Selena were arguing because Julie assumed that her girlfriend thinks she’s dumb over a difference in ideas on how to get Chet back to himself. I’d love to see more of the characters, especially Chet, Cass, and Selena, and see how they develop in the next volume. Hopefully Julie will grow a little bit and talk to her friends and girlfriend about what she’s feeling instead of lashing out or running away.

All in all, it’s such a cute story that I don’t think anyone should pass up. I’m looking forward to checking out the next volume as soon as it drops.

The Girl Without Skin (Greenland #1) by Mads Peder Nordbo

The Girl Without Skin by Mads Peder Nordbo

My Rating: ★★★

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

When Matthew Cave was sent to cover the discovery of a mummified Viking man, he never expected to get tangled up in a 40-year-old murder mystery. What started as simply reporting on an exciting discovery quickly turns tragic when the body is stolen and the man guarding him is murdered and flayed just like the victims of a series of murders that occurred decades ago. Matthew finds himself drawn into the original case only to discover that very powerful people are involved, and those people are willing to kill to keep him quiet.

Nordbo tells such a sad and frightening story through duel perspectives, one set in the present and one set in the early 1970s. We follow Matthew Cave in the present as he reports on a story that quickly turns into a murder mystery, which is when he dives into our second narrator’s notebook from the 70s, Jakob. Matt has a sad backstory that drives him until he becomes obsessed with the murder mystery that is much more horrific than it appears on the surface. However, once start to read chapters from Jakob’s perspective, it becomes even more glaringly obvious that Matt is a flat character. As the story continued, I found myself wishing that the book was told entirely from Jakob’s perspective or from Jakob and Tupaarnaq’s perspective with Matt as a supporting character.

Aside from my issues with Matt as a character, it is a heart wrenching novel that gives a glimpse into Greenland’s history as well as its culture. On the sad and horrific side, it shines a glaring light on how people with a lot of power can shutdown those who investigate them if they do wrong. The deeper that Matt digs into the case, the more danger he is in because there are people who hold the power to either frame him or shut him up for good. The case is a combination of a social and political crimes, which make it difficult for him and Jakob in the past to investigate because they’re playing with fire if they get too close to the truth.

There was some confusion with the transitions between the past and present. It was almost always unexpected when we jump 40 years into the past. However, Jakob is an interesting and complex character and I do wish that he was the primary narrator of the story. We also follow another character, Tupaarnaq, who is a great character that could’ve been a solid narrator for the present portion of the novel. I wish that we saw more of her and got to know her as a character past the surface through Matt’s perspective.

Despite my issues with the transitions and Matt, it is a heart wrenching novel that is difficult to read at times because of the nature of the crimes Matt and Jakob investigate. It’s a bit slow at times as well, but the ball really gets rolling toward the end and the story ends on a lighter note for the characters. I think that Nordbo is onto something here and I’m not sure if the issues I have are things that just got lost in translation, but I will check out the second novel in the series.

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Córdova

Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova

My Rating: ★★★★

Lula is struggling with the aftermath of her sister, Alex, attempted to get rid of her magic and accidentally banished her entire family from the mortal world instead. Left with facial scars and a fear of noises and shadows, Lula has become bitter and very unlike herself. She still has the love of her life, Maks, in her life… or so she thought. She and Maks become two victims of a terrible bus crash that kills nearly everyone on the bus. Lula survives, but Maks is left in a coma marked for Death herself, but Lula has other plans. Defying the rules of magic and the balance between life and death, she defies Death by bringing Maks back to life with a terrible cost.

I absolutely love the first book in the series, so I was extremely excited when I finally picked up the second one. I love the characters, the story, and the world they live in. One of the most notable differences between the first and the second book is that they’re narrated by different sisters. The first book was narrated by Alex, and now we’re following her sister Lula as she struggles with the events of the first book. She struggles a lot with the physical scars that she’s been left with and talks a lot about how she was always considered very beautiful and now she has scars across her face. This certainly does not help with the emotional aftermath.

One of the things I love about this book is the unconventional take on zombies. Maks and the other characters that are dead are anchored to the living world by Lula, which begins with memory loss and an insatiable hunger for human hearts. We watch Lula and her sisters struggle to figure out how to end it, and Lula battle with her heart and reality as Maks regains his memory and becomes more and more vicious. These aren’t the average take on zombies, so it was interesting to see the zombies struggle with what they are and eventually embrace it, becoming less like their former selves.

The story itself lost me a little somewhere around the middle, but it picked up soon after. Of course, the middle was when it seemed most apparent that the three sisters would’ve agreed to confess to their parents because it was clearly starting to get out of hand. It just got repetitive and a little petty around the middle, which really took me out of the story until it got back into the swing of things. I did love the variety of new characters that we met, including a friendly vampire who doesn’t take anyone’s crap among other characters and supernatural beings.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series and see what happens as we follow Rose. Hopefully Rose doesn’t make the same accidental mistake as her two sisters did, but we’ll see! Either way, I know we’re in for another great book.

Deep Cosmos by Project Kyle

Deep Cosmos by Project Kyle

My Rating: ★★

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

David, aka Nerd, hides behind a mask after a serial killer paid to have David take the blame for his crimes. As Nerd, he’s dree to be a space explorer who takes on missions that can and will save others but he’s willing to throw caution to the wind to save a young warrior, Sophia, targeted by the man whose crimes he’s been forced to take the blame for. Once he’s in the clear, he and Sophia tango with the madman once again and end up with another crew member, a space hoodlum named Henry, and take on a new mission pitting them against one of the most dangerous man in the galaxy.

The premise of this book sounded interesting so I knew I had to read it. There’s so much action that there’s never a dull moment. If you don’t like something, it’ll probably be done with soon unless it’s one of the main plot points. Nerd and his crew are constantly on the go and just when things seem to be getting boring, they’re on the run for their lives all over again. This book has some pretty interesting characters and worlds and it reads a bit like an action movie. Something is always going down and someone always needs saving.

I will say that it was rather confusing for a good bit. The action makes up for the lack of world building in the opening, but I do feel like I started on a second or third book because the world that these characters live in aren’t introduced in a way that tells me about how this world works. There are major events that are referenced like it was a major plot point in a past book. Unfortunately, the confusion that occurs in the first few chapters continues to crop up again and again as the story continues because the world building is lacking. I think that there is a lot of potential here and that it just needs some extra work to get it to what it could be.

I like the characters, but I do wish that there was more character development. It seemed like a lot of what we learn about these characters come from observations from other characters. There are also a few moments where the main three characters that we follow have some out of character experiences, but I’m not sure if it’s one of those things that it could be in character but I simply don’t know enough about them for these moments to make sense.

Like I said, there is a lot of potential here and I could see this book making an excellent movie or mini-series. It just needs some extra attention paid to world building and character development.

Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health by Kati Morton

Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health by Kati Morton

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Perseus Books, Da Capo Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Taking care of your mental health sounds scary, but it’s important to take care of yourself and Kati Morton breaks down the what and why of mental health and therapy. She also takes a bit of the fear out of going to therapy. I know I’ve been on the fence about seeing a therapist and she took a lot of the fear out of that with her book, which is, in part, why this book exists.

Everyone struggles with mental health issues and there’s a societal stigma against taking care of our mental health compared to our physical health. Morton talks a bit about this and why it’s important to take care of our mental health. Not only is it a part of us and our body, but it can also physically affect us depending on what’s going on. She also explains the different parts of treating mental health and what each practitioner in the field does, such as the different between a therapist, psychologist, and psychiatrist.

One of the things that I like about the book is that it helps take some of the unknown out of seeking treatment. What does a first appointment with a therapist generally look like? What should one look for in a therapist? How does one look for a therapist? There’s explanations and answers to questions that I didn’t even think about, such as deciding on what to look for in a therapist based on one’s comfort level and how to figure out what type of person one wants to see. The information she shared will help others know what to expect and what to look for.

I found Morton to have a very positive personality through her writing, which makes it easier to digest the information she shares and take some of the fear out of imagining what a therapist might be like. It took me back to college because it was a combination of important information as well as relatable information and examples. I felt like I was sitting through a lecture with a cool professor with my text book propped open next to my notebook. It wasn’t scary, the information is valuable and useful, and there’s some technical information.

All in all, I highly recommend this book for people who want to learn a little more about treating mental health and for people who are on the fence about seeking treatment. Morton shares so much information in a way that isn’t overwhelming while also making her readers feel comfortable. There’s a lot of fear around mental health as well as seeking treatment, especially when one doesn’t know what seeking treatment will look like or has no idea what seeing a therapist or anyone in the field will look like because it’s just not talked about most of the time. This is a book I’ll refer back to as I step out of my comfort zone and seek a therapist and I think it can help many people whether or not they read it for themselves or someone else.