Eleanor & Park has been everywhere, and everyone seems to be raving about how AMAZING the story and its characters are! So as soon as I picked this one up, I knew I would push it to the top of my TBR pile, and start ASAP!

And I’m pretty happy that I did!

The cover looks awesome and the synopsis sounds fantastic! But I wouldn’t consider Eleanor & Park to be “starcrossed” lovers, well maybe. Eleanor never really left the house except for when she went to school, and she didn’t have a phone she could use. (Would you consider that “starcrossed”?)

It’s been almost a year since Eleanor was kicked out by her abusive and drunk step dad, Richie but Eleanor’s mom has finally talked him into letting Eleanor move back home. She now shares a room with her four younger siblings, and takes baths right after school, to avoid Richie and the lack of a bathroom door.

For the five siblings, it isn’t weird to wake up in the middle of night to shouting, crying or bedsprings. But when this happens, Eleanor and all the kids huddle together, doing their best to stay quiet.

While Eleanor is dealing with issues at home, Park’s life is a bit more normal. He spends his days going to school, reading comic books, listening to music and learning karate. But lately there’s been a bit of tension between Park and his dad. His dad always seems to be disappointed in him, and comparing him to his brother when it comes to karate and learning to drive a manual car.

Eleanor and Park meet on their way to school. They can’t even stand to look or talk to one another and are unaware of how  they will come to share much more than just a school bus bench…

I had such high expectations for this book BECAUSE of all the great things people were saying! I LOVED Eleanor & Park, but there were just a few small things that did bother me. But I’ll get into that in a little bit.

Eleanor was such a down to earth character, which I do appreciate, especially after reading books with super heroes, vampires or gods. She was an average girl, not an extremely pretty girl who turns every guys’ heads when she walks past them. She was REAL.

When Eleanor opened up to Park, I was so proud. It seemed throughout the story that no one has ever shown Eleanor true love, not romantic love, but family love; care. I would have never assumed that Eleanor had it in her when she’s never really witnessed “love”. I commend her for being so strong, after all the crap she’s been through with Richie, her mom and her real dad.

Park was also such a sweet character. He seemed to genuinely care so much for Eleanor and looked past  her struggles and issues. He accepted her in a way nobody in her entire life had. I loved Park for that! … I only wish there were more guys like Park out there!

Now for the small things that did bother me:

1. Eleanor and Beauty: I don’t think I can count how many times Eleanor has called herself ugly or fat. I understand that everyone has their own insecurities but how many times are you going to tell the guy that you like, and the only person that’s every truly cared for you, that you think you’re fat until he agrees with you?

2. Their Relationship: I though Eleanor and Park were imperfectly perfect for each other. I enjoyed reading about the two of them, their love and even their bumps in the road. But I felt that the beginning of their relationship seemed a little rushed.

Even with these small things, I really liked Eleanor & Park! The characters were fantastic, and the ending was…WOW! Rowell tore out my heart towards the end, but luckily put it back together in the last page or two! If you haven’t gotten the chance to pick this one, I recommend to do so… right now!

I posted on Facebook not long after starting this book, that it was making my fear of crowds simmer to the surface. I work really hard to get past that phobia, so this is a testament to the quality of imagery and strong storytelling by Kelley in her new series.

Olivia has her life turned inside out when the truth of her parentage comes to light, after the death of the man she thought was her father. She goes from her high society lifestyle to being reduced to the child of parents who were convicted of 8 serial murders.

She falls from grace, well, gracefully, and does what we’re cheering for her to do… take on the world and stand on her own two feet.

Armstrong has a real knack for making strong female characters but not at the expense of having strong male characters. Her girls can save themselves and take on the unsavoury element without castrating and belittling her hero. Olivia is no different, and Gabriel is the perfect mix of creeper and hunky behemoth.

There is plenty of superstition woven through the book. The plot thickens quicker than corn flour slurry, and, there are no lumpy bits either.

I love the eerie setting of Cainsville, and the townsfolk are goose-bump worthy weirdos.

I’m not usually one to seek out a book I know is going to give me the creeps, but I will certainly be looking for book two, Visions, which is due out in August 2014. There is more fun to be had in Cainsville… Bring it on!

http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/  

Hardcover, 486 pages

Published August 20th 2013 by Sphere

ISBN13

9781847445117

Mandy Wrangles says: There’s no doubt Neil Perry is one of Australia’s most distinguished, premiere chefs. Not only does he operate a string of highly successful restaurants, is a regular on our television screens and is the creator of airline Qantas’s menus – he also finds time to write gorgeous cookbooks and share his creations us.

Simply Good Food is Perry’s sixth cookbook, and delivers exactly what the title offers: Simple recipes made with fresh, quality ingredients. Retailing at $49.99, this is not just for Foodies, but it also doubles as a stunning coffee table book. Its hard cover, heavy papers and stylish matt photography makes it a book to ogle over in more ways than one.

Divided into sections covering a few of Neil’s favourite cocktails, soups, salads and pasta dishes, followed by meat dishes such as chicken, pork, beef, veal and lamb recipes, the real knock-out dishes are, for me, the Asian banquets, Mediterranean shared tables and Mexican Feasts. I love this kind of ‘open table’ dining with family and friends – it’s a great way to keep everyone happy!

Recipes at the top of my list to try out include:

• Smoked Ocean Trout Dip With Lemon Thyme Toast
• Chicken Wings in Vietnamese Caramel Sauce (omg, wow – right?)
• Veal Escalopes With Artichokes and Prosciutto (I’m a fiend for both artichokes and prosciutto, so this sounds utterly heavenly to me)
• Buffalo Mozzarella, Capsicum and Onion Salad (so simple, so stunning, so delicious)

And then, there’s the desserts.

• Key Lime Pie (because, Key. Lime. Pie)
• Passionfruit Syrup Cake With Mango Salsa (anything that combines passionfruit, mango and mint is, in my mind, pretty much perfect)
• And finally, there’s the Bittersweet Chocolate Tart. You’ll just have to take my word for it – and buy the book – on how gorgeous this looks. And simple enough for us mere mortals to make at home.

While Simply Good Food is filled with mouth-watering photographs, I was a little disappointed that not every recipe has an accompanying photo. As someone who eats with their eyes first, (as I think most of do!) these are the recipes I skim over – especially when there are double-spread pages of stylistically stunning (but not so informative) photographs of empty crockery and wine corks taking up space within the pages. I was, however, pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of these recipes – the layout suggested a more complex menu. It’s  all about combining flavours and crisp, ‘clean’ food.

Simply Good Food won’t be left sitting on the coffee table at my place. Pretty sure I’ll be needing it far too often in the kitchen!

Simply Good Food by Neil Perry

Published by Murdoch Books

Photographer – Earl Carter

ISBN – 978-1743360514

Hard Cover, 339 pages

Available now

I absolutely adore the cover of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, as well as the covers of the other two books in the trilogy! While I don’t own the third one just yet, I’m dying to see how the set will look sitting on my white bookshelf!

This book was released about two years ago, and I feel horrible for taking so long to finally get to it! I remember when it first hit stores and I was so pumped to pick up a copy, but just never did for some reason.

But I’ve read it, and now I’m reviewing it. And I plan to read the second book soon, so that counts for something, right?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, follows a girl named Mara Dyer (you guessed correct!), who is dealing and overcoming a tragic event that has recently happened to her, but that she doesn’t quite remember.

Mara (we don’t actually know if this is her real name or not) is suffering from losing her two best friends as well as her boyfriend in this traumatic event. After having visions and nightmares of that night over and over again, Mara and her family are questioning her sanity. Instead of going through the process of mental illness treatment, Mara’s family decides to move and start a new life somewhere new.

But even with the new house, new school and all the other new people and things surrounding her, she’s stilling having trouble and horrific flashbacks.

The reader knows just as much as Mara does; nothing. With the flashbacks, the visions and some of her memories, we discover, right alongside Mara, about that night and what caused all of it.

After being in the dark for so long, Mara finally meets her light and his name is Noah. He’s this beautiful boy, who Mara can’t help but drool over (and neither can I!), and who doesn’t mind flashing his fancy car, and his money. But he does seem to care about Mara a lot and helps her through some of her hardest times.

The sweetest thing that stuck to me about Noah, was when he help Mara save a beaten dog from its abusive owner. He gave Mara and the dog a ride to get it medical attention. Turns out his mom was the veterinarian… so it’s not like he had to pay the massive vet bill.

Throughout the story Mara wasn’t sure why she was the sole surviver after that night, and why she’s having this visions now, but with the help of her brother, and Noah, she’s (we’re) sure to find out!

This book claimed to be paranormal, but I couldn’t really see too much of that. I know that Mara had flashbacks and visions every once in a while throughout this story, but I just didn’t get a creepy paranormal vibe from it. However, the paranormal aspect wasn’t the MAIN reason I read this book, so I wasn’t too disappointed by that or anything.

Instead The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer focused more on rediscovery and even some romance and I loved it. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I truly enjoyed it. But I can see where others might be a little upset about that. They were informed of one thing, but received something different.

I thought Mara was down to earth, and dealt with this loss, her visions and her entire life, better than I would ever be able to. I enjoyed her relationship with Noah, and I’m pumped to see how the second book goes for me!

So, honeycomb is number two in this series of little recipes that will fit together to make one seriously impressive dessert. In the meantime, why not have a trial run?

Fun Fact #1 – There’s no actual honey in honeycomb. Well, not in this version anyway.

Fun Fact #2 – Cooking is science. And what better way to prove it to your kids than watching honeycomb fizz and puff and grow to triple its size?

Fun Fact #3 – Honeycomb is crazy-easy to make.

Fun Fact #4 – Honeycomb isn’t just for kids…

 What You Need:

4 tablespoons of Golden Syrup

1 cup of Caster Sugar

2 teaspoons of Bicarb Soda

 How It’s Done:

Grease a slice or cake tray and set aside.

Add golden syrup and sugar to a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

As soon as it’s boiling, turn the heat down to a low simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes – but stand by to make sure it doesn’t burn.

When you think it’s time, add a drop of the syrup into a glass of water. If it is ready, it will become brittle as soon as it hits the water.

Remove pot from the heat, and place close to your prepared pan on the bench. Add the bicarb and stir vigorously.

It’s important to work fast at this point, because the mixture will foam up instantly and you need to get it into that cake tray as soon as possible.

Leave at room temperature to set, then break into bit sized pieces.

Delish!