Crushing by Sophie Burrows

I'm really excited to have Crushing as my first review post of the new year. It was one of the last books I read in December and it was also one of my most anticipated. I first heard about it at a Books Showcase thrown by David Fickling Publishing. I have to admit I pretty much wanted to read all the books shown that day, however this one really stood out.

A girl and a boy, both lonely and living in the same busy city. Will any of their chance encounters finally bring them together?

First of all I have to talk about how beautiful the physical book is 😍 A lovely, weighty, solid hardback with what feels like a fabric binding. You can see all the love and care that has gone into it which matches the illustrations. I just can't get over how much feeling and emotion there is in these pictures. It's amazing how much can be said without any words! The book is full of such relatable moments, captured beautifully. It all feels so real. This is a wonderful style of art, using just a couple of colours that really highlight all the important details.

It may be a little late for this now but as I read this over the Christmas period, I'm doing a Mince Pie Martini. (Which is also a good way to use up any leftover jars of mince pie mixture!)  50ml rum, 25ml orange juice, 15ml lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of mince pie mixture, dash of gingerbread syrup. Put them all in a shaker and shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.

 Looking Forward to This Year

I'll start by saying I am extremely proud of myself for starting the year with two posts in one week! I have realised that I've been very patchy with my blogging and really want to do better in 2022. I think part of the reason is that I keep taking on books which I'm not all that enthusiastic about. I need to step back a little and only agree to the books that I'm really excited to read, and not get taken in by the hype! For this reason I'm probably not going to do BBNYA this year. Don't get me wrong, I have found many new favourites that I would never have looked at if they weren't put right in front of me, but I have also had to struggle through some which I really did not enjoy. Then I feel bad about it and don't want to write a bad review.

I have so many books on my TBR shelf (above is just one of my double stacked shelves of unread books!) that I really want to read and they get left on the shelf month after month as I put other, more urgent books first. Time is too short to waste on things I'm not enjoying and I already know that I'll never get through all the books I want to read. Unless someone finally comes up with an immortality potion! So I need to make sure I'm using my time wisely and that also means being more determined to DNF (Did Not Finish) when necessary!

Anyway, without further ado, I'll start with the stack of books I received for Christmas. Though I may have bought one or two of them for myself... aaaaand I may have already read some of these before the end of 2021 😄

I don't do New Year's resolutions any more but there are some habits I do want to get into in 2022.

Write my reviews straight after reading the book...

before I've forgotten what happened and who was in it and even whether I liked it or not!

Post on my blog more regularly...

I'd like to do once a week but I think that's probably too much for me so at least 2 or 3 times a month would be a good aim for me.

Finish what I start...

in life generally but particularly all the blog posts I have started and never got round to finishing. Same with my book reviews! This does not apply to books I'm hating though, I give myself full permission to NOT finish those.

Do you have any resolutions or habits you want to start this year? Let me know in the comments.

 Last Year

Today I sat down to finish up a blog post about last year's reading and ended up deciding to split it into two because for the first time ever it was getting too long! I started writing my thoughts for this coming year and got a bit philosophical so I'll put that in a separate post which will hopefully be up very soon and I'll stick with 2021 here.

I love looking at stats and charts from last year's reading. Joining StoryGraph has really helped with this! 😀 My goal last year was to read 190 books. I set it lower than previously as I wanted the chance to read some longer books without worrying about my total number falling and not reaching my target. In the end I read 215 books (or 216 if you believe StoryGraph) and my average rating was 3.75 stars. It's a shame it was so low as I did give quite a few 5 stars but I think I also found some really bad ones too (this is one of the biggest perils of reading recommendations you're not sure about...). This is usually due to bad editing which completely throws me out of my immersive reading state and spoils my enjoyment of the book. I think a lot of people aren't that bothered about grammar and mistakes in books but I can't cope!

Only 7% of my reading was non-fiction and I want to increase this. I'm in the middle of 3 non-fiction books but as there's no story I tend to just pick these up and read a bit in between my fiction books. Then they get forgotten for ages and I can't remember what was going on! My non-fiction pile is constantly getting bigger so I really need to up my reading here.

 

These really won't be a shock to anyone who knows me 😂 I love fast, short books which is probably why I have focussed so much on MG fantasy lately.

This one did surprise me a little! I thought I was so stuck in Fantasy (which I kind of still am) but I'm happy to see such a range, despite most of the others being quite low. Also, I'm happy that I managed to read a lot more graphic novels.

I have been hooked on Nagabe's The Girl From the Other Side so that isn't too much of a surprise. However I'm not too sure how accurate this chart is as I know I read at least a couple of others by J.A. White.

This one is really interesting, I didn't realise I dropped so much in October! I'm guessing there were some very short books in Feb, but it is the shortest month so I'll forgive that one.

How was your reading in 2021? Does anything surprise you when you look back? Let me know in the comments 💖

 The Lucky Drinker Cocktail Book by Ciprian Zsraga

Today I am joining a blog tour celebrating all the different types of books from Clink Street Publishing. I've got a slightly unusual cocktail book which actually started out it's life as a blog!

Book Summary

This book represents a journey in the world of cocktails from a historic point of view and in addition, treats deeply various aspects: from basic bar techniques to advanced innovative ideas that can be used to create impressive drinks: pressure infusion, clarification, smoking, ageing, fermentation and even spherification!

The Lucky Drinker Cocktail Book covers everything from bar equipment to bar personalities and how they influence the world of drinking, what are the elements and what is the approach to create an outstanding cocktail, food and beverage pairing, alcohol intake but also how to calculate the cost of a cocktail: very important aspect that will help you to have a profitable cocktail menu.

It starts with the usual information such as bar equipment but also has sections on sustainability, bar personalities, and food and drink pairings. It's great to see a whole chapter dedicated to ice as it really is such an important element!

The cocktail recipes are split by base spirit and this little book includes lots of classic favourites as well as some lesser known cocktails. I love the bit of history of each of the cocktails and there are tips to try different versions of the traditional recipes. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see more pictures of all the cocktails.

One of my favourites is the Aviation and I couldn't resist mixing one up. 20ml lemon juice, 5ml violette liqueur, 10ml maraschino, 45ml gin. shake with ice and strain into a glass.

Another one I'd like to mention is the Alaska. It's actually one I haven't heard of before and it sounds so good! 2 dashes orange bitters, 20ml yellow chartreuse, 50ml gin. Stir in mixing glass with ice and then pour into glass. Garnish with twist of lemon peel.

Fledgling by Lucy Hope

Book Summary

A dark, gothic adventure set in the Bavarian forest, with angels and owls and magic and a boy who isn’t all that he seems to be…

A cherub is blown into Cassie Engel’s bedroom during a thunderstorm, triggering a series of terrifying events. Cassie must discover if its arrival was an accident or part of something more sinister.

With a self-obsessed opera singer for a mother, a strange taxidermist father, and a best friend who isn’t quite what he seems, Cassie is forced to unearth the secrets of her family’s past. As the dark forces gather around them, can Cassie protect all that she holds dear?

I knew I was off to a good start with this book when I read that the grandfather built an annex onto his house, just for books! This was definitely my kind of house, with so many interesting rooms, a roof that opens up and a steam-powered lift built in the middle. The house was a big part of the book too, playing a real part in the adventure.

I really felt for poor Cassie. Living with a horribly selfish mother who only cares for herself, a very absent, distant father and a grandmother on her deathbed. At least she has a wonderful friend in Raphael, you can tell he really cares about her and tries to protect her.

There are so many mysteries running through. How did Cassie's parents become like this? What's Raphael's story. And of course, why is the cherub there? The book was fast paced and really gripping, it kept surprising me.

My only problem with the book is I still don't understand why Cassie's mother was so horrible. It is kind of rationalised but I didn't really feel that explained it properly.

If you want to try out the book, the author reads the first few chapters on YouTube which is a lovely way to start. You can find chapter one here.

I made this delicious Cherryberry Cherub cocktail to drink with the book. Muddle a few raspberries in a cocktail shaker, then add 1&1/2 shots vanilla vodka, 3/4 shot each of triple sec and lemon juice, 1/2 shot of cherry brandy liqueur. Shake with ice and strain into an glass filled with ice.