Month: October 2019

Recent Reads: Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker; Reinvent the Slow-Cooked Meal; 77 Mouthwatering Recipes by Nicki Sizemore

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

As it gets colder, it feels like it’s time to get out the slow cooker, and make delicious food, and this is the recipe book to help you with that!


There are sections for vegetable main dishes; chicken, turkey and pork; beef and lamb; seafood; breakfast and brunch.  Each recipe set out with stove top prep, slow cooker, and slow cooker jump starts, where you’re given some bits that you can do in the days before.

This is a really nicely laid out cook book, with lots of photos, which I always feel helps me when I’m cooking, so I’ve got an idea of what it all needs to look like.

Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker was published on 29th October 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Nicki Sizemore on Twitter, Instagram, or through her website, where you can find more recipes!


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Storey Publishing (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu is a graphic novel about Nova and Tam, two queer Chinese-American supernatural people.  Nova is a witch with hearing aids, and Tam is a non-binary werewolf.

Tam has come back to one of the many places they lived in whilst growing up, which is where Nova lives.  Tam is on a mission, and Nova runs into them, and offers to help.

There are more witches, demonic horses, and spirits of the forest.  What else could you want?

Mooncakes is due to be published on 15th October 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Suzanne Walker on Twitter, or through her website, and Wendy Xu on Twitter or through her website.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Lion Forge and Oni Press (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Confession by Jessie Burton

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

The Confession by Jessie Burton tells two stories.  One is set in 1980, where Elise meets Connie, a successful writer, and follows her to Los Angeles.  The other story is set in 2017, where we follow Rose, who is trying to find out why her mother abandoned her and her father.  

Rose’s journey in to the past leads her to take on a false name, with a false past, and start working for Connie as an assistant.

I really enjoyed The Confession, and wanted to find out the answers that Rose was searching for, and understand what happened.  It wraps up well, and I thought the characters were great!

Jessie Burton is the author of The Miniaturist, which had great success, and was turned into a TV series, and The Muse, which I think I need to read now!

The Confession was published on 19th September 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  Waterstones has signed editions!  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Jessie Burton on Instagram, or through her website.

If you’re interested in a self discovery book with the same kind of feel, then I’d suggest City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Posted on by Pam

 My review: ?????

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a quick little book, which is set in a cafe where there is one seat that if you sit in, and drink coffee, you’ll be able to travel in time.  But, you have to drink the coffee before it gets cold, or you won’t return!

The book has four stories in it, and you see different people coming in to time travel.  It’s a science fiction book as it has time travel, but that is the limit of the sci-fi!  It is telling you about the people, their lives, and how the time travel affects them.

I really enjoyed this book. It was light, and refreshingly different as it was written in Japanese, and released in Japan first, and has now been translated.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold was published on 19th September 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Toshikazu Kawaguchi on Goodreads.  I’m afraid I couldn’t find their website, or social media!

If you’re interested in self discovery books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton, and is full of lists and ideas for how to make life easier for you, with suggestions for how to easily arrange to see friends with Doodle.  You could also use it for meetings!

I found this to be an easy read, as I was curious about what Anna Newton does, but also because I’ve been reading this type of life style guides for years, and enjoy finding new ideas like Doodle, and having it reinforced that you should buy one thing that is expensive, and will last, than five things that aren’t.

It’s full of life hacks, and suggestions, so if you need some life help, this is a good book to read!

An Edited Life was published on 10th January 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Anna Newton on Twitter, or through her website.  I follow her on Instagram, and she also has a YouTube channel, where she talks about capsule wardrobes, skincare, beauty, and vlogs!

If you’re interested in other self help books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Magical Readathon Final Update

Posted on by Pam

At the end of my second week reading for the Magical Readathon, I’ve read….

E: Book written in past tense


We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal.  This is a Netgalley book for me, and is written in past tense.  I tried to choose one that was due out recently.  

I enjoyed the story, about a visit to a magical island, with the fate of the world in the hands of a few.

You can have a read of my review here!




O: Book that has been on your To Be Read for ages
So, I’ve gone for the oldest book on my Netgalley, which is The Island by Ragnar Jónasson.

It’s a nordic noir, set in Iceland.  Four people visit an island, and one of them dies.  It is tense, with a death ten years ago having an impact on the story.  

You can read my review of it here!





History of Magic

A: Read a fantasy

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang!  A book that I bought on impulse as it was on offer on Kindle one day!  


E: Read a book that includes a map

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang.  Another Netgalley book, and the sequel to the Poppy War, so why not!  It does have a map in it, I checked!



You can read my review for both of these books here!

I enjoyed the challenge, but I picked two big books, and started the challenge late, and so when I didn’t manage to read the books in the time in August, I wasn’t motivated to post this, but here we are, finally!